Tristian

Tristian is a unique child. I've been told that he is helpful more than once. He got the award in Kindergarten for the most helpful. I've also been told he has "an old soul". I truly believe that. So, this blog is about him and may be ongoing, if I can remember to keep it up.

By 1 year old, Tristian...
had flown in a plane from Indiana to Florida twice.
could clean up his toys into his toy box with very little help.
could drink from a cup.
had been walking for over 2 months.
had been swimming in a pool.
had been camping, sort of, but hated it, so we returned home before falling asleep.
had rode a horse with Mama.
had tubes put in his ears.

By 2 years old, Tristian
had been to his first amusement park, Holiday World in Santa Claus, IN;
.... and spent the whole day in the water park part.
moved houses for the first time.
slept in a real bed, not a crib.
went camping, for real, in a tent (on the hottest week of the year, so we ended up in a hotel).
visited Squire Boone Caverns in Southern Indiana.
had his first febrile seizure and scared Mom and Dad to death.
...which led to his first ambulance ride.
went to his first of many RV shows.

By 3 years old, Tristian
could look at one side of a truck or trailer and tell you the TOTAL number of wheels on it.
could help dad set up the pop up camper. His job was to put the legs down. Although, he was was caught trying to "hook up" the camper to his "Flintstone-type" car!
had his 2nd febrile seizure in the baggage claim of the Orlando airport. Mom remained calm.
had another tube put in his right ear and came out of the surgery smiling, being carried by the recovery room nurse! Such a church baby!
knew the names of all the types of campers: 5th wheels, travel trailers, pop-ups, class A, class C.
had been to Dollywood and Splash Country in Pigeon Forge, TN.

By 4 years old, Tristian
became a big brother.
"fixed" a bottle for his baby sister by pouring water in a new can of formula.
got his sister out of her crib, strapped her into her car seat and declared her "ready to go"! (I immediately called the pediatrician and she assured me that babies were more resiliant than I thought, but watch her for a couple of days anyway. She was FINE!)
was finally potty trained! (closer to 3 years old, but not before)
had a new job on a new camper: legs on the camper again, but also helping Daddy back up the van to the camper hitch. Dead on, every time!
had seen the arch in St. Louis, MO.
had been to Six Flags in St. Louis, MO.
saw over 3 feet of snow fall in less than 24 hours!

By 5 years old, Tristian
was learning to read.
had learned to ride a bike without training wheels.
wanted to be a Wal-mart truck driver.
had been to Magic Kingdom, Gatorland, Busch Gardends (Tampa) twice, Sea World, Florida Aquarium, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.
had been to the Air & Space Museum in Dayton, OH.
had been to the Newport Aquarium in Newport, KY - other side of Ohio River from Cincinnati.
had been to the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, IN.
had been on a real train ride (Amtrak).
had rode the Tri-rail (South Florida) to the Metro rail (Miami) to eat dinner in Miami at a Cuban restaurant.

By 6 years old, Tristian
had been on a rode trip, without a hotel stop, from Avon Park, FL, to Seymour, IN!
had spent 7 weeks in South Florida with his grandparents! A long stint without parents!

By 7 years old, Tristian
had played drums in a choir concert at school.
had received the "Most Helpful" award for Kindergarten.

By 8 years old, Tristian
had saved enough money to buy his own bike.
had rode on the Metro into DC to see "the city" and visit a Smithsonian.
saw the White House, the Washington Monument and walked around DC.
was being evaluated for the gifted program at school.
had gone to his first indoor water park.
learned how to send a text message.
moved from Indiana to Virginia.