Flashback: Xander's Special Guest

At Xander's Birthday party this year, he had a very special guest!  MACY MAY!

When Sommer came to celebrate with Xander, she brought Macy along too.  Macy hung out with her friends in the back yard while her caretakers visited with the rest of the humans.

Xander loves animals and, because he doesn't have one of his own, finds dogs particularly hilarious.  They move around, wag their tails, wiggle their bodies, run & jump - so funny!  So needless to say Xander was having an amazing time laughing at Macy and her friends.  Then we thought we'd give him a chance to pet her too.  Mama was worried that Xander would employ his pat and attack technique that he does on his kitties (reaches out like he's going to pet nicely, then starts smacking the kitties and eventually goes in for kiss on the fur, which looks a lot like going in for the kill with a love bite to the back of the neck or abdomen).  But he gave us a surprise when he started petting Macy like a natural.  She seemed to enjoy it too!

We couldn't resist getting a couple of cute shots of Xander with Macy.  Enjoy!

Xander:  "Hehe!  [Macy is soft!]"

Macy:  "[What?  Who?  Hey, I know this kid!]"

And they called it PUPPY LOVE!!

Seafair 2012

The first weekend in August was a hot one - perfect for Seafair!  We had a nice time relaxing in the lake with our friends - including Xander - as well as watching the air show.  We didn't get any photos of people from the party, but we did get some nice shots of the planes this year (we remembered our extra zoom lens this time, yay!)  Auntie Laura took some photos on her cell phone, so we we're happy some of those turned out so we can document how much fun Xander had in the water with all of us.

Selena, Libbye, Taylor and Anthony enjoying the sun during the air show.

This is the plane that starts the air show - the F/A - 18 Super Hornet.

This is the F/A - 18 doing that maneuver Mama likes to call the butt scoot - just looks like the plane is scooting on its tail instead of flying straight... how does it do that?

You may have to double click for the bigger version of this one, but this is Fat Albert the C130 that always flies around right before the Blue Angels.

And then, the Blue Angels were out!  One of these is upside down!

People STILL freak out like these guys are gonna crash - come on, everybody, don't you remember they do this every year?

Xander was having fun relaxing with Dada to watch the planes, and he was definitely watching.  Dada also let Xander hold his beer for him - a little hard to see in this small photo, but Xander is maxin' and chillaxin' with his Dad's Corona.  Matt and Julie suggested that if we start him on beer this young, we should try a better beer first.

Larry, who apparently is not a good swimmer, got into the lake just to hang out with the little man.  Xander was a trooper about being in the lake in the first place - his first time and he loved it... at least he didn't cry about it anyway.

After a long time in the lake, it was time to go to the pool again.  Dada had brought Xander into the pool earlier in the day, but without his floatie.  This time he was just in the mood to relax.

Xander was so happy... because of the water?  The nice sunny day?  The company?  His hilarious parents who entertain him?  Or maybe just the fact that he was playing with this car he jacked from one of the other kids at the party.  He gave it back of course, just borrowed it while Danny was sleeping.

Uncle Wil gave Xander a little push - Xander loves his Uncle Wil!

That's Xander with his Mama and Uncle Wil - see his face?  Told you he loves his Uncle!  Thanks, Auntie Laura, for taking these photos for us.  Pretty good quality for a cell phone!

Thanks to Debbie and Larry for hosting, and to our good friends for joining us again this year.  Looking forward to seeing you all there next year already!

A year and a month

Xander has been keeping us busy, crawling everywhere, making a mess... you know, the usual stuff you would expect for his age.  Here are some photos of him at a year and a month.

Oh hi, Dada!  I was crawling with my toy and thought I'd come visit you!

Who is the cutest?  Oh, yeah, me!

Here is a variation of Xander's Buddha Baby pose.

Hey, look!  I found the Muters!

Xander is always looking for his kitties, so Mama drew him a picture of a kitty on his white board so when he wakes up, he always has a kitty around to make him smile.  Xander used to say "ti-ti" for kitty, then he started saying "ti-ti-ta" and now he's shortened it back to "ti-ta"... either way you say it or spell it, we think it is adorable!

I just took a bath, and I'm number one!

Say "aaaaaaah!"  It's time to brush the teefies... too bad he never actually opens his mouth like that for teeth brushing.

It is pretty rare, but at times Xander does still fall asleep on a Dada.  Happens maybe once every couple months.  Some days just wear him out!

Pizza Time

While Jeremy and Samara are away, we are getting all of their mail.  As a thank you for giving them that piece of mind, they wanted to do something special.  So they surprised us with some authentic deep dish Chicago style pizza!  They had it sent to our house, all we had to do was put it in the oven.

We tried the cheese pizza they sent first - it was huge!  They also sent us one other pizza with pineapple and olives that we've put aside in the freezer.  We may need to throw a party just to have a way to finish all the pizza at once this time.  That thing is gigantic!

Thanks for the cheesy goodness, Jeremy and Samara!

Wil & Laura's Wedding

At the end of June, Wil and Laura got married!  The happy couple threw a great shindig and fun was had by all.

Before the ceremony started the photographer, Eliza Truitt, caught Xander and I waiting for the show to start.  We love Eliza and were so glad Laura and Wil were impressed with her at Xander's Bris enough to hire her for their big day.

Here is Dada coming down the aisle with Wil's sister, Shar.

Laura being walked down the aisle by her father.  They are both beaming with joy!

Beautiful ceremony - short and sweet.

The happy couple!  So beautiful and handsome too!

Xander got a little fussy during the ceremony, and he had to go play and eat snacks with Mama during the cocktail hour, but then he was all ready for dinner.

The couple cut the cake a friend of Laura's made for her.  No cake in the face, very classy.

Then it was time for dancing!  Xander was tired, but he was a good sport about the loud music.

Here's another shot, but Eliza, of Xander and his Dada dancing together - so sweet!

Jarrod, as predicted, got crazy on the dance floor.  This guy has some wicked moves!

Xander, being a ham for the camera, no surprise there.

Dada was going for the John-Travolta-in-Saturday-Night-Fever look right here - and Xander was just being as cute as he ever is!

Spin, Xander, spin!

Jarrod and Loren Godfrey flew in for the big event.  We had a lot of fun with them and hope they move out to our neck of the woods, and soon!

Taylor, Booth and Anth - Taylor went to the wrong school, but somehow we all still love him.  Silly duck...

Xander, being an innocent child and a son of his father was immediately drawn to Laura's chest during a dance and picture session.  The beads and sparkles on the bust of Laura's dress attracted Xander to them like his Dada to shinny objects.  Innocent enough, yes, but still, hilarious and cute.  We asked Eliza to take these pictures as we thought it would be a moment we should capture for all time.

Laura was a great sport about Xander's grabbiness.  So adorable.

Mama, Dada and Xander with the man of the evening - congratulations Wil and Laura!

Kitty Montage

The kitties have been enjoying our warm weather by finding patches of sun throughout the house.  They are cute, but they look even cuter in the sunshine.