Intermission

We interrupt this continuous Christmas coverage to bring you something very pleasant. TRISTAN!! He's eight months old today! I can't believe how big he's getting and it's happening more quickly than I could ever imagine. I'm so excited about all the new things he's doing, but at the same time I'm sad because it won't be long before he's not a baby anymore. I love my babies so much and I want to hang on to this baby stage forever! I love the age of eight months. He's so pleasant and happy almost all the time. Tristan rarely cries, and when he does, it's generally because he's tired or hungry. He's a mommy's boy and he hates to be separated from me for even a moment, but he's getting much better about playing on his own. He loves his toys, especially ones that rattle and he waves them around to show them to us. He LOVES his food even more. He's still nursing really well most of the time, although he does have to take frequent breaks to see what his sister is doing. Tristan will eat almost anything I give him and his most recent discovery is cheese. We gave him some shredded cheese last night and he had to sit and think about the texture for a few moments, but he decided he liked it. He began shoving it into his mouth with both fists and grunting for more. As soon as I sit him in his highchair, he starts grunting for food. He is a puff fanatic and would probably eat the whole can of puffs if I would let him. We've started moving out of the realm of Gerber only and he's experimenting with Lima beans and peas. Exciting stuff!!

Adorable eight month old. He's got such a charming smile that he woos women of all ages successfully. Old ladies can't get enough of him and they come up and touch him in the store!
Physically, Tristan isn't in any hurry. He's such a content little man that he's usually content to just stay and play where I set him down. He is sitting up really well, although he occasionally will get too enthusiastic about playing and end up on his back. Tristan has just recently started playing on his tummy. He always hated tummy time, so we only did it sporadically, but recently he's realized he can reach a lot farther if he's on his tummy. He even pushes himself forward with his feet to STRETCH just a few inches farther. He's starting to push himself way up while he's on his belly and the other day he even got up on his knees. I know it's probably not long until he starts crawling, and while I'm excited about his accomplishments, I'm going to miss the pre-crawling days. I know it's going to open a whole can of worms with Maura when he tries to swipe her toys. I'm also going to have to be a lot better about getting all those teeny tiny Barbie shoes off the carpet before he get set loose!
My little Swami! Tristan is sleeping through the night on most nights. He generally goes to bed about 7pm and sleeps until sometime between 5 and 7am. I actually prefer the 5am feed, because I can generally get him to go back to sleep until 8 or so. Naps are a different story. Tristan is just not a napper and I can spend 20-30 minutes rocking him to sleep only to hear him cry in 20 minutes. It's maddening, but he's a happy guy most of the time, even without a good nap. Who can stay mad at that little face?? I can't wait to see the little boy he becomes, but my mommy heart aches that this little one has to grow up!! What do big sisters do while Mommy is nursing baby brother?? Why, play with all his toys, of course! She thought she was being hilarious when she crawled under the jumperoo and used it like a tent. Come to think of it, she is pretty hilarious!