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!