Who Are You? (And What Have You Done With My Baby?)

Tristan is, these days, far less agreeable as he has been in the past. As every parent of bigger kids knows, there comes a time when your baby becomes a kid and everything changes forever. For Tristan, I'm sure it is exciting to explore and test. For me, it's bitter sweet. On the one hand, I'm doing my job, encouraging growth and watching his personality blossom is rewarding, but on the other hand, I am in some strange mourning for baby-hood has clearly past.

*

I am proud to report that Tristan is truly coming into his own. He does not let Ryan bully him or knock him around. He stands his ground, pushing him away and screaming "No." While it creates a lot of unpleasant noise, I'm happy to see he's tough and assertive...even if he's demonstrating a bit of a temper. He lets out a shrill scream when he's unhappy with something...awful. He's become a selective eater when only a month ago he would have gladly shovelled everything I gave him into his mouth. He likes to do many things himself, such as brushing his teeth and hair, washing himself in the tub...he even tries to get himself something to eat when he's hungry (mainly off the floor). He grows quite frustrated at his lack of ability to get jobs done and I think this is a good sign. He's (hopefully) determined to be independent. He is in to absolutely EVERYTHING and getting chores done with him at my feet is nearly impossible...and he's always at my feet. So, I decided, rather than getting too bent out of shape, to try and get him to "help" me and he is more than happy to do so. He puts the dirty silverware in the dishwasher. Sure, he has a lick or two of old stuff, but he'll have an iron constitution and learn not to let the spoons cradle in order to get clean at the same time. Doing laundry is much the same. I throw the wet laundry on the dryer door and he shoves it in. What a team. Sure, he'll throw a handful of dirty cat litter in every once in awhile (litter is within arms reach of the dryer), but what would my daily routine really be if I didn't have to do many tasks over and over...and over and over again? Doing it once? Hah! That would be boring...sigh. At 15 months old, my little guy says, "Thank you." Really...I feel guilty taking credit. It's just too wonderful and almost unheard of. The credit for paying attention and simply learning by what he sees is all Tristan's. He's a glorious sleeper. I just put in the crib, awake, at night and, without so much as a whimper, he goes to sleep. He loves to meticulously stack things, read book after book after book, climb where he shouldn't, play with choke-ables (Ryan's room is if favorite place in the house), slam on the computer keyboards, dance...the boy LOVES music and dancing and does not like to watch TV (believe me, I've tried to make him...true story). He likes to play ball with Daddy and Ryan (we think he's a lefty) and play hide-n-seek. He's beautiful and we love him more and more each day...even when he's a crank...which is most days.

*

So it is with deep sadness AND joy that I say goodbye to baby Tristan; to store him away in my heart and revisited in my memory often as the best baby ever. I'm just too proud and excited to what comes next to dwell on that any longer. Well, I'm working on it anyway.