First Bike Trailer Ride
Greetings to everyone!
Last month, Rebecca (along with the Tinker Toys and other swag) found a bike trailer at the 2017 MOPS sale. The most expensive item purchased that day, it amounted to $30. Not a bad price.
We had to order a part to connect the trailer to Rebecca's bike. It took two weeks to arrive. Xavier asked frequently during this time "when will it come in the mail?"
When the part arrived (a small set of parts: a axle mounted socket and its "Kotter pin"), the kit did not work with Rebecca's bike. She had researched it out, and it should have fit nicely. Alas, not so much.
This afternoon, Rebecca and Xavier (who has been longing to ride in the trailer, and has not forgotten about it, frequently asking when we can hook it up) went to a local bike store to see if they had a kit that would work.
Nope.
So, they returned home and Rebecca figured a way to make the kit we had work with her wheel. Xavier informed us that he "needs to help because it is hard."
A little work and Rebecca got the kit to work. It took a few tweaks, but finally the trailer attached to the bike.
Of course, the kit and trailer needed a road test. Xavier climbed in. Rebecca buckled him in. She lowered and secured the bug flap. Then off to the park half a mile away.
When they returned, I asked Xavier what he thought of it. "It's fun," he answered.
While we where getting Xavier into the trailer for the maiden voyage, Rebecca told me Xavier looked at helmets at the bike store. He favored a pink one with butterflies. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I don't have to answer it now as they did not buy it.
Xavier Meets Grandpa Bill
Greetings to everyone.
I mentioned yesterday that Sunday was a day of miracles. I was not just using that expression, it truly was. Two of the biggest ones came together very late last week, on Good Friday in fact.
Xavier's paternal grandfather, my dad, went to church with us Sunday morning. And, because our God is awesome, we got a second blessing. Dad spent Easter Day with us as well.
This was the first time my dad has gotten to know Xavier. They have met (oh so) briefly three times in the past, but these were meetings-in-passing, lasting less than a few minutes. Today, Xavier got to spend some time with Grandpa Bill, and the two got along wondrously.
Xavier, Dad and I went shopping for a few things for the Easter feast after church. At the self-checkout Dad and Xavier scanned our items and fed bills into the cash machine together. This, I think, really helped gain Xavier's attention.
We came home to breakfast waiting for us; Rebecca had gone ahead to start setting things up. Dad sat across the table from where Xavier was sitting. Xavier looked at me and asked "Why not Grandpa Bill sitting over here?" and he pointed at the empty place next to him.
Dad moved over and Xavier was delighted. Dad got the grand Xavier tour of the house (which means all the things in the house important to Xavier). They read a book together, although Rebecca did the reading; Xavier sat between them.
Dad helped hide eggs in the back yard, and he helped Xavier find some eggs by giving subtle and not-so-subtle clues.
I had plans to get more pictures of the two together than I did, but the day got away from me. Still, a wonderful day, and one for which I thank God for.
Happy Easter, 2017
Greetings to all. Christ is Risen!
Today was a day of miracles! So much happened, and for Xavier, whose day began at 0530, he was overwhelmed with new things. He ended up falling asleep on the couch by 1800—that never happens, no matter how tired he grows!
We opened the day with a sunrise service to celebrate our Risen Lord. After service, we finished some shopping, where Xavier picked out the floral choices for the dining table. We had several guests arriving around noon for a feast.
One of the new things for Xavier today was meeting his paternal grandfather, really for the first time. Grandpa Bill spent the day with us, and sat as one of the honored guests at our feast.
Aunt Chelle arrived second, bringing an Easter basket. We exchanged baskets. Xavier, of course, made out well. He had much to occupy himself before Ben, a friend of his, arrived.
Before lunch, while Xavier and Ben were distracted (by design), several others hid the eggs we dyed yesterday and a number of plastic egg shells with goodies inside. Then, we let the two boys at it!
Xavier did not know quite what to make of it. This gave Ben a great advantage. It took only a little coaching, and Xavier figured it out. The competition grew intense when Xavier understood that the one finding the most eggs wins.
When Xavier found an egg, he spiked it into his basket. One of today's miracles was how few of his real eggs did not break.
One of the eggs Xavier found scared a rabbit from its hiding place not two feet away. I pointed and told Xavier, "Xavier, look! It's the Easter Bunny! We caught him hiding eggs." Xavier laughed and gave a halfhearted chase until the rabbit ducked under a fence. Xavier then returned to hunting eggs.
One of the items Xavier scored in an Easter basket were three squirt guns. After lunch, he and Ben tested them out on each other. The battle escalated to pails of water. Both got drenched to the skin, and loved every minute of it.
By the way, Xavier won the competition. Of course, the adults favored showing him where he might find an egg or two.
Egg Dying
Greetings to everyone.
These last few months, Xavier has taken on another level of maturity. He is cognitive of more things and thinking and speaking in much more complex terms. Along with this has awakened an anticipation and likeness for things such as having friends over, and various holiday rituals.
This year, he really got into the Easter egg tradition. Rebecca had boiled twenty-four eggs earlier in the week, and today, after lunch, we set about dying them. Xavier could not contain himself. We used his excitement to get him to eat a decent lunch.
He helped his Mama dissolve the dye tablets in the vinegar, and he helped topping off the glass tumblers up with water. It's unlikely Xavier had any idea how we planned to use the eggs tomorrow.
As you might imagine, he could not leave the eggs alone to rest in the dye. He kept rolling them around and lifting them up with the wire loop. Still, when he helped remove the eggs from the solution, they all had a nice, even color. The only accident, which sent two eggs to the egg salad bowl, he did not precipitate; all the eggs under his aegis suffered no cracks or breakage.
Of course, once the eggs sat in the drying rack, Xavier went on to other things, soon forgetting all about the eggs.
Tinker Toy Inventor
Greetings to everyone.
Who knew seven dollars could go so far? The partial Tinker Toy set Rebecca found for Xavier last month has become his favorite toy. This toy set eclipses even his passion for Hot Wheels.
Here, Xavier sits inside his dryer, its blower in back and ajar door in front. His washing machine (behind and to the left) has an agitator and a lid (it's a top-loader). To the left he has a drying rack—we have two in our laundry room and they get used heavily, so he informed us he needed to build one.
I would like to say he thought up how to build these items on his own, but he did have some adult input and assistance. He built the fan for the dryer and the agitator for the washer. He wanted a box for both, but could not figure out how to build them from the limited parts in the toy set.
The adult assist came in building the boxes. We used another toy set, which just happened to fit with the Tinker Toys.
The Aerator
Greetings to everyone.
A couple of weeks back, Rebecca's MOPS group held its annual sale. It's like a giant garage sale for all things kids and moms related. Great bargains, as you may expect.
Rebecca worked the sale this year, which entitled her to shop Thursday evening. The sale opened to the public early Friday, so Rebecca got to pick up stuff before it got picked over. She found a bike trailer for Xavier, as well as a couple of games and building sets. Of the two building sets Xavier scored, he has liked his Tinker Toys the most.
We have built windmills, planes, helicopters, steam rollers, and of course, car washes just to name a few of the projects this set of toys allowed him to undertake.
This morning, very early, Xavier had been up maybe long enough to exit his room and find me in my office, the sounds of a small engine roared in our ears. Around the corner of the house a stranger pushing an aerator appeared, most unexpectedly. We had engaged a crew to aerate this Spring, but Sunday at 8:00 AM was not when we thought they would do the work.
The machine enthralled Xavier. He watched it through the slider door leading to the back yard, asking what the guy was doing. I explained, then invited Xavier to put on his shoes so we could go outside and see the holes and plugs in the lawn.
After church this morning, we stopped off at Ace to buy grass seed. While Rebecca spread the seed in the newly aerated, fertilized lawn, Xavier built his newest tinker Toy project. Afterward, he hastened into the yard to help. He later reported to me that aerating the yard was hard work.
