Jump N Joeys

It was my turn to host a play date again. This time I co-hosted with Sharon, another mom in my playgroup who lives really close to my house. She suggested a new place in town called Jump N Joeys. This is an indoor inflatable playground. Now, Jayden’s first time in a bounce house was about a year ago at a birthday party. I was inside with Maya and I’m not sure what happened. He either got hurt or the big kids bounced around too hard, but after that, he would not go into a bounce house and believe me I’ve tried. So I really wasn’t really sure about hosting there, but I decided to do it anyway. And I’m glad I did.

My sister, Mari, came up with her boys. We met up at the house and then drove there. Only one other mom showed up with her son and my co-host was unavoidably detained (104 fever). So the kids had the place practically to themselves. There was a small play area for younger kids where they spent most of the time and they really enjoyed it. After school let out, some other kids came to play and that’s when our boys decided to let loose and get into the bounce houses. They played all over. Jayden grabbed Aiden by the wrist and pulled him around. They were so cute to watch. My sister and I were so thrilled.

I felt like we were there for hours. And we were. I don’t think we left until well after 5pm and we got there at 1pm. Afterwards, we took the kids to dinner at Chick-fil-a. That was the perfect end to the perfect day. Jayden ate like never before. He konked out soon after and slept from 6:45 to 10pm. I was ready for bed at this point so I put on a DVD for him and let him watch it and he fell back asleep soon after.

Jayden is now over his fear and we can go ahead and get the bounce house for his birthday like we had planned.

Here's Aiden in the playhouse.
Jayden on the slide.
Sebastian looking in on the fun.

Maya stretches her legs and for the time being stays close to Sebastian.

Jayden braves the bounce house and it's obstacle course.

Maya takes on the alligator's tooth.

Maya and Aiden hang out in the egg chair.

Aiden takes his turn on the slide.

Maya looks for trouble elsewhere.

Sebastian is bright eyed!

Blue's Clues

My mom’s group organized a play date at the Orlando Repertory Theatre to see Blue’s Clues. Ok, this is Jayden’s FAVORITE right now. It knocked Woody and Buzz out of the park! I’ve been DVR’ing the shows for Jayden and he’s always asking to see the repeats. I don’t get what all the fuss is about, but I play it for him. I’ve never taken him to see a live show, but I figure there’s always a first time and since I’m planning on going with a Mom’s group, it makes it easier to manage both the kids. The other moms with just one child are usually very helpful.

The theatre is located in a really beautiful area of Orlando, full of lakes, greenery and flowers. There are small theatres, museums, and parks so it was a very pleasant ride. When we got there, Jayden saw the sign out front and he said, “Mommy, look! Mailbox!” This is a big part of the show. Steve and Blue get mail from Mailbox every day. Jayden was a little shy in meeting the other mom’s and kids, but he got over it soon enough. The kids were given a sheet of paper and a crayon to serve as their “Notebook”. This is where they keep track of their clues.

When we went into the theatre, the first thing that Jayden was intrigued with was the chair. It folded up when it wasn’t in use. And he quickly discovered that if he sat in it a certain way, it would partially fold up and his legs would go up in the air. Very cute. As the show started, he recognized the music and songs and characters. Every time he recognized something new, he would burry his face in my lap. That wasn’t the reaction I envisioned, but oh well. He got over it after about 15 minutes and then he participated in most of the show. Every time Blue left the stage, he would ask where’s Blue. And when there was a new clue, he would point to it. Maya was enjoying it too. She ate for most of the show, but when she wasn’t eating, she was completely entertained by the lights, music and characters.

After the show, we got in the long line to get our picture with Blue. The show was during Jayden’s normal nap time so he was cranky. He kept trying to get into my bag and get snacks and then he started to play with the queues even after one of the stage hands asked him not to. By this point, the other moms from the group had gone so I was on my own. One of the stage hands offered to take the picture, but she didn’t even wait for Jayden to turn around. She snapped the picture of the back of Jayden’s head. I was so mad. Oh well. I snapped a second picture of Blue and left. By this time, Jayden was going from cranky to intolerable. So I nixed my idea of taking them to lunch at Chick Fil A and letting him play in their indoor playground. Instead, he went straight home and strangely enough, he never once asked me to play Blue’s Clues for him the whole night!

This is after the show, near the stage.
Here is the back of Jayden's head and the cast of the show.

Here's a close up of Blue himself.

Here's Jayden after the show. Guess which one is true!

A) Jayden is sad because the show is over.

B) Jayden is cranky because he skipped his nap and refuses to take his picture.

The answer is B!

PS Did you know Blue was a female puppy? I always assumed Blue was a boy.

We Need More SPACE!

Ever feel like the walls are closing in on you? That’s how I feel. I’m trapped in a home that I’ve long outgrown. My first home that was large and spacious when I was single and coming out of an apartment, is now super tight for a family of four. Everywhere I turn, there’s a toy basket or an oversized toy and now that the kids are mobile, there is a truck or train or princess ride on toy everywhere I turn. If it’s not a toy, I’m bumping into the Elmo chair or the bouncer seat or the excersaucer or the swing or the highchair. I already took my coffee table and put it up in the attic. Now, I’m trying to replace my large rectangular dining table for six with a smaller round table for four. I’d get one with a leaf so that I can seat six when need be. Ok, that’s a start.

But still, what else can I do? I still have my office/spare room, but can’t use this space for now since Maya is in destructor mode. I’m pretty darn close to getting rid of it and converting it to a playroom. I would lose the futon (sleep accommodations for two), but then again how often do we have guests over? Once every year or every two years? That’s not enough to convince me to keep it. Next, there’s the computer, my desk and files. My sister gave me a great idea. She said why not get one of those armoires that would close and lock when it’s not in use. Then the kids would have the entire space to themselves. Later when they get older and I separate Maya and Jayden, I could move the armoire to the living room and it would blend in like a piece of furniture. That’s my plan in the next few months.

But that doesn’t solve the problem. Space, space. Where can I get more space? I had been toying the idea around of adding a screen room or putting up a fence. I talked it over with Esteban and we decided that it would be more useful to have the screen room first so we decide to use our income tax refund for the project. I start to work on getting estimates. I narrowed it down to one that seemed pretty good and I was all but decided on him, but we had one more estimate scheduled for the following day. So, the final contractor comes out and says, “You know, you have the perfect layout here for an add-on.” Why did he say that?

For two weeks, I start toying this idea around, getting some more estimates, calling the bank and getting them to run the numbers. I start researching traditional construction vs modular rooms or aluminum construction. I call my real estate guru and discuss it with my girlfriend Maria. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. She always keeps it real and is so great when it comes time to mull over decisions, weigh the pros and cons, and make sound choices that make sense now and down the road from now. So today, I proudly put down my deposit on our screen room. As the contractor leaves, he says, “You won’t regret it. You’ll wonder what you ever did without it.” I can’t wait!

Maya - 11 Months Old

Maya is 11 months old now. I can’t believe that it’s time to think about her birthday. We’re not having a party, but we are having family over and friends are stopping by. I am planning on baking her cake and having a princess theme. And she is a princess, make no mistake. Her personality shines through more and more each day. She is very headstrong. When I correct her, I say No! She gets highly upset. And it’s not a sob like she’s so sad ‘cause she wanted it so bad. It’s more like a shriek like she can’t believe anyone dare so no to her.

Some of the new things we’ve seen this month included a new tooth on February 8th. I felt so bad for her. She seems to have a difficult time with teething. She can also stand without holding on to anything for at least 30 seconds. She knows how to clap and is happy to do so. She can drink from a sippy cup. In fact, I had been giving her a cup to practice with once a day and mostly what she was doing was spilling it everywhere. One day we were out at the store and Maya was crying and carrying on. Jayden felt so bad for her that he gave her his sippy cup. And she began to drink and quieted down. I didn’t notice. I was so happy that she had settled down and I could finish my shopping trip. When I peek in on Maya, there she was happy as can be with her brother’s cup. So cute! Now, they share cups. It never matters what is in it or which kind of cup it is. Jayden always Maya’s cup and she always wants his.


Here she is up to no good. She's climbed onto the bouncy seat and was biting the sofa when I caught her.
And probably my greatest breakthrough is that now Maya and Jayden sleep together in their room. I usually put Maya down first around 9pm. Then I hold off on Jayden until about 10pm, when Blue’s Clues is over and he goes in. By this time, he’s usually tired and goes down without too much fuss. But sometimes he doesn’t want to go to bed yet and wakes his sleeping sister. I just rock her back to sleep. Sometimes, I put them both in the room and put up the gate and they start playing together and you can hear Jayden chatting with Maya and being so tender towards her and other times she’s crying ‘cause he’s banging into her with his ride on toys. Other times, I put Jayden in bed and Maya in her crib. I can always hear them chattering, laughing and carrying on. It’s so cute to hear them. I always want to tip toe in and spy on them, but Jayden is hip to my tricks so I usually stay away and imagine what they must be up to. When they are both in and awake together, I do story time and Maya clearly loves it. Sometimes Jayden stays in bed and other times he crawls into my lap. I’m so happy that we are one step closer. Now, if I can only get Maya to sleep through the night.

Here she is standing next to her teddy since she will no longer sit next to it in her crib.

A Visit to Titi's House

On Saturday night, I was working on some muffins. Of course, Jayden saw me at work in the kitchen and naturally assumed I was working on cookies. I said, "No Jayden. These are muffins for Titi." Titi he asked? Yes, we're going to Titi's house. For the rest of the night, all he said was Titi's house, Titi's house. Later that night, he went to the door and pointed to it and when I asked him what he was doing, he said "Titi's house." I had to laugh.

The next day we did indeed go to visit my sister who now lives a little over an hour away. Here's Jayden and his cousin Aiden. Jayden made himself quite at home with little Aiden's toys.
Here they are sharing a sofa. I bet I know what Jayden's thinking. Yeah, thanks for sharing your chair and that block, but what I really want is that chip in your hand.

Clearly, he's overjoyed at getting the block instead of the chip.

Shame on me. I forgot Maya's bib. No sooner do I remove the bib from Maya to use on Jayden, than she spits up peas and carrots all over her pretty dress. Titi came to the rescue with this cute little onsie.

Here's the newest cousin, little Sebastian. He's almost three months old. We are so pleased to meet you and make your sweet little aquaintance. He's so precious. He just melted my heart, right then and there with his little smile. Was Maya ever that little? Cause I already know that Jayden wasn't. LOL Where does the time go? They grow so quickly.

Maya was overwhelmed in the toy room. Or maybe there were too many boys. She was doing an awful lot of crying so we moved her into the living room to hang out with Sebastian. She helped herself to the toys too!

Aiden is a little imp. I love the twinkle in his eye. He's like the perfect blend of my sister and her husband.

Oh yes, the boys spent a good part of the day fighting over the shape sorter. Jayden of course wanted the sorter AND the shapes. Aiden was content with one or the other. But could Jayden share? No. Do they ever learn to share? I wonder. Here's Jayden crying and reaching out for the one shape that Aiden was playing with. We actually had to remove the sorter.

Here's Aiden having a grand ole time with his toy shape. That's my sister in the background. Don't they look alike?

Ok, I got my stuff back now. I'm happy.

We took the boys to the neighborhood playground.

Aiden was so cute. He climbed right on top of Jayden and Jayden of course had something to say about it. Such a whiner. That's it. He's not allowed to watch Caillou anymore!

Time to go back home. Everybody hop in. Uncle Serg will bring you back.

Jayden Goes for a Visit (Without Mommy)

It used to be that Jayden would come home and say “Hi home, hi Rio, hi car!”. Now, he comes home and says “Kaylie”. That’s our next door neighbor. Nicole and I have been taking the kids for afternoon walks and Jayden really seems to enjoy them. Anyway, he looks at me and says “Kaylie?” I ask him if he wants to go over and say hi. He seems to understand me and takes a few steps and turns back to look at me. “Go on” I say. He goes a few more feet and turns back for encouragement. I urge him on and think to myself, he’s never going to make it. He’s going to ring the bell. Nicole is going to open the door and he’s going to come running back. I was so wrong.

He rings the bell, the door opens, he waves good-be and he’s gone. I call him back, but it’s no use. Nicole offered to keep him and I agreed but only if she promises to bring him right back if he gets out of line. I still couldn’t believe it. I take my sweet time unloading the car and bringing the bags in, all the while looking next door for signs of Jayden. I started to unpack and organize and still no sign of Jayden. I walk outside and take a look, but there’s no sign of him coming back home. I go back inside and nurse Maya, change her diaper and get her settled. Now, an hour has gone by. Nicole has two girls of her own, including an infant so I don’t want to overdo it on his first visit. So, I grab Maya and go get Jayden. Can you believe that this guy doesn’t want to come back home. He’s having such a good time playing with Kaylie (or should I say Kaylie’s toys) that he’s actually running away from me. I had to pick him up and carry him home. What a little bugger.

Maya and Jayden Actually Start Sharing a Room

Now that Maya is older, I am desperate for two things. One is that I want her to sleep through the night. The other is that I want her to start sleeping in her crib. I would love to see her and Jayden start sharing their room. I can’t wait to do their bedtime rituals together, especially story time.

I decided that today would be the day that I tried it. I attempted to put them both down for their naps together. First, I put Jayden in his room. Then, I nursed Maya and by the time I brought her back to the kid’s room, Jayden was already asleep. Maya was still awake though, but she played for a while. When she got tired, she started to whine a little and I ran in and gave her the paci. Then she rolled over and went to sleep. I was so excited. They both slept for a couple of hours and woke up at the exact same time.

I decided I had to try again for night-night time. I nursed Maya, but she did not fall asleep as she usually does. Instead she became more playful. I brought her to the room and put her in the crib. Jayden was so happy. I went back to my room and waited to see what would happen. I immediately heard them carrying on, laughing, and clearly having a good time. This went on for a good thirty minutes. I kept tip toeing back and forth to check on them. Maya had no idea, but Jayden of course spotted me immediately. I instantly put my finger to my mouth. Shhh. He was being pretty good about it.

Then Maya started to get cranky. I went to the room and popped the paci in her mouth and laid her down. I turned around to change Jayden’s diaper and by the time I was done, Maya was asleep. Wow, what a good feeling.