Not posed, I swear

Check out the interlaced hands!

He didn't poop all last night or yet today. I wonder if this is the beginning of a new, less frequent pooping schedule. That would be awesome, as long as it didn't result in poop exploding out of diapers every time.

Hancock (Cooper?) Park

The rain must have driven the parents away.  You know the kids would have been out there, regardless. ... See my Tabblo>

Mom sleep

It's interesting how I can sleep through two cell phone alarms and the clock alarm twice, but Xan kicks and waves his arms around and it wakes me up.

Been there, done that

I'm blogging live from Karma again, so stop by and say hello.

Xan rolled over the other way (to the right) yesterday morning, but after establishing proof of concept, didn't seem interested in doing it again. Not much rolling to the left anymore either. He's all, "I know I can do it. I don't have to prove myself."

Mon - Keys - A - Tack!

Me drive bus good

What's that I spy through our nasty, nasty window screen?

Why, it's a bus driver leaving a note on a car that he just sideswiped.

The owner returns.

And looks around for the culprit that knocked off his driver's side mirror.

WaterFire

Yesterday, we drove down to Providence with Gina and Matt to attend a BBQ thrown by Xan's Cambridge Chronicle photographer and her boyfriend. Afterward, we headed to downtown Providence for WaterFire, an exhibition of more than 100 bonfires floating on the rivers that meet downtown. It draws thousands of people, who walk along and sit by the river. trippy, otherworldly recorded music plays and the air is filled with smoke and sparks. The smell made me miss camping.

New Xan stats

Weight - 17 lb, 11.5 oz (back on the chart, between the 90th and 95th percentile)
Length - 26.5 in (just inder 95th percentile)
Head circumference - 16.5 in (50th percentile)

The pediatrician appointment on Friday (his four month birthday) was fine. He got the same five vaccines in three injections as last time. He cried a bit longer in the office, since he wouldn't immediately take the breast to clam himself down, which was sad, and he was cranky that evening, but no fever. He was back to normal yesterday.

Interview

Me: So, Xander, word on the street is that you've recently started
rolling over. Is there any truth to these rumors?
Xan: Oh, hell yeah. I am all OVER that blanket.
M: I've also heard that you only turn over to your left, never to your
right. Why is that?
X: That's just the way I roll.
M: Um, OK. What's in your future? What can we expect next from the Xan Man?
X: I'm working on a ton of projects I'm excited about. There's this supported standing thing that has a real hula-dancing/Elvis-hip-shaking vibe, and a leaning tripod of Xan that may turn into sitting; I'm still seeing where that takes me. Also look for some tummy to back rolling soon.
M: Sounds terrific. Well, thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I know you're very busy and understand you've been a bit under the weather lately.
X: Yup, we've all got snot coming out everywhere and sore throats, but you still gotta keep working, you know, keep yourself busy.
M: Well, all of us here at blahdiblog hope you and your family get better soon, and I'm sure we'll be seeing great things from you.
X: Thanks, ma. Now back to rolling.

Rolling

He's got even faster since postin that movie less than an hour ago. He'll hardly stay on his back more than 30 seconds before flipping to his stomach, then gets mad to discover himself there. Put me back on my back this instant! Must. Keep. Rolling.

I saw it!

He finally rolled while I was watching, and Bill was there too. Later this morning, I caught it on camera.

Oooh, hands!

For Nonnie

Ok, here is is from the front. No smile, though, sorry. It's hard to take a picture of him smiling because he usually smiles at people, but is fascinated and distracted by the camera, so his smile fades and he just looks thunderstruck.

Movie Star

A student-run production company is remaking a Ben Stiller film from the 90s, Flirting with Disaster. Xan is going to be 1/3 of the baby in it! The other 2/3 thirds are a hideous doll and a teeny 12 month old girl. You can check out the remake website here. The movie will be done next summer.

Life and parenting in Cambridge

Yes, this is all true.

-At the prenatal interview with your pediatrician, you tell her that you're pretty sure you'll pick her, as long as there aren't any red flags and she jokes, "Don't worry! I'm not a Republican."
-You have lenthy email discussions with other new moms about your sex lives (or lack thereof) and how to deal with your post-baby (aka menopausal) vaginas.
-A few men sit down at the table next to you and the oldest one says, "This meeting of union xyz is now in session" with a chuckle. Over the next half an hour, several busdrivers and construction worker come over and hand him money.
-A local university professor calls a friend of yours to set up a playdate with her child. The kid shows up with his nanny.
-Your baby's hat flies off in a windy intersection. Two men race to retrieve it for you and the slower one smiles: "Aw, man, I wanted to be the hero."
-There is a drum circle and organic carrot cake at the one-year-old's birthday down the street.
-On a whim you can hop on the T to a movie, stroll over to dim sum in Chinatown, then to cannolis in the north end, and ride the T home again in an afternoon.

Working Baby

I'm blogging live from Karma Yoga Studio, where Xan and I are the new receptionists Tuesday mornings from 6 to 10. In exchange for our manning the desk, Bill gets to take some classes for free. Xan's a surly greeter this morning, grumpy owing to his runny nose. It makes it him cough a bit and impedes his breathing, which messes with nursing. Poor little dude. I've never seen him this unhappy. He's still managed to smile at a couple of people this morning and is now finally nodding off.

If you're in Harvard Square Tuesday mornings drop in and say hello. Karma is at 1120 Mass Ave.

He did it again!

Rolled over, that is. In the time it took me to set up a Skype call he flipped from back to front. He's already practicing doing stuff behind my back. Not a good sign.

Changing table report: China Pearl, Chinatown - YES

The women's room (but not the men's) has a standard plastic fold-down table. There's not much storefront, just a set of stairs leading up to it, so you might walk right past China Pearl at 9 Tyler St, but don't, because the dim sum is great.

Changing table report: AMC Loews, Boston Common - YES

At least one of the men's rooms has a standard plastic fold-down table in a handicapped stall. The building has a bunch of restrooms and I was too lazy to check them all, sorry.

Location: 175 Tremont St

Changing table report: Harvard law school cafeteria - YES

The first-floor men's room in Harkness Commons, which holds the law school cafeteria and is near Mass Ave and Everett St, has a changing table in the handicapped stall. I didn't check the women's room, but it's usually a safe bet that if the men's room has a changing table, so does the women's room.

Changing table report: Charles Hotel, Harvard Square - YES

The fancy-schmancy Charles Hotel, at 1 Bennett St, has a correspondingly fancy-schmancy changing table in its women's restroom. The restroom in on the second floor next to Henrietta's Table, and the table is an actual piece of furniture in a nook with a curved pad to lay your baby in. The downside is it's right behind the door without a lot of clearance. The bigger bummer is that there's nothing in the men's room.

Sneaky

Xan must have been listening and annoyed when I was talking to all the other moms about rolling over and how he doesn't, because I just turned around and was all, "Wait, didn't I put you down on your back?" Now if he would just do it while I was looking.

Triple changing table report: Peet's Coffee & Tea, Dado Tea, Starbucks, Harvard Square - NO, NO, NO

Same story all three places: plenty of room for a changing table in their one
single-occupancy unisex restroom, but nothing.

Peet's is at 100 Mount Auburn Street,
Dado at 50 Church Street, and
Starbucks at 31 Church Street.

Oh, and Tealuxe? Not even a bathroom. Incredible tea selection, though.

Crepe party

Magalie and Francois had us over for a crepe orgy that included four kinds of cheese, sauteed onion and mushrooms, smoked salmon, tomatoes, red peppers, tabasco sauce, salad, nutella, strawberries, raspberries, lemon, sugar, jams, ice cream, and more. We gorged ourselves.

Sleeping on mama's chest

Hairy beast

They're almost invisible, but you can just barely tell that Xan has hair
on his toes and knuckles and back of his hands and top of his feet.

There are so many changes and accomplishments every week that I can
hardly keep track. I know I say this all the time, but he's smiling
more - big, wide-open-mouth smiles. More giggles too, especially when
his cheeks are kissed, or he's held upside down or tossed in the air.
He's supporting himself better than ever, holding his whole weight with
his legs for several minutes and sitting in a tripod, leaning on his
hands until he topples over or folds in half so that his face is on the
floor between his feet. I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting, but
that will have to do for now. I'm almost to 1369 in Inman where I'm
meeting Amy who I met at the doula training workshop last december.

Busy

It's a testament to how crazy it's been lately that there is an
untouched pint of Toscanini's Aztec Chocolate in my freezer that's been
there for five days.

Poopster

Yesterday, we went up to the clothing exchange to meet a friend and pick up some new clothes. I was holding Xan on my hip in the back room, when I heard splat, splat, splat. Looking down I was horrified to see that it was poop splashing on the concrete floor, coming from a poop geyser out the back of his pants. Amazingly, none of it got on me, his shirt, his back, or his pants, except for a little patch smaller than a dime on the oustide of his jeans.

This morning was a poop-a-thon, too. Bill changed him; he pooped as soon as the new diaper was on, he pooped while that one was being changed; he came back to bed with me and pooped; I changed him; he pooped again; I changed him again; he pooped AGAIN; another change and he finally paused. All in less than an hour. He's since pooped twice.

Xan Goes to New Hampshire

We went on a road trip yesterday through 3 states (MA, NH, and ME) with our French comrades Magalie and Francois:

Par-tay

Before the afternoon pictured below, we went to the second birthday party of our friend Lucy. Here she is with Xan and Steve, who runs a circus school, how cool is that?

Other party pics can be found here.

Changing table report: Grendel's Den, Harvard Square - not really

Grendel's Den, at 89 Winthrop St, has two unisex restrooms, one single occupancy and one double occupancy. Neither has a changing table. You might be able to make do with the knee-height bench in the one-person restroom.

A Saturday Afternoon

It all starts with a nap
... See my Tabblo>

Changing table report: b.good, Harvard Square - NO

I love b.good, located at 24 Dunster St. Their burgers are fresh and tasty, they put the nutritional information right there on the board above the cash register, and their shakes (frappes to you wacky locals) are the best I've had around here. They have a variety of veggie burgers, grind their own meat for their turkey and beef burgers, and offer crispy veggies and baked fries that actually taste amazing.

However. They do not have any changing tables! Nor is there a suitable surface in either of their single-occupancy, handicapped-accessible restrooms. (And one is labeled men and the other women, despite the fact that only one person can go in at a time so they might as well be unisex - a pet peeve of mine.) They do have highchairs available, so someone must have thought of babies at some point. Too bad it wasn't while the bathrooms were being designed.

The rest of the pictures

Remember that article the Cambridge Chronicle wrote about Xan's birth and doulas/natural childbirth in general? Now the rest of the pictures that appeared in the paper are online. Mine are at the bottom of the page.

Lip Action

Milestone time

He started blowing raspberries around his tongue two days ago, and with
the tongue today. I've been trying to get it on camera, but no luck so
far.

Ironic

One of the chores of living in Central Square is avoiding the clipboard weilders canvasing the intersection.

"Do you have a minute to help fight global warming?"

"Not in this heat, sorry."

Changing table report: Koreana - YES

Koreana is a Korean BBQ and sushi restaurant halfway between Inman and Central Square at 158 Prospect St. Their very clean womens' room has a standard koala bear kare changing table in the handicapped stall. I didn't use it, so can't attest to its stability. No equal opportunity for dad, though; there was no changing table in the mens' room.

Net Neutrality

This is important people. YOUR ACCESS TO XANDER PICTuRES IS UNDER ATTACK! Ok, do I now at least have the grandparents' attention? Seriously, Net Neutrality is a huge issue that could shut down a site like Blah-di-blog. Telecommunications companies want to get congress to pass laws letting them restrict the download speeds and availability of sites that don't pay them money. That means that stuff that people throw up on the web as a lark, like that hilarious video of the Chinese guys doing Back Street Boys (and my site), won't spread like wildfire through the inboxs of the nation. That can't happen!

Who else is pissed? Gem sweater girl is so she and her friends made a music video to help spread the word. Check it out.

Wil Wheaton wrote a much better post on this a while back and suggested the following actions

If you are outraged, don't just sit there . . . take these steps:

1. SIGN a Net Neutrality petition to Congress:

2. CALL Congress now:

3. BLOG about this issue, or put our "Save the Internet" logo on your Web site:

4. MYSPACE: Add "Save the Internet" as a friend:

5. WRITE A LETTER to Congress:

6. VISIT our coalition Web site for more information, SavetheInternet.com

BREAKING: Xan Defeats Arch Enemy in Epic Battle

Teddy (aka Arch-Nemesis-Baby-Foe) clearly didn't expect a no-look left hook from Xan!

Changing table report: Border Cafe, Harvard Square - YES, but crappy

If any of you want to follow Lizzie's lead and send me a report, I'll put it up here. If I get really ambitious, I might even try to make a Google Maps mashup*, so they're all in one place in a graphical format, but no promises.

Border Cafe is on the corner of Church and Palmer streets in Cambridge. They have passable food that's cheap and plentiful, and good margaritas. Lizzie checked out the changing-table sitch and says, "they have one that is so close to the door there is no room for mommy to stand there to change diaper.. never mind that it is so crooked and wobbly that my little man screamed his little heart out because he thought he was falling!"

*I don't know how hard this is yet. If you have made a mashup yourself and want to give me a tutorial, I would be your best friend. (Sorry, Grace.)

Changing table report: Karma Yoga Studio, Harvard Square: not really

Karma Yoga Studio is a beautiful space and welcomes babies to many of their classes. They have several different bathrooms, lockers, changing rooms, and showers. What they don't have is a changing table. The closest thing would be the bench in the handicapped shower, which is about at knee height, so not super convenient. I've also changed Xan on the floor while I was there.

Don't let the lack of changing table discourage you from going, though. There are a million classes, and it's not often you can find a regular yoga class that you can bring your baby to. I know for sure that Jesse and Barrett welcome pre-crawlers to their classes. You'd have to ask the other instructors what their individual policies are.

Poor gardener

This sign on Magazine St made me a little sad. You know this is just going to provoke some jerk to pick even more flowers. Kids these days.