Xander update galore

He now pushes his cart standing up, not just crawling! He goes all around the living room, and can even turn it in different directions. The main problem is that our house is only so big, so he gets frustrated when he reaches a wall or other obstacle.

Two days ago he took my cell phone and instead of eating it, held it up to his ear and said “babababa!” Now he does it whenever he can, just like Mommy and Daddy! The best is when I was on my cell phone talking to Jonathan, and Xander picked up the home phone, held it to his ear, and “talked” to me. He had such a huge smile on his face, it was adorable.

He loves to play in the sandbox at daycare.

Here he was too busy shoveling and playing with the cement mixer to actually smile.

His communication and receptive listening skills are getting better and better each day. I can say, "Xander, please hand me the book/sippy cup/whatever," and he places it right in my hand. Earlier this morning when he needed a diaper change, he didn’t cry but went over to where we keep the diapers, brought one over to me, and waved it in front of my face. I got the message!

We’ve had whole conversations this week where he makes a funny noise, then I or Jonathan make one, then he makes one back. Lots of laughing is of course involved – and he’s so emphatic in everything he says!

Let’s see, what else… we have a purple shape sorter with red, orange, and yellow blocks, and so far he knows where the circle and rectangle go, without any help. He loves to play Legos by handing me pieces and then banging the pieces on top of the other (my cue to put the pieces together). He’s way into putting things in a container, so cleaning up the Legos is quite easy – I just ask him to help me put them away, and he puts one in the box, then I do, then he does, etc.

We went for his one year checkup a bit late, since he’s actually 13 months, but he’s right on track. 20.5 pounds, 31 inches long, in the 50^th percentile for both. I asked about his growth rate slowing down, and the doctor reassured me that it was completely normal for his age. He eats an insane amount of food, and then burns the calories playing around. Oh! And he's quite proficient with a spoon, so applesauce, yogurt, and other liquid-y foods are no longer terrible to clean up.

I can’t think of anything else… he’s a great kid, we’re so lucky to have him. :)