Since today is Xander’s sixth birthday, I think I’ll write a bit about him even though I’ve only seen him once since February. I will see him today because I’m going to drive to Snohomish to give him his birthday card and his present. When I talked to him on Monday, he told me he’s going to the mall and to the beach. I asked him what he was going to get at the mall. Was he going to get new underwear and he was appalled at the very idea. Still, he couldn’t tell me what he was going to get besides stuff he wants. His present from me is money, so he’ll be able to get even more stuff he wants. I just wish I could take him and we could go places together.
John and I had sort of
come to the conclusion that Thor wasn’t going to be a daddy. He was with a
woman who had two children, so when they announced they were expecting we were
excited and delighted. Even more so when we found out it would be a boy…we’d
have grandchildren of each gender.
I was fortunate enough to
be invited to the birthing and while I didn’t do much beyond keep out of the
way, I was thrilled to see Thor hold his son for the first time and take their
picture as I had done with his older brother when he had his child. There’s nothing
as special as a grandchild regardless of whether it’s a boy or a girl.
At the time, Thor and
Amber and their family lived in Lynnwood and I tried not to make a pest of
myself, but managed to get out there at a minimum of once a week. I have so many
photos of Xander in his first year, and beyond for that matter, that I can look
back and recall what we were doing and what was going on.
Amber had great milk and
Xander soon became a little bit chubby, but he was such a happy baby and we all
delighted as he developed each new ability even though that meant he was
growing. I don’t remember quite when we reached the point where Xander would
come here one day a week and spend it with me and Grandpa John. John was
thrilled with Xander’s hair because it had a lot of red and John had been a
redhead when he was small. I wonder if Xander will grow into freckles like John
did…so far not.
From Buy Nothing, I obtained
a car seat which allowed me to pick up and deliver and take Xander various
places. I have so many great memories of all the things we did whether they
were here at the house or out and about. When he was just a baby, I could take and hold him and sing him a little song very quietly. He always immediately calmed and went to sleep.
“Hush little Xander, close
your eyes,
“Nana’s going to sing you
a lullaby,
“Hush little Xander, go to
sleep,
“Nana’s here and she will
keep,”
“La la la la la la la la.”
I would simply repeat
those lines over and over and in no time, his eyes would be closed and he’d be
sound asleep. For most of the time I had him once a week, he took a nap and we
always cuddled up in the big chair and I would sing. I didn’t call it a nap,
but our “la la” time because after repeating the lines a few times, I’d go to
the la la and just repeat softly over and over. There were times in that chair
when Nana took a little snooze too. That was the best time, holding that little
warm body and watching him sleep.
We had lots of adventures
together, sometimes just the two of us, sometimes we included his sister if
there wasn’t any school, and sometimes with Nana’s friends. Amazingly, Nana’s
friends didn’t mind the little tagalong because he was always so good. I
remember going to Alderwood when they had the Lego exhibit there. Xander walked
up and down the mall and came when it was time to move on and even let my
friend hold him for a photo.
Another time we went to the Japanese Garden and Xander ran up and down the paths, but never strayed too far from the three (Claudia and Maryanne) of us. When we left the Garden, we went to a brewery/restaurant in University Village. Xander sat beside me on the bench and his behavior was excellent. When he’d had enough, he told me he wanted to go. I told my friends to finish their beers because I wanted to change him before putting him in his car seat…he’d be asleep before we left the parking lot.
Last spring, we drove to Greenwood Avenue North and caught a bus to the zoo. That was so exciting for him and we had so much fun at the zoo that, of course, he fell asleep on the return trip. I was able to wake him so I didn’t have to carry him to the car.
Last year for Xander’s
birthday, Nana gave him a ride from Kenmore to Lake Union in a float plane…so
exciting. The pilot offered to let him sit in the co-pilot chair, but Xander
said, “No thank you.”, and the pilot said he probably wouldn’t be able to see
as well from there anyway.
This year has, of course,
been quite different because of the pandemic. Not only did I lose John last year,
but I pretty much lost Thor and his family this year. Since I have immune
system problems, I cannot just go hang out there or have them here to hang out
or even go places. I think the car seat can come out of my car now because I’m
sure Xander is too big for it now…it barely fit the last time.
Anyway, sooner or later,
this craziness has to end. Meanwhile, here are a few of my favorite photos of
Xander.
