Da da!!!!!!

So I know I've been gone for a bit, we've moved and finally are starting to get settled in. Still so so much to do and with my favorite holiday approaching! I don't have much time, but I couldn't keep it in any longer!
Big news!
Xander said his first words today! DA DA! It was unbelievable! In the past week he's started talking more and more gibberish rather than baby talk. Occasionally he'll say something that resembles a word, but it's obvious he doesn't know what it means. Well for the past day or so he's been saying da, da, da, da all the time. I thought it was cute but that he didn't understand what he was saying. Then this evening as we were putting him to bed, he looked and Chris and said, "Da, da, da!". Chris and I looked at each other and I asked Xander, "did you just say da da?" and then, he said it again! Looking right at Chris! He did this 4 or 5 times, mostly because we HAD to be sure it was the real thing, ha ha! But it was, there you have it Xander's first words: da da : )
Since there is SO much that has happened in the past weeks I'll be as brief as possible on the rest of what's new (but there is SO much to say!)
Where to start... Well Xander can now sit up in his crib! It's very strange to walk into his room and find him sitting there staring at you! Needless to say we lowered the crib to the LOWEST setting ha ha He has also discovered light sockets and has already successfully learned to remove the "baby proof" light socket covers we have in less than 10 seconds! Oh my! Also he has learned to use a "sippy" cup, and he still eats like a little champ. He's learning to self-feed, and especially loves teething biscuits and toasts. He is now what I call a "speed" crawler, which proves to be hazardous because by the time you're out of your seat to get him he's already there! ha ha He loves boxes and tape and everything he shouldn't. He LOVES to read more than just about anything which is SO cute. When I open one of his books to read to him he just squeals in delight! He has discovered his pacifiers but in an "unconventional" sort of way, he chooses to chew on them more than suck. Which I guess helps him now that he has 6 teeth! Yes SIX! Already! 4 on top, 2 on bottom. Well that's all I can think of for now, I'm sure there's more but I'll save that for later. Also no pictures today, I can't seem to find where I packed or unpacked the camera cord, of course, I'll find it in time for Easter pictures : )

More teeth!!!

Yes it's true, Xander had 3 (Yes THREE!) new teeth cut through today! I had a feeling because he was biting on EVERYTHING today, making very good use of all those teething rings I bought. So I tricked him into giving me a look at his tops gums and I saw them! The top front two and the one to the right of them. I could see the white, almost all the way cut through just a thin layer of gum still hardly. I'm sure they'll be completely through by tomorrow morning. That's 5 yes FIVE teeth! And he's not even 8 months old yet! Wow! It all really does go by too fast... I'm sure he'll put those new teeth to good use, he already uses the bottom two like crazy when I give him a teething biscuit or toast, he really loves that. And to see him hold it like such a big boy and feed himself, it's ADORABLE! I'll have to take some pictures, I tend to have my hands pretty full when he's eating but I'll see what I can do here in the near future!

Personality!

I have to say that when Chris and I pictured how our child's personality would be we assumed it would be similar to ours, laid back, quiet, thoughtful... Nope lol Xander is a little ball of personality. He's daring, wild, crazy, curious, loud, expressive, energetic, outgoing, impulsive, I could go on. It's amazing how much of your own personality you have from birth. Xander is so adverturous and daring, not at all like Chris and I. This moring he jumped out of one of his seats head first did a back flip and landed on all fours, I jumped up to "rescue" him and he didn't make a peep. He was just fine! He does that often. It's hard to keep him confined to a chair or one spot in any way. He loves to crawl and explore. He goes under, around, behind my desk. Also he had about the best sense of humor I can imagine a baby can have. He laughs his little butt off at any and everything! He squeals with joy and delight at nothing. Yesterday Chris went to pick him up for bed and he literally flung himself in the air and squealed with delight! It's unbelievable! He also wants to walk SOOO bad! He will often (too often) straighten his legs and refuse to bend them into a sitting positon. He wants to stand constantly, and it getting pretty good at it. He not only wants to stand he wants to jump, bounce, dance, whatever he can. We have already lowered his crib in anticipation of his trouble-making lol
I honestly look forward everyday to what he'll do next, he's one amazing boy and he really has quite the personality : )

So unbelievably adorable!

I took these the other day and I just had to share them, Xander wearing Daddy's Dolphins hat, isn't that the cutest thing you ever saw?

Yes and No and becoming attached!

It's amazing the leaps in advancement Xander makes in a single day. It's truly the most amazing thing to me. He is now crawling backwards, sideways, but still rarely forward. He is still working on getting that forward momentum. Also he has learned to move around the office and my desk avoiding hazardous obstacles, it's pretty amazing!

A couple weeks ago Xander began shaking his head back and forth quickly, kinda like he's saying no no no no! But it was obvious that he didn't know what that meant or what no means. So I thought it was a good jumping off point to start teaching him yes and no. I tried to show him how to shake his head up and down to say yes and repeated yes over and over. I could tell his was trying really hard but only got a half yes then went back to the no no no! haha Then Sunday Xander was sitting on the floor playing with his Tigger when he shook his head no no no, Chris and I said yes, yes, yes and shook our heads up and down... then slowly he followed us! He carefully and slowly with much concentration shook his head up and down, yes! It was amazing! It was like watching his little brain develop right before our eyes!

Last little update I wanted to mention, I think Xander may becoming attached to Mommy! And I'm kinda regretting wishing he would be more attached to or favor me over others. It started this past weekend, he would NOT be good or be quiet or do anything for Chris when I left and went in the other room to get ready, finally I had to go get him and bring him in the bathroom with me. He quietly sat and watched me do my hair for a half an hour! Then yesterday we were at home for lunch, I got him a bottle and asked mom to feed him for me while I made lunch. Well after fighting with him for 5 minutes, I had to take over and feed him. This is very unusual because he sees grandma more than anyone second to his daddy, everyday at work. But he wanted Mommy to feed him, no one else, this could be a problem! lol

Sitting up & Crawling!!!

It's pretty amazing the steps Xander takes in just a couple weeks. He is now sitting 100% Independently!! The doctor said around 7 months he would start sitting and he was right on schedule!





Isn't it adorable! It's makes things SOOO much easier on me now that I can sit him down on the floor at the office with a bunch of toys and he can play and entertain himself for a while. Also he has learned to "Crawl"! Ok so it's not your traditional back or forward crawl, more of a side to side shuffle and rolling over and over to get where he wants to go. It's pretty amazing actually, one second he's next to my desk the next he has gone all the way around to the front of it and is kicking it! He's pretty good with obstacles as well and definitely knows how to get what he wants. The other day I kept moving his walker farther and farther away and he'd just roll right back to it, he likes to examine things like that, almost trying to figure out how it works. I think he's going to be very curious, which could be big trouble for mommy and daddy as he becomes more and more mobile.

Miracle Blanket!

As I'm sure you've heard me mention before I am a HUGE fan of the Miracle Blanket, the ONLY reason Xander slept so well for so long, our little escape artist. Anyways, the makers of Miracle Blanket saw our blog! They gave us a mention on their website: http://www.miracleblanket.com/blogs.htm AND they wrote me and offered to send us a brand new Miracle Blanket! Isn't that awesome! I'm SO happy because Xander completely wore out BOTH of his, I was disappointed I wouldn't be able to save them for our future little ones. Also I have to note: I recently discovered the Miracle Blanket is made right here in Rio Rancho, New Mexico! Isn't that great? Yay Miracle Blanket! lol