Magnetic Ice Cream

Now that Xander is a bit more dexterous, I decided to dig out my ex-stepdaughter's Melissa and Dough Ice Cream set to put in his tot trays last week.  For the most part, he hasn't had much experience with magnets.  I set the box in front of him and proceeded to use the scoops to pick up the "ice cream."  He was very intrigued.  He has gone over to the box many times since I put it out and likes stacking the ice cream.  However, I think we are a long way from understanding how to use the release lever on the scoops properly. I am very glad I got it out.

Life Skills - Laundry

In the new house, the washer and dryer are on the main floor as opposed to the basement.  For some odd reason, Xander has taken an extreme interest in the clothes washing process.  Tonight I set him up on top of the dryer and let him watch me put the clothes in the washer.  When they were done and I was trying to switch them to the dryer, he insisted on standing right in the way.  I decided to run with it and hand him the clothes.  He thought it was a great game!  I ended up handing him each individual item from the load and having him through it in.  Maybe in a couple years he will be doing it on his own (hey a girl has to have her daydreams).

Pre-Writing Practice

For his birthday, Xander received a Magna Doodle.  At first he just didn't get it.  The age range on it was a little old for him, so I figured he would just grow into it.  Well he sure did.  He loves it now.  He writes with the pen and knows how to use the stamps.  He also knows how to put the stamps away, although throwing the across the room is still more fun.  We may need to revisit crayons soon!

Birthday Bash

Hooray for finally having internet on my computer!  I don't know if the wireless adapter I ordered got lost in the holiday mail, or what, but it took a long time.

Anyway, three weeks ago was Xander's birthday.  For his actual birthday, Grandma, Grandpa, and I took him to Jungle Bungle for pizza and to play in the tubes.  He had a blast!  He wore himself out climbing through the tubes.  He got to the point where he would lay his head down for a quick rest before taking off again.  It is definitely something I will take him to do again.

That weekend we had a party for Xander at the community center.  I choose turtles for the theme for multiple reasons.  First of all, when Xander was a teeny tiny newborn fresh from the hospital, I frequently remarked how he looked like a little turtle.  He swam in his clothes and he was so skinny and wrinkly, his neck looked like it was peeking out from the "shell" of his shirt.  Later when Xander began eating solids, he would literally attack the spoon.  We always joked that he was a little snapping turtle.  Therefore, a turtle theme seemed to fit.  He wore a turtle shirt with turtle shoes, he had a turtle cake, the invitations and decorations also had little hand cut paper turtles.  I also set up turtle crafts for the kids to do.  The party favor bags included mini bags of goldfish, homemade turtle soaps, and bubbles.

Unfortunately, many of our friends ended up getting sick that weekend, so it was a rather small group.  Regardless, Xander was surrounded by many people who love him.

This is his cake.  I didn't get to do quite as much detail as I would have liked, but it wasn't too bad.  The turtle from the top ended up being his smash cake.

Here is the banner I made to hang at the party.  I have one picture for each month.  It was really neat to see how he changed over his first year.

It ended up being a lovely day.  I am so blessed to have him in my life.  The one year milestone definitely reminded me how quickly it is going!

Mostly Settled

We are officially moved in!  We are far from being completely unpacked and organized, but we are at least settled enough to funciton on a daily basis!  Unfortunately, my computer doesn't get internet yet.  I am using my dad's until my adapter gets here.  Anyway, my goal is to be mostly organized and clutter free by Thanksgiving (have to be able to put the Christmas tree somewhere!). 

With the new job, Xander being sick off and on for the last month, and the move, we haven't done any lessons in a couple of months.  It has been frustrating me, especially since I now spend my days in a classroom and see how few parents actually care enough about their child's education to do anything about it.  On the other hand we will have to go back into our lessons slowly.  I don't want either of us to be overwhelmed. 

Today, I hooked my laptop up to my dad's big screen television and showed Xander Little Reader and Little Math on there.  I loved to see his little face light up when he saw his lessons on that huge screen!  I did end up going back a little bit on the math lessons since it has been so long since we have done them consistently.  He was more interested in the lessons than ever before, so I don't think he minds the review. 

One of the great things about the move is that we now have the piano in the living room as opposed to the basement.  Having it in an easy to access place is fantastic.  Xander LOVES the piano.  It also seems to calm him when he is fussy.  We sat at it together for about 20 minutes tonight.  We did his treble clef lesson and then just played a bunch of songs.  He plays along with me.  I am amazed at how hard he tries to copy me at it.  I will definitely have to look into Little Musician!

Flashlight Fun

Things have been super busy!  We are moving tomorrow when I get off of work.  Anyway, today I took a brief time out with Xander.

He has been really into lights lately.  I have been letting him flip light switches for me.  He also LOVES the dome light in the car.  I showed him a flash light today, which he thought was interesting.  Then I took him into the dark bathroom and let him play with it.  We turned it off and on and wiggled it around.  Xander was completely fascinated!  I love getting to see what interests him.  Unfortunately, no good pictures from our flashlight session.

Birthday Present

Xander's first birthday is almost here!  I have been in party planning mode for a while and am so excited to see him dig into his cake!  However, I decided to give him his birthday present early.  

We have a fantastic family museum here in town and I decided that a good gift would be a year long pass.  So far we have gone twice.  He has loved it, and I love being able to expose him to a variety of experiences.  We were planning on going to their big Halloween party, which is why he got the pass early, but then Xander had a fever that day.

Anyway, here are some pictures of his first adventures at the museum.

Driving the milk truck.

Checking out the dog house.

Listening to the music at the oral hygiene station.

Finding a secret passage in the toddler play house.

On the bridge!

Playing outside.

 Turtles!  They have a new turtle exhibit, which is perfect since turtles are the theme for his party!

First experience playing with a train track.  Can't say he was good at keeping them on the track, but at least he had fun!

Fascinated by the big screen they have for him to crawl on.  As he crawls across the "pond" the lily pads and fish move away and the water ripples.