Did you ever have the hard plastic wading pool with the generic cartoons on the bottom? The type that you could do just about everything to and it would still stand? The type that made good places to hide under when playing hide-and-go-seek? The type that left a big brown circle on the grass after weeks of "swimming"? Where have they all gone?
We have looked at countless stores and they are all gone! In their place has been set neat little rows of inflatable pools that will probably last as long as Xavier doesn't go near it. I understand that wading pools are harder to ship, too big for a normal car to drag home, but they lasted forever! Yes, eventually it would crack, but usually because someone tried to stand on it while it was upside down.
I agree that these new pools look like fun with water slides, sprayers, giant animals that inflate to near life size, but what do you say to your little one when Dumbo goes flat? Or we can't go swimming today because mommy doesn't want to go buy the 5th pool of the season and it isn't even July?
And no, I am not going to spend $175 on a baby pool.
I don't really need to comment about this video...It speaks for itself.
Xavier is great! He had a rough patch of sleeping. He went from going to bed just fine with no help at all to screaming the second I left him. We finally have a different routine for him that involves a little more mommy time and it seems to cooperate with him. He gets a bath, gets dressed, says "goodnight" to Papa, then we snuggle together in the glider while reading "Guess How Much I Love You." He signs "book" and kind of says "book" as soon as we sit down. I give him his milk and he drinks while I read. He follows the pictures and moves his bottle so he can see. We set the book down and then I just hold him for a while. He finishes his milk and looks sleepy. I lay him in his bed (laying doesn't last long), say goodnight and leave. He usually cries, but it lasts less and less time each night. Last night it only lasted about 2 minutes.
I have been trying to get Xavier on camera signing, but usually when I try he just reaches to grab the camera. Here is a short video of him signing "cracker", "please", and "thank you". He and the tray are a mess because it is meal time, but that is to be expected.
His new word is "uh oh." When anything falls/is thrown to the ground, down the steps, or off the table he says it.
Oh, Xavier has learned to dance an Irish Jig. I need to get it on video! It looks like he is tap dancing.
Xavier has taken it upon himself to ensure good hygiene.
He has also learned to use a napkin while eating. However, when he does use the napkin he usually bites off a chunk of it. Sometimes we extract it from his death grip before it becomes dessert.
When it is bath time, he helps us take his clothes off. We help him take one arm out then he can take his shirt off the rest of the way. Now he also goes for the toilet paper and "wipes" over his clothes and all. It is so funny!
After 15 months of watching us wash his hair, he has got it down. He takes the pump of the baby wash up to his hair then drops the bottle and proceeds to "lather". Usually he doesn't get any soap out, so I squeeze a little onto his head and he washes it. He also knows how to brush his hair and mine.
After bath time, Xavier signs (a made-up-by-Xavier sign) toothbrush and toothpaste. He "brushes" his teeth (really this is just chewing on it) for an extended period of time. When he decides he is done, he proceeds to throw the toothbrush onto the ground. Still need to teach him that toothbrushes belong in the drawer not the floor. Don't worry, it is cleaned before he use it again. My toothbrush, as well as Buddy's are now secured in the closet. Several times I have turned around from drawing a bath to see my red toothbrush shoved in Xavier's little mouth. Goodness.
Well, I think he is getting into something he is not supposed to. Better go!
Xavier did great yesterday for the surgery. He was a little fussy yesterday before it, but mostly because it was a new environment. But the surgery went great and his little issue is all better. It looks better so far. Xavier came home, ate a lot, and took a 3 1/2 hour nap. He was worn out! We played a little more, had dinner, then went to bed. He woke up happy today! Thank the Lord for a safe surgery and recovery! Thanks for the prayers :)
We have had a busy month! Sorry it has been so long since we last posted.
Xavier has walking down pat. He can go up hills and down hills. Walk in socks. Walk in rocks. He loves to walk here and there, he loves to walk everywhere!
Xavier holds our hand and walks into the store with us. He waves "bye-bye" to the cars that drive past (although it is much too late for anyone to see him). He is still a flirt and very friendly. He waved "Hi" to two high school girls today and they giggled at him. Watch out ladies! Sometimes he pushes the cart, but that gets very tiring.
While we were in DC at the end of March we stopped by the PICU where Xavier was taken care of and we got to say, "hi" to one of our nurses. I forgot to post this pic a while ago. Thanks to all of our great nurses from Inova Fairfax PICU!
Xavier has also become my little helper. He has helped me cook dinner on many occasions. He loves to stir vegetables, pour things, and get things out to use - whether or not we need it. I make sure whatever we are cooking isn't hot before he helps out, but he loves it! Sometimes he is too helpful and I don't have any room to walk around the kitchen because of all the pots, pans, and more strewn about the floor. When it comes time to actually cook things, Xavier tends his soup pot on the floor full of baby food lids, measuring cups, and toys. Yummy! Occasionally you can find a stray pea or Cheerio in the pot.
He also loves to sweep with the broom. He pushes and pulls it around the room "cleaning up" wherever he goes. When he sees the broom he says, "Oooo" (rhymes with "who"). What mom is going to discourage a child from cleaning?! Sure, here you go! Sometimes he drags it upstairs with him, and occasionally he throws it downstairs. This is his new thing: throwing things downstairs. He watches to see what will happen. He walks over as close as possible and then tosses whatever is in his hand (crayons, balls, brooms, food, socks to name a few). Sometimes he will crawl over or sprawl on his belly and push it down. It looks like he is working out some highly complicated mathematical experiment. (Little does he know that gravity has already been discovered...Sorry X!)
He has a pretty good vocabulary. He recently added to his list (both signed and spoken) "cracker". "Cracker" now means chips, pretzels, crackers, and anything else that is like those three. He will put a sentence together: "More water please" in sign language. He hasn't gotten the multi-spoken-word sentences yet. I am not concerned about him being able to say words. He babbles a lot and says things in Xavier language.
Xavier also got his first professional haircut on Friday night. He looks like such a handsome, little boy! He stayed very still and looked so cute in the cape! It looks much better now. He was looking quite wild.
Keep Xavier in your prayers. He is going in on Tuesday for a little surgery to fix something that is causing some irritation. The procedure should only take about 15 minutes, but prayers are always nice. After being in the hospital before, this should be a walk in the park. It will be out patient so no overnight stay is required. We don't know what time it will be yet, but should be in and out within 5 hours.
We went to the surprise 50th birthday party for the Bethmann grandparents today. Xavier played so hard and was such a good boy. He was so tired at the end. He went down slides, picked up sticks, ate cake, met lots of cool people, and played washers. Whew! I am exhausted just from chasing him around!
I love walking around the house and finding little "presents" left by Xavier. No...this is not a replay of "Raiders of the Lost Diaper".
Now that Xavier is walking around he leaves little love tokens all over the house. Today I found a shoe box in his new potty. The lid to the shoes was in my room. I went into the bathroom and there was a bag of frozen peas on the toilet (don't ask). I found my keys after 3 days in a basket in my room. We couldn't find our toothpaste for 2 days. Buddy opened up the emptied training potty box and found it. Things randomly go missing now, too! Each time I find something weird, I smile and think about this little person moving things around the house.
As well as leaving things in odd places, he has started to bring us things. In the past two days I have received a leaf, junk mail, a soggy ponytail holder, apple sauce (not in a container...just the apple sauce), a spoon (covered with apple sauce), glasses, important papers, half of an eaten cookie, and the list goes on.
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