A Year in Review

A year ago today, my precious little boy was born into this world. During labour, he put up a good fight to stay in his safe, warm home, but in the end, mom won and he was finally in my arms. Truman is as strong willed now as he was that day! In that sense he has not changed at all. Even though I was exhausted and in a lot of pain, I was never happier.

When we were finally allowed to bring Truman home our lives were full of "firsts" and we had a lot of learning to do. We were learning how to breastfeed, how to change diapers, how to bathe a squirmy newborn and most of all we were learning all about our son. Truman was also learning all about us. I can remember our first night home like it was yesterday. Jerry and I decided to go out for a little bit with Truman, despite my instincts telling me to take it easy and just be at home. I was just in a hospital bed for four days and was dying to be on the move. For those who know me, I don't like to stay still for too long! I paid for this little adventure of ours, but looking back, it was worth it (sorry honey, it probably didn't help you in the end). Our first night of trying to sleep did not go so well. Jerry and I were up every half hour or so, trying to console our young son. The next night we discovered co-sleeping! Finally both Truman and I were able to get some sleep, but my poor husband, the worrier that he is could not get any sleep despite being in the basement. Any sound he heard he came running up the stairs to see if his family was alright.



Our little man was a hungry, hungry hippo. He could eat, and eat some more and never seemed to be full. Especially at night when I felt as though I was feeding him for hours, and then he would still manage to finish an entire bottle of formula. Still to this day, my little boy can eat any other one year old under the table. He loves food, but then again, who in the Topolski-Braun household doesn't?

My first TSN turning point came at the six week mark, when my doctor told me I was as good as gold and could return to my normal life. I think the first thing I did was hop in the car and just drive. I was so excited to take the stroller out by myself. I was on a new high which lasted many, many months. My energy levels increased and I felt like a new woman. My parents no longer had to come every day to help me (although I am totally indebted to them and I don't know what I would have done without them those first few weeks). Truman and I started attending classes, going for long walks, and having a lot of nice quiet time. Did you believe that? Quiet time? Hardly! My little Tdot has been very active since the beginning and loved to be in my arms or the Baby Bjorn. I don't know what Jerry and I would have done without the baby carrier. Until about three months Truman was sometimes a little difficult and was a fussy baby. At about 4pm every afternoon, or so it seems in retrospect he cried until he started his cluster feeds at 7pm, unless of course I popped him into the carrier or swing. Both which seemed to soothe him. Was he colicky? I go back and forth on this every day. How can one be sure?

Our second and final TSN turning point came just after we returned from Orlando, so that was at around three months. My little one turned into the happiest fellow. He smiled at everyone and flirted with anyone who looked in his direction. Truman is the same way today, when we are out and about I can't tell you how many people stop me and exclaim what a happy baby I have. Now, I don't want to mislead my readers, he can also be a very cranky baby. But truly I think that I am lucky!

At four months, to our surprise, Truman started teething. It was Baba who predicted this correctly. Baba has called a lot of milestones, and eventually I learned to trust her instincts! Not only did one tooth come to the surface, about two days later we had another one! Then, his teeth kept coming in, one after the other until he had his full set. He just recently had one of him molars come in.

We continued to enjoy our classes over the winter months. We went to Salsa Babies (our favourite), Baby Mother Goose, Yoga (which was a complete bust), baby massage, Making the Connection (another bust), gymboree (another favourite), swimming, and I am sure there may be more that I am forgetting. Although, the most important past time activity for me was walking with my friend Emily and her daughter Grace. This is when I was able to talk to someone about my parenting issues, as Grace is two months younger than Truman. Or, when Truman was getting a little frantic, it was a great way to get out of the house for awhile. As Emily and I increased our walks, my addiction to Starbucks also increased around the same time. Coincidence? I think not! We always liked to have a destination to go to, and it usually ended up being Starbucks. The amount of money I have spent....anyways.....

Just before six months we started Truman on solids and he of course loved it. I have learned from this experience to trust my instincts and not go always go with recommendations. I had noticed that Truman seemed hungrier just leading up to this point and he was always watching us eat. He ended up losing weight between his five and six month appointment. I have learned now to listen to my gut.

Our little man has also be an avid traveller over the last year. We took him to Florida, New York (a couple of times), Dominican Republic, and just recently Boston. The family had planned to travel to Europe this past summer, but hopefully soon we will be able to visit our families. Both great-grandmothers are anxiously waiting to meet him!

Truman has many likes that we have discovered over the last year. He likes the water and can't get enough of it whether the water is in a fountain, waterfall, faucet, pool, or tub. He goes crazy and wants to get his hands wet. That is, until someone else is in his pool and then he is not a happy camper. He also loves food, which I think I mentioned earlier. His favourite foods being cheese, yogurt and Tim Horton bagels.

As time went on, Truman learned to roll, sit up on his own, finally learned to crawl and then just recently started walking. He always liked to stand and for the past few months really enjoyed me walking him around. A part of me now misses those days where he depended on me more. I seem never to be satisfied! Truman has always been a verbal kid and started babbling early on. He must take after his father who also enjoys talking! Everyday I enjoy hearing what new word he may utter.

So, here begins the next chapter of our life. On Tuesday Truman will start day care and I will be heading back to work in about a month. Life is about to change once more. There was a time when I could not even think about leaving my son, but as the months have gone by, I am slowly letting go. Just a little.

Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet boy who has changed my life in so many ways, and has helped me grow. Although we won't be spending our days together, you will always be in my heart and in my soul. I love you.

Truman's First Birthday

Today we celebrated Truman's first birthday and had a "jungle" of a time! What a day, full of both excitement and emotion. Unfortunately, the weather did not hold up for us and we spent most (read: all) our time inside but a good time was had by all! Truman wanted to thank everyone for all the gifts and for spoiling him.

Truman seemed to enjoy his party and loved all the attention he was receiving! Grandma spent a lot of the day walking him around, and around, and around some more. Thanks Wanda for all of your help! Truman was very interested in his cake and took the toy monkey off right away and wanted to have a taste! He seemed to enjoy his cake as he dove right in, face first. The sugar effects lasted well into the evening, and he was not interested in napping at all. I don't think I have EVER seen my little one so excited before! Nor has he ever had so much energy!

I want to send out a special thanks to both Tina and Misty for all the time and energy they spent on helping Truman's day be so special. THANK YOU!! As well, an extra special thanks to Tina for making a spectacular cake! WOW!!! Truman feels so special that he had one of his very own!

Truman is definitely turning into a little boy and I am noticing it more and more every day. Today he said "light" for the first time, even though it sounds more like "li". Or, I could also be a crazy mommy and am making nothing into something!

On Friday we took Truman for his 12 month check up and he is 21 1/2 pounds and 72 cm, which means he has shrunk 2cm from his last visit, and went from the 90th percentile to the 10th in a few months. Hmmmm.....I'm assuming that a mistake was made somewhere! Jerry was so excited to turn around the car seat that he locked himself in the car while doing it.

Peek-A-Boo

Truman's new favourite game to play is peek-a-boo! He thinks hiding is quite fun, but doesn't want me to be out of his sight for too long.

Truman has been extra cuddly over the last few days. I think all the fussing is because he is getting another molar. Poor thing! Let me tell you it's not so easy being with a little toddler when he's teething! He doesn't seem happy unless he's in my arms!

Morrie has not been himself since he returned from the hospital last night. He had surgery on his tongue and we are hoping that it is only calcification and not anything more serious. I think he is still in a lot of pain. He too has been extra cuddly and wants a lot of attention. Tonight, he decided to sleep in Truman's room under his crib (which is a first). Misery likes company?

A Trip to Boston, Walking, and a New Molar!

Saturday morning we began our Boston adventure. We did however go to Tim Horton's with Emily, Mark and Grace before driving to Buffalo. Truman really wanted to have one last date with Grace before he left for a few days! The drive to the Buffalo airport was long and painful...at one point we thought we were going to miss our flight. Luckily there was little traffic at the border and we had a little less than an hour at the airport. We flew to Boston on a tiny propeller plane (Dash 8 aircraft). Truman was great on the flight and he insisted that we read him book after book after book!

We arrived in Boston fairly painlessly and because of my mommy craziness, I refused to take a taxi to the hotel (because there were no car seats) and insisted that we take a subway. I can't tell you how many stairs we had to climb while carrying our luggage and Truman in his stroller. I thought Jerry was going to kill me! But, at least we got a great workout in!

On Sunday morning, Truman decided he was ready to walk! He would just let go of my hands and walk! It was such a proud mommy moment for me! Now, he wants to walk everywhere! After practising walking we began our day of sight seeing. We decided that the best way to see Boston was to walk the city and explore. We headed to Harvard first to show Truman where he will be going to university, specifically Harvard Law School (but really Truman, no pressure!). What an amazing campus! Although I think Western was as close to an "American" type campus as it gets...it was NOTHING like Harvard. WOW!

We then headed to Quincey Market/Faneuil Hall to check things out. I was a little disappointed in the lack of chachkas and the more mainstream type stores....does there have to be a GAP everywhere? We then decided to walk back to our hotel, but to take a long, walk to tour the city. We walked part of the Freedom Trail, Boston Commons, and then down Newbury street.

Monday we took Truman on his first train ride to Salem! I have never seen Jerry so excited to visit a place! We went on a witch tour and went into about a dozen cheesy shops. We visited the cemetery and the oldest candy store in America! Unfortunately, we missed our "spell castings" tour, Truman was really looking forward to learning some spells to teach his friends at day care. I tried to get a picture of a witch, but I could not catch one on film.

I noticed on Saturday morning that Truman had something white poking out of his gums near the back of his mouth. I touched the area and felt something quite sharp. OMG! Truman was getting a molar! It didn't seem to bother him too much, but on Tuesday night he woke up at 4am and would not stop screaming. I tried to console him as much as possible, and we gave him some Tylenol and then he finally fell asleep (on me, and I think I drooled on his head!). Poor thing! I am so happy that his pain only lasted one night! For both our sakes.

After a nice swim on Wednesday morning, we wanted to see some more of Boston, and do some more touristy type things. We first headed to the Boston aquarium. We saw three types of penguins, seals, sharks, turtles and many, many fish! Truman had a great time looking into the tanks and trying to touch the fish. He also enjoyed walking everywhere and would fight Jerry and I when we would try to put him back in his stroller. Our little one is definitely exerting his independence!

We then headed to Fenway Park to take a look at the baseball stadium. There was a game on when we got there, but because we had the stroller, we didn't attempt to go in to watch. It was too bad, but when Truman goes to Harvard we'll have many chances to catch a game!

Wednesday night we met up with Erin for dinner as she has been working in Boston for the last 6 months. It was a great meal, and Truman was a complete gentleman, despite all the food he had on his face and hands!

August Long Weekend

Saturday morning Jerry, Truman and I headed downtown to St. Lawrence Market to pick up some fresh food for the weekend, particularly some meat to BBQ. After a quick visit we headed back uptown for Truman's swimming lessons, which both Truman and Daddy enjoyed. Saturday night we headed to one of the restaurants in our neighbourhood with Rebecca, Ryan and Jake, and Bronna, Jeff and Macayla. The kids were very well behaved and another couple dining in the restaurant commented on how great they were. Truman could not get enough bread to eat. Rebecca and I decided that we had to take a trip to DQ, since it had been almost a year since we last satisfied our DQ cravings! I gave a little ice cream to Truman to try, but he didn't seem to like it that much.



Sunday morning we woke up and headed to the zoo! We met up with Ryan, Rebecca and Jake and had a lovely walk around the park before the heat was unbearable. We headed to the water park where we were joined by the Thornton's. Truman only wanted to walk around the water park and touch the water. Jake had so much fun playing with the spraying animals.....he has no fear!


Above is a picture of Jake at the zoo....we found him hiding in one of the bushes!



After the zoo, Ben, Steph, Christine and Dash joined us at our place for some pizza. Christine is such a sweet, polite little girl and I don't buy her parent's sentiments that she only shows well! Dash is a little flirt (taking after his friend Truman), but keep that boy away from the beer!

Sunday night Jerry and I had a lovely dinner for two on our patio (while Truman was napping). Then, we woke up our little one and headed to Mel Lastman Square to listen to a swing band. When we arrived the party was in full swing and the dance floor was already full! Truman and I danced together, and I hope that I will always have him as my dance partner.

Monday morning, while Jerry went golfing, I took Truman to Tim Horton's for our weekend bagels and coffee. I could not believe how quickly Truman polished off his food! Monday evening, we had the Starkman's over for a lovely BBQ. Truman and Jake took a little dip in the pool...well, it took Truman quite some time to get comfortable sharing his pool with Jake. He would not stop crying, so Jerry hopped in with them, which I think helped Truman calm down a lot. It was so adorable watching the two of the them have dinner together. As you can see, Jake likes lamb, while Truman prefers beef! Jake taught Truman a new song tonight....we'll see if Truman will catch on!

Heat Wave

How do you entertain a little one in this heat? It has been a trying week for Truman and I. We have been going on our walks early in the morning (with Lana and Masha) or later in the evening (with Morrie). On Monday and Tuesday afternoon, we splashed around in the pool, which Truman is quite fond of. He is not afraid of puting his face in the water over and over again. His favourtite thing to do is climb in and out of the pool and then insist that I walk him around the backyard. He needs to investigate EVERYTHING!!! He also tries to imitate me by grabbing the watering can and water the plants!

Wednesday Truman and I met up with Rebecca and Jake for our weekly visit to the zoo. Every animal seemed to be out, except for the Elephants who were attending an (off-site?) training session! We stopped by the cheetah exhibit...and all of a sudden three or four cheetah's approached the glass and it looked as though wanted the boys for breakfast. One cheetah in particular looked like he was trying to contemplate his escape. After we walked around for about an hour we headed to the water park to cool down. My sister and parents then came for a nice visit in the afternoon. We headed to Starbuck's even though it was so hot out....we all needed a caffeine fix!

Truman is walking most of the time now with one hand and occasionally lets go to walk on his own, only to fall. I am so proud of him to have enough courage to let go, and continually let go. I am sure that he will be walking without our help soon enough. Truman also has a new word "ball" and loves to roll and chase his little basketball!