Tristan's New Mobile

Tristan has a new best friend. The mobile that I used for Maura somehow broke while it was being stored, so I used some of his gift cards to buy him a spiffy new mobile. He LOVES it. I just put it together yesterday and mounted it on his crib and he's been mesmerized ever since. Several times, I've laid him in his crib and come back to find him almost asleep. I hope that this will be a sleep tool for us. We're going to start working on falling asleep on our own in the next few weeks. I don't want to get into the same pattern with him that I had with Maura of always rocking to sleep. Wish me luck!
Tristan has even been talking to the mobile and I don't think he realises that he's the one making the noise. Every once in awhile, he'll make a really big noise and then look around to see where it's coming from!

I'm really glad that he's starting to be more interested in his toy and to "play" with things nearby him. He frequently hits the rattles next to him, which I think is a complete accident, but he is really interested in them.
Look at that rapt attention. I recognize that stare from somewhere! He stares like Brent!
"I love my new mobile Mommy, Thanks!"
I caught some pictures of the Very Sad Face. He makes this face a lot when he's getting sleepy. It isn't always associated with crying. Most of the time, that lip starts poking out a few minutes before tears actually ensue.
It's such a pitiful little face that it always gets a response. This little boy knows how to pull on Mommy's heartstrings already.
Yesterday, Maura and I were playing a chase game back and forth in the upstairs and I added the element of trying to take a picture of her running around. She thought it was great fun and yelled, "Take a picture of me!" while she ran. She actually posed for this one, what a cutie!
Look at that, I don't even think her feet are touching the ground! This little girl can move!
Maura loves all the boxes I have out now to pack in. She always wants to get in them and hide. I gave her one of her very own to hide in and she had great fun.

A girl and her cat. I hate that we're not taking the cats to Georgia with us. Luna is going to a new home and Thea is going to go stay with my sister's boyfriend till we get back. Maura doesn't know it yet, and I think I'm not going to tell her and hope that all the confusion and changes of moving mean that she doesn't really even realize they're gone for awhile. She loves these kitties and she'll definitely miss them, but I just can't bear to have the tears at seeing them actually leave. Hopefully we won't scar her for life by giving away her beloved pets. I am going to take lots of pictures of them and we'll frame them for her room once we get to Georgia.

We've actually found a house down in Georgia and signed a lease for it today. I'm as excited about it as I can be. It's funny, I don't want to move and I'm going to be so sad to do so, but I'm actually a little anxious to get down there and get our lives back in order. It's kind of bittersweet. The house has four bedrooms, a covered patio and a privacy fence, so it's going to be really nice. The fourth bedroom is for guests, so we're expecting lots of visitors! We're missing Brent a lot and if you're wondering about the daily posts, they're actually for him. He got his orders today to assign him to a battalion, but he's still not sure what he'll be doing. He's actually on his way home right now. I don't think he could stand to be away from his kiddos one day longer and since he didn't need to be around for anything this weekend, he's heading our way. I can't wait to see Maura's face when he surprises her in the morning!!

We LOVE our Friends!

We went to our friends Lily and Dawn's house for a playdate yesterday. We've been getting the kids together for playdates for a full two years and I think the adults enjoy them more than the kids do. On our first playdate with Sarah, Maura couldn't even sit up yet and Sarah had just learned! It's amazing how much they've all grown up since that time. I truly treasure the "Mom" friends that I've made. It's such a comfort that others are going through the same things as me at roughly the same time. I love these ladies because they're real. None of us have to pretend that things are always perfect at our houses. I'm going to miss them all so much when we go. Dawn, Angie and Amy, you guys are the best. I love you! Tristan was a hit at the playdate. The girls loved him, but the boy, Liam, didn't even notice him. Funny how that works even at this age.
Amy kept all the kids occupied. She was drawing all the pictures the requested and they loved it! It looked like she was teaching a class! I've never seen all four of these kids stand still all at the same time.
Maura was being a goof! I don't know how I'm ever going to keep a hair bow in her hair!
Dawn, Lily and their new puppy, Tuppy. The kids all loved the puppy--she was so sweet. She makes me want a puppy until I think back to March when we kept Patton for a week. I'm definitely not ready for a puppy!

Sarah LOVES Tristan. In fact, I think she likes him more than Maura does. Angie says that she talks about him all the time and prays for him every night.
Sarah, Angie and Tristan enjoying some cuddle time. Sarah just couldn't get enough of him!
Liam was kicked back in front of the TV(which wasn't on) in the dog bed, enjoying a (pretend) Coke. How cute!
On Monday evening, we went out to my mom and dad's house for dinner. We enjoyed catching up with my Aunt Barbara who had flown in from Baltimore for a visit.
Aunt Barbara brought Maura this cool Ariel doll that she just LOVED. As you can see, she could hardly take her eyes off it. I've caught her playing with it in the sink at least four times since she got it! It was great to visit with my aunt. I don't get to see my extended family very often, so it's a real treat when we see each other. Thanks, Aunt Barbara for the fun presents!

Ten Weeks old and a trip to Wal-Mart

Tristan is ten weeks old today. This little man is getting more aware and smiley every day. He's talking a lot to us and even sounds like he's laughing when he gets really tickled. He's such a sweet little man.
"What are you lookin' at?"
The evolution of a smile. First, he just kind of stares at you.
"You're a little funny, mom."
"No, actually, you're hilarious!"

"Aren't I just a cutie?"
Tristan Wesley, big ten week old.
Yesterday I attempted a trip to Wal-Mart for the very first time. Admittedly, most women have to brave a trip to the store much earlier, so I'm very lucky to just now be venturing out. I knew that we only had a short period of time to be in the store, so I told Maura that we had a mission like on Little Einsteins. She was so excited to have a mission that she sat very nicely on her bottom in the cart the entire time.
Braving the retail world for the very first time.
This is how Tristan looked by the end of our trip to Wal-Mart. I must admit, sometimes this is how I feel after I leave Wal-Mart, but I somehow I manage to keep it all together. It was a successful trip--we managed to get in and out in about 20 minutes. Mission Completion!

Idlewild Park

While we were still in Pennsylvania on the 30th of June, we did one of the most fun things we've ever done with Maura. We took her to Idlewild Park. It's a little theme park not far from my grandparents house that we visited at least once a year while I was growing up. I LOVE Idlewild. I have so many memories from it. It's a really nostalgic little park, not a thrill park. We used to come here on school field trips and during the summers, we would come here with my Grandma Carnes. I loved getting to see it all through my little girl's eyes.

One of my favorite parts of the park is Storybook forest. You enter through this giant book and get to see all the stories brought to life. We got there early when Storybook forest opened to spend lots of time there.
I loved this sign. It's how I feel about a lot of things that I do with Maura. I love passing down the things I learned as a child to her.
This is probably the best smile I've gotten for a photo from her ever. She loved sitting at the desks just her size.

I loved visiting the park with my parents. This photo was too precious! Maura enjoyed showing off for her grandparents.
Grammy, Maura and Raggety Ann. Maura would NOT sit up there by herself. She's tremendously distrustful of anyone who wears a costume. I guess she has good reason--if you look at it from a two-year-old's point of view, why would a grown up dress up?
Pappap Raggety Andy and Grammy Raggetty Ann
Mommy Raggety Andy and Maura Raggety Ann.
Brent really enjoyed the park too. We were so glad to have such a fun family time together before he had to head to Georgia.

Mommy and Maura on the Good Ship Lollipop. I would like to talk to the genius who put the ship at the beginning of the tour and gave all the kids sticky lollipops to carry around with them through the remainder of the forest! Yuck!
Tristan was such a good boy and just loved looking at the leaves overhead. It was a nice cool day, perfect for a trip to the park.
Maura loved the "Little Engine that Could" section. She should--I've read that book at least a hundred times!
A daddy and his girl. You should have seen Brent squeezing himself into that train.
My cousin Bryan, Aunt Nancy and my mom. We all enjoyed the day so much.

Pappap took over stroller duty so that Brent and I were able to go into all the houses and experience it with Maura. Tristan was loving looking at all the trees.
Brent and Maura tried hard to pull Excaliber from the rock, but alas, were unsuccessful.
Maura met the Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe. In a strange twist of fate, the "Old Woman" is a friend of my aunt's and lives in Ligoneer Pennsylvania. Who knew?
Maura meeting Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater. What a terrible husband he was, keeping his wife in this cement Pumpkin shell! Only one of the Three Pigs was interested in meeting Maura. She was fascinated, so we stood and smelled the pigs for about fifteen minutes while she got acquainted.

Henny Penny, the chicken pecked Maura's finger. I warned her that it would happen if she stuck her finger in, but she did it anyway. Luckily, Maura was only stunned, not actually hurt.
Grammy and Maura took a break beside Jack Be Nimble.
Ugg, so glad I'm on a diet! We got to meet King Cole and the fiddlers.
Daddy, Maura and Mommy enjoying the huge blocks.
Tristan and Maura loved just chillin in their stroller. Tristan was asleep for the entire morning. He just had too much to look at to take a nap. He was really good, though and just enjoyed strolling around the park. Maura was really good and really quiet, which should have been an indication that something was wrong. I realized she had strep the next day.

After lunch, we headed over to Kiddie Land. Then, the skies opened and it started to pour. We took refuge in the fake gas station in front of the car ride. Thankfully, the shower didn't last too long and we were able to go again.
My cousin Bryan, Maura and I waiting for Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Mr. Rogers is actually from Latrobe, the town where my grandparents live. The show was filmed in Pittsburgh, so there's a lot of ties to the area. My cousin was a huge Mr. Rogers fan as a child, so he answered every question on the ride!
Tristan enjoyed the ride and the "Hug and Song" party at the end. They don't make wholesome entertainment like Mr. Rogers anymore! Can you see King Friday and Queen Sara in the background?
I really enjoyed actually getting to ride the ride! It was one of the only ones I got to ride. Everything else was kiddie sized!
We bought Maura a poncho and it was time to go. She was the only kid on this ride because of the rain. We were able to ride a lot of rides twice because there was no one waiting in line. Although the rain was a pain, it made for a great day at the park.

Maura loved the old fashioned cars. I know she thought she was driving!
We had a little poncho incident on the planes. As soon as the ride started, the poncho blew down over her face. Now, you'd think that she'd just pull it back up. NO, she just rode the whole ride like that!
All I could think of the whole time was that she was going to suffocate in the thing. I could tell she was OK, but it still scared me.
Sweet girl was really getting tired by this point, but she actually figured out how to make the dragon go up and down.
Last ride of the day. She was high on the hog! She thought she was steering this motorcycle. She was so exhausted by the day. It was WAY past nap time by the time we left and she immediately fell asleep in the car. We carried her in and she napped for about an hour until we woke her up for dinner. She was a grouch and I put her in the bath as soon as possible. She actually cried when I got her out and said, "I want to go to bed." Poor sweet thing, we didn't know she was sick! She's feeling much better now, thanks to a course of the pink stuff. I loved sharing one of my favorite childhood memories with my baby girl. It's so cool to do it all over again with them.