The Hermits

Sorry, no pictures to post so far this week. Chris and I have both been fighting off a bad cold and just finished with a nasty bout of a stomach virus. We hope we are finally on the mend. So far Xander has managed to stay healthy for the most part. He is getting his 2 year molars, so I think he has enough to contend with. I just hope he is able to fight off what we have. I don't think I could stand to see him sick as well.

Last Chance to Play in the Snow

Sunday was a really beautiful day. Too nice to stay inside and clean, but that's what I did. I took advantage of the fact that boys went outside to play. Because of all the snow that we got a couple of weeks ago, there was still some on the ground, but it was disappearing fast. The were able to gather enough wet snow together to make a small snowman. Xander was just happy to be able to play with his shovel one more time.

Probably (hopefully) the last snowman of the season

Xander giving his new friend a smooch

Footprints in the snow. Reminds us how much he has grown over the past 22 months, but what a little guy he still is.

Playdate With Grandpa

Xander was so excited to have his grandpa come over to play tonight. He doesn't get to see him very often and you can tell he misses him a lot. So, to be able to spend the evening with him is such a treat. Chris worked on grandpa's broken computer and I stayed upstairs so the two could spend some time playing together. Well, the computer issues were not to be resolved easily and it ended up getting very late. I let Xander stay up until after his grandpa left because I knew he would never be able to go to sleep with him here. He was having so much fun and was too wound up to sleep. While I was rocking him before bed, he wouldn't stop talking about all the things that the two of them did. It was adorable!

The first thing Xander does when he sees his grandpa is to run and grab as many books as he can carry and climb on his lap to do some reading.
Taking turns wearing the pink halo/hat thingie


Playing with the farm

Tuesday March 21, 2006

So into his book, he just can't put it down! Here he is standing in the kitchen, reading his "Ralph the Rabbit" book over and over.

Here is yet another photo of our angel sleeping. He is so sweet (and quiet!) when he sleeps, that we just can't pass up a chance to take a picture. Good thing he is a sound sleeper!

Sick Day? Not!!

Xander woke up very early this morning and said something that scared the pants off of Chris and I. He woke up whining and then said what sounded like "ear drum!" Now, he knows what his ears are, of course. But his ear drum? Who knows. All I know is he seemed like he was sick. He sounded stuffy and acted miserable. I did get him back to sleep for a couple of hours. When he woke up again, he was fine! He was full of energy and running circles around me. I am so confused and have no idea if he is coming down with something or not. I was so sure he was sick earlier, that I canceled appointments and everything. I hope that I was wrong and he is not sick, but he is definitely keeping me on my toes!

This is his first time eating a broth based soup on his own. Xander loves soup! Call us crazy, but we just didn't want to deal with the mess. But he has been working on his spoon skills and I felt confident to let him try it today. Since I thought he might be getting sick, I picked a chicken noodle type soup. He did so good! He ate a big bowl without any help, left only a small puddle on the table and then let me show him how to finish off the bowl by picking it up and drinking it. I explained that we only do that at home, but i don't think he understood.

 

It's official - Xander has yet to meet a fruit he didn't like. Here he is eating my whole plum. I think he let me have two bites of it before he gobbled it down. I can't think of a fruit that we have given him that he has loved. Oh, maybe grapefruit. But other than that, he loves it all.

 

Underwater World at MOA

We met Chris' cousin Keith, wife Melissa and baby Lucas at the MOA today. They had never been to Underwater World before. And like all new parents with a 5 month old, things like that are so exciting to experience for the first time, especially through the eyes of your little one. We have been a few times before, but it was so fun to see them point out everything for Lucas to see. When we told Xander that he was going to get to see baby Lucas, he was excited. He said his name all the way to the mall. After Underwater World, we ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which was okay. It's never fantastic, but I get the same thing every time so that there are no surprises. Unfortunately, Chris decided to be adventurous and ended up with an awful salad that he was unable to choke down. Xander was pretty much done eating by the time our food came and was spinning out of control, it was so past his naptime. But even at his worst, he is still pretty damn good, so we can't complain. He did seem a bit off today. Hope it is just his teeth that are bugging him and not that he is coming down with daddy's cold. I don't think I could bear that!

Xander enjoys a good book on the way to the mall.

You might notice that the back of Chris' head resembles Lucas' head. Chris got into an arguement with a set of clippers this morning and the clippers won! When he was trying to cut his hair, the guard fell off and he took a huge chunk out his hair. He comes to me and asks if I can fix it. Yeah, right! So he shaved it all off. It was kind of a shock at first, but I got used to it fairly quickly. Xander just looked at him funny for a while and then declared that daddy got hairs cut.

Cousins and sons, hanging out together. I use to look forward to this day, and now it is here! They are the two cutest daddys with the two cutest little boys. Too bad most of the photos were blurry and not a one of them was looking in the same direction!

Uneventful Saturday

The highlight of the day - Xander playing in the bath tub in his PJs. A slow day at the Pichner household....

Chris spent a good chunk of time at school working on his project that is due this week. Xander and I stuck around the house. It took Xander two hours to go down for his nap. By the time he got to sleep, it was time to wake up! We went out for a mediocre dinner at Sidney's in the Galleria in Edina, came home and went to bed fairly early. Such the party animals!

Yay, Another Weekend Is Here!

It was another action packed day in the Pichner household. Chris is still recovering from his cold, but felt good enough to go out to a movie with a friend tonight. It is a much needed break for him, as he has been feeling crappy and spending a lot of time at home so that I can go out.

I went out last night and got home very late. It was slow going this morning, but I finally did get out the door for playgroup this morning. We went to Pearl Park, which Xander loves because it is such a big space for him to run around in. After a big lunch, he was more than ready for a long nap. He got to spend a little time with his daddy before he left for his movie. Then I fixed him dinner, we had a bath, played and read books. Photos of the day are below.

I DID NOT take pictures of us in the tub - I will spare you all from that! I also missed some of the funniest shots by not having my camera handy. Like when I found him in the tub this morning. I heard the water turn on and went in to find him splashing around with all of his tub toys - still in his socks and PJs. It would have made a great photo. Guess I can't catch them all!

"I don't know why I am doing this, but it sure feels good!" Wearing only a diaper and mommy's Doc Marten boots, he spent some quality time tweaking his nipples...

When asked what he was cooking up, he responded with "Blueberry pancakes." Of course.

Xander had to wait a long time to get a turn on this scooter. Wait time: 1 hour. Time spend on it: 3 minutes. Well worth the wait!

Yummy soft tacos and Spanish rice. It may not look pretty, but he seems to like it.

Back To Work...For Me, Anyway!

So, it started out yesterday evening as a little cough and tickle in his throat. But since Chris NEVER gets sick, we didn't think much of it. By the time I got home from my night out with the girls, he was miserably sick in bed. Plenty of fluids and cough drops, but he progressively got worse throughout the night. So, he is home sick today and spending some more time in bed, trying to get better fast. My only hope is that I don't catch it and neither does Xander!

Xander doesn't understand why daddy doesn't feel like playing. But he still thinks it is fun to crawl around on him while he naps on the couch.

Mommy's Day Off

Chris took the day off of work so that I could have the day off myself. I made and early appointment at the chiropractor and one to get my hair done in the afternoon. Chris got Xander up, fed him breakfast, got him ready and took him to playgroup. Of course, Chris was a hit with the ladies, especially two little sweeties named Ava and Lily! After they got home and had lunch, he tried unsuccessfully to get Xander to take a nap. There is just no sleeping when daddy is around!

I took care of dinner, so I guess I did something on my day off. But Chris took care of all the dishes. He spent the evening with Xander and got him to bed for the night while I went out with the girls. All in all, a very relaxing day. Thank you, Chris, for letting me have a little time to myself. It was my first day off in almost two years and it was much needed and appreciated!

Pictures that Chris took

The day started off with a hearty bowl of oatmeal

Playing at Farmstead Park with the playgroup

The Ball Boat

Not bad for $8.00 - could use a few more balls, though! But it was a good distraction for Xander while I made dinner.

Oh, the snow!

We woke up to almost a foot of snow today. We knew we were going to get some, but it was still kind of a shock to see how much. It is taking a long time to get completely plowed out in our neighborhood. Chris stayed home from work and spent a lot of time running the snow blower and killing his back with the shovel. There was no way the car was going to get out of the alley until a plow came through. Xander was so excited that he couldn't sleep. We eventually gave up and Chris took him outside to play in the snow with his shovel. It was too cold to stay out long and there was lots of whining when it was time for him to come inside.

Xander trying on his new frog rain boots. They should be perfect for jumping in the puddles!

He is spending less time in the high chair and more time in his booster chair at the table. It depends on the meal, of course. Here he is trying out our new dining table that we just bought.

Coffee and hot chocolate

We didn't have plans today, but really needed to get out of the house. So, we hopped in the car and went to Riverview Cafe. It's nice for Chris to get to see some of the places that we go during the week. It was especially nice for me because I got to sit back and drink coffee and read the paper while Chris played with him. I get a break from chasing him around.

Later, Chris got to go play paintball with a group of guys. It was his first time playing and he had a blast! He came home with a few welts, but I think they were well worth it. He had a helmet on and layers of clothes to help protect him, but the balls hit really hard. He gets to play again in a couple of weeks for a friend's birthday, and I know he is excited about that.

Xander and I had a nice relaxing evening at home. We are having a heck of a time getting him to go to sleep at a decent time lately. He just never seems to be tired enough to go to sleep. Hopefully this phase will pass soon!

Xander and daddy taking turns talking on the phone

Xander loves wearing our any of our shoes, but especially daddy's slippers. Here he is helping out around the house by cleaning the rug.

Bathtime for Xander. He is getting good at climbing into the tub by himself.

Fun time at the MOA

I took Xander Uptown today for lunch and some time at the park. It was nice and warm again, so we parked the car and strolled around for a while. Surprisingly, there weren't any kids at the park, so he had the whole place to himself. After Chris got home from work, we left to meet Jimmy and Patti and the Mall of America. We ate dinner at Famous Dave's, played at Lego Land and took Xander on a few rides in the The Park (formerly known as Camp Snoopy). He wasn't too sure about the rides, but that is probably just because we don't him on them enough. He got so excited when he saw the merry-go-round, but he gets a bit nervous once you get him on it.

Eating crusty bread at French Meadow

Vroooooom!

Weeeeeee!!

Playing Legos with grandpa

Riding the bus with daddy. He really didn't know what to think about this ride! He looked petrified the entire time.

Xander picked out the giraffe to ride on. He kept talking about how giraffes eat leaves. He liked this ride better than the bus.

Xander and daddy going for a ride on the choo choo

Dinner at Famous Dave's made Xander very thirsty! Rather than risk an overflowing diaper in the morning, it is just easier to sit him on the pot and let him drink all the water he wants. It goes in one end and comes out the other! :)

The nicest day so far

We headed over to play at Ann, Ava & Lily's house today. It was so sunny and warm! Tami and Keegan and Pam and Daniel were there, too. Us moms are just as excited for Spring to come as the kids are. It is so good to get outside and get some fresh air. We we got there, the kids were mixing up a big bucket of mud. Xander did not know what the think about that. He is not too keen on getting messy, but it looked like so much fun that he tried to get into the action, at least a little bit. The kids sat at a picnic table and ate lunch in the sunshine. It was so beautiful, it was almost a shame to have to go home to take naps.

After naptime was over, Xander and I headed outside to walk around the block. It was already cooling off quite a bit, but we strolled down to the pond to look at the ducks.

Yep, the kids are digging up the yard to make a big tub of mud. Xander is looking on in amazement

The best he could do was dip this into the mud bucket. He was pretty proud of himself. Probably because he managed to not actually touch the mud!

What better way to wrap up play time than with a big bucket of bubbles?

Xander - Sqealing with excitement!

Sweet Lily, showing off her belly button. Xander is still feeling a bit shy about doing that, so eventually Lily lifted up his shirt to look at his!

Nothing better than a bath at the end of a long day and messy meal. Don't worry, the water isn't that dirty - we add oatmeal to it to help with his dry skin patches. It just looks gross!

Playing with finger paints in the tub seemed like a good idea. Wouldn't you know, first chance he got, he was cleaning it all off!