Over the river and through the woods...

A couple weeks ago my mom was giving me a hard time about going out to Missouri to visit them since they hadn't seen Tristan since Christmas. I really didn't think we could afford to go but decided to check airline tickets anyway and found a killer deal that we just could not pass up ($120 round trip!). So we left last Wednesday (May 20) and stayed until this last Wednesday (May 27). It was a nice trip. Tristan had his first plane ride and did really well. Everyone kept telling me what a great baby I had (I have to agree). He basically slept the whole way there, which was good because Chad was not sitting with me and it would have been a major pain trying to wrangle Tristan without Chad there to help. He woke up for the last 20 minutes of the flight and just played peek-a-boo with the lady sitting behind me and pretty much entertained everyone sitting around us.

The day after we got there I discovered Tristan had his first tooth coming through on the bottom which by the end of the trip was being joined by a second bottom tooth. It definitely explains his recent crabbiness and bout of not sleeping through the night. He's doing much better now that they've finally popped through. He also started getting up on all fours and trying to crawl (more of lunging) but he still prefers the army crawl. We had to keep an eye on him a whole lot more. Especially with all the animals that my parents have... he loves to grab! Our dogs don't mind and theirs don't mind much either but the cats definitely don't like it! Riding on the plane... I'm not sure what is with the face he's making! These pics are actually from the trip home because I forgot to take pictures on the plane ride out there but I think they still count as his first plane ride.I ended up having to take the pictures with my phone because the stupid flight attendant kept yelling at us to turn off all electronics except cell phones. We were on the freaking ground and still couldn't turn on the camera. Whatever! Our plane landed 20 minutes early but we were still "late" because we waited on the runway for 40 minutes! It was ridiculous!

Tristan loved my parents' bathtub! He discovered how much fun it is to splash. It was a fun time for all!Tristan and his Bestefar (Norwegian for Grandpa). He doesn't even look like a baby in this picture! He's not even 7 months and looks like he should be up running around!

Tristan, Nanny and Muffin. Muffin LOVED Tristan, he would search for him any time he came in the house. He's an enormous dog (as you can see) but such a sweetie! He let Tristan just crawl on him.

His new monkey pajamas. It was a little chilly at night for him to sleep in just a diaper so we bought these for him. They are 12-18 months and almost too small. I'm wishing I bought the 18-24 months now!

So many toys to play with at Nanny and Bestafar's but his favorites were flip-flops, an empty Gobstoppers box and bags laying on the floor. We just had to put him in the bag and take some pictures!My mom and dad had lots of fun playing with the Grandson. He loved all the attention too and started giving kisses while we were there. Open-mouth, drool laiden kisses but kisses still the same! It was a fun first trip to the grandparents' house. He got to spend time with my sister and brother as well. He wasn't so sure about Evan for a while but warmed up to him in the end. Hopefully Evan will be coming in July for a visit so he'll get even more time with his uncle. Now we just have to get back to normal. :D

Family Pictures

Ryan took some more fantastic shots of Tristan and us as well a couple weeks ago. Seriously... if anyone is looking for a great photographer, you should hire Ryan! Sorry for the picture overload but there were so many to choose from... these are just a few of my favorites!

A moment to show off

I just wanted to post a couple pics of the Toy Box I made for my sister-in-law Jennifer. She's due with Tristan's cousins, Matt & Tyler next month! We're all very excited for them. I'm pretty proud of how the box turned out and now I just need to make one for Tristan too. :)
You can't see it here but both sides are painted yellow and the back is painted red. And yes, I painted the Mickey's.

1st Mother's Day

This is my first official Mother's Day. :D It's been a pretty good one I must say. I woke up to my smily little boy patting me on the cheek. Chad got me a nice (singing) card and a couple gift cards (yay for Barne's & Noble!). We went to church and have just had a pretty laid back day since then. Chad and I were talking last night about Mother's Days growing up and they were very different for us. He doesn't really remember doing much for his mom but I remember tons of stuff. We usually had some project that we'd made her either in school or church. We made her breakfast in bed a few times (that was probably more work for her) and we always sang with the Primary to her in church. I can't wait to have that with my own kids! Here are a couple pictures to commemorate the day. :D

The reason I get to celebrate today... and I couldn't ask for a better reason.

Cuddle-Bunny

Tristan has been such a cuddly, loving boy since the day he was born. He slept on my chest pretty much his whole first month and still often falls asleep there now. Of course he takes up a whole lot more room then he used to! Just look at these pictures! Such a change.

Sure love this little boy!His "excuse me, I'm trying to rest here, can you put that stupid camera away" face.

Hanging out in the swing that is really too small for him. I just can't give it up yet, it still soothes him to sleep when he's being fussy. He doesn't seem to mind though and I'm pretty sure he was watching a basketball game on the TV. Oy! He is his father's son! Except for the thumb in the mouth... that's all me! Notice the little rug burns on his knees? He doesn't seem to mind though since he can scoot to what he wants now.

Bathroom

I've been meaning to post this for a while but just haven't gotten around to it. Three years ago, we had a little flood in our house thanks to the swamp cooler. There was a leak in the line and the water ran down the wall and came through the ceiling in our downstairs bathroom. It was the day we set up the swamp cooler and after we had finished we out to run some errands (or something). When we came home I went into the bathroom and noticed that there was water on the floor. But the dog's water bowl was in there so I didn't think much of it until I noticed that there was water dripping from the ceiling. I yelled for Chad and grabbed a towel to dry things up. I dabbed at the ceiling with the towel and my hand went through it and water came pouring out. Haha too bad I don't have pictures of that! We of course had to rip out part of the ceiling and also the wall. For probably 2 years we didn't even have dry wall up in the bathroom, just exposed beams and insulation. Chad finally was able to get the wall up but it still remained unfinished. So now three years after the "flood" the bathroom is done! Chad actually finished it a couple months ago and it looks fantastic! I just had to share, mostly for my parents and grandparents since they've seen it in construction phase but never completed.

I think it's one of my favorite paint jobs that we've done. Yes, it's all paint, Chad did an amazing job on the stripes. After ripping all the wall paper out of this house, I don't ever want to put it back in again. Only one room left with wall paper and it's coming out soon!

My Birthday

I can't believe I'm 29 already! After high school time sure flies! But I couldn't be happier with where I am in my life. I have a great husband, beautiful little boy, a good job that lets me work from home and a comfortable house. My birthday was actually April 26th but I'm just getting around to this post. I was hoping for some pictures from our dinner out (hint hint Janelle) but haven't gotten them yet. I'll just post them later. On Friday night we went out to dinner with my brother and sister-in-law, Jen and Brandon to PF Changs. It was delish!

Saturday we helped Eddie and Gio move into their new house, well Chad helped and I "supervised". We all went to dinner later that night. The original plan was to go to the Cheesecake Factory but because we have such a large group the wait was ridiculous. I called at 5:00pm to see how long the wait would be if I were to come in right then and put our name on the list since the plan was for everyone to meet there at 7pm. They told me it would be 2 1/2-3 hours so I sent my friend Kate down there to put our name on the list. By the time she got there (only 20 minutes later), the wait was 3 1/2 - 4 hours!!! So we bagged that and went to Chili's. Adam and Tammy, Amy and Manny, Ryan and Janelle, Kate and Scott, me and Chad and Eddie and Gio (when they finally got there ;) but we understood since they'd been moving all day!). We seem to all get together for birthdays mostly which leads to loud, long conversations and dirty looks from the waiters because we stay so long and hold up their table. It's always a fun time!

Sunday, my actual birthday, Chad and I grabbed lunch after church and then went to see the Disney Earth movie with Ryan and Janelle. It was very cool but sad with all the baby animals dying. I think Janelle may have cried a little ;). My mother and father in law were both sick all weekend so they took Chad and I to dinner on Monday.

I got a couple gift cards to Torrid, one to Barnes and Noble and my mom bought me a dress from Torrid that I've been wanting for months. I bought a new swimsuit with my gift cards:I've been doing the P90X workouts for the last 2 months and I can definitely see that it's making a difference. Just the fact that I'm okay posting this picture says a lot! :D Here's a picture of the dress too. I actually bought a size smaller than I am right now as motivation to keep up the workouts but I was surprised that it fit so well. Chad loves it and I do too!

All in all, I had a pretty good birthday! Next year I'll be celebrating my 30th in Prague! :D

And... HE'S OFF

Just a quick update on Tristan (mostly so I don't forget these things later on). We had his 6 month check up on Friday and he's weighing in at 19lbs, 5oz and he's 28 inches long. He's basically mastered sitting up (see the pic above) and he smiles at pretty much everyone now. Except for yesterday when a woman in the store turned around and said hello to him and he started hysterically crying! Either it was because he was tired or she was shooting off some seriously bad vibes!
And his newest accomplishment as of last night: He's Mobile! Well somewhat! ;) There was a bag on the floor about 2 feet away from him and he wanted it very badly. I had moved it away from him since babies and plastic bags just don't mix and the next thing I know, he's pushing himself towards it, stretching and pushing with his feet. Here's a video:

His favorite thing to grab and of course put promptly in his mouth is my phone. Normally I don't let him have it but it was such a good incentive to get him to crawl for the camera. :D

I have no more time tonight so I'll have to save my birthday post for tomorrow!