Dear Xavier - Two Years

Dear Xavier,

Seemingly more often than not, whenever we say your name it is followed by an exasperated sigh.  You may be cute, kid, but you are also Trouble.  Up until recently, there were very few things that we could name that you actually enjoyed.  Yes, there has always been food, which never ceases to make you happy.  But anything else?  Not so much.  If something is fun, it's almost a guarantee that you'll hate it.  The beach?  Nope.  The park?  No way.  Bowling?  Of course not.  Toys?  Only if it is fake food in the play kitchen.  Yep, you have always been so difficult to please.  And, instead, you were interested in all things you aren't supposed to.  Electrical sockets?  You go for it.  Daddy's tools or Mommy's sewing stuff that we might've left out accidentally?  You immediately make a run for them with glee.  Pretty much anything that you shouldn't be doing or touching is all that you want to do.

Oh, kid. On top of everything else, you have that mischievous grin and contagious laugh and you just happen to be so gosh-darn cute.  Sigh. You are definitely something else.

But my, how you've grown.  You're about 24 pounds now. Such a long way from your 3.3 pound arrival.  You're talking nonstop (even though I'm usually the only one who understands you).  You've moved into your sister's room.  You're slowly starting to become interested in some things fun (i.e. splash pad, walking Rupert, bubbles).  And you're as healthy as can possibly be.  In fact, your only specialists that still want to see you (that is, the cardiologist and the audiologist) don't even want to see you until you are 3!  You've come a long way, buddy.

Which is why, even though you've given me a run for my money from the moment you were born,  I thank God every day for you.  Every single day.

You're my little preemie.  My big boy.  My Xavier.  I love you.

Love,

Mommy

P.S.  I'm looking forward to celebrating the day with you today, starting with Mass and going out for breakfast before Daddy heads to work.  Then we'll buy your birthday balloons, open the last of your presents, and head to Cheekwood tonight for a picnic with your godfamily.  What a fun birthday day!

And here are a few of my recent favorite pictures of you:

Showing off your barong.

Secure in your masculinity.

Enjoying the "rain" at the splash pad.

Enjoying vacation life.

Elephants!  Zoo!

All is well with a hair cut and lollipop.

The photo we used for your superhero birthday invites

A Superhero Second Birthday Party

We celebrated Xavier's big day in superhero style last weekend at Dragon Park with a few of our favorite babies, tots, and soon-to-be preschoolers!

I think it's safe to say that everyone had a blast, despite the hot sun. (At least we beat the torrential downpour that happened on our way home!)  We all enjoyed crafts, bubbles, food, capes, a living pinata, and just playing until everyone was wiped out and ready to crash for naps.  So much fun!

What a happy, happy day.

We had a craft station with superhero masks and crowns galore!

A bubble spot!

My super-family.  (I was the only one not wearing a super-shirt!)

Birthday boy lovin' on Lola!

Hero sandwiches in honor of our Superhero!

Justin was a living pinata.  Kids threw beanbags at him.  If they hit him, he'd throw back some prizes.

Look at all those superheroes!

Running around trying to save the world.

Superheroes and a super-sad birthday boy.

And, of course, the cake.

Birthday boy and the birthday cake.

I think he liked it.

Super-Xavier and Super Daddy!

Trying to slay the dragon.

Practicing superhero moves with Lolo.

We were blessed to have some relatives stop in from out of town to celebrate the big day.

A Happy Five Years

A brief recap of the past five years:

June 20, 2009: Wedding weekend with a fabulous honeymoon to Cabo immediately following.  Justin then began his pharmacy career while I continued teaching second grade at a fantastic school.

Jet-skiing in Cabo

June 20, 2010: Celebrated our first year of wedded bliss with a weeklong Alaskan cruise.  Shortly thereafter I discovered I was pregnant with our first child.

Ah, Alaska.  When can we meet again?

June 20, 2011: We celebrated our second year of matrimony in a much lower-key fashion because we had a three-month old in tow!  I had also ended my teaching career temporarily so I can care for sweet Lissie full time.

Cheesecake Factory

June 20, 2012: We celebrated our third anniversary with friends at Cheekwood before Justin and I left for a weekend getaway.  And just a few days later, our second child was born 2 and a half months too soon.

Last getaway before X's arrival!

June 20, 2013: Sadly, I don't quite remember how we celebrated last year.  I think it was overshadowed by Xavier's first birthday party.  I wouldn't be surprised if all subsequent anniversaries get lost in the shuffle due to the closeness to Xavier's birthday, haha.

And June 20, 2014: We celebrated a few weeks early with a quiet weekend getaway to Fairfield Glade, where we hiked, wined, and ate well.  We also lucked out that both my mom and Justin were off on our actual anniversary, so we dropped the kids off at Lola's and enjoyed some "us" time with a movie, drinks, and dinner before heading home to prepare for Xavier's birthday party which was the next day.

Drinks at Drake's!

But, wow.  Five years.  It definitely feels like yesterday when we did this:



We're still having the Time of our Lives.  Looking forward to what's to come!

Puerto Rico

One of the only family photos we managed to take the entire week we were in PR

When Lissie and Xavier were asked to be in our friends' destination wedding in Puerto Rico, I will admit that my initial thoughts were not of excitement and enthusiasm but instead of anxiety and nervousness.  Traveling by plane without the added assistance of my parents for a long-ish trip that includes a layover?  A week in tight quarters with these two young'ens?  Missed naps and eating out like crazy with kids who haven't mastered those arts?  Yep, my anxiety levels were through the roof prior to departure.

But, now that it is over, I can honestly say that my nervousness was mostly for naught.  Sure there were slight hangups, but in general both kiddos proved more flexible than I could've imagined and we all ended up having a delightful time with friends and enjoying the Island of Enchantment.

Our flight out of Nashville was bright and early at 6am, which actually worked in our favor as both kiddos were super tired and took amazing naps on the plane.  Especially since the flight to Orlando wasn't full so we all had our own seats.  Add to that our backpack of quiet fun, the LeapPad, and lotsa snacks, and it was pretty much smooth sailing.

Ready for our weeklong vacay!

Our first few days were spent getting acquainted with our resort for the week and day-tripping to the Arecibo Lighthouse and splash park.

Arecibo Lighthouse

Riding in a boat with Daddy

Water Slide!

Relaxing at the pier

Checking out the view

Absolutely LOVING the beach!

Absolutely hesitant about the beach!

The only way he would get close to the water.

Trying to get X to enjoy the beach

Attempting to build a sand castle

The weekend was spent catching up with old friends and doing all things wedding.

At the rehearsal, Lissie asked the bride what kind of cake they will have.  The bride confided in her the secret, which was very pleasing to Lissie.  Hence the happy kiss.

The best part of a beach wedding: playing in the sand!

A frazzled Mommy with a boy who doesn't listen.

Wedding Day!  It's showtime!

Eh, so what if he's not holding the ring pillow or have his shirt tucked in or wearing shoes?  We got him to walk down the aisle!

Congratulating themselves on a job well done.

Special lollipop treat after doing an awesome job walking down the aisle

Taking the liberty to wade in the pool during cocktail hour.

X snuck a dip, too.

A rare pic of the two of us sans kids

A family photo

The reason why I don't usually wear earrings.  Right here.

With the beautiful bride

Dancing (stripping?) at the reception

Getting down on the dance floor.

Goof

Our last couple of days were spent hiking the El Yunque rainforest and walking around Old San Juan.

Lissie hiked the majority of the steep 30-min (each way) trail to the falls!

Post-hike to La Mina falls

La Coca Falls

Old San Juan

At Castillo de San Cristobal

At Castillo de San Cristobal

And, of course, throughout the entire trip there was a world of eating and drinking to be had.  The kids absolutely LOVED the tasty barbecue, lechon, mofongo, yucca, and of course all of the juices - coconut, pineapple, anything - they could drink.  Because, while we aren't typically juice drinkers, we needed to make sure these kiddos were staying well hydrated in the hot, hot, Puerto Rican sun.

One of my many mofongo meals

Yucca balls, churrasco with rice and plaintains, mofongo with crab

Churrasco and yucca fries

Lechonera!

A juice box on the beach.

Life can't get much better than this!

A pitstop in Old San Juan to enjoy a yummy treat of piragua, their famed shaved ice.

Coconut juice post-hike

And of course a fruity cocktail for Mommy

Heading home proved to be a lot more challenging than the trip there.  Our flight out was again at 6am, but this time the flight attendant refused to let Lissie be the lap child (which had never been a problem before and which is what we had done on all previous flights because she is fine in our laps and also so that  Xavier could have her seat to nap and be less disruptive to everyone around us).  Needless to say, it was a very rough three hour flight to Orlando where Xavier was tired but couldn't get settled in our laps and spent the majority of the time fussing and crying with nothing to console him.  Our only solace was that the three hours of crying made him very tired, so the two hour ride to Nashville was quite peaceful between the fact that it was a half-full plane and both kids were finally able to rest.

Peace.  Finally.

So, in all, our vacation may not have been the definition of relaxing, but it was most definitely a fun, memory-filled family trip that jumpstarted our summer of fun.

Someone was trying to stop us from packing up to go home.