Our X Man

Our sweet little Xander is not so little anymore. He's creeping up on me and, at the rate he's growing, should surpass me in the next year or so. He loves to look nice, styling his hair every morning, and always makes sure to get his axe spray on!

But he still refuses to wear jeans which makes for some rather interesting school pictures. Can't say I'm a fan of the whole dress shirt with track pants look.

One of the qualities I love about Xander is he's comfortable with who he is and doesn't worry what others think. That kind of confidence serves him well in many situations, including dressing up for Jump Rope for Heart as a disco man.

He's pretty proud of showing off his disco moves!

And I guess he fits right in with all the other crazy tween and teenage boys in this area by totally thinking shorts are acceptable wear for any kind of weather...even negative degrees!!! When I told him it was in the single digits outside and he would probably want to go back upstairs and change, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "So?" Crazy kid!

Just like my other two, Xander loves to play outside. He took full advantage of all the snowy days, playing for hours building snow forts, digging tunnels, and making a few snowmen. This was the backside of the skinny little guy he built.

Xander definitely has a love/hate relationship with Noah. For the most part they get along but Noah can be a little trying from time to time and knows just how to push Xander's buttons (and mine...and David's...and Savannah's). Noah idolizes Xander so I'm always trying to encourage him to try to be the best big brother he can be but sometimes wrestling Noah to the ground is the only option.

Xander continues to have the special touch with babies and his absolute favorite is his Sunday School teacher's little boy, Gage.  He has a serious baby crush on this cute little guy and he took care of him for most of the night at a recent ward activity. I only wish I could have gotten a picture of the moment when Gage gave Xander a big hug and a kiss on the cheek...it seriously just melted my heart.

For most of the winter months Xander was involved with his basketball team, the Mavericks. He had such a great time playing and got very into his games.

He's becoming a great defender...

and wasn't afraid to fight for that ball!

He made several baskets this season, including a few three pointers. He actually had parents yell "Shoot it" when he got the ball outside because he made some decent shots from farther out.

Although he mostly played forward, Xander did get a few opportunities throughout the season to play point guard.

And then it was playoff time!

Xander's team had had a decent season but had to play a really good team in their first game. They fought back in the last quarter from being down 10 points and were able to tie it up!

But the other team was able to pull out the win in the last minute. Xander was crushed and started crying when it was all over.  Seeing my son so heartbroken brought me to tears. Several of us moms had to give our sons big hugs after that tough loss. Oh, well, there's always next season.
And now on to baseball! Xander has started practicing with his new team, the Rockies, and his coach has said that he'd like to give Xander some time on the pitcher's mound this season. Obviously Xander is super excited about that so we'll see how it goes. Xander is also thrilled that the O's are back to playing as well. He made a "Birdland" in his room, hanging all the pictures of his favorite O's players on his wall next to his bed.

Some other activities that kept Xander busy this winter were cheering on his Denver Broncos (yes, it hurts), helping me in the kitchen a lot, and reading a ton and ton of books as well as attending the monthly Black-eyed Susan Book Club meetings at his school. He was also one out of 10 kids in the 4th grade that was invited to participate in an essay writing contest to win a Ben Carson scholarship. Unfortunately his essay was not chosen but we were still super proud of him for even being selected. He's still plugging away at piano and sax and continues to work on his musical pieces for his spring concert and recital. He loves spending hours coloring, drawing, writing stories, playing Legos and Star Wars, and exploring outside with friends. This picture he hung on his door captures Xander perfectly!