Tristan is an absolute joy! At 3 1/2, he is kind, compassionate, funny, (usually) obedient, curious, and 100% boy!
His favorite thing is still any kind of vehicle. That hasn't changed since he was 6 months old. He knows the names of literally hundreds of vehicles (from Dodge Charger to Audi to Mini Cooper to a Duesenberg!) He has a couple hundred vehicles (mostly Hot Wheels cars), but always begs for a new one when we go to the store. A boy can never have too many sets of wheels, I guess.
His cars go with him everywhere. He takes them to church, to the store, to visit friends, to the bathtub (where he gives them very thorough baths), even to bed. Most kids sleep with a favorite stuffed animal or blanket. Tristan sleeps with cars!
Tristan has a strong sense of fairness. He really took to the concept of bullies, and tries to be careful to never be one himself. He is quick to share, and also quick to tell other people that
they have to share, too! He asks me repeatedly to tell him stories of bullies doing bad things. He loves the part of the story where they're stopped - by a parent, a teacher, or if they're
really bad, a policeman.
He's amazingly empathetic. If someone is hurt or upset, he always wants to help. One day at church, a girl in his class was really upset & wouldn't stop crying. His teacher told me that Tristan kept going over to her, and saying, "It's ok. You don't have to cry. You can play with me!" If someone gets a "boo-boo", he wants to give them kisses & a band-aid. Recently at the park, a little girl fell down & got hurt. As her mommy was trying to comfort her, Tristan walked over and told her, "I'm gonna say something nice to you to make you feel better.... It's ok. You're gonna be ok."
Forgiveness is another concept he really loves. Several weeks ago at church, he learned that you should forgive someone 70 x 7 times. Ever since then, he's very quick to apologize when he does something wrong, and the correct answer is always, "That's ok, Tristan. I forgive you." He's also quick to forgive others. He loves forgiving so much that sometimes he'll hit himself, just so he can say, "That's ok. I forgive me!" :)
Tristan is a quick learner, and wants to know about everything around him. All day long, I hear, "Why?" and "What?" I think he has his daddy's photographic memory, because he rarely forgets things. Unlike his mommy, he usually only needs to hear something one time. We continue to expand his vocabulary, not because I think it's important for kids at this age to know lots of big words, but because he
loves learning new words. His newest is "non-negotiable". He'll tell you that it means that mommy will
not change her mind. :)
Tristan also has great potential as a parent. He loves to "help" me parent Logan. He knows all the things Logan shouldn't do, and never hesitates to forcefully tell him, "No, Logan! No, no, no, no, no!" He tries (unsuccessfully) to block Logan from things he shouldn't have, and is very careful to keep toys away from him that Logan could choke on.
Finally, Tristan is just plain funny! He has a great sense of humor, and is always cracking me up with the things he says. I've tried to list several of them on the blog, because I know I'll forget them otherwise. He loves playing games. Board games and puzzles, yes, but also games we make up. Last week we had "backwards day", where we said & did things backwards all day long. When he got hungry for lunch, he told me, "I'm really full! Don't give me any food now." When he sat down, he told me he was standing up. His vehicles all drove around backwards. You get the idea. We really had a blast!
In case you haven't figured it out by now, today is a day for getting my favorite memories down in writing. I've seen several friends do it on their blogs, and I think it's a great idea! While I think I'll remember these things, I know that I'll probably forget a lot if it's not written down somewhere. Someday I'll use one of those sites that turns your blog into a book.
One last word, although I doubt I'd ever forget this....
I am a very proud mommy!!!!
Two of Tristan's favorite things... vehicles & finger paint!
