Fixed those damn headlines to be a little bit prettier and in all of the browsers, too!

woke up screaming during nap, but got myself back to sleep within 3 minutes

Added Newest Photos to Galleries and hacked the menu so it vaguely looks the same in the major browsers.

Added new 16 – 17 Month and 17 – 18 Month pictures.

Tristan’s mostly over whatever the neighboorhood cold was. Thankfully by now – it’s when the “play” week tends to start. His mood has improved vastly. He was very, very pleasant to hang out with yesterday. Also, his molar that was stubborn is completely visible now.

He’s very reliably saying “Hiii!” to us when he hears us/we greet him from naps. It sounds to most people like “aaaah!” which is probably why we didn’t give him credit for it. Come to think of it, he was able to say “hi” when he was spitting out words like “kitty” and “stat” (thermostat) but just recently he seems to say it spontaneously. Still no waving or pointing, though.

Tristan did something that was very adorable to me yesterday. A little bit of backstory: I use an epilator on my legs for hair removal. Tristan has always been fascinated by the whirring noise and light on the thing – it’s a handheld little plucker. If he’s in the mood to play in the bathroom, I will often whip that thing out and work on the furry legs a little bit. We have an understanding that he doesn’t get to touch it if he wants me to continue entertaining him with it. Anyway, I stashed it on the counter in the bathroom after unplugging it and Tristan grabbed my hand to lead me into the bathroom and indicate to the hair remover that he’d like me to use it. This is about the most actively he’s communicated that he’d like me/us to do something without any whining or tears. It was a very sweet little moment.

We have this gear toy that is Tristan’s favorite. We purchased it on a whim around Christmas shopping time, and since then, it’s one of our favorites as well because when we hear it running, we have a busy baby. The gears are removable, and for the first month or so he had this thing he would insist on removing the gears and running the motion alone. Now he’s been putting gears and everything else he owns on it to see what happens. I should get some video when I think to film him playing independently (since I’m usually conked out on the couch at that point!).

We’ve still been practicing stairs, stairs, and also stairs. He’s getting good at them. I want to go to the museum now and practice with their toddler-height stair rails.

Life is good when little guy is cooperative. Life is painful when he’s not feeling well. It’s part sappy mommy stuff and part that I can’t deal with people crankier than myself well.

I may take on a babysitting venture for two “shifts.” I’m due to find out more today.

Updated the design of the 1st 12 months collage and added the 2nd 12 months (well, so far 2nd *5* months :D)

making my gigglepaw bear giggle over and over and awake too damn early!

must be sick because I’m letting mommy watch Desperate Housewives without getting into stuff

practicing cackling and ha-ha-ha noises from the crib

Tristan’s had a bit of a cold for the latter part of this week. All of the neighborhood kids seem to have this same cough and runny nose – there’s no fever and for the most part, Tristan is doing well through it. He has lots of energy and is just as interested in activity, anyway, despite the thin film of clear liquid under his nose. He’s sleeping mostly well, aside from a middle of the night screaming fit the night before last that he resolved himself. And he’s been SO fussy that I’m about to cry – again.

Tristan with a cold is pretty much Tristan plus tantrums over EVERYTHING. Normally, Tristan reserves his tantruming for stuff that’s just plain not fair in his eyes, and I get that. He’s weird about diaper changes in some cases, so trying to strip his diaper in the bathroom prior to a shower is asking for trouble. I know that if I take his food or drink containers from him when he’s not quite done that Tristan will flip his shit. So I generally try to remove his motivation to scream bloody murder.

Can’t do that when he’s sick or teething. (Actually, he may also BE teething.) He’s like me on my worst PMS. Not holding him long enough? The despair! Bedtime? Woe! Removing ANYTHING AT ALL from his hands? Pain! Doing anything that’s part of the normal day? Screams! And anything that’s not full of screams? Mischief and aggravation over the little, retarded rules that I try to enforce.

For instance, I don’t let Tristan throw food from the high chair or crush it unnecessarily. The throwing part, we are making progress with – we know when he throws and why, so we can deal with that before it happens. The crushing irritates me. I’m ok with playing with food, but he’s been pulverizing most of what’s on his tray when he’s not in the mood to eat. This is little; it is dumb; it is hell in conjunction with the other twenty two ways I’m frustrated with his behavior at the moment.

Right now he’s whine-crying and I don’t even know why. I don’t even think he knows why, as he’s also now giggling with daddy. I think it’s time for a bath..