Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Update

Whew! It sure has been a whirlwind month!

David got a 4-month contract position with a firm in Charlotte! The firm is Neighboring Concepts. He knows a few guys there, so when he started on Monday he said he fit right in. He finished up his contract in Winston-Salem last Wednesday, so we were able to have a nice 4-day weekend as a family. It's an incredible blessing to be back in Charlotte as a family. I appreciate our families so much for taking care of Xander a couple of days a week while I worked and my parents for letting us live with them during the past 2 months. They have all been so supportive and wonderful throughout the whole ordeal. Now we get to live like we've never lived before - me still with my part-time job in Outreach at the library and David with a full-time job as a registered architect, while continuing to be mommy and daddy, wife and husband. It's been interesting to say the least! But I am so very thankful. It's so strange to think this will be the first time since Xander was born that we're living out this life. If you had asked me about it when I was pregnant I would have said this would be our life from the start - boy would I have been wrong!

Xander is continuing to grow like a weed! And I certainly know how weeds grow - just look at my flower beds! We went to the doctor last week for his 18-month check-up. I was a little sad when I first realized that the appointment would happen while David was at work. He's been to every one of Xander's well-visits and has been there to help comfort him after every shot. Then I found out that he would be able to go after all since the appointment was during the transition time while David was off for a couple of days! What a blessing! I'm not sure many dads could say they've been to every well-visit for their child! Xander did very well, even though he had to have 3 shots. He cried a little, but got over it very quickly. I had been told that he would probably be very fussy the rest of the day and maybe even the next day, but he really wasn't! We even took a family outing to Ikea and shared some frozen yogurt. :) At the appointment, we found out what we already knew - Xander is a hoss!

(Here's an aside to that statement - I typed it and then thought to myself, "Do I even really know what that word means?" So then I proceeded to look it up on www.urbandictionary.com. This is what it said:
1.hoss
one who is a beast that can basically do anything he wants. He is usually loved by all and a ladies man. He could break anyone or anything in half. Hoss is a compliment.
Boy am I glad I gave my son a compliment!! Haha!)

He weighs 32.8 lbs (99th percentile), is 33 inches long (72nd percentile) and his head circumference is 19 3/4 inches (96th percentile)! He is a big boy! Everything else about him was great and he is right on target! We're so proud of our son!
He can do so many things now - he tries to walk up and down stairs by himself, which he can do, but I still don't trust him, so I am with him at all times on the stairs. He can point to any body part (almost) if I ask him where it is. He knows eyes, ears, mouth, nose, chin, cheeks, head, knees, legs, fingers, hands, feet, toes, belly button. He struggles with elbow, but that's a tricky one to point to! He knows circle, triangle, square. It amazes me how much he understands! This morning I asked him to get me a diaper because he had a dirty diaper. He went over to the diapers, pointed to them, looked back at me and said emphatically, "NO!" Haha! He hates having his diaper changed, so I guess that was his way of telling me. :) He insists on feeding himself like a big boy - no more cut-up little pieces for him. He wants the whole thing so he can bite off of it. It's pretty hilarious! And very messy, as he also wants to use his utensils by himself. :)

Xander got his first haircut this morning. His proud grandmothers were there to take pics and participate in the experience. Pictures are below.

Before

The curls

Such a good boy!

No more curls.

He actually looks happy about it!



Maybe not so much. :)

I will always be oh-so-thankful that I chose to get my hair done at the same time. :P

The iPad was awesome! Xander loves it and it captured his attention while my hairdresser, Tina, did her magic!



Playing in the waiting room while mommy finished up. He was such a good boy!

After



Overall, things are going very well! I'm thankful to have my family back together full-time. I appreciate that more now than I ever could have if we were never separated. What a good, albeit difficult, lesson to learn.

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