Summertime

Wondering what a new mom and baby do with their maternity/summer break? Well, here's a snapshot of our summer adventures together so far:

Tristan's First Happy Hour:


Such a ladies man! *almost 8 weeks*


Dave showing what a natural he is :)



I love these pics! He's totally rockin' the Burt Reynolds look!

Family BBQs:

Grandpa & his boys


Lincoln loves entertaining his little cousin :)


Lincoln showing Tristan his favorite page.


Trying out Aunt T's sunglasses.


This is how you can often find him - on Dad's iPhone! Like father, like son!

Dad's Softball Games:

Brian just joined a summer softball league. Tristan has become somewhat of a mascot :)


Working on his cheers.


*9 weeks*

Pool Parties:
We've been taking advantage of the beautiful weather lately by having our own little pool parties at our friend's place. I'm not too sure who enjoys it more - mama or baby. Although I'm pretty sure since it's one of mama's favorite past times, she may be getting more of a kick out of it. Oh, and notice Little T's outfit - the swim shorts are not quite functional yet, but once again, mom has such a fun time dressing up for the occasion!!



*9 1/2 weeks*

Apparently he didn't want his picture taken :)

And yes, even a Brew Fest!
The Oregon Brew Fest was down on the waterfront this past weekend and since mom and dad are trying to give Little T as many exciting experiences as possible, they of course knew this was a must!

Trying to take a peek at all the action.



Hanging with the ladies once again! I also think we're going through a "mouth" phase these days! *9 1/2 weeks*

We're loving our summer break together!!

A Campin' We Will Go...

Call us crazy once again, but we successfully pulled off a camping trip with Mr. T at just two months old! Okay, to be honest, we were able to sleep in a warm bed both nights. I don't look at it as cheating, I look at it as smart camping. Ah, the perks of bringing along a baby. I wonder how long this will last :)

Our original plan was to find a spot up by Mt. St. Helens, but when Trac, Dave and Lawrence got there first, they were shocked that all four campsites in the area were full. So, they turned around and met us at Clint & Sarah's for a pseudo-camping night at their house.

The next day, Laura & Travis very kindly offered up their family cabin at Swift Creek Reservoir (they of course couldn't make it since she was due that day!). Our plan was to just use their "backyard" to set up camp, so we could also take advantage of the lake and dock. Little did we know that Travis' parents would also be there - what generous hosts they were! Even though they opened up their cabin to us, we still wanted the camping experience, and stayed outdoors. Except that night when Ginger offered Tristan and I a bed. How could I pass that up? I guess I didn't take into account how dark it would be to change a diaper and make a bottle in the middle of the night. Thanks baby T for helping us score a bed each night!



Mt. St. Helens peeking through at Swift Creek Reservoir.


We had the full camping experience during the day, but ended up with a warm bed at night!


Us girls posing for yet another pic - how Brady Bunch is this??




Lawrence and Trac singing Little T lullabies so that Brian and I could go on a solo boat ride.


Of course Bella had to be on the sunset cruise as well.




The next day, we also go to enjoy a cocktail cruise on Ginger & Brian's boat.


We took the scenic route home and stopped at this breathtaking view of Mt. St. Helens for a photo opp.








We also stopped at Skamania Lodge (one of our very favorite places!) and enjoyed the beautiful view of the Gorge. Can you believe all these amazing places exist in the NW?!






This is how we have to travel from now on. There's no room inside the car for any of our gear when mom, dad, two dogs and a baby take up all the space!

Happy 2 month Little Man!!

He loves lounging on the Boppy!

Little T had his 2 month checkup today, including his first round of shots. He did such a great job, barely a flinch! His mom on the other hand was a different story. I was so anxious about this appointment for weeks, particulary about the shots. Luckily we have a great doctor who put me at ease and is also on the same page when it comes to vaccinations. He'll get them spread out monthly, instead of lumped together every two months. Who knows if this will make a difference with anyhting, but for some reason, it makes me feel a little better.

Here are his physical stats:
Weight - 11.6 lbs, 47% (2 mo); 7.5 lbs, 21.5% (at birth)
Length - 22 in, 13.6% (2 mo); 20.5 in, 69.7% (at birth)
Head Circum - 15.4 in, 25.8% (2 mo); 14.75, 54% (2 weeks)

Well, as you can see, our little man likes to eat! What I was the most surprised by was the fact that he hadn't grown as much. I personally think he's a bit longer than 22 inches. We'll have to see how much the stats change at 4 months!

Fun stats:
Smiles and coos a lot - is really tying to talk!
Can smile on his own, espeially when playing under the activity mat
Can really lift his head
Loves to watch your face, especially when someone is talking - almost seems like he's studying the words one is saying so that he can try them out himself!
Tries to grab and "bat" objects
Is sleeping 6-7 hours most nights!
Just getting more and more adorable each day!!



I love these two pictures - I promise I didn't just photoshop different clothes onto the bottom one! This is the face I usually capture on camera when trying to catch his big smile. The smile disappears and he ends up looking inquisitively at the camera!



These pics are a little blurry, but you kind of see how sweet his smile is :)


The shirt says it all - Big and strong, just like Daddy.

4th of July - Montana style

Love his 4th of July outfit! Of course we had to dress it up with beads so that he felt more patriotic! (Maybe another pic he's going to be embarrassed by in 15 years?!) *7 weeks*


Yes, even Brody & Bella got into the patriotic spirit!

We ended our Montana vacay with a 4th of July celebration. Emma was asked to be in the Ennis parade, so we started our holiday by going into town to watch her pass out candy. I think this may have been the highlight of her summer!


4th of July parade - wish we would have gotten a better pic of Emma's moment of glory!

Not quite sure what this has to do with the 4th of July, but these clowns were my favorite!!


Some more of my favorite pictures from our trip:

One of the first days in MT - looking back at this pic, I think Tristan gained at least a pound while we were there!

I love this pic of Emma & Tristan looking at each other - she really loved her little cousin and was so helpful with him! It was fun to hang out with her all week - she is lucky to be able to spend the entire summer with her grandparents in MT! (I think Brian was a little jealous :)

One of our favorite things to do with the little guy!

Wild, Wild West

I can definitely see why people refer to this as the Wild, Wild West. When you wake up in a place and see antelope in your backyard, then while on an ATV ride, you're told to watch for elk, wolf and bear, you know you're not in the city any more. This is truly a beautiful place and I love waking up to the serene landscape. Brian always jokes about moving here (at least I think he's joking?!), but I think I'd take it for granted if I lived here. When we come to visit, I can appreciate it that much more and enjoy it as a relaxing, beautiful vacation.

This is what we encountered at 6am as we were almost to Brian's parents' house - a modern-day cattle drive! They casually strolled down the road and were being corralled by "cowboys" in cars!

Not an unusual sight while driving down the road!


View from the Georges' deck - imagine waking up to that every morning!

Our good friends, Clint and Sarah, came and joined us on Thursday for an extended 4th of July weekend. We decided to take them out and show them what SW Montana has to offer. Brian and I also got to enjoy our first solo outings together. We went to historic Virginia City for lunch one day. And then to the Lewis & Clark caverns another day - a very impressive cave close to Ennis.

View from the Lewis & Clark caverns

This picture was so bad, it needed to be posted!! Brian insisted he wear his headlamp - wonder if Tristan will be embarrassed by this some day? And can you say, wow, that's one tired mom??!!


Lots of stalagtites and stalactites - finally, that geology class came in handy for this tour!

Clint & Sarah posing with some stalactites.