Ready for Travel

Our day began with an attempt for an early nap...that didn't end so well. When we heard Xavier babbling to himself followed by a loud thump, we both knew what had happened. He had finally figured out how to climb out of his crib!!! A few days before that he had figured out how to climb IN when the side was lowered, but I never thought he'd be able to climb OUT while the side was pulled up! He did. We realized that there was one more notch left and lowered the mattress down to that last one (should have done it a while ago!)

We ended up cutting his am nap short to get on our way. The plane ride went well, Xavier made friends from about rows 13 to 15, we were in row 12. He was the only baby on board and I thought we were in for it. But he was great. He managed to sit still for a bit and watched a video we had brought along. Then he played peekaboo with this new friends and blew them all kisses. He shook his finger no to them whenever I told him to sit down, as if saying we all shouldn't be playing. He read some books and watched as we landed with a loud "Oh, WOW!"

When we arrived at the Anello grandparents house he had lots of fun with a new bin of toys.

Xavier also got to ride uncle Gabi's old rocking horse, but he didn't yell "hot dog".

Eventually, Xavier went to bed, though at a very late hour and not without a fight. The next day he was cranky and kept pointing to the door and saying "GO!" I guess he had had enough fun in NY and was ready to head back home. So we took him for a long walk to see some sheep and a llama. I think after an hour of walking he expected to be back in Chicago, but we just came back and had some lunch. Xavier used his father's high chair!




It didn't make him happy, but we did figure out how to make the chair more secure...

Missed it Again...15 Months

Hit the 15 month mark this past Thursday and didn't blog. I was commenting to Isa's mom that the three months after September 7, 2006 went by a lot fast than the three months after he was born! She agreed and we went on to comment on all the quirks these kids are showing at this age. Like only wanting to eat what the parents are eating. No more fries for me, I guess, not if I don't want Xavi to have them...We also lamented not knowing what to do with clothes they have left behind. Xavier has started wearing 18-24 months clothes and size 6 shoes. we really believed the books when they said that after one the growth spurts would slow a bit. We have both stopped reading the books! (though occasionally I take a peek when I am confused by my son)

Let's see, Xavier is also now playing pretend. Pretending to eat things off the floor that aren't there and pretending to fly with a cape made out of papi's shirts or his own will do just fine.

He loves to go through the laundry and take clothes to drape over his shoulders.

In the picture on the left, superman hit his head because he was running too fast.

He loves his lion from Poland and shooting up in the air.

Also wanted to say that we won't have the 15 month stats until after the holidays. Xavier's ped is out of town and so we'll have to wait to see how he's grown. We'll keep you posted. Oh, and we're battling a cold this weekend...

A few changes

Things seem busy, though we're not doing much of anything these days. We've had our first snowfall and it is now very cold. Xavier got to use his new snowsuit and boots...he's looking forward to getting more use of these when he visits the Anello grandparents next week.

With the snow came…. a fever and signs of new teeth (maybe molars?), definitely tooth #8 - the last of the four bottom front is now swollen and ready to make an entrance.

…On a related note, he stopped biting! (most of the time) But now pushes people off his elmo chair or his toys or his mom when they get too close! Oh well, one battle at a time.

…We are also noticing that Xavier has realized he can climb furniture, toys, people, whatever…to get to something he wants. This is new. I know Dylan is climbing chairs and tables and that worried me, so I was happy that Xavier hadn’t figured this out yet. Then I saw him climb the toilet paper to reach the Christmas stockings and his potty to reach the sink in the bathroom and the couch to get to the phone. My mom says he’s climbing other things at her house. Still no chairs and no tables, thankfully, though we are sorry for Dylan’s shadow (his mom).

….Xavier may have decided (a little prematurely, if you ask us) that he would like to move to one nap a day rather than his usual two! I was hoping for another three months of 2 naps a day…we’ll see what happens in the next couple of weeks.

...Sings "Happy Birthday To You" - you can just barely make out the words, but he's got the tune. This morning he did it without prompting. Thanks titi Gris! But can you teach him a different song?
…Still asks what people are doing. Now it sounds like “What doin, huh?”
…Wows and points to every Christmas light/decoration he spots
…Calls every four legged animal (except for cats) a dog, including the Christmas decoration reindeer. He barks at them to let us know that they’re dogs.

These are just a couple of pictures to compare how much Xavier has grown. It was so striking when I saw how long his legs were in his high chair.

Happpy Turkey Day

What a great Turkey day it was. Xavier loved it! He had an audience to perform to and lots of food to eat. Let's see, the Lopez abuelos and Anello grandparents were all here. He also had all his aunts and his uncles in the same room. Aunt Tsubasa's parents and her sister were here too! It was a great potluck effort and went well, minus the fact that the magical great, great-grandmother Lucia's pan cooked the turkey in record time. The 20lb bird was done in under three and half hours!

Oh, wow!

BTW, this is Xavier's favorite new expression. When he sees a bus, a bird or a plane in the air. Thanksgiving morning he looked at the birds at our back window and yelled, "Oh, WOOOOW, what's that!?" It all sounded like one word, but was so clear. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it myself and if Daniel hadn't been there to verify it. He also sounds like he's trying to say yummy, like after he had some of uncle Gabi's apple pie or grandpa's pumpkin pie. Favorite thanksgiving food? Hmm, stuffing and pumpkin pie got pretty good reactions.

We had to take him to his room because he was being such a ham. He just went on with the show when he was in his room.