Not to leave out the little one...

Dakota is growing too, in case she reads this in 18 years and wonders why she wasn't even mentioned or pictured in the last post.  She and I had a decent week, and made some progress on her nighttime schedule.  She can definitely see farther now (probably close to two feet), and she has these great smiles. They are incredibly difficult to capture, but I will keep trying.

First of all, Carmen went to a co-worker's wedding last Saturday, leaving me alone with the kids.  It was the first time I was alone with them pretty much all day.  It was hard.  But we survived.  Jayden convinced me to go swimming, so I strapped Dakota in a carrier and stood in the pool while Jayden swam laps in the shallow end.  It wasn't easy, but it worked.  And Dakota napped most of the time, so that was good.  My friend Joyce also came over later in the afternoon, bringing food and more importantly company.  It was really nice of her to stop by, since it was not even close to on her way anywhere, and she has her own family to "deal" with.  But it was much needed, and pretty much saved my sanity for the day (and turns out, for the next day too)!

On Monday we had our house cleaned, and Peter and Tatiana (our house cleaners) are so cute. They brought Dakota a present, a little play mat that she actually really likes.  And there's this little hole she can look through, so Jayden went to the other side to look at her.  Very cute.

Dakota got her first bath in the whale tub - and she loved it!  She was super calm and relaxed the whole time, and only got made when Carmen took her out.  Hopefully we have another little water baby!

The theater chairs were installed last week.  Progress is being made.  A lot of the work should be done this coming week, meaning that we should soon be able to at least put things in the rooms in which they belong.  They may not yet be organized, but at least our upstairs guest room won't be a dumping ground anymore.  AND we should be able to actually use the theater room by Wednesday, I think.

Big brudder kisses.  

In her cute (patriotic) outfit from our friends Antonella and Brad.  Seriously, such an adorable outfit.

Oh, and after a recent influx of clothing, we are now pretty much set until 12 months.  We got a couple packages this week filled with 9 month clothes.  Besides specific items, she is outfitted for her first year of life already!

A Mommy/Daughter moment before bedtime.  A somewhat rare peaceful moment for Dakota.  Yes, I'm in our bathroom, but there are only so many places we have usable mirrors right now!
I put this on Instagram, but I had a moment last night where it sort of dawned on me that I have a DAUGHTER.  There's something different about having a daughter as opposed to having a son.  I absolutely adore Jayden and wouldn't trade him for anything.  And I have fears about raising him, particularly considering the recent outpouring of hatred around this country directed at African American males (and all the statistics about arrests, prison, etc. - Carmen and I briefly talked about it,, but it feels like it's a no-win sometimes - if you're pulled over you can do absolutely everything right and still bad things can happen - how are we supposed to explain this to Jayden???), but there's something different about my fears about raising a daughter.  And they all hit me last night.  Or at least the flood gates opened.
Although I think she's going to be a tough cookie, she also feels so much more vulnerable.  And yes, I know she's not even quite two months old.  But I guess that's being a parent.

One more of Jayden.  We shared a gelato after lunch today.  So good and so sweet!

Everything else is rolling along.  Dakota is eight weeks - two months officially on Wednesday!  I feel like time is going so fast, I can't even believe it.  I have less than two months until I'm supposed to be back at work, which doesn't seem possible.  We've had some bumps over the past week, and I've been rather emotional.  Today I hit a wall and delivered Jayden to Carmen who was working upstairs, strapped Dakota in the stroller and got outside.  I'm so frustrated I don't have access to the treadmill, I'm so frustrated I can't nap because I'm responsible for the workers coming in and out of the house all day and I'm so frustrated I can't get anything organized because I'm waiting for rooms to be finished so I can move things in.  And then there's this whole thing about being completely absolutely ridiculously sleep deprived and learning how to be a family of four.  It's a steep learning curve.  We're all doing the best we can, but none of us are promising we're good at it.  We'll get there.  We have to get there.  Right?!??

Preschool rocks!

So, this past week was Jayden's first week of preschool.  I wasn't really worried with the drop-off, mostly because we've been dropping Jayden off for most of his life.  So he's used to that part.  I was more worried with how he was going to be generally with the other kids, with the teachers, with going to the bathroom, etc.  As most of you probably guessed, I didn't really need to worry, except that he came home telling us he played with "stripe shirt girl" or "blue shirt boy" pretty much every day.  I learned more names than he did last week!

With his backpack on (with almost nothing inside!) ready to head to school.  No smiles for Mama today; he was all business.

Holding Daddy's hand as we walk into preschool.  The whole family had to drop him off.

When I picked him up.  He had to show me 15 things before we could go home.  I think maybe he had fun!

Walking out of Room 3, his room.  The cubbies are on the left; the play area and nap area is directly behind him.  You can't see it, but the eating area is to the right.  

According to Jayden, this was his first day:

• "I didn't have any accidents.  I went potty before nap.  And I went potty after nap.  But when I came back my mat was gone!"  (apparently he had gotten up to use the bathroom during rest time, with the intention of returning to rest, but his teacher thought he was done!)
• "I ate peas and watermelon.  And something else, but I don't remember." (the school has a chef, so they feed him snack, lunch and snack every day - totally worth the extra money for me to not have to pack lunch!)
• "I had a litttttttle tiny cup."  (the school provides the cups too, so he was telling me about the cup)
• There was a marble run in the "lower yard" (where the big kids play), but he might not be able to show it to me because the teacher might put it away.  There was blue and yellow and green and red, and lots of different places to put the marbles.  And there was a pulley.  
• He runs sooooo fast up the hill and down the hill.
• He played with "the girl in the striped dress."  I asked if he knew her name.  He said no.  I said maybe he should find out the kids' names.  He asked me why.  So yeah.  Then Carmen said he should find out her name because she might not wear the same thing tomorrow.  I thought that was a good point.  But Jayden still thought it was fine not knowing names.  He wore a sticker name tag with his name all day - I think mostly for the teachers since many of the kids can't read anyway!
• He played "upstairs" in his classroom (there are two floors to his classroom, but they are separated by about two or three steps) with a train.  He called it was a train, but his teacher said it was a farm.  I didn't really get it, but that was his report.
• He had a problem with a girl in his class who wouldn't let him play in the house or on the swing.  He solved the problem by just doing something else, but I also suggested he talk to her about taking turns.  I want him to assert his rights, to an extent!
• His teacher (Teacher Anita) said he had a good day.  She said he rested well.  She said he seems so much older - I'm not sure if she meant because of his size or because of his personality, or both.  She seems really nice.

Days two, three, four and five were relatively similar from Jayden's perspective.  He was able to give me a few more specifics, but for the most part he played outside, he rested and he played inside.  By Friday he knew one kid's name: Grayson.  And he asked another kid his name in front of me: Landon.  So that's progress!

When I dropped him off Thursday morning, a teacher from Room 5 was watching the lower yard.  Her name was Beth.  I introduced myself and she said, oh, Leigh is my middle name.  Well I explained my full name was actually Leigh Elizabeth, and she said her full name is Elizabeth Leigh.  Hilarious.  I really like her.  And then I found out yesterday that she's moving to another school.  So sad!  

He also is learning the monkey bars.  He can swing out on the monkey bars and hang for a minute, and then drop to the ground and land on his feed.  He honestly couldn't have done that a month ago.  And apparently that's a milestone for them - being able to drop from the bars.  Beth also explained to me that the teachers aren't allowed to help them climb the ladder, but they can sort of spot and provide suggestions.  But if the kid wants to climb the ladder, she has to do it on her own.  I love that.  Such a better accomplishment for the child if s/he does it completely on their own.

Jayden, Landon and Darya (sp?) filling up their water canisters.  It was around this time that Jayden asked Landon his name.  By the way, Jayden and Landon were playing together one or two other days this week.
At one point Landon and Darya were fighting over whose turn it was at the water spigot.  Jayden pipes up with a "hey guys!  no fighting!"  That's our little teacher in the making!

Jayden's cubby.  

Also, on day 3 I started getting emails from the school.  They send out an email every day with what they did.  They look like this:

Room 3

Art- Some friends painted at the easel and mixed the paint colors together to make new ones.

Science- Some friends used the colored viewers to look out the window. They noticed how they made things look with the different colors. Other friends observed the walking sticks and noticed that some were getting big.

Math- We made groups of two by choosing another friend, and then choosing an area to work in. We also used a number scale to match the correct number of unifix cubes.

Language- We talked about the different apples that we have tasted before, and their different tastes. We discussed our schedule and various activities that we have for today. We welcomed a new friends our class. Some friends shared stories from home. We talked about how raising our hands lets the teacher know that we have something to share like a comment or a question.

Sensory- We used a variety of tools to mix pink colored sand and salt. Friends felt the rough and soft textures.

Books- We read “Bear Hunt”, “From Head to Toe”, and “Every Body Counts”.

Flannel- We did “Five Little Lady Bugs” while chanting the story, we demonstrated with our fingers the amount of ladybugs left. We did 5-4-3-2-1. We also showed 0 by hiding our hands behind our back, making a zero shape with our hands.

Manipulatives and blocks – We used the circle stackers and connected them together. Some friends worked together to put puzzle pieces in the correct place. We also used blocks to create ramps and race cars down and up the ramps. Some friends used dinosaurs along the ramps to scare fast moving cars.

Dramatic play – We

Music – We sang our morning songs. We also danced to “Tooty Ta” and “Open Shut them”.

Outside – We used a variety of collage items to glue on paper. We molded clay by using our hands and tools. Some friends rolled dump trucks down the hill side. Other friends rolled tires down the hill. We also practiced going back and forth on the monkey bars. We pretended with the little people and play house. During outside play, we also notice beetles flying around. Some friends were scared, we reassured them that they were harmless and if left alone, they won’t bother us.

I can't believe they send these out every day, but it's pretty awesome.  Oh.  And three of the four days they also splashed in these inflatable pools, and played with a water hose octopus.  The school took a some pictures, and these are the ones with Jayden:

The water hose octopus.  Finally by Friday I figured out to send his swim trunks just in case.  And then of course they didn't splash that day.  Oh well.
Also, doesn't he look like a giant in this picture?!?  

Hanging over the side of the inflatable pool.

The upside is that Jayden has loved school and really wants to go back.  I love the way they teach, I love the way they handle disputes between kids, I love the communication with the parents.  Both the director and assistant director are pretty much always out with the kids.  I actually can't figure out when they get a minute to do the rest of their work.  I am very grateful that I found this school and that they had space for Jayden.  And then I found out that Dakota for sure has a spot as of mid or late October.  I told my bosses I need to either come back to work late, or work out some arrangement where I work from home, bring Dakota to work, or something else, if they really want me back earlier.  (and based off of the last week, considering how many emails I got and how many problems I think I solved, I think they want me back sooner rather than later.  Argh.)

The downside is that we think preschool has exhausted Jayden.  He has been more of a pickle than normal this week, including throwing a huge temper tantrum on either Tuesday or Wednesday.  Probably one of the bigger ones we have ever seen.  I finally put him in his bed, in his clothes, turned off the lights and closed the door.  We left him in there for about five minutes.  When we opened the door, he had turned the light on and was sitting calmly in his chair.  He was able to make a calm, rational decision (to take a bath) and then get into bed.  But man it was hard getting there.  The rest of the week was better than that, but still challenging.  He's reached his negotiation stage - where everything is a negotiation.  "Mama, can I watch one video?"  I say "sure, but just ONE."  He watches the one video.  And then asks "I can't watch another video?!?"  And I say no. And he starts whining and asking me every five seconds if he can watch another video.  At some point I'm going to say no videos at all.  But it's really funny - the videos he likes watching are videos about Hot Wheels cars and tracks.  It's hilarious.  But they're long videos - like 15 minutes sometimes!  

All in all, it was a good first week.  Jayden definitely thinks preschool is about the coolest thing ever, which is all I was really going for.  Hopefully he continues to feel this way!

On a more serious note

I touched on this in a prior post, but I think one of the most challenging aspects of motherhood (and I am being parent-specific on this one, because that's what I see most often; I'm sure it applies to fathers in some circumstances also) is the shifting of identity.

Prior to having kids, every person has their own identity.  At times the husband's and wife's identity merge, depending on personality, lifestyle, work scenario, etc.  But for the most part, the husband and wife are two separate people, with separate interests (that sometimes merge) and separate personalities.  Once kids show up on the scene, things seem to change, at least from my observation.  Even if I love going to concerts, going to happy hour, etc., that is no longer just my choice.  It probably will be again someday.  But the reality now is that if I want to do something that's after hours (i.e., not between 9 and 5 on a weekday when the child is in daycare), I have to make arrangements.  I have to coordinate with my husband, if we're not going together, or I have to get a babysitter.  This is true for leisure, but also for work events.  That is my burden.  I don't get to be carefree; I have to essentially ask for a hall pass.

Maternity leave makes it more difficult, because my life consists of workout pants, nursing bras, air-dried frizzy hair, spit up, tears and balancing.  Lots and lots of balancing baby's needs, with almost-four-year-old's needs, and even dog's and husband's needs.  When exactly do I fit in my own?!?
But then look at these cuties.  Especially when they're smiling, but even when they're not.  That bottom lip on Dakota is something else, huh?

It's hard.  It's not something everyone can adapt to, or something everyone adapts to easily.  At times it's no big deal.  At other times it's really difficult.  It leads to feelings of isolation and confusion.  I adore my children, and often I'd rather spend time with them than place myself in a potentially awkward social/networking situation.  That has a lot to do with my personality.  I am a homebody and have always preferred to have a few close friends rather than a huge group of friends/acquaintances.  HOWEVER.  When that choice is more or less forced on you, and the majority of your communication with the outside world is via email or text, it is difficult.  Sometimes you just want to be out, in grown up clothes, doing grown up stuff, talking about grown up things. For me, the majority of my close friends live at least 600 miles away, so it's not like I can just run down the street to say "hi."  I have a couple good friends who are local, but scheduling is always a challenge.  I'd love to be able to call someone up at 3 pm and meet for happy hour at 3:30.  But, for instance, with one of my friends, we'd be juggling a 10 year old, a 9 year old, a 3 year old, a 15 week old and a 7 week old, along with two husbands who sometimes work long hours at stressful jobs.  It's just. not. that. easy.

This identity crisis crosses over to work as well.  I remember graduating law school and being determined to make a name for myself as a lawyer - I didn't necessarily know what kind of law I wanted to practice, but I wanted to be an "expert" in the area in which I practiced.  And, in many ways, I have found my area and have grown significantly over the past 7 years, reaching a respectable position in my organization and in the community.  Since having Jayden, however, my priorities and goals have shifted.  I am no longer so worried about "making a name" for myself, or even necessarily pushing my professional development.  I am more worried about balancing work and home life - and making sure that I am as available as possible for Jayden, and now Dakota.  For instance, Jayden's preschool (that he starts Monday - ACK!) has lots of events, and I plan to be available for those events, even if they're scheduled for 11 am on a weekday.  We'll see if my intentions conflict with reality, but that's the plan.

To make a long story short(er), the identity shift women go through when they become mothers is not something to be taken lightly.  And it's not really something to prepare for either.  Some women experience it in a very different way.  Some embrace it fully, leave whatever job they're working and raise their kids full-time (which, by the way, is more demanding than most any other job - if you're a stay-at-home mom you spend 100+ hours a week caring for your children, assuming they're not in preschool Monday-Friday, 9-5 and you are the primary caretaker generally).  This blogger is 35 and decided to leave her exciting, professional job to stay at home (made me think twice about my decision, that's for sure).  Others hire a nanny, coordinate with their significant other or family, and go full speed ahead into their careers, loving their children as much as anyone else, but relying on others to take care of many of the household chores and sometimes much of the child-rearing.  And others, like myself, come up with some kind of hybrid - continue to pursue a career, but with reduced expectations and in a place that offers flexibility.  This is why so many studies show that mothers who work part-time are happiest.

Having a supportive social network is crazy important.  I will say that my closest friends, whether they're moms or not, whether they're local or not, are the reason I'm still sane.  They give me an outlet, they let me be crazy and even join me in my craziness from time to time.  There are 156 movements online to stop the "mommy wars."  A website I read quite often, www.scarymommy.com, has this post (some of their other posts are useful, some not so much, so approach with a discerning eye) discussing Mommy Wars.  There is a change.org petition to make a #mommitment to end the mommy wars (I signed it - probably at 3 am while nursing Dakota!).  My friend, who is a "real" blogger (in that her blog is public, she's had a blog post published in a book and she has at least 10 followers), wrote this post about the mommy wars.  And I vote for all of them, because honestly, at the end of the day, all moms are trying to figure out who they are and do what's best for their kids in this crazy, crazy world that is doing its best to try to make it as difficult as possible to do just that.

I mean, really.  Look at her toothless smile!

I'm still not sure what to do with the rash/dryness.  Since it's not bothering her, I'm going to wait until her two month doctor appointment to ask the doctor to look at it more closely.

And this BIG boy.  With his new haircut he looks about 10.  It's killing me.  

I don't know that there is an answer, per se.  These are just my observations from the past four years, and particularly the past 7 weeks, as I think they become more pronounced once baby #2 pops onto the scene.

oops!

I forgot the videos.

First, a video from last week of tummy time.  Dakota is starting to get fussy (and oops again - I took the video sideways!), but you can see her little legs kicking like crazy and moving herself around a little bit.

I told Carmen when Jayden was little, I always thought it was silly that we had to keep a hand on a newborn on the changing table, because they didn't move.  Well, I get it now.  Dakota is just a wiggly little girl, I'd totally expect her to wiggle herself off of a changing table.

And a couple videos of big brother - little sister "love."

In the first one, he had done the same thing a minute earlier and she made some cute little noises back to him.  Of course by the time I get my camera, she stops making noises.  But you can see her react physically to him.  And she was being so patient and he was being so gentle.  But you can imagine how this "love" aka torture is going to progress as the two of them get older.  In all seriousness, I can't wait to witness it.  I have a feeling Dakota is going to be Jayden's shadow, and Jayden is going to bask in all the glory.

Happy Summer

It has definitely been summer here in Southern California.  Last week we had thunderstorms and crazy humidity.  This past week, in some areas around here, it was 97 degrees, probably close to 100 degrees.  At our house it was "only" 93 or 94.  It's just too hot.  Today it was a little better.  In an effort to get out of the house, I decided to go for a walk, of course at noon, to get lunch.  Turns out the closest grocery stores and restaurants are really only about 1-1/2 miles from our house.  It took me 20-30 minutes to walk there, and a little longer back since it's uphill.  But it felt really nice to get out and to not have to drive.  Most drivers in SoCal do not pay attention to pedestrians, so I was super careful crossing the street (yesterday when I was walking a driver turned left while I was crossing the street and probably came within ten feet of me, Dakota and Jasmine - not cool at all).

Dakota is continuing to grow and develop.  She's smiling a lot more, interacting a lot more, and making funny little noises a lot more.  It's quite cute.  I really don't remember this feedback from Jayden.  But I have discovered I remember very little of the first few months.  In my head, Jayden's first smile was at either four or six months.  But that's probably not really true.

This is Dakota's downstairs "crib."  She's been sleeping in there, and in her real crib, a lot more recently.  Unlike Jayden, I think the transition to a crib won't be such a big deal, which is awesome.  BUT.  I put her down for a nap in this crib, and she was laying straight.  By the end of her nap, she had turned her body and her legs were sticking out of the crib.  So apparently she's a mover and a shaker when she sleeps too!

Look at the long skinny legs!  I swear she's grown two inches.  I haven't measured her, and it seems a little unrealistic that she'd grow that much that fast, but she seems so much longer!

Speaking of growing, Jayden and I were talking the other day, either at breakfast or dinner, about how he needed to drink milk to grow.  So he could grow bigger and bigger.  And he said something about how I'm not growing anymore.  And then he adds "except growing wider."  Which is so not cool.  But what's even worse is that Carmen laughed (encouraging the comment) and then gave him a high five.  Seriously?  Six weeks post-partum and my husband and son are making fun of my weight?!?  At least I can understand the three year old not understanding the meaning of the comment.  But the forty year old?  I still don't think I've completely forgiven him.
[and on a side note: I am consciously not talking about weight, losing weight or anything weight-related in front of Jayden.  When we were in the park, my friend's 10-year-old son asked her "mom, should I worry about losing weight?"  She obviously told him "no."  And he said "But you and Dad always talk about it!"  I definitely do not want either of my children thinking they should lose weight - both are going to be active enough that they will be fine, I am guessing.  Also, I am planning to create a shortened version of this article, and remind myself every day not to say these things to my children.  There are some things that are worth instilling in them, but there are some that are common sayings that just don't make sense.]

I can barely remember what we did last week.  Carmen had to work late Wednesday, so Jayden, Dakota and I met one of my friends at a park while her daughter had soccer camp.  I got dinner for me and Jayden and we had a picnic in the park.  It was nice, and even better to see my friend.  She has a 14 week old baby, and is going back to work (she's a friend and a co-worker) in about a month.  Neither of us are really ready, but neither of us are ready to be home either.

And on that note.  Motherhood.  Working motherhood.  Stay-at-home motherhood.  Being fulfilled, finding your passion.  There are so many conflicting feelings.  At the second birthday party on Saturday I had a conversation with a woman who is a few years old than me and has a five year old son.  She was recently laid off from her job, and was thinking it would be an opportunity for her to explore other career paths, to find her "passion," etc.  But then another company offered her a work-from-home job that started a few days after her last day at her old job.  And she couldn't pass up the financial stability, particularly since she and her husband and son were moving a few months after that and needed both the work-at-home aspect and the financial stability aspect.  We both don't love our jobs, but we do like working, and we both don't know what our "passion" would be.  I have a tendency to resent my job when it makes me work more than I would like, or at hours that I don't like.  But I've also read articles that say finding your "passion" is crap; how many people in this world just go to work and fuel their passion in their personal lives. At this point in my life, my passion is my kids (even if I wish Dakota were one already!).  So who knows.  It's an interesting problem, and one where there is no true answer, since it will be different for every person.

Saturday was a crazy day.  We had swim lessons, and then two birthday parties, one nearby and one in San Diego.  We knew the San Diego one would be rough, but it was for Bard and Jody's son, and we couldn't say no.  We almost cried "uncle" on the way down, but decided to power through.  It was good that we did, but man it made for a long day.  We drove about 3-1/2 hours to hang out at the party for just barely 2 hours.

Pretty little lady in her Kickee Pants outfit from Bardis and Jody.
I absolutely adore Kickee Pants clothing.  Most all of Jayden's pajamas were made by Kickee Pants.  AND I learned Kickee Pants is based out of the Pacific Northwest, I think near where I grew up, west of Seattle - I think maybe even on Bainbridge Island, although I'm having trouble confirming that.  So no wonder I like them so much!

Getting ready to fly!  The boy in the background is Maxwell, his swim partner.

When we got back we were hot, tired and more tired.  While I put Jayden to bed and grabbed dinner for us (drive-thru - unhealthy, but necessary for mental health), Carmen sat with his feet in the pool and Dakota passed out almost immediately in his arms.  A very cute daughter-daddy (Superman!) moment.

I managed to not take a single picture at either birthday party.  Oh well.  I promise they were cute.  The first one was a Strawberry Shortcake theme for a six year old girl and the second was a Ninja theme for a five year old boy.

Sunday I woke up overwhelmed and exhausted.  I just couldn't do it.  I spent a lot of the morning with tears in my eyes.  I went for a walk with Dakota and Jasmine (Jayden has been refusing to go for walks in the morning, so Carmen has been taking all the walks - I decided, for mental health reasons - I needed to get out and clear my head).  It was hot, and I spent part of the time with tears in my eyes, but it was probably good I was out of the house.

Asleep on the walk.

Out and about on the path.

Then it was soccer class, and then some of our friends came over to see Dakota and visit for a few minutes.  They have a one year old son and are expecting #2 in early 2016.  I swear, if you know me and you're not pregnant, you're lucky.  There are not too many people I know who haven't either recently had a baby or who are expecting a baby in the next year or so.  I think between January 2015 and March 2016, there will be at least 10 or 15 babies we know that will be born.  And there are no twins (so far!) in that group.  And since people who are in due in March/April 2016 probably aren't telling anyone yet, there may be more babies coming!

The cool cartoon effect on my phone!

Siblings hanging out in the ball tent.  Dakota's eyes were on Jayden for most of the time, either out of fear that he'd squish her or out of adoration.  Probably the latter; I don't think she's developed the healthy fear of Jayden yet.  

Sibling love.  Probably every 12 minutes I hear a "Mommy, can I kiss her?" from Jayden.  It's very sweet, except in order to kiss her, he often has to rather forcefully pull on an arm or leg.  So if she's sleeping we try to limit the kisses to every 20-30 minutes.  

I had MY 6 week doctor check-up on Friday and I was cleared, so into the swimming pool I went!  Sort of.  Basically Dakota and I got in for about three minutes, she started screaming and so we got out.  She was really tired - I missed my window.  But she did manage to pee on me while we were in the pool.  Turns out swim diapers don't really hold urine all that well.  Oh well.  And good to know for the parent and me swim lessons - ew.

Getting ready to swim the width of the pool plus some.  He has even stopped going completely vertical when he comes up for breaths, and is just lifting his head.  So cool.

Of course a potty break in the middle of swimming.  Carmen and I were lazy and didn't want to trek water all through the house (not because it's clean, just because then we'd have to clean it up), so Jayden had his first standing up pee!  Feel free to remind him of this moment regularly when he's a teenager; it'll be awesome.

We've been playing soccer pretty much every day, which is fun, but not when it's 90+ degrees and humid.  Of course Jayden isn't bothered at all.  Although one evening last week he was playing soccer and fell down and managed to roll in dog poo.  Carmen and Jayden had cleaned up the poo, but had missed this one pile and of course Jayden feel directly in it.  He wanted to keep playing, but it was almost bedtime, so I just took his pants off and sent him out there in his underwear.  No skin off his back - he happily ran around in his shirt, underwear, socks and shoes.  I didn't get a picture, but you can sort of picture it.  Basically completely adorable.

We are still under construction.  We should be able to use our garage now, although the workers have to clear it out before we can park our cars in there.  But in the next couple of days we should have a workable driveway and garage, which means we might even be able to start unpacking our living room and guest bedroom.  I'm going to do my best to clean out those rooms, by sorting through things and throwing out things that are unnecessary.  We have so much stuff that we don't use, that we have now moved two or three times when we should have just thrown it out.  And now with two kids, we are exploding with toys, books, and general kid stuff, so I'd love to more efficiently use our storage space and to only store things that we actually *need* to store.  Hopefully I can accomplish that in the next month or two.  If you talk to me between now and mid-September, ask me about it so I can be guilt-tripped in to actually getting it done.  :)

More later.  But one last picture to leave you with - this is our current situation while I'm typing this out:

Try to focus on her.  I have showered, but I haven't washed my hair in a few days and I got a little sweaty on the walk.  :)