Arizona - day one with sun and family

When we woke up to our first morning in Arizona, we wanted to go for a little walk in the early morning sun.  Time to get out the sun protection!

Here he is in his sun gear for the very first time!  These sunglasses won't stay on long!

After our walk, it was time for breakfast.  Xander decided that the plastic travel spoons are pretty fun to play with.  They occasionally make it into his mouth too.  He's not feeding himself yet, but at least there are times when he doesn't protest the spoon going into his mouth.  Baby steps.

Around dinner time, Mama's Aunt Mary, Cousin Jason and Jason's wife Kelly all came up to our hotel room to visit.  They hadn't met Xander yet, and Mama and Dada hadn't seen these family members for a few years - it was time!  Here Great Aunt Mary is holding her Xander - love at first sight!

Kelly and Jason - don't they make an adorable couple!?

We wish we could have visited longer, but it was great to see everyone.  Thanks again to the family for making the trek up to Scottsdale to visit us!

Getting Settled in Arizona

Xander experienced his first time on an airplane, and, after a tiring day of travel (amazing how just a short 2.5 hour flight can feel like a lot longer) it was time to settle into our hotel room in Scottsdale Arizona.  Xander had just flown for the first time and, all considered, was quite a trooper.  He was so excited to explore his new temporary digs!

Xander loved the table at the foot of our bed, it reminded him of the ottoman by the couch at home.

Mama and Xander so happy to officially start our vacation!

After some unpacking and dinner, bath time was a blast!  Such a nice bath in a big tub!  Plus we got to finish our nighttime routine on the big bed!

Haha!  I am the King of the king sized bed!

Adorable!  So cute, no matter where we take him!

Sweetie, we know you want to crawl everywhere, but it's time for bed!  Dada is tired too, you know...

Ok, after a quick trip in the air, bed time is officially here!  Looking forward to the rest of our trip!

BUNNY!

The Easter Bunny gave Xander a stuffed rabbit this year.  It's a strange looking rabbit, but Xander freakin' loves it!  Xander enjoys playing with certain toys, but he's never really shown "love" to something he plays with, never really embraced an or lit up for a stuffed toy.  Until now!  He LOVES bunny somethin' fierce!  If we need to cheer Xander up, we just grab the little purple guy and show it to him, put it in hugging range and say, "BUNNY!!!"  Typically Xander lights up and immediately hugs and attempts to eat Bunny.  Attempts to eat are really Xander's attempts to kiss - so much love!

10th Month Status Update

Xander at 10 months old... does he still love his kittehs?

Check.

It's been another month... how's he doing on that whole eating thing?

He has more good days than he was having, but it's still a struggle.

We try not to take the good days for granted.  With an angelic face like this, how could you think he does anything but eat every last drop in the jar?  Ugg - I beg of you child, EAT!

Opening Day & Countdown

It was really important to Dada that he take Xander to his first Opening Day game this year.  So the week before, we had a countdown each night before bed with Xander until finally...

Opening Day Eve arrived!

On the big day, Mama got Xander all dressed up for the big event.  He wore his Ichiro t-shirt under his white jersey, Dada bought that for him for the game.  He was in baseball garb all the way down to his baseball socks!

So stinkin' cute!

Mama brought Xander down after work so that the boys could meet up with Pappu for the first pitch.

Xander got a little bored and fussy, so Dada thought it was a good idea to use his favorite orange mirror to take pictures.  It worked for a little while.  Got some house of mirror type shots out of it...

He's not announcing with those headphones, strictly ear protection.  Tho, at this game, there wasn't a lot to cheer for.  Only 3 hits.  0 runs.  Typical.  At least Xander looked good in his new M's windbreaker, courtesy of Dada's M's shopping spree.

We lost our a$$, but hey, the kid had a little fun.  See!  Proof!

Xander's first visit from the Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny left Xander a small basket of goodies this year.  Hmm, I wonder what is in there?

Before we could open the basket, it was time to drive to Yelm to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa Brelsford.

By the time we got there, Xander was pretty worn out.  Nap time!

Later, after dinner, during dessert (ice cream bars!  YUM!) it was time to open the goods!  Dada started with the card from Mama and Dada as he finished his ice cream.  Xander, the conductor, has his own popsicle stick too (Ok, it's a tongue depressor we stole from the doctors office when we found out how much he enjoys them).

After the card it was time to move on to the basket!

Eggs!  Filled with coins - yeah, something for my pirate bank!

What's this?  A bunny!  "Hmm," Xander thought, "this bunny looks a lot like the one I saw at the grocery store with Mama... the Easter Bunny must have known how much I wanted one!"

And they called it, Bunny Loooooooove...

Last item in the basket, a book!  From the "Give a Mouse a..." series.  Xander loves those!  This one is called, "Happy Easter, Mouse!"

Already enjoying the book!?  And Mama is still eating her ice cream bar - Xander works fast!  Happy Easter!

10 Months! OMG!

Mama has been wanting to do an outdoor photo shoot for some time now, so we took advantage of this sunny day in April!  

Xander is the finest human specimen Mama or Dada has ever laid eyes on!  Proof!

Xander's new thing is to scrunch up his lips and nose and make noise as he pushes air out through his nose.  This was him making scrunchy face at a passing plane above.

Do you know what he's smiling about?  Nope, cuz it doesn't matter.  His smile is the greatest thing to watch.  You don't need to know why he's happy, it's enough to know that he is.

Still happy!

Haha!  I'm the crawl monster!

Thanks Auntie Heather and Uncle Jason for this picnic blanket backdrop.  We had so much fun at our photo shoot picnic!

Oh, okay.  It's all fun and games until someone starts crying.  Time to pack up and go inside!