Triangle Trip 2016

A burgeoning annual tradition I have with the kids is to take them on a road trip that I refer to myself as the Triangle Trip. The order of the stops changes, but the destinations are Long Island, New York City and southern New Jersey. I have friends and family in all three places, and it's nice to get out and see them during the summer. Summer vacation can get pretty repetitive, so taking this trip helps break up the monotony.

Last year, the trip spanned four or five days. The main attraction we saw in New York City was the Statue of Liberty, which was cool once we got there, but a total pain to get to, thanks to TSA's very elaborate security theater, which we had to endure three times just to get into the statue itself. Not a trip I'll be making a second time.

This year, the trip was book-ended by a family party on a Sunday and the trip to south Jersey the following weekend that was the only time my two friends and I could make that part of the trip work. So instead of four or five days, the trip turned into a week! By the end, I was properly worn out, and so were Xander and Jasmine, but it was worth it.

We start on Long Island, in a bouncy house. Bouncy houses seem to appeal to two types of people -- children, and myself. Some would say just one type of person, and lump me into the children category, which is fine. On some days, like for instance Xander's third birthday party when it was nearly 100 degrees with incredibly high humidity, bouncy houses can feel a bit stifling. This party day was not one of them. It was warm but not hot, and definitely not humid, and there was a nice breeze as well. The perfect weather, in other words, and as a result, the kids and their cousins spent most of the day in the bouncy house.

The following day, the weather was the same, and since the bouncy house was still there, well you can figure out how the kids spent the entire day. There was a brief respite for those old standbys sidewalk chalk and bubbles, but they pretty much bounced til they dropped.

Tuesday found us on a different part of Long Island, and a friend and I took the kids to the Cradle of Aviation Museum. There weren't a lot of people there, but it was their loss, as this museum -- housed in an old military aircraft hangar -- was pretty cool. The kids got to sit in the cockpit of several old planes, from military to commercial, and there were all sorts of great exhibits detailing the planes of the past century and a half. I also saw this awesome logo:

The night ended with a delicious dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, and of course, ice cream. Xander ate a lot of ice cream on this trip, to the point where Jasmine even started to eat some. This was great progress, as Jazzy is quite the picky eater.

Wednesday, we took the LIRR into Penn Station for two days of New York City fun. We started at the Empire State Building. I had never been, but I had been told to get there early because the line gets out of control, and I could see why. We didn't wait that long to get to the 86th floor -- maybe 20, 30 minutes -- but it was enough to make the kids antsy, and probably affected their enjoyment of the entire experience overall. By the time we got to the top, Jazzy was demanding a snack, and didn't really want to check out the views.

Speaking of the views, they were spectacular, so much so that it seemed a bit surreal. I'd love to go back on a day when there isn't a big crowd, but figuring out when that would be is probably a bit of a chore. You sort of had to elbow for your own space, which is tough when you're also trying to show said views to two kids. But we managed, and got some cool selfies with the city in the background. My cousin had made an appeal for us to go to the Top of the Rock instead, and I could see his point, as from there you get a much better view of Central Park. We almost did that this year, but the timing didn't work out. Next year.

Speaking of Central Park, that was where we headed next, after we met up with some friends who were visiting the City. We met them at their hotel nearby, where I saw one of those "only in New York" things -- a graffiti tag on a bathroom changing table.

We headed into the Park through Columbus Circle, where the kids really wanted to jump into the fountain but were told they couldn't. Luckily though, they would have another chance to get wet, as the Columbus Circle entrance to the Park is where the giant playground/giant rock is, and there part of the playground (apparently is one of 22 playgrounds in the Park) has a water feature, and so we took off the kids' shoes and they tromped along for an hour or so. The views from the giant rock are great:

From there, we went to Victorian Gardens, which is a little kids amusement park inside of Central Park. On the way, Jazzy spotted a violinist, and he showed her how to play his violin, which was super adorable. The amusement park was a good diversion for an hour, and the kids loved it. From there we walked up through the Park to the train, stopping for ice cream on the way.

After dinner with some friends, we camped out for the night at a friends' apartment. By the time I got the kids bathed and into bed, it was nearly 10 pm. No strict bed times when you're adventuring.

As a result of our late bed time, Thursday started a little slower. We went to H&H Bagels for breakfast, and while the bagels were typically awesome, we didn't see Elaine Benes yet again.

Lunch was back down in Penn Station with a friend, and then we headed up to Xander's favorite part of the trip -- the New York Historical Society. No, Xander isn't some history buff -- the museum is hosting an exhibit by his favorite author, Mo Willems.

Not every part of our trip was a smashing success, but this visit definitely was. Mo Willems' books helped Xander clear the final hurdle on the path to reading, and one of his Elephant and Piggie books was the first book that Xander ever read to us. He is borderline obsessed with these books, and was able to accurately match the illustrations displayed in the exhibits to the book they belonged to on sight.

There is also a children's history museum of NYC in the basement of the Historical Society, so we stopped down there before heading across the street to the Museum of Natural History, pausing for ice cream before we went in. We got to the Natural History Museum a little late in the day, so we had time for only a few exhibits. While I had taken Xan there before (and he remembered going, even though he was only three at the time) Jazzy had never been, so I wanted to make sure we saw the big blue whale and the dinosaurs. And we had just enough time for both, with a healthy dose of African Mammals to boot.

We were pretty tired after all of this Museuming, so we took a pedicab through Central Park to cap the day. From there, we were off to see some cousins who live in the city for dinner and bedtime. The next morning, the kids dined on delicious homemade blueberry pancakes (the third time they got pancakes on the trip, second time homemade, there are no diets imposed when adventuring) and we headed on down to Jersey. Our time in Jersey was low key -- just three friends and their five kids hanging out together -- and that was the perfect respite after the two hectic days in the city.

All told, we visited with more than 30 friends/family members, rode on five different NYC train lines (123, 456, ACE, NQR and LIRR), experienced four museums and one skyscraper of a landmark and had countless ice creams. Perhaps most importantly, the kids continue to learn how to adapt when outside of their comfort zone. Sleeping at five different places in seven nights is a tall order for two small children, but for the most part they handled it wonderfully, and I feel like these are the sorts of experiences that will serve them well in adulthood. Or, at least that's what I tell myself. And even if it doesn't, that's OK. It was still one hell of a trip.

Briefly on "The Force Awakens"

When he was about four, I started letting Xander watch "A New Hope." We gradually moved to "Empire," and then a couple of weeks ago I finally let him watch "Jedi." This was all leading up to the premiere of "The Force Awakens," which luckily was announced so far in advance that I was able to slowly build Xan's Star Wars library. Along the way, we read fun Star Wars books, and we watched Star Wars Rebels as well. Oh, and we listened to my Star Wars soundtrack in the car. When he started insisting on listening to "The Imperial March," I knew he was hooked for good.

Today, "The Force Awakens" opened in theaters, and I knew I had to take him on Opening Day. Well, I knew I needed to go on Opening Day, and that he needed to see it too, and, well, you get the idea. Was he too young? Maybe. He was the youngest kid I saw in line, but then, he was supposed to be in school, so that made perfect sense. Also, I remember my first movie theater experience came when I was five. My mom took me to a night showing of "Jedi," and let me skip school the next day. When I asked her about this recently, she had no memory of it, but I still remember, and I have a bad memory.

I didn't want to mess with a nighttime crowd, or with Xan being tired for the weekend, as it's going to be a typically busy holiday weekend. So I thought the next-best thing would be to break him out of school. We hadn't yet done that (though he knew exactly what the yellow dismissal slip was, ha) so that made it extra special, I think. He was initially apprehensive when I told him we were going to go see Star Wars. "But I haven't seen the trailer yet," he said. (I usually show him the trailers of movies I'm taking him to, but not this one. I went the whole year without seeing the full-length trailer. Pretty proud of myself for that.) "Who's in it? Is Luke Skywalker in it?" I assured him that Luke, and Han, and Leia would be in the movie. "What about Chewbacca?" Yup, Chewbacca too. After that, he was ready to roll.

We had to wait over an hour in line to get a good seat, but it was worth it. He only grabbed my arm once, and wasn't scared in parts I expected him to be scared in. Afterward, we both agreed it was a good movie. I was more excited than he was -- he's only been waiting three weeks to see what happened after Jedi, not 30+ years -- but that's OK. We had a great time, and hopefully it's a memory that he holds for the rest of his life. I know I will.

Xander's First Game at Fenway Park

I still remember my first baseball game. Not the exact details, mind you, but the circumstances. It was a night game, in 1985, and my dad took me -- just the two of us, as it were. I got to miss school the next day. When it came time for Xander to go, I wanted to have similar circumstances. And so it was, last night. I had originally planned on waiting until next season, but with the weather nice, and the team stinking this year, it seemed like the right night for a low-key introduction to Fenway Park.

We got downtown early, in time to see Aunt Laila, who walked around the ballpark with us. We were there before gates were opened, and stood in line on the Boylston side of Yawkey Way for about a half hour, while we watched some stooges roll out a portable metal detector that was probably no more effective than wanding people. 

When we got in, we went to the Souvenir Store and got Xan a new t-shirt (a green shirt that says Green Monster on it, get it?) and a pack of assorted baseball cards (he played with them for about an hour this morning - he got a 1990 Wade Boggs Fleer card). We then walked into the ballpark - he was very excited to finally go inside, as we've been on Yawkey Way outside of the ballpark a few times before. We ventured down the walkway behind home plate, and as we started down the concourse to right field while the Orioles were taking batting practice, I pointed out a few things -- the bases, where the Green Monster starts and ends, where our seats were, etc.

Our seats are out near the triangle in center field. They provide a great view of the entire ballpark, though you do have to stand up to see the big jumbotron, which is less of a big deal than you would imagine it being. Before we walked up to our seats, we got dinner -- Fenway Franks for each of us, and fries and a pretzel to split, and a large Poland Spring water. We settled into our seats and devoured our Fenway Franks, and then consumed the fries and pretzel. A meal heavy on carbohydrates, it was.

We still had just under an hour until game time, so we walked the underneath concourse some more. I went and showed him all the different logos the team has had over their century-plus of baseball -- his favorite was the block Red Sox, because it was one of the first words he learned how to spell. Then, we went and got a program, with a paper scorecard. I told the gentleman who sold them to us that it was my son's first game, and he instructed us to go to the information table, where they would give Xander some "first game" goodies. And they did -- a button, a sticker and a Red Sox Nation wristband. I didn't care much for the wristband, but the sticker, and especially the button, were great.

As we settled into our seats, we still had half an hour until first pitch. Xander busied himself with writing the names of his favorite players -- Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz -- on his scorecard. We also received our customary visit from my colleague, David Laurila.

After the national anthem, David headed back up to the press box, and the game began. In truth, Xander didn't pay a great deal of attention to things that weren't Pedroia, Ortiz or Bogaerts' plate appearances, and unfortunately, none of them obliged with a hit. Bogaerts produced a looping fly ball to the warning track in left, but otherwise this was another forgettable performance in what has been a forgettable season for the Sox.

After the third inning, we went and got ice cream. Xander got his first helmet ice cream -- vanilla -- and he finished it in the bottom of the fifth. Up to that point, the game was moving briskly, but in the sixth inning, Joe Kelly remembered that he was Joe Kelly, and the Orioles' promptly put a lengthy rally together. It more or less tuckered Xander out, who at that point became keen on heading home to see his mother. We stayed through the bottom of the sixth -- Pedroia and Ortiz were hitting one more time, and I had the faintest hope that one of them would do something memorable. Pedroia did, sort of -- he grounded into his second double play of the game (at least he hit the ball hard this time). After Ortiz struck out to end the frame, we got the folks behind us to take one more picture of us, and then we headed down the tunnel.

Underneath, we took pictures with a ceramic Wally -- Xander was a little bit of afraid of him, and had to be coaxed into sitting next to him, even though he loves Wally -- and with his favorite logo, and then we headed out to Gate A, through the parking lot on Brookline, and then up to Beacon Street towards the car.

At this juncture, Xander loves everything about baseball, the Red Sox and Fenway Park, except for the actual baseball itself. That will change in the coming years, and it will be fun to watch him grow, and grow with the game. But last night, it didn't matter. I got to take my son to Fenway Park.

Toothbrush Dance Party

Lately, brushing teeth has become quite the event for Xander. Normally a mundane event, the inclusion of both mom and dad in the nighttime teeth brushing routine has made it more exciting. And tonight, the fun kicked up a couple of notches with an impromptu dance party.

Every once in awhile, Xander will bust out some dance moves at times when you would not expect him to dance. One night, while being changed into his nighttime pull-ups -- or "big boy pants," as Xan likes to call them -- he randomly started grooving, and even started mock-spanking himself, giggling the whole time. It doesn't sound that funny perhaps, but the look on his face helped make it fall on the floor funny for mom and dad.

It was likely with these memories in mind that mom started dancing during family toothbrush time this evening. Dad tossed in a little mealy-mouthed beatboxing, and all of a sudden it was a dance party. As he is wont to do, Xander initially stood there surveying mom and dad, as he decided whether or not he should participate. Eventually he got into the act, but since toothbrush time doesn't take up a ton of time, the dance party was over just as soon as it started.

Xander is doing a lot of things for himself these days, with brushing his teeth being one of many things that he no longer needs any help doing. But just because he can do something doesn't mean he enjoys it. While only mom or dad does bath time, having both mom and dad there for toothbrush time makes it more enjoyable, especially when an impromptu dance party breaks out.

Uh Oh

Xander is a very expressive little boy. He points, he laughs, he dances, he cries, he yells, he yells louder and then he yells even louder. But talking is not yet his thing. For whatever reason, whether it's because boys talk later or mom and dad have made it too easy for him to communicate what he wants, Xander has been slow to talk. Or so it would seem. But in early January, he started to say "Uh oh."

To be sure, this wasn't Xander's first attempt at a word. He had slurred "truck" and "dog" in the past, and had been pointing and talking gibberish (to adult ears, anyway) for a while before saying "uh oh." But while he said other words before, he would never repeat them when asked to do so. But soon after he started saying "uh oh," mom and/or dad were trading double-digit volleys of "uh oh" before breaking up into laughter.

Soon after "uh oh" came "ma" and "da," which very clearly are his "mom" and "dad," as he usually yells them whenever mom or dad leaves a room for a few minutes. Initially, he would also frequently whine "ma ma ma ma," even when she wasn't home, which was a pretty clear sign that mom had definitively become the good cop.

Xander still isn't speaking a great deal, but mom and dad know that he understands just about everything. He readily identifies most anything he is asked to point out, be it his feet, where the lamps are in a room, or which Toy Story character is Buzz Lightyear. In fact, he is quite adept at his Toy Story 3 Memory! game, for which the recommended age is three+ (Xander is not yet two). While he isn't saying much now, it's only a matter of time before he is talking up a storm. And when he does...uh oh!

Climber Monkey

Xander climbs on everything. Even before he could walk, he was climbing. He climbed out of his bouncer, then he moved on to the stairs, and he hasn't stopped now that he is getting older.

Once he learned to walk, he put ladders on his to-do list. At first, he was too small to actually use the slide when he climbed to the top of the ladder, but that didn't mean he wasn't enjoying the process of climbing the ladder. Now that he is old enough to slide down on his own, a slide can be a standing source of entertainment for blocks of time. Even when there isn't a ladder, the process of getting up to and down a slide is an enjoyable one. At one particular playground, Xan is able to walk up a slanted ramp, then shimmy across a shaky bridge and then once he's across, careen down the slide, and start all over again.

Furniture is another popular target. On Xander's first trip to the Museum of Science in Boston, he ascended a two-foot stool on more than one occasion, delighting in the interactive computer screens that awaited once standing on the stool. Household furniture is no different. While he has his own little couch and chair from which he can watch TV, he will frequently forgo them in order to climb onto the couch. Upstairs, the rocking chair in his bedroom is no longer the sole domain of mom and dad. Xander can now climb into it and rock himself, laughing uproariously each time the chair tips backwards.

When Xander climbs into the fridge, or scurries close to the edge of the couch he has just conquered, his climbing isn't so cute, but most of the time he's ok. Xander has a good grip, and he knows what he wants. He hasn't tried to climb out of his crib yet, but it's only a matter of time. He has half-heartedly tried to hook his leg over the side, and when he realizes that he can stack his pillows and blankets in the corner...watch out. But whether it's his crib, a ladder or the couch, one thing is for sure -- Xander isn't about to stop being a climber monkey anytime soon.

Bedtime Bookworm

At one point, Xander was quite resistant to bedtime. He always liked it when mom and dad read him stories after bath and changing into PJ's, but when he started to get his molars, he didn't want to be put down. Babies don't like being horizontal when they're teething apparently, and since sleeping invariably involves lying horizontally, Xan wasn't having it.

Mom and dad, once willing to sit through half-hour to hour-long stretches of bed time, eventually decided that Xander needed to be a big boy, and would let Xander fall asleep on his own. At the tail end of the teething process however, this was still proving to be quite time consuming. But an accidental flip of a book into the crib proved a turning point. Ever the bookworm, Xander grabbed the book, plopped down on the bed, and read quietly. From that point on, bedtime became a breeze.

That's not to say there weren't missteps along the way. On the morning when mom and dad awoke to find a page from Xander's Toy Story Little Golden Book torn to shreds, they came to the realization that perhaps it would be best if only board books went into the crib. And while sometimes not even the board books survive the long haul, as his battered copy of Jamberry can testify, they certainly have much better odds. From Sandra Boynton, to Baby Einsteins, to Runaway Bunny, Xander has a bevy of board books, but Goodnight Gorilla and Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed the leaders in the clubhouse.

Now that Xander has his first (and almost his second) set of molars, bedtime (and nap time) is a lot more peaceful, and if mom and dad don't pick a board book for bedtime reading, he still goes to sleep fairly quickly, but if one comes out, you can bet that the bedtime bookworm is going to reach for it, roll up under his covers with it and fall asleep with a big smile on his face.

Tris & Xan

Two weekends ago, mom, dad and Xander ventured back to mom's home parts in central New York. The reason for the visit was simple -- Xander's cousin Tristan (and his mom) were coming to town for a visit. This was going to be Tristan's first trip to his mom's old stomping grounds, and it was a good opportunity to get the two cousins, who are separated by only a few months, together for a visit.

When kids are at this age, they rarely interact with each other. Rarely, they interact around one another, and this was the case for much of the time Tris and Xan spent together. But they offered a few glimpses of what life would be like when they managed to focus on each other.

One thing is clear -- the two boys like each other. It helps that both seem to be both outgoing and easygoing at the same time. Tris isn't walking on his own yet, but he is crawling up a storm, and he can walk if someone is propping him up. Several of the times he was propped up, he would venture over Xander's way, and when nobody helped him, he crawled over on his own.

Xander, being the more mobile of the two, would sometimes walk over to Tris, crouch down and point or wave at Tris. Once, when Tris was snapped into his umbrella stroller, Xander took it upon himself to wheel Tris around for a few minutes. Each time Xander's route changed, Tris would look up at him with a bemused look on his face, and they would share a laugh.

Like all good cousins, they also shared in some roughhousing. On Saturday at the hotel, Tris parked himself on the floor in front of one of the dressers. Xan took this as an opportunity to repeatedly Tris' fingers into the dresser drawers, until Tris had enough and went crawling over to his mom for protection. He would return the favor on Sunday though. Seated on the floor of the fire house where a gathering was held for family members to come and visit with Tris and his mom, the two boys shared a snack of Rice Chex. Xander, however, was sharing more reluctantly than usual, because Rice Chex are his favorite. Tris wasn't a big fan of Xander's reticence, and decided it would be easier to give him a chop across the chest with his meaty forearm, knocking Xan over and taking the Chex all for himself.

Though the two boys probably won't see each other as much as their mom's would like, they are growing up in the internet age and will likely be the best of buds. But when they do get together, they are sure to create a tornado of destruction, laying waste to both themselves and anything or anyone in their way. Put the women and children to bed when Tris and Xan are afoot!

Fork & Spooner

It started innocently enough. One time at a restaurant, Xander was busy grabbing for everything in sight as is his custom. Mom and dad didn't want him playing with sharp knives or forks, but a spoon seemed harmless enough. Or at least it did, until Xander started spooning ice cubes out of the water glasses. Experiment over.

Still, mom and dad got to thinking that maybe they should let Xander use a toddler fork and spoon during meals. He had a couple from baby shower gifts. At first, nothing happened. He would grab them, but didn't really know what to do with them. Ever the observant boy, he watched mom and dad, and started experimenting. In no time, he was spearing stuff with his fork. Now, when he wasn't teething, meal time became somewhat exciting for Xander, as he had control over what he was eating. Bye bye watermelon! See you in hell, canteloupe! Asta la vista, pork chops! He would almost attack the bite-size morseld of food in front of him. If the piece was too big, he astutely guided them to his mouth, cradling the food with his non-fork hand (usually his left hand) on the side the same way a basketball player would when he goes to shoot.

In the midst of all this fork-mania, the spoon sat idly by, waiting its turn. There aren't as many things in Xander's diet that call for the spoon as do the fork however, so it was often ignored, especially at lunch time. Once Xander grew weary of apple sauce, the only spoon-staple left in his diet was his morning oatmeal, which mom and dad were happy to feed to him (to pass the time, dad would sometimes hum Elaine's "Yankee Bean" ditty). Breakfast doesn't usually start with oatmeal though, it starts with Xander's all-time favorite food, Chex. While Xan mows on his Chex, the parental unit in charge prepares his oatmeal and waits for him to finish.

One morning last week, dad put the oatmeal down on the table, just out of Xander's reach, waiting 'til the Chex binge concluded. But on this day, Xan reached for the spoon sticking aloofly out of the sea of oatmeal. It was the second or third time he had reached for it in recent days, but on previous occasions dad had ignored it. On the morning in question however, dad shrugged his shoulders and let Xan have a go. The results, both on that day and since, have been encouraging. Xander doesn't quite hold the spoon correctly -- he grips it with his four fingers rather than using his thumb. As a result, he loses control three-fourths of the way to his mouth and turns the spoon over, dropping the food into his mouth like a priest giving Communion to a group of people he's never met before. With oatmeal, this works just fine, as oatmeal tends to stick to the spoon. With apple sauce or a snack-size bowl of pears, less so. The first time Xander ate his own apple sauce, half wound up in his mouth, and half on his bib.

Whether he gets all the food into his mouth is of lesser importance though than the feeling of independence he gets from being able to feed himself. Mom and dad aren't sure whether or not 16 months is young for a baby to be feeding himself, but frankly they don't care. The only thing that matters is seeing little Xander transform into a fork and spooning machine!

Six Flags

Mom, dad and Auntie D took Xander to Six Flags New England this past weekend. The park would only be open for a couple more weeks, and mom and dad (mainly dad) wanted to give Xander his first amusement park experience.

Upon arriving in scenic Agawam, Mass., the group headed over to the tram. We ended up on the sky-blue painted Skittles tram. Xander, who likes trains and most other moving vehicles, was a big fan of the tram. But it is a short ride - so short that the group wondered aloud why they had bothered taking it (note: this didn't stop them from taking it on the way back).

Once inside, the group made off for Kidzopolis. The first stop was ZoomJets - the little planes in a circle that go up and down. Xander was seemingly unimpressed. He was also seemingly unimpressed on Krazy Kars (that one actually did suck, even for a kids ride) and Zinger Swings. It wasn't until the western-themed ferris wheel, which was called Wagon Wheels or something like that, that smiles surfaced.

This shouldn't have come as a surprise. One of the effects of Xander observing everything around him is that he sort of detaches when he has an opportunity to just look around. This comes into play mainly on the swings. Knowing that he's not responsible for his own movement, he takes the time to look around at cars, other kids or whatever is in the area. One often doesn't know that Xander is enjoying himself until the person pushing him lets Xan come to a gentle stop, only to find Xander kicking that he wants to swing some more.

Back to Wagon Wheels, when Xan got to the top - which took awhile since each rider had to be loaded on one at a time - he broke out in smiles, and it was a smile-fest from there on out. He enjoyed the pirate-themed playground, and the Route 66 car driving course with mom, and the Ship's Ahoy! kiddie dragon-boat ride. Once he figured out where everything and everyone was, he had a much better time.

But his favorite part of all? Watching the big roller coasters. Dad and AD went on the Bizarro Superman and Mind Eraser coasters, and during each mom and Xan hung out near the exit and watched the coasters zoom by overhead. Each time, Xan would screech with delight and point at the coasters. He's still a long ways away from being tall enough to ride them himself, but he will likely be ready long before that.

When you add up the price of admission, plus food and games, amusement parks are rarely cheap, but giving Xander his first experience at one proved worth the price of admission and then some.

Give Me Freedom Or Give Me Chex

The positives to Xander learning to walk far, far outweigh the negatives. But one potential negative is the fact that he has learned that can be free. If Xander does not want to ‘come here,’ he no longer has to, because now he can get to wherever he wants on his own. Mom and dad are rapidly learning that there is one way and one way only to conclusively corral Xander on a consistent basis: Chex.

Originally, dad only gave Xander Chex because he and Xan had finished the Cheerios, and it was another couple of days ‘til pay day. But the impact was immediate -- he loved them. Corn Chex are his favorites, but he also likes Wheat Chex and never turns up his nose at Rice Chex either. Or more appropriately, he never gives them the Heisman treatment. If you come to Xander with a food or beverage item that is not on his menu, you are most definitely getting the stiff arm treatment. In recent weeks, he’s added a Dee Brown to the move -- he throws out the stiff arm (with a little push in it) with the left arm, while covering his mouth and face with the right arm. Where mom and dad used to be able to drive hard to the hoop to get food he didn’t want on to his lips -- and then from there hope he swallowed it and liked it -- now it’s nigh impossible. If he doesn’t want it, you have no chance.

This goes for walking outdoors as well. It’s probably dad’s fault. In front of mom and dad’s new apartment is a big hill with a fence on top. When you exit the abode, you have two choices to get to your car -- walk up the stairs that detour around the side of the hill, or just charge up the hill and pommel horse the fence. Dad, ever the impatient, too frequently charges straight up the hill, Xander in one arm, diaper bag in the other. So now, whenever Xander gets outside, the first thing he wants to do is try to walk up the hill. It would be cute if it wasn’t so potentially dangerous.

Xander’s other dangerous habit is that he doesn’t believe in holding adults’ hands when he is walking on the sidewalk. You might get him to hold your hand for a few yards, but soon enough, there will be a noise or movement, and suddenly holding your hand is no longer a priority. The priority is looking at that car, looking at that truck, looking at that six-year old who just went careening across the playground at breakneck speed. Suddenly the hand that was holding yours is violently yanked away as he assumes his “watcher” position, feet shoulder width apart, hands at his sides, mouth slightly open, eyes focused. Once the moment, or vehicle, passes, he’ll go back to walking towards the intended destination, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll want to hold your hand. This sort of behavior earns Xander a lot of shoulder rides.

On the sidewalk of the apartment complex, the combination of the desire for freedom and the natural inclination to shift to the “watcher” position is mostly cute, and almost completely harmless, but in large crowds it can be problematic. For example, dad and a friend recently took Xander to his first Pawtucket Red Sox game. When he was a tyke that couldn’t move around, Xan sat quietly on dad’s lap at the Rockies’ game, but now that he has freedom, nothing of the sort is going on. Upon reaching the concourse, dad plopped Xander down and went about the process of trying to walk to our seats. But even though we were early, there were still hundreds of people to look at. Did it help that the 40-year old woman who can be conservatively described as voluminous was trying to carry on a conversation with him? No, probably not. But there were legions of people to look at, and given his druthers, Xander would have just planted himself on that concourse and looked at every single one of them.

Conversely, while there were plenty of people and things to look at from the seats, they were limiting. Sit in one place for three hours? Dad, surely you jest. Xander was temporarily sated by the spread of veggie sticks, Triscuits and Chex, but once the supply was dry, Xan wanted to fly. And one advantage of being a little guy is that you fit everywhere -- trying to shimmy down the backs of the chairs to the row in front of him became a prominent strategy for Agent X. After the third inning, dad and his friend had seen enough.

Xander is big on exploring, and that is the main way he learns about the environment around him, and also about himself. But unfortunately, there are times when he needs to be tended to, and during those situations, attention needs to be heightened, because as freedom increases, cooperation decreases. Give him freedom, or give him Chex.

Sand-er

On Saturday, Xander made his first trip to the beach -- Easton's Beach in Newport to be exact. Xander had made a seafaring trip before, but he had not yet been to the beach. In short, he loved it.

Mom and dad met their friends Nicole and Mike, and Xander's good friend Jonah there on Saturday morning. Mom, dad and Xan got there first, and learned quickly that it would be a good day on the beach. After renting an umbrella, they plopped Xan down on the sand so they could set up the umbrella and their various other beach belongings, and before they gear was out of their hands, Xander had taken off like a bat out of hell for the water. He got about two-thirds of the way there before he realized no one was following him, and he stopped and came back, with a big grin painted on his mug. From there, he played in the sand and waited patiently for his turn in the water.

That came about an hour and a half into the day, as both dad's took their boys into the surf. After splashing for a few minutes, Jonah and Mike headed back to the beach, while Xan and dad stayed out in the water. Easton's Beach is rated as a very kid-friendly beach, and one of the reasons is that the land at the edge of the water does not slope at all. In fact, dad could walk a good hundred yards out into the ocean before getting chest-deep. So, out Xan and dad ventured. They splashed in the waves, and dad explained some of the things that were around them, such as the copious amounts of red seaweed populating the beach. Once they were out far enough that they could see waves forming, dad would point out each incoming wave to Xander.

At first, it didn't seem like Xander liked this too much, as he kept methodically pointing back to the ocean. But just as dad was about to take him back to land, he noticed that Xander was smiling and laughing. Watching closer, he realized that Xander was not pointing at the land, but in fact was pointing at the waves as they passed by the pair and crashed their way towards land. So they stood in the ocean, tracking waves for a few more minutes before heading back in.

In or out of the water, Xander was having a grand old time. He started to get sleepy, but unlike Jonah, he refused to take a nap. Dad even took him on a long beach walk, but there was simply no sleep in the forecast. Xander has always loved sandboxes, and the beach is a giant sandbox, so he was enthralled.

After lunch at the snack bar, the group headed over to the beach's exploration center, which was essentially a low-grade aquarium. There were tanks with turtles, jellyfish, a blue lobster and other assorted aquatic creatures, but what Xander and Jonah really liked was the story time area, which was filled with books and stuffed animals. The pair got nearly hysterical laughing and playing with the stuffed animals. Xander would pick up a stuffed squid, dolphin or fish and hand it to Jonah, who would give it to his mom or toss it on the ground or give it back to Xander. They carried on with this little game for nearly 10 minutes before finally losing steam.

At that point, Xander was finally gearing down for a nap, so mom, dad and Xan took leave of Nicole, Mike and Jonah, and headed home. Xander slept nearly the entire way back -- he woke up in Providence when mom stopped to get her favorite pizza at Antonio's on Thayer St. -- but he was so worn out from the beach that he not only slept in the car, but slept through the night for the first time in a week. He is a beach bum in the making, a real...Sand-er.

Johnny Walker

It started on July 7th. That was the day Xander took his first steps. Xander was at his friend Jonah's for a play date, and the two were having a good time playing outside on the deck and Jonah's house, as Jonah has a big, plastic sink and a little baby pool out there. The two of them splashed and played for the better part of two hours. Jonah is almost two months older than Xander though, and so was already walking at the time. Though mom and dad (and many other family members) had been practicing walking with Xan, he had not really seen it from someone his size that he knew. Seeing Jonah walk likely spurred Xan to take his first steps, steps that he repeated later on that afternoon when visiting his giddoo (that's Arabic for grandfather).

After those first steps, the regularity with which Xander took steps grew slowly. At first, it was just one or two steps before falling. Then, it was three. Then, it was three and lunging towards a person or object. These sort of isolated incidents would happen once or twice a day, but Xander was still mostly crawling. Then about a week ago, Xander burst out for six quick steps, before breaking into his normal crawl. The idea of walking was blooming in his head, but it was not yet fully formed. At this point, mom and dad had seen Xander walk plenty, but it was still not his mode of transport of choice. As such, they were still reticent to say that Xander was walking.

That changed on Wednesday evening. On Wednesday evening, Xander started walking with regularity. And while at times he still stumbles like a drunken gambler, he is becoming adept at catching himself in mid-fall and straightening back out. What clinched it for mom and dad though, was the fact that Xander walked outside. Xan is easily distracted by cars and other kids, and often will stand contemplatively watching cars or people when left to his own devices outside. But on Wednesday night at the park near the family's new apartment, there was Xander, walking, walking, walking. He still hasn't completely abandoned crawling, but Xander has most definitely become a regular Johnny Walker.

Gate-gate

This past weekend, Xander's mom and dad bought two gates for their new apartment, in an attempt to keep Xander from killing himself in either the kitchen (with deadly chemicals) or on the stairs if their back happened to be turned. So far, it has been a very futile attempt.

Mom and dad figured the easiest time to set up the gates was after Xander was asleep, so Sunday night, they set up the first one, leaving the second gate for another time. Upon awakening on Monday morning however, mom quickly realized that they had assembled the gate too high. Dad was tasked with seeing if Xander would try to crawl under the gate. After a few hours, dad was convinced that he wouldn't. Xander tried to climb over the gate, but never made any real attempt to get under it. Much ado over nothing thought dad, and forgot all about it.

The next day, Xander got under the gate on his very first try. Like he does when he crawls down the stairs, he went feet first and shimmied under backwards on his stomach. He even made sure to tuck his head so that he wouldn't hit it on the bottom of the gate. He did it so fast that dad accused mom of deliberately putting him on the other side of the gate in an attempt to make him think he had crawled under. Then Xander crawled under again, emerging right back where he started, with a sh*t-eating grin that mocked "what else you got?"

With the knowledge that the gate was now ineffective as a means of corralling Xander, dad tried to use it as a distraction. Xander's favorite game remains opening and closing (and sometimes hiding behind) doors, so perhaps he would seek to open and close the gate rather than crawl into the kitchen or onto the stairs unsupervised. Sure enough, the gate became Xan's new favorite toy. It became such a favorite that he quickly tore it up. The gate is held in place on the wall in four places. On Thursday morning, Xander yanked one of them loose. With the gate still functioning and other things on mom and dad's to-do list, fixing the gate was still on hold. That was until Friday morning, when Xander yanked the gate not just loose, but free of the wall completely.

Some might say the gate was poorly made, others that it was poorly installed, and still others might say that that's one strong baby. But no matter how you view Gate-gate, one thing is certain -- you can't stop Xander, you can only hope to contain him. And you're going to have to try awfully damn hard to contain him!

I Learned To Walk On Georges Island

Last Tuesday, on what was the first official day of summer, there were free ferry's from Long Wharf in Boston out to Georges Island and Spectacle Island, which are small islands in the Boston Harbor. It was sort of a kick off to the summer-type deal. Dad thought this would be a great time to get Xander his first taste of the ocean, and selected Georges Island as the destination.

Xander, his Sittoo (Arabic for grandmother), his great aunt and dad set out for Long Wharf a little later than expected, thanks to his mom's car breaking down on her way to work. Nevertheless, the trip got underway with the drive into Boston. Dad had not been to Long Wharf since back in 2003, when he went to meet his cousin at the Marriott. As a result, he forgot that the New England Aquarium was right there at the wharf. Dad was tempted to take Xander into the aquarium, but held off, since his mom had already called dibs on that excursion.

After parking in the garage, the group set out to find the free ferry tickets. They were of course on the opposite side of the hotel, and at 10:55, the frenzied group (well, Xander was calm) scurried over to grab the ferry's last set of tickets. The group was the last to board before the ferry pushed off.

Once on board, seats were scouted out. Dad found a bench next to a nice lady and her fraternal twins, who were a couple of years older than Xan. As is his wont, he immediately flirted with her, batting his long eyelashes at her. The girl was smitten, and when dad got up to show Xan the water, the girl insisted to her mom that we sit back down next to them. It was very cute.

One of the nice things about the ferry was that it was a double-decker, which meant that the bottom level was shaded. As a result, that's where all the kids were, and there were quite a few young ones making the trek. On the way over, Xander was initially excited about the water, but he lost interest as the half-hour ride progressed. Each new buoy, boat or island passed sparked his interest, but otherwise he went back to his favorite meal, Daddy Shoulder Sandwich. Hold the mayo.

George's Island is a remarkably tiny island, but it does have an old, but still very much intact, army fort -- Fort Warren. When the ferry reached the island, the visitor center was swarmed, so the group set out straight for the fort. There weren't a lot of rooms that you could enter, but the design of the fort was fairly interesting, and the group explored the grounds. But from inside the fort one could not see the ocean. But the roof of the fort offered a spectacular 360 degree view of the surrounding areas -- the city, the islands and what is the gateway to the Atlantic Ocean. The view was priceless, especially on the postcard-picture perfect day. Xander realized the beauty of the view, and stopped fidgeting in daddy's arms long enough to drink it all in.

After a walk around the rest of the island and a quick break, Xander's sittoo and great aunt wanted to stop and hang out at the island's snack shack. Daddy had other ideas. The beach on the island was a bit rocky, so Xander couldn't go crawling around on it, but daddy took him down to the beach and held him over the water, so he could touch ocean water for the first time. Xan, who these days loves all things cold and/or wet, was excited, and tried to squirm free from daddy and into the water, but daddy was not having it.

The return ferry was set to leave at 1:30, so there was just enough time for daddy and Xan to run back to the snack shack and grab lunch. Then everyone jumped in line. But after being pushed around in his stroller all day, Xander was full of pent-up energy. So dad decided to try and walk with him. He had tried once or twice before, but Xan had refused to this point. Not today. First dad and Xan walked 10 feet from the line to the flagpole and back. Dad was ecstatic at this development, but like any good overbearing parent, wanted more. So he tried again, and this time Xander walked a good thirty feet away from the line. Seemingly tired of walking, he shook free from dad's grip, but instead of just plopping down on the ground, he went into a crouch. And then stood back up. And then back down into a crouch. And then stood back up. He did this for two solid minutes before finally plopping down in the grass. This was a sort-of-first. Xander had stood on his own before, and had crouched down while holding on to something, but never both together, and never for that space of time. Combine that with the walking (he then walked back to the line) and it felt like real progress. Dad joked that he should run into the visitors center to see if they sold "I learned to walk on Georges Island" bumper stickers, but then the ferry was there. He never got a chance to look.

All in all, it was a fun, free (well, except for the $35 at the parking garage. Yey Boston!) excursion, but while the intent was to show Xander the ocean, Xander ended up showing us that he was starting to get down with the whole walking thing. That's what dad calls a win-win.

The Art of People Watching

Xander spends the majority of his time in the house with mom and dad. He usually gets to go for a walk once a day, and there are trips to the stores and such, but now that swimming lessons are over, he is in a brief respite where he has no scheduled activities outside of the house. So when he gets to go somewhere new or somewhere fun, he has one objective - looking at other people.

This past Thursday, dad took Xander to the Denver Aquarium for the first time. It was a pretty good time. There were definitely points where Xander was very interested in looking at the fish, especially in the tunnels of water, when there was literally water all around. He looked up and saw a giant sea turtle that caught his attention. At another point, he stood with his hands on the glass wall, transfixed by the many different fish floating by at his eye level. And then finally, he liked when the floor was see-through, and he could see the sharks swimming down below. But mostly, he liked looking at people.

Xander especially likes looking at kids that are a little bit older than him, say kids that are three to four-years old. When he does this, he doesn't smile, he doesn't frown, he just kind of stares at them. You can see the wheels in his head turning, as if he's thinking to himself, "Why are these kids bigger than me ... What are they doing ... I want to do that." You can tell when Xander goes into this mode, because no matter how many times you say his name, or poke him in the belly, or tap him on the shoulder, or try to make eye contact, he's just not even aware of your existence. This is a trait he picks up from his dad, who can sometimes block out other people - most notably Xander's mom - when he wants to.

Dad was out of town over the weekend, but he received similar, if not stronger reports from Xander's mom that he had done the same thing at the zoo. "Xander, look at the bears." Nope, looking at these people over here. "Xander, look at the crazy monkeys." Sorry, there's a lot of people here to look at.

If there's a bright side, it's that in addition to being focused, Xander is also curious about other people, and that perhaps it means he will be very sociable. If there's a downside, it's that he's already learned to tune out his mom and dad at the tender age of 10 months.

Baby Steps

On March 1st, Xander crawled up his first stair. It caught mom and dad off-guard, but luckily since he only went up the one stair, it wasn't a big deal. He plopped back down on his bum, and seemed satisfied that he had done it. Nine days later, he had grown a lot more ambitious.

Generally speaking, Xander's night time routine is eat dinner, watch a 22-minute Baby Einstein video, change into PJ's, story time, nighttime feeding and bed. But last Thursday, he ate dinner a little early, so mom and dad let him play for a little in the living room before it was time to watch his video. Xander apparently took this as an invitation to climb the stairs again. Up he went on the first stair. Dad slid behind him at the bottom of the stairs, but didn't really think much of it, as he had done this before. Then he climbed the second stair. And here. We. Go.

Immediately, he began to reach for the third stair, and mom and dad realized that this was no ordinary stair climbing. While dad moved into better position to hold Xander in case he fell, mom started to record on the camcorder on her phone. One problem - the camcorder on mom's phone shines a light. Xander noticed this, and turned around to look at the light, and in doing so ceased his ascent. Camera off. Up and up he kept scampering. The staircase is a two-parter, with a landing at the sixth and seventh steps. These stairs are much bigger, and gave Xander ample room to crawl and maneuver on when he reached them, which he did quickly.

Initially, Xander moved briskly past the landing, on to the eighth stair. But then he decided he liked the landing better. He let himself fall off the eighth stair into dad's arms. Once back on the landing, he decided to crawl down from seventh stair to sixth stair and back up again. He did this maybe two dozen times. He seemed to enjoy the fact that the two stairs were wide enough for him to crawl downward from one to the other. He got very good at it quickly, as he was able to keep his arms out in front of him so that his little head didn't bop on the ground on the way down.

After he seemed to tire of this game, Xander got back to trying to make it all the way up the stairs. He climbed the eighth, and then the ninth stair, but at this point he was getting pretty tired. Dad, who to this point had been silently sitting behind Xander so as to not disturb his thought process, went to the top of the stair case and leaned over to encourage Xander to finish the job (mom slid in behind him to catch him if he fell). Xander smiled and laughed, but was clearly tuckered out. The last five steps will have to wait for another day, but they seem like they will be easy prey.

The Doors, The Doors!

All kids love peek-a-boo (some adults like it too). One of the easiest ways to actually hide your whole body while playing peek-a-boo is obviously to hide behind a wall or a door. Once mom and dad realized that Xander liked this a lot, they started playing it with him. Before he started crawling, he would just sit on the living room floor and laugh and throw his hands in the air (sometimes) excitedly while mom or dad kept surprising him from behind the door.

Once Xander started crawling however, the cat was out of the bag. Now he could crawl over to that pesky door and find mom or dad, stripping away the element of surprise. The first time he figured it out, he crawled over and poked his head around the door. Then, being the strong boy that he is, instead of crawling all the way around the door, he decided to push it out of his way. And thus his new favorite game was born.

Now, whenever he gets an opportunity, Xander will crawl over to a door and start opening and closing it. He does this a little at a time. He'll push it one way, then crawl to the door and pushes it some more. Sometimes, it's a tight squeeze, like inside the bathroom. In that case, he'll kind of wiggle his body so that he's sort of wrapped around the base of the door. Then, when he's ready to push it, he'll kick his legs out of the way so that the door doesn't take him for a ride. He has just as much fun wiggling and crawling to and around the door as he does pushing it, but he does take special pleasure in shutting the door completely on someone, especially his mom.

That's not to say it's all fun and games. Big doors are fine, but the pantry doors can be tricky. One day, Xander got his fingers caught in between the slits of the doors. He didn't care for that at all. Other doors have cleaning chemicals behind them, so those doors now have locks. Xander still thinks he can open these doors though, so every once in awhile mom and dad hear this thunderous rattle. One of these days, Xander will probably tear the doors off at their hinges, he's so strong. Or not. After all, he's just a baby. A baby that likes to play games like peek-a-boo. Just as long as he can figure out how the game is played.

Undeterred

Now that Xander is able to move around, it's a lot easier to see what he's thinking. Since he doesn't crawl very fast, it's easy to spot what it is that he's crawling towards, which is helpful, just in case he's crawling towards something dangerous. If he is, there are a few options available at hand that mom and dad can utilize to dissuade him. One option is to put something else in his way and see if he changes course. Another option is to try and draw him away by making a noise or banging something on the ground. Finally, you can walk over, pick him up and put him down back where he was. There's just one problem: none of these work well, if at all.

Xander is one very determined little baby. Once he locks his eyes on something, there's a good chance he won't stop until he has it within his grasp. His favorite items include mom and dad's shoes, heating vents, door stops, and of course, computers. He also frequently crawls over to the bottom of the stairs and hoists himself up on the first stair, but so far that's as far as he can get. He's also getting better at opening cabinet doors from the bottom, though he'll only do that if directly in front of them - he doesn't seem terribly interested in cabinets just yet.

Often, mom or dad won't want Xander to be crawling towards whatever he's crawling towards - i.e., dad's dirty sneakers. But no matter how many times Xander is picked up and placed back where he was, he will start right back up. Unless it's something dangerous, mom and dad usually give up and let him have at it. After all, sucking on a dirty shoelace isn't going to kill him, it's just gross.

It's not just at home that Xander exhibits this behavior either. On Sunday, dad took Xander over to a friend's house to watch football, and eventually my friend's sisters took him into one of the other rooms, as they weren't that into the games. This room had a printer on the floor, and sure enough, Xander was interested. Upon entering the room, I saw him trying to hoist himself up on the printer (it was a bulky kind of printer, the kind that was super high-tech in 2006 but looks incredibly dated today). Obviously, I didn't want him breaking my friend's printer, so I pulled him off and put him back in the center of the room. But he started right back up again, crawling towards the printer. After we repeated this process four or five times, I gave up and handed him to my friend's sister, who exclaimed, "He's so focused!"

Who knows how long this phase will last for - it seems every kid today has ADD, or ADHD, or some sort of attention issue. It's not hard to understand why when you buy children's CD's, and all the tracks are less than two minutes long. Nevertheless, it's exciting to see Xander so determined to reach whatever it is his little heart desires, and hopefully it's a trait that he carries with him as he matures.

I Would Like To Play With This Fire Poker

It's amazing it took this long. Xander had been doing the whole crawl two steps and then lunge forward for several weeks. He had actually become pretty mobile with that strategy. He would go two steps, lunge, then sit up backwards, then repeat the process. But then he started sewing the seeds of actual crawling this past Sunday, first in the morning, and then again later in the day. He made three to four crawls, but stopped there. Monday, those seeds were planted in full force.

Xander and daddy were playing quietly with his blocks Monday afternoon. Daddy was stacking them as he always does so that Xander can knock them down, so he lost sight of Xander for a minute. But when he looked up, he noticed that Xander was no longer in the middle of the room, but rather all the way in the corner, running his finger across the heating vent (ever since he learned about turning pages, Xander loves running his hand across heating vents or anything with similar ridges). In semi-disbelief, dad grabbed him and carried him back to the middle of the room to see if he would do it again. Like a very slow-moving rocket, he took off once again, arriving at the vent a few seconds later. Xander was crawling!

Monday night was the best night. Mommy came home and together the happy parents watched as Xander crawled about his bedroom from place to place. Every once in awhile, he would crawl to where one of them pointed, but for the most part he had a mind of his own. They shot a video and sent it to friends and family. That night, he slept pretty well. But the next day, the honeymoon was definitely over.

Now that he could crawl, there was nothing in the living room that he couldn't get to. And that was a problem. First, he crawled under the coffee table and bumped his head. Then he climbed over to the stairs, and made his first attempt to go up the stairs. Both were a little concerning, but no real harm was done. And then he crawled over to the fireplace and grabbed the fire poker. Dad was just in time to prevent it from slipping from its hold and landing squarely on his head. But then he tried to do it again right away, and it become clear that Xander was now a full-blown wreckin' machine! Looks like mom and dad have some baby-proofing to do...