Day Twenty-three

Xavier and J.J. were both sound asleep this morning when I woke them up. I got up at 6:00am in hopes of having some quiet time to get ready and read my Bible before the day began. I woke J.J. up at 7:00am so he could be there when we got Xavier up for the first time. Despite going to bed at 7:00pm Xavier was still asleep 12 hours later, but I decided to start his day fairly on schedule. Did I mention that I enjoy schedules? I understand why the baby home had such a strict schedule and I don't plan to keep his days quite so step-by-step, but I have seen the benefits of predictability and routines as I've taught. Anyway, he woke up sort of confused, but not upset. We changed his diaper first thing, but it was actually dry. He loves to have his diaper changed! He smiles like crazy and kicks his legs like a little frog. I've started playing a little tickling game with him during diaper changes and he also seems to enjoy our game. We tried the restaurant again for breakfast and things were much better today. He didn't love all the newness, but he wasn't terrified by it either. This morning he ate oatmeal, a "hot dog" (sausage thing), along with a few bites of blini, tomato, and corn just for "let's see if he likes this" sake. We tried introducing some music into our day with the Ipod. I'll let you see for yourself what he thought of it.

We took a morning walk to a nearby market and got some hot food at the deli for lunch and some more bottled drinks. I was able to identify baked chicken pieces in one section, but they had this whole "cutlets" section with patties of different meats that had been minced, battered, and baked or maybe fried. They were pretty much unidentifiable. What do I do? Pantomime chicken of course, complete with a beak and wings. This girl behind the counter found it pretty amusing, but we still ended up with fish for Xavier's lunch. Oh well, he seemed to like fish. He did not like the canned carrots we tried as a side dish. He actually seemed a little upset at nap time, so J.J. went in the bedroom and comforted him until he relaxed. Then both boys fell asleep. J.J. did not feel well and we neither one slept well. We kept listening for Xavier to make peeps or cries. Xavier woke up on his own around 2:00pm. We had something similar to banana yogurt for snack. We played for awhile. J.J. suggested I look at our photo book with Xavier. He did not want anything to do with you turning the pages. No way. He did sit with both of us and turned the pages on his own though. We changed into clothes for warmer weather and went to visit our new friend and his son. They seemed to be settling in and the boys did really well playing together in the same space and trading out with toys. We had a nice visit. Then the three of us headed to a nearby store with baby products to find some non-disposable plates. I only brought bowls. We found a huge variety of baby food, so I also picked up some vegetables in hopes he would like another vegetable better than carrots. We tried the beach again. Xavier got to take his shoes off with Daddy and feel the sand and water. I still don't know if he liked it, but he didn't hate it. I got some video footage. We had a Skype date so we hurried back to eat a supper of hotdogs and the broccoli & rice baby food. It all went over well. We got to Skype Grandpa, Granny, Ashley & Aunt Duronda. By the end of all those conversations he was into play super hard so I don't crash mode. We had another wonderful bath. J.J. broke his own rule and took some naked baby pictures. I'm so grateful he enjoys baths because it is such a nice time to share with him. We got our pj's on, but he wasn't very enthusiastic about going to sleep. He whimpered after we left him in the crib, so this time I went back and stayed until he feel asleep. It really didn't take him long. J.J. and I finally ate some supper. We've discovered a new love for Nutella! Now J.J. is watching his first TV in 2 days. I am ready for some sleep! Spacoina Nochee! Good night!