Christmas 2015
Merry Christmas!
This morning started by us getting up late: 7:30. Xavier slept in, and really did not want to get up. We planned on going to church to worship the reason this great event of Christmas Day commemorates, so Xavier needed to have some running around time before being asked to sit still. 7:30 was as late as we dared let him sleep.
As we pulled into the garage after church, Aunt Chelle pulled up in the street. She brought gifts and food to further celebrate the Day. Rebecca had a feast planned and friends on their way; she even broke out the fancy China tableware and silver flatware.
On Christmas Eve, we Skyped with Rebecca's mom so she could enjoy Xavier opening the gift she sent him. It took some while to get the Skypes talking, but we did. The rest of the day, Xavier drove this and Aunt Kathy's gift all over the house.
Xavier spent many weekends while his mom was in Cheyenne using scissors and glue. He compiled a pictorial documentary of his life from the womb through his first birthday. As hinted by her expression, it deeply touched his mother's heart. Everyone gathered around to flip through the pages and remember some things nearly forgotten and to reminisce over Xavier's first year of life.
Xavier began an unpleasant habit a few weeks back: splashing bath water out of the tub. We figured if he had a new set of bath toys, it may help hold his attention and he would keep the water inside the tub. This pole uses a magnet to catch fish floating in the bubble bath.
Really having the hang of ripping paper off his gifts (he figured that out two days ago with Aunt Kathy's gift), Xavier was excited to get a new device with which to play with his Hot Wheels. Little did he know what else Grandpa Danny sent him!
There was a big squeal as soon as Mom shook the flattened tent so that it popped into shape! Xavier raced around the sofa to get to the tent, trying to crawl in even before Daddy could get it set into position.
Xavier has a strong penchant for music. Rebecca thought this toy would be fun for him. What we did not expect was this toy becoming the most prized gift of the day (at least to that point; Aunt Chelle's present still waited quietly behind the tree)
It took us nearly an hour and a half to get through Xavier's gifts. Being the only young grandson/nephew of the family, Xavier scored copious gifts this year. He wanted to play with the ones he opened while ignoring those still to get to.
I've never heard of nor seen this before: a child not ripping open a present then ravenously moving on to the next one. Feast preparations still had to be done, guests were arriving shortly, and Xavier still had gifts to open. We hurried him through the rest, almost forcing him to open his gifts so we could keep to the schedule!
At last we came to Aunt Chelle's gift, the one we thought would steal the day.
It did not disappoint (that is, until our guests arrived with small Caterpillar trucks for Xavier). We got the twenty-three feet of track set up in the basement. Now, it calls to him, and he runs over to grab a finger to pull a parent toward the basement door. "Down stairs" he asks with hopeful expectation. As soon as the door opens, he races down to play with his train and small trucks.
Merry Christmas to you all! Christ our Savior is Born!
Xavier Inherits Aunt Kathy's Christmas Sneak
Greetings to everyone as the Day of Christmas fast approaches!
Xavier's Aunt Kathy's Christmas gifts arrived earlier this week. One of the neatly-wrapped packages did not survive the shipping in tact; it had a gash in the wrapping paper which left little to the imagination as to what the wrapping meant to conceal.
No problem. We had wrapping tape, and we used it.
We decided to set up a Christmas Tree this year, but left it ornamentless. Last year, the tree was ornamentless from the bottom to mid-tree, but this year we fully Xavier-proofed it. We set up the tree Sunday during Xavier's nap and placed what wrapped gifts we had under it, including the patched gift from Aunt Kathy.
Xavier left the packages under the tree alone, only using a few of the larger ones to climb up and play with the burned out lights (he is obsessed with the lights that do not turn on, and constantly points them out to us, expecting us to fix them).
That changed mid morning today. While using Grandma Penny's present (in a large box) as a platform to reach a dark section of the tree, he looked down and saw Aunt Kathy's torn-but-repaired gift. Something about that package called to him.
Hearing a rustling noise (I was working from home) not common to his previous play, I looked out to see what He was doing. About that time, Xavier squealed with glee as he pulled from behind the tree the torn package—only now, the patched hole was once more open and much wider than when it arrived.
Rebecca and I had to make a decision: hide the gift or let him open it. We decided on the latter for several reasons.
We told Xavier he could open it. He tore off just enough wrapping paper to fully expose the Tonka toy, then waited for Mom to get the scissors to extract it from its packaging.
Xavier power-played with his new toy. He took it to lunch with us, holding it in the car. He even took it to bed with him for his nap.
We thought this would be the end of it, that Xavier would not go back for more packages to open. And that held true until shortly after lunch. Then, he found another package from Aunt Kathy wrapped in the same paper as the Tonka toy. He figured (correctly) since this is the same paper as before, this must be for me. Fortunately, Mom was there to put the kibosh on that!
We may have to pick up all the packages until Christmas Eve; Mom kept telling Xavier, "No, that one is not yours" many times before he went down for his nap.
His antics reminded me of my sister when we were much younger, who blamed the cats for damaging the wrapping on the gifts under the tree. Surprisingly, only her gifts ever got damaged by the cats. Apparently, Xavier inherited Aunt Kathy's Christmas sneakiness.
Picnic Bubbles
Greetings to everyone.
In late July we attended a church picnic. It was held at a club house, so it had a park, play equipment and a pool in the list of amenities available.
In the park area, set up for the little kids, was a little machine which produced dozens of bubbles at a time (a little paddle with several rings turning through bubble solution and blown into the air by a fan). Once he saw this, Xavier squealed with delight! He never wanted to leave the machine (in fact, at one point, he nabbed it and ran off with it)
The event photographer caught several pictures of Xavier with the bubbles. We were able to get a copy of the most iconic one. It took a while to get this copy and the rights to publish it, but here it is.
Lena
Greetings to everyone.
Over the last several months, Xavier matured enough to really appreciate our Dalmatian, Lena. She became a constant source of amusement for him.
He would chase her around the back yard and the house. He would sit in her doggie bed with her, which she did not like and quickly left when he joined her (usually to come to an adult and with puppy-dog eyes plead to get her bed back). He would feed her kibble, bacon, cookies, Cheerios, chips, carrots and just about anything he should be eating, but was not.
In fact, Xavier's first two-word sentence on record was yelling "Shut up!" at her barking. He loved his doggie (or "augg-ie" was how he often pronounced the word).
Rebecca and I talked about getting more pictures of Xavier and Lena together, but we could never get that to work out. Lena seemed to be keenly able to avoid the camera, except when she photo-bombed them.
Xavier is a total camera cheeser. As soon as he saw a camera come out, he stopped playing with Lean and ran to smile at the camera (possibly with the hope of getting his hands on it as well). So, we have very few pictures of Xavier and Lena together.
In her younger days (or even a few years ago), Lena would have loved such attention as Xavier took to showering her with. However, these last few months she really slowed and showed her age. She had a degenerative disease with her nervous system, she was old, growing weaker and slower. She only wanted gentle petting, food, water and a warm, comfortable place to sleep the day and night away. She no longer liked the days of action such as Xavier hoped she would.
Sadly, the rigors of thirteen years of age caught up with Lena quickly as the cold weather moved in. She slept all the time, was too stiff to move much of the time and no longer able to realize she needed to go outside. She was also showing the occasional tendency to nip when disturbed.
Monday, November 23rd we made the call. We took Lena in for her final vet visit. I would have noted this last month, but it seemed such sad news.
Today, I came across a picture of Xavier (unknowingly being photographed) showing affection to Lena. It made me happy we have a few of these pictures, and this one, taken July 31st is a good memorial to her.
Xavier's First Christmas Play
Greetings to everyone.
Today was another rite of passage for both Xavier and his parents: his first Christmas play.
The older children (kindergarteners) entered the sanctuary from the back while waving tinsel. Teachers helped herd them and keep them moving forward, while giving cues to keep waving their tinsel. Many stopped and said "hi" to parents as the proceeded down the aisle.
They quickly lined up on the platform, then performed a few songs about the Christmas Story. It was fun watching so many try to do as they had practiced, but each one remembering what to do differently than the one next to them, and different from the teacher pantomiming their cues.
The pre-K children processed down the aisle near the middle of the program. Many more teachers and teacher's aides were spread throughout this crowd. Keeping three and under kids moving forward was definitely hard work for these vigilant (and well-practiced) people.
Xavier was in the middle of this crowd carrying a bell on a post. He passed by Rebecca and me but did not see us (he was on the wrong side of the teacher to see us). You could tell he was caught up by all the visual stimuli in the auditorium.
When his teacher positioned him, Rebecca and I thought we would not be able to see him. He was too short even on the stair; the platform hid him. Apparently, he had sat down. His teacher got him to stand up, and we could see his head and shoulders from where we sat.
Taking cues from one of the helpers standing in front of his little group, Xavier shook or waved his post with a bell on it during the next set of songs. After a while, Xavier grew a little bored. Looking around, he saw his music teacher directing the singing of the older children on center stage.
He put down his bell and started conducting the conductor. In my taking of pictures, I did not realize what he was doing. When I looked over the pictures, I saw what he was doing and laughed.
After the play ended, we picked Xavier up in his classroom. Signing him out, we headed over to the gym to enjoy cookies and a specialized rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas performed by the teachers.
Xavier's teachers were dressed as turtles (his class animal) and had green boas down their arms and white dove wings on their hands. They were the two Turtle Doves of the song.
Hard Work Pays Off
Greetings to everyone.
Wow. December already. Rebecca and Xavier are still in Arizona and I have some time to myself. That is both exciting (almost new and exciting) and sad. I miss my family.
Perhaps to help me through some withdrawal pain, Penny sent me this picture of Xavier sitting on the newly-finished garden box. Grandma Penny and Xavier worked on this last Saturday morning and finished it up today.
To commemorate the event, Xavier dipped his hands in yellow paint and slapped his mark on the work he helped complete. While signing his name, he missed noting this year is 2015.
Sitting on the cinder block, Xavier appears satisfied with the work. Looking into the distance, he perhaps notes more work needs to be done and other planter boxes to be built and painted with yellow hand prints.