almost a year since my last post

and what a year it has been. tristan and i moved to san antonio in september, and i got a job and he went to daycare for the first time in october. he loves being around kids and going to his "apple school" (i work at la petite academy, and they have an apple logo). hes grown so much, its amazing. lets see.... hes 32 months as of june first. he was hardly talking on his second birthday(maybe 10-15 words and 25 or so signs) and still on thanksgiving,but by about new years he figured it out, and now hes never quiet. he know most of his letters by sight and loves pointing them out. the first letter he learned was "e" shortly after we got here.... we live near an heb. he "reads" signs every where we go. hes also beginnning to learn the letter sounds as well. he can count to 11 by himself, and to about 20 or so with a little help. he knows all of his basic colors and shapes too. he loves music, and has recently started singing to himself. we got so many smiles at target last week when he was singing twinkle twinkle little star through the aisles. he said his first spanish word about a month ago... funny the one he chose, but not surprising considering ths spanish speaking girls at the center. he came up to me with a hairband on his wrist and said "look mama, my chongo"... so cute. hes a very social little boy, but still shy at times. hes still nursing once or twice a day, and still rear facing in his carseat (did you know its 500% safer for a toddler to rearface? ask me if you want more info.). my original goal for both of those things was 2, so we met and passed it. hes still cosleeping, but has a bed in my room as well. about half the time he starts out in his bed, and about 3/4 of that he stays there all night. hes getting very independant, but still wants mama too. hes trying to figure out going to sleep on his own (i lay down with him) and he'll say "go away mama, go away!" then 10 minutes or so later, he'll call me back. im all for him growing up at his own pace, so if baby steps are what he needs, thats what he'll get. he's only little once, and im enjoying it while i can. he loves reading and listening to music and playing with his trains. we go to the library on saturdays, and he plays on the kids computer there as well. we signed up for the summer reading program last week. we go to the park when we're done and he loves being outside. we just brought this http://www.littletikes.com/toys/8-in-1-adjustable-playground.aspx home from work last week because they were getting rid of it, and hes in heaven. we've got a little back yard garden going, and hes a big helper. he enjoys watering, and helping me pick the veggies when theyre ready.

well, this has turned really long, so i'll finish it for now. i'll get some pictures up soon.

much needed update

i will be working on a very needed update throughout the day.

tristan is almost 22 months now, and very nearly potty trained. im excited and proud, and also sad at the same time. partly because my baby is getting so big, and partly because it means i cant use my super cute cloth diapers anymore, lol.

hes very into pretend play lately, and he takes a doll or stuffed animal almost everywhere we go. he shares his food and cup and binky with them, helps them play and loves on them all the time. just a minute ago he had 3 rubber ducks on his rocking horse going for a ride. when i start uploading, i have the cutest video of him "helping" his baby swim. its adorable!

its snacktime now, but i'll be back shortly

belated 18month well baby

tristan had his belated well baby appointment a couple of weeks ago. he was 24 lbs, 4.5 oz, 32 1/4 inches tall, and has a big fat 19 inch head, lol

fashion statement

tristan is getting to the point where he is trying to dress himself. yesterday i changed his diaper then put his pants on. then he brought me another diaper cover and wanted that on. then he put on his sun hat, lol


climbing up the stairs

at the bedroom door

this one i admit i cheated and put the hat back on after he fell asleep to get the full effect :)

silly baby

so we have this rhyming book about monsters.... towards the end, its describing these 2 montsers, and it says "hearts and stripes, pinky sweet" and "spots and dots, stinky feet". when we get to that part, if hes not already sitting down, tristan stops what hes doing, sits down, and puts his toes in his mouth. then he smacks his lips and says "mmmmm".... guess he paid attention when i ate his stinky feet, lol

what a crazy month

this month has been crazy. i had my lapband surgery done on march 17th. i came down to houston around the 1st of april for what should have been a quick couple of days visit, and we've been here 3 weeks now. i ended up in the hospital for a week with acute pancreantitis that either caused or was caused by a gall bladder attack that resulted in another surgery to remove it. it was awful. more pain than id ever been in in my life. and poor tristan stayed with my mom and kelly for the whole time, and hed never been away from me for more than a few hours. they said he did pretty well though. bedtime was tough, and he didnt nap as much or as well, but all things considered, especially the lack of nursing, he did amazingly. and thankfully, when i got home, he started nursing like he hadnt stopped. i was so worried he would wean while i was gone.

while i was in the hospital, he climbed up on a chair at kellys and pulled 2 pictures off of the wall. one was of me and him, one was of him and david. while im sure he doesnt know the baby in the pictures is him (he was about a month old in them) he knew it was mama and daddy and gramma and aunt kelly said he was carrying them around hugging and kissing them. so sad, but so sweet at the same time.

ive been out of the hospital for about 2 weeks, and recovering at kellys since i couldnt drive back home alone. im feeling well enough now, im hoping to head back home soon. on a bad note, while i was here and david was at work, our dogs disappeared :( im devastated. he came home from work and the back gate was open and they were gone. i really dont think they just ran off either, unless they did and someone snagged them. we've talked to the shelters on post and in town, and they havent turned up. theyre microchipped, so if they do show up somewhere, we should get a call. tristan will be heartbroken when we get home and his dogs arent there :(

now onto tristan. his motor skills have always been great, but hes never been a big talker. at least not with recognizable words anyway, lol. while we've been here, he hit a talking growth spurt or something. he has started signing "more", "please", and "thank you" correctly. when he wants something, he signs "please" while pointing at it. if he really wants it, he alternates "please" and "thank you", lol. he has also been seen putting his hands to the mouth of a dog or cat in the "eat" sign while its eating. and for the past month at least, eat has been his favorite word. his been saying some more recognizable words too. we've heard "kitty" and "whats that", among other words.

hes running, climbing, and into everything, he's in the stage now where he likes putting everything in to a box. he found the cat carrier at kellys while i was in the hospital and has been using it to hide his toys. and unfortunatly for kellys dog connor, he hides the dog toys too. he loves to be outside, and adores going to the playground, or even a playplace at the mall or mcdonalds or something. its been awful this past week its been raining, he could hardly go outside at all. talk about cabin fever.

i dont have many pictures here with me, so when we get home, i'll do another update with pictures.

at the rodeo- march 11, 2009

picking sawdust off of a sheep

he was fascinated by little horns at the petting zoo too

baby beauregard- tristan was fascinated with his little horn nubs

petting elsie the cow- too bad he cant have any ice cream though

petting a cow

tristan and hayden- march 11, 2009

this is tristan and hayden- i call them "almost cousins" hes our godson. hes about 8 months younger than tristan, about an inch shorther, and outweighs him by 3 pounds, lol. this is the second time they've met, and the first time they were big enough to play together

catching up

ive been really bad about keeping up with the blog the last few months, and im sorry. tristan is almost 18 months, and he keeps me busy. hes 100% toddler now, running, jumping, climbing, dancing, and of course, the wonderful temper tantrums and the famous toddler "drop and dangle" when he doesnt want to walk somewhere. he has 16 teeth now, usually wears 18-24 months in clothes, and 6-7 in shoes. he loves to dance and listen to music. crayons and markers are a bit hit too. he doesnt really go for finger paints though, he doesnt like the feel of it on his hands. hes talking more now, in words we can understand. he loves to read books and build with his legos. he also like peek a boo, pat a cake, and hes starting to play ring around the rosie too.

bad bad mama

i have been a bad bad mama when it comes to this blog. im sorry guys. a quick rundown- tristan is running, climbing, getting into things, and generally being a toddler. he'll be 15 months next week, i cant believe it. he had a fun christmas, although now the living room is a wreck. i'll get on here this weekend and update through the last few months. until then, for your viewing pleasure, here is his christmas picture

updates

tristan is 11 months old now. he is getting so big, and learning so many new things. he is standing unassisted, and he can walk holding our hands or on to a push toy. hes trying to use a spoon now, and he can drink out of his cup like hes been doing it forever. hes also got 2 new teeth, making it 8 total. hes babbbling like crazy, and says "mama", "dada", and "da"-dog. he likes to share with us, especially his binky. he'll smile, put it in my mouth, the take it back and giggle. he loves using his toys to fill up bins and baskets then dump them out and start over again. he gives hugs and kisses, and can follow simple commands and understand questions- "bring me your binky" "come here please" "where is your cup?" stuff like that. he still only signs milk, but he understands many more- bath, more, eat, drink, water, all done, and sleep, to name a few.

i cant believe hes so big. i'll try to get some pictures soon, and post them up

welcome to texas tristan!!!

we stopped at the first stop over the bridge from louisiana to welcome tristan to texas for the first time

in the statue

in front of the star oh hey, theres rocks down here!

dogs

a rest stop n mississippi had this awesome pet area. seperate sections with tables, parking spaces, room to run, and a water pump showing dani its ok
lady doesnt go near running water- shes scared shell get a bath, lol. dani liked it though
playful
we wanna ride with mama now!!

in the car. david had the dogs, i had the baby

day 2

dani being nosy
exploring
lady in the mud where we drained the cooler- thank goodness we have a seat cover for the car

we camped in alabama for the night- wasnt it pretty! one last run before we load up
loadng up
binky stash

the drive here

crossing into alabama i was too tired to see

stopped at a gas station- daddy shared his cookie
kisses shanking my sillies out

"working" at david andersons