Toddler-Induced Insomnia

So little did I know what I had in store for me this week. The second night after Tristan learned his new trick of climbing out of the crib, I was visited at 3 a.m. by the little guy. From that point on I received a visit about every 20 minutes until I finally gave up at 6 a.m. and just let him stay in our room. I was so tired and upset and the tears just flowed down my cheeks. "I can't be up all night with a newborn AND a toddler". The day continued and I had to go to a dentist appointment which meant that we would be away from the house and his bed, in case he wanted to sleep. I had to leave my kids with a friend and luckily he did ok. I was surprised.
Chris and I discussed the problem and decided that the mattress needed to be on the floor and that Tristan would no longer sleep in the crib. We would leave his door open a crack if he stayed in bed but close it if he got out and came out of his room. Luckily he hasn't learned how to open the door yet or I would be toast because so far the system seems to be working. Tristan doesn't always like going down for a nap but he is getting used to his new sleeping arrangements. He does still try to rebel a little though.
The other day he had a few 5-minute cat naps in the car but was tired enough for a nap. He cried for a few minutes after I closed his door but settled down, played for about a half hour and then fell asleep. What does one play in a room with a crib and a dresser? Just take a look at the picture below.
I guess he prefers sleeping on the floor because he moved his mattress himself. You can't really tell but that is a whole container of wipes on the floor that have been pulled out one by one.

I'm Two

Happy birthday Tristan! Tristan's birthday started out with a typical two-year-old's tantrum. He was upset because I wouldn't give him a piece of candy for breakfast. Then he didn't like the shirt I put on him. He was running around the house, throwing himself at me and the floor and screaming. I couldn't do anything to calm him.

Things didn't get any better when I took him to get a haircut. He was throwing such a tantrum that the lady didn't even get to finish the haircut. And I had to still pay for a haircut.

The situation got even worse when the next stop was the dentist. He was fine until he had to sit in the chair. This was his first visit and he already hates having his teeth brushed. It took me and the hygienist to hold him down so the dentist could look at his teeth. Poor thing. I wonder what he will think when I take him to the doctor tomorrow for his shots.

I felt so bad that I took him and Kennedy to Chick Fil-a for lunch and let them play on the playground. That made everything better according to Tristan. He was happy until we left and saw a little girl with a balloon. He decided he wanted one too and threw another tantrum until I managed to find one for him.

What's that "terrible twos?" I never experienced this with Kennedy but I have also heard that for boys it's two and for girls it's three. So far, that's what it seems in my family.

I will say that after Tristan's nap he was very pleasant for the rest of the day. He really is a sweet boy and I'm glad he is my son.

Happy birthday, sweet boy!

Conference Weekend

Saturday Tristan slept much later than usual. So late that I checked on him twice before we finally woke him up. We all came downstairs and he was clearly not himself. He was very lethargic and just wanted to be held. He asked for a "gulk" so I gave him a sippy cup of milk. Chris made French toast for breakfast and shortly after starting our meal Tristan started gagging and the milk and toast were all over the table. Poor thing has never had a vomiting illness and was very confused by the whole incident.

We cleaned up the mess, gave Tristan a bath and set him in front of the t.v. watching "Cars". He was content for the moment. After conference started he fell asleep in my lap. I took him up to bed and hoped for the best.

By the afternoon Tristan had perked up and wanted to eat. I begrudgingly gave him some yogurt and a bit of water. He kept that down and by the time dinner came he was back to his old self again.

Sunday we continued our tradition of visiting Duke Gardens between sessions. It was the first time we have worn coats on our Conference outing.

The grounds were very wet. I didn't think we would be going to the gardens because of Tristan's recent illness and the wet weather we had been having. I thought I could safely dress Kennedy in white pants. She saw the hill that she typically likes to barrel roll down and made a dash for it. Chris and I were trying to keep Tristan from going into a little stream near by when we turned around and saw Kennedy rolling down the muddy hill. She stood up and then slid down on her bum. Her white pants were and are no longer white. It was one of those "oh well" moments.

The kids really enjoy the gardens and we ended up going with the neighbors kids the next day too.

Generator

Hey, I like this family blog. I'm glad it's working! I loved the videos, posts and pictures.
Last week Chris took a day off. Yes, this is an occasion to blog because he hasn't taken a day off in a long time. Anyway, for a year we have been talking about getting a generator. We are on well water so when our electricity goes out we don't have water either. How do I know this? Our power has gone off several times over the past year for one reason or another and we have experienced the no water.
It took a lot of research, saving and feet dragging to get the job done but last week we finally got it hooked up. The reason Chris took the day off was so he could be here when the electricians showed up to hook it up. It went without a hitch.
After the electricians left we set Tristan up with a movie in the house (Kennedy was at her last day of preschool) and we went outside and hooked up the generator to test it and make sure we knew how to hook it up. It took us a few minutes to figure things out and we missed a step so we had to start over but we got it to work and I actually think I could do it myself. We feel much better knowing that if we were in an ice storm or hurricane that we could still have some power.
Here is cute Tristan on his couch where I found him after we figured out the generator. Isn't he cute? He fell asleep watching "Cars" his favorite movie.

Tristan Michael Turns 1

Today is my sweet baby boy's birthday! Tristan has been such a joy in our lives and I can't believe a whole year is up. It must be because he is the second child but it seems like his first year went by way faster than Kennedy's first year.
Tristan is starting to take his first steps. He has a few toys that have wheels and can be pushed. He loves to push those around the house. I often see him out of the corner of my eye zooming here, there, and everywhere. It's hard to tell, but I think he will be saying a few words soon. He definitely says "mamama" and "dadada". Sometimes if I say "ouch" he will try to repeat by saying "ahh".
I have given Tristan a little bit of milk in a sippy cup the past few days in preparation for weening. He loves it. I think he will catch on quickly. He has always been a fast nurser. From the time he was just a few hours old he could take in a whole feeding in under 10 minutes. I worried at first that he was not getting enough but it didn't take long to realize he was growing just fine. He loves to eat and gets very excited when I start making dinner. He likes the real thing. He doesn't like when I give him a piece of bread. That's just not good enough. I think this kid will be big.
Tristan has such a sweet demeanor. He hardly ever cries. I love to watch him play with Kennedy. She likes to tease him and make him laugh and Tristan has the cutest dimples. He likes to tease us too. When he nurses he likes to stick his finger in my nose or mouth. He loves his daddy and rushes toward him when he gets home from work. Tristan loves to play outside and since we have been going out more often with the warmer weather he has a harder time when we stay inside. I love to take him on walks because he just looks around and is so peaceful.
I'm so glad I have this sweet little thing in my life. I don't know what we would do without him.
Here are some things I have learned over the past year:

• You can love more than one child
• No matter how hard you try, sibling rivalry is just a part of life
• No matter how hard you try, some kids just don't sleep through the night
• There are more important things than sleep
• Boys are just as fun as girls, just different
• Resolve is really good for cleaning spit-up off the floor
• Two kids are better than one (even though one was great for a while)
• I love having my own fan club (of two)

Conference Weekend

Another busy, but fun, weekend. I started off Saturday by having my hair cut and highlighted. My roots were only about 4 inches! I felt like a new woman. After I got home I took Kennedy up to the park for an Easter egg hunt. Some of her friends from church were there and they were able to play after the hunt. There weren't many kids there so Kennedy filled her basket.

After lunch Chris took Kennedy to the veterinary school in Raleigh for their open house where they had some activities for kids. I stayed home with Tristan, who slept most of the time, and quilted. I finished another baby quilt this weekend. I wanted to post a picture but it seems that some of our things have been packed away in boxes and the cord I needed to download will not be seen until we move into our new house in two weeks--you'll have to wait to see the quilt.

We went to see our new house this morning and were excited to see that we have several dogwood trees on our lot. The dogwood is the state flower. It comes out in spring and it's like lace for the forest. It is my favorite bloom here in the spring.

We also went to Duke Gardens. It was a beautiful, overcast, spring day. We have been having lots of pollen the last week or so and everything has been covered in a yellow powder but we had some rain the other day that helped wash some of it away.

We enjoyed listening to conference, well as much as we could. We have to listen in the office on the Internet. Gone are the days of relaxing in front of the t.v. At least we don't have to drive to the church to watch. I love listening to conference and always feel renewed and dedicated.

Well, back to the grind tomorrow. Now that I have this quilt finished I have to do something constructive, like packing.