Today Tristan is 9 months old. The memories of his birth are starting to fade from my mind now that we are getting closer to the 1 year mark (so happy I keep a blog for this very reason!). I am officially back to my pre-pregnancy weight (although my body is not the same), and we seem to be in a great routine which makes for a happy baby boy!
9 Month's Old 4/16/2013
Weight: I am guessing 24-25lbs (I really need to weigh him since he seems to be slimming down a bit now that we are mobile)
Height: Maybe 30" (we have a doctor's appointment soon so we will get exact measurements)
Moving and Grooving: Tristan is busy and active. I absolutely love this stage, although I am constantly exhausted ;). Tristan crawls everywhere, but would much rather be walking. He pulls himself up on everything and will guide himself around. Tristan has started to try to stand on his own, and will stand for up to 10 secs before falling. He is also taking a few steps before he tumbles. We have had a few bumps and bruises but I think this bothers me more then it bothers Tristan. The walker is still his favorite toy unless he wants to be held.
Yummy in my Tummy: Tristan loves fruit and loves his puffs. The puffs are great. You can find them in the baby section of Walmart and they come in tons of flavors. Tristan prefers Banana or Strawberry-Apple. We pour a few out on his tray and he feeds himself. They dissolve in his mouth so I don't have to worry about choking! Tristan tolerates vegetables, and meat (he does not say no to food, although sometimes he complains about the taste). He still has formula and takes this in a bottle. We have incorporated juice this month which he absolutely loves. Tristan was supposed to be using a Sippy cup by now, but he gets an "F" in Sippy cup. If any mom's have suggestions on what brand they use that would be great. He definitely prefers his "Baba" right now.
Milestones: Tristan is saying his first words. It started with "Momma" Easter weekend then two weeks later he started saying "Dadda" (Drew just glows). Drew and I noticed when Tristan sees a dog he always makes the same sound "whhhhe" we are wondering if he is mimicking the sound the dogs make? He makes a ton of sounds like "hhhhh, bbbbb, and ppppp." If he doesn't know how to say something he just blows raspberries and then laughs. He loves to screech and yell especially when people are singing.
Tristan is changing so much from month to month and he no longer looks like my little baby :(. He is going through this phase where he wants to be held as soon as I get home which I love, but he is heavy! It also makes it hard to cook dinner. Tristan is also starting to become shy with people; he seems to warm up pretty quickly, but if you pick him up off the bat he will cry. I can't believe he is 9 months old! I can't remember what Drew and I used to do without him; I assume I am much better at managing my time now.
I love my walker!
I now say "Dadda"
Headed to the beach!
I am going to completely change topics and talk about the Boston Marathon. I, like so many people, was completely disturbed and upset by the bombing. My Father-in-law's family is from the Boston area and we go there almost every summer. Drew's dad had looked into actually going to the marathon to cheer on the runners. I am so thankful that did not work out. Drew's uncles and family members have had the privilege of running in the marathon and so this horrible act of violence hit close to home. The Vital family has such a passion for running that any one of them could have been there. Manny told us yesterday how over the years (since a very young age) he watched the runners from all over the world cross the finish line and how proud that made him feel to be a part of such a wonderful tradition. I think that is personally why I love Boston, it is full of such American tradition and history from the Boston Tea Party to the Boston Red Sox and the Curse of the Great Bambino. Can you imagine being a fan like Manny growing up and never seeing your beloved baseball team win a World Series until 2004? I am sure that in 2004 the Vitals were crying even if they may not admit it :).
The Boston Marathon will continue to be an American pass time and a part of our history and heritage as we pray for those in pain that will not get to run like they did before, the ones that lost their lives, and for the anxiety this will cause so many people. My feelings bring me back to 9-11 and also to Hurricane Katrina. I remember being terrified of flying for years after 9-11, and am slowly learning to let go of that fear. Losing so much in Hurricane Katrina and seeing how it affected my family, friends, and hometown caused me great anxiety. I went from being an invincible young adult to human in a matter of seconds and thinking "yes anything can happen to you." My faith in God is so strong now that I no longer suffer from anxiety, and can cope with these situations so much better now. I believe I know what I will tell Tristan to try to help him understand when things like this out of our control occur "Live each day to its fullest and do not live in fear move forward and make memories :), and know that I will always, always love you."
