The Tale of a Tired Boy

Before I tell you the tale of a tired boy I'll tell you a happier tale...One that starts with a husband and dad coming home to his family. Yes, Paul returned a little over a week ago and Tristan and I couldn't be happier. When he came home, I have to admit I was completely selfish with his time and had planned several things for us to do. The first thing I wanted to do was to have a walk/picnic with him in a new park I had discovered. It's my new favorite place as it has beautiful gardens, calming fountains, plenty of paths to discover and best of all it's in the quaintest little town(around every corner is seems to be a cafe with a gelato shop). So, we packed a lunch and had our picnic. Our first few days were very much like this, very relaxed, not so productive, but oh so nice just to have our family back together again. Since then we have gotten back to normal life, found out some new news, and dealing with new joys and pains.

I won't keep you in suspense any longer because I know your dying to know our new news. Lucky for you I'm one who has a difficult time keeping good news (or news at all) in...so the news is...we're expecting. That's right, Pauls momentous home coming was a little more productive than I let on. Our second little one will be coming soon, and little Tristan will have a little playmate before he knows it. Oh now, come pick your jaw off of the floor-I'm not really serious. I was just kidding. That's not the news at all. The real news is that Paul has to go back to the states for some training(about 6 weeks at Maxwell Air Base in Alabama), and so I decided that this would be a good time to see family and friends in Rochester. So, I soon will be returning to NY and hoping to see many of you!

The proud Papa with his little man(if your wondering what he's doing with his hand-he's sucking his thumb)

As much as I would like to say that this posting is all about the joys of having my husband home, you can tell by the title though, that it isn't the case. In this blog I will tell you a tale of a boy named Tristan, who is a fierce fighter and nightly battles the awful beast named Sleep. These battles sometimes go on for hours (this past Saturday he battled sleep for almost 9 hours). Sleep wasn't always the dreaded foe (you may remember that this is the same Tristan that used to sleep through everything and sleep for hours), but now (daily) the boy comes out of the crib with war wounds (scratches abound his sweet little face). Recently the battle between sleep and Tristan has become more fierce-as I am really trying to establish a pattern of him sleeping in his crib (I almost feel like that word-the "c" word must be spoken in hushed tones around Tristan as he dreads going inside and reacts as if he's being sent to the gas chamber. Today seemed to bring me back three months ago, when Tristan was brand new and I was often sleep deprived. These days I pray more than ever that Tristan will just get used to the crib and stop this daily battle. This tale hasn't ended yet, but hopefully it will end on a high note(with a son who wakes up with a smile on his face -in his crib no less). I could go on and on, but I'll bring my woes to a halt and show you the pictures that accompany this sad tale. I'm sure you'll think they are much more entertaining.

Here is Tristan just starting to show how tired he is (when he is tired he lifts up his legs but becomes too tired to roll over).

The second sign of exhaustion, he starts to suck on anything and everything(the first thing is often his fingers).

And of course, the notorious yawn.

His motions become slowed.

There's more sucking, and the eyelids begin to sag.

There's an abundance of funny faces(as he tries to show me that he is NOT tired).

This is one of the biggest tell tale signs of exhaustion-he can't lift his head.

Soon he gets to the point where he can only keep one eye opened.

His eyes are heavy, oh so heavy. He tries to hide it, but now there's no disguising it!

His head is now bobbing and eyelids are struggling to stay open.

Now he looks at me, and pleads with me(in a language only his mother knows) "Please Mom, please don't put me in the crib!"

In the end, I take this poor boy into the crib and then start the tears.

I hope this blog didn't sound too depressing or like a mother filled with self pity. I only ask one favor of all you readers out there...If you have any tips on getting your little one to bed(in the crib, I have no problems getting him to fall asleep in my arms or in my bed) PLEASE send them!

We're So Happy...

After two months of training in the states, Paul is finally coming home. Tristan and I couldn't be happier. After ruining two outfits from explosive blow outs the little guy was feeling pretty content(I wish I could say he understands that Daddy is coming home tomorrow, but I'm sure that's not the case). Here's a few pictures to show the progression of his happy state.




Our New Best Friend: I introduced Tristan to this little elephant in hopes that it would aid in his development and in turn it has been a great way of entertaining him. Our ward is so spread out that I used to dread driving to members homes (b/s Tristan would be crying in the back seat), but now because of this little elephant Tristan is content and I'm not frazzled.

This past week Tristan was able to fit into this sweater, which made me especially happy.

But, cuter than the sweater is the baby mohawk he's sporting. How great is that! His hair just grows straight up.

Check out this little guys face. What a character. I took the picture in hopes to capture his mohalk in this picture as well. It's a little dark, but if you look you can get a glimpse of it under his hood.

Spring Is Here!

I'm glad to say that spring is finally here! At least I think it is (watch we'll get a snowfall tomorrow and I'll have to eat my words) . Recently, just getting out and enjoying the scenery(and nice weather) has been such a treat. As I drive to the gym everyday, I pass the most amazing fields of yellow flowers. It reminds me of the Provencal fields that are filled with lavender.
For some reason, one day as I was driving past the fields they reminded me of the field of poppies in The Wizard of Oz (in my head I could hear the Wicked Witch of the West saying "poppies, poppies"-you know what I'm talking about-in that drawn out way...). Maybe I was delirious when this thought came to me. Are poppies even yellow? Do they even grow like this? Please let me know, and don't worry-you wont offend me if (or when) you inform me that I'm totally off my rocker.

Since spring is here and the weather has been beautiful, I have been out walking and exploring more than ever. Tristan is a real sport as he is perfectly content being in his little carrier for a good portion of the afternoon. Our little town has so many cute little shops and is genuinely one of the nicer towns around here. My favorite place to frequent is a florist shop just minutes from our house that is owned by a husband and wife, whom are always helpful and also speak excellent English. My favorite days are the ones when I pick up flowers. I have found that I absolutely love to have fresh flowers in the house and would sacrifice numerous things just to have fresh flowers on a daily basis. My neighbor was shocked that my husband "allows" me to buy flowers on such a regular basis. Thanks Paul, I really appreciate it-it definitely makes me a happy woman to have such beautiful things around. The picture below is of the bouquet I most recently purchased. I'm always a sucker for tulips, they're my favorite!

The most recent development on the baby front is that Tristan has discovered his toes. This has become his favorite position, and he'll stay this way until he rolls over and his face is buried into the carpet or whatever it may be he's laying on. I always get a kick out of him doing this.

The view from the front. You can see he is on his way to pulling off his socks.

He does it everywhere-the bouncer, the swing, the floor, the bed...

This picture has no specific significance, I just liked the fact that he's showing off his wide eyed stare.

He's still sucking his thumb, and doing it int the oddest places!

One last picture to show that Tristan is just as excited about spring as I am!

What We've Been Up To

Let's be honest, I haven't been up to much at all (the same old routine of working out, shopping, hanging out with the boy...) but the little one-WOW how he's growing. This first picture shows how Tristan is becoming more and more vocal. This should come as no surprise (look who his parents are), but boy is it funny. He is ever talking or trying to talk, and occasionally he lets out a little shout. Last night on several occasions as I was preoccupied talking to my next door neighbor, he let out several little shouts as to say "Hey Mom, stop talking and look over here at me!"


Besides cooing (or rather shouting) Tristan has been preoccupied with his hands. He has discovered his thumb and as awful as this sounds, I'm kind of happy about it. Let me explain: As Tristan becomes tired he needs to suck on something to put him to sleep(I'm sure this is somewhat normal), but unfortunately for us too often he can't keep that blasted pacifier in his mouth and I find myself constantly looking for the pacifier and then putting it back in his mouth. Well with him discovering his hands, I'm hoping that he will be able to lull himself into sweet slumber and say goodbye to his past problems that came with the pacifier.

Here's a picture of what happens most times-he can't actually find his thumb and he jams his whole fist in his mouth. Its real attractive, the boy looks like he's famished and is about to snarf down one of his limbs.

This picture just shows how big he's getting. Oh how I love these "fat and happy" pictures. For more on the "fat and happy" pictures, see the overflow blog (I can never fit all the pictures I want in one posting-if you know how to do this, please let me know).

This picture is a little dark, but it displayed the last aspect of Tristan that is changing-his hair! This little guy still has the duck fuzz hair, but it is growing straight up and often looks like he's got a little buzz cut. It's so funny and often I'm tempted to indulge myself and accentuate his spikes with a little gel. Don't worry Paul I have plenty of self control!

The Overflow

the overflow : (meaning the pictures I couldn't fit on the first posting, but these first two pictures could also be linked with another kind of overflow...) This first pictures will forever remind me of Tristan's enormous accident in the IKEA parking lot. This little white (karate looking) outfit was in Tristan's diaper bag since he has been born(I know, I know-it would have been HUGE on him way back when he was born)-as the emergency outfit. Well, this past week it sure came in handy when Tristan woke up from his long nap and was ravenous with hunger. As I fed him in the IKEA parking lot(don't worry I haven't assimilated to European culture that fast-I fed him in the car), I heard and felt a little explosion. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Well to say the least the aftermath of the explosion/bombing was enough to require a whole new outfit (if we were at home a bath would have been necessary as well). So here is the happy boy in his fresh new outfit. I look at that happy face and like to imagine he's thinking something like "Aw (sigh of relief), clean buns. There's nothing like it!"

This isn't the clearest picture, but another picture reminiscent of an overflow incident-or another little bombing. I love this little outfit. I call it his monkey suit, for the fact that this full body sweater made him look like just that-a little monkey. I realized that he was quickly growing out of it and so I wanted to get one last use out of it. Unfortunately, yesterday just as I donned the full body sweater, he let it rip and stopped my momentary gladness right in its tracks. By the time the little monkey suit comes out of the wash, I'm sure it will be too small(it was already on its way out)-too bad his last time wearing it, it was only on him for a few minutes!

This is simply a picture of the boy in the morning at his chubbiest. This is always my favorite time-when Tristan is "fat and happy". Tristan often is in the "fat and happy" state when he wakes up because he has feasted all night long (in the day he tends to snack and then at night he really goes to town). I really love how huge his face gets, check out that bulging belly as well!

Another picture of this little guy and his big eyes.

This last picture I had to put in for the simple fact that it reminded me soo much of his dad. When I look at this picture all I can see is Paul. It's funny how I can picture Paul making this same face. What do you think? Can you see it?

Rub A Dub Dub...

Can you tell I enjoy bath time? This time I enjoyed giving Tristan a full head of hair and a full suit (made of bubbles of course). He's such a sport about the whole thing.
Before putting him in the tub (or the sink rather), he donned his little towel and I couldn't help but think he looked as if he was going to a toga party. Granted he doesn't look as good as Adam (Holmes) because well...Tristan's is blue (not too authentic), but I got a good laugh out of it.

I don't want you to get the wrong impression. Tristan is NOT scared. He's just a man of many faces, and this one is just one he makes in the tub sometimes. This is actually the "your hands are too cold to be washing me down there" look.

This is the full body shot. Next toga party, this guy is ready!

This is the last of the bath pictures. Everyone always says "what big eyes he has!" well they never see him in the tub. Too bad it looks like I'm giving him a rectal exam.