Jesse goes to the beach

Jesse visits Natural Bridges State Park with his aunt

One of the day's rare peaceful moments

If you've read the first post about our Santa Cruz day over at my own blog, then you know Jesse didn't have an especially fun day with us on Monday. But he did have some quiet happy moments sitting in my lap at the beach, as these pictures show.

He drank six or seven ounces of formula, he watched his cousins dig in the sand, he looked at the water, and he had a good long nap in the baby carrier.

And he screamed a lot, too, but between the wind and the waves, it didn't seem so bad.

Days 6 and 7

Oh, a two-week blogging gap! Sorry! If you visit my own blog, you may have read my excuses over there. But now we're carrying on...

We baby-sat Jesse on Friday, July 27 and Monday, July 30, both times with the welcome company and assistance of my parents. They have been baby-sitting him with regularity this summer while Jesse's dad is out of town, so they are very experienced! In fact, Jesse is now old enough that he has developed preferences and expectations, so it's good for me to have an familiar baby-sitter on hand. He has grown particular about how he wants to be fed (warm bottle, please), rocked to sleep, driven in the car (music, please), and so forth. It makes sense, but I can see a real difference from how he was at the start of this summer, when he was relatively un-formed and flexible. I guess my baby nephew is growing up!

Anyway, he and I still get along well. I took him to his first yard sale on Friday right after I picked him up from Erica's house, but there wasn't anything good. Then later that day we had a park playdate with the kids' second cousin Jett, son of my cousin (and Erica's cousin too) Kim. We took a picnic lunch to Scott Park in Watsonville, which had a fun play structure for the big kids. Jesse enjoyed being outside, but he isn't much of one for playgrounds yet. He hasn't been in a swing yet, and I was tempted to let him try it out, but then I thought maybe Erica would like to be there for his inaugural swing!

Cousins and second cousins, L-R: Laurel, Jett, Jesse, and Isaac

Then on Saturday we had a family outing to Gilroy Gardens amusement park, and Erica got to join us! It was a nice experience for me, and probably for Erica as well, because usually when I take Jesse somewhere I have to take care of him! This time she was on the hook.

Erica holds a wide-eyed Jesse on the "bumper boat" ride at Gilroy Gardens

Erica and Jesse on the merry-go-round, with both my kids in the background

Then our next baby-sitting day was on Monday, and it seemed very low-key after the weekend's excursion. Jesse did get to experience his first piano moving, although he didn't seem to appreciate the work that goes into moving a baby grand.

Just two more baby-sitting days left before the end of the summer! We'll be sure to do something fun with Days 8 and 9.

Picking oranges

Yesterday was a baby-siting day for us! As we did last time, we just hung around my parents' house. Next Friday we'll have to get out and do something.

We did take a walk down the hill to my parents' orange grove, where we picked several dozen oranges. Jesse loves being outside and going for a walk in the baby carrier, although he invariably falls asleep. Also, as he seems to be teething, he spent the entire time chewing on the strap of the baby carrier!

Oranges? I'd rather eat this strap, thanks

Self-portrait with oranges

A week without Jesse

As it had become evident that baby-sitting and swimming lessons weren't compatible to our schedule, last week we didn't get to see Jesse. We will be doing it this week, however, on Friday! So stay tuned.

In the meantime, here are some photos taken during our Independence Day visit to my parents' house.

Jesse and his mother visit the pond at his Opa & Oma's house

Oma, Jesse, and Erica stay shaded from the sun

Cousin Isaac gets to hold Jesse's bottle (with Aunt Nicole's help)

Day Four

How did Jesse like his baby-sitting day with me on Friday? He thought it was pretty fun, I think. He actually saw a lot of my family over the course of three days, as we stayed with my parents for a few days for the Fourth of July.  Erica came with him to my parents' house on the Fourth of July, my mom baby-sat him the next day, and I baby-sat him yesterday. So he is growing very familiar with our faces! In fact, when I went to pick him up at Erica's house on Friday morning, he grinned broadly when he saw me, and (maybe) even stretched out his arms to me.

Jesse's grin is a wonderful thing

We hung around my folks' house all three days, unlike our last two baby-sitting days when we went out and had adventures. In some ways it is easier to take care of a baby at home instead of out at a park or store, but really the big difference was the number of adults around: between me, my parents, and my husband Craig, there was never the need for any of us to juggle three kids at once. And watching just one kid at a time seems pretty easy! (Assuming you're not completely sleep-deprived, that is.)

My parents live in a beautiful rural setting, so Jesse had his first campfire cook-out by the pond, and we went for several walks in the woods.

Aunt Nicole and Jesse in the redwoods

And when it was time for the second nap of the day, what could be nicer than Oma's lap?

They both had a nap, actually

We'll be taking next week off from baby-sitting (swimming lessons get in the way, unfortunately) but we'll be back the following week on Friday, July 20. I wonder if Jesse will forget us by then.

Playing with cousins

Isaac has decided Jesse can play two different games: Marching Band and Uh-Oh.

Marching Band involves Jesse jerking his legs in a marching movement (while reclining) and rattling a toy:

Jesse plays "Marching Band" with Laurel and Isaac

Uh-Oh involves Jesse repeatedly dropping a toy in order for someone else to pick it up:

Laurel picks up a toy that used to be hers

Actually, Jesse isn't quite old enough to play the Uh-Oh game purposefully; he can barely hold the toy as it is, so when he drops it I suspect it is by accident. However, Laurel played this game, and Isaac remembers it vividly.

And when games with your cousins grow tiring, you can always gaze out the window at the breeze blowing the leaves:

Gazing out the window

Day Three

Today real life interfered somewhat with our relaxing baby-sitting plans, and on the flip side, baby-sitting interfered somewhat with our real life plans!

Summer swimming lessons for my kids were scheduled to begin later this afternoon back in the Bay Area, but it wasn't until last night that I realized that I didn't have the right kind of reusable cloth swim diaper for three-year-old Laurel. So I thought we'd begin our day with Jesse with a quick visit to Babies R Us in Santa Cruz, where I assumed a swim diaper would be easy to find. We arrived at the store before they opened, so we hung around outside while Jesse enjoyed a two-ounce bottle of formula in his stroller and my kids played a sort-of-dangerous game utilizing (1) the bike racks, (2) a deflated bicycle inner tube, and (3) a long stick. 

The store, however, didn't have the diapers in the right size.  All the kids enjoyed shopping, though, and after we visited the restroom and bought a few things, I gave Jesse another bottle of formula outside the store while my kids resumed their bike-tube game.  After just one ounce, however, Jesse in his stroller looked like this:

He looks like a little Amish man with his washcloth beard

But thank goodness for smart phones!  I looked up a number of nearby shops, both swimwear and children's clothing, called five or six of them, and finally located one single swim diaper in the right size. The shop was only ten minutes away, although it took us 30 minutes to get there. It turned out there was a wrecked cement mixer on the local freeway which snarled traffic on the side streets for the remainder of our day in Santa Cruz. What is it about truck accidents and baby-sitting days?

Jesse's nap only lasted 35 minutes, unfortunately, because he woke up when we arrived at the shop. But we did get the diaper, which by its styling (ruffled pastel paisley!) seems to date to 1986, and then because it was already 11:30 we decided to head to the nearby Santa Cruz yacht harbor for a picnic lunch. Because of the traffic it took us a long time to get there, but the kids were good sports. Isaac, especially, crooned sweet songs to Jesse whenever he groused a little (which wasn't often), and even serenaded him with his harmonica, which he had packed for that very reason.

We arrived at the yacht harbor in time for lunch. We picked out our favorite boats, and the kids were especially pleased when a dog suddenly appeared on the deck of one of their favorites and laid down in the sun. The older picnickers ate bread and cheese and fruit, and Jesse enjoyed six ounces of formula sitting in my lap. Not only did he wear his own sunhat, but I leaned over him so the brim of my sunhat shaded him!

Isaac and Laurel enjoy their bread and cheese

Picnicking cousins

After lunch we returned to Scotts Valley because I wanted to give the kids a chance to run around at the playground they had enjoyed so much the previous Monday. I felt bad that so much of our day had been occupied by errands and traffic; when I planned this summer of baby-sitting, I had intended for my kids to have really fun experiences in Santa Cruz, not shopping trips to big-box retailers.

But speaking of traffic, it was still in effect, so we didn't get to the playground until 2:00, giving us only half an hour to play before it was time to get back to Erica's workplace and switch the carseats. But the kids had a good time, although Jesse missed a lot of the fun because he was completing his second 35-minute nap of the day:

Jesse naps at the playground

Then we went to Erica's work, where my kids had a snack and Jesse hung out watching us from the stroller while I reconfigured the carseat arrangement.  (I remove Isaac's booster and Jesse's infant carseat base, and put back in Isaac's five-point harness carseat.)

Then we hit the road promptly at 3:10, because the kids' swimming lessons started at 4:30! And the drive is supposed to take an hour and 20 minutes! But instead it took an hour and 40 minutes! So we missed swimming almost completely! I guess we didn't need that swim diaper after all!

Yes, I know it was a crazy plan. Never say I am not an optimist.

Isaac was okay with missing swimming, but Laurel was disappointed and confused. Luckily swimming lessons will be every day this week, so she'll have another chance tomorrow.

Sunburn

I wasn't the only one who got sunburned yesterday!

Jesse gazes accusingly at his aunt

Despite his floppy hat and the hood of my Ergo baby carrier, a bit of sun snuck in there, especially on the right side of his face. Darn it! I thought I was being careful to stand with his face angled out of the direct sun, but clearly I was wrong.

Oh, I feel terrible. I was standing in the sun so I could supervise my own kids on the playground, but maybe next time I should just have a seat on the shady grass.

Photo session at the park

I didn't get that much fun playtime with Jesse yesterday, since he was mostly asleep (or ready to fall asleep and complaining about it) while I was holding him, but we did find time to take this series of photos at the park:

Jesse and his aunt smile for the camera

We used the self-portrait feature of my iPhone's camera and he seemed to enjoy looking at himself on the screen.  Maybe his parents use it too?

- - - - -

It reminded me of how much I enjoyed taking pictures of my kids when they were babies.  There's something about taking photographs that helps me get perspective on a situation, providing a kind of distance and mindfulness that was helpful when I was feeling overwhelmed by early parenthood.  On the other side of the lens I could step back from the intense and sometimes unpleasant feelings children can cause (irritation, worry, and boredom among them!) and simply appreciate my children for what they were: absolutely adorable. 

That feeling of stepping back can be a disadvantage of photography, too; one doesn't want to remain at a distance, or only experience important events from behind the camera.

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!

Thoughtful

Hanging out with Opa is always a thought-provoking experience, Jesse finds.

Oma feeds Jesse

After a 30-minute post-nap bout of crying, Jesse smiles and has a snack!

Joel meets Jesse

Jesse met his Uncle Joel for the first time!

Joel is my little brother (and the little brother of Jesse's mother, Erica) and he lives in Boston with his wife Ashley.  About three weeks ago he came to California to play some shows with his band(s), and of course he took the opportunity to hold his cute new nephew.

My family was camping in Yosemite when this historic meeting took place, but Erica sent me this photo via text.