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.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, July 29, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, July 22, 2011
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!
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!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, March 28, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
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.
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.
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