It's been coming for a couple of months. There has been cruising along the furniture and pushing his toys around. There's been hanging on gates and leaning away from what he's hold just to drop and crawl. There has been clinging to your fingers and pulling /steering you around the house.
Yesterday Xander started walking.
He was pushing his truck and it ran into the couch. I said "Hey Xander, come here" and held out my arms. He took three steps to me with no signs of wavering or falling. I proceeded to pick him up and cuddle him and kiss him until he yelled.
Ikkin visited later and we spent a good 20 minutes of sitting on the floor playing "Walk to Mommy" and "Walk to Aunt Ikkin." And Xander did.
People kept saying "Just wait till he starts walking, you'll be so busy trying to keep up." It was hard enough trying to keep up when he crawled, so I'm a little nervous now.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Xander's Uncle's Wedding
Xander handled the excitement and bedlam of the wedding weekend fairly well for a one year old. He was watched most of Saturday by my youngest brother's girlfriend (thank you!) and various relatives since Chris and I were both part of the wedding party. Here's a few quick notes.
1) Hotel rooms are not babyproofed. I had to use a coffee table turned on it's side and the pack'n'play to block of the desk and it's cable and outlets. And I had to move the luggage rack and luggage in front of the mirror. That took care of the worst of it.
2) One year olds do not understand sleeping in. Xander was up at 6 am on Saturday. I took him in the bathroom and let him play in the bathtub while trying to let Chris sleep in a little. Fortunately, he was so tuckered out Sunday morning that we were up before him.
3) After the clock strikes 8, only Mom and Dad may hold the little guy. Everyone else causes crying. A great uncle and cousin will even cause cringing away. It got to be a running gag that my cousin would sneak up behind Xander and pluck him out of my arms to try to catch him off guard, but Xander would always start crying.
4) Guys of any age look good dressed up.
1) Hotel rooms are not babyproofed. I had to use a coffee table turned on it's side and the pack'n'play to block of the desk and it's cable and outlets. And I had to move the luggage rack and luggage in front of the mirror. That took care of the worst of it.
2) One year olds do not understand sleeping in. Xander was up at 6 am on Saturday. I took him in the bathroom and let him play in the bathtub while trying to let Chris sleep in a little. Fortunately, he was so tuckered out Sunday morning that we were up before him.
3) After the clock strikes 8, only Mom and Dad may hold the little guy. Everyone else causes crying. A great uncle and cousin will even cause cringing away. It got to be a running gag that my cousin would sneak up behind Xander and pluck him out of my arms to try to catch him off guard, but Xander would always start crying.
4) Guys of any age look good dressed up.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
thank God for Cheerios
I took the day off of work on friday and was playing around the house. At some point during the day the wife was getting ready to feed Xander. I came in the back door from working in the yard and he's ready and waiting in his high chair. Amanda gives me a bit of a guilt trip to get me to feed him, so I grab the Cheerios, open up the box and pour some on his high chair tabletop. At which point I stop and proclaim "Look at me, I'm feeding Xander. I'm a great Dad!"
So that's my new trick now. If Xander is hungry I put him in his high chair with Cheerios in front of him and let him go to work.
At some point I hope he learns that when he feeds himself he doesn't have to stick his entire hand (along with the Cheerio) in his mouth when eats. He's just a bit gross. But hey, he's quiet and getting fed, I'm not going to complain.
And we just went to a wedding yesterday and Xander was all dressed up in a little tux outfit (minus the jacket) and looked real sharp. We'll put some pictures up eventually.
So that's my new trick now. If Xander is hungry I put him in his high chair with Cheerios in front of him and let him go to work.
At some point I hope he learns that when he feeds himself he doesn't have to stick his entire hand (along with the Cheerio) in his mouth when eats. He's just a bit gross. But hey, he's quiet and getting fed, I'm not going to complain.
And we just went to a wedding yesterday and Xander was all dressed up in a little tux outfit (minus the jacket) and looked real sharp. We'll put some pictures up eventually.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
One Year Doctor Visit and a Couple of Firsts
Xander and I trekked to the doctor's office for his one year wellness visit. The nurses all remember him and like to comment on how happy he always is, even when he comes in sick. I'll say that's a good thing to be remembered for (as opposed the the kid who falls down throwing a temper tantrum)(and I hope I didn't just jinx myself).
His measurements seem to be running on the small side.
Weight: 20 lbs, 14 oz (15th percentile)
Height: 28.75 inches (30th percentile)
Head: 16.75 inches
Height vs. Weight is in the 50th percentile, so that's nice.
I felt the need to ask about toothpaste, since Xander definitely has a full dozen teeth. And I asked about getting vaccinations, since I'm always nervous about that. I was finally given a statistic to make me feel better: it's more likely to get sick from not getting a vaccination than to get autism. I know research has some contradicting information and I respect the decisions parents make about getting shots or not, but that little tidbit made me feel better. And Xander screamed during the shot but was smiling and waving at the nurse by the time I had him dressed.
-----
About a week before Xander turned one, Chris finally had enough and declared it hair cutting day for The Boy. And, ok, he had been referred to as a girl a few times in the weeks before that. But he has such cute curls. Chris declared we will do this ourselves. I cringed inside thinking about how Xander does not sit still. But we head outside and I hold him in my lap, attempting to pin his arms to his side.
Chris snips some curls from above one ear. Xander turns his head to see what's going on.
Chris snips some curls from above the other ear. Xander turns his head to the other direction to see what's going on.
Xander gets one arm free and feels his head to see what's going on.
Amanda re-pins arm.
Chris goes for a curl along the back of the neck. Some hair drifts down and Xander leans over to see it. Chris tries to hold his head down and just cuts across the back. Xander squeals.
And we quit. The back is too high and crooked and we laugh.
I carefully tuck away a curl of hair in Xander's scrapbook.
We totally took pictures, but I can't find where they are saved at the moment.
-----
We went to the county fair on the day after X's birthday. I love going to the fair :) You see a huge array of people, eat food that is oh-so-good and yet oh-so-bad, get sick on the rides and waste money on silly games. We only did the first two though.
I was frustrated because I wanted to find where all of the animals were. It was the first time we'd been to this fair and the first time really exploring the fairgrounds, and there were just too many barns. Most were empty. We did find some alpacas and goats. We pulled up the the goats and one stuck out it's head. Xander reached out and touched it's nose. He started saying "Guh!" (which is what he says when he sees a cat or, apparently, any animal) and waving his hands excitedly. If only we'd found the horses.
Chris and I splurged on matching, airbrushed tatoos. We had an 'X' put on the inside of our right wrists. We tried to convince people that they were real and we had gotten them to celebrate Xander's first birthday. But people didn't believe us. I guess we're just not crazy enough to get tatoos.
His measurements seem to be running on the small side.
Weight: 20 lbs, 14 oz (15th percentile)
Height: 28.75 inches (30th percentile)
Head: 16.75 inches
Height vs. Weight is in the 50th percentile, so that's nice.
I felt the need to ask about toothpaste, since Xander definitely has a full dozen teeth. And I asked about getting vaccinations, since I'm always nervous about that. I was finally given a statistic to make me feel better: it's more likely to get sick from not getting a vaccination than to get autism. I know research has some contradicting information and I respect the decisions parents make about getting shots or not, but that little tidbit made me feel better. And Xander screamed during the shot but was smiling and waving at the nurse by the time I had him dressed.
-----
About a week before Xander turned one, Chris finally had enough and declared it hair cutting day for The Boy. And, ok, he had been referred to as a girl a few times in the weeks before that. But he has such cute curls. Chris declared we will do this ourselves. I cringed inside thinking about how Xander does not sit still. But we head outside and I hold him in my lap, attempting to pin his arms to his side.
Chris snips some curls from above one ear. Xander turns his head to see what's going on.
Chris snips some curls from above the other ear. Xander turns his head to the other direction to see what's going on.
Xander gets one arm free and feels his head to see what's going on.
Amanda re-pins arm.
Chris goes for a curl along the back of the neck. Some hair drifts down and Xander leans over to see it. Chris tries to hold his head down and just cuts across the back. Xander squeals.
And we quit. The back is too high and crooked and we laugh.
I carefully tuck away a curl of hair in Xander's scrapbook.
We totally took pictures, but I can't find where they are saved at the moment.
-----
We went to the county fair on the day after X's birthday. I love going to the fair :) You see a huge array of people, eat food that is oh-so-good and yet oh-so-bad, get sick on the rides and waste money on silly games. We only did the first two though.
I was frustrated because I wanted to find where all of the animals were. It was the first time we'd been to this fair and the first time really exploring the fairgrounds, and there were just too many barns. Most were empty. We did find some alpacas and goats. We pulled up the the goats and one stuck out it's head. Xander reached out and touched it's nose. He started saying "Guh!" (which is what he says when he sees a cat or, apparently, any animal) and waving his hands excitedly. If only we'd found the horses.
Chris and I splurged on matching, airbrushed tatoos. We had an 'X' put on the inside of our right wrists. We tried to convince people that they were real and we had gotten them to celebrate Xander's first birthday. But people didn't believe us. I guess we're just not crazy enough to get tatoos.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
birthday party!
BIRTHDAY BOY!
We had ourselves a little birthday party yesterday, complete with friends, family and a giant monkey cake.
And now Xander has a boatload of new toys to play with and clothes for his momma to dress him in.
We had ourselves a little birthday party yesterday, complete with friends, family and a giant monkey cake.
And now Xander has a boatload of new toys to play with and clothes for his momma to dress him in.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Birthday Boy!
Xander turned One Year Old yesterday! Chris was away at work, but called me in the morning to ask if I was crying yet. I said no, but I was reminiscing about how I was stuck in the bathroom the morning of X's birth.
We didn't do a whole lot to celebrate as the big celebration is coming up this weekend. I did randomly sang "Happy Birthday" to Xander. After dinner we took a bike ride to get ice cream. But our ice cream place was closed due to the fair. So we made it into an extra long ride to find ice cream during which Xander needed a diaper change but we didn't think to bring the diaper bag. Hey, it was supposed to be a short ride!
I feel like I should be writing some inspiring and touching letter to Xander about how he's changed our lives and how much we love him. But I think the blog in general does that. And anyone who knows us can see that.
So here are a couple of new things Xander has learned:
Clapping - he started out banging two toys together but it has progressed to saying 'Clap' and he puts his hands together a few times while grinning. Particularly fun is if he holds a finger on each of your hands because he'll clap your hands together.
Almost walking - he loves to push his Retro Rocket around. He's not too comfortable sitting on it just yet. But he will get one hand on the handle and one on the back fin and push it around. But it's really annoying when he gets it stuck and he starts screaming.
Stairs - Xander has been going up the stairs ok (with close parental supervision). We had to teach him how to go down a couple of times, but now he's pretty much got it. If we're upstairs and he sees the gate 0pen, he will rush over to the stairs. Then he'll stop and, keeping his hands in place, scoot his butt and legs around until he hits the edge. Then he'll tentatively stretch his foot down to the next step. After that, it's pretty much one leg back at a time. And lots of excited panting.
Splashing - he's ok with baths, but gets tired of them pretty quickly. Now he understands when I say 'Splash' and he gets water everywhere. He also does this thing where he tries to lay flat and put his face in the water. It freaks me out.
Things we are working on include, but are not limited to: hugs, kisses, high fives, peek-a-boo (which he can do with a blanket but not with his hands yet) and pointing.
We didn't do a whole lot to celebrate as the big celebration is coming up this weekend. I did randomly sang "Happy Birthday" to Xander. After dinner we took a bike ride to get ice cream. But our ice cream place was closed due to the fair. So we made it into an extra long ride to find ice cream during which Xander needed a diaper change but we didn't think to bring the diaper bag. Hey, it was supposed to be a short ride!
I feel like I should be writing some inspiring and touching letter to Xander about how he's changed our lives and how much we love him. But I think the blog in general does that. And anyone who knows us can see that.
So here are a couple of new things Xander has learned:
Clapping - he started out banging two toys together but it has progressed to saying 'Clap' and he puts his hands together a few times while grinning. Particularly fun is if he holds a finger on each of your hands because he'll clap your hands together.
Almost walking - he loves to push his Retro Rocket around. He's not too comfortable sitting on it just yet. But he will get one hand on the handle and one on the back fin and push it around. But it's really annoying when he gets it stuck and he starts screaming.
Stairs - Xander has been going up the stairs ok (with close parental supervision). We had to teach him how to go down a couple of times, but now he's pretty much got it. If we're upstairs and he sees the gate 0pen, he will rush over to the stairs. Then he'll stop and, keeping his hands in place, scoot his butt and legs around until he hits the edge. Then he'll tentatively stretch his foot down to the next step. After that, it's pretty much one leg back at a time. And lots of excited panting.
Splashing - he's ok with baths, but gets tired of them pretty quickly. Now he understands when I say 'Splash' and he gets water everywhere. He also does this thing where he tries to lay flat and put his face in the water. It freaks me out.
Things we are working on include, but are not limited to: hugs, kisses, high fives, peek-a-boo (which he can do with a blanket but not with his hands yet) and pointing.
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