All that Petsmart Dog Training is coming in handy

Sorry for the bad picture quality. We can't seem to keep Xander away from the dogs when they are eating. He likes to go after the food and also play in the water bowl. Our dogs are not food aggressive. We learned the training from Petsmart doggy school on how to prevent that. I still try to keep him away from them while they are eating.

Apparently dog food is a child choking hazard from what I have read. Fortunately, our dogs don't leave leftover food lying around for Xander to get a hold of. One day Xander did get a hold of piece while they were eating though. He tasted it and then spit it out. Yuck!

The Test

Here the items that Xander needs to do to move out up to the toddler room at school:

- Responds to simple 1-step instructions
- Demonstrates simple signing and language
- Puts small objects through a slot into a container
- Drinks from a cup without a sippy-lid
- Has the ability to get in, out and sit in a chair without support
- Is walking steadily, can carry large object
- Plays independently of other children, occasionally interacting with them
- Transitions to a new environment exhibiting stability and self-assurance

And, of course, there needs to be room in the the toddler room. I think he is on his way for some of these things and probably needs a little work in others. I'm excited for Xander to be the little fish in the big pond again...there will be so much new to learn in the toddler room.

I have no idea when kids typically move up age wise. It's probably better that I don't know. I'd probably just obsess about making sure Xander gets there "on-time".

Fun stuff

John, our neighbor, sent us this cool website Zero to Three. It has a whole bunch of fun activities. We'll definitely be doing some of them with Xander. He is such a curious boy.

This one looks nice and messy:
"Make bubble art. Mix about a ? cup of bubble solution with about 1-2 tablespoons of washable tempera paint. Hang a piece of paper outside (use binder clips to hang on a fence) and have your child blow bubbles at the paper. An alternative is for a grown-up to put a plastic straw into the bubble-paint solution and blow, forming lots of bubbles (careful, don’t swallow). Children can then press the paper into the bubbles that are overflowing out of the bowl."

Forkin'

Well, my camera is broken because some little guy pulled it off the fireplace mantel and crashed it on the floor. Fortunately, no one was injured but the camera is temporarily out of service. So, I've resorted to cell phone pictures. Blah!

Xander had a go with eating off a fork. Well, he had a spoon in one hand for mushy carrots and a fork for the chicken. I poked the chicken for him. He hasn't figured that part out yet. He's using one of the bowls that great grandma and grandpa gave to us for the baby shower. I really like them as they are nice and shallow...and plastic so that Xander doesn't break them when he throws them on the floor.

More "dooks"

We bought some more "dook", as Xander says, at the bookstore today. I'd prefer to go to the library, but Xander is way too rough on books. At least it was a used book store. I just wonder why the used baby books are in such good shape.

Anyhow, at the store, Xander was pulling books off the shelves left and right. It was hard to keep him from making a total mess and still look at books at the same time.

I was looking for some good picture board books without the flips. The flips can be a bit frustrating because Xander likes to rip them out of the book. I didn't really find a whole lot, but we did end up picking out 3 board books. One was about animals, one about babies, and one about gardening (that Grandma Carla would like).

I have to admit that the books are a little bit for me. Xander is perfectly fine looking at the same books over and over again, but I was getting bored. Now we have slightly more variety to add to the rotation.

Friendly Play

We were eating lunch at a restaurant the other day. Xander had fun playing (sort of) with another little boy that was seated just a few tables away. They were looking, waving, and laughing at each other from about their respective high chairs. It was so cute to watch. I think the boy was a tiny bit older than Xander, but sometimes it is hard to tell. You definitely have to ask.

What do you think about my future?

A future dentist or vet?



Or maybe a plumber or mechanic?

Big foot

We went shoe shopping this weekend. Checkout Xander's new big boy shoes. He's managed to walk in them though it is much harder than walking bare foot. It's also harder for him to stand up with them on.

I wanted to get sandals, but we ended up getting this pare of leather shoes and a pair of lighter weight tennis shoes. We'll keep one pair at school and one at home. These shoes were SO expensive. More than most of my shoes cost! I hope they last a little while, but somehow, I doubt that will be the case.

Sneaky, sneaky

Xander is all about feeding himself with spoons these days. If he is really hungry, he might let me feed him for a few bites before he wants to take over. In order to increase the odds of him getting food into his mouth, I make sure that whatever food is thick enough to stay stuck to the spoon at all angles. He likes to wave the spoon around a bit before making into the mouth so the food needs to be pretty sticky to survive that trip.

I even managed to get him to feed himself his medicine tonight. He's taking some antibiotic for another ear infection. I mixed it into some applesauce. It was infinitely less of a battle than trying to syringe squirt it into his mouth. He hates that!

To everything there is a purpose

The past couple of weeks, Xander has demonstrated that he understands what some things are for. He tries to put the cover over the doggy door. This is probably because everything he goes over by the door, I cover it up. He tries to put lids on things; although, those darn twisty lids are pretty complicated. He takes things in and out of containers...and cabinets...mostly out though to make the biggest mess. He is fascinated exploring bags and purses. Evidently, though, crayons are still tastier than they are for drawing. Yuck!

Mr. Pointy's words

No, I'm not referring to Buffy's wooden stake. Xander is turning into Mr. Pointy. He has started a little bit of pointing at stuff. He mostly wants to point at things that he wants to point at of course. A ball, a balloon, a toy car. So, that's what we do. We point at things and then mommy says something about whatever we point at. Sometimes, Xander says something about these things, too.

In the bath, we talked about his splash ball ("baaaaw"). We read a book about a wolfing howling ("aaaaaooooo"). On a play mat, we talked about a kitty cat ("t-t"). Sometimes daddy leaves or comes into the room, and we yell "da-da!" Many, many, many times a day we talk about "ma-ma" when Xander wants to be picked up or nursed or get a diaper change or get cuddled or is scared. Sometimes when mommy or daddy leave or try to put Xander in the car seat, he tries to tell us no ("nnn-nnn").

He's also starting to use some hand motions a little more correctly. "Bye-bye" is reserved for people that he doesn't care if they leave...feel fortunate if you don't get this one because that means he is sad that you are leaving. Clapping is sometimes his version of "more". Milk sign is now used for any kind of drink. One hand out means he "wants" something. "High-five" is mommy's way to stop getting hit and give Xander a safer target.

Water playscape

After 30 days of triple digit weather, we needed to cool down. We went to a park near our house where they have a water playscape. Basically, it's an area with a variety of fountains. I didn't get many pictures because I wanted to join in the fun instead of standing by with the camera.

The water felt really great. Xander was a little bit afraid and was close to Dolphin or me most of the time. He got really excited watching some of the big kids playing in the water. I wish they had the fountains active at night. It would be nice to play in them and not have to wear so much sunscreen.

First food allergy

I'm sad to say that Xander has encountered his first allergic reaction to food. It's such a good wonderful food, too. :-( Yesterday, I decided it was time to see if he could have some peanut butter. I put the tiniest amount on a cracker and gave it to him. He chewed on it a bit to taste it and then spit it out and threw it at the dog. So, I just gave him a couple more plain crackers. After a few minutes, he started getting bit red hives all on his chin, neck, head, and sides. He also started blowing raspberries so I think his lips felt funny, too. His eyes also turned a little red. He was perfectly happy though and fortunately, there didn't seem to be any signs of breathing problems or anaphylaxis. That would have been scary.

I nursed him a bit and then gave him a bath to wash off any trace of the peanut butter-saliva he had drooled on himself. After about an hour, he was completely back to normal. There was no sign that anything had happened.

We'll have to share this with his doctor at is upcoming 1 year test. I was so worried that Xander would be allergic to peanut butter because I love it so much. What a bummer! Supposedly, some kids can grow out of though so I hope that is the case. It's so yummy good. For now, I bought some sunflower seed butter to try instead. It's still pretty tasty stuff, but not the same.

On a positive note, there's only a few more common allergy foods to try for Xander: shellfish, chocolate, cow's milk, and tree nuts. He's kind of had a little bit a chocolate, so I doubt that will be a problem. I think he might be ok on tree nuts, too. I had given him a banana nut muffin that I had picked the nuts out of (choking hazard). Also, as I had a little cow's milk while he was nursing without reaction, he's probably ok on that, too. We made it past soy, wheat, gluten, and pretty much every fruit and vegetable imaginable.

Supposedly, people with peanut allergies can also have reactions to other legumes, but he seems fine with lentils, beans, and peas. I think he's also probably had some foods that were "manufactured" near peanuts and nothing happened. So, I guess it could be worse.

From what I have read, allergies tend more common when 1 or both parents had them. Dolphin has pretty bad airborne allergies(cats, cedar, pollen). I have a contact allergy (chlorine). So, it seems to be true for us. Poor Xander.

Lights Off

I let Xander turn off the light in his room with the light switch. It look a bit of effort for him. Once he did though, he thought it was HILARIOUS. He was so proud of himself. It's going to be a long time though before he can reach them without assistance.

Animals Talk to Me

I pulled out this book from great grandma, one that she read to me when I was little. Xander loves "Animals Talk to Me". Our copy is copyright 1966. He really likes the pictures. I like them, too. They are very well drawn. Of course, he likes the dog picture the best. It's a long dachshund that takes up TWO pages.

Uh-oh, now how to I get out?

Little Xander is quite the climber these days. He managed to climb into his toy box (a.k.a. a laundry basket). He can sometimes climb onto the couch if there is a dog nearby to use as a stepping stool (poor Peanut).

I also keep having to keep things higher and higher for him not to reach. He's get so tall, and he is very good at reaching up and grabbing things off shelves. Thankfully, he's not yet tall enough for the kitchen counters.

Going to Mars

Dolphin signed up for Xander to go to Mars.

Play Date

Xander had fun playing with (next to) our neighbor Angela. Angela is about 5 weeks older than Xander. She is the cutest little girl. Definitely, sugar, spice, and everything nice. Xander loved playing with all of her toys and exploring her house. They exchanged a few pats and grabs at each other's face, but we're mostly more interested in exploring their surroundings.

John, Angela's dad, captured this video of Xander walking. Nothing gets Xander walking faster than an opportunity to play with an iPhone. Dolphin never lets him play with his iPhone and my cell phone apparently is too boring, so Xander was so excited to see another iPhone.

More on walking

Ok, just a little bit more of an update on the walking. Today, Xander seems to have decided that walking is his primary method of locomotion. He walked all over the place today, and even started go fast. Of course, he gets going to fast and then falls over. I know...I need to get some video going.

I've also noticed that now that he gets the walking thing, he wants to moving around all the time. No more content Xander in the shopping cart. He wants to be running around the store, too. He's also figured out this, I want to be put down thing. If you pick him up under his arms and he wants to be moving around, he throws his hand straight up trying to slip out of yours. I think we're in trouble now!

Denver

I posted some more pictures from our Denver trip here. I had used some of those recyclable cameras and it takes about a week to get the digital CD back.

I noticed in one picture we caught Xander using a sippy cup.

He's finally figured out the whole tip-the-head back motion to get the liquid to flow out.

Walking

Xander is getting so good at walking. He is walking across rooms. Staying up even though the dogs that weigh 3 to 4 times his own weight brush by him. He is walking outside on different textures. His most recent challenge was walking up hill in the grass. There were many falls but he finally made it up the small hill. Yay, Xander!

I guess we're going to breakdown soon and start putting him some shoes once in a while. I like my little barefoot boy, but I think he needs some practice with shoes on, too. Fortunately, we have a long summer ahead of us still.

Feeding John

We have this head statue that Dolphin's mom made. I think it is supposed to be a Beatle, maybe John Lennon? I put in on a lower shelf. It's really heavy. I could just imagine Xander bumping the shelf and it falling on his head. So, the lower shelf seemed safer to me. Yesterday, Xander tried to feed cheerios to the John head. It was pretty cute.

I wonder if I should get Xander a baby doll for his first birthday. Maybe he would want to feed a baby some cheerios. It might be a handy teaching tool to help to teach him to be gentle and nurturing.

First Thai Food

Xander had his first Thai food today at Madam Mams. We both ordered spicy items Pad Ped Nor Mai and Panang, but a non-spicy dish for Xander. I don't think that penne are exactly authentic Thai, but whatever. He loved to suck the sauce off of the noodles. One waiter came by and suggested that we take a picture, so we did. Messy, messy!

First airplane

I was pretty nervous about flying with Xander. I filled my carryon bag with books and toys to help keep Xander entertained. I used them all on the trip out. He was awake the whole time. The top two entertainment attractions were the little boy in the row in front of us and Xander's busy book.

On the way back, Xander was screaming before the flight as he was way overtired. We had to wake up super early for the flight. However, as soon as we got him in his seat, he went out and slept the whole trip back.



He didn't seem to have any trouble with his ears, which was surprising. Given that he and I both have some congestion, I thought we might be in trouble. We did try to keep him swallowing during the ascent and descent.

Paying for Xander's seat instead of carrying as a lap child turned out to be pretty good. We had the extra room for Xander to crawl around while he was awake. We also had our hands free while he was sleeping. Also, you don't have to have any special identification to prove age if you purchase a seat. Of course, we didn't find that out until after we went through the trouble of getting him a birth certificate. Well, we needed to get one anyway.

Close call

We took this picture at Bellview Park where we let Xander play in the mulch. He had fun with it, but we had to keep him from eating it. It was the park where we were supposed to see fireworks for the 4th, but we were rained out. So, we went on the 5th to enjoy the park facilities.

There was a nice little petting zoo with ponies, calves, pot belly pigs, goats, lambs, and an assortment of farm fowl. It was a nice place to visit, but we had a close call. On the way to the petting zoo, we had to cross over the kiddie-train tracks. I was carrying Xander. As we crossed the tracks, my foot got caught in the tracks and we went tumbling over. Fortunately, for Xander, momstincts kicked in. I imagined to completely protect him from anything. I, on the other hand, didn't fair so well. I tore a whole though my jeans and scraped my knee. I also scraped my hand. I survived though. I would have felt much worse if Xander had been hurt.

Denver Children's Museum

Denver's Children's Museum is awesome!! We spent about 2 hours in the young children's area. It was fully of fun things for Xander to explore. After driving around a lot, it was great to give Xander some free space to run around and play. The only thing we had to worry about was making sure that he didn't bother the other kids. Xander loves other kids and will go right up to them to explore the other kids. Not all kids want to be explored.

Also during our trip to Denver, Xander got a chance to play with some older kids and he loved it. I think we need to get Xander an older brother...haha. He was crawling all over 8 year old Aidan. When Aidan had to go in the other room for a bit, Xander was searching all over for him. He couldn't get enough.

Peekaboo

Xander is totally into peekaboo right now. He initiates the game by hiding. In our hotel room in Denver, he kept going over to these drapes. He would hid behind them, and then pull them out of the way and laugh. Such a silly boy!



He also got a lot of enjoyment from playing with the corded phone in the hotel room. I was surprised how well baby-safe the hotel room was. Not every place we visited in Denver was so safe. Auntie Georgia's house was a total hazard. It was fully of choking hazards and breakable things. Mommy decided that Xander needed a stroller walk during that visit...for her own sanity.

Brain Freeze

On our hottest day in Denver, we headed over to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. I was hoping for some food-on-a-stick. Surprisingly, there wasn't any, but they did have snow cones. Although Xander's first reaction isn't pretty, he quickly figured out that he liked it. He was mostly just sucking on the ice part. This is really the first cold thing that he liked. It was REALLY hot so I don't blame him.

Lowry Air & Space Museum

During our stay in Denver, we met up with Dolphin's old buddy and his family for a tour of the "Wings Over the Rockies Air Museum". It was quite fun. There was a nice little play area with toys for Xander to explore.



I laughed at this picture after I took it. It sure looks like Xander has some big legs for a little boy.

After the museum, we had an excellent Mediterranean meal at Ya Hala. I had the vegetarian combination and it was the best tabbouleh I'd ever had. Xander tried some of the hummus and he really liked it. He sort of sucked it off of the pita bread pieces.

Tiny Town

For the 4th of July holiday, we flew to Denver. On our first day there, Dolphin suggested going to Tiny Town. He going by it in his youth, but had never been. At first, I didn't want to go because I didn't think the place would allow Xander to touch the houses. After we looked at the website, we found out that kids are allowed to go right up to the buildings and that convinced me.

We had a good time. Tiny Town is in a steep valley in the foothills of the Rockies. It was nice and cool. We road the train, looked at the houses, and played on the playground a bit. I thought it was really fun and very affordable, too.