How could I not be scared for Xander for his first Halloween? I knew Tammy had something wicked in store. Something that potentially could lead to a grip of therapy down the road. And boy, she delivered. For the record, I had no part in this. That’s my story, your honor, and I’m standing by it.

Here’s chicken-boy with Kathleen and Tam at Amy’s birthday party.

You can almost see the big bead of sweat from the really hot costume going down his brow.

I’ve always known about the miniature steam train ride in Tilden Park because I’ve ridden by it lord knows how many times on Grizzly Peak. I always figured it was some hokey kid-trap but we gave it a shot on Saturday. It was actually surprisingly good. The Redwood Valley Railway up in the Berkeley hills is good bang for the buck at $2/head and kids under 2 free. The 12 minute ride covers 1.25 miles of nice scenery.

All the kids there seemed to be having a blast. What appropriately summed it up was a parent dragging a pouty kid off explaining to him that they already rode it twice. LOL. Alrighty then.

The long train of cars offered open and covered car seating. We opted for the open seating to get the most of the scenery.

Here’s Tam and Xander posing with the mini steam engine that just got done dragging our carcasses around.

We live just below Montclair but haven’t had the opportunity to try out many of the eclectic dining options there. I’ve been by Il Porcellino countless times and finally made the call to try it out Saturday night. With Xander in tow, I was keen on hitting a place that was kid friendly, and the information at Yelp indicated that they were. And it was really close to home in case we had to get back in a hurry.

The staff was very welcoming and attentive. I spotted many families with little kids so we fit right in. That’s not to say the place was a screaming madhouse — it was a calm and homey setting. White tablecloths just go a long way for ambiance. Everything we had was quite good, ranging from my butternut squash soup and risotto to Tam’s Della Casa mixed salad and Gnocchi Bergamasca. I think my mom’s Fettuccine ai Frutti di Mare was a bit rich for her taste, but it looked good. Everything seemed to be homemade and was just right in portion sizes.

The prices were very reasonable so I can safely say that we’ll be frequenting Il Porcellino with our own il porcellino!

Ah, a beautiful fall week in New England. What’s not to like?

We did approach this trip with some trepidation since this would be the first time Xander would set foot in a plane. We had no idea if he got my fully functional eustation tubes or Tam’s…um…less than fully functional ones. We prayed for our own sanity and that of everyone else sitting within earshot (read: the entire farking plane) that it would be the former. And toting along everything that he would need during the course of a week compounded the already less than fun packing process.

Luckily, Xander didn’t so much as bat an eyelash at the airplane experience. Just business as usual: eating, “walking”, pooping, sleeping, and cooing. I do have to mention that it’s shocking that United’s fleet of 757 aircraft doesn’t have changing tables. We had to settle for changing him at our seats since that allowed us the most amount of room. Balancing a large, thrashing child on the toilet lid was fun only once. Don’t worry, the lavatory was still clean when we did that.

We arrived in Boston to amazing weather. I was expecting it to be much colder and far rainier than it actually was. We definitely weren’t complaining. Tam and Xander spent the week in Andover staying with her cousin’s family while I spent the majority of the week in Cambridge attending the mostly good User Interface 11 Conference.

Apparently the mission this time to New England was to get an eyeful of really great Fall color. Unlike last year when we went a bit too early, we managed to hit it just right. Apologies in advance to any sisters-in-law that might bear grudges.

But the major milestone of the week was when Xander finally figured out how to roll over. I missed recording his first attempt because it caught me off guard (naw, he ain’t going to make it…oh crap…he did it!) but captured the second one that took place immediately following the first one. If it helps the readers out there any, the second one looked just like the first one. Really. I swear. Experience the shrillness for the first time!

Xander does everything big. Apparently there was a poop so large earlier today, the only logical conclusion was that the Apocalypse was nigh. So he had to get some rest — straight up sleeping himself into a stupor.

He’s been drinking ridiculous quantities of breast milk and demanding more. Loudly. So today marked the day Xander was introduced to solids. And I use the term “solids” very loosely since a powdery excuse for cerial mixed with breast milk doesn’t qualify in my book. Roll out the steak and then we’re talking. So here he is taking his first few “bites.”

And because I’m on a video rampage as of late, here’s the real deal.

Yup, time for more gratuitous photos of the kid. Here we have Xander sporting an outfit thanks go Geo and Sasha. Thanks guys! He looks rather…large.

One of Xander’s favorite pastimes is to suck on his lower lip. Perhaps it’s his substitute for sucking on a thumb or something. Whatever the reason, it’s pretty funny. And here it is, in the flesh.

Last but not least, huge thanks to LB and Bruce for the Radio Flyer wagon! Xander looks forward to being dragged all over the place in it.

Tam managed to capture Xander’s giggle attack the other day. He didn’t stand a chance against mom and grandma.