It's the End of the [Jayden's] World As We Know It...

Welcome to the world, Sean Gabriel Oksner! Born on Tuesday, October 09, 2007, weighing in at a whopping 8 pounds, 1 ounce, baby is now home and Jayden seems to be adjusting really well, all things considered.

The poor dog, on the other hand, is entirely another story. . .

Now that our world now revolves around another little person, we decided to move our blog to a more family-focused location. It won't be updated nearly as often - at least until Peanut is sleeping through the night - but I hope to pop some new pics up there soon.

Come visit the Oksners of AG at our new blog, "Chronicles of Oksnernia," at http://oksnerfamily.blogspot.com/.

And thanks to everyone who has been a loyal reader of Jayden's World!

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

Nope, no baby yet.

Thanks for asking. For a Type-A person, the waiting seems interminable! If he doesn't come by Tuesday, my doctor said we will have to start "discussing options" in terms of induction. I am REALLY hopeful that it doesn't come to that.

While you wait with us, enjoy this short clip my dad took while playing in the backyard with Jay Jay. Our orange tree, which should really be put out of its misery, sheds unripe rotten oranges with painful regularity. Since my dad was already making our yard look beautiful, he decided to involve Jayden in the process. They set up a trash bucket and practiced tossing fallen oranges inside. Except the Little Man tended to cheat, walking right up to the basket and saying, "1, 2, 3 BASKET!" My dad tried demonstrating by example how to toss the oranges in from afar, but no dice. Oh, well.

Make Yerself Useful, Kiddo...

As we all continue the endless waiting game, our posse of parents has been working their collective tails off all week. Staring at my belly wondering when the action will start was getting kind of old (yeah, tell me about it!), so Grandma and Nana have been alternating the cooking, cleaning, laundry, watching Junior, etc. Meanwhile, my dad mowed the lawns, washed the cars, etc. [Yes, I am extraordinarily lucky.] I have been waddling around trying to help where I can, whenever that does not involve bending, lifting, or otherwise doing what normal people have to do day-to-day.

The main challenge: Anywhere Grandpa happens to be, so too goes Jayden. He desperately wanted to help - and while mom was able to hold him at bay during the lawnmowing portion of the day, carwashing was a different story entirely. So after soaping and washing, my dad tossed Junior a rag so he could help dry. And Nana happened to be nearby with a camera. At left, they are working hard to clean what was a very dirty car.

In the photo below at right, Jayden is polishing the sideview mirror with meticulous care. It really is a crackup to see him so focused. He loves to help, be it emptying the dishwasher or sponging off his place at the table. The trick is to find things he can accomplish fairly easily without making more of a mess. I sense this will become second-nature once baby arrives and I need a diaper, a bottle, whatever.

Miss Melissa noticed yesterday that Jayden hasn't totally been himself lately in class. He flatly refused to help with clean-up time and she chalks it up to all the pending changes in his life. Dunno if that is the case or not, but I find it amusing how his behavior at home is usually the mirror opposite of how he behaves in school: desperate to help at home and refuses at school, or like the other day, she commented how he said "please" automatically (no prompting) and that very same morning he demanded that I get him a bottle. When I prompted him to say please, he refused (and when I likewise refused to give him the bottle, an epic meltdown ensued).

Basically, he has been alternating between Angel and Terrorful Two Year-Old. My dad captured him as the former during recent backyard play:

What a Wonderful World...

Here are some photos I cleared off the camera in trying to make room for new baby photos. (Yes, assuming the new baby decides he wants to come out of his cozy lil' sac and join us here in the Real World).

The one on the right is from Liora's recent birthday party at the gymnastics studio in SLO. Aunt Wendy and Dada took Jayden during Wendy's recent visit, and Mommy stayed home in bed. Seems to be the pattern lately, just lying around, listening to my uterus doing NOTHING as we all wait wait wait for labor. *sigh*

When my parents last came up for a visit, in August, we all took Jayden to Supercuts for a long-needed trim. My stylist, Stacey, did the honors. We made sure to bring Jayden's Backhoe - his comfort object, if you can believe that - and he was quite the trooper. He actually could use another trim, but I think his world is about to be rocked enough without adding more angst into the mix.

Eviction Notice

Spent Sunday at the hospital with contractions coming every 4-6 minutes but no progression of labor. Called my parents, who came up immediately from the OC. We were sent home Sunday afternoon and have been in a waiting waiting waiting pattern ever since. I am done with this pregnancy. Not really looking forward to labor, but looking forward to mostly having my body back.

That's the latest. Jayden doesn't seem to mind that baby brother hasn't arrived - his grandparents are here and that is enough entertainment and excitement, for now.

The pool continues as people guess if this little guy is also waiting for his due date, like big brother. That would be Thursday. I hope hope hope that that is the case. If not, I have already written an eviction notice. Just need to have it notarized and presented to the little guy:


Dear Baby #2,
Please accept this as your written notice that you are to vacate the premises within 24 hours. You should begin packing your things at this time. While you have been a good tenant, we feel it is time for you to move on (and out). You have simply outgrown your residence and frankly, you are making others (mainly your mommy) very uncomfortable.

We will however offer you another place to stay. We have a wonderful place designed with just you in mind, it's called the nursery. Please start the process to remove yourself and your belongings no later than 24 hours from the date of this notice.

Thank you.
Mommy & Daddy & Big Brother Jayden

The Turtle Days of Summer

About a year ago, while tootling around the neighborhood on one of our daily walks, we came across a house with the biggest turtle pets imaginable, meandering and munching the grass. Seriously, the Santa Barbara Zoo has nothing on these turtles.

We soon made that house a stop on our daily walks. We got to know the owners and their involvement with the Too SLO Chapter of the California Turtle and Tortoise Club.
They know that Jayden is a huge turtle fan. So they introduced us to Sultan, Smiley and Rocky (the three biggie turtles), and the menagerie of other animals in their abode. They even gave Jayden a turtle toy that he promptly named Murray (after his favorite Wiggle) and continues to bring with on our walks.

Last week, as we were on our way to a playdate, we stopped by the Turtle House (as we have so dubbed it) and met a whole new crop of baby turtles. Jayden got to hold and pet and play with one of them. I'll admit, I have never seen such a small creature before! Here is a photo of Jayden and his new friend.

Aunt Wendy Visits!

No baby yet, thankyewverymuch for asking! I am heading into week 38, with the occasional low-back twinge and more frequent Braxton-Hicks contractions. We keep wondering, "is this it?" "is this it?" It could literally be any minute. There is apparently a pool to see when family and friends think Baby #2 is going to arrive. I wish I could offer some insight. This whole natural labor thing is a challenge for we Type-A's!

Lucky for us - and for Jayden in case I go into labor - Auntie Wendy is visiting from San Diego for a long weekend. I can't even express how great it is to have all the family help. She stays down at Nana's house and comes over for a full day of play and Jayden time. We've had her here since Friday or thereabouts and it has been awesome - for all of us! Today, she and Dave will take Jayden to a birthday party at the gymnastics studio while I rest up. Yesterday, she watched Little Man while Dave and I ran errands, then Dave cooked dinner and I got off my aching, swollen feet. Yes, I know I am very lucky.

Here she is reading a night-night story to Jayden and Rita. Well, actually, Jayden was doing much of the reading. The book is one of many trucks-and-construction-based tomes that he has and she was blown away by how many types of vehicles the kiddo can identify. As was I, initially, but now it is old hat. I explained that for entertainment, we often head over to a construction site, bring a snack, and just watch. I never thought in a million years I would know or care the difference between a backhoe and a bulldozer. But there you have it. One of the many, many surprises that parenthood brings.

While Dave and Wendy are out exercising the children, I will post some more pics. Stay tuned!

Grammar Lover's Edition

My friend Lisa keeps a blog about her young 'un, Audrey. I remember when Audrey was first learning to talk: Lisa would marvel about the development in Audrey's grammar. You would think that as an English major, I would be totally excited by such a thing. In reality, I was too busy chasing my not-talking toddler at the time to pay much attention.

And now that he has begun to communicate regularly, I think back to her posts and couldn't agree more with her assessment that "there are no downsides" to a child learning to talk. Not only is it amazingly cute, but being able to communicate back and forth is totally amazing. No more screaming and crying and hair-pulling (on my part, anyway!) trying to make out what Junior is saying.

Jayden is now saying "my" to indicate almost all possessive forms of a phrase. So "I'm hungry" is "my hungry." But sometimes he comes close to accurate, as when I say "who is my Boo Boo Bear?" and he responds, "I Boo Boo Bear!" and points to himself. It really is adorable.

Just something to note. We have been spending every second joined at the hip lately, as I desperately cling to this time we have together. It is going to be gone so soon, and a newborn will be taking much of my attention away. I know that ultimately it will be great for our complete family (well, except for the dog, of course...) But it is going to be quite an adjustment for us all.

Our Little Picasso

Or more like Julian Beever.

Jayden has been crazy about chalk this summer. We have a big bucket of chalk and our patio has been transformed time and again into a splash of color. Dave and I have both been accosted and told "draw great big turtle!" It is almost like a rite of passage for anyone who wants to hang with the J-man. Dave has even branched out into cats, butterflies and 3-D turtles, while I have been known to bust out the occasional balloon, attempt at human likeness, or a flower. Oma got into the act with a house and a heart. Moma even drew a line or two. But always, always he demands a turtle. I have drawn turtles in every shape, size and color.

During a recent visit, my mom called me outside and pointed to a small corner of the patio. Dave snapped a shot of Jayden's first drawing that actually resembles something noticeable. Can you figure it out?



Yup, it's a turtle! See the shell? He explained when he drew the eye, the feet, etc. We were fairly impressed.

Getting Ready for Baby

For what it's worth: I am at 37 weeks and considered full-term, which means if baby comes before the Oct. 4th due date, he would likely not need the NICU [neonatal Intensive Care Unit] . I am also already dilated 1 cm according to my weekly OB appointment. Labor usually starts around 3 cm - and I was at 3 cm for a week with Jayden. So the fact that I am dilated at all doesn't mean much other than at some point in the next three weeks or so, this child is going to come into the world. I hope we have a name ready for him when it happens. *sigh*

Here is a pic taken this week. We haven't been religious about taking pictures of my blossoming belly. My older sister says that this - among other things - makes me a traitor to second-children everywhere. I can't really disagree. But really, how different does a pregnant belly look from one gestational period to the next?! You can compare the photo above (taken at 37 weeks) with the photo taken at 39 weeks when I was pregnant with Jayden. I am getting bigger and bigger and it is harder to move around. Poor Dave! He wins Husband of the Year for coming from a long, monotonous day of coding and instantly cleaning, lifting, and generally doing. Pregnancy is so much more challenging with a toddler to tend!

The house has been a whirlwind of chaos and activity. Either we have baby stuff in boxes waiting to be cleaned and put away in the nursery, or we have stuff being moved from room to room needing to be organized, or we have Jayden's new room in need of something.

Jayden is having some issues adjusting to his new big boy bed. Which means we are up right with him at 4 a.m., 5 a.m., whenever he wakes up and freaks out about his "new" surroundings. To add insult to injury, his preschool class has changed in the last few weeks with the start of the new school year and he misses his old classmates.

But he seems excited about his baby brother. And his baby brother's toys! We had to hide this bouncy seat because Jayden kept climbing in, playing and falling over in it and we were afraid he'd break it.

We have been reading books about little baby brothers. We have been visiting with Jayden's friends who have new baby siblings. We talk about baby. Today Jayden said, "mommy eat baby," when he pointed to my belly. I almost laughed out loud. I explained that the baby is in my tummy, but I didn't eat it. Kids say the darnedest things!