Almost One

Since Mom and Dad came to visit this weekend, we had a family party in honor of Tristan's soon coming birthday. Can it be a year since he arrived? Life changed so much for me and Geryll since his birth. Stepping away from school and into motherhood hasn't been super easy for me. Mothering is WAAYYY harder than teaching! There aren't so many definite answers or immediate results; no leaving the work at school; no weekends off; no uninterrupted nights of sleep; no lunch talks with colleagues; no after school discussions to stir my brain.

On the positive side, Tristan is a joy boy. Our mornings are much cheerier with a little boy happily sharing our breakfast. Afternoon walks and shopping trips are more fun with him. He waves and kicks and makes happy sounds. He opens my eyes to kitties and action. I love caring for him and seeing him grow.

Here he is in the decorated wagon. Grandpa Sam was pulling him around, much to the delight of both of them.

His cake, a combination of his two favorite toys: a monster book with a surprise mirror page at the end, and his toy dinosaur. He dug into it as soon as I picked him up for the picture.

Kylie and Kaden help him open his John Deere cell phone from Grandma.

We spent Saturday afternoon and evening at Presque Isle with Dad, Mom and Sonya. Tristan HATES the beach, crying in fear as soon as we get in sight of the lake. Here he's riding in his favorite position, pulling Daddy's hair in delight.