The Day At Grant Park

Saturday was another day that Brian was working the whole day. The day promised to be filled with good weather so I was going to take the boys on the train to downtown to meet my sis and dad.

Jack at the last minute decided to spend the day with his grandmother and go to a fall harvest parade. I was glad that he decided to spend the day away from me, but at the same time missed my train buddy.

So Charlie and I went off for the day. Photos were taken by my sister Maria.

Charlie of course just took the usual 30 minute nap. As he woke up, he saw the grandiose that is the Buckingham Fountain. He wanted to immediately go over and touch and play in there.

If only Charlie.....

The 10th Month Checkup

Weight : 22 lbs 11 oz
Height : 29 inches!
Head : 18 inches

Got a flu shot and talked back to his doctor when she mentioned that he has been talking more lately. He winced when he got the shot but didn't cry too much. We then did the mistake of telling the nurse to give Jack a shot. Big mistake as he wasn't expecting it and yelled and cried bloody murder for about 30 minutes.
I hate vaccinations and shots. There has to be an easier and less painful way.  Why hasn't modern medicine invented the vapor vaccinations? I said it first , so now if it is invented, I get the residuals.

Charlie's next appointment will be his one year appointment. And the baby moments are slowing creeping away from us......

The Painful Words

Jack has this thing now where he HATES that I go to work. He always wants to come with me. He always asks me to take him with. I try to tell him over and over again on how boring work is. It really is no fun to sit at a desk for 8 hours, type on a computer that every day brings you closer to carpal tunnel, and just listen to the background noise of a coworker.

Of course he doesn't see it that way. All he sees is  - Mama gets to take a train every day! Gets to walk around downtown every day! She gets to see the L, maybe have lunch somewhere nice ( I don't) , and gets to type on a computer and watch youtube all day! ( I don't, sometimes I do, but that's not important here)

Thinking this, he hates it when I come home. I am tired, I want to see my kids and play with them and I get this from Jack when I come home

Go away. I don't like you. Go back on the train.

For awhile, I would just chalk it up as he is tired or hungry and that is just hungry cranky Jack coming out. Yesterday his words just stung me. He kept saying it over and over again and his voice just got angrier and angrier. Go away, go away. He would grunt , He gave me a look that said " I do not like you." I kept thinking of what it is that am I doing wrong all this time that he is saying this? What am I not saying to him every day that isn't making him happier? I kept thinking of the stay at home mom friends that I have, that get to be with their kids all day long . They won't hear this in their lives. I never wanted to be a stay at home mom. I want to be the mom that gets to provide for her family money wise and feel good about it. Yet, when I hear this, I feel like the worst mom ever. A horrible mom that works and is never with her kids. I shouldn't, but I do.

Now he doesn't do this all night. He usually snaps out of his funk and will be normal after 15 minutes of doing this. Last night, I felt like it was all I could take of hearing that.

We do night time prayers with Jack and last night I prayed with Jack that he find understanding on why I go to work. As I prayed with him, I cried. That prayer with him last night was my plea to him to stop acting this way. After we said Amen, I said " Please Jack, please don't say those words to me. It makes me sad."
All he said was  "I'm sorry and gave me a hug.", which made me cry even more. I hate crying in front of him but last night I couldn't hold it in any longer. There is only so much that I can hold before I burst.
Hopefully things are better today and everyday.
Exhausting. It's exhausting to be a mom.

The Photos Of The Friends

Jack was watching an episode of Elmo's world where they talked about photographs. One of the stories showed a little girl taking photographs of her house and family. Jack was inspired by that episode and took his own photos that day.

The 10th Month

Here we are. 2 months away from the big 1st Birthday. Two months away from saying that we no longer have any babies in the family. Ever. Again.
I am a bit sad, especially when I see videos of infant Charlie and his infant cries, but I am more excited about Toddler Charlie. Toddler Charlie that gets to run around with the big kids. Toddler Charlie that gets to play with Jack. Toddler Charlie that gets to talk and say words!! I am anxious to meet that Charlie.

The 10th month mark has brought our most challenging days and nights as parents so far. Charlie still wakes about 3 times in the middle of the night to either semi nurse or just to lay with me so he can sleep. He also fights his naps in the daytime. This kid has horrible sleeping routines. It's not easy either since every day it's a new schedule. They are either at home or has to rush to the sitters or relax til Jack goes to school at 12:30. There is no set day where they can definitely say " at 9:30am we are home, so Charlie can now nap." That only happens on the weekends. I feel bad for Charlie and I don't blame him for not wanting to sleep when we demand him too. I hope as he gets older, a better sleeping schedule is in store for him.

Charlie has learned to talk within the past week. He has been doing a lot of  "papa, papa, papa" , has been saying "Ese" - which in Spanish means "that one."
I would like to think that he is speaking in Spanish, but he could be just saying the "ssssss" sound that sounds like "ese" .Oh well.

Jack has really been liking school. His first at school assignment was tracing O's and lines. I am not sure where school is going with the O's and lines, but it is adorable to see how Jack has traced the lines. Started off well on the top then veered off towards the bottom. Isn't that what we all did when we traced our lines?

Our 11th month starts - a certain mom turns 36 and the plans are underway for the big birthday brunch.

The Story Of The First Day Of School

I thought I would be a big blubbering mess when the time came to drop Jack off at preschool. I mean, I am the one that tears up in Finding Nemo when Marlin thinks that all of his fish children are gone...and then he finds that one egg. Nemo. (tears)
I also tear up in Tangled, when the queen comforts the crying king because it has been 18 years and Rapunzel is somewhere out there...just not at home. (tears)
Stuff like this, naturally then I would be a mess when Jack goes to school right? I thought I was going to give myself a flashback, Pixar style, with images of Jack as a little baby to the big kid that he is now.

The morning went well. I took the day off and at 12:20, off we went to school. There were parents everywhere. Kids were spilling out of the building. As a rule, we all had to line up outside the class and wait there. The teachers open the doors when they are ready. While we waited, Charlie decided to have a mini meltdown of sorts. It was time for his nap, he wasn't keen on being held and most importantly, it was time for his nap. I kept shushing Charlie while giving Jack my best smile of encouragement.

Doors opened and at least two kids decided to cry a bit. Awww. I gave them my best smile of  " It's ok to them." I don't think it helped much. The teachers told the parents that they could stay and we all did. Half of the class played while the others created and decorated their name tags that would be hung around the classroom. The kids had to bring a photo to be glued on their name tag. The photo could be of them, their family, anything that reminds them of home. Jack brought in a pic of our cocker spaniel, Max. It was funny to see all these pics of smiling kids and their siblings, with their parents at dinner, at the pool.......and then there was a pic of a dog , Max.

Jack had a good time. When we walked back to the car, we asked Jack if he had fun. He immediately said no and that he didn't want to go back. That is Jack for you, says something and means another. I have a feeling that every day to school maybe like this. He may say he doesn't want to go, but once he sees that room he is ok.

As for Brian and myself, we were far from ok. We were great. We didn't cry at all. I didn't even have time to think up of my retrospective on Jack's toddler life. I was too busy taking in the moment and just making sure that he was having the best time possible. Really, if I was a mess, what would that do to Jack? He would not want to go then.

I didn't really see any parents crying either or gently holding their kids as if they were still babies. Most of the kids are repeats from last years's preschool so I am thinking that he may have a class where there are no kids that really cry, or that have parents that cry for that matter. I am excited that Jack is going to school. I look forward to the nights when he has homework and we can help him with any projects that he may have down the road.

Saying this now, come back to me in 5 years when Jack has science projects to do. Um, here is your dad Jack. Papa is smart and he can probably help you with this project where you get to grow new bodies for worms.

After school Jack received treats galore - ice cream at Ghiradelli, a replacement DVD for one that was lost, The Incredibles, and some bath treats from Lush. yes, that smelly soap place.
He is a huge fan of the Baby Bots.

Day one. Over and out.

The Beginnings -The Fascination of Elmo

Charlie has discovered Elmo. That is not a first in the history of language, I know. But in this household, it has become somewhat of a wow factor for us. He is close to the 10 month mark and we didn't think that anything would capture his attention so soon. I think Jack was a year and some before he started paying attention to Thomas , Baby Einstein and all things PBS Kids. Charles however will be doing his usual " I will not just sit here Mama, we are walking!!!" routine when he heard Elmo's voice. 

His little face could not have whipped any faster. For a 10 month old, that is a lot to do.

But there was Elmo, laughing and talking in that adorable voice and Charlie just STOPPED AND LOOKED. Very intently. He looked at his every move, he never blinked. At one point a little smile was coming about, but quickly went away followed by a more studious look. I thought maybe he was just watching just to watch since it was something different, but when Elmo was not on the TV screen, he would begin to crawl away. When Elmo came back on the screen, his attention came fully back to the TV and would watch as Elmo talked about sleep, eating crackers or whatever lesson of the day was on Elmo's World. 

What is it about Elmo? Why do kids go so crazy over this character? I love Elmo and I think that he is the most adorable muppet out there, but I don't know why I am so surprised that one of our kids is now gravitating toward him. Are we going to become an all Elmo house now? Books, toys, shoes, socks, shorts, sheets, plates, sunglasses and all things Elmo? Time will tell. 

Update....

My husband told me today that Charlie has become fascinated with....Thomas the Tank Engine. Seeing that his older brother is a Thomas fan, that there are trains all over the house, that we have a Thomas train table, I think I saw that one coming. Phew, thanks Charlie for starting to like something that we have a plethora of already. 

The First Day of School

Waiting to leave while reading some Lego news.

Jack's new camera smile

Charlie wanted to know what the heck is all this back to school ruckus about.

A sea of parents

A wonderful photo of father and son

I found it funny that when the kids sat down, the boy sat together in one table, the girls in the other.

25 students x 2 parents each = a very crowded classroom.

I wanted to capture most of the tiny details of his classroom

Try to find Jack in this one

These little name plates will be hung throughout the classroom and they had to bring a photo of a family member or something that they love. He brought a pic of our dog Max.

My ever loving husband capturing every minute.

His first homework!! He has to color this picture.

Class ended early and most of the kids left when the teachers said it was ok to leave. Jack was one of the last kids to leave. His schoolbag is on the right.

His classmates' name tags.



After school, I treated the boys to a day in downtown. Trying to capture a photo of two boys on the bus is not an easy task.



Jack loved his day. Mostly because his mom treated him to a chocolate Ghiradelli's ice cream. And replaced his missing The Incredibles DVD with a blu ray.  



Charlie , you're next!! Just two more years for you.