Sometimes the best things happen by accident

I read about a fun outdoor water activity on this post from another super cool adoptive mom.  (which actually originated at this blog Play at home Mom)  Xavier likes all things water so it seemed like something he would enjoy. We've been having what I would call unseasonably warm days so we put our water gear on and headed out to the backyard to try it.  I had old guttering around the house so this "water slide" game was free, minus the cost of running water for extended periods of time.  I put a tub at the bottom to collect the water and showed Xavier how the toys and boats could go down the slide.  He never seemed to give the slide more than a glance.  He did enjoy splashing in the tub for a few minutes and then headed off to activities of his own choosing.  I called it a worthwhile, yet unsuccessful attempt.  Later this week he actually asked for the water slide.  I thought maybe we were making progress.  At least he remembered what it was called.  I set everything up and he spent even less time exploring.  Curious.  I decided to make some mud shapes/pies just for fun.  Xavier is still picky about anything sticky, wet, or slimy on his hands.  I did not expect him to join me and sure enough he started playing with bubbles.  Inevitably the bubble solution split and he asked for more.  I had to wash my muddy hands with the hose and that's when the interesting accidental thing happened.  Xavier suddenly was very curious about the water running out of the hose and over my hands.  He watched me intently, let me splash us with water, and did his own share of splashing.  Before it was finished he had spent a good 20 maybe 30 minutes holding the water hose while drinking, splashing, and watching the water flow.  Of course there are no pictures of our water exploration because I didn't plan it and it is very hard to hold a camera while being splashed by a two year old.  You'll just have to trust me that it produced many smiles/laughs and gave Daddy's grass a good watering.  I do have a cute video of him blowing bubbles.  Now that I've figured out the link tool maybe I can conquer uploading video.

Fat, calories, and other things you usually avoid

Thanks everyone for reading and responding to my last post.  I know I didn't specifically ask for advice, but I appreciate those of you who gave it.  We really sat down and looked at the food Xavier was eating and decided he actually might not be getting enough calories/fat in his diet.  It was sort of a foreign thought to us.  We have been working on eating low calorie, low fat food as adults who need to lose/maintain weight and Xavier eats what we eat. So, even though he was eating yogurt, it was non-fat and so on and so on.  Yesterday was our weekly trip to the grocery store and J.J. got to accompany us because he is on Spring Break. Hooray!!  We had to really examine the food we bought.  Believe it or not it is somewhat difficult to find higher fat yet still nutritious foods.  I guess I need to research foods with "good" fat, but I didn't do that before grocery shopping.  We just tried to substitute some of our normal low-fat choices with the more normal fat kind.  Does that make any sense?  So I am going to try to give more attention to Xavier's diet and see how that goes.  He ate a whole Nutella to go snack during church last night, so that is a start.  I am still open to more advice in the weight gain vs keeping healthy foods on the plate issue.  I think they can be compatible if we work at it.  I'll keep you updated on our progress.  Happy eating everyone!

Two and a half check-up

Xavier had a well-baby check for 2 1/2.  I'm not sure if that is typical or if we got special treatment because we had a different beginning to our time together as a family.  Either way, I was excited to see how he was progressing.  We don't have any scales in our house and it is difficult to measure a wiggly toddler so I left the measuring to the professionals.  We got in quickly this day. Yeah!  It is usually quite a wait before they even take you back to wait more before you actually see the doctor.  They are not just kidding about the "waiting room".  Xavier enjoyed playing with the new toys in the exam room while we did a little bit of waiting.  He weighed 23 lbs. and they measured him at 35 inches tall.  I think that might have been a tad bit tall, because the paper on the exam table scrunched up under him while they marked his head and heel.  Either way he has really grown in the nine months he has been with us!  Unfortunately he hasn't made as much progress percentage wise.  The doctor wants to see us back in 3 months to see if he is gaining.  If not she will refer us to a pediatrician. (Remember, we live in a small place.  Pediatricians take some travel).  It was not what I wanted to hear.  I really wanted to just dismiss it and I even asked, "Is it possible that he is just going to be small".  But she said we didn't want to ignore this is case it was a sign of something more.  I really don't know how to feel.  One part of me is concerned, but if you want my gut opinion, Xavier is doing remarkably well.  He is growing and changing every day.  He is like a little plant that just needed some love, attention, food, and a new surrounding to grow. That might be an bad analogy because I tend to kill house plants, but you get the idea.  I look back on the approaching months, where we were a year ago, leading up to his adoption and think, "Why did I ever worry about this thing or that thing?".  He is happy, active, talkative, loving, observant, and a great listener.  And he is small.  So for now we will try to keep him eating more bites of healthy things and see where we are in three months.  Right now we are blessed with a little boy only an amazing gracious God could have brought into our lives.  I don't see that changing any time soon.