Heet. waive.

Watch out Hef! Here comes Xander:

The Xander says, "We are not amused..." You tell 'em Xander!

Baby, it's hot outside!

Xander likes letting it all hang out when he thinks no one is looking. He's so content, just lounging on the couch...

Memorial Weekend

We had another very nice weekend with Daddy's family in Grand Rapids, with Xander's first visit to his great-grandparents' home in Rockford. We celebrated birthdays, and Daddy did a bit of work moving dirt from one place to another.

Xander also got some new toys to keep him occupied and happy.

Happy 2 Month Birthday!

We sort of celebrated Xander's birthday with his friend, Keegan, and took a nice walk around his neighborhood during a little visit. The weather is getting quite hot, and Xander likes to have as little clothing on as possible.

Mommy and Xander sharing a joke:

Keegan and Xander sharing a moment:

Sleep habits of the Xander

SSIA

Eight weeks and counting...

Daddy has been feeling very tired this week, and hasn't posted much, because by the time he gets home, he doesn't feel like sitting down at the computer for very long, and it takes a bit of time to upload pictures. Xander is doing just fine, hitting all the major milestones that we would expect:

- touching his hands together, check

- giggling and smiling, check

- holding his head upright for extended periods of time, check

- putting most of his fist or just his wrist in his mouth when he gets bored or peckish, check

- scooting around on his tummy pushing with his legs and pulling with his arms, check

- grabbing things like shirts and fingers and blankets and the such, check

Xander really enjoys staring at Mommy and Daddy's wedding photos, and he's starting to get interested in toys:

Neologism and Materdiem

The weekend went by in a blur, as Xander popped from here to there across the state in a whirlwind of new faces and new places. Saturday morning was Xander's first trip to visit Mommy's sister in Howell, after a tortuous drive through several small hamlets on the skirts of Livingston County. He was able to see his cousins, and play a bit, before Chi "2" went off to her graduation ceremony in Detroit. Next, it was off to see Daddy's coworkers for a little BBQ in Brighton. Xander met a lot of people, and was very well behaved for the afternoon. It was a rather short visit, as we had dinner plans in Grand Rapids, for Xander's first trip to visit his Saba and Savta. We had a yummy dinner, and Xander played in a little playpen for over 20 minutes while Mommy and Daddy were able to eat peacefully! Saba destroyed Daddy in yet another lopsided chessic battle, while Xander was entertained by his adoring entourage. Our final stop for Saturday was Nana's where Mommy and Daddy were able to get a bit of rest before another busy day of visitors and activities.

Mother's Day was a very pleasant experience for all of us, as Mommy celebrated her very first of many to come. Nana and G.G. Nana and Papa were present, along with Xander's Great Aunt and Uncle, and Daddy's siblings and cousins. We had a somewhat interesting discussion over lunch about what sorts of additional nicknames were possible for Xander. One of the most difficult things to do is find a name that is appropriate across languages and cultures. There can be some very uncomfortable moments when traveling between European and Asian and Indian cultures, and Alexander provides a certain flexibility in nicknames that can accommodate such drastic linguistic trials. I made an offand comment on a possibility for a Japanese name to be Xan, in which case, Xander would be known as "Zan-San." G.G. Papa thought it sounded a bit like "Downtown," and from there, we started going on a bit of a stretch (three stretches, to be precise). The first brought us to Petula Clark -> Clarky -> Clarky Dog -> Dawg...but Mommy said, "You know, he was born in the year of the Pig, so "Piggy" might work a bit better." I, however, am not a huge fan of calling someone "Pig," so I said, "Well, there was that movie, 'Babe in the City,' while 'City' is sort of like 'Downtown,' so how about just 'Babe?'" Well, although that went over somewhat better than "Dawg" or "Pig," I thought about what other directions we could take "Downtown," and I came up with "D.T." Being the science nerd that I am, I think I actually said aloud, "Yes, Xander could be dX/DT, my first derivative!" I felt pretty good about my discovery, but I may have out-thought myself a bit. After a long, awkward silence in the room, the conversation quickly shifted gears, and we didn't talk about nicknames anymore.



In any case, there are plenty of options for everyone to choose from...


We got some good smiles out of the little guy over the weekend, and more demonstrations of Xander's incredible prowess.

Daddy kanga

Daddy wanted to bring Xander to Trader's Joe and to accomplish this task, he put Xander into the sling. There was some struggle but Xander cooperated and slept while Mommy and Daddy did their shopping.

Very welcome helper!

Auntie E is the best! Daddy has had a few very long days at work this week, and it is wonderful to come home and have an additional set of hands ready to help with Xander. Daddy is a bit envious that Xander and Mommy get to stay home and visit with Xander's aunt while he works at the lab, but it is very nice that they get to spend time together.

Xander was very active today, and after a very restless night, hopefully he will sleep better tonight.

The Xander says, "RAWR!"

A great beginning...

Aunt Ellie came into town for a few days to help mommy and daddy and spend time with Xander. Aunt Ellie will be a great help! :)

Xander got too exhausted from today's outing to the mall. He didn't want to have his picture taken.

Sleep and more sleep

It seems that pictures taken during the day is rare and few in between since Xander likes to be up and held. When there are pictures taken, he's in the bassinette sleeping and my hands are free. :D

We're what cousins, how many times removed?

Today was a bitter sweet day. Bitter in the sense of loss of loved ones, sweet in the reunion of loved ones. We spent the afternoon at the cemetary for an unveiling of Xander's great-Baba's grave, one year after she passed away. The weather was beautiful, and all of Daddy's paternal aunts and uncles were in attendance, and almost all of Xander's first cousins, and Daddy's great aunt, and a lot of Saba's first cousins, and some of Saba's first cousins' children...

One of the highlights of the day was meeting Daddy's second cousin's child...yes, Xander's 3rd cousin, born only 6 days apart!

The proud grandfathers (first cousins) holding their slightly nonplussed grandchildren (third cousins)! How cute!

Over?

Ah, Saturday...day of "rest". Alas, Xander hasn't heard that one yet...

Over-heated? Over-tired? Over-stimulated? Over-worked?
Thank Crom it's just over...

The Xander says, "Flash!"



The Xander says, "NO Flash!"

Post-post

Been tired...


Belated post...

Better late than never, eh?

Happy 6th Week Birthday!

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday dear Xander,
Happy birthday to you.

It's amazing how fast time flies!

Surf's up dude!

Oh, dear lord, no...my son has become a surf nut. This evening, he was feeling rather spry, and decided to go exploring around the room. We thought he might stop at the end of the quilt, but no, he kept on moving. We put a receiving blanket in front of him, and he just kept on going, so we finally picked him up and spread the quilt as large as it would go, and he just kept wiggling his way across the immense expanse. This great adventure had one happy outcome. Xander was exhausted, and ready for a bath and bed (more or less).

Exhausted Xander says, "Those were totally, like, wicked waves, dude..."

Whiny Xander

Today we had a veritable cry baby on our hands. Mommy has been nursing Xander almost every hour, and Daddy has been nursing a headache as frequently. Xander just didn't want to sleep at all today, and we think that could be a contributing factor to his fussiness.

The swing is just as effective as anything Mommy and Daddy can do on their own to calm him down...

He's still cute when he wants to be...