What Color is Bleen?
Greetings to everyone.
Or, perhaps, the question should be "What Color is grue?"
Xavier is going through a number of changes, primarily in his physical skill development. He also has some changes going on in his body.
When he was born, his eyes were deeply blue, almost black. In fact (probably due mostly to his wee size), you really had to look hard to see the blue. For weeks they looked black at first glance.
As his head and eyes grew in size, his eye color became more apparent. His eyes were blue, a similar color to his mother's. As time passed, that slowly began to change. Looking into his eyes, you could see both blue and green at the same time. However, the dominant color was blue. When the lighting was right, what appeared to be green was easier to recognize. Rebecca and I called this color bleen. It was like one of those neckties which shimmer between light blue and gold depending on the angle of light striking the fabric (only blue and green in Xavier's case). Xavier kept that color for months.
Then, near the beginning of summer, the green, though still so subtle as to be nearly invisible when looked for, strengthened. Still blue, you would look at his eyes and ask "I'm sure I see green, or is it the lighting?" Rebecca and I named this color "grue" as green was growing stronger.
The last few weeks, the green has eaten its Wheaties (is that cereal still manufactured?). Xavier's eyes have changed color. Gone is the blue; if any is still there, it hides like the green had done a few months prior, waiting for the lighting to be just right for it to peek out. Xavier now has green eyes with which to view the world through.
The change is noteworthy on its own, but it is somewhat bittersweet. Rebecca wanted his eyes to remain blue, and for some time they appeared to be holding to that wish. Secretly, I was torn. Inwardly, I strongly routed for green (the color of my eyes), but also I wanted them to stay blue for Rebecca's sake.
I may have won the eye color contest, but Rebecca won the nose contest. Xavier's nose has exactly the same shape as his mother's endearing nose. And, at least for now, Xavier's facial skeletal structures favor Rebecca's side of the family. Facebook's facial recognition software often identifies Xavier as being Rebecca's father.
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!