A Dip in the Sink

Sooo, my daughter has recently decided that she all of a sudden HATES having a bath....she will take a shower with me or daddy, but HATES having a bath! So, last night, we had both kiddos resort back to the sink bath like when they were wee babies. It was fun, it renewed her love of baths, and well,,,,it was cute.

16 months

My little boy is 16 months...2 months shy of a year and a half...wow has it flown by. He is 31 lbs and is 38 inches tall...yes, he grew AGAIN!~ He is so amazing to us. Learning new things every minute. I love his personality and how amazingly sensitive he is. He is such a big boy. He reminds me of my childhood dog Max. Max was a HUGE Great Dane that thought he was a lap dog, now, I am not saying my son is like a dog...merely that he doesn't know his own size. Tristan will bowl over other children his age, completely unintentional and with a look of, "wow, what just happened?" on his face. We read this book to him and Trinity called Leo the Late Bloomer...that is my Tristan. He is in no hurry to get anywhere, taking his time and enjoying this ride we call life.

He is walking full time now, like an old drunken man, weebling and wobbling all over the place, occasionally he will run into something and decide it is easier and safer to walk, but mostly walking. He loves to scale furniture. He is getting really good at it. I took the stool out of Trinity's bathroom since he was using it to try and get in the sink, so, he takes the basket containing the tub toys, dumps it out, flips it over and pushes it to the sink as his make shift stool...smarty pants. He says "Joo joo" for juice (or any drink for that matter), Mama like crazy, and Deh Deh for Dada. He was saying Neenee for Trinity, but has since stopped...we are thinking it will come back later. He does say his name, when you say "Where's Tristan" he says with excitement "DIDAN!" it is so freaking cute.

He is still nursing strong, I think we will have another late weaner like Trinity. He has decided that he likes nursing to sleep now, so, if we are not in the car, that is how he does it. I don't mind at all...gives us a chance to really reconnect at night. Trinity has been sneeking back into our room to sleep too...so, the both of them end up all intertwined with one another...a cute thing to see for sure. Which leads me to our next news. We just bought Tristan a new bedroom set. Since, he NEVER sleeps in his crib, we sold his baby furniture and opted for big boy stuff. It is beautiful. Navy Blue cottage style, Bunk Bed and dresser. We picked the Twin over Full with a trundle, so, if sister wants to sleep in there with him she can. She loves being with him. They have thier moments like any siblings do, but she cares so much about him as he does her. I will post pictures of the room when it is all set up!

The poor guy has been working on getting his eye teeth,,,,SUCKS. He is a mess. I hope that they push through soon, for everyones sake LOL. Otherwise, what a fun, happy, messy, and cute baby to be around.

Patience

We all need it, we all learn about it slowly, and if you have children....well then, PATIENCE is a whole new ballgame. Trinity has been going through a new phase where she has become a bit impatient, which, results in ME becoming a bit impatient LOL. I am trying to figure out the best way to teach her this very important virtue, but in the quest have found that I need to learn more patience too. I remind myself (at the end of the day while staring at her peaceful sleeping face) that she is only 4 years old. Just 4...think about what happens to us in 4 years...alot, but we have a lifetime of experiences to assist us in dealing with it all...4 is her lifetime!!!



So, whenever there are those "I don't understand why MY CHILD is acting like this" moment I urge everyone to think in terms of a lifetime of years...and how LITTLE your child has been on this earth. Give them slack, don't push too hard, relax and bend a little...at the end of the day, all that matters is that they are healthy, happy and loved.

I think all too often people are all consumed with how their child is going to behave that they miss the learning experience in it all. They are going to make mistakes, they are going to fail, they are going to make messes and be loud....don't judge, be understanding, give them a safe environment to succeed and all will be as it should. Nothing saddens me more than the mom or dad that is so consumed with training or programming their child that they become this walking program of their design, lacking individual quirkiness that makes us all who we are. The parent thinks "oh, my child is so well behaved" when in reality, the child has only done something that makes the parent happy, but not themselves. One day, those children are going to ditch their parents ideals and start forming their own, and hopefully, when that happens, they were given enough love and guidence, not manipulation, to think for themselves.


Wowza, that was a tangent! But, really...have you hugged your child today LOL? Be patient, life is a long process, and we want to allow our children the maximum chance at a loving, healthy life...there is plenty of time to be patient!

When...

Did we all stop caring? We walk amongst one another unaffected, careless, stumbling slowly through this thing we call life. When did we all just give up and go with the motions unemotional? I think about this alot, I know I probably shouldn't since it is very depressing, but, for me, it motivates me even more to give a shit.

During the entire "house fiasco" the leak, the repairs, our doggie getting hurt, financial burdens as a result, flat tires, brakes falling off, taxes increasing, LIFE...we all got pretty down. The kids were affected, more weepy than usually, not as secure or relaxed..Shannon and I were strapped, busy with all that goes along with such a pain in the butt scenario, I think for a minute we all became unaffected. That was the worst few weeks we have had as a family..really. I NEVER yell at my kids and at times, I found myself occasionally going there. I NEVER argue with my husband, but again, we were bickering from time to time, which is SO unlike us.

I have vowed that I never want that to happen again. Everything in our lives become memories. These memories will last with us for a lifetime (we hope) and I only want them to be good ones. This memory, I am hoping to file away in the "Do not read me" folder and forget the entire thing. I am only hoping that I have learned from this that even when life sucks for a minute, it is still MY LIFE and was given to me to live.

Burrito Schmirrito

You know what I hate....what really urks me? When you order a burrito, and you get all your fixings for it, drive home in anticipation that it will be ALL that you want it to be....You sit down, have your lemons and salsa ready, lick your lips and prepare your pansa... take a bite and you get nothing but guacamole and rice....SPREAD IT AROUND LADIES...geesh!

Things I have learned while mothering my "busy" 1 year old boy!

When you take your baby in the bathroom with you, be sure to flush the potty BEFORE you stand up...otherwise, you will be giving a bath sooner than you thought.

Some babies will stick ANYTHING in their mouths, so, PLEASE, close the door to the room where you "hide" the cat box.

Mashed potatoes sting if you get them in your eye.

After a diaper change, be sure to wipe off little "wandering" hands too...because, if they are stuck in YOUR mouth before doing so, lets just say...it tastes like shit.

Baby boys CAN scream just as loud and high pitched as baby girls.

Peas sting if you get them in your eye.

Yes, men have ALWAYS been obsessed with what they have "down there", even as babies, and often SEVERAL times per day.

Every boy is born with the ability to make cars go "vroom"...I mean, we never showed him this, yet, somehow, he knows to make the noise and push the cars around.

Ketchup REALLY stings if you get it in your eye.

And lastly, what I have learned the most is this...they are sweet...possibly sweeter than my little girl. A hug from your son is something that melts your heart and washes away any worry that you may have been preoccupied with. They are amazingly gentle and wonderfully caring...I love my busy boy, now matter how much running I do after him.

There's no need to fear......

...UNDERDOG is here!!!

We had a great Halloween, were supposed to go to my parents house, then to his parents house, but ended up staying at ours! It was a good decision, since we had fun seeing all of Trinity's friends in the neighborhood and really scooped up a ton of candy. Trinity wanted to be Underdog this year, so I scrambled to whip up a costume last minute...that's how we roll I guess LOL!

Tristan was a "stray puppy"....Trinity picked that one :) He was wearing a size 2T costume that was too SMALL for him...oy, I have a big boy on my hands!!! I thought the puppy was fitting though since according to Trinity "puppies like to nurse, and so does Tristan."

We also went to my parents house on the 27th for a Festival, which was SUPER fun. Trinity was WonderWoman that day, and, she won 2nd place in the costume contest!! She earned a $10 gift card to Walmart and traded it in on the way home for 2 prizes. Tristan was as happy as ever, even with the teething! Here he is signing his version of "drink". He peirces his lips together and makes a kissing sound...super cute and hard to miss.

Trin competed in her first "Pie Eating Contest"...although, she only wanted to "lick it like a puppy" and didn't really eat any of the pie (don't say I blame her!)

Shannon and I both dressed up this year, he was Otis from The Barnyard Movie, I was a Fairy / Butterfly (just a black outfit and some wings, add a little glitter...viola!)

I think this was my favorite Halloween!! We all enjoyed seeing our neighbors, walking our streets, and enjoying being so close to home...we may just have to make this our new tradition.