At my very first job I was nicknamed "The Whiz Kid" (in fact, my first boss Cindy made a digital poster of my face on that movie poster). Just recently, I was called that again at my latest job, so apparently its a fitting name (Actually, in all fairness, I am "Digital Director" so I guess its fitting). But by the looks of things, I may be passing that nickname down to Kaylani.
Kids these days grow up around technology, and there's just no way around it (at least not when you live in big city areas). So it didn't really come as a surprise to me when Kaylani learned that the red button on the remote turned on the TV, or the dial on the humidifier turns it on, or that the button on the other remote can turn the lights on and off. And it wasn't too surprising when she learned to play "Peek-a-boo Barn" on my iPod Touch since all you had to do was touch the barn door and an animal appeared. But over time, she's gotten more advanced.
For instance, not only can she play "Peek-a-boo Barn", but she can turn on/off my iPod, scroll to the game (or any game), start it, press start, then play it. Or she can go to Super Why and spell words or solve story sentences. She can even play "Traffic Rush" and crash the cars (ok, so she may not get the point of that one). But since she does any or all of those things most mornings while Mommy or I are taking showers, she was bound to get good at them. It was when she translated those skills to the iPad that we took notice.
On the iPad (Yin Yin's...not mine since she's not allowed to play with Papa's iPad), she can turn it on and successfully play "Pac-Man", "Angry Birds", or "Cut The Rope" with little assistance. She knows how to start the game, turn it sideways, fling birds across the screen, feed the frog, or run away from the ghosts. Its amazing! But at the same time, its actually a little scary.
I remember growing up and playing Nintendo or Computer games with my Dad...and absolutely crushing him in them. He never stood a chance, whether if it was original Mario Bros, or Tecmo Bowl, or even Mario Kart and any other game that came out past 1986. And back then, I remember saying that I hope technology never passes me by where my kid(s) embarass me in a video game. And for the longest time, I didn't think that would ever be possible, but now I'm not so sure.
Kaylani is just a shade over 2 and she's already playing video games and using electronics. I was 5 or 6 when I started, and in all fairness to my Dad, he was almost 40 when he started playing, so I had an advantage. But with Kaylani, I've technically had a 30 year head start on her, and I'm not sure its enough. Already I've been beaten by a 4 year old in Wii bowling and challenged on several occasions in other digital aspects. If Kaylani is starting at 2 (actually earlier), am I doomed to be left behindl by my own next generation "Whiz Kid"?
Maybe there's still time to recover and I just need to carve out time (and money) to get moving with the new Wii games and/or Xbox and Xbox Connect. Maybe I need to trade in my Blackberries (yes, that's plural) for an iPhone AND an Android. Maybe I need to suck it up and get with the times so that I don't get passed by digitally. It'll be a lot of effort, but I think it might be worth it. At least I can stay at the top of the pyramid digitally because when it comes time for Kaylani to do dance, ballet, Cheerleading, or something along those lines, I'll be thoroughly embarassed...likely by my own doing.
So today I apologize to Kaylani and to baby #2 on the way, but the digital space will always be mine. But don't worry, there will be plenty of other areas Papa will be embarrasing in. Some by my own doing, but embarassing nonetheless. Kinda like being called "The Whiz Kid"...twice.
Usually I'm not surprised that Kaylani gets whatever she wants, mainly because its us who are to blame for catering to her every wish. But now it appears she has connections with higher powers since she has willed her way into getting a new baby sister. Not sure how she did it, but she did it. Today we found out that baby #2 will be a girl. And that meant that we had clear sailing ahead of us. Having a girl was supposed to make 2 things easier for us: clothes and names. But since we found out, I'm not sure it meant either.
Supposedly we would save money on clothes since we could re-use all of Kaylani's. Well that could be true later, but since Kaylani was a winter newborn and baby #2 will be a summer baby, not so much. And after talking to some friends/coworkers with multiple daughters, turns out girls need all new stuff anyways.
Supposedly we had a name picked out if it was a girl too. That thought lasted for 3 weeks, and went right out the window before we even got to the car after the ultrasound. Apparently we didn't have that name locked down after all.
And as a third that had nothing to do with baby #2 specifically, supposedly we were all set with 2 children, but apparently that conversation is back up for debate as well (or as Mommy thinks, its not so much as "up for debate" as it is a "topic open for discussion")
So here we are, less than 12 hours after seeing the tell-tale "3 lines" that indicated we'd be high on estrogen in our household for years to come. We've got no answers to any of our questions, and it'd be fair to say we've gone backwards to an extent. But what's absolutely certain is that seeing the ultrasound brought back the same excitement and amazement that we went through the first time.
Maybe its the technology, or the fact we were seeing it for the 2nd time now, but everything looked clearer. Body parts (or lack thereof in some cases) were clear as day. Nose, eyes, ears, spinal cords all had defined shapes and patterns. In fact, so much so that we're convinced baby #2 will be a splitting image of Kaylani when she was born.
But the bottom line is we're blessed to be joined by another girl in the family. I guess it really is my lot in life to be surrounded by girls. And if that's so, you won't hear one complaint coming from me. That much I am sure of.
Thursday, January 13, 9am. Its a date/time that's been circled on our calendar for the last 4 weeks. It's a date/time that could lead us down a 6 month back and forth debate. It's a date/time that will answer a question we've had for at least the last 3 months. It's a date/time that will tell us finally: boy or girl. And we're hoping with 100% certainty.
Tomorrow literally couldn't come soon enough. Once the date was set, we were counting down as if we were kids waiting for our birthdays or Christmas. As each day would end and a line was put through the date on our calendar, the anticipation built up more and more. And looking through a baby name book on the way to/from Boston over the holidays didn't help either.
If you asked Mommy or me what we think it is, we'd both tell you we think "boy." Few people around us think "boy" too. And with some friends having new baby boys recently, and 2 out of 3 pregnant friends due around the same time expecting boys, it sure feels like a "boy" time. But of course, Kaylani thinks girl. So now here we are, 12 hours away from knowing the answer. 12 hours away from either having a name, or being back to the drawing board. 12 hours away from being able to dust off some of Kaylani's old things, or looking for a new color scheme for the room.
Now both Mommy and I are thinking its going to be a boy, but to be honest, it wouldn't matter in the least if its a girl. And actually, we were 100% sure it was going to be a boy when we found out about Kaylani, so who really cares what we think. Part of me is scared that tomorrows ultrasound will be inconclusive, but only time will tell. So what do you think? Boy? Girl? Inconclusive? Place your bets now, but not on inconclusive. That would just be mean.
I wonder a lot about baby #2. Will it be a boy or a girl? Will it be hyper or calm? Talkative or silent? Good or bad sleeper? Cuddler or private? And I know I wondered the same questions when we were waiting for Kaylani. But this time, I feel like I can figure it out beforehand...through morse code.
I've been working on this plan in my head ever since I felt a faint kick through Mommy's belly about a week ago. Just resting my hand on her belly and feeling a little flutter was enough to make me happy and enjoy what we have. It also was the spark my brain needed for my brilliant pre-natal/pregnancy plan. Without further ado, here's the plan (more or less):
1) Set baselines for baby kicks. This includes frequency of kicks, general belly location of kick, speed of kicks, and strength of kicks.
2) Once the baseline has been set, ask the baby questions (through the belly button of course) and document reactive kicks.
3) Teach the baby morse code. Oh wait, strike that.
3) Learn morse code.
4) Teach the baby morse code
5) Repeat questions from step 2 above and document kicks using morse code
6) Sit back and wait for baby to be born to validate answers
Its a fairly simple plan as you can see. It only has 6 steps so how difficult could that be? I was going to go for 7 steps, but let's be realistic...we're talking about a still developing fetus. If you want to get in on this and ask any questions, or know morse code, feel free to reach out to me. I'll be sure to mention you when I publish my research and become famous!
We've got pee pee in the potty! PEE PEE in the POTTY! In case you haven't noticed, its a pretty big deal for us since its the first time we've seen her actually do it, and the first time she's done it on her own and by her own accord. Sad part is that I missed it. Actually, its more like I was excluded from it.
It was around 7:15pm on a bath night. After a 5 minute naked run/chase around the house (Kaylani, not us), I sat her down in the bath. Things were going like normal: soap soap soap, rinse rinse rinse, shampoo shampoo shampoo, rinse rinse rinse, cry cry cry. Then as I was getting the toothbrush ready, Kaylani started saying some strange things. The conversation went something like this:
Kaylani: I'm gonna do poo poo in the water. Me: In the water? No, we don't poo poo in the water. K: I want to do potty Me: Ok, but not in the water. Let's brush your teeth now
I didn't believe for a second that she had to actually use the potty, and was actually trying to brush her teeth and get her out so she didn't do poo poo in the water. But when she started crossing her legs and doing the "pee pee" dance that every kid (or adult with poor bladder control) does, I pulled her out of the tub and put her on the potty. She sat for a bit, then cried and said she wanted Mama to put her on the potty.
Being in full swing with her terrible twos, I called for Mommy and stepped out. The tag had been made so Mommy could wrap up. But a minute later, I heard celebrating. Mommy was cheering and saying what a big girl Kaylani was. Kaylani was saying she got to have M&Ms now. And when I stuck my head in, in disbelief that a) she went, and b) I missed it, I was told flatly "Papa, go get me M&Ms."
After 4 mini M&Ms and a few minutes convincing Kaylani that she could wear her panties tomorrow instead of tonight, it was pajama time, story time, then bedtime. Tomorrow we'll see if we can have a few repeat performances since we'll be home all day. If all goes well, we might have a potty trained little girl sooner than we thought...and maybe she'll let me be a part of it! But only time will tell. Stay tuned!
There's still ~22 weeks left before baby #2 makes its grand entrance into the world. But according to one of us, June 1 can't come soon enough.
Every now and then, Kaylani wants to touch Mommy's belly. It usually happens when we're taking pictures to see how they've grown. Sometimes it happens when Mommy is rubbing her belly, or when she's wearing a shirt that doesn't quite cover her belly (which only happens in the privacy and comfort of our own home). Most of the time, she just touches Mommy's belly button, or says "hi" to the baby through the belly button when we tell her to talk to her baby brother or sister (which she says "no brother. Sister mama/papa!" to before she says "hi"). But today, she was different.
Before nap, Kaylani was getting ready for nap, and wanted to say "good nap" to the baby. After going straight to Mommy's belly and pulling down her maternity pants so she could play with and talk to her belly button, Mommy explained to her that Kaylani was going to sleep in her crib and Mommy and baby were going to go take a nap. She said okay and then went to nap. After nap, this happened:
Mommy: Hi Kaylani! Did you have a good nap? Kaylani: Is the baby awake yet? I wake up from nap and play with baby. Baby awake? M: No sweetie, the baby is still in Mommy's belly K: But I want to play with the baby. Baby wake up from nap M: Sorry sweetie, but the baby isn't ready yet. Your baby brother or sister won't be ready for awhile. K: No brother Mama! Baby SISter!
Then for the rest of the afternoon, she asked questions and talked about her baby "sister" with Mommy. We've still got 5+ months left. Last time it was Mommy who wanted the baby out more and more with each passing day. This time, I think its going to be Kaylani. Or maybe it'll still be Mommy since she'll be feeling it AND hearing it, for the next 5 months!
Christmas goes by too quickly. One day its here, and then its over. 3-4 weeks of preparation for just 1 day of celebration. Then its just a long wait until next year. That's what I used to think. This year, I'm not so sure.
It started on Christmas Eve morning. Clearly Kaylani's not old enough to truly appreciate Santa/Christmas since we had to wait for her to wake up. And when she finally did wake up (at 7:30am), we pumped her full of anticipation and excitement by talking about the presents and Santa. So when we went downstairs, she didn't give us the reaction we expected. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Kaylani rounded the corner and immediately saw the presents and said "Santa brought me gifts!" But the best part was when we told her to look at the cookies and milk she left for Santa. That got the following reaction:
"Santa ate all the cookies. And he drank all the milk! I'll be right back"
Then she picked up the cup and plate and went to the kitchen as Mommy and I stood there in disbelief at as she ignored all the unopened presents to clean! It was a great moment that we'll never forget. And after she came back, she went straight after all the presents (mostly hers, but also ours too). She opened everything from us and a few others, including a giant teddy bear (that she asked Santa for), a countless number of Dora related toys, and much more. But that was just the beginning of Christmas.
Sadly, we left most of that home (especially the giant teddy bear) and were off to Yin Yin and Yeh Yeh's house for the annual Tam family Christmas (which is always on Christmas Eve). There, she opened up more presents, including an awesome train table and a Geotrax set. For the rest of the day, she played played played, and in the morning, it was off to the next stop.
After a quick 5 hour Christmas Day drive, we made it to Titi Glenda's house for more present opening, which was a baby changing table/sink/highchair playset. She also got a new tricycle from Madrina Maria, and then a magnet book and xylophone from Titi Mayte and Tio Alan. And it didn't end there since she got a purse from Titi Carmen the next day, and a shopping cart of groceries from Titi Sonal a couple of days after that. So that brings us to December 28th, but we still weren't done.
New Year's Day might as well have been Christmas Day part 2 since Kaylani woke up to her train table actually assembled. Ever since she set eyes on it, she's been super excited and jumps all around while playing. She's actually so excited that she won't even let Papa play with it (which is a problem since its Papa's first train table too).
Anyways, now that we're well into 2011, you'd think Christmas was over, but you'd be wrong. We still have 1 more celebration coming up (3 Kings Day) which Mommy celebrated growing up in Puerto Rico. So we've got at least 1 more morning with a gift coming up, but with much less fanfare. And until Kaylani goes a few days without Christmas (or when we take down the tree...which will be interesting), she'll probably keep talking about Santa bringing her gifts everyday. In the meantime, here are some pictures from Christmas. Enjoy!
Officially this will be Kaylani's third Christmas, but it feels like HER first, even though it's not OUR first. Subtle difference in language, but big difference in events leading up to Christmas.
Christmas shopping for us started about a month ago. Okay, all lying aside, it really started about a week ago (but we had ideas and intentions of starting a month ago). The past 2 years with Kaylani, we bought her small gifts that we knew she would play with then or at some point. And we let her open them, touch them, and pose for pictures with them. But this year feels different. This year, we think she's really going to enjoy Christmas. So far, everything she's done confirms that.
For example, while trick or treating at Peddlers Village the day before Halloween, she saw a Santa doll and said "Santa says 'Ho Ho Ho'". And right before we went to cut down our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Kaylani kept telling me to "get out of the living room so Christmas could come in," which was because I was telling her the tree was going to go in the corner. And when we took her to get her picture taken with Santa, or when we saw him at Houlihan's during lunch, she told him she wanted a "big oso (bear)."
And the top moment that Mommy saw (Papa missed) was when Santa came around the neighborhood ona fire truck, and personally came to our door because he was Kaylani standing there. Her face when that happened was PRICELESS, and even brought Mommy to tears. To this day, she still says Santa gave her a candy cane (which he did), and also that Santa will bring her gifts.
All of that just makes us want to make the holiday season more and more special for her. We keep buying small gifts here and there because we know she'll love it, or more stocking stuffers because they're "perfect", or more decorations (like a Santa cookie plate) so we can really start our own tradition. Because we've got some traditions already (like Christmas Eve night at Yin Yin/Yea Yea's house with the family), we're gonna have Christmas come a little early. When Kaylani wakes up tomorrow, we'll do our own little Christmas morning before heading over. And if I had to guess right now, I think her face is going to be priceless when she sees all her gifts under the tree and the cookies eaten. She'll be so excited that she probably won't even notice that the couch smells a little bit like milk since Papa sat on the milk she left out for Santa and spilled it all over. And because of that, I can't wait. Merry Christmas!
Other than the weekends, spending time as a family is tough. By the time I get home most days, its usually 6:30, which is about an hour before Kaylani is in bed and asleep (ideally). That leaves enough time for me to join Kaylani and Mommy for dinner (normally in progress already), watch an episode of Dora, and give a bath and read some books before saying good night. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is and it isn't all at the same time.
When it comes down to it, I'll take an hour, or even 30 minutes, or even 10 minutes if I can only make it for storytime or to say good night. Some nights I miss the "routine" all together, and others I miss the mornings, so weekday time is limited. But, the time we do get together is great, and I'm hoping its developing into something special for Kaylani and Mommy too. On typical days when I get the full hour or more, we sit around the table and I ask Kaylani how her day was. If she went to school, she likes to say "good. I play play play with friends." And if she went to music class, its along the lines of "good. I dance and sing "helloooo." And if its a gym class day, she goes with "good. I run around and play." But the best part is that she's started to join in and now asks "Papa, how your work? Your work good?" Cutest thing that makes my heart melt.
After dinner, it gets even better. Kaylani automatically washes her hands, and then runs over to the couch, sets up 2 pillows (one to sit on and one to lean against), and plops herself there with her milk. Then she asks for a blanket, and for Mama and/or Papa to sit and watch TV with her. The next 22 minutes are just cuddly, quiet, TV time with the family. And to top it off, Kaylani dances for 2 minutes at the end, then goes a little crazy climbing on us or jumping around before its time to go upstairs.
Bath time is always an adventure, and usually starts off with naked Kaylani "being chased" from her bedroom to the bath. Then there's all types of splashing, swimming, toys, sillyness that goes on. With a quick brush of the teeth, and a towel off, its a naked run back to the room for pajama time! Storytime is another adventure with anywhere from 1-3 books being read 1-3 times each (depending on the days mood). Next is lights out, hugs and kisses, then song time (usually by Mommy).
All of that is our normal weeknight routine. In fact, its our normal nightly routine, but it means that much more on weeknights since its the only time I get with her. So whether its an hour, a minute, or an entire day, I'll take what I can get when I can get it, because nothing beats family time! Click here to see pictures of just some of our family time moments over the last two months.
When you're expecting, you can either have a strong preference for a specific gender of the baby, a mild preference, or no preference. I find myself in that 2nd category. If we have a boy, great! After all, most men would want a boy in their family to carry out the family name and do manly stuff with (like hammer up dry wall and drink beer...only 1 of which I've ever done). But if we have another girl, then I'm perfectly happy with that too. Truth be told, I'm probably more of a girl dad anyways (which goes back to that hammering up dry wall thing probably). And I've always felt this way...but apparently Kaylani thinks otherwise.
The other day, Mommy and Kaylani were at Little Gym class, which they've been going to forever. The teacher, Miss Tiffany, and Kaylani are close with Kaylani following her all around class most days. And of course they talk, but I guess we weren't expecting this conversation:
Kaylani: Mama has a baby in her belly Tiffany: Oh yeah? Kaylani's gonna be a big sister right? Kaylani: Papa wants a brother but Kaylani wants a baby sister.
Miss Tiffany reacted like normal, saying things like "yeah, most Dads want a boy" and some of the Dads in the area were chuckling to themselves because it was probably true for them. The funny thing is that it's not true for me, and the odd part is we have no idea where that came from!
Since we found out Mommy was pregnant with #2, we've asked Kaylani what she wants and she's always consistent. Boy or girl? Girl. Brother or sister? Sister. Like Alisha or Rohan? Alisha. Like Connor or Zoe? Zoe. Girl like Mama or boy like Papa? Like Mama. So its not like she doesn't know the difference, its just that she is the one with a strong preference!
We've tried to steer clear of the conversation for awhile now since she use11d to get animated about it when we'd ask ("no boy Papa, Kaylani wants a sister!! No boyyyy"). In fact, sometimes we'd go to pick her up from her crib in the morning or after nap and she would just randomly say "I want sister."
The only thing we can think of is that she takes our question asking ("Kaylani, what if its a boy") as our/my preference. Its either that or she reads my blog and thought that by me saying I thought it was going to be a boy meant I wanted a boy. Not sure which one of those is more probable, but either way, if its a boy, we may be in a lot of trouble. After all, what a girl wants, a girl gets... especially if she's our daughter.
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