Progress? Could it be?

Life has been so hectic since Maya joined us. I have often felt like I was running ragged trying to keep it together. Nursing was taking its toll on me. There were nights I thought for sure it was God who had rocked Maya to sleep. Figuring out what to do with Jayden to help him adjust to being a big brother was making my life impossible. I was having more temper tantrums than he was. Poor thing must have thought I was losing it. Time was flying by, but the situation was getting worse and to top it all off I was supposed to figure out how to manage my home and be a good wife too? End my misery please.

Well, time continued to march on until even I noticed that I wasn’t hearing myself complain as much. All of a sudden when Esteban called home to check in on us, I wasn’t bitter and angry that he’d left me one more time to do it all alone. All of a sudden, I wasn’t going on and on about how terribly Jayden was behaving. And yesterday, it hit me. Life with Jayden and Maya was getting easier. Could it be?

All of a sudden, I’m not screaming like a madwoman. I’m rarely spanking Jayden. I’m hardly needing to use time outs. Esteban calls to ask how I am doing and I respond fine. What’s Jayden doing? Playing. Where’s Maya? Sleeping. What’s this? All of a sudden, I am finding pockets of time to get things done around the house and even check emails. Heck, Esteban and I are finding time to be husband and wife. What’s happening? I’m not sure if it's because nursing is getting a bit easier or if it's because I'm including Jayden as much as I can in my nursing sessions. Maybe time-outs are working or maybe Jayden is getting used to having a fourth family member. It could just be the combination of time, practice and patience. Whatever it is, I am thankful.

Finally, I am working towards establishing a routine that works for our family. I thank God because I know he sent his angels to help me out. I needed that. The house feels more peaceful. I am getting more rest and Jayden appears to be happier. Maya is more calm now that the noise/activity level is down. And even Esteban is finding ways to spend more time with us and sometimes even coming up with family outings on his own. I feel like I’m on my way to being the mother I know I could become.

Jayden's Latest Words

At the age of two, Jayden has 21 words. Those are:

* Mama
* Dada or Daddy
* Ni-ni (Night-Night)
* Gracias
* Yes
* No
* Yeah!
* Ok.
* Bye-bye
* Uh-oh
* Ca-ca
* Hi
* Oh wow.
* Oh no.
* Ten-coo (thank you)
* Bess-u (bless you)
* Lub - u (love you)
* Titi (auntie in spanish)
* Baby
* Sowee (sorry)
* Hello

Jayden Turns Two!

Happy Birthday to Jayden! I can’t believe it. Where does the time go? Two years ago, I was blessed with this wonderful little boy that now keeps me on my toes and warms my heart. Today, he woke up at 7am. He came running to our room as usual and jumped in bed with Daddy. I was feeding Maya and Daddy sang Happy Birthday to Jayden. After a quick breakfast, we began to prepare for the big day. Maya was giving me a hard time with breastfeeding and I was starting to worry that I would never be able to put her down and prepare for the party. Finally, I got her to sleep and Jayden went with Daddy to get some last minute things. I pinned a Birthday Boy ribbon on his clothes and sent him on his way.

I began to work put together the food platters and get things in order. When Esteban came home, he gave Jayden his bath and put him to bed. Then he helped me with decorations. Before I knew it, we had everything put together and ready to go. Both Maya and Jayden were still sleeping so I showered and even got to take a 30 minute cat nap myself. The guests arrived around 3:30 and Jayden was still napping so we welcomed guests and invited them to help themselves in the kitchen while I got Jayden dressed and ready. He looked so cute in his birthday outfit. He was a little surprised to see this many people all at once, but he handled it well. He went straight for the gifts and began to open them. This was so much fun. All the kids wanted to help him and they carefully made sure that the cards were separated and that Jayden got to each and every gift. Daddy missed this part because he was picking up the cake. Sorry Dad.

When Esteban got back from the store, he got started on the grille and the time seemed to go by so quickly. Before I knew it, people were starting to leave. We decided to cut the cake before anyone else left. We got the kids organized around the table and Jayden wasn’t really sure what to make of it. It took some convincing to get him to stay in place, but because he kids were all there, he stayed put. When we sang happy birthday and he heard his name, I could tell that he was happy and excited for all the attention he was getting. He was glowing and his eyes were shining. Of course, he couldn’t blow out the candles. I told him, sopla (Spanish for blow). Unfortunately, this is also the word I use when I’m trying to get him to blow his nose so he was confused. Finally, all the kids helped him get the candles blown out and we cut the cake. From there, we moved to the front lawn for the piñata!

Last year, I made a piñata for Jayden when he turned one. We didn’t have a party for him, but it was a lot of work so I saved the piñata. It was round in shape and in the form of Mickey Mouse’s head. I loaded it with candy and party favors. (Overloaded it was more like it.) We tied it to the tree out front and since the kids were so young, we didn’t blindfold them. We let Jayden take the first swing and he knocked the piñata right onto the lawn. We couldn’t figure out how to re-hang it so the kids took turns beating it with the stick. Of course, Jayden was hysterical because he wanted to be the only one to hit it. But they finally got it open and dived into the collection of goodies. They were so cute. I ran in for the goody bags and handed them out so they could put their candies in it.

After the party, we began to clean up and talk about how well the party went and how happy we were. Most of the food we put out was gone and I was happy not to have to worry about how to fit leftovers into the fridge. Having the toys out in the living room worked well. The kids played with them, plus all the birthday presents and I had a Baby Einstein DVD playing in the background for the younger tots. Even the older kids made their way into the living room to see and play with the toys. The cutting of the cake was fun and of course, ending he party with the piñata was a blast. I was happy we had decided to keep things simple. I can’t wait to plan the next one.