Sixth Month Update...finally!

Someday when I actually get good internet, I'll start blogging more. Hopefully that will be soon! Anyways, thought I would finally put up some recent pictures of Tristan now that he is six months old. During this past week, he has been pulling up on his hands and knees, looking like he is about to crawl, but then falls back on his tummy and does his super-scooting :) He goes where he wants to go! He has also started "talking" more and he's learned that he has a tongue -- sticking it out and making lots of noises with it. It's really cute to watch and hear -- funny how something like that can be so precious :) Oh, and he is actually going down to sleep at night AND naps without having to be rocked!! Some crying...maybe 2 minutes worth...but it's finally happened! Just like the doctor told me -- "He'll figure it out on his own in his own time". It's funny though -- I'm already missing rocking him! He actually woke up screaming last night at 10:00 (not sure why), so I was quick to pick him up and rock him -- I'll take the opportunity when I can! Anyways...enjoy the pictures!


His sixth month picture with the bear.


His new favorite thing to eat...paper...yuck...


He's precious...but also emotional...can you tell?!


The swing + outside = happy Tristan (for a while...)


He woke up the other morning like this -- one arm in, one arm out. I just don't ask. And yes, he did have an "accident" -- time to go up in diaper size!


He's just so happy!


In "jail" but happy :)

What is so important about September 5th?

No, it's not because it is the day before Labor Day. I mean, I only work three days a week, Monday not being one of them, so it's not like a big holiday to me anyways :) But September 5th is important to us for two reasons, one bittersweet and one wonderful:

1) It marks the one year anniversary of us returning to America from being overseas. We have enjoyed being back and we know our families have enjoyed us being back, but there is a sadness knowing that we have been back a year already. It is so hard to believe that a year has gone by since we have seen our former teammates, our former fellowship members, our Asian friends, ate (real) Asian food, etc. At the camp where we are currently living, there is a Korean group here for the weekend. Tristan and I went for a walk this morning and several of the elders came by and ohhed and awwed over Tristan, and it just reminded me of being in Asia. We miss our teammates and wish we could have met their baby girl who is 5 weeks younger than Tristan, but we know they are continuing the work and it is our job to pray for them daily. Someday, whether for a week, a month, a year or more, we hope to return to Asia.

2) Today is Tristan's six month birthday! We cannot believe that he is already 1/2 a year old! Will his whole childhood go this quickly?!?! He is such a joy...an exhausting joy...but a joy :) We will get his picture with the bear tomorrow, so I plan on blogging more then about him being six months old. I absolutely love having a baby boy -- he is so much fun! I wouldn't mind having another boy...but I know his daddy needs a girl eventually :) We'll see what Father has in store for us!

Sorry for being so behind on my blog. We don't have good internet at our house right now, so I may be slow for the next month. Hopefully when we move, we'll have better internet. But until then, enjoy my sporadic blogs :)

Five months picture

5 months!

Wow! Tristan is already five months old! There will be no picture -- at least not yet -- but I'll post one soon. We don't have internet at our house anymore and we probably won't until we move in the next few weeks. Anyways, I can't believe how much he has grown in the past couple of months. He is really starting to learn about and explore his surroundings. Some fun info:

- He's wearing 3-6 months clothes and size 2 diapers. Guessing he is around 15 lbs or so.
- Naps are not great still, but he can fall asleep on his own at night now! I'm so proud of him! He still wakes up anywhere from 4-6 in the morning, but he goes to bed at 7:00, so what can I really expect?! But I wouldn't change it -- I love being able to spend the evening alone with my husband :)
- No solid foods yet and only has had one bottle of formula (emergency in the church nursery :) -- but doesn't really enjoy the bottle (he's a little spoiled, I guess :)
- He is rolling everywhere now and trying his hardest to crawl. He can get up on his knees but hasn't figured out the arms and hands yet. It will be soon, though, I think!
- He loves his jumper! He jumps around like crazy now.
- He loves swimming in the pool and just being outside. He also loves golf cart rides here at camp.
- His favorite game to play is peek-a-boo and he does it all by himself! He will put something over his face, then wait for you to say "Where's Tristan?", then he will pull it down from his face and smile. Then we do it over and over. It is funny when I walk in the room, and he is laying on the floor, arms moving and legs kicking, with his stuffed puppy over his face, waiting for me to say "Where's Tristan?" -- he's a smart boy!
- He will go on his first long car trip (7 hours one way) to visit my mom's side of the family (and will meet his 3 month old cousin, Laine!) -- the car trip should be interesting...
- He has a temper (a big one!), but he also has the sweetest personality.
- He loves to stare at people -- he will look at you like you are the first human being he has ever seen.
- He takes in EVERYTHING!

There is probably more, but I have a head cold and it's late, so I'm stopping there. Will post a picture of my handsome boy soon!

Four Month Appointment and Swimming!

Yesterday we Tristan's four month appointment. We were so curious to see how much he has grown! At two months, his stats were 10.8 lbs (23%) and 23 inches (55%). Now, he has grown to 14.7 lbs (31%) and 26 inches (80%)! Long and lean! His head measurement is at the 55% so at least something is average :) The doc was very pleased with his development. Tristan LOVED the paper on the table that he had to lay on. He just kicked like crazy! Thought about buying some of that to bring home for him ;) Much cheaper than some other things! Tristan got an oral vaccine as well as two shots, one in each leg. The first didn't seem to phase him, but during the second, it seemed to hit what was happening, and he didn't like it at all! But, the crying/screaming didn't last long, thank goodness. He seemed very content when we got home. Played for a while and seemingly happy. Then...while was cooking dinner, I had him in there with me, he started to get whiny, but everytime I paid attention to him, he got very giddy and giggly. I picked him up and took him to the other room and he just got incredibly giggly -- more than I've seen before :) It was so funny. Then, he started giggling, crying, giggling, crying, back and forth. Finally, full-out cry. We weren't sure if it was just because he was tired or if it was because of the shots, so we decided to take a bath. We knew that if he enjoyed his bath, he was just tired. Sad to say, he just laid in the bathtub, not kicking or playing at all, so we came to the conclusion it was the shots :( He quickly went to bed, but today, he seems pretty much like normal :)

The other day, one of the camps left some kiddie pools, so we took one for Tristan. We filled it with water and had Tristan try it out. It was a little cold, so he didn't stay in too long. Next time, we will warm it up a little somehow :)

Here are some random pictures of Tristan:


Found this basket and thought a picture in it would be cute -- I was right! :)


Isn't he beautiful? Or handsome, I guess is the better way to ask it :)


When he first got in -- wasn't so sure!


Starting to enjoy it :)


There's a grin!


Nate's grandparents sent Tristan some birthday money, so we went out and bought Tristan something that someday he might really enjoy and keep him busy for longer periods of time! Right now, he's not so sure about it. It is a lot to take in! We found this at a consignment store, then saw the same thing at Babies R Us for twice the price, so we felt good about the consignment store price. We are frugal ;)

video

Facebook won't let me post videos for whatever reason, so here is a cute video :)

Four Months Old!

On July 5, Tristan turned four months old! Time is flying by so fast! He has really become a lot of fun lately -- with smiles, laughs, giggles, and learning all sorts of new things. Here are some facts about this past month:
* Have no idea how much he weighs -- appt is on the 14th.
* He is starting to outgrow his 0-3 months clothes and starting to wear his 3-6 month clothes! So many cute things to wear!
* When he wakes up in the morning and I go in there to get him, he smiles and giggles :)
* Dirty or wet diapers don't bother him one little bit.
* He has good nights and not-so-good nights. He hasn't slept 11 hours straight in quite a while, but we are hoping he will get back on track soon!
* He is starting to reach out to you if you hold your hands out to him to pick him up.
* He often wakes himself up from naps by rolling over onto his back :)
* Somehow he moves in circles around his crib while he sleeps.
* He has a strong personality -- loves to smile and laugh, but also can throw temper tantrums!
* He loves to be around people -- definitely a people person!


Four month picture with the bear -- I love his dimples!


When he peed in his bed and thought it was so funny...


Learning how to use the jumper!


Isn't he the cutest?!


Playing on his walker -- he has a short attention span at this point, so this didn't last too long :)