That's right...my little Angel is growing up and fast! He has officially graduated to his new room and big boy fire truck bed. We are so very proud of him. The first few times we tried to lay him down for a nap, he wasn't having it and we reverted back to the crib. We decided we had some time before the twins come and need their crib, so we better take baby steps and make this an easy and pain-free transition. The next day we tried again and pretty much got the same result. So we started looking for feedback and ideas on the best way to transition from a crib to a bed AND a new room. Just when we were ready to take the crib apart and set it up in his new room to try and see if it would work, HE DID IT! We decided to go in before bedtime and play in his new room. We put him in his bed and he just laid down and went to sleep. We were both in shock. No naps first then try bedtime, No take the crib apart and set it up next to the new bed, No fuss, No turning back! From that night on he is in his new bed continuing to sleep through the night and even waits for us to come in and get him in the morning. He will lay in his bed and play just like in his crib until we enter the room. WHEW!!!! That was a milestone we tackled (or should I say, Blaze tackled) quite quickly. We decided to make him a Fire themed room. Thinking it would be pretty easy and very boy like, plus Daddy would know exactly what to do. So what I assumed would be a simple theme turned into another major project. Daddy designed the entire room, paint, wall paper,etc.
Potty training is next on the list. However we decided we wouldn't waste our time and efforts on this before leaving for India. Nothing like screwing a kid up with a potty training schedule and 23 hour flights, strange potties and no toilet paper. We have been sitting him on the potty every night before his bath to get him used to it and he now saying, 'Poopie' when he has a poop in his diaper. So the signs are there and he is ready, but our upcoming adventures in India have put a delay on that.
He is learning and repeating words every day. Now when we say a word he repeats it, without being coaxed. Often he will say a word and we have no idea where he heard it. We both wonder if its English or Spanish, since his Nanny teaches him words in Spanish. He is learning his letters and numbers and will point at the appropriate one and say it. He is such a sponge.
Swim class continues and although Coach Bryce is tough. Blaze pushes forward. He can now float on his back by himself for 10 seconds. He will even do the 'all done' sign to Bryce to let him know he is done. Bryce just laughs and says, "Nope class is 30 minutes Blaze." Can't fault a kid for trying.
He is still eating great and is willing to try new foods without a lot of coaxing. He eats much better with Daddy cause Daddy doesn't let him get away with anything. Mommy is still the push over and he certainly pushes with me! The terrible two's are upon us (or should I say me). 'Angel child' aka Blaze around Daddy does NO wrong. But if Daddy turns his head or leaves the room. 'Devil Boy' rears his ugly head. Mommy is learning A LOT of patience and Blaze is learning what a 'Time Out' is and 'Taking away privileges' are when he doesn't cooperate. He is now finding it a game to run and giggle from us when we ask him to come at the store or before we cross the parking lot. Not so much fun when we grab him up for his own good. Then the legs kick and the arms swing and we have a slight mini-tantrum for a couple of secs. Nothing lasts too long and all is quickly forgotten, Thank Goodness!
 |
| 'the eyes' |
He is a typical boy! He loves to 'rough house' with Daddy and finds it very humerus when he farts and burps...just like Daddy.
He is interacting more with children and it is so neat to see. He usually just likes to go up and invade their personal space to stare at them. But anyone who gives him attention is an, A+ in his books. He will be stuck like glue to them. Recently we went to the Zoo with my friend Amanda and her two girls. Riley is a little less then a year older then Blaze and the entire day he spent holding her hand and staring at her big blue eyes and blonde curls. He could care less about the monkeys at the front of the glass right next to him. It was 'all about Riley!' Poor thing couldn't let go of his hand for even a minute and he was running to catch up and grab hold again. Such the ladies man! He loves to give the girls 'the eyes' and they all get a big kick out of it. He is such a laid back little guy and fits into pretty much any situation with anyone. We are so very excited for him to be a big brother.
He now knows Neyla's name and is not just calling her 'Doggy.'
He loves his pool and knows that word too. We try and get as much use of it as we can. He will stay in for hours with us. Swimming back and forth from us to the steps, picking up rings under water. He jumps in by himself and crawls out by himself. He truly has NO fear of the water. We figure with the cost of classes for 3 kids, we may just need Blaze to teach his siblings for free.
We get more and more excited by the day with our next trip to India fast approaching. We can't wait for Blaze to see India (he may not ever remember it, but we sure will and will definitely capture lots of pictures) We are planning to spend time with his surrogate and let her meet him officially. The SI team says that KT visits the clinic often and has had the opportunity to meet the twins surrogate. We were told that she told her that we were very nice people and that we were her friends. She will forever be a dear part of our lives.
On the media front. So much has happened. After our visit from the Swiss team in March, they headed to Mumbai for a week and tagged along with the SI Docs exploring the business side of Surrogacy in India. The photographer even sent us some amazing professional photos of both our surrogates. What a lovely surprise! We were told they were wanting to publish the story in May. So low and behold the 30th of May came and there it was our Preview to the story. Both on the Apple website and a second one on U tube. I quickly emailed the Editor-in-Chief we had originally been contacted by to do the story and told him we were very anxious to see the article, could he send me a dvd or a link to the story so we could view it. His response totally blew me away. He explained that for us to be able to appreciate the interactive nature of the piece and see the entire story we needed an IPad, so he would send us one. WOW! That's all I could say. Certainly unexpected, but truly appreciated. We should be receiving it any day now and can't wait to see the entire story. We fully expect it to be controversial since Surrogacy in India is just that. We hope that we have done the Indian Surrogacy community justice in telling our story in the most positive aspect we could. The exciting thing is that Ringier (the publishing company) has created this first of its kind, new app for the IPad. It its a magazine ('appazine;) subscription entitled 'The Collection' that puts out a state-of-the-art, interactive monthly feature story. It is the latest in IPad technology and our story is the 2nd edition in the collection following The Royal Family. Kind of cool.
We also recently had a visit from the writer. Her name is Leslie Morgan-Steiner and both of her books, Mommy Wars and Crazy Love are on the New York Times best sellers list. I also found out they are making a Lifetime Movie about Crazy Love. How cool is that? We had a fun filled busy weekend spending time with her and her getting to know us. Blaze once again fell in love with her big blue eyes and blonde hair (he definitely has a thing for blondes it seems) and was stuck to her side the entire time. It was a fabulous time, she is an awesome women, kind, honest and her approach to gather information is so non-intrusive. She will even be coming to Mumbai to spend some time with us when the twins are born. We truly feel honored to be apart of her next writing adventure and are positive she will do surrogacy in India justice.
 |
| Blaze and the beautiful Leslie |
Both these 2 media requests came at the same time and it is really a humbling thing to tell your story. If anyone had asked me 5 years ago if I would be having this journey, I would probably looked at them like they had 2 heads...now look at us! I truly wouldn't have it any other way. We are extremely blessed and to be able to tell our story, makes us SO proud. If we can help just one couples dreams come true then photos and interviews and time spent opening up to strangers is all worth it.
Posts
