An Unexpected Visitor

We had an unexpected visitor in the back yard, a large bull snake.  They aren't poisonous and tend to mind their own business so nothing to be too concerned about.  Xander was fascinated and has been talking about "sniks" non-stop since.  We have had to explain to him that we don't play with "sniks" and that if he sees one to come tell mom and dad.  As a result Xander does a lot of pretend snake seeing.  When do we introduce the "Boy who Cried Wolf" parable...

Sitting Up

Maya likes play time on her mat and pulling on the rings and monkey and lions.  We even occasionally prop her up in her bumbo seat, although this is a bit challenging for her.  What's funny is that Xander is still drawn to the toys that were his favorites at this age, but luckily he is happy to share with his little sister.

Best Buddies

Xander and Jackson, best buddies.  Eat your hearts out ladies!!  Oh, the trouble these two are going to get into.

Playing with words

Today I told Xander and Jack to play with the books in Xander's room while I cleaned up Maya's room....  I wasn't expecting this! 

Yesterday, Jake asked Xander to bring down a pair of socks from Xander's room- and was delightfully surprised when Xander, a full 15 minutes later, handed him exactly one pair of socks.  After putting socks and shoes on Xander's feet so Jake could take him running in the Chariot, we realized that Xander had actually thrown the whole box of socks down the stairs...  how do you explain to a 2 year old that this was a clever solution, but not really what you want him to do next time?

Luckily, Xander was more than happy to help pick the socks up and return them to his "socks box."

Xander's first Easter Egg Hunt

Despite having a cold, Xander braved the rainy weather and participated in the annual neighborhood Easter Egg hunt.  He wasn't so thrilled with the Easter Bunny-lady but really got into the idea of putting the eggs into his bag- luckily, he didn't realize there was candy inside the eggs, which we left with some of the older kids.

Maya, 9 weeks old

Length: 22", 50th %ile
Weight: 9.75 lbs, 25-50%ile
Head: 14.4", 25th %ile

Favorites:
Mom's milk, warm blankets, Dad's cuddles... & Baby Zantac

Xander, 2 years old

Length: 34.5 inches, 50th %ile

Weight 28.5 lbs, 60th %ile

Head, 19.75", 80th %ile

Favorites:

"Goodnight Moon", "Kiss Goodnight", "Lunch" aka "Messy Mouse"

Climbing, Swimming, Playing on his bicycle, Being outside,

Elmo, Thomas the Train,  

Yogurt O's, Cheese, Fruit, 

Blanket, Baby & Doggie,

Screwdrivers (and tools in general),

Best Friends Alex, Leah and Jackson 

 

Maya, age 6 weeks

A nice long visit with Gran Jen for Xander's Birthday!

Xander, Jake and Jen went to the Zoo together so I could get a little studying done.  I was so dissappointed I didn't join them- they came back with incredible stories!  Several of the animals interacted directly with Xander, and the Polar bear was incredibly playful with a big balance ball for a really long time.  The bear would toss the ball up on the shelf, drop it, bat at it, go in and out of the water... you could actually watch him think!  As one long term zoo-goer said next to Jake "I've been coming here for years and have never seen anything like this from the polar bear!"   

Seems Maya is very good at getting Grandmothers to hold her!  Gran spent lots of time snuggling with her new granddaughter so I could get some studying done!  Maya really loved all the attention, and something tells me that Gran didn't mind too much either!

Jen and Xander and I had so much fun at the Erie pool! Xander was really brave and played on the slide, swam on his back, kicked his feet while swimming, put his face in the water, and joined us in the "lazy" river while we walked and got a little exercise. 

Maya slept peacefully through the whole thing, and Xander slept really well afterwards!

Xander is really getting into books, and has his favorites.  One of his favorites is a "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" book that Jen sent to him- he can listen to her read him a story every time he opens it.  Very cool!  Since another favorite is "Goodnight Moon", Jen brought that one with her this time to read with him and record for his birthday.  He didn't sit still well, unfortunately, but we still got the recording, and now he has another great way to enjoy the story. 

Xander, feeding his animals- isn't sharing (and laundry) fun?

Xander, age 2, with his favorite friends, Baby and Blue Doggy.

Before storytime at the library, it is a good idea to give Xander a few minutew on the playground.  He is getting so confident and capable... our little baby has become a little boy so fast!  It was great to share some of his giggles and explorations with his Gran.

Jen had never been up to Crested Butte, so we drove up for Xander's Birthday, which was also closing weekend.  By the age of 2, including Xander's birthday day (April 2) Xander went skiing 3 times!  Each time he gets a little more confident.  Right now he likes the idea of skiing, and talking about it afterwards, more than the actual skiing, but I think next year we'll get him into lessons and he'll be doing bump runs in no time.

Jen took this great photo of the three of us!  We don't have enough pictures of  us all, so this one is really special!

Xander, helping Jake sand and varnish the handrail to the basement- our last item is now checked off the "to do" list!

The creative process

Xander has finally been introduced to cartoons and music on the computer.  We have greatly limited how much time he spent with it up to this point but now that we've opened pandora's box, there are several favorites already. and Xander really really likes exploring Youtube.com's collection of cartoon animal music videos.  For a kid who has such limited exposure to TV and cartoons, he sure is picking them up fast!

Xander has been demonstrating a much richer ability with pretend-play and comes up with some really funny ideas with the clear intention of making us laugh.  His animals interact with each other, Thomas the train likes to go on adventures, and baby and blue doggie like to eat, ride on bicycles, play outside and take baths.  Well, of course they do!

Remember this one?  I had to share it again- Xander just loves taking pictures with Dad's camera.  As soon as he figures out that the flash tester is not what actually signals the camera to take the photos, I'll be sure to post his first master-work.

He's also enjoying art group again (Super-Mom Julie Layne comes up with great projects for the kids!) and has been equally interested in art at home.

Here's a really fun comparison of different artisitc visions using the same materials... Leah Brown on the left and Xander on the right!

And his latest masterpeice?  A mixed media composition, currently untitled, but created at the Wow Museum with Gran.  Maya thinks it's his best work yet!

(Note: I need to figure out why I can't get this photo to stand upright...  consider it under construction, sorry)