31st Annual NICU Graduation Picnic
Greetings to everyone.
Today, Xavier attended the 31st Annual NICU Graduation picnic. Though we attended two years ago, we missed last year. Xavier was not eating well this time last year, and we had a conflict in our schedule. Two years ago, Xavier was still on oxygen, and out of the NICU only two weeks. Wow, have we come a long way!
This year two of us were able to attend; Rebecca was in Wyoming as this was her Guard Weekend.
Today, Xavier was overwhelmed by the crowds and the activity. He clung to Daddy tightly as we signed in. The theme this year was "Under the Big Top". There were clowns and carnival-style games. There was a rock climbing wall, the mini train which is there every year. Music, food and a nice crowd.
Xavier clung to Dad until he saw the Tower of Bubbles. The Tower was four twenty-foot ladders connected to create a "quadpod". At the top, a mechanized bubble blower supplied by a five gallon bucket of bubble solution. It created hundreds of bubbles a minute. Xavier was the first to see it begin its operation. He wanted down out of Dad's arms and away he ran!
After the Tower of Bubbles, we played a beanbag toss game. Xavier won a little Frisbee-like throwing disc. Next door was a little duck pond with the ducks floating along a current. Pick up a duck and you get the prize listed on the bottom; Xavier scored a piece of gold treasure.
Xavier was fascinated by the mini train; we even ate lunch along its path so he could watch. When I tried to put him in a car, however, he began to cry and want back up in Daddy's arms. He did not ride the mini train today. (by the way, Daddy is too tall to fit into the mini train).
After attempting the mini train, we went to the Wheel of Prizes. At registration, Xavier got a ticket to use at the wheel. There were hundreds of toys, beach towels, coloring books, sidewalk chalk, etc. Xavier spun and it landed on a wildcard. He got his choice of prizes.
How he saw them among the piles of toys, I still don't know. He squirmed to get out of my arms and headed straight for them: an eight-pack of bubble solution. (Have I mentioned Xavier loves to blow bubbles?).
Xavier's favorite game was the "grab a cup and fill it up with lemonade, then dump the cup and start again" game. He was not happy when I would not let him continue playing with the big coolers of water and lemonade.
We ran into only one of Xavier's NICU nurses: Windy. She found us, actually. Windy was Xavier's primary care nurse; she followed Xavier and was the single point of contact for any questions about his stay, condition, etc. It was nice to catch up with her.
After the group picture of attending NICU graduates, we left for home. It was past Xavier's nap time. He ended up getting a twenty minute nap on the way home. He would not go down again. Perhaps the excitement of all the activity kept him awake. It did make the rest of the day a little interesting as he was Mr. Cranky; not even the free clown nose he got at registration could lighten his mood.
Bunny Release Number Two
Greetings to everyone.
Shortly after Xavier got up this morning, he indicated he wanted to go into the basement and watch Phineas and Ferb. (Phineas and Ferb is a Disney-owned cartoon series more entertaining for adults, I think, than children; Xavier really likes this show)
As we made our way over to the couch, we caught a glimpse of some tiny creature in the window well. This is the same window well that trapped several baby cottontails last month. Moving to the window, we saw a little cottontail leap to try getting out of the well. And when it hopped, Xavier hopped in surprise, and he squealed with glee.
This little one, we recon, is one of batch number seven this year, and nearly half the size of those we pulled from the well last month.
Xavier stood on a box and watched the bunny hop and leap. When Xavier tapped on the window, the bunny came over to investigate, its little nose and whiskers twitching expectantly. This really amped Xavier's excitement. Through the episode of Phineas and Ferb he could not decide which he wanted to watch. His head moved back and forth between the two as if he attended a tennis match.
The tiny bunny stayed in the well all day; we put down a dish of water for it. We planned on a family walk and bunny release later in the day. After dinner, we found a small box and put the bunny into it for transport to a local greenbelt. Helping Daddy lift the bunny into the box, Xavier got excited.
We let the bunny go in the same location we turned the others loose last month. Knowing what was in the box, Xavier wanted to be at the center of all the action.
As is typical with young rabbits, this one thought to not move, and in its stillness all threats would pass it by. It did not plan on Xavier trying to help it out of the box. We lifted it out and set it in the grass. The bunny just hunkered down, perhaps thinking itself part chameleon with the surrounding grass.
Xavier took this opportunity to pet the bunny, his face beaming with delight the whole time. This time, we brought a camera!
Xavier's First Movie
Greetings to everyone.
There is a nearby movie theater which runs early-morning matinees designed for children. The movies start around 10:00 in the morning, leaving plenty of time for lunch without missing Xavier's nap window. (No one wants to miss that window, believe me!)
Rebecca took Xavier to see The Minion Movie. He really enjoyed it. His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open at seeing the big screen. He shoveled popcorn into his mouth fistful after fistful (Xavier does love good popcorn). He sucked his juice box dry. He indulged in the whole movie-going experience, sans a long line to wait in.
He lasted a little over an hour watching the movie before needing to get down from the seat and play in the aisle. That is a long time for him. Unless he if feeling clingy, tired or sick, twenty minutes is his usual attention span for the television (which we are glad for). However, neither Rebecca nor Xavier saw the end of the movie. At least the restaurant they went to afterward did not charge Xavier for his meal; probably recouped the cost of the missed thirty minutes of the movie.