Getting Colder

I noticed that the weather is getting colder, so I have been wearing long sleeves and long pants a lot. Since the weather is changing, I've also been staying home a lot more. I don't mind because I have LOTS of toys, books and just plain old exploring to do that keeps me very busy.

My Mee-Maw and Pee-Paw came to visit and they brought me a rocking horse. I "Ride 'em, Cowboy" almost every day! Here is a picture of me riding my new horse.

Halloween

This Halloween I was a ferocious lion. ROOOOOOOAAAR!!!! Ok, ok, maybe I was more like a curious cub.

Back to St. Louis

I had so much fun the first time I went to some Cardinals games that my Mommy and Daddy took me back to three more for my birthday. After all, I am the Cardinals' #1 Baby Fan!! The Cardinals only won one game out of three but I had a great time at the games.

Happy Birthday to Me!

On September 11, 2009, I turned one year old. My Mommy and Daddy had some parties for me to celebrate. I got to have my own little birthday cake!

At first I was more interested in the plate.

But eventually I returned to the cake, although not much got into my mouth.

I got lots of cool presents and had a great day. I wish every day was my birthday!

This Time to the East Coast

After I did so well on the plane, my Mommy and Daddy decided I could handle a road trip. We went to Philadelphia for a few days where my Daddy used to live when he was in college. We saw some tourist stuff, for example the Liberty Bell (snooze!) and Independence Hall.

We also went to Atlantic City so I could see the ocean on the other side of the country. Just like the Pacific Ocean I was not a big fan. I prefer to have my feet anywhere but in the rushing waters!

More about my trip to California

I took my very first flight this summer. I didn't really do much on the plane. I ate, slept, and played with my mommy and daddy and toys. The flight attendants and other passengers were very nice to me too. I didn't make a lot of noise, so I think they appreciated that. The only thing I didn't really like was getting my diaper changed in the plane lavatory. The changing table was suspended over the toilet and I was afraid I was going to fall in!!

Here I am sitting with my daddy AND sitting in my own seat on the plane:

Once we got to California, there was lots of action in store for me. One day we went to the Santa Monica Pier. There were a lot of activities going on and a big ferris wheel. I didn't get to get on it, because I'm not big enough yet...but one day I will. You know what I did do though? I had my first trip to the beach! I saw lots of people, umbrellas, and sand. I even put my feet in the Pacific Ocean. I didn't like it that much though because it was REALLY cold.

Here I am at the Santa Monica Beach:

That night I went to the famous Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles where I met my "cousin" Malachi and his mommy (Alayna) and daddy (Aaron) for the very first time. My mommy's friend Danielle also joined us. I had a blast! Malachi was getting ready to celebrate his first birthday, so he told me all about his birthday plans. He was having a pool party! He invited me to come, but I didn't get to go this time. I didn't get to taste the waffles (or chicken) either, but it sure did look good.

Here are pictures of me with Malachi and Ms. Danielle:

The next day, I was on my way to see my aunt, uncle, and my big cousins. I have heard a lot about them and have seen pictures of them and now I was finally going to meet them. But before all that, my daddy had other plans. He took me to the Leo Carillo State Beach. Apparently, it is a beach where some scenes from one of his favorite movies was filmed. Can you guess which one? Ok, ok I'll tell you...The Karate Kid. It was actually a nice beach and we took some pretty cool pictures.

Finally, I got to see my cousins, Jaiden and Edward. They are twins and they are 5 years old. I was so excited, and so were they! We took lots of pictures together. I also went to the Bay Area and visited my great aunt and uncle. We got to walk around Berkeley and even went to an A's game.

All in all, it was a great trip. I was VERY busy, but I had LOTS of fun and can't wait to go back!!

My first big trip...CALIFORNIA!

My mommy and daddy took me on a trip to California! They had been telling me for awhile that we were all going to get on a big airplane and go to a new place to see family and friends I had never met before. I wasn't all that excited, because I just really didn't understand what they were saying.

The day before we got on the big plane to California we stayed in Chicago. I've been to Chicago before, but this time we went to the Field Museum and I saw a dinosaur! My daddy took a picture of me with the dinosaur. My Mommy held me to be sure it didn't get me.

I also saw a HUMONGOUS elephant and lots of other really cool stuff too.

Guess what?

I have TEETH! Can you believe it? I have two teeth and I think they're pretty cool. They really help me munch on things and they are nice and sharp! I think I will have two more pretty soon. I can't wait! I am also sitting up by myself pretty good. I like to sit up on the floor or in my pack and play and even on mommy and daddy's bed. The view is so much different when I'm sitting up. I can see EVERYTHING! It's great. Now that I'm sitting up and my stomach muscles and arms are getting good and strong, I hope I will be crawling soon. Believe me, I am already trying! Here is a picture of me. If you look closely, you can see my teeth!

Teething!

Lately, I have been feeling a weird sensation in my gums. Sometimes it is pretty painful and I get really upset. My mommy or daddy usually give me something cold to chew on and that helps a lot. I have also been trying to get my mouth on any and everything I can. I love to chew on everything! I don't know exactly what's going on, but I keep hearing my mommy and daddy saying that I am "teething." Whatever this "teething" is, I wish it would hurry up and end already! My mommy and daddy took pictures of me trying to put EVERYTHING in my mouth.

Gnawing on my mommy's finger...


Gnawing on my fingers...


What? I was just trying to get a little taste...

I'm a Cardinals' Man

My mommy and daddy took me to see my favorite baseball team--the St. Louis Cardinals. Before we went to the game, we walked around the city a little. I saw this HUGE arch and people were standing by it and taking pictures. I told my daddy, "Take me to it!" So, he did and my mommy snapped a picture. Here I am touching the Arch--also known as the Gateway to the West.



For two nights straight I got to stay up WAAAAY past my bedtime to watch my favorite Cardinals player--Albert Pujols. I even wore a special outfit. Here I am in the hotel before heading off to the game.

Fun in the sun

Since it's finally summer, my mommy and daddy have been taking me everywhere so that I can get out and enjoy the sunshine! It's been great and I love being outside and seeing all the people everywhere. It's been really hot where I live, so my mommy and daddy always put on my baby sunblock and they even got me some baby shades. Here are some pictures of me at the Taste of Champaign with my "stunna" shades on! What do you think?

My "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Willis!" and "Zoolander" Impressions

Pretty good, eh?

Trip to Chicago

I went on my second trip ever, this time to Chicago. My Daddy went to a convention or a conference or something called NACBA. Me and my Mommy went lots of places and most of the time my Daddy went too except when he was listening to people talk about bankruptcy law. Here is a picture of me at a restaurant eating a caterpillar (ha, ha...it's a rattle!) while in the background a man makes sushi.

One day we went to Millennium Park and saw a giant shiny bean.

I had a great time but it is always fun to come back home to my crib (pun intended!).

The Many Faces of Xavier

We have been so busy lately that my mommy and daddy haven't gotten around to posting any of the pictures they have taken of me lately. So to kinda make up for it, they made a collage out of the photos they took of me one day when I was sitting in my high chair eating...you guessed it...more OATMEAL!

Yummy Yummy Says My Tummy

I recently started trying to eat stuff other than milk. At first, I didn't know what to think about this new, strange thing my mommy and daddy were trying to put in my mouth. But now I think I like it, even though I'm still getting the hang of exactly how you do this thing called "eating." My daddy recorded how well I'm doing so far.

I Marched for Babies!

Me, my mommy, and daddy (btw, I know the proper way to say this would be "My mommy, daddy, and I...but hey I'm a baby, cut me some slack!) walked in the 2009 March of Dimes March for Babies! I was so excited to see all the people that turned out to walk for this cause. It was good to hear the stories of babies like me who were born early and to see them there with their families too!

My mommy told me that a lot of her friends (and some of our family too!) made donations that helped her exceed her fundraising goal. One of my mommy's classmates was there and she was walking with her WHOLE sorority!

The sun was shining, so it was a great day for a walk! I started out sleeping, but about 20 minutes into it, I figured I better open my eyes and check out the view. Plus my daddy kept getting my stroller caught on bumps in the concrete and I thought I was going to fall out!

During the walk, people kept coming up to my stroller and telling my mommy and daddy that I was "so cute"--whatever that means...and asking "how old is he?" I didn't mind because I like to see new faces.

My mommy said the walk was supposed to be 2 miles, but I guess it wasn't because halfway into it my daddy started saying, "This has got to be more than 2 miles." He also said, "I'm going to check this route on my GPS when I get home!" I thought that was funny, even though I don't really know what a GPS is. I think my daddy was right though because it was a long walk and by the time it was over I was REALLY hungry! But, I still had fun and hope my family can do it again next year. Maybe some of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends can walk with us next time and wear colorful t-shirts with my name on them like some of the other families did for their babies--I thought that was really cool!

Family picture before the walk


Me at the end of the walk


Picture of me when I got home...boy, was I tired!!

Weekend in Milwaukee Pt. 2

On the last night of our visit to Milwaukee we went to my first baseball game, between the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds.

I don't know what a Brewer is and my Mommy and Daddy said I don't need to know until I am 21 and probably not even then. I wanted to fit in with the other people there so I asked if I could wear something to support the home team, and my Mommy and Daddy reluctantly agreed.

Weekend in Milwaukee Pt. 1

My Mommy and Daddy took me for my first trip, and we went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first night we went to an NBA game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Oklahoma City Thunder. My Daddy says the Thunder used to be the Seattle Supersonics but I don't know what he is talking about because I don't remember any team called that. We were sitting behind the Oklahoma City bench, here is a picture of last year's NBA Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant (in the middle).


The whole drive up I had been planning on challenging him to a game of one on one but when we got to the game my Mommy had me wrapped up so comfortably in the Moby wrap that I slept through the pre-game warmups and most of the first quarter. After a while though I woke up and got kind of grouchy because they turned the speakers up too loud, so my Mommy and Daddy took me to a quieter area and we watched some of the game on a tv while I sipped on my bottle. By the fourth quarter I was ready to go back out and I watched the rest of the game from my comfortable seat on my Mommy.