On Vacation

We are adventuring on a roadtrip and will be back soon with more stories.

Typhoon Lagoon

On Saturday, it was absolutely gorgeous out. After Hanna moved on, she took all the rain and humidity away and all that was left was a beautiful blue sky and temperatures in the 90s. Esteban and I were both off so we got ready and took the kids to Typhoon Lagoon. Mari met us out there with the kids. We had a wonderful time.

We took the kids on the lazy river and then we went to the wading area in front of the pool and Maya was besides herself with joy. We took the kids into the wave pool and they loved that too. Maya had her first experience with sand and you could tell she was so curious. She dug her finger into it and carefully inspected it. She was obviously impressed with how the sand stuck to her fingers and toes. She was adorable.

When Mari got there, we broke for lunch and afterwards, we went to Ketchakiddee Creek, the play area for little ones. This was the best. There was so much to do here. Maya was beyond happy and Jayden was a maniac. Even little Sebi was all smiles and splashing like crazy. There were no cranky babies to be found. Aiden and Jayden were going down the slides and splashing around the water pad. There was even a small raft ride. We put the kids on and I was so nervous. I was at the top, loading the kids and instructing the kids to hold on with both hands for dear life. Mari was in the middle making sure they didn’t fall off the inner tube and Esteban was at the bottom waiting to catch them and help them out. They adored this ride.

Even Esteban got in on the fun. There was a section set up with three water jets that you could control with a sprayer and when I turned and look, I see him attacking the heck out of some other dads. Those dads had pushed their kids out of the way and had taken over. I was cracking up. The best was when he “won” and walked away with that triumphant smile on his face. I was staring dead at him. He wasn’t even ashamed of himself. Not one bit. Me and Mari were laughing at him.

The hardest part was at the end of the day, trying to get 4 kids rinsed and dressed. That was a zoo! But we made it through and went back to my place for dinner. We barely got to take pictures, because I didn’t want the camera to get wet. But we did get a couple of shots from the photopass people who are strategically located throughout the park.

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.