Number 10 and 11 - All In One Day!

For a long time now, Jayden has been waving good-bye. Of course, I think it’s completely adorable. A couple of weeks ago though, he started to say yeah when he waved good-bye. I didn’t pick up on it right away, but one day when we were out in public, and I heard him call out and then wave. Of course, no one knows that he’s trying to get their attention when he’s waving to people’s backsides so he started to call out, “Yeah!”. Since then, Esteban and I have been slowly repeating bye-bye to him anytime we waves good-bye. And then yesterday, finally, he said it. Bye – Bye. He waved at me and said bye – bye. I was so happy; Jayden added word #10 to the list.

You would never believe it, but Jayden had two accomplishments in one day. He was home with Daddy and I was at work. Daddy was calling him over to our changing area because he noticed that Jayden had a soiled diaper. He told Jayden, “Come on. You have a poopy diaper.” Jayden responded, “No. Ca-Ca.” J When Esteban called me and told me that, I was cracking up because when I clean up Jayden after a soiled diaper, he will always try to reach down and grab something. I always say, “No, ca-ca”. Esteban asked me, did you teach him that word? I cannot tell a lie. Yes, I did. Now, Jayden tells Daddy when he’s soiled his diaper by saying ca-ca. He’s such a big boy! Way to go! Word #11 makes it onto the list.

Valentine's Day - Take 2

This year, Valentine’s Day was completely spoiled. Esteban worked late, for the third day in a row. Since he usually cooks when he gets home, that meant no dinner for us. We were both super tired and so was Jayden. He had only napped for 50 minutes at the sitters and was completely cranky. I thought that a bath would help him settle down, but he was even misbehaving there. Then, it was time for nighty-night and he wouldn’t go to sleep. This was the third night in a row. Finally, I decided to move him to our bedroom instead. Finally, he settled down. We put him in his crib and he fell asleep. Esteban ate leftovers and I had a bowl of cereal. I looked at him and he looked at me. Well, that was romantic. Not!

Jayden, Daddy and I decided to have another go at Valentine’s Day. When I got home from work, we all went to Carrabba’s for dinner. The wait wasn’t bad at all and we had such an enjoyable dinner. Great Food! Great Service! And Jayden was so well behaved for his age. He ate from every plate that was brought to the table. He had calamari for the first time, which he liked. He had salad, even though it didn’t have ranch dressing on it. Then he had spaghetti, which he loved. And of course, he helped me with my dessert. It was such a great evening. Thank God for second chances.

Play Group: For Jayden or Me?

After being part-time for about a month, I really started to get into a routine with Jayden and the house chores etc. I got to thinking about finding a playgroup for him to participate in. I thought it would be great for him to interact with other kids and nice to get out of the house, plus I could meet other people as well. Good times, right? As time went on, I had a hard time finding a group. I became more and more desperate. I was going crazy with Jayden in the house. No! Stop! Come here! Jayden! It was and is never ending. PS It’s especially great now that Jayden says NO when I ask him to come here.

I felt this overwhelming need to find other women who could relate to what I was going through, plus I feel really bad for my girlfriend Maria who has to listen to my every complaint. Trust me, being naturally emotional and pregnant to boot, there are plenty of complaints. To be honest, I even forgot why I was looking for play group to begin with. Hello? For Jayden. Oh, yeah. But what about me? I need to have other women friends. I need allies. I need to be around other moms of toddlers. I need support, guidance, and reassurance that I can do this. I can be a good mom too.

Finally, I caught up with my neighbor and shared with her some of my frustrations. To my surprise, she said she was interested in the same thing too. Really? Someone else who feels like running in the opposite direction of their child? I was so excited. I could barely contain myself. We set it up and today, we had our first play date. All week, I was looking forward to it. Was the play date for me or for Jayden? Don’t answer.

We took the kids out to the park. Her daughter is just 6 months old, but sat in the swing happily, next to Jayden while we chit chat. Then, we fed the kids. Jayden was done with lunch really fast. He was more interested in running and playing. So I chased him around for a good couple of hours. He ran in the grass, looked for sticks, tried to run away from me, and made his way to the swings. He’s improved so much. He climbed the stairs almost all by himself and went down the slide about 5 times before I dragged him back to the swings. Mommy was tired. There, I joined my neighbor where we chatted some more while I pushed Jayden and she rocked her baby to sleep. Finally, we gathered our belongings and I dragged Jayden away from the park. I had to carry him of course because clearly, he did not want to leave.

When we got home, I was ready for a nap, but Jayden was warmed up and ready for more action. How did that happen? Good thing Daddy was home and took him out to the yard to play for a while. I recharged my batteries with a shower and a quick rest on my recliner. It felt so good to have someone else to talk to while I ran around after Jayden. I can’t wait to do it again. We’re shooting for next Monday. I also finally got a hold of a Mom’s Club chapter in my area. They are sending me more information. I can’t wait. Finally, I am creating a win-win for both Jayden and I. Jayden gets to run around and play and I get to meet new people in my area. What a relief, for us both I’m sure.

Playing and Laughing, Kicking and Screaming

Today, I was putting in a load of laundry and Jayden followed me out to the garage. He immediately went towards his Radio Flyer Bike that he got for Christmas from Titi Mari. The last time we tried to put him on it, he just didn’t get it. He wouldn’t keep his feet on the pedals and then he wanted to drag his feet on the ground and finally he wanted to hop off so he could push the bike instead of ride it.

Esteban was going to feed Rio and let him go out to take care of his business so Jayden and I quickly followed with the bike. We put Jayden on it and this time, he kept his feet on the pedals the whole time. I pushed him up and down the street until I got tired. Then Esteban took over. He pushed Jayden until it got dark and every time he pushed Jayden back up the driveway, Jayden would say, “No.” It was hilarious. Finally, we dragged him in, kicking and screaming, but I as all smiles. Jayden is a great joy to be around and I am blessed to have him.

I just can’t wait for Maya’s arrival. I know she’s going to complete our family and I can’t wait for the four of us to be out playing and laughing and kicking and screaming. She’s going to fit right in. She’s so active. Poor thing is running out of room and moving in ways I never experienced with Jayden. Sometimes she’s dancing and other times she’s boxing. She pushes and stretches all the time and my belly looks like something out of the Aliens movie. Esteban finally saw my belly in action tonight. I have been hoping for Jayden to feel the movement, but so far, that has proven to be impossible. Most of the time when I am holding Jayden, Maya is sleeping. When she moves, it’s so quick and unexpected that I can never get Jayden to see or feel her.

I’m getting ready to have another growth spurt because last night my stomach was super itchy and this morning I found a new stretch mark. I think it’s so interesting how different this pregnancy has been from Jayden’s. With Jayden, I had a few stretch marks under the belly close to the bikini line and a few on the side. Now, my belly looks less like a basketball and more like a lump. It seems that she’s stretching more to the sides so I’m seeing more stretch marks closer to the belly button. It’ll be interesting to see how my stats change at my next visit.