Month 19

A lot has happened the last month. I went to see my parents- why no pictures? Good question!! Well, actually there are some cute pictures on my phone but they won't be emailed! Soooo, until I can figure the cell pictures out... Figured it out!! Xander loved grandpa and grandma's big tub... This little Scorpion was on the wall next to the stairs. It was the size of my pinky nail... I've been thinking a lot about why we are here in AZ and I feel that I need to explain from the beginning and in full detail. My guess is that I haven't written it down and that Xander will need to read it some day. So here goes... On August 4 Scott received a call stating that his grandpa was not doing well and that he had weeks to live. Scott was devastated, but what could we do? On Sunday August 5 we went to church early as Scott was the branch clerk and needed to be to church to complete his tasks. Xander and I went into the chapel to wait and to get settled. Scott came in about 10 minutes before Sacrament started and sat down heavily. I looked over and saw the tears building in his eyes, "I can't control my emotions," he stated and I placed my arm around him. "Go call your mom," were the first words out of my mouth. I pushed him to go and finally he did. As he got up to go I thought about what he was going through. My poor husband was morning not just his grandpa but the only strong male presence in his life. The thought that came into my mind was, "He needs to go to his grandpa and he needs to go now." When Scott came back I could see the tracks of the tears on his cheeks. I knew that he would go. "I need to talk to you..." he stated. "Me too. After Sacrament." We partook and then Xander I left as he was ready for a nap and started his crying. Scott soon followed and we ducked into a room to talk. I told him of the thoughts that come to me as soon as he left. He was surprised and stated that he felt that he should go home and call his mom. I explained that he just needed to leave. He called his mom and a debate began. She wanted to call her mom. Scott wanted to see what would happen. I just wanted us to act. Scott decided he needed to go home and I decided Xander and I would stay at church. When I got home Scott had a train ticket that would leave on Wednesday. He had to talk to work first. Monday work told him he could have up to 45 days leave of absence. We both thought that would be more than enough... I dropped Scott off at the bus station at 1:00pm so that he could take the bus to Kansas where he would catch the train. The first month was the toughest and we videoed over the phone and skyped as much as possible. In that time Xander quit pulling himself up and stopped the little noises he was making. His progress stopped ad he digressed. He would get so excited when he heard his daddy's ring tone. Then he would grab the phone and army crawl off so that I couldn't get the phone back. Scott and I always discussed if this was benefiting our family. It was such a struggle, but we knew that this was what we needed to do. I had the home daycare and had Xander started on headstart and physical therapy. There was so much to take into account. Xander and I flew out in September (9) to see Scott. It was a quick visit and then we were back home. In October Scott came out to see us and we discussed again what was the best thing for our little family. We decided that I would pack and travel out to AZ so that we could be a family again. We decided that I would move out in December as the house was paid through and I had to give my moms enough time to find someone else to watch their little ones. I packed the house and gave away/sold as much of our stuff as possible and what couldn't fit in the truck and towed car got stored. Xander and crossed the country with a dog in the back seat. Three days later we pulled into the house. We've been here ever since. I have been able to travel to Tucson and see my parents and then to Salt Lake to see my sisters and brother. Xander got to play with his cousins... It's been quite an adventure. Xander is progressing again he'll be walking in no time. He jabbers and shakes his head no while saying nonono... to be pulled up by his dad he will grab daddy's arm and put it around his waist and then lift his little hands up towards daddy. He loves toes- uggggg!! If you aren't careful he'll suck your toe. Scott and myself have both been shocked out of projects as Xander put his little mouth over the big toe and bite. Little monster!! He does the same thing to his daddy's nose. He's so crazy!! We think he might be kissing his daddy. He doesn't kiss mommy that way, though. I can't deal with it but Scott just laughs which makes Xander laugh Then the dog always gets involved!! He's into everything!! We never know what he's going to get into- He played under a crate for a good 1/2 hour... At night he wanders until it's time to go to bed- he's so busy. He loves his cars and makes growly noises as he drives them around. He loves it when I drive those little cars over his tummy and head, laughing like crazy... And can someone please tell me why babies sleep like this when they have the whole bed??! He loved playing with Cali- they had soooo much fun together... Bath time was interesting. Cali pulled herself up and so Xander thought he should be able to as well. But they have soft water so he slipped in the tub and when I went to grab him and he slipped out of my hand and fell back into the water. He hasn't stood up in the tub since then and I got soaking wet as he clung to me and I clung to him. Scary moment- let's never repeat that one... Cali wasn't sure she wanted to share her highchair with her cousin... Cali had the funnest toys... He showed Cali how you are supposed to love your Winnie the Pooh... We went to the D.I. to get toys and look at books... He loved playing with the Lee's (again, why no pictures? I fail)... The last day we were there Coley and I and the babies went to IKEA since I've never been to one... Then we came home... And my little man got sick~ The only good thing about that... He loves to cuddle when he's sickly...

23 Jan 12

We went hiking today and it was awesome!! The weather was perfect and it felt wonderful. We hiked 2 miles in and 2 miles out and enjoyed it dearly. Arizona does have it's good points...

At the top of the hike we looked down into the valley and there was a beautiful frozen river. I absolutely love the rocks...

Xander crawling at me... (taken with my phone so not great picture)

Sunday school- this is how I finally got to enjoy class...

Month 18

Xander is growing so fast and is beautiful. He loves to kneel on his knees and play with his trucks. He loves to turn the wheels and watches them so closely until they stop spinning. He's very inquisitive and loves to sit by his daddy and copy him. Xander always wants to have his computer out when daddy has his. He squeals like a little monkey~ hitting the highest of high notes and driving us crazy. He loves to jump in his crib. When he sleeps he will put his arm through the slat so that he can touch Bones. He loves Kix cereal and teases Bones mercilessly with it. He enjoys "real" food, snacking on kidney beans and green beans, loves tomatoes and quinoa, eats all his veggies. His favorite drinks are apple juice and pear juice. He still doesn't care for anything too sweet~ including fruits that are overly juicy or sweet. Not a lover of cold foods such as ice cream. No candy or sugar for our little guy. He's our little health nut. He loves to feed Bones people food and is frequently found eating Bones dog food and dumping his water. We're really trying to break him of the last part... He does love meat- turkey sausage and eggs in the morning. He went to nursery for the first time (two weeks ago) and lasted an hour. Last week he wouldn't go at all. He loves early mornings but likes a nap at 10am. Mommy and daddy go to the mall every morning to walk their 3 miles and Xander loves to lay back in his stroller as long as we walk fast enough. If we slow down too much he screams and lets us know that he is not satisfied- then we speed up. He loves to look at the lights. When he sits in a shopping cart he puts his right little leg up, lets his left leg swing in the front, and leans back, arm over the back of the seat, enjoying the ride. He's a pretty cool little man. He loves to pull himself up along all the shelves and pull everything down. He knows what toys he wants and will toss any toys in his way to that toy over his shoulder. He loves to stick his fingers in the ears of whoever is carrying him around. He likes to wind his fingers in mommy's hair. He does this funny little move when he's tired, laying on his tummy and bouncing his little bum up in the air. He also rubs his ears when he's tired. He loves his Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore stuffed animals and hugs them close when he's laid in bed, snuggling up to his soft little friends...

If daddy has it- Xander wants it...

Xander insists on feeding himself and we want him to be independent but dang...

When should a parent step in...?

He's still crawling along the floor~ Scott and I have had to pop his hip in several times and then he'll walk. We're looking for a good doctor~ one that will actually see what's wrong with our sweet little man...

He does pull himself up on toys and couches, though. He will walk back and forth between mommy and daddy, but he still favors his left leg...

At the end of the day- this is what it's all about. Everything else will fall into place when it's supposed to. We have a wonderful little family and we love each other dearly. Together we can conquer anything placed before us... Yes, even the dog!

Month 17

Good-bye 2012 it was fun while it lasted. My sweet boy had to say good-bye to his home. He had a rough time as I packed the house around him. He tried so hard to keep it all together but...

My sweet Xander needed a haircut so I attempted a cut and ended up having to shave his little head. Poor little man...

We packed up the truck and car and headed across country to be with his daddy... A little boy and his dog and me in a car for 3 days~ I have never felt so ready to be done. I felt so dirty!

Time with daddy is super fun!! Got stickers from Trader Joe's and daddy helped put them on me...

Xander LOVES his trucks... He loves to examine them and see how they work, turning those wheels for the longest time...

Then Xan got sick. So i wrapped him in a blanket, gave him a drink and put him on the chair with his little dog and cartoons...

Christmas morning was wonderful. Xander loved ripping into the gifts...

Clapping with daddy...

Going for a walk with mommy and daddy- gotta bundle up...

Xander loves his puppy. He will talk to him and give him hugs and giggle with him...

"No, mommy, this is how you use chopsticks..."

Happy New Year!! Xander has grown so much through the year. His favorite things this month have been kidney beans and rice and veggies- yes veggies, especially greens. He loves broccoli and green beans. Unfortunately he loves Bones food as well and can often be found eating the dog food. We're trying to break him of that habit... He crawls more and loves to get into everything he can, pulling things off shelves and torturing his dog. He loves his daddy cuz they play and get loud and laugh hard. He loves his mommy cuz they snuggle, giggle together and play...

Month 16

Ryan (the physical therapist came on Tuesday. Xander is doing so well and Ryan was impressed. He gave us some new work-outs to get Xander walking. Xander has the strength and the balance he just isn't there yet. In time he will. My goal and hope is to have Xan walk to his daddy- only three more weeks to accomplish that goal...

Xander loves his bath time. I go back and forth between the tub and the sink. He loves to splash...

This is his, "Ooops, I got caught" face.

I walked in to find Wesley hitching a ride on Xander's back. Xander just kept crawling...

Xander found a pacifier. Lindsay and I laughed and laughed. These two are hilarious...

I'm making a quiet book for my little man. Page one- Potato Head couple

The astronaut page... There's an alien behind that moon...

And the beginning of the Noah's Ark page... I'm excited to complete this for him. Hopefully before Christmas THIS YEAR!!

15 month part 2

Xander had his 15 month doctor appointment today (Oct 26). He's 29 3/4" tall and 20 pounds and 3 ounces. He's growing- slowly but he is growing. The therapists came on Tuesday morning- there were 7 of them. Xander is behind in his gross motor skills but his finite skills are good. He was such a show-off. He would get up on all fours and crawl around the room, looking to make sure everyone was watching him, and then he would pull himself up and walk along the furniture, holding on tight. He "talked" and gabbed like crazy. He crawled up to some of the therapists as they went over their reports. Such an attention junky!! Craziness! He's such a little show-off. I so love that kid... My little "Patch Adams"...

More pictures to come. This little man is the best. He misses his daddy so we have decided that we will be packing up and moving to AZ to be a family again. This was a very difficult decision that we have spent a lot of time talking about, weighing our options and trying to decide what our next step should be. We need to be together as a family and so that is what we will do. More Halloween pictures to come...