Caution: Boys at Play

Will and Xan play great together. Xan especially likes it when Will holds him down (gently) and tickles him. Xan giggles uncontrollably and both boys can be heard laughing throughout the house. They are both finishing up their antibiotics from their sinus infection and are generally on the mend.

What Happens When Daddy is in Charge of Haircuts ...

Yes, there is some hair left, about a 1/2 inch of hair. My Dad now calls him Baldy. I really don't have much else to say...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Will had a St. Patrick's Day party at school on Friday. They had a party where everything was green! So, it was the perfect opportunity for him to wear his John Deere sweatshirt. Later that day, he came home sick with a 102 degree temperature. Turns out he has a sinus infection just like Daddy had earlier in the week. Mommy is hoping she and Xan don't catch any such thing.

Xan is walking on his own!

Xan has finally trusted himself enough to take off walking across a room. But, in order to do so, he either has to 1) not notice he is walking or 2) REALLY want something. The minute he looks down and realizes there isn't anything around him, he slowly crouches into a crawl on the floor and continues his journey on his hands and knees.

Cousin Heather's Wedding

The entire Kasal/Guthrie clan headed to Apple Valley March 10 to see Jessica's Dad's niece, Heather, get married. Heather found love with Jack, who not only exchanged rings with her, but also with her two kids, Justin and Brittany, from her previous marriage. It was a nice ceremony and it was very clear that both Jack and Heather were incredibly happy ... which is exactly what we want for them. Congratulations you guys, and we wish you many years of happiness together!

Yet Another Bad Hair Day

As if Xan hasn't had enough hair control problems, playing with one of the Melting Pot balloons and it's static electricity didn't help!

The Monkey on a Stick Story

This week I realized that the "separate but equal" toy philosophy for siblings would have to start being implemented.

Will had Flat Stanley this week for a preschool project (this is a popular thing nationwide and is based on a children's book where a boy is squished flat by a falling billboard but the good thing is that his parents can fold him up in an envelope and send him anywhere in the world) so I figured we'd take Flat Stanley to the Irvine Specturum, Will's favorite place, for a few pictures for the project. (Sidenote: I forgot my camera, tried to take pictures with my camera phone and couldn't figure out how to successfully email them to myself. Technology sucks sometimes.)

Of course, we had to go to Dave and Busters to shoot the guns, so we did that, as well as play games to collect tickets for prizes in the prize cage. Will picked out a monkey head on a stick. You squeeze the trigger and the mouth opens and shuts. Xan got one glimpse of this and had to have it.

Will was a very good big brother and shared it with him, but Xan did not want to give it up AT ALL. He would scream and cry when I took it away for his bath that night. When I was finishing up bathing Will, Xan managed to find his way into Will's room and came crawling back out with the Monkey on a Stick. This was all on Thursday night.

By Saturday morning, I realized that we would need a second monkey on a stick if everyone was going to be happy. I needed to go shopping for some gifts and a dress anyway, so the boys and I headed to the Specturm once again (Rodney had to work). After playing just ticket games, Will earned enough tickets for a Zebra on a Stick and an inflatable hammer. I was wise enough to bring the Monkey on a Stick with us, so both boys walked out of Dave and Busters very happy, confirming the "separate but equal" toy philosophy for siblings.

The Melting Pot

Rodney and I celebrated a late Valentine's Day since Valentine's Day just didn't fall at a convenient time for us this year. Rodney surprised me with replacement "Xan" earrings. I somehow lost one of the diamond earrings Rodney gave me when Xan was born when we went to Illinois at Christmas time. While Rodney's Dad, Paul, found the backing in the bed we slept in, the diamond stud was never located. But, Rodney says these diamonds are a bit bigger and they are very sparkly and clear. I also got them without the screw-back posts, which I find difficult to secure and what I attribute to the earring coming loose in the first place.

After he gave me the new earrings at home, Rodney and I headed to the movie theater and saw "Music and Lyrics" which was a cute movie. Then Rodney surprised me again with dinner reservations at The Melting Pot, an upscale fondue restaurant in Irvine I've been wanting to experience. Rodney got the "sweethearts" package, which included balloons and a framed picture of us. It was very tasty, a bit expensive, but definitely some place I wouldn't mind going again. They served us the perfect amount of food in four courses: Cheese fondue; salad; meat, seafood and vegetables; and chocolate fondue. We both left comfortably full.

Playing Around the Highchair

Will and Xan play very well together anywhere, which is fantastic. Before supper, they pass the time playing a boyish form of peek-a-boo, where Will runs up on Xan and shouts "Boo!" and Xan giggles hysterically. Dad also likes to get involved, with Xan giving him five.

Watermelon Adventures

Xan had his first taste of Watermelon at Lucielle's BBQ ... and loved it! HE even had to grab it away from Mom and hold it himself. He scraped the watermelon with his bottom teeth and ate it little by little. But then he got excited and took a big bite that he didn't know what to do with once it was in his mouth. Mom came to the rescue and took it out, but that little scare didn't keep Xan from going back and scraping bits off again. Will was disappointed that Xan liked the watermelon - that meant he couldn't have both pieces!