Baby on the way!

Our baby boy will soon be here... I am 35 weeks pregnant and we found out yesterday that my doctor wants to schedule a c-section.  She is worried that I will not be able to deliver him the "natural" way, due to a problem with my cervix.  This really scared me!  We have experienced some medical issues throughout this pregnancy, but I was not expecting this!  However, at least the baby is healthy and doing well, and for that I am thankful.  I keep telling myself that women have c-sections every day, and I am certainly not the first.  I just pray that everything goes smoothly.  So, besides my anxiety about the procedure, it has just hit me that I have four weeks to prepare for Asher's arrival!  YIKES!  Most of our baby gear has been bought, but the nursery has not been set up yet.  Everything is still in bags and boxes!  Ugh!  We are decorating his nursery in vintage baseball and a very dear friend is making our custom baby bedding for us.  Thankfully, I have two of the bestest friends in the world who recently threw me a baby shower and we received some much needed items!  Below are a couple of pics from the shower...

Me and my two besties!  (Kim on the left, Heather on the right)


Me and my momma...


The adorable diaper cake that Heather made!  (This gives you an idea of what the nursery will look like!)


A big, big THANK YOU to Kim and Heather for throwing the shower, to Florence for making our baby beddng, to all of our friends and family, especially mom and dad, who have "showered" us with gifts, to my husband who gives me a foot rub every night, and to my 6 year old son, Aiden, who is going to be the best big brother any little boy could ask for!  We can't wait to meet you ASHER JAXON TRIPP!  You are so dearly loved by so many people already!

Gone Fishin'

Well, it's official, my little man has caught his very first fish!  Last weekend was Kids Fishing Day at the river, which means only kids are allowed to fish and they stock the river full of trout so that each kid is guaranteed to catch one!  It was an all boys weekend, with Aiden, Richie, my dad, and my brother.  "No Girls Allowed!"  They rented a cabin for the weekend and reportedly had "an awesome time."  On Saturday morning, the horn blew to start fishing at 7:00am, and Aiden caught his first fish on his first cast within minutes!!  Here are the stats and a photo: brown trout, 15 inches long, 1.76 pounds...

Aiden then promptly caught his daily limit of 4 fish by 7:30am!  Four fish in 30 minutes!  Needless to say, he was ecstatic.  Here is a picture of all four boys each holding one of Aiden's fish...

Aiden said he didn't want to hold the fish by the gills like the big boys because he didn't want to get blood on his finger.  LOL!  They spent the rest of the day Saturday just hanging around at the park.  There are so many things to do, like the lodge, the gift shop, the cave, the fish hatchery...  But that night they cooked Aiden's fish and ate them.  Each of the guys said the fish tasted excellent!  Here is a picture of Aiden cleaning one of his fish... (and yes, wielding a knife with assistance, ARGH!)
YUMMY!  All in all, it sounds like they had a great time.  It was good male bonding time for my guys.  For those of you who don't know, Richie and I got married in 2009, and he is actually Aiden's stepdad (Aiden has a good relationship with his biological father as well).  Richie is such a wonderful father to Aiden, and I am so glad that Aiden has the best of both worlds.  Aiden got to spend time with just Richie, my dad (Aiden's Papa) and my brother (Uncle Sean).  These are the four men in my life and I love them all very much.  Richie and I are expecting another little man in six weeks... Asher Jaxon Tripp.  Yes, I will be severely outnumbered, but I do love my boys!!!  Below are a few more pictures of their weekend.  Enjoy!

Uncle Sean

Papa

Fishing in the fog after the rain...

Way to go Buddy!

Richie's itty bitty fishy... :-)

Aiden at the fish hatchery...

Richie and Aiden at the cave...

Write it all down!

I am fairly new to the world of blogging, even though I know it's been around awhile.  My first introduction was through one of my best friends.  I started following her blog and was fascinated by the idea.  Through her blog I started following a few of our mutual friends as well.  Before I knew it, I had met other mothers that were blogging, and I knew I had to start one of my own.  I thought it was a fantastic way to keep a journal without having to do any "manual" work, like writing or scrapbooking...  Which I am terrible at by the way.  I don't even print our pictures anymore because I keep everything stored digitally.

What really got me hooked on the idea though, was remembering back to when my son Aiden was 8 months old and he was diagnosed with a blood disorder - Chronic Benign Childhood Neutropenia - more on that later...  But, I remember a friend of my mom's handed me a journal when Aiden was very sick and told me to "write it all down."  She said I would want to look back and remember.  Unfortunately, I did not take her advice.  And I really wish now that I had.  What I wouldn't give to look back and remember the details of that whole ordeal!  I'm sure you are wondering why I would want to look back and remember such a thing, when my son was sick, and in and out of the hospital, and it was such a hard time in my life... but I think it's because that whole time was simply a blur.  I was a single mom, living on very little sleep, travelling back and forth from doctor's visits and enduring hospital stays, and really just trying to keep my head above water.  Thank God I had two amazing parents who helped me so much!  I could never thank them enough for what they did for us.  Helping to buy diapers and formula, or just staying with Aiden in the hospital, so I could run home and take a shower!  Now that all of it is behind us though, I would like to go back and simply "remember."

For those of you who are wondering... Aiden outgrew his condition and is now a happy, healthy, 6-year old boy!  PRAISE THE LORD!  I thank God every day for being so blessed, and I pray that my next son will not have to endure what Aiden did.  I am also very thankful that Aiden was so little at the time, and he does not seem to really remember much of any of it.  He does however remember to this day, a nurse by the name of Karen.  Karen was our home health nurse who administered Aiden's weekly booster shots.  She brought Aiden a new HotWheels car every week in her toy bag.  I don't think I will ever forget this amazing nurse or what she did for my boy!  And I know I will never get rid of a single one of those HotWheels cars! :)

So here I am... determined now to take the advice of a friend from long ago, and just "write it all down."

Aiden is a 1st Grader!

August 15, 2011 - The first day of 1st Grade for my baby boy!  I can't hardly believe he is grown up enough to be in the 1st Grade.  I absolutely adore this child!!  I just love watching him grow up, but it's also hard because I know how fast these years are passing me by...  He is such a sweet, smart, funny and loving boy, and I know he will do awesome this year in school.  Here is a picture of him ready to roll on his first day...

And another one of him in front of his new classroom...

His teacher's name is Mrs. Jordan and she seems very nice.  He said his favorite part of his first day was his teacher.  (He thinks she is pretty!)  He was supposed to take three things to school to share with his new class, three personal items that describe him... He took a picture of his family, a snake book (he loves to read about animals, especially snakes) and a fart machine!  Aiden is such a joker and he felt this toy described him very well.  What can I say... he's a boy and a goofy one at that!  I can't wait to see what this new year brings!  Good luck in first grade Aiden...  I love you to the moon and back!  This last picture was the smile I got from him when I picked him up from school today.  You can tell he had a GREAT DAY!

Blogging... Huh?

Welcome to my blog!  My name is Jenny Tripp and I have started this blog in order to keep an online journal of the goings-on of the Tripp family.  That would include myself, my husband Richie, our son Aiden, and our new baby boy on the way... Asher!  How much do I know about blogging?  Not much, but stay tuned... it's bound to get interesting from here...