A Boy and his Dog

Xavier loves dogs! His first words, and only "words" at this point, are "Woof, Woof!" It is so adorable! He has a little stuffed dog that he LOVEs, and every time we pass a dog in the stroller he cranes his head to follow it until he can't possibly turn his head anymore. Though sometimes people out walking their dogs will stop and let him pet their dogs briefly, Xavier has never really had a chance to play with a dog until today. Arlen and Tashina brought their dog, Remy, to my parent's house. Xavier LOVED it! He played and played!

J'aime Skype

With Cherry & Xavier off adventuring in Idaho for 10 days the house feels rather empty. It's amazing what a boost it is to see her though, even if it's only virtually. Skype might just be one of the greatest things ever invented for bridging distances. Talking on the phone isn't nearly as rich as actually being able to see.

Xavier, like many kids, doesn't particularly understand speakerphone yet, but pull up my voice and image on the screen and suddenly you get this:

He's watching me, playing gleefully and just being adorable. When I call out, "Xavier, Je t'aime!" his face lights up even more.

He recognizes me and that I'm talking to him! And hopefully he knows what is more important: that even from over 2,000 miles away, I love him dearly.

I've had a good day, but this is by far the highlight.

Back in the Saddle

Yesterday I had my long-awaited 6-week post-surgery follow-up appointment. (How's that for a string of hyphenated words!) Ever since my operation I've been under restriction to lift no more than 15 lbs (Xavier excepted) and to avoid bending, twisting and among other things, biking. This means that I'd rejoined the masses on the Metro, which isn't bad, really, and there was a certain novelty to it.

Each day I'd pass my bicycle coming and going from the house. Sitting at the table from inside I would sometimes see it through the glass, idle and forlorn. In six weeks I'd settled into a new routine and it was easy to forget my former exhilaration racing down Connecticut Avenue. But following this last appointment my restrictions were lifted and at last I could pick up cycling again!

It was a bit strange at first, I'll admit it, getting dressed back up in my tights, jersey and reflective gear. I had to charge my headlight, oil my chain and pump up my wheels a little to get going, but I did. Soon, instinct took back over and I was on my way as usual.

Except that while my SmarTrip card has been getting a lot of exercise recently, my legs have not, despite climbing the escalator each day and walking more. It was almost like my first day biking in, and I was shocked that I was just a tiny bit winded after my generally downhill ride to work. My speed was a few MPH slower going and coming, and my gearing lower. I'm supposed to be slowly ramping back up, so this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was an stark reminder that, yes, our bodies change slowly and exercise really does make a difference.

The 32 degree temperature when I left was also a sharp reminder that time has passed and Fall is rapidly descending into Winter. Classes are finishing up and exams are nearly here. Yesterday I dropped Cherry and Xavier off to Idaho for 10 days, and when they return Christmas will be nigh. It's hard to believe the semester and the year are coming to a close, but I'm excited.

Excited for new beginnings. Excited to have my health and activities back. Excited to be alive.

Mom! I'm Hungry. Get Up!

For the second middle-of-the-night in a row, Xavier has gotten up and headed straight for the highchair. Last night he ate and went right back to bed. Tonight he straight away drank two Xavier-sized cups of water. He is now eating some bread smothered in Almond Butter. ...and dancing around to the electronic music version of "Old MacDonald had a Farm," triggered by pushing the button on his little toy John Deere).

We do feed this kid during the day.

oiy!

Xavier at One Year, in Four Perspectives

Your milk mustache is no match for my yogurt goatee. (But don't let that stop you from supporting Movember!)




When the lids on the plastic tubs contained a warning about not closing babies inside them, it seemed a bit ridiculous. At the time.

The One-Shoed King, with his scepter upon the throne.

On May 19, 1984, when I turned one year old, my mother recorded the following about me in her journal:

"Pots and pans are still favorite toys and he regularly empties the cupboard of them. I find lids in every room of the house, so cooking becomes a treasure hunt."

Well Mom, my boy is just like me.

The Good Stuff in Life

After catching a good sale on them last week we bought for the first time what seems to be a staple of childhood: Goldfish crackers.

To say that Xavier likes them is an understatement.



Not even the siren call of the once-formidable computer can compete anymore against the crunchy orange aquatic creatures. A moment ago he climbed on my lap looking to bang on the keyboard, but promptly turned and reached for the bag the moment that it caught his gaze, as if the small orange and white paper sack was a beacon whose brilliance wholly obscured the light emanating from the 15-inch screen beside it.

Thank goodness they have them in whole grain, at least. While Cheerios are still our snack of choice for him, due to their lower sodium content, I suppose mixing it up a bit is inevitable (and not wholly undesirable). Let's face it: humans like variety and while children have a high tolerance for repetition, they're not an exception. To wit, another recent introduction, Kix, is both kid-tested and approved.

In other snack-related news, it's Tuesday, which at SAIS means it's Cookie Hour come 4 o'clock. Today, however, following a heavenly full-body massage (thanks to Groupon and Serenity Day Spa) I came home to spend the afternoon helping Cherry, who's still feeling sick from something she caught over the weekend. Of course, this meant that I missed out on the weekly cookie and coffee free-for-all that lifts spirits to continue studying afresh through the hump of the week.

Not to be thwarted however, I took matters into my own hands, whipping up some chocolate chip delicacies whose warm, fresh-from-the-oven gooey-ness paired with milk more than did justice to the Cookie Hour name. (Although, let's be honest, "Cookie Hour" is a bit misleading since the hour lasts a good 3-4 times longer than do the cookies in the face of a hoard of ravenous grad students.)

Xavier, always happy to play with kitchen utensils in bowls, helped me to stir up the dough. He was also happy to take a couple of licks off the spoon afterward, though despite his accompanying me to class yesterday, he's going to have to wait a while yet to partake in the other joys of grad school, like cookies.

Not that he won't enjoy the pleasure of cookies until then (making them with the family is a rite of childhood as well, after all), but we'd like to keep the general sugar ban going for a good bit longer.

It's a Thankless job.

Sigh...

At dinner I gave Xavier some mixed veggies. He usually LOVES these and shovels them in his mouth like candy. But not today. There were raspberries on the table, a definite favorite. So, instead of eating the veggies, Xavier promptly grabbed a fist full and showered them deliberately on the floor. I was irritated, but cool at that point. Then, in a greater effort to keep food more picked up off of the floor, I bent over to pick up the discarded veggies. Xavier immediately grabbed a fist full of my hair and yanked out a handful! It hurt so much! I was livid! and all he could do was laugh.

sigh... motherhood--a thankless job. One Mother's Day a year just doesn't cut it.