Mondays with Tristan

For the last four Mondays I've gotten up extra early to go spend the day with Tristan, a precious little boy who is 1 year and 5 months old. I admit that I was very apprehensive about the first day. It's been 20+ years since I'd spent that much time alone with such a little one. I wasn't sure what to expect, whether he'd be upset to be with me, or what to do with him to keep him happy and busys. My fears were completely unfounded.

I mean, look at this face and those big eyes. He's just a bundle of love and curiousity waiting to burst open and fill your day with fun. Anyone remember cupie dolls? I love that he had this little tuft sticking up on top of his head all day. We have had lots of snuggles and hugs, played with wooden animals, cars, blocks and action figures. We've taken walks and explored nature. We've read books and books and books. And I really wished for puppets after I discovered that I could make him laugh and stay interested in a stuffed monkey just by pretending it was talking and doing things. It's been great.

Things that surprised me were his ability to play alone for 15-20 minutes at a time, talking to himself and playing with small toys. That it wasn't hard to get him to nap if I was observant of the first signs of tiredness and laid down with him until he fell asleep. The only crying was the tearful departure of mom or dad which calmed down as soon as he heard the car pull away. And that we could communicate quite well even though his vocabulary was pretty much limited to eat, juice, cat, dog, car and balloon.

I'll be traveling for a bit but when we return and get settled, I must make a play date with Tristan.


Oh, and I shouldn't forget that we were not alone. Smokey, one of the sweetest and best behaved dogs I know, and a couple of cats also joined in the fun.


Here's Tristan at work building on our block castle. Yeah. I actually really enjoyed some of our play. I never did outgrow blocks, tinker toys or lincoln logs. Oh, and don't get me going on Leggos.


And here's a little video. I wanted to capture his deep concentration and careful work.