Maya Learns to Climb

So Maya has learned how to climb. She started by yanking the cushions off of the patio furniture and climbing up on it. Now she’s climbing on the recliner, the sofas, the chairs and this just in…
…the kitchen table! Yes, the other night I was in the office and I look towards the kitchen and I see Maya walking across the kitchen table. She was just as happy as could be. Her end goal was in sight. The mail. The started to smile and breathe loudly in excitement as she squatted down, chubby legs and all to pick it up. I calmly but quickly went to the kitchen and removed her and then spanked her bottom. Does she learn? No.

Yesterday, she climbed up on her bouncy seat, and used that as a stepping stone to climb up on the sofa and once on the sofa, she lost her footing and fell. She did a somersault and landed flat on her back. Of course I ran over to her and consoled her, but I had to wonder if that would be enough to teach her or if she was going to continue to get injured. Something tells me that Maya is going to be a risk taker, who doesn’t like to hear no and won’t quit until she accomplishes what she’s got her heart set on.

The Potty

Jayden has decided he loves his potty. In fact, he has even started to carry it around with him. The other night, we were getting ready for bed. He’s going through a phase now where he’s not sure where he wants to sleep. Anyway, we were in my room and he said he had to go to the potty so I told him to go on. A few minutes later I see him coming to my room carrying his potty chair. I’m actually laughing as I type this because it was so darn cute, but now it’s to the point where it’s not as cute anymore. The other day he was watching TV and he had to go potty so he actually goes to the bathroom to get the potty to bring it to the living room so he wouldn’t miss his cartoons. Is he losing it? I was so mad. I started to yell at him, but I couldn’t even finish the sentence because I then started to laugh hysterically. And I was definitely going to hit the roof when he came to the kitchen carrying his potty to show me he went no. 2.

Now, the later in the evening it gets, the more time this little man spends on the toilet. He has to go every 2 minutes it seems. He has to go during dinner, he has to go when he’s getting in trouble and he definitely has to go when it’s bedtime. It’s not unusual for him to say he has to go at least a hundred times. He spends more time with his underwear around his ankles than I could ever imagine. The other night, he said he had to go potty and he wanted to use the regular toilet. Now, we are still learning how to use the potty in a standing position, and we don’t have the little seat that you attach to your commode, but I know he’s pretty good about hopping up on the seat so I let him go. When I go check on him in the bathroom, he has the roll of tp spread out all over the place. I started to get mad, but then I realized exactly what he was doing. (This might be TMI, so stop now if you wish...) Since Mommy uses a toilet seat cover when she uses a public restroom and he didn't have one, he was trying to re-create one out of tp. What a child!

Where to Sleep

Jayden’s bedtime used to be 8pm. He would go to his room and play for a little while before falling asleep, by 9pm. Then when I transitioned Maya to the room, I started to keep Jayden up a little later so I can Maya off to sleep first. That pushed Jayden’s bedtime to anywhere between 9 and 9:30pm. Well, then he developed an obsession with Blues Clues. And Blues Clues starts promptly at 9:30pm on Noggin which he quickly discovered after running late a few times with Maya so then Jayden’s bedtime became 9:50pm, immediately after Blues Clues. Then came the Olympics and I lost total control of the situation. Now, Jayden is up to all hours of the night and things are getting worse.

Jayden used to sleep with me and when Esteban came home from work, he would move Jayden to his bed. Lately Jayden has decided not to sleep with me anymore and as soon as I turn off the TV, he says “I go with Maya.” I won’t mention that I am to the point where I feel like I need him to fall asleep. Anyway, now Jayden has started a new trend. Now he goes back and forth between his bed and my bed. I am guessing he does this until he’s exhausted and falls asleep. The other night, I was dying and it was 11pm and he was still awake. He came to bed and was trying to initiate play. I told him it was time for bed and when he saw I was serious, he said he would go with Maya. Great. Before you know it, he’s going back and forth. Finally, I’m p/o’d and I tell him “TIME FOR BED!” Things got quiet and I fell asleep.

Next thing you know, I wake up because I hear noise and I realize that Jayden is still awake and playing, in the dark, in the living room. Grrrrr! Now, I am instituting a strict 10pm bedtime and I’m putting the gate up. He’s not happy, but things are out of control and I feel like I have to take control of the situation.

A Long Awaited Upgrade…

I am ashamed to admit that I still own the very same hairdryer that I used in high school to create my ‘big’ hair styles in the 80’s. I never gave it a second thought. One day, my sister was over and asked if she could borrow the blower and when I pulled it out, she actually recognized it. “You still have that thing?” I couldn’t tell if she said it in shock or disgust. LOL

I don't think this picture shows how old, yellow, and crusty this hair dryer is.

Anyhow, I am happy to report that I have a new fancy hair dryer. It’s called the Infiniti hair designer by Conair and it’s very pink and very cute! This thing is so fancy, it even came with DVD instructions. I haven’t actually used it yet, but I did turn it on yesterday and I imagined myself using the blower without waking up the kids or Esteban in the morning before work. LOL It was awesome!

Weaning Maya

Some of you might be surprised, but Maya is going on 17 months and I still nurse her. I was down to twice a day, morning and bedtime. At the time when I was weaning, I chickened out and stopped the process when I got down to two feedings. I wasn’t ready yet. With absolutely no prior thought, I woke up yesterday and decided to stop the morning feeding. I mean, I have to wonder how much milk she’s actually getting from me to begin with. Last I checked it was less than two ounces. And now, I have no clue at all because my pump broke. Because of that, I was only nursing her 4 mornings a week anyway. So I gave her a bottle, which I normally do every morning anyways.

Yesterday, I was up early so when she woke up, I had her bottle ready and everything was fine. Today was a different story. I was slightly awake, but I was still tired and battling a headache so I decided to stay in bed. (Big mistake!) Maya woke up crying, like she does most mornings. I went to get her and when she noticed that I wasn’t laying her in bed with me to nurse, she started to wail! I was so mad at myself for not having that darn bottle ready, but I got it together as quickly as possible. I started to warm it up in the microwave and she finally settled down and came over to wait for it, just like Jayden does. So cute!

I know she’s not going to drink my milk forever, but she’s such a daddy’s girl. Nursing is truly the only time I have her undivided attention and it’s all about us, just us. I don’t want to let that go. Not just yet anyway.

Jayden's Potty Progress

My little man has been such a good boy, since his potty training. He goes all on his own. He even closes the door and cleans up the potty. So far, we haven’t had any incidents in public. When confronted with a port-a-potty, he was scared and backed off, but luckily I knew there was a normal bathroom just a little ways away and took him there instead. My new baby bag item is a tub of antibacterial wipes. LOL Jayden rarely wets his pull ups and if it does happen, it’s only if he sleeps in. A couple of times, I have forgotten to put on Jayden’s pull up for naps, but so far, no accidents.

Today, I came home from work to find out that he had a minor setback. He was in his favorite chair, in the recline position. His feet were up and his arms were tucked under his head and he was watching his cartoons. He’s usually only this focused when it’s just before nap time or bedtime and he’s oblivious to everything except the TV. Well, he must have completely forgotten where he was because he had an accident.

When I came home, Esteban had just finished cleaning up and he was not happy. I sure am glad I wasn’t the one home because I would have gone through the roof. Instead, I came home, Esteban told me what happened and I had a normal reaction. “Well, he’s bound to have an accident every once in a while.” He just looked at me.

The August Stomp!

We met my sister and her family and headed to Lakeridge Winery. They were having what they call the August Stomp! It was a great event. They had bounce houses, festival type foods, a live band and grape stomping. It looked like alot of fun, but I couldn't convince Esteban to get into the barrel with Jayden. We were truly blessed with the weather. Besides being a bit humid, it was gorgeous the entire time we were there. We did the wine tasting. That's always lots of fun. And no visit to Lakeridge Winery can be complete without making the grand purchase. LOL After that, we went towards the back of the property for the event. Jayden of course would not get into the bouncehouse, but after a while we lured him out to dance floor where he ran and around with Aiden and Maya, stopping to clap for the band every once in a while.

I'd also like to add that this was our first public outing since potty training and we had no accidents. Way to go Jayden!

Here's my sister's family on the way out. The kids were starting to get a little cranky.
Here's us. Notice how Jayden is refusing to take his picture. Of course. That's my little man!
After, we went back to my house and made pizzas. We had a great day! And I am so thankful that Esteban was able to come along. Thanks to his new schedule, we can do alot more things together as a family.