20 months

Dear Xander,

You are 20 months old and growing so fast! I just love watching your personality develop and getting a sense of what you will be like when you are older. You are a delight.

You are my little introvert, my kid who will happily hang out in your crib for an hour after you wake up, just waiting for me to come get you.  You get overwhelmed by lots of chaos or noise and you will retreat to a room by yourself sometimes when there are lots of kids over.  At the same time though, you aren't too shy, and when we go to the grocery store, you say "hi" to everybody who walks by!  Several people have told me that you made their day.

I used to be worried that you might have a speech delay, but around 18 months your language just took off.  You are a normal boy, I just didn't know what to expect.  You will imitate lots of words, and have a decent size vocabulary. Recently you started saying very simple two-word sentences, such as "hi Dada."   You used to say "no" to everything even if the answer should be yes, but recently you have started nodding your head or saying "uhuh" to some questions, which makes communication a lot easier!

You love to play with your cars and trucks, they are your favorite toys. Especially your "dum dow" (dump trucks.) You also love animals and animal noises. You will lie on your tummy and play with your Little People barn and animals and it's adorable.  You get very excited when we go outside in the wagon or just running around.  We make you leave your wubby in your crib now, and you get so excited when we go upstairs and you see it.  You love to run the other way when I say to come here.  You love Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and ask to watch it every day, and it's a challenge to come up with some other activity when you have your mind set on "meow meow." You love smoothies, but hate the loud blender.

I hope I never forget the way you run upstairs for your "bapfff" (bath), run to the window every time you hear the trash truck coming, which you call a dump truck (close enough), or how your little hand pats my back so sweetly when you give me a hug.  I love your infectious giggle when Daddy is tickling you and playing with you...you adore your Daddy! I giggle when I call you my "little dude" and you repeat and say "dood" in your little voice.  

You rock my world little man.  I love you so much.

Love, Mommy

18 months

Xander is 18 months old!  It's hard to believe he is so big.  He is in the 60% for weight at almost 25 lbs, but only the 5% for height at 30.5 inches. He's wearing 18 month clothing.

Xander:

• Loves to sit in my lap and read books
• Is fascinated with animals and can do the sounds for a monkey, cat, dog, cow, fish, elephant and owl
• Shakes his head "no" when asked any question, even if the answer is actually "yes"
• Can (usually) correctly point to his head, belly, ears, eyes, and nose when asked
• Loves putting his shoes on to go outside
• Loves playing hide and seek and peekaboo, especially with Daddy
• Runs everywhere he goes
• Thinks it's hilarious to throw toys at Casper
• Loves to watch the goldfish swim
• Loves to copy facial expressions
• Is afraid of loud, unexpected or unknown noises
• Can't resist pushing every button and lever he can find, even though he knows it gets him in trouble (the washing machine is a favorite - many loads of laundry have been turned off halfway through)
• Finally lets Daddy put him to bed!
• Is very interested in trucks, busses, and cars, and likes to "vroom" his toy cars around

I think our little boy is going to be a cautious introvert. He is slow to try new things and sometimes has to be coaxed. He is not super adventurous, although he does get into plenty of mischief. He does NOT like to be dropped off at the nursery at church or the child care at the gym, and he cries as soon as he sees we're heading that direction. He does OK with a babysitter at our house though. He thrives on routine and he can be shy with new people. When he is comfortable and at home, he loves to giggle and play games and be silly. He dances to music, plays with his puzzles and cars and balls, and loves to go on walks. He is usually very sweet and good natured, though he is a normal toddler who sometimes cries and whines when he doesn't get his way.

He still talks mostly in grunts and baby sign language,but he understands a ton of what we say.  He signs "please," "thank you," "help," "water," "dog," "diaper," "milk," and "all done."  His speaking vocabulary consists of "light," "fish," "hi," "dog," "Dada," "Mama," "uhoh," "poop," "car" and "wubby."  A couple of those words he has just started saying in the last week, and many of them are hard to make out if you're not me.  He just started saying Mama and it makes my heart so happy.  And also it's dangerous because it makes me want to give him whatever he's asking for! 

He is still quite picky in his eating habits.  At any given time he will only eat a handful of foods, most of them uncooked.  Right now it's peanuts, fruit, guacamole, fish, and scrambled eggs.  The eggs are a new thing and I am THRILLED about that. But usually when he starts eating something new he stops eating something old, so it all evens out in his world.  I always try to give him a balanced diet, and some of what we are eating to try, he just usually refuses to eat it.  He will also eat junk food of course, but I don't give him much of that.) One day he will grow out of this, so I try to stay chill about it.

A month or so ago, Xander got a little bug and for a few days was pretty pathetic with a fever.  And then I got sick, and didn't have much energy, so during that time we watched a lot of TV, especially Daniel Tiger.  Well today he asked to watch Daniel Tiger by handing me the remote and saying "meow meow." Ha! (One of the characters is a cat who always says that.)  I was simultaneously dismayed that he is attached to the TV now, and swayed by his adorableness.

Xander is especially skilled at making messes, getting into mischief, and being exceptionally cute. He is our pride and joy and we love him to pieces!

Contentment: 2015

Contentment.

That is going to be my word for 2015.

2015?!  I don't know how it can possibly be 2015 already.  It does not feel like 15 years have passed since the year we rang in the new millennium and I started high school.

Anyway, I always feel reflective and pensive on January 1. What did I accomplish last year?  What do I hope to accomplish in the year to come?  It seems I always have higher hopes than accomplishments.  But that is OK.  Better to have high goals and fall short than to have no goals and accomplish nothing.  

So here are my concrete goals for 2015.

1.  Read more.  I always have reading goals, because reading has been one of my true loves in life since I learned how at 4 years old. I used to read voraciously, but recently I have found two major distractions that keep me from reading as much as I would like: technology, and Xander.  I can't do anything about that second reason obviously, but I can definitely do something about the first.  It is so easy for me to get on my tablet to check Facebook "real quick", and then 30 minutes later, I've wasted all my reading time.  I just need to be more intentional about not frittering my free time away. My actual goal is to read 3 books a month: one parenting book, one Christian or marriage book, and one for fun book.  I probably won't accomplish this, but it's something to work toward.

2.  Speaking of reading, I want to read the Bible all the way through.  I have done this a couple of times in my life, but I got a new Bible for Christmas, the ESV reader's Bible, and I would like to just read it cover to cover.  It's time I did it again.

3.  James and I have a joint resolution this year to be really good with our budgeting and saving.  When we were both working, we saved my income, so we didn't really have to be as strict with our monthly budget.  But since I stopped working, we have to be strict in order to stay within our budget AND save for all of our long-term expenses/goals.  We haven't been very good at this in recent years and therefore haven't saved as much as we should have.  It's time to buckle down.  On the plus side, come October we will send in the last payment of James' student loan and be completely debt free (except for our mortgage)!  That will feel really good.

That brings me to my word for the year.  Contentment.  Personal character goals are always much harder to track progress, but I need to work on this.  I always get very stressed when working on our budget.  Why?  Well, partially it is because being a grown up stinks - the government takes a third of your money, food and housing costs a bloody fortune, and there's always something that needs to be fixed or purchased or replaced. But a lot of it is because the budget reminds me that I have to exercise restraint and limit myself.  I hate to admit it, but this doesn't come easily for me.  I struggle with contentment and entitlement even as I fight against it.  It's not pretty.  

I get caught in a negative thinking pattern - I need more money, more stuff, more square feet, more luxuries.  We live in an area with a high median income, it is hard not to compare.  I don't live in my dream house, I don't drive my dream car, I don't have a smart phone, cable TV, or the body I had in college.  And I feel like I need more or better to be happy.  

Well that is a lie.  I will never be happy with more or better stuff.  I know that, and yet I still fight discontentment.  I'm not saying that I am not happy; in general, I am very happy.  But it creeps up on you slowly until you can only see what you don't have.  

So this year, I am making a conscious effort to choose contentment.  I have a God who loves me, a wonderful family, a warm cozy house, plenty of food to eat, and more stuff than I could ever need.  It is enough; it is more than enough. This year I choose contentment.

Whatever the cost, Thou hast taught me to say, "It is well, it is well with my soul!"

Food Woes

Because Xander makes me pull my hair out regarding his eating habits, I thought I'd share so you can all sympathize.  Or at least understand why I am stressed 3 times a day plus snacks. Here is a categorized list of what is and is not acceptable for His Royal Highness.

Here's what he WILL eat pretty much any time it's offered:

Fruit - any and all, pureed, fresh, or dried, it doesn't matter.

Yogurt

Crackers

Rice Cakes

Popcorn

Cheerios

Pretzels

Baby food pouches

Fish - namely, tilapia sauteed in butter with lemon pepper seasoning

Chicken nuggets (which is not a regular food in our house.  It's a treat)

Chipotle burrito bowls (again, not regularly on the menu)

Cookies (he's had maybe 3 in his whole life)

Here's what he MIGHT eat, depending on his mood, but probably not:

Cheese sticks - the string cheese kind, no other kind will do

Red bell peppers

Cucumbers

Olives

Pickles

Corn - maybe once a month he will scarf it like he's never tasted anything so good.  Every other time it instantly gets thrown off the plate.

Peanuts

Sweet potatoes

Peas

Here is what he WILL NOT eat or even taste:

Pasta - Who's child is he?? Because he can't be mine.

Bread - Again, WHERE DID YOU COME FROM??

Rice

Meat

PB&J - This used to be on his "acceptable" list.  Now he won't touch it.

Most Veggies

Potatoes

Beans - unless they are in my Chipotle burrito bowl.

Anything I make for dinner except fish

So basically, my kid exists on sugary fruit, baby food, processed starches, and dairy.  With the occasional vegetable thrown in for good measure.  I would stop giving him the baby food pouches, but they are often the only vegetables he gets in a day. I love him but he is driving me crazy.  I really hope someday I will look back at this time and laugh, but right now I really can't imagine that.  Sigh.

15 months!

My little boy is 15 months old today!  How time does fly. 

My child is a full-fledged toddler now!  He is walking everywhere, and tries to run.  He is about 23 lbs with a big potbelly, but his 12-month pants are too long on him.

He says about 4 words, my favorite being "hi," often accompanied by a wave. He says "daddy" "uh-oh" and "moo" in his own special way that only mommy can understand. Also he thinks every animal says Moo.  He understands a lot though.  When I say "let's go upstairs" he will run over to the stairs, and he gets very excited when I say we're going outside. Today when I put kiwi on his plate, he didn't know what it was so he wouldn't eat it.  But when I told him it was a yummy fruit, he tried it!

Speaking of food, we are having the typical toddler fight over food.  We have a very hard time getting him to eat anything new at all, most of the time he won't even taste it.  Her doesn't eat most meat and most veggies, so he mostly subsists on bread and fruit and some dairy. I think there are less than 10 foods that he will willingly eat, and even then much of the time he refuses to eat even those. Right now it is the most frustrating thing about having a toddler.

His favorite activity at the moment is pushing buttons.  He will sit there and play with the buttons on our air purifier, his white noise machine, the xBox; anything he can find.  He is fascinated with them.  He also likes to brush his teeth, read books, put his shoes on, play with stacking rings, and run around naked (which we only let him do right before he gets in the bath). We love our little boy!  He is such a joy.

Cutest little dragon you ever did see

October update

I can't believe it's October already!  This year has just flown by. 

A couple weeks ago, Xander and I flew to TX to visit my family for a week.  He had a great time and loved all the extra attention!  It was special to see him bond with my parents and brothers.  Uncle Rob was especially attentive to him and taught him all kinds of things like shaking his head and saying "uh oh."  One of his uncles also taught him to high five, but I'm not sure which one.  I thought it was very interesting that he watched and learned from my brothers so quickly.  Nana and Grandpa took him on lots of walks and wagon rides, and let him splash his feet in the pool which he loved.  It was a great time.  We were sad to leave but very happy to go home to Daddy and our own beds!

Caleb and Xander, second cousins, eating lunch together

We also went to the county fair last month and Xander had his first experience with corndogs!  He loved it.  He also went on his first kiddie ride, which he didn't seem to know what to think about.

Xander is now walking more than he crawls, and it's the cutest thing.  He's still really wobbly.  Every afternoon if the weather is good, we walk to the mailbox which is down the street a ways.  It takes us forever to get there and back because little legs go so slowly, and he doesn't want to walk in a straight line.  For some reason he is more interested in the rocks on the road than actually getting the mail, imagine that!  ;-)  But it's a fun little excursion in the beautiful fall weather.

 He still says "ga ga" all the time, but now he also says "uh oh!" Sometimes he says it appropriately but most of the time he just copies us when we say it.  He also knows a cow says moo, a dog says "ruff ruff," he does the sign language for please, and he sticks his finger up his nose when I ask him where his nose is.  He is getting so smart.

He loves to play peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake and the itsy bitsy spider, and he loves piggy back rides.  He also loves to open and close doors.  He is so curious and always getting into mischief.  I love watching him learn and process what's going on around him.  My little baby is quickly becoming a full fledged toddler!

13 months

So I wasn't going to continue doing monthly posts about Xander now that he's past a year, but he learned so much this month that I feel like I need to write one.

Xander with Uncle Eric

 The biggest thing is that yesterday he started walking! We've been trying to coax him for weeks and he wouldn't do it and then all of a sudden yesterday I looked over at him and he was walking! Just a few wobbly steps but with no prompting from me, and he's been doing it ever since. We are so proud.

He also has made some strides in communication. He still won't say any words aside from his repeated-a-million-times-a-day "gah-den," whatever that means, but he has learned that the cow says moo and the dog says ruff. Or as he says it, "ooooooh" and "uffff." He hasn't figured out the concept of consonants yet apparently. But it's super cute. This morning when I got him out of his crib he was saying "uff uff."

And along those same lines he has learned to sign "please!" We're working on saying please when he wants food instead of screeching for it. I am just amazed at how kid's brains work. They are like little sponges, soaking it all in and then copying everything. So cool.