autumn leaves

bed head

Xavier has some pretty wicked hair (everyone thinks he's a girl because apparently girl babies have wicked hair??). We're still holding out hope that it winds up as curly as his Dad's. We finally cut his bangs a little, since they were hanging in his eyes, so soon his do will be trespassing into full-blown mullet territory.

little drummer boy

1st thanksgiving

Xavier's first Thanksgiving was a raucous good time. We had our usual orphan feast at our house(we've been gathering for 8 years now with our friend Vic & Kim, and often a few other family-free stragglers). Xavier played crazy Uncle Matt's drum, cuddled on the couch with Uncle Victor & listened to Aunt Kim & mom gab for hours. After stuffing ourselves (X enjoyed some sweet potatoes), we played music & talked & laughed late into the night. Xavier slept through most of it (6:30 bedtime? -really?). Here are a few highlight photos from the evening (many courtesy of Uncle Matt & his fancy Nikon D-whatever):

the thrill of tupperware

I was trying to get some Thanksgiving cooking done & hit upon the tupperware cupboard as a great way to keep Xavier occupied & out from underfoot. He loved it! -I have a feeling we're going to get a lot more mileage out of that cabinet before the year is out...

this is what refusal to sleep (still) looks like:

Still cute, still pretty infuriating....

spaz attack

giggles

swinging

Xavier loves to swing at the park. He especially loves to watch the other little kids run around like crazy people. Someday he plans to join them.

making morning music

lazy morning & elowah falls hike afternoon

This morning we lazied around the house, catching up on sleep, playing the ukulele & making like a swing with Papa.
Then this afternoon we bundled up & headed to the always-amazing Columbia Gorge and hiked to the Upper McCord Falls & Elowah Falls, two fantastic but rather overlooked waterfalls just beyond Multnomah Falls. Xavier is so lucky to grow up somewhere with such incredible natural beauty. And he's already seen so much of it (okay, he does a fair bit of dozing in that carrier, but still...)!

Upper McCord Falls

Elowah Falls

Goofing around back at the parking lot.

morning face

carrot eater

After a random, weird bout of barfing & an ear infection around 6-7 months, Xavier has been pretty hesitant to try out new foods. We've tried to give him something every day, and usually he would just clamp his lips tight and refuse everything. But in recent weeks he's finally started to show some serious interest & has begun eating solid foods with gusto. Although, as you'll note in the video below, he likes to try to feed himself & therefore precious little actually makes it into his mouth!

bathtime

Xavier finally graduated out of the little green jungle tub a few months ago (yeah, I know -it was long overdue). And while he isn't a huge fan of having water poured on his head, he doesn't freak out either, so that's good. It is going to prove challenging for me to keep him from drinking his bath water, however.

playing the ukulele

Xavier could watch his papa play guitar for hours on end, so we figured he could use a little something more his own size to play. He really gets a kick out of slapping the ukulele strings & making all kinds of noise. I am waiting for him to fall on it. I sure hope it holds up under 22lb of baby love. (And while he seems really cute & talkative in this video, you can tell at the end that he's really just super tired).

a recent poll...

...from the witty folks at The Onion: 100% of Grandsons Talented

this is what refusal to sleep looks like:

pretty cute, huh? (although somewhat infuriating for a tired mama;)

the best time of the day

...is when Papa comes home from work:

little big boy

fat lip

Today Xavier got his first serious moving violation -a split lip. He was scrambling around on the kitchen floor chasing a potato (a favorite pastime of his, if you can believe it) when his hands slipped out from under him and he face-planted on the linoleum. I don't think it would have been so bad, except for his teeth -one of which punctured his upper lip. He screamed & I snatched him up as quick as can be & hugged him tight, cooing & trying my best to console. It wasn't until a few moments later that I noticed he was bleeding. Of course, he recovered a lot quicker than I did. I don't think he noticed it at all by the time I took this photo. And the swelling was down considerably by the time Papa got home from work.

But this is probably just the first in a million little awful injuries. Poor baby.

coast weekend

We went to the coast this weekend with a few good friends & were lucky enough to stay for free at a beach condo (a friend of a friends)! The surf was extremely high & it was pretty stormy, but we were cozy & dry indoors. We went swimming in the condo pool, hiked Falcon Point (our favorite), visited a brew pub in downtown Cannon Beach & rocked out on Uncle Matt's drum. We had a wonderful time & Xavier loved playing with some of his favorite friends:

Showing off his new top toofers

Playing poker with Uncle Matt

Uncle Victor forgot his guitar, so Papa bought a Ukulele so we could all play something

Watch out for crazy Uncle Matt

3rd time in a swimming pool -he really seems to love the weightlessness of water

balloons!

Xavier loves balloons. I can always count on a peaceful ride home from Trader Joe's so long as I manage to score a balloon for him after we check out. And don't worry -we don't leave him alone with them!

prince charming