Being Cool

Ok, I'm very attached to my children. I've loved co-sleeping with them as infants and both kids love cuddling with us and being close. I love seeing the kids grow and learn but I'm not always ready for what it means.  A few months ago I took Xavier to a birthday party for his friend and the mom told me I didn't need to stay. I looked around and sure enough, the only other mom there (of something like 17 kids) was a mom with a toddler in the bunch. Actually, I was surprised that no one else had stayed.  I assumed it was still protocol to hang out in the background and admire the kids and the party and help out if needed. I think I was bugging the mom in charge because she told me several times I could go out and get a soda or something but I stayed at the party anyway (I mean, really, 17 kids in a public fun center is a lot of kids to keep track of and Xavi was only four), but I realized that pretty soon I would need to just drop him off at events like that. The mom eventually gave up and let me help and even thanked me later.  Xavier was glad I stayed, too, so I felt like it was a good decision.  Still, things are slowly changing and it makes a mom's heart stretch and hurt a little.  I'm glad August is here so I get to do "mom and me" swim time this summer.  Right now, Xavi blows me kisses and gives me hugs as he goes into his preschool class but I wonder if that will even last through kindergarten?I'm making more of these blowing kisses and mom and me minutes count.  Our children are only children for a very, very short time.

Xavier pretending to be the roofers in the background.  He made me ask them for some wood, then he pulled out my tools and went at it, hammering nails, etc.  So fun!

 Now that Xavier, excuse me, Xav, is turning five he is watching and imitating his friends a lot.  Mom is still very, very cool.  (Whew!) But he often says things his friends do and especially wears things that others in his class do.  One day I saw him looking at himself in our long mirror and posing several ways. He told me it was "cool" to unzip your jacket and have your mouth open. (I bet you didn't know that looks cool, either, did you?).  Soon after, he was choosing clothes to wear to school like a sweater vest because another kid in the class (Fikrat, pronounced Fee-crat...cool name, huh!) wears one.  The funny thing is, X came out of his room just wearing the sleeveless vest, no shirt underneath.  I convinced him to wear a shirt and he came back from school announcing that I was right!  Fikrat did wear a shirt under his vest!

 Xavier is also experimenting with his name, which hardly anyone ever says right anyway.  We intended it to be pronounced Zay-vee-er, right? Well, most people say Ex-zay-vee-er, which is fine because even Xavier sometimes calls himself that.  Right now he's in a phase where he wants to be "Xav".  He corrects my emails if they have "Xavier" in it. His teachers told me he was "X-Ray" a few weeks ago and signed his name that way on the roll.  Funny kid! I love him.

Xavier loves taking pictures.  Here are some of our favorites he's done recently.  Joe calls this group "Doorknobs by Xavier":

 

Meanwhile, August is just zooming along in babyhood.  She's a much faster crawler now and she's getting her two bottom teeth (I will miss her huge gummy smile but not the crankiness or wakeful nights).  She's interested in whatever we're eating, so this week she's tried bits of okra, cucumber, pickle, strawberry, milk, Wheaties, and Cheerios.  Her reaction to most new foods is to make a face and spit out anything chunky. She did like the milk, cucumber and pickle today, though! I love this baby. She's such a great part of our family.