Songs for Diaper Changing

Xavier seems to love having songs sung to him. He does not, however, care for songs being sung to him while he is trying to go to sleep. Nope. No lullabyes for him. Instead, he loves to hear songs when he is getting his diaper changed. His absolute favorite is a rendition of Queen's "We Will Rock You" with the following lyrics:

You got milk on your face,
You big disgrace,
Pooping your pants
All over the place

We will, we will, change you (Sing it!)

Sometimes this devolves into a remix version with Nelly's "Hot in Here" with these lyrics:

It's gettin' wet in here,
So take off all your clothes...

These two never fail to get a smile out of him even if he starts out in tears. Its amazing how many contemporary songs can be used for baby entertainment with or without lyric changes. I have a CD of songs (that are not by the original artists) intended to be used for bedtime. The worst song on there is "Sweet Child of Mine." Yes, the Guns n Roses version. Except this rendition is done as a folk song. Blech.

When it comes to bedtime routines, Xavier much prefers music without lyrics. His current favorite is a CD of world flute music a la a massage therapist's office.

Baptism

Here's baby Xavier with his MaMere and Momo. He's wearing the adorable bonnet that Aunt Mary Jane and Uncle Bobby gave him. It turns into a hankerchief that can be given to the bride to carry when he gets married. Daddy says it makes him look Amish.



Xavier was all bright eyes right up until Father poured the water on his head.
He howled for the remainder of the baptismal service. Daddy and Godfather Steve try to cheer him up to no avail.

Here's the lovely cake that Xavier's godparents brought to the reception.

Speaking of godparents, here's Steve and Alex posing with Xavier, who is still crying.

Baby's First Hurricane

Now that's a page they don't often have in baby books! Thursday morning around 3:30 a.m. Xavier, Tim and I awoke to the sounds of Hurricane Humberto rolling through Beaumont. Lots of wind, lots of rain, and the occaisional empty garbage can rolling down the street. Since none of us could sleep, we decided to go in the living room and watch the coverage on TV.

One of our local stations recently hired two very good looking but non-native anchors for the morning show. They flanked the seasoned weatherman who was trying to impart important information to the poor folks hunkered down in low lying areas. When anchor McHunky asked the weatherman if hurricanes sped up or slowed down when they hit land, the poor man rolled his eyes, didn't acknowledge the question, and took a phone call from a viewer. At another point when the radar weathermap was on screen he asked what the three blue dots signified. Weatherman drily replied, "That's Beaumont, Orange and Port Arthur."

Our home was unscathed save for a bit of water that blew under the back door. Xavier's four-month check up was postponed until today because the pediatrician's office was without power for most of the day. He's now 26 inches long (70th percentile) and 14.5 pounds (30th percentile). Just call him Stringbean McNicholl. If you look closely you can see his matching band-aids where he got his shots.

Go Cowboys

Xavier and Tim have been enjoying watching the Houston Texans whomp the Kansas City Chiefs this afternoon. But Xavier really is looking forward to watching the Cowboys play. He's even wearing his Sunday dress clothes/Cowboys john-john. Thanks MaMere and MoMo for the adorable duds!

Moose on Parade

Hard to believe that Xavier is already four months old. He has exactly one month left to enjoy his Moosemobile that hangs over his crib. The powers that be inform me that mobiles are no longer safe for babies after that. I think it has something to do with their ability to sit up and grab it.

So for now, we enjoy the moose even more knowing that they will soon be gone. They are the first part of Xavier's bedtime routine each night. He gets a little naked time in the crib watching the moose while Mama runs his bath across the hall. The moose also help when Xavier is just inconsolable for no apparent reason. I wish I knew the moose's secret.

Ah Wilderness

Tim and I decided to celebrate Labor Day today by taking baby Xavier on his first hike in the Big Thicket woods. He's still too little for the baby backpack carrier so we tooled him around on the trails in the swanky Zooper Boogie that PawPaw and MiMi gave him.

At first Xavier was more interested in examining the interior of the stroller than gazing at the flora and fauna. After about five minutes or so, he seemed to realize that he was in a completely new place and not just strolling around the neighborhood or his backyard. Tim walked ahead of us and used a long stick to wipe away the cobwebs across the trail. Xavier went back and forth from looking at the trees and birds to looking at me and smiling.

About halfway through our short hike, we stopped to take in the view while Xavier had a little snack. Despite this, he started to cry a little before we got back to the trailhead. I imagine it gave all the animals in the woods a new experience to hear that! He needed a dry diaper and was due for a nap, both of which he got when we returned to the car.

All in all, it was a very successful trip. Considering Tim and I courted and honeymooned in the wilderness, it was a special experience to bring our son out there for the first time.