11 months

Our little one is no longer a baby, he's turning into a little boy! So much has changed this last month. I've realized that having an 11 month old is a lot easier in many ways, and a lot harder in many ways, if that makes sense. It's easier going to the beach with him because we can just let him loose, I don't have to hide out under the umbrella the whole time holding him. It's easier going to the grocery store with him because he can sit in the shopping cart and I don't have to worry about lugging him around in the car seat or carrying him on my hip while I shop. He can now entertain himself for longer periods of time. He can be put down to bed and comforted by his dad, I'm not the only one. He really is turning into a sweetheart, more cuddles and kisses.

Tristan enjoying some popcorn packaging.

More Dad and T time. Taken at the beach this last Saturday.

On the other hand, this boy is wild!!! He wears us out. For some reason he now thinks that the word 'NO!' is hilarious. Very disobedient. He gets into everything! On most days, it looks like our house has been broken into. All drawers and cabinets are emptied and thrown all over the floor. I have learned to just wait until the end of the day to pick it all up. He is still freakishly strong which has become more of a headache for us. His teething guard on his crib gets ripped off daily, we now have to figure out another method of blocking him from chewing up his crib and eating the paint. The child proof outlet plugs are now pulled out of the walls and have become toys, along with the outlets themselves. He knows how to get out of his car seat now! This is an advantage he has for being small. He can wiggle his way out and then unbuckle his straps. What in the world?? Our stroller is useless now. He does the same thing. 5 minutes into the ride he is standing up, tight straps and all. Tristan hasn't started walking yet (he is close), and I'm in no rush for him to start. I'm scared.

He's secretly really smart and knows what he's doing. "What can I do to make mommy really mad today?".

"I want to destroy things".

Tristan quietly contemplates his next move "What can my next plan of action be? It's perfect, Daddy's in the water, but I don't have much time."

"I got it! Attack mom and destroy her sunglasses while her eyes are closed."

This picture is deceiving. It was actually one of our bad days and I think I may have had tears running down my face while this picture was taken. It was on a Sunday and he was cr-aaaazy. He didn't nap all day, he would cry in his crib for hours. Being sleep deprived, he was fussy and mean. By 5:00pm, Christian and I had had it and took him to the park down the street, just to get him out. I was in a bad mood and was trying to enjoy myself. All of a sudden, I got hit in the back of my neck with a hard baseball. Seriously, it was perfect timing. What better way to end my day. Those tears I was holding back came flooding out. My neck and back were sore from the ball for a few days.

Aside from all of the craziness, Tristan has brought more joy to our lives than we have ever imagined. He is such a happy baby and so high on life. We have more good days than bad but I want to make sure that I document all of the rough times too, so one day he can look back at this and see what he put his mom and dad through.

I have been more motivated to keep our blog constantly updated as our personal journal, to be published in a book for us every year. (After seeing Alisa do just that with her blog, it turned out really cute.). So I am going to try my best to document our lives more, without revealing too much, here on our blog. (When I can find free time!)

Happy 11 Months (tomorrow)!