Halloween 2014
Boo!
Greetings to everyone.
The church where Rebecca's MOPS group meets had a community Halloween/Harvest festival last Sunday. They offered bounce houses, padded combat pits, ball pits, cupcake walks, ball tosses, and many other games and activities. Most of these were too advanced for Xavier to partake in.
Xavier did crawl around in the ball pit (a portable 4x4 foot mesh fabric cube filled with plastic balls), but did not show much excitement. What he did find fascinating what the fishing pools, something he proved extremely adept at.
The pools were three-foot diameter, plastic wading pools filled with water. The bottom of the pools were littered with plastic rings, small plastic fish and other carnival-style trinkets. The fishing pole was an 18 inch dowel rod with a yarn line and a bent paperclip hook for snagging the submerged kitsch.
Xavier took right to this game; in fact, it was difficult to pull him away from it. He liked pushing the pole around in the water, while being completely oblivious to the fact his paperclip hook held all manner of items. Nearly every time he pulled his pole tip from the water it had one or more items snagged: a ring, a fish, a little plastic critter. The other kids fishing struggled and complained they couldn't get anything, yet Xavier, who was only interested in pushing the end of his pole around in the water, caught everything from the easy to snag items to the difficult to snag items. Perhaps Xavier's lack of care for the kitsch was the secret mindset to adopt.
Our family spent Wednesday evening carving our pumpkins. The Pumpkin Xavier chose a few weeks back was too small and difficult to carve, so we left it intact. The larger pumpkin we found proved difficult to carve due to its three-inch thick walls, but it did succumb to our perseverance.
Rebecca found this costume several week ago. It has hung on the handle of our front door so Xavier might grow used to it. He played with the slipper feet frequently, but Sunday was the first time he got to wear the whole costume. As plainly seen in the upper left, Xavier is not a happy camper; he does not like the head wear. Rebecca had to hold his arms to keep him from pulling the hat off his head. The lower right inset Xavier works his way down the stairs to the games and fun. The cost of entry was a bag of Goldfish and a small bag of candy.
Xavier Turns Toddler Today
Greetings to everyone.
An amazing thing happened today. Amazing in the sense it did not happen as Rebecca or I expected. It started Sunday. Though we were excited about it, we figured Xavier would need another couple of weeks to get it down pat.
Four times yesterday, Xavier walked across the floor, covering no more than four feet before succumbing to gravity and a lack of coordinated balance. This was very impressive; his best efforts we have observed to date. Prior to this, Xavier took at most two unaided steps before plopping down or crumbling. One of the things he lacked was confidence in his ability to stay up on his feet without aid.
Of course, he has been walking with the aid of a wall, couch, chair or parental finger to help stabilize him. In fact, Xavier would run full-throttle when he had two parental fingers to hold on to (I do mean full-throttle; we as parents loped to keep up with him). Many times we saw Xavier able to walk and stand on his own, generally when he was distracted and not thinking about walking or standing. Those moments were always short-lived.
This afternoon, as we sat in the glider in his room, Xavier slid from my lap to the floor. He then crawled over to the wall where the nightlight generally is (he always goes there to check if it is plugged in—he likes to unplug it). He examined the wall, then crawled over to leaf through a book. I enjoyed watching him explore as I often do, then...
Xavier gripped the leg of the TV tray we keep near the glider (it's where we hold his bed time books and it's a handy place to set his bottle). Up he stood, as he has done countless times in the past. He looked over at his bedroom door and noted it was not completely closed (it's a "thing" with him; he is compelled to either push it all the way open or push it all the way closed).
From the wall to the door he walked, that lift-your-feet-but-still-shuffle rock-slightly-left-rock-slightly-right toddler stumble. Ten feet he traveled, and when he arrived at the door, he pushed it closed. Turning around to Dad's praising "yeas" and hand-clapping, his grin was ear to ear. I had no idea so wide a grin and his seven-tooth bearing smile meant "Just wait, Dad. You have not seen anything yet!"
During that ten-foot walk over to the door, something clicked in his head. He understood. He had confidence. He walked the ten feet back to the wall. Tagging the wall, he turned again. Giggling and laughing the whole time, he crossed the room a third time to touch the closed door.
Eight times he did this. I was hoping Rebecca would make it home to witness his first official walking (she stepped out to get the dog's nails trimmed). She did make it home, and came into the room to see what all the laughter and clapping and "well dones" meant.
Xavier was at the wall as she came in, sitting for a moment. Seeing Mommy, he used the wall to stand, then toddled over to her waiting arms. We spent the next 20 minutes watching Xavier walk from wall to door and then expand his territory to the rest of the room. He visited his bears. He visited his dresser and pulled out a sleeper to carry around. He eventually stepped into the hallway (it took him a while to work up to that; the wood floor gave him pause).
Over all, we calculate Xavier walked about 160 to 200 feet unassisted tonight, with only the occasional plop to the ground. He many times would stop and turn directions without needing a wall or piece of furniture to stabilize the turn. Rebecca and I did not think he would get it this fast. We thought it would start with him taking two or three steps on his own, then four and five, then six and seven. Much like he demonstrated Sunday.
And, boy, does Xavier know he got it! His giggles and laughter were not all because of the clapping and praise of his parents. He knew he had achieved a greater degree of mobility. He recognized the importance of his achievement. He realized he could competently walk like his parents!
School Assessment
Greetings to everyone.
The MOPS group Rebecca belongs to hosted a school open house last week. Representatives from many schools around the city attended to provide information about their programs and answer questions. Both private and public school programs had representation.
It was something of an education, to put it mildly. The state of education today, the costs (even, surprisingly to us, public schools) and the curriculum leave one a little flabbergasted. It gave both Rebecca and I much to discuss and consider. One thing we did see was how well-centralized our home is in relation to so many schools.
Rebecca put out some feelers to a few of the preschools after we discussed them. None were taking students; the year had already begun and most have waiting lists. Less than a week after, Rebecca gets an email from one of the schools we considered an appropriate choice. The email explained it was opening up a new class, one day a week for four hours. It asked if we were interested.
Rebecca emailed back and set up a time to tour the school. That is what we did this morning, along with two other families. We were very impressed by the facility, the staff and the classes. Xavier (who would be entering the one-year olds class, which is called "the Bumblebees") seemed impressed as well. His attention was held by the lesson being taught to an older class as we passed them in the hallway.
One of the items which impressed us was the kinesthetic emphasis the school has adopted, especially since Xavier bends strongly that way. The school is a Christian-based school, and well-established, having been around for more than twenty years. The staff are fully certified to teach within the Jefferson County School System and have basic medical and first aid training. And, the tuition is cheap. Surprisingly cheap! As he advances to higher-level classes (the school goes through kindergarten, about age five) and the number of days per week to attend increase, it costs only a few thousand dollars for the school year at the high end of the scale.
We went to lunch and discussed the school, then returned home and signed up. We had to race, as there are only eight openings, and one of the other families also wanted to enroll a one-year old. Actually, no race. Plenty of time; but we did want to pull the trigger before word got out about the availability of the class. Xavier will start school either next week or the week following (the start schedule is still unsettled as the class is just kicking off).
The Little Professor Picks a Pumpkin
Greetings to everyone.
Last Friday, Rebecca used one of her new-found super powers as a member of a local MOPS group to score us a date night. The MOPS group does babysitting from 6 to 9 one Friday a month. We took Xavier in for the evening (we were not the only ones dropping off children either! Others were making use of this same super power). He enjoys playing in the toddler room when Rebecca makes the biweekly meetings, and he gets to interact with other children his age, which he enjoys. (He does a lot of toddler-watching)
Rebecca and I took in an quiet evening at a local restaurant we have been wanting to try these last few months. After dinner, we decided to spend our last ninety minutes choosing a pumpkin from the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield.
It was dark, about 7:30 at night, and the air held a crisp autumn chill. As this was a spur of the moment activity, neither of us were prepared to be in the weather, but off we drove just the same (fortunately, I pack emergency clothing in the trunk of my car).
It took us longer to get there than we thought, and the pumpkin area was closed. We decided to return Saturday with Xavier and do the corn maze also. So, Saturday, we packed Xavier and headed south. From the highway, we noted the place was a zoo and the line to get in stretched several hundred feet. We bailed and found some place to eat lunch. Once home again, we researched pumpkin patches, but found none near us, except the Chatfield one.
Both Xavier and Rebecca suffered a cold, so we did not try on Sunday. Today, Rebecca packed Xavier up and both went to see a doctor; neither could breathe well. We were having concerns about pneumonia. Along the way, Rebecca passed a street corner having a few thousand pumpkins on the ground. So, this afternoon, after his nap, we headed over to pick out a pumpkin.
The pumpkin patch (actually a large, straw-covered area of grass where the pumpkins are trucked in) is operated and benefits Habitat for Humanity. They have provided this "patch" for the past fifteen years, located at Garrison and Alameda on the grounds of Colorado Christian University. The selection is extensive and quite varied. The people are friendly, and the cause is worth the dollar per inch in circumference.
When we arrived, one of the workers, an older gentleman, walked over to greet us and to give Xavier a little sticker. Xavier used his sticker to mark the pumpkin he favored the most. Above, he examines several from a pile of Xavier-sized pumpkins. You can see his sticker already affixed to the pumpkin directly in front of the space between the two he holds on to.
Here, he examines another one. He's gone back to it several times, and even pulled his sticker from the previous choice and placed it on this pumpkin.
Looking over to the workers in the tent, Xavier announces his choice. "This one! Do I get a discount? I'm under 2."
Xavier's New Throne
Hello to everyone.
Rebecca has had an itch for a while. This past weekend, she scratched it. She bought Xavier a potty chair. He has been very interested in the bathroom lately, especially when someone is making use of the toilet. He's gotten strong enough to lift the lid, but still does not have the leverage to pull the flush handle, though he tries.
He is not ready for training yet, so we have it out in his play room next to the throne his grandma bought him for his birthday. We figure he will get used to it by using it as a toy. He really likes playing with the potty. He either stands in it (which both Rebecca and I see him doing in the future after using the potty properly), or he crams some of his favored stuffed animals into it. Playing with it occupies him sometimes for twenty or more minutes.
Here, Xavier poses with his potty. See how happy it has made him?