Oy, a week's passed already...

We've been bad and not updated in a week, but in our defense, we've been quite busy chasing after a CRAWLING baby! That's right, he's crawling! Just getting the hang of it, so he looks quite cute while doing it... and still likes to crawl backwards first... of course, me being sentimental and thinking about my friend's baby Skyler who likes to crawl to her mommy, I was silly and hoped that he'd crawl straight for me the minute I left his side ... I forgot that we have three much more fascinating things:
1) We have dogs. And sometimes, they like to lay down and sleep... within crawling range
2) Those same dogs have bones... and Watson who's trying to show what good faith he has in Tristan, likes to drop his bones within Tristan's reach...
3) The crib has springs for the side rail (to bring it down)
Oh well...
So quick catch up...
Tristan's teething seems to be coming to an end! He's got a 5th tooth out (and the 6th any day now) - the top left centre one (so that's how many left now???) so he's back to being his happy-go-lucky self again in the evenings (never really changed during the day this time around, so it is getting easier! Yipee!!!) Here are some shots of things he liked to chew on, especially in the evenings when he was really, really itchy...

My pj pants string (while I'm still wearing them!) and my body pillow (it was within grasp)...
So this weekend we visited with Tristan's grandparents pretty much all weekend since the Abuelos are still out of town (but coming home soon!) and his Aunt Tricia surprised us with an incredibly cute (yet very, very tough) outfit... he got to wear it with no jacket or sweater since it was such a wonderfully warm weekend! We reached 20 degrees!!! He also got to show off his sandals that Aunt Kate bought for him (before he was even born) as it was definately sandal weather :-) I think these are my favourite Robeez... And some pictures of him crawling in his room...
"...two hundred and nine... two hundred and ten... hey, new number for how many push-ups I can do mommy!"
Shoulder push-ups! Okay, he's actually moving his feet to try to get up, but can't get the balance with his arms still glued to the floor...
Smile for mommy!
Since he's a pretty good walker he gets it mixed up with crawling, so he'll walk with his feet but try to crawl with his hands (how his brain pieces everything out little by little is just amazing!)
Okay, and to finish the picture show today, I have to say that Tristan sometimes lifts his one arm up and tries to sit from the all-fours position, but is pretty big & heavy, he can't quite get the balance yet, so instead he shows off his incredible strength by balancing on the one arm and turning his body sideways (he's got most of us at the dojo beat!) and sometimes crosses his legs infront of him to balance better... when I went to take this picture, he was originally on all fours, but heard me sneaking up on him, and not only did he turn sideways and cross his legs, but he actually grabbed onto his little thigh to stabilize himself... does he not look just like a perfect little model???
I could just eat him up! Happy Friday everyone!
Love,
Marcy, Will & Tristan

Thank goodness it's FRIDAY!!!

My goodness, we're EXHAUSTED!
Where did the week go?
I meant to update the blog yesterday, but something was funky with Blogger, so I couldn't upload any pictures when I had time, and where's the fun in that???
So catching up on 3 days worth of activities... it's gonna be a long one!
Wednesday evening I sat Tristan in his crib while I folded his diapers, and low and behold, he reached over to the side rail, and lifted himself up to a perfect kneel! Time to lift the side rail while he's in there!!!
You can't help but laugh because he makes the cutest faces ever when he's up!
This is his "Are you sure I can't bite this mom??? Because so far, I've no problem doing it!" look, which is followed by...
"You lookin' at me???"... actually he's just sniffing... but still so cute!Here's him sticking his tongue out for his latest words "NANANANANANA" Lets out a teensy tiny bit of drool while he does that (actually, he's just drooling all over the place period. But it comes out faster this way...)
Speaking of drooling, Tristan's been teething again for about a week (we're so excited because we now consider ourselves Advanced students of the 'when is your baby teething' course. We figured out he was teething pretty much on the day! Not at the instructor level yet, but I think when these puppies pop, we'll be graduating to the next level)
We're not sure which teeth are coming (the two bottom outside the centre ones are supposed to be next) since it looks like we might have two more on top and on the bottom! We see little white points on top, and the gums on the bottom look almost transparent...
We're happy that this time around it's already so much easier... much less bothersome to Tristan than the first 4 (although even the second two took less time and bothered him less), although we're still going through the Camilia (herbal remedy) and Tempra (apparently now is the time to invest in their stock until Tristan's teeth are all in) regularly in the evening... we'll keep you posted!
Wednesday we went to our weekly sing & sign (language) class, and Tristan wore an outfit he got for Christmas (with a sweet little vest)... he's looking so grown up! Anyone has any tips on how to stop them from growing???? ANYONE???
And then yesterday we had a full schedule - we had our weekly "Baby Time" at the library (where we sing songs, hear a story, and do a bit of sign language) and Tristan and I had our first walk there (daddy needed the car), so I put him in the stroller & away we went! The weather was gorgeous, incredibly sunny with a cool breeze (so Tristan wore his jacket and had a blanket covering the stroller) It was a good half hour walk, so I enjoyed some quiet time and exercise (since we've either been too busy in the evenings for me to make it to Karate, or Tristan's been clingy - the only side effect from teething I don't mind!) Tristan missed most of his morning nap before library time, so he enjoyed a nice nap on the way back....
When we got back home from the library we had to finish getting the house ready for our play date! We were hosting the weekly mommy group, and Tristan's friends (and moms) were coming over to watch Happy Feet... I think it turned out pretty well! We had plenty of munchies (I was bad at Bulk Barn...) and most of the mommy group showed up, which of course, good company is always the best part...

AND then today we decided to go to our first Strollercize class (the weather was too gorgeous not to spend it outside!)
It was going to be very warm, and VERY sunny, so we looked through (all of the two) caps this morning to see what Tristan should cover his noggin with...
This one's still a little big... and if you can't read what it says, it says "I didn't do it"... unfortunately I think that hat will finally fit when he can actually say that... eek!
This one fits nicely (snug, but not small yet)... he looks so sweet in baseball caps! Just like his daddy :-) (but sweeter...)
We stopped by Boomerang kids (a consignment store) to buy another hat (just in case he outgrows this one) and some baby sunglasses (he didn't like the bright sun!) and I was bad (again) and bought some more outfits... (and maybe some toys)... in my defense, he has no shorts (and it's supposed to be about 20 degrees tomorrow!) and well... I should not be allowed to enter children's stores without monetary supervision!
Have a great weekend everybody!
Love,
Marcy, Will & Tristan

Tuesday fun...

Hi everyone!
We had a pretty good day today, and mommy was quite productive! On days where she seems to get everything done, she's gotta brag a little :-)
She finally fixed the doggy bed (that Watson had torn a hole through), then made a big batch of pears, and one of chicken and veggies (which now that she's made it again, it's quite yummy!)... then she worked on washing all the new clothes she got at the children's garage sale (sponsored by La Leche League... see the link!) and we got to have fun at our Tuesday playgroup, which we realize we haven't mentioned on here once!
We go (try to once a week) to our local Ontario Early Years Centre for a playgroup called 'Little Treasures', which is a drop in for parents & babies up to 18 months old. We've made some great friends, and more importantly found a great support network amongst us new moms (SO good for days we need to vent!) There's a smaller group of us who now meet regularly once a week, and each one of us host it at our home for the other moms. A mini playgroup, but better (it comes with munchies!) This week we've finally bit the bullet and invited the moms over for a movie! So on Thursday we'll be having our friends over to watch Happy Feet! Hopefully we'll have some pictures of that (so you can meet Tristan's friends!)
Good night!
Love,
Marcy, Will & Tristan

Walking in a Winter Wonderland...

So Abuelita Marcela and Abuelito Pablo left yesterday morning to go South for 2 weeks. They joked about us not needing to clear the snow for them as it'd be gone when they get back... at least I thought they were joking. The only downfall to maternity leave (if you want to call it a downfall) is that you don't pay attention to silly things like news and WEATHER!
So what did I wake up to this morning?!?!
THIS:
Oh well... moving on to the sunny indoors... so we mentioned last time how Tristan's making this absolutely hilarious sniffing noise/face, well, now he gets his whole face scrunched up and it's super cute! Mommy managed to get a picture of it (although it's nothing like when he's doing it in person). He did it all night when we went out for a delicious chili dinner at Aunty Samantha and Uncle Roel's home and had us all in giggles and then yesterday when we had brunch & dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Oliver, nothing. Not a little sniff anywhere. Instead, mommy & daddy spent the day sniffing at him and looking quite silly, which, sorry to say, was not nearly as cute as when Tristan does it! Of course, as soon as we got home, "sniff, sniff"... Oh well...
Here's a sweet shot of my two incredibly handsome guys... aren't I a lucky girl? :-)
On Saturday we (Tristan & mommy) went garage-sale shopping with Abuelita Marcela... looking for pj's and socks, and walked away with some outfits, bathing suits(Spidreman!), sun suits (Superman!), and toys gallore... I'll have to go to a store where they have the toys separated so I can focus on finding those darn socks!
Anyways, one of the toys we found is this table keyboard/drum/guitar/buttony thing toy. Makes lots of musical noises, which may be a headache for some, but for us is awesome as we like to encourage his musical talents :-) Here's a shot of the maestro himself composing his first symphony:

(We have video, but I gotta update the blog daily for my parents so it'll have to wait...)

Oh, the dogs are one of the few who don't mind the snow... especially Watson who LOVES to fetch snowballs! I got a pretty funny picture of him just as he's turning to catch a snowball I threw... it's hard finding a snowball in all the snow... it just blends in! Go figure...

Happy Monday!
Love,
Marcy, Will & Tristan

Catching up on adventures...

So Tristan's still crawling backwards, and picking up speed... it's so cute! He'll get on all fours now and rock back and forth, and he reminds me of those little cars that you run their wheels backwards to get the speed going, put them down and they zoom off... we're just waiting and watching for when he takes off (for now, he mostly just rocks, and sometimes pushes with his back legs and face-plants when he doesn't move his hands!)
We've tried to get it on video, but the other dogs (ahem, Copper!) like to get in the way of the camera sometimes, so when you watch this, keep that in mind (and that Tristan will someday look back at this and hopefully feel joy over watching his puppies hang out with him)...


The eating's also going very well... he's a very efficient eater (sit down, eat, be done) and doesn't often get too messy (although now I've jinxed everything) as he loves eating and doesn't like to waste the yummy food by wearing it... that being said, his mommy does not have the best of aims, and sometimes she puts a spoonful in when she thinks he's opening his mouth to eat when it's actually to sneeze (whoops!) We're learning!

As for new food, he's not a fan of peas when I've made them, but I'm a work in progress... he doesn't mind them when they're from a jar (thanks to his Abuelita and Abuelito for supplying them!) and likes to try to help with the feeding!

I have to admit, me being a person who truly dislikes being dirty, I thought I'd have a hard tme letting him get messy without trying to teach him (ridiculously early) how to do things properly and cleanly... but I haven't! I love to just give him his spoon and dish when he's done eating so he can 'lick the spoon clean'... and we have a fun time cleaning him up afterwards "Mommy makes all these funny noises while she tickles me with a towel and tries to eat my hands with it too!" He's not only brought out my inner child (which wasn't hidden too deeply) but created my inner messy child (mud puddles here we go!)

He loves his butternut squash (yey!) and apples, and we're going to try chicken again this week (Will & I ate about a gazillion bowls of chicken soup when I slightly - 2 large stock pots - made too much soup for Tristan's food) so we're hoping to have a better go at it so we can get meats incorporated in his meals!

A new thing that Tristan's been doing is discovering how to make noises using his nose. Ever since he had that yucky case of the sniffles (aka - the week mommy & daddy poked and prodded at my nose and drove me crazy!) he learned he can breathe with his mouth and make these funny 'hhhh' sounds (like his buddy Nathan) and today he's started sniffing (like his puppies!) and while he does he scrunches up his face in the most adorable manner... I'm just happy that he made human noises before dog noises! You might have to have the volume relatively loud for these videos, as he’s got a little nose, therefore the noises are still pretty quiet (but you can see his cute face scrunching up!)





And to wrap things up, just a few cute pictures (ps - download here)...

(above) Tristan looking very much like a little boy in his overalls (sniff sniff!)

(above) "Mommy this toy is so yummy!"

(above) "Okay, so the wood coloured bits go up to the top, and then I can eat them... right?"

(above) We're not sure if Rocky's asking for a bath (it's been a while) or if he's trying to tell us he's a baby too!

So if April showers bring May flowers, what do April snowfalls bring???

Love,
Marcy, Will & Tristan

Is that a bird???

No, it's a plane!

No, it's SUPER TRISTAN!!!!!

Thanks to Tristan's great uncle John, great aunt Penny and their munchkins for these great pj's!

Love to all,
Marcy, Will & Super T :-)