One Month and Three Days -

Things continue to be relatively normal at the Downing household. We just celebrated my birthday along with my brother in law, Luis whose birthday was yesterday. The birthday celebrations started on Friday and continued through to Monday with a big family get together at my parents house. We even had a surprise last minute RSVP from my God Parents, Jim and Barbara Watt, which was very nice.

On Friday, my actual birthday, we had a nice dinner at my parents house that included an apple pie and that coveted 300 GB hard drive that I wanted. . . .so a big thanks to my parents for supply my digital storage. They also contributed to the future drum kit purchase.

Saturday was friends night with the Durkins. I should have taken some pictures of the Durkin family while they were here, but we were all to busy enjoying the pool and the glasses of wine on the back deck. The Durkins brought over fixings for fajitas so there was food, food, food and full tummies by the end of the night.

Sunday was a relaxation day. We spend most of the time outside and in the pool. My sisters kids came over to swim. It was a little chilly and cloudy when we got started, but pretty soon the clouds burned off and the sun came out to warm up the afternoon. Chad, Wendy and Ella Chennault came over for a quick dip and my sister in law, Nicole made an appearance too.

Tristan continues to be in good spirits and we are just waiting for him to decide when he wants to work on his scheduled feedings. They usually say that around 6 weeks babies will start to set a schedule. We aren't really interested in manipulating the schedule, just figuring out what it is.

We are also using a diaper service that comes to our house on Mondays to pick up the used cloth diapers. We are almost two weeks into that process and it seems to be working pretty well. Some folks are surprised that we are using the cloth diapers, but I think that the mechanics of the cloth diaper is relatively easy and the reduced strain on the environment helps you sleep better at night. I'm not a bigtime "everyday is Earth day" kind of guy, but every little bit counts.

Tonight is a banner day for Tristan because he is going to spend some time at my sisters house while Amber and I go to the ROT biker rally. The band that I play in, A Band Named Sue, is opening for David Allen Coe tonight and it's the first time that Amber will have a chance to see the band at a big venue, rather than the smaller clubs that we usually play. We are only playing for an hour, but with transportation Tristan will be with my sister's family for a couple of hours. I've been doing some bottle feeding and Tristan is happy to get the nutrition in his tummy regardless of the process. He does a good job with the Avent bottles, but dad is still working on them not leaking. Sometimes it's easier to warp a paper towel around it. I'll get it figured out one day.