Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hallo...well, close enough.

Our precious edamame:

Food and Fun

Xander has been enjoying a range of new foods, and exploring his rapidly expanding world since his 7 month birthday. Mommy and Daddy bought Xander some balls, and he's learning to play catch. Xander's starting to pull himself up on people and furniture, and has gotten to his feet on his own accord today. Mommy and Daddy are not ready for Xander to start walking any time soon, but Xander may have other plans. He's spending more time sitting, and is getting very fast on his hands/knees/stomach. He's starting to hold his sippy cup and drink his water on his own, and he can feed himself his puffs by grabbing them between his thumb and index finger and bringing them to his mouth. His appetite is growing, and he can polish off 6 ounces of formula no problem, and often goes through 2 or more jars of food at a sitting. Xander is an extremely curious little guy, and explores everything very carefully. Xander is also becoming a sports fan, as he switched to the 49-ers vs Saints game this evening after he grabbed the remote from Daddy.

Yum!

Yum?

Xander, falling off the ol' wagon...

Our little darling in action (10/18):

Time, Time, Time

Daddy didn't get home in time to see Xander before he went to bed. This isn't the first time. Unfortunately, it won't be the last time. :(

Xander is growing up too fast. He's really scooting all over the place, and his favorite thing to do is creep up behind you quickly and stealthily, like the Ninja! and scare the poop out of you. Mommy gets this treatment quite frequently, when she thinks that Xander is safely on the other side of the room, and then suddenly, HEADBUTT!

Beautiful! Any time of year.

Xander likes to read:

Xander still thinks he's an otter from time to time:

Getting sleepy? Hold onto that bottle!

Strike a pose!

Xander needs more toys...

Xander is not an unhappy child.

Xander, the overachiever

Unless you have mad bandwidth, don't bother checking out Xander's latest video (over 50MB).

Other than that, I honestly can't do it justice. Just start the download going and grab a bite to eat...across town...and maybe do some shopping...Xander will wait for you.

Happy Birthday!

Xander turned 6 months on Saturday, and we celebrated a bit by having him visit his friend Keegan and hanging out with auntie Meg and uncle Jarod. We got Xander some bath toys, and he now has lots of fun when he takes a bath. He's sitting up very well on his own, but still slouches and topples over when he forgets to keep his balance.

We went in to see the doctor today for Xander's 6 month well child exam, and they just commented on how perfect he is in every way. He now officially weighs 15 lbs 10 oz, and is 26 inches tall. He's getting more and more vocal all the time, and is showing signs of pre-crawling, as he claws his way towards his toys and moves around in a tight little circle on his belly to see what is going on behind him. Unfortunately, lately he has been using his time in his crib as an opportunity for exploration, rather than for sleeping.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Daddy has barely had time to check his e-mail, much less blog, but that's not to say that Xander hasn't been busy. Nighttime has been getting earlier, he's been expanding his diet exponentially, he is sitting up better on his own, and pushing himself up to hands and even occasionally on his knees. His manual dexterity is improving quite a bit, as he grabs his pacifier and passes it from hand to hand, and in and out of his mouth. He has a great sense of humor, and has been laughing from time to time when Mommy or Daddy are being exceptionally silly. He enjoys talking quite a bit, and he began making "abb" sounds. All in all, cute.

Adventures in Smorgasbord

Return of the Otter

Our Little Hoodlum

Xander Meets Ong Ngoai

Fun with Balloons

Fun with HAIR!

Just Our Gorgeous Little Guy

Daddy grew the beard for "Boot Camp." Don't worry, it's gone, now.

Peas Please

Today was an exciting day for dinner, as we cracked open a jar of Gerber's #1 mashed peas. Xander thought it was the greatest thing since formula, and gobbled down the entire jar without much of a mess at all. We have lots of fruits and vegetables for Xander, and we are getting very excited to continue his introductions to solids.

The Latest and Greatest

Xander is truly a remarkable child. He is starting to show distinct characteristics of object permanence, exhibiting his feats of perceptive acrobatics by playing peek-a-boo with his Nana and enjoying himself by throwing his toys from his seat. The greatest moment today was when Xander's great-grandparents had just arrived at Nana's place, and Daddy was holding Xander against his chest. Nana came up beside Daddy, and gave a big happy face with a sort of "ta-da" to go along with the greeting. Xander's eyes went wide, and a big smile filled his face. Daddy turned slightly, and Nana went out of Xander's field of vision momentarily. Suddenly, Nana popped into Xander's sight, and he gave a tiny giggle, his mouth wide open in a gummy grin, eyes glistening with delight, and he curled his body slightly as his whole body seemed to be laughing. Nana continued to pop in and out of Xander's field of vision, and each time, he was more and more excited and amused. His laughter grew, and soon he was giving long streams of "he-he-he-he-he," while Nana blipped on the radar. After a few rounds of Nana moving behind Daddy's back to surprise Xander from another angle, Xander started anticipating where Nana would appear next, and his delight grew as he would swivel his head, waiting for Nana's face to appear from behind Daddy. Finally, Nana decided to fool Xander by going back to the same side after a particular appearance, and Xander swivelled his head around in surprise when he heard Nana's voice coming from behind him. He laughed again and again as the game continued, and even hid his head in Daddy's chest occasionally, popping up his head with a laugh.

This goes along a bit with Xander's recent difficulties dealing with separation anxiety, adding to his occasional discomfort with strangers. Xander was quite the social butterfly last night, as he met a number of friends of Daddy's family, and dealt with the new faces very well. The most difficult part of the night was when Nana first took Xander from Daddy in order to change Xander's diaper. It had been two full weeks since Xander's last interaction with Nana, and much longer since the last time he was in the basement of Nana's house. By the time Nana had his diaper off, he was screaming both from his anxiety of this person that he did not remember well, and from being taken quite abruptly from his Daddy. It also did not help that he was in a place that was entirely unfamiliar, as Nana had just refinished the floors with tile, and it changed the feel of the hallway and bathroom considerably.

Xander's 5 month birthday came and passed without a tremendous fuss. We made sure to sing Happy Birthday, and take note of his amazing physical prowess and strength. He's sitting up almost straight without assistance. He rolls over both directions from back to front and front to back. He can target things, reaching and grabbing with his thumb and forefinger. He is starting to get up on his knees and push himself forward, as he stiffens his arms and pushes his chest into the air. I wouldn't quite call it crawling...or even pseudo-crawling...but I have a feeling that Mommy and Daddy had better get the apartment child-proofed before the end of his 6th month (28 days and counting), and the sooner, the better. In the meantime, we have a very exciting event to look forward to, as Xander's cousin is having an engagement ceremony in Arkansas. Daddy is looking really forward to spending 30+ hours in the car next weekend. I'm sure we'll have plenty of stories.

Xander or Otter?

First Bites

Hello? Anybody there?

Yes, the absentee blogger is back for at least a post or two. Daddy hasn't had a lot of time to dedicate to blogging, lately, but we do have some pictures to share here and there.


A lot has changed in the recent weeks. Xander is getting stronger and bigger. He's rolling over with more confidence, using his hands and feet to play with his toys (his mommy thinks he looks like a baby otter when he does that), grabbing his toes, putting things in and pulling things out of his mouth. He's switched over completely from breast milk to formula, and has enjoyed several good sized bowls of rice cereal. His appetite is growing, and he can easily polish off 4 ounces of formula at a sitting. His body is processing food better, and he is spitting up less (although his poop is starting to smell a bit more). He can pinch things between his thumb and forefinger, grabbing things that he targets. He is getting better at keeping his balance and sitting up. He is talking more and more, and will respond to a moving finger across his mouth by making "aaah" sounds so that it comes out as "blah blah blah blah..."


And now, on to the pictures (in roughly chronological order).

Mommy, Aunt Thu and Aunt Yen with the babies.

Aloha!

Happy Baby, Happy Ba Ngoai

Staring into the void...

Just one of the pack, all dressed in white.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

Yum!

Xander got to visit with his friends at Keegan's 1st B-Day party!

Xander with his beautiful cousins.