Kindergarden this Fall!

I can't believe he's starting school next fall! I'm so proud of you Boogie! Your going to be the nicest, funniest, smartest kid in school! I know you will be a star!

finally got to be spiderman for halloween! And I got my 'upside-down kiss' :)
~<3

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So, for the last 4 days, Tristan has been at home "taking care of Sissy" for me. He has a couple behavior issues each day, but I think it's just because he's getting used to having someone else taking care of him. Grandma Laura tells me what he's having difficulties with, but also boasts about his good behavior, too. So, I praise him for being a good boy, and talk to him calmly about whatever it is that he is doing that is disrupting the harmony. He understands most of what I'm refurring to, since his memory of his actions is short term, but at night, I'm trying to get him to tell me about his day. A lot of it is jibberish, but I DO understand a good deal of it. He's making me so proud!
~<3

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Tristan and cousin Aiden
"arrg! we be pirates!
~<3

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My Dude

We had "Mommy & Tristan" time and went to an arcade. The games turned out to be lame, but we went shopping instead and I bought him a 'Cars' umbrella that he picked out and a few pieces of candy. It was good quality time, anyway.

He's 5th in line to start preschool, and I'm trying to get him into karate and swim classes, too. Oh, he's going to LOVE it!! He made a friend with the little neighbor kid and they talk about bikes a lot. Tristan really wants to get his bike up here so they can ride around in the cul-de-sac together. Even though the weather is getting wetter, I think it would be fun to get Tristan some rain gear and warm sweaters so he can go splashing in the rain sometimes. I loved that when I was a kid.

A new beginning

So, here we are. At Grandma Laura's house. Tristan instantly knew who she was. He seems comfortable here, and enjoys his cousin Aiden's company. They fight a lot, but boys do that. His Papa Ron is one of his favorite people. And his love for Aunt Bermmy (my sister Brittany) is heartwarming. He'll sit and watch Aunt Arianna play her DS for hours. He seems to go through stages of defiance, but with Papa's help, he's learning not to tell me no and not to yell at me anymore. He's so protective of his sister, like a guardian angel, there whenever she needs him.
He seems unfazed by the major event that brought us here. I know he's probably missing the old routines and familiarity and comfort of what we left behind, but I don't think he's devastated, like I feared he would be. He's stronger than I am. He's always telling me he loves me and that I'm his best friend. I need that, and I know he knows that I do. The "man" in my life. My TristanBoy!

My Lovey

Tristan is going through this stage where he's trying to see who is the boss by being argumentative and defiant. Time outs and corner time and taking away toys and games is not working! The whole time he's on time out he's screaming, "let me go!! No time out!" I tell him, "be quiet or you will be there longer" and he just keeps yelling. 4 minutes could easily turn into a half hour before he's quiet for a full time out. I'm such a softy, it never goes longer than maybe 6 or 7 minutes. No wonder he's so hardheaded, because I'm softhearted *giggle*. I know he'll grow out of this soon. But it seems like a long time from now. He'll do something totally naughty, and then give me the sweetest smile and ask for hugs and kisses. My little irresistible lovey :) And he now knows his ABCs!!!

Big Guy

I can't believe he's going to be four soon. He is talking a lot clearer and understanding more, too. Although, he does talk back and tells us "no" all the time, he has a great sense of humor. He does things that crack me up, like when I told him to put his underwear on, he put it on his head and said "a hat". Hahaha!! He has problems with his bathroom habits. Going #2 is a battle for all of us. But we're working on it. He has a VSmile, now. After just a couple days of playing it, I can already see what he's learned. He names colors, and even tries to spell his name! I just know that this year is going to be FULL of new and exciting milestones met! HAPPY NEW YEAR, Tristan boy!

Thinking of Tristan

I should have asked for the tooth they pulled. Even if it was broken. I should have kept the clip from his umbilical cord. *sigh* It's too late now. I think I'm gonna take the plastic off this mattress today. It's been 2 months since he peed the bed. Maybe longer, but that's how long I'm certain of. He doesn't like the plastic, so he gets up in the middle of the night and sleeps on the couch, in bed with us, or even on the floor. He just doesn't like it. I'll fold it up and keep it just in case.

3 1/2

No way. I just can't believe he's already 3 1/2 years old. His feet are big, his eyes are big, he's so tall, and he's getting better at talking. He's very polite, asking "please" and saying "thank you" and "sorry" when he hurts someone. He asks "you awite, mama?" when I get hurt. Imitating everything he sees and hears, I know now is a crucial time to teach him how to talk. He's more willing to say a word back that we ask if he can say. And we're 2 numbers away from counting to 10! He forgets 4 and 6 sometimes, but he's getting really good! He recognizes the difference between numbers and letters, and knows half the letters in his name! He's learning colors, so far his favorite is "gweem". You should see him play video games! he's better than I am at some of them! Sometimes, Tristan, Dada, and I will play 3 player games with him, and he LOVES it! And what a good brother he is! Running to her every time Lilly cries; "Don't cwy, baby, here I come!". He likes to play with her, and show off to make her laugh. Even lets her pull his hair! Kissies to baby every night, and if he doesn't get to kiss her, he's upset and refuses to quiet down and go to sleep until he gets to. And every morning, he comes in and sings "Good Morning, Beautiful" to her with me. He calls her "Baby" because he doesn't like saying 'L's (they come out sounding like 'Y's). My sweet son...

This boy can be so naughty!! Living in an apartment with a 3 1/2 year old is awful! I have to be more strict about noise. I find myself losing my temper when he screams his little head off because it's bedtime and he'd rather play games. Dada and I are learning how to work together to keep things as mellow as possible. When I lose it, he steps in to take over with a cool, soothing tone and when he's reached his limit, I step in with a fresh, new temperament. But most of the time, he looks at me with those big blue eyes and says "I You, Mama. I You" (I Love You). My heart melts and I fall in love with my son again and again. He's not as snuggley any more, and he's more rowdy and obnoxious, but he's still my Snookydoos.

Stitches

A week after Tristan gets 4 silver crown on his molars and his chipped tooth pulled (1 stitch), he's back in a hospital! This time, he got 3 stitches in his chin. We were at Meldrum Bar (sp?) park and Tristan was climbing up the ladder to the slide when his shoe slipped and he slammed his chin into the metal step! I was RIGHT there! I even shot a couple quick pictures as he reached the top. The baby was swinging softly beside me and I was headed towards the ladder to climb up behind him when he fell! I was 2 steps away!! I feel so guilty! My FIL rushed us to the E.R. where Tristan was stitched up. We'll only be going to PLASTIC parks from now on.

Ladder of Terror

A quick snapshot of him reaching the top from the middle of the slide My poor baby boy!

MY son!

America's Most Beautiful Babies book 2008

Dental Victory

My first post is about my recent victory. After a long wait, a lot of calls, and hours on hold, with help from the Lord, Tristan has been given an appointment for his much needed dental work. There happen to be two cancellations that day, and they failed to even put Tristan in the line up. I called on the right day! One of my molars broke a few days ago and I was calling for my self too. Anyway, he just needs a quick check up by Dr. Lubkin, and she signs the papers saying he's healthy enough for the ante... anna...sceptic... septic...??? It's one of those words I can't even say :-b Unfortunately, it's scheduled on the day my cousin Stephanie's wedding. :-/ If we gave up this slot, we would have to wait another YEAR! I'm a nervous wreck thinking about him being in the same place I was today. I had drills in my mouth, cotton, suction, the works. At least (?) he'll be unconscious (?) I think(?). He was all I could think of while they were working on my mouth.

Title Change

I realized There really wasn't a clear difference in this blog and my MommyA85. I'm leaving that one simply because "MommyA85" is my 'trademark' name, I guess. It's my E-mail at Yahoo, so I also use it on Facebook. MommyA85 will be about Lillian.

Tristan's Birth Story

Comming up on his 3rd Birthday, and having just given birth to his baby sister, I've been reflecting back on Tristan's beginning. I remember I woke up around 11:30 in the morning on March 26th and my water had broken. I called my Husband's pager with our code and waited for him to call me back. Then I called my Aunt K. , who was my coach and also 6 months pregnant with my cousin Tucker, to tell her and wish her a happy birthday. I wasn't having any contractions and I was very calm and relaxed. Jeremy raced home and when he came in, he was excited and rushing around. As we started driving, I calmed him down and suggested we take a backroad route and take our time.We were admitted and for around 30 hours, I tried different things to start the contractions, like walking around the hospital, using a birth ball... It wasn't until I took a warm soak that I felt the first contraction. I was on the way back to the room and I collapsed on my bed and told Jeremy to go get the Dr. for the Epidural. I got the epidural drip, and a Patocin drip. (Patocin causes contractions). A couple hours later, I called my Aunt again and she came to the hospital. She told me how to push and when to push. She directed me and walked me through it so that all I had to really focus on was what I was watching in the mirror. A comfortable voice easily guiding me along and hearing my Husband tell me how good I was doing and telling me he loves me. At 3:31 am, our son was born. Jeremy cut his cord and was the first to hold him while I called my Grandma K.and Jeremy's parents. When I first held Tristan in my arms, I looked him in the face and said "Hi, Tristan. I'm your mama." And I couldn't stop the tears.I still tear up sometimes when I look at him.

My Birthday

Well, I just turned 23 yesterday. My sisters E-mailed a "Happy Birthday" to me via MySpace, and so did one of my 'cafemom' friends. My dear Gramma sent one through my yahoo address with a sweet fwd called "hugs". My Aunt A. sent me a card a few days ago, and yesterday, she and my other Aunt K. (and baby cousin) took me out to Panera (soup & sandwiches) and we took it back to A.A.'s where we got our grub on, caught up (since we haven't seen each other in over a long time) and I seen my cousin Tim (who is about 9 months younger than me) for the first time in many years!! And I met my cousin Stephanie's fiance, David. He's really nice and easygoing. It was so so nice to see these family members again who mean so much to me! When I got home, I tried to relax (although this is a hard thing to do with my almost 3 year old running wild). Hubby forgot, but this morning he apologized and said "happy late birthday". Well, you can't win them all, right? He DID give me a book I've been wanting last week....

about giving birth again...

Well, I spent a few hours watching Youtube videos of women giving birth. After the second or third video, Tristan came out of his room and came and sat in my lap. At first, I tried to quickly shut the video off, but it was too late, and he seen a little baby come out and give it's first cry. I tried to change the screen, but he gave out a yell, "again!?" and I, hesitantly, started a less graphic video of a different birth. He was intrigued! We watched a few more videos and he started saying "WOW!" when the baby came out and kept repeating "again?" So, I just kept looking up different birth videos. I came accross one where the woman was having a home birth and her little boy was there, too. I was flabbergasted! "Do some women actually find this to be a HEALTHY thing for their child?" and after reading her comment, (she said her son WANTED to be in the room and was very interested and that it helped him transition from being an only child to having a sibling) I wasn't so appauled. How different was THAT compaired to what I was doing right now. My little boy was watching baby after baby be born and some of these videos were close ups, and very graphic. He was thrilled to see it every time! "Interesting" I thought. So, I picked one that showed the mommy in labor for a few minutes, and she was crying and screaming a little, and I started saying, "Push, mama! Push! Here it comes! See? There's the baby! The mama's peepee... and... THERE IT IS!!!" and he cheered and said "WOW!! BABY!!!" and we clapped for the woman in the video as she held her baby for the first time. Even now, as I type this, he's asking to see more babies be born "baby, again?" I'm now debating a new option I never even consitered before: Should we bring Tristan with us to the hospital when I go into labor? Hmmm...

You can help

You can!
You can Feed the hungry.
You can Help fight cancer.
You can Provide care for needy child.
You can Encourage reading.
You can Save the Rainforest.
You can even Help a dying animal.

All of this ^ you can do for FREE. It only takes 75 SECONDS a day.If you ever thought, "I wish I could really make a difference in the world"Now is your chance.

Go to: www.thebreastcancersite.com and just click to give. That's it! Just a click on the 6 buttons on each of the pages. (tabs on top of the screen):

Hunger
Breast Cancer
Child Health
Literacy
Rainforest
Animal Rescue

So, go. Make a difference in the world. Put this address on your favorites list and visit every day (it's even my homepage).

What I Do In Paradise

I get up every afternoon around 12:00, 12:30. Jeremy leaves for work at 12:30 and gets home at 11:00 so, our sleeping schedule is very backwards. Tristan and I will eat breakfast while Daddy gets ready for work and we'll brush our teeth. Then, I'll put on some cartoons for the boy, and I'll do my blogs and e-mail for about an hour. Next, I clean the livingroom and Tristan usually helps me. I'll get some crayons and paper for Tristan to draw while I read "what to expect when your expecting". Soon, he finishes his pictures and after I put them on the fridge or on his wall, I'll read a book to him. Most of the time, I'm really tired after all this so, we'll take a nap together. When we wake up, it's lunch time. We'll then play nentendo games together, or watch a movie on the couch together. After the movie, Tristan helps me do the dishes and clean the kitchen. He is such a big helper. Then, we'll probably go check the mail or play outside for a half hour or hour if it's nice out. Most days we just play in his room though. I'll try to straiten his room up while we play. Afterwords, we read another book, but this time I try to get him to mimic reading. We'll have a little snack and watch Baby Einstein and I get him to say what he's seeing (duck, dog, cup...). Then he usually wants to play his favorite video game (Starfox Adventures) and I'll help him a little or write letters or read a book, you know, mommy stuff. I'll get the dinner things ready and we play hide and seek or Tickle Monster or chase around the table until daddy gets home. I'll start Dinner while Daddy gets his time to soak up some Tristan lubbins. Usually, Jeremy will finnish dinner and after we eat, Tristan gets a bath while I clean the Bathroom. We do "down-time" stuff like watching movies or reading books or playing video games. Around 2:30, Tristan gets put to bed and Jeremy and I talk about our day and things like that until Tristan stops getting out of bed. Then, I take a bath/shower and go to bed. Jeremy gets his bath/shower, and he'll come to bed. The next day, pretty much the same thing. Might seem boring to most people, but to me, this is paradise.