I can't remember the last time I updated this thing......
We have been staying busy this summer with Matthew's baseball games, going to the pool, and a trip to Port Aransas, TX with my whole family.
Tripp is still obsessed with his cars. He loves cars, monster trucks, fire trucks, dump trucks, etc. He also loves to watch Yo Gabba Gabba and Toy Story. He is in love with Buzz Lightyear. He has a buzz doll he sleeps with at night as well as his king car from the movie Cars.
Gentry loves to draw, paint, and color. She also loves to put the tops of markers on her fingers and walk around waving and saying hello all day. There's not a particular toy that Gentry loves, like Tripp, but seems to like to play with everything. She doesn't have a toy or animal she sleeps with or carries around... although she loves her mom and dad sleeping in her bed with her.
We bought the kids full size beds a couple weeks ago and the sleeping at night has been going much better. Gentry still gets up sometimes and comes to our room but we quickly put her back and she sleeps til the morning.
We are also in the midst of trying to potty train. They pretty much stay naked anytime we are at home. We use pull-ups for when we go places. I did put them both in their big girl panties and big boy underwear last night at my mom's.... Tripp did great. Gentry was soaked by the end of the 5 minute drive there!
They are both talking up a storm, complete sentences. It is so crazy to sit and have a conversation with them. It is hilarious to hear what they have to say and that the new words they learn, know how and when to use them.
Cranberry juice is the big drink in the house right now..... and hamburgers are Gentry's favorite food. Tripp loves hot dogs and french fries. Pretty healthy, huh?! Especially during baseball season.
I know this is a bit all over the place, but I'm trying to write down things quickly so I don't forget!

Our trip to Port Aransas was a lot of fun. I wish Matthew could have joined us! Tripp and Gentry loved the beach. Gentry especially loved playing in the sand and building castles and jumping on them instantly. Tripp and Gentry love to jump on and destroy sand castles. None of their cousins ever finished a sand castle because of these two little monkeys. Tripp loved running into and out of the ocean. The first day he made his way out way too far while I was not paying attention and it scared the complete crap out of me! He thought he was big time going out into the waves with his cousin Chase. I quickly reminded him he was not to go out that far and we had to problems after that. The best part of the beach was watching T and G hold hands and run from the sand into the water and fall into the water together. They giggled and would run back out of the water screaming "again!". They would do this over and over until Gentry decided she was tired of holding Tripp's hand and would then do it alone. Tripp would get so upset over it! He would yell, "GG! Hold hands!" and start to cry. He is so sensitive!

The kids have finally started playing together nicely. Not with toys, just with each other. They run up and down the hall, ride their cars together, tackle each other, and talk to each other. I love sitting back and watching them talk to each other. They always ask each other if they are OK when one gets hurt or is upset. Then they kiss each other's boo-boos. It's super cute.

I am jotting down a few things so i won't forget:

we have gone swimming almost everyday for the past week. the kids have a ball playing in the baby pool and in the big pool. they wear their vests and jump right in. i love that they aren't afraid of the water. they get very excited yelling "cold water!" each time we walk down to the pool.

i have been working on getting the kids to share their toys. tripp is absolutely obsessed with his disney cars. he takes them everywhere he goes, he even lines them up on the kitchen table so that they can "watch him eat". gentry loves his cars too. she is constantly grabbing them and running from tripp. so, i have been telling them to ask each other if it is alright if one plays with the others toy. the other day gentry asked tripp if she could play with his monster truck. he thought about it and just walked away with his truck. i told gentry that we should go into the playroom to find a different toy to play with. her response to me was "tripp is being a turkey, mama". i find this hilarious because i call them turkey's all the time. any time they act out, i call them turkey's. kids are like sponges.....

Matt and I made the decision yesterday to get rid of the pacifiers. This is a huge deal in my mind because they are absolutely obsessed with them. They have gotten them at nap time and bed time for their whole lives, and this is what gets them to go to sleep. They often wake up in the middle of the night when they can't find them in their beds, and in turn, they come wake us up to find them. So we were tired of it! Tripp and Gentry each got a bag, filled them with their paci's, and we proceeded to walk next door to give them to the "baby". "you are big kids now, and big kids don't use pacifiers. we have to give them to the babies who need them." They totally loved this idea. So we gave our pacifiers to "the baby's mommy" and came on home. We didn't nap yesterday. No paci's, they weren't having it, so they skipped the nap and ended up passing out for the night at 6:45. They cried for a bit for their pacifiers, but I quickly reminded them that big kids don't need them and that we gave them to the babies that do need them. Gentry was ok with this and quit crying. This made Tripp cry even more. He wanted them back! He eventually fell asleep and was fine. GG woke up an hour later shaking her hands, and crying like she was in drug withdrawal. Poor baby girl. She quickly fell asleep again and that was the end of it. Today I got them down for a nap by bribing them! They continue to ask about the pacifiers before their nap, but Tripp always reminds GG that we gave them to the babies. So sweet. Hopefully they will soon forget.
Next step, potty training........

love this picture...

All tripp and gentry do is fight. I feel like a referee all day long. Every. Single. Day. Gentry is actually the instigator... she goes and purposely takes one of Tripp's toys that he is playing with and runs away with it laughing. While this is quite humerous to her (and me), he freaks out. Then comes that pushing, shoving, biting, etc. I am not sure how to handle the fighting. Tripp screams and cries at the drop of a hat if things don't go his way. Gentry just turns and does something else that she's not supposed to do, like throw something and stare at you. I have tried time outs, taking toys away, etc. I don't know what to do!
Today Tripp had an absolute meltdown at the baseball game. GG, Tripp and I were waiting for the game to end so that we could go on the field and run the bases and play with Matthew. Well, the game had one out to go and the other team decided to tie it up in the 9th. Tripp got tired of waiting and began screaming his eyes out. I just sat there trying to calm him down while Gentry was taunting him beside me. We were being stared at, although I could've given a crap, and Matt even could hear him all the way out at 2nd base. I finally got up and took him home telling him he could not play with daddy on the field anymore. Gentry stayed with Lauren and came home later on. Then I felt bad, cause he was really excited with his bat and balls to play. I need someone to tell me how to discipline!
I also need someone to tell me how both of my 2 year olds can skip their nap and still not go to sleep until 9pm. WTF? They are the energizer bunny times two.
I am exhausted...... when will the fighting stop?