Day Two

Jesse had a good day today!  We met his mother Erica outside her office promptly as scheduled, but she seemed understandably reluctant to leave him.  Then Jesse joined his cousins in the cozy back seat of my car.  He enjoyed riding with them, and Isaac enjoyed it as well.

Jesse is ready to roll with Isaac and Laurel

After we left Erica at 9:00 a.m., we went to a small playground near her work. It was fenced, it had a bathroom and a drinking fountain, and the play structures were fun. We stayed until noon because my kids were having a terrific time playing with a large group of well-mannered kids. We were there so long that I got sunburned.

I wore Jesse in the Ergo baby carrier nearly the entire time, and he was thrilled when I remained standing, but he shrieked relentlessly when I had to bend over slightly to change Laurel's diaper in the back section of the station wagon.  But then he fell asleep about 20 seconds later!

Actually, he slept a lot of the time.  He slept for nearly 45 minutes, then woke up but was clearly still sleepy, and so I bounced him for ten minutes until he fell back to sleep.  This nap lasted an additional 45 minutes!  Finally he woke up hungry, so we spread a blanket on the grass under a shady tree and he had three ounces of formula.

Then we had to hurry, because we were running late to meet the kids' Oma at 12:30 for lunch in Santa Cruz.  Jesse was happy in the car, but he cried furiously after we arrived and I put him back into the Ergo.  After we walked a block listening to him shriek he fell asleep again, which lasted about 25 minutes -- until I sat down to eat lunch, naturally.  But then my mom volunteered to hold him, and in fact she didn't give him back until it was time for us to leave! 

Lunch with Oma

After lunch we visited the bookstore, where Jesse got to sit with Oma in the rocking chair while I read a few books to my kids.  He had a bit more formula, maybe another three ounces, and a diaper change in the convenient restroom.  Then he started getting fussy around 2:30, and Oma had to keep taking him outside to distract him.  He was probably expecting something more to eat, but we decided to save his appetite for his mother. 

Rocking at the bookstore with Oma

Auntie Nicole reads to Jesse's cousins Laurel and Isaac at the bookstore

Somehow books and multiple trips to the bathroom (Laurel is learning to use the toilet) brought us to 3:00 p.m. and all too soon it was time to return Jesse to his mother. The day went by very quickly, and my kids loved the bookstore.  But we ended up spending $45 on books, so I don't think we'll make the bookstore a regular part of our baby-sitting routine!