Saturday, June 30, 2007

Emotional times, growing pains

The last two weeks were truly a blessing for Daddy, as Xander and I were able to spend all our time together. We took naps, and had oodles of bottles, and cuddled, and went for walks, and played on the floor with all Xander's toys, and had little conversations, and went shopping, and saw Mommy for lunch almost every day! Now comes the most difficult thing that Mommy and Daddy have had to do so far...let someone else take care of Xander. It is a really tough thing to have to say, and a terribly emotional decision that we have had to make, but despite the many conversations and all the advice on how we should be raising our child, this is really the only present course of action we have. There are plenty of IFs we have floating in our heads, concerning the could-have-been's, and the could-be's, and we prefer not to dwell on them overly much. Nana and Xander's great-grandparents have graciously offered to help with care. It is nice to know that Xander has a strong support network, but it is not easy to ask for help.

The evolution of the daycare situation was quite interesting, as we had originally planned on having help from Keegan's mommy, rather than going to strangers in an exorbitant facility, then having a wonderful offer from Nana, to watch Xander for the summer, then, when all other options seemed to not work out for one reason or another, we finally end up with strangers in an exorbitant facility. The biggest plus side is that as far as location is concerned, Mommy will be able to see Xander for lunch on an almost daily basis. Still...I already miss him dreadfully.

Xander has outgrown his 0-3 month clothing, and is fitting nicely into the 3-6 month gear. Fortunately, we have plenty of outfits waiting for him, and we will merely need a bit of rearranging in the closet. I can't believe that it goes so fast! We only bought a few outfits, but they were so cute! And there were a few that he only wore once or twice. Then, POOF! Gone into storage, or passed onto another youngster. Meanwhile, Xander is sitting up pretty well with some support behind his back, holding his head up more and more steadily every day. He's grasping things and bringing them to his mouth, holding and pushing things away (like his bottle). He's singing along with Mommy as she sings to him. He's laughing and babbling. He's starting to roll himself from his back onto his tummy. He's wiggling around as if he's ready to start crawling or inching. It's just incredible how fast our little baby is growing!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Water baby!

This was a fun weekend, despite the looming changes causing great stress for Mommy and Daddy: Mommy returns to work, Daddy stays home for a couple of weeks...Xander goes to daycare and Daddy goes back to school. Mommy could go part-time, Xander goes part-time in daycare...etc. It's enough to make Xander want to take a siesta...



Today, Xander got to see his Saba and Savta to celebrate Father's Day, and uncle Jon got Daddy some cool things. Most of the afternoon was spent playing with Saba's new Palm Pilot. Saba and uncle Jon took a dip in the pool, but Xander no more than put his feet in and quickly decided it was far too cold to go in, even with such a muggy, hot day.


Yesterday, Xander had a much more pleasant experience playing in the Hartford community/high school pool, which has a big water slide and a kiddie pool. He swam around and had the time of his life! We were celebrating his cousin's 16th birthday, and had lots of fun and yummy food.


Some pictures of our water baby:
















Thursday, June 14, 2007

Snugli Time!

Xander's latest source of entertainment is riding around face-forward on Daddy's chest. He gets to be eye level with Mommy, and there's no end to the things to look at and soak in. Today, we took a walk around campus, and Xander was wide-eyed and quiet for close to an hour before realizing that he was getting hungry and a bit tired. He's so well behaved when he wants to be!


Daddy has been enjoying bath time with Xander more and more as Xander has gotten bigger and more communicative. He's an excellent conversationalist, and his expressions and eye contact would win him boo-coo points at any interview.

Alas, the time has come for Xander to graduate from bassinette to crib, as he amazingly fills the small bed, and sometimes decides to scoot his way around precariously to an edge of the bassinette. We didn't want this to come so quickly, and I know there are various options besides putting him in his own room (cosleeping/bedding, dramatically rearranging furniture, just leaving him in the bassinette until he overflows), but we feel like this will be the most comfortable for him, and possibly also for us.


In other news, Mommy is finishing her last week of maternity leave, and must return to work on Monday. Boo hoo! Such a stressful time with lots of changes.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Weekend: A time for rest and relaxation.

Quiet, relaxing weekends are truly a fantasy, and if anything, our schedules have been getting increasingly more hectic. Xander is rather unpredictable in the aftermath of a busy social occasion. Sometimes, he comes home and crashes without much of a problem. Other times, there are long, agonizing crying sessions. Just part of the joys of parenthood. We acquired a number of new things this weekend, from baby accessories to more adult distractions.
Here, we have Xander trying out the interior of a new carrying device.



Camouflage Xander with his Wiimote in hand (he's trying to blend into the swing so that Daddy will leave him alone with his nice, shiny, white snack-toy).

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Belated Birthday Party for Anh Charlie

Xander had a very busy day. Xander went to Daddy's lab, went to Target to get Anh Charlie his birthday gift and spent a few hours at Lazer Tag and enjoyed it immensely. He was enjoying the new scenes that he didn't want to eat nor sleep. He feared that he would miss something. Here he is enjoying seeing everything new.

Friday, June 8, 2007

Yeah! Pictures! (as narrated by Daddy)

Even when exhausted, we can still manage a smile out of our little darling.


A small miscommunication ended in a lovely set of photos with Xander's beautiful cousins.

Cammy intended to make this hat for Duchess, but got impatient so here it is. :) (Simply Maaah-velous, Daaah-ling!)

Xander, over here! Why are you looking over...oh... Daddy has the camera...well...no wonder you'd rather stare at your beautiful cousins...

Here, we have a very excited Xander, posing with the artist responsible for his new hat.

Lastly, before heading to sleep for the night, Xander, in a moment of deep reflection...

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

MUST...POST...MORE...PHOTOS

OK, OK! Here we are! Xander's had a busy start to the week. He even cancelled one of his appointments with his financial advisor...


So, without further ado, pictures of our favoritest, handsomest little darling...






Sunday, June 3, 2007

Hawaiian Xander

Xander wanted to dress like Daddy, and put on a Hawaiian shirt. He's the cutest!



Yo, yo, East Sai-eeed, represent!

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Xander, Rock Star

Xander took us to the mall today, and even treated Mommy and Daddy to Koney dogs. There were some kids playing Guitar Hero for the X-Box 360 at one of the stores, and Daddy found out just how rusty he's gotten in the past couple of months. Tonight, we tried to remedy the situation a bit, and Xander wailed along with Daddy. Xander can totally rock!

Carry on, My Wayward Son...


Friday, June 1, 2007

Ya got me, doc...shot in the leg...three friggin times...

Xander had his 2 month/10 week checkup today, and the Doctor was just amazed at him. She checked him all over, all the while admiring his beautiful skin and observing his ox-like strength and cat-like reflexes. He now measures 23 inches, head to toes, and weighs in at a healthy 11 lbs 5 oz. Xander chatted with the doctor, focusing on her face, as she went from side to side, and tracking her fingers around as she waved them in front of him.

We decided to go ahead and give him the full dosage of recommended shots and vaccinations today, and that meant 3 pricks in the thigh, an orally administered Rotovirus vaccine, and a gulp of Tylenol to wash it all down.

He barely fussed at all, this evening. You can't really find the spots where he got the shots unless you know where to look. He even visited his friend, Keegan, for a few hours, and was calm and amicable the entire time.

The Xander, post-trauma, takin' it like a mensch, just hangin' out, playin' with his toys:

Daddy's pretty sure that Xander gets his remarkable fortitude from his Mommy's side...