San Francisco wedding weekend

We got back last night from our trip to San Francisco for my friend Stacy's wedding.  It was a wonderful weekend, and both Carmen and Jayden were great.  :)

We flew up Friday the 13th and everything went smoothly, thank goodness.  Jayden passed out during takeoff and woke up right around when we landed.  It was as if we had planned it.  The traffic was terribly on Friday so we ended up missing the pre-wedding dinner.  I was pretty bummed but there was no way we would have made it out to the dinner and back again while keeping Jayden sane.

Saturday morning was the big day.  The ceremony was at 10 am at a Sikh temple in the east bay.  Carmen and I weren't sure how the day was going to go, since it would require Jayden to keep something on his head and to sit still for an extended period of time.  It turns out he did a really good job of keeping something on his head.

Jayden and daddy, before Carmen switched to a red head covering to match Stacy and Kamal's wedding colors.

Hanging out on the stairs.  This is before the socks came off.

It had orange on it, so we used that to encourage him.  And the fact that everyone else had something on their head also helped,  I think.

As far as sitting still, the first seven minutes went okay,

Jayden sitting next to me for about 43.2 seconds.  

but after that it was pretty much a free-for-all.  He started running in circles, into and out of the ceremony room.  It wasn't the worst thing in the world, he was mostly quiet, but it felt very disrespectful and so I grabbed him and we went to an upstairs area where I could move around a little more to keep him quiet.

Jayden taking a picture of me and him.

The beautiful couple.

That afternoon we went to a park near our hotel and met my friend Tamara and her girlfriend Samantha.  They brought their dog and we just hung out and talked for a couple of hours.  Carmen primarily followed Jayden around while I talked to my friends, but he got to talk a little too.  It was fun and so nice to relax and let Jayden run free.

That night Carmen and I went to the reception

One more of the newly married couple - they're so great!

while my friend Monica stayed with Jayden in the hotel.  He was a little hysterical when we left but she said he calmed down quickly.

About 86 people at the reception came up to me and told me how cute Jayden was and how good he was.  So I guess he wasn't too obnoxious at the ceremony.   :)

One of the most amazing things about the weekend is that Jayden actually slept in the hotel crib both nights and slept the entire night.  It was amazing.  And so nice for me and Carmen, too.  Sleeping with Jayden in our bed is cuddly, but he thrashes so much that neither of us sleep well when he's in our bed.

Sunday we went to brunch with my friend Vanessa at a fabulous restaurant in SF called Brenda's - they make French soul food.  It's amazing, but we were completely stuffed afterwards.  Jayden ate some beignets, which he enjoyed, as well as at least half a pancake.  After brunch we still had a while until our flight so we drove around until we found a park and a place to walk around.  We found a place called Lands End Point.  Jayden was a great sport, and got a lot of his energy out.  He ran all over the place, climbed up and down some serious stairs and had a great time playing in the dirt and rocks.

Running in the dirt - one of his favorite things to do.

The view from the park.

The Golden Gate bridge.  It was America's Cup so there were thousands of boats on the water.

Hanging out in the dirt with some rocks.

Our flight home was delayed about an hour, which was kind of a bummer.  We had arrived at the airport early to be safe, so we were at the SF airport for close to two hours before we boarded.  And we were in a super small plane so the car seat wouldn't fit.  That meant Jayden was in his own seat and it was my job to control him.  Turns out he was great, again.  I wouldn't have wanted to have had more than an hour or two flight - I think he would have hit his wall.  But for the hour we were in the air, he was great.  I just count my blessings every day that we ended up with such a wonderful little boy.

And today was Jayden's 2 year appointment; he was again in the 95th-97th percentile for height, at almost 37", in the 85th (or so) percentile for weight, at 31 pounds - I swear he's heavier than that, and in the 90th percentile for head circumference.  The doctor suggested we consider potty training soon.  So maybe once we get back from our various travels in October we'll start exploring that option.  There's too much going on in the next month to start now.  But it does make sense to start teaching him more regularly so that he understands how to identify the feeling of "having to go!"