What I Want to Remember (1 to 2 Months)

Oh, Tristan. You are growing up way too fast. I knew that would happen, and it stinks! You're such a happy boy. It's hard for me to remember Ella at this age, but both Daddy and I cannot recall her being as happy as you are. (Don't tell her we said that!). You smile all the time, and you go days without crying. Well, unless we ignore your efforts in telling us what you want, that is, then you let it all out. But, if we see what you need and give you what you need, no tears are shed. You're really very mellow. I've said that from the beginning and you haven't proven otherwise...yet.

So, what I want to remember during this month is:

• Your smile! Your amazing little smile. You love to show it off all the time now and it melts my heart every time. When you smile, I smile! How can I not look down at that huge grin and not? You are just too cute.

• You have a screech noise that is really cute that usually means one thing...I'm tired. Either that, or I'm hungry, but usually it's, "Get me comfortable in your arms and let me fall asleep...NOW!" I'd like to think there's a "please" in there, but this noise is pretty demanding. :)

• Your hair is ever-so-slowly coming in. It's dark-ish. Not quite as dark as my hair, but not nearly as light as Daddy and Sister's hair. In the sunlight, it looks auburn, as do your eye lashes, but your eyebrows are clearly blonde. So, your guess is as good as mine as to what your "true" color will be when you get older. Same goes with your eyes. Some days they look more gray than blue, some days more blue than gray. I'm still holding out hope that you'll have blue-ish eyes like Daddy, but you'll be my handsome little guy no matter what!

• You are happiest in the morning and right before bed. I call it your "play" time. I put you on a blanket in the middle of the family room and you just go to town, pumping your legs and arms to and fro, cooing, smiling...it's my favorite time with you. You're just a happy clam. But, as if you're on a timer, you eventually get fussy and it's time to move onto your favorite activity...being held!

• Your grunts are extreme, and sometimes quite embarrassing. People who hear it think you're going potty, and I usually just go along with it, but really, I know you're just "talking."

• You are sleeping better though the night. The first stretch has been consistently 5 hours long. It feels so good to sleep that many hours straight, so keep up the good work little man. However, after that, you are unpredictable and rather difficult. You kinda go back to sleep after your first feeding, but within an hour, your grunts start. You're not grumpy, you're just waking up and moving around. So, I listen and doze off, then listen some more, and doze off. Once the grunts escalate to a point that I know you'll be crying soon, I get up. Sometimes you fall back asleep before you hit that point, so I play the waiting game. So, we do another feeding, at which time you hardly eat anything. Nothing worth waking up for, especially since your diaper is always fine. And this is when Mommy has to be very patient with you. You just don't want to go to sleep after this feeding. So, usually, I bring you into bed with me so I can get a little bit more sleep. However, lately, you don't even want to do that. You just want to be awake! Rise and shine at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. It may seem like a good idea to you, little man, but you'll see someday that it's really not. So, to not keep Daddy up, you and I go in the family room and I try to get you to lay on the couch with me, and when that doesn't happen, I put you in your swing and I lay next to you. This time of the morning is called "trial and error." Eventually you fall back asleep, but that's at the time Sister is about to wake up. You little turkey!

• You are really starting to look at faces, rather than aimlessly at walls. I love when you recognize my face and give me a big ol' smile. You also turn to our voices, even Sister's voice, and it makes me so happy to know you're becoming familiar with us.

• You are doing better in the car seat. You don't scream at the top of your lungs anymore, but you give this look like, "I really, really don't want to go in there." You usually fall asleep, though, and you have no recollection of where we went or how long we were out. Ah, the life of a baby. :)

• You are really starting to grab things now. You held onto your bottle, albeit with closed fists, but I'm sure you'll be holding it for good soon enough. You grab my hair all the time, and you have pulled some of Daddy's chest hair out. Owie! You're always holding onto our hands. If our hands are anywhere near yours, you find them and hold onto them for dear life. Even Sister complains that you squeeze too hard. That's my boy...strong from finger to toe! :)

• You wear solely 3-month clothing. Whenever Daddy accidentally puts newborn-sized clothing on, you are busting at the seams. Your cheeks look bigger than they already are! Speaking of which, you are finally getting rolls on your legs. The cute baby fat is inching its way onto your legs and arms. No more skinny frog legs. We're gonna have some thunder thighs on you in a bit! Nothing like a rolly baby! :)

That's all for now, son. I love you more than you will ever know. You have filled this family with so much happiness. We all had empty Tristan-sized spots in each of our hearts that you have abundantly filled. None of us can imagine life without you. You and your sister are our everything.