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.
A Trip to Tucson
Greetings to everyone.
After spending the morning hours with Aunt Kathy (who had to return to work Friday), we left for Tucson to visit Rebecca's mom, Xavier's Grandma Penny.
Dave and Penny retired to Tucson last year and have been working hard to reclaim some of their two acres from the cacti-filled desert surrounding their house.
Xavier was helpful in this endeavor and assisted Grandma Penny in putting up another planting box.
Xavier was quite helpful. Watching Grandma shovel dirt, he ran to find a spade of his own. Returning promptly, he went full-throttle into shoveling dirt into the holes of the cinder block. When the holes were full, he proceeded to shovel the dirt back out.
Once the work was complete, he sped off to find more holes to fill in. He ended up throwing dirt clods into the spillways; he liked watching the dirt explode on impact.
Grandpa Dave thought Xavier might like a treat, so he fired up his tractor and offered Xavier a place to ride with him around the yard. Xavier did not like the noise and chose to cling tightly to Daddy instead of riding around the property.
He was re-introduced to his cousin Trista, whom he met this past June in Arkansas. They played hard. Though he worked and played hard, it still came as a surprise that Xavier fell asleep against Mommy's arm while we ate lunch. He hasn't done that in a very long time.
Thanksgiving With Aunt Kathy
Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
This year we flew into Phoenix to feast with my sister, Xavier's Aunt Kathy. It was Xavier's first plane flight, not to mention his first time in Arizona.
Xavier did exceptional on the plane. We had no idea what to expect. We packed a milk bottle for him to drink from as we took off. A mother with a newborn of her own handed us a lollipop; it's the trick she uses with her three-year old who sat in front of Xavier (her newborn she breast fed during takeoff).
The takeoff and climb did not bother Xavier, who had already drank his milk and sucked his lollipop to nothing before the plane left the gate. It was the descent which he found difficult. It was the stereotypical screaming you always hear on a plane. Since no flight attendant was around (they were all belted in their own seats), we lifted Xavier up so he could watch us land (he had the window seat). Looking out the window distracted him from the discomfort in his ears and he went quiet, except for oohs, aahs and "thats".
In preparation for the trip, Rebecca took Xavier shopping for his own luggage. Xavier loved it, wheeling it around both airports like a champion! And it you tried to assist him, he would slap away your hand and yell "No!"
Xavier loved Aunt Kathy's place. She has four cats, and Xavier chased them around the house; they got little rest. He also crawled through their kitty tunnel (a collapsible five-foot fabric tube) for sport.
Interestingly enough, Xavier had Pink Eye (which started manifesting Tuesday, the day before the flight; as a gift, he shared it with Rebecca) and it forced us to find a Little Clinic to get an exam and some eye drops. During the exam, it was discovered he also had an infection in both ears. Glory to God that was caught, or the flight home may not have been so nice.