Change is good, right? We have lots!

So many things are going on with our family.  I still sit here and can't wrap my head around the fact that my baby boy will be 8 months old Sunday!  He is the light of our lives and we just can't get past just how quickly each minute goes by with him.  He is such a blessing.

So I've dealt with the issues of massive explosion diapers long enough.  I'm tired of scrubbing onesies, sheets, socks, pants....you name it and I've scrubbed the disgusting out of it.  Not to mention the amount of diaper rash this poor lil man has had to deal with.  We have been using sensitive disposals and it still never seems to go away.  As of today, we have begun our cloth diapering stash!  We have decided to try to go cloth for many reasons but had a fantastic time tonight at Baby Earth in Round Rock deciding which adorable diapers we will start with.  Wish us luck...I'm thinking we will need it!

Tuesday is our 2 year anniversary!  (Again, where in the world is time going??)  Brent decided to not get me cotton, but to get me metal instead!!!  I finally found the perfect Mommy car...or SUV.  Pictures to come!  We absolutely love it.

Brent has landed a job in Aspen, Colorado and decided to take all of us!!  How awesome is it that we all get to go?  We are beyond excited.  I get to see friends I haven't seen in far too long and they get to meet Brent and Tristan.  Needless to say, now that we have the SUV, Brent and I are both dying to head up already.  We will take some time to relax as well.  It will be nice to get away for a little bit.

Tristan's 7th month included attempting to feed sweet potatoes and once again closed lipped it.  He started crawling like a champ and still won't crawl the traditional way.  The child has the most unique crawl ever.  He began walking, supported of course.  His favorite night time is when he gets to walk between Brent and me.  He always looks back to see if the other person is watching.  When he sees you are, he gets this massive "LOOK AT ME!" smile going.  I bought him a pair of shoes today....SIZE 5!!!  His feet are so big already.  He loves cartoons on during the day, however he doesn't watch until they sing.  Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (aka Mister Rogers), Cat in the Hat and Curious George are just a few of his favorites.  He's almost 22 pounds and I'm dying to see all the changes the next month brings with him walking more and more.

Oh the joys!

There are many MANY times when I feel so utterly blessed to be able to stay home with Tristan.  There are also times when I think back on my days of sitting at work with nothing to do but play family feud and stalk around on Facebook.  Though I'm not "busy" 100% of my day, I feel exhausted by the time Brent comes walking through that front door.  I guess Tristan has had enough of me because from the second he sees Daddy until the time Brent picks him up, solid tears streaming!  This kid LOVES when he sees Daddy coming to get him.  Not only does he get that pure excited smile on his face, but he starts kicking like he wants to just run straight to him!  One day I will be good enough to capture it on camera.  I secretly know (not just think) it is the best 5 minutes of Brent's day EVERY day.  When Tristan gets in Daddy's arms, he begins snuggle hugging him and does not want to let go.  I think it is the absolute cutest thing ever!!

I have officially changed my schedule and will no longer be working until the wee hours of the morning.  I will be able to come home at a some what decent hour and hopefully get Tristan to sleep earlier than 2am!!  I'm not sure who is more excited about this, but I for one and ready to start waking up at a normal time every day again.  Sleep training shall commence soon!!  Stay tuned for updates!

Speaking of sleep, I'm all ears if anyone is willing to share any and all advice.  We find out we are having a baby, pick out the most gorgeous crib, get the brand new crib completely free (which baffled the sales associate at the store) and this child despises, not just hates, to sleep in it!  Yes, we lay him down sleepy yet awake.  Yes, he takes naps in there.  Yes, I have attempted to soothe him and not pick him up and to just cry it out.....he starts screaming, which then makes the damn cats come in our bed trying to get us to 'fix it!'   There are times this adorable little angel only sleeps 10 minute spans in his crib.  Yes, this is one of them.  I just would love a tried and true method for teaching the child he can sleep in his crib and yes he CAN do it for more than an hour at a time.  I feel horrible because some nights he is all warm and cozy under his blanket, yet his cheeks and ears are freezing.  The thermometer in the house is on 78/79 and we have a space heater on 81 pointed directly on him.  He sleeps in a long sleeve footed pajama onesie and is still cold??  So many things I read said to keep the temp in the 60s.  (Sorry, this girl is from Texas.  There is NEVER a day when my house will be in the 60s with a working a/c and heater!)  I'm just not sure what is going on so I can fix it.  The doctor said to get him to sleep through the night....and left it at that.  So okay.  I just come home and tell him to sleep through the night?  Yeah, no!  How do you MAKE a baby sleep through the night?

Tristan has 4 front teeth and is chewing away.  We went to a baby food making class and are getting an in home session soon!  Can't wait to start seeing all the funny faces of veggies and fruits.  :)

It is 3AM and the boys have been asleep...now it is my turn.

Much more to come!

As of recently, I have been laid off from my full time job.  This seems to be a blessing in disguise at this point in our lives.  Was this expected?  No!  Will we as a family be able to benefit from this?  We think so!  Please stay optimistic and wish us well in this endeavor.  We foresee great things to come in 2013 for our family.  One of those includes more posts to our family blog.  Yay!!

Happy or Mad?

After Tristan's physical therapy appointment Wednesday, we decided to have lunch with Daddy.  We always love these special occurrences...which don't happen very often.  As we were waiting for our food, I had Tristan on my lap staring at Brent.  These are two pictures he took..

Look at that adorable smirk!

Do you think he's a happy baby?

Then we decided to run to a few stores to see if we could find a "Baby's First Halloween" onesie.  (So sad we still can't.) Needless to say, we used ALL the diapers in the diaper bag and had to make a few stops in parking lots for some snacking....not on my part.  Tristan was quite content for the most part.  My child despises his car seat (because it makes him so warm) so for him to stay in there that long, I was quite impressed.  However when we got home he was definitely showing us how he truly felt....

All this shopping is driving me mad!

Boo!!

I absolutely love how happy Tristan wakes.  He is all smiles and loves to just talk away.  He makes every day worth waking up happy for.  :)

This afternoon we were able to meet up with Tristan's God Mommies to spend some time at the Pumpkin Patch before their trip to Hawaii!  (Yes, EVERYONE knows how jealous I am.  We are dying to go back.) Jenny and Steph were amazing.  Between posing us and helping with drool and attention duty, I couldn't be happier.  These women truly are wonderful.  Brent has no clue we went to the pumpkin patch.  I have wanted to get Tristan's photo done so I can print a picture and frame it for Brent's desk at their new office.  I'm absolutely ecstatic tomorrow this will happen.  I can't wait to see the look on his face when he opens it.  Here's a sneak peek at some of the shots the ladies got.  Love these.

Staring at all his ladies.

Boo!  Did I scare you?

Just chillin in the pumpkins.

Mommy and Tristan

Tristan smiles!!

Going places

What a week!!

Between me working 78 hours (total of both jobs) and Brent helping his company move locations this week, plus Tristan starting Physical Therapy....man have we been busy!  I was beginning to wonder if the weekend would ever get here.

Monday we had our initial visit for Tristan regarding Torticollis.  He has a slight flat spot on the back of his head and the doctor was talking about putting him in a helmet.  Needless to say the tummy time was definitely upped a little in our house.  Nanette is our therapist and she was quite complementary regarding our parenting so far.  She stated of all her torticollis patients thus far, Tristan has the mildest case.  It was great to hear, however we want to correct what he does have at the moment.  We will be going to therapy a couple of times a week for 6 weeks.  While we are in therapy, we will be working on range of motion in the neck and arms and she wants to work on him using his right hand more.  Who am I to stop her?

Tristan adores Nanette!

Tuesday Daddy was able to stay home with Tristan since Mommy went to work at the store.  (Yay for Gift Wrap Wonderland set up!!)  The boys had a fabulous day together and managed to get quite a bit of tummy time in....with Hannah.
(Every time I attempt to correct the photos, this one changes directions.  Picking my battles and hoping you are okay with turning your head for one shot.)

Hey furrball, what are you looking at?

Can I play also?

Wednesday morning was just as fun during tummy time, but before that we had to lay in bed talking.

Tristan's morning smiles

No really, she LOVES helping during tummy time.

Thursday morning was a bit different.  We woke up to the same cute baby, but he decided he would begin talking this morning.  I was ecstatic when he let me video a snipit of our "conversation."

10.18.12 Learning to talk

Then there was Friday!!  Oh what fabulous Friday brings.  (On days I work at the store, I have to get Tristan and myself ready, head to the store, meet Brent to swap cars and let him know what we did/what needs to be done and how the day went.  Brent then heads home with Tristan to start their night together.) When Brent met us at the store, the day had already been chaotic.  I needed to go to the office earlier, but we ended up in horrific traffic at 2pm.  I thought we would never get there.  We didn't get to leave until 5 and again we managed to get stuck in traffic.  Luckily it wasn't quite as bad, but Tristan was still upset 80% of the drive.  Of course we get 5 minutes from the store and he finally passes out from crying the entire trip.  We get there and I ended up having to wake him.  Once Daddy arrived.....

I like when I see my Daddy!!

Needless to say it was a busy week, but these are some fun highlights.  Saturday Brent had to work at the new location, so Tristan and I relaxed quite a bit.  It was well deserved and enjoyed.  :)

Ahhhh, it is Saturday!

We (namely Mommy dearest) enjoys Saturdays the most out of all the days.  Why, you ask?  This is the day Tristan and I spend together and I don't have to work either job!  Usually it is still a busy day of housework and working on that never ending to do list, however we take a little extra time on Saturdays to snuggle.  That nap that feels so great during the week to Tristan alone....yep, Mommy decides to be a part of those on Saturdays.  Possibly my body's way of telling me to relax after a crazy week and prepare for the next week ahead, but I love them.  Plus I love waking up to a super happy smiling gorgeous baby in my arms.  (Psssttttt, Sundays are Daddy nap days.  I usually come home to them passed out together being all cute.)

That being said, after our company came over this morning to meet Tristan, he was passed out within 5 minutes.  He was wide awake in the swing and I decided to get him to check his diaper.  (I just knew he would pass out sooner or later.)  I picked him up and walked into the kitchen to put something down and then headed to his room to change him and he didn't make it.  He was smooth passed out on my shoulder.  Needless to say, I decided to let him be and relax with him.

Having the Miles' brothers over wears me out.

Watching football after napping during UT/OU game.