One at a time...

Here we are again. In 6 short months we will be welcoming the newest member of the Becerra Family. I am totally excited and looking forward to the adventures we will encounter as a family of four. It seems like since Jaycee was born, life has been this crazy super fast roller coaster that doesn't have an end point. As we go along, we hit a loop-de-loop and before we get situated, we dive into a stomach-dropping plunge that leaves us reeling. Even with that, it is easily the most fun I have ever had in my life. So when the time came to talk about number two, there wasn't much of a conversation. Of course I wanted another little munchkin running around! I thought about all the fun things we would do and how much Jaycee would love a sibling.

Then a little nagging thought...

What about Jaycee? All those times where we sat together poking the dogs and laughing. Or the time we spent playing with toys or reading books. The Adventures of Jaycee and Her Daddy will never be the same. I spent a lot of time these past couple of weeks thinking about all those things that make a grown man cry and some of them did. Then, I finally put things in the proper context. Things will change and that has been the theme as Jaycee has been growing. Nothing has been the same from one day to the next, so now it just means we will get the chance to watch another little baby grow and Jaycee will get to be there with us learning and growing too.

Is this a time to be sad? I guess so. But, what am I sad about? That we are bringing another source of happiness and love into our lives? Hardly something to be upset about. Besides, by the time BB2 (Baby Becerra #2) arrives, I won't even have time to think about what is going on. One at a time daddy, one at a time...

Round Two...

So, to the surprise of few and the joy of many, we have an official announcement: Jess is pregnant!! We are happy to share our wonderful news that Jaycee will be a big sister in December.

FAQs

Q: Was this planned?

A: Yes. Next.

Q: How has Jess been feeling?

A: She has been doing well. She has been feeling tired lately, but other than that, all is well.

Q: When is the next one?

A: Hahahahahaha. Next.

Q: Any other big news?

A: Yes actually. I'm glad you asked. Jess recently discovered that she will no longer suffer at the hands of six graders! She has been reassigned to a great new school and has third graders. For those of you not familiar with six graders, this is a very good thing.

Q: Do you have some names chosen?

A: Yes. Next.

Q: What are they?

A: You'll have to wait and see.

I hope this FAQ list has answered many of your questions. We are hoping that, with some luck, The Becerra Bunch will be replacing John and Kate Plus Eight soon, so any other questions will have to be directed to our publicist.

Just Kidding. We are holding out for a sitcom. Anyway, we are very excited and cannot wait for our new little one to bring even more love and joy into our little home...

Quiet Please, Jaycee has something to say...

Jaycee's latest act is the speech. No, I don't mean speech in general, I mean the speech. As she goes through her day, she occasionally encounters a situation where an announcement is necessary. For example, Bella (our Chihuahua) has figured out that all she needs to do is follow Jaycee around when she is hungry. For the most part, Jaycee doesn't mind sharing with the dogs, but she has her limits. When Bella was getting a little too pushy and started trying to take food out of Jaycee's hand, Jaycee felt like she needed to take a moment to address the situation. Jaycee stopped walking, put her hand in the air, as if to announce that she needed everyone's attention, then she pointed her finger in Bella's face. Jaycee then proceeded to unload a series of verbal tongue lashings, which included some "wa wa wa" and "dawoo dawoo". We haven't fully learned Jaycee speak, but you get her point when you watch her.

Jaycee's lectures are usually reserved for the dogs, but her speeches are for everyone. Sometimes she'll stand there for two minutes with all eyes on her, speaking to everyone that is listening. What happens if you don't listen? Simple, she gets louder. Something tells me this kid won't be the one hiding in the back of the classroom...

Baby-Destructo...

I am always amazed how such a small creature is always so sure about what she wants (and doesn't want). Jaycee is very particular about her wants. When she wants a blanket, she wants a specific one. When she gathers her toys, she puts them in order. If you should happen to move one, she gets angry and is forced to reorganize them. It is very funny to watch.

Now for the dark side. When Jaycee wants something that see can't have or if she just isn't getting it fast enough, the tantrum emerges. The problem with the tantrum isn't that she throws herself around and slams herself on the floor, but its when she gets destructive with her surroundings. When Jaycee gets angry, she throws anything she can get her hand on and even smacks things against the floor, all while screaming. This reaction has earned her the nickname, baby-destructo.

Her personality, when she isn't angry, also contributes to her nickname. Jess and I recently purchased our first house and have had some work to do on it. We had to paint and scrub, but we also had to remove wallpaper and we had a few paint spills to scrape off the floor. We noticed that Jaycee wasn't very interested in the painting or cleaning, but she was very involved in the demolition. She helped to rip wallpaper on the wall and even grabbed a chisel and smacked in on the floor like her daddy to get the paint off.

I'm curious to see where her affinity for destruction leads her. I thought doctor or veterinarian would be her calling, but now I'm starting to think demolitions expert could be a career path. I can see it now: Baby-Destructo Inc...

Another Animal Lover...

I guess I'm not totally surprised. When Jess and I first started dating, I knew well that she was an animal lover. Not just the "I like the zoo and puppies" kind of animal lover, but a hardcore "I like animals more than people" kind of animal lover. I am a moderate "animals are cool" kind of guy myself, so Jaycee was sort of predisposed to a zoological upbringing.

Any of you who know our current animal count, feel free to skip ahead, but for those of you who aren't fully aware, here's the breakdown. Part of being a hardcore animal lover means that you HAVE to stop on the side of the road and keep whatever animal is there (Charlie), you HAVE to take the animals that nobody else wants(Bella/Buster/Rooster), and you HAVE to do it every time. Don't get me wrong, I think Jess' compassion for defenseless animals (i.e. her 6th graders) is admirable. She thinks nothing of changing her life to help a little creature (she even refuses to kill spiders) and has a long list of animals that she has helped in some way or another, but I digress. On to the current list: 1 cat, 3 dogs, and a rooster (yes a rooster). It may seem like a small list, but a small house plus a toddler equals tight quarters. By the way the rooster lives outside. Anyway, in a given day Jaycee can interact with 4 different species of animals and she loves it.

It has been a lot of fun watching Jaycee figure out what each creature is and she really loves her animals. She shows this love by giving them hugs and kisses and being generally excited to be around them. Since I am obviously the odd man out, I started thinking about what is going to happen when Jaycee gets old enough to be an "I like animals more than people" person? I have visions of waking up to jungle noises instead of alarm clocks.

I guess I sound a little selfish right about now, but it is MY blog! After all the dust settled in my whirlwind imagination though, I came to a realization. It isn't the fact that Jaycee is going to bring animals home to add to the collection, but rather that I can't imagine telling her no. To make this kid smile I dance around, I sing, I let her rip out my chest hair by the fistful, and a whole slew of things I wouldn't let anyone else do for a million bucks. I don't really see that changing and I imagine at some point she is going to trade chest hair for hairy creatures, but I'll still be trying to make her smile. You do the math. I guess I should start figuring out where to put the llama...

Get out of jail free...

I knew it was coming. I knew that eventually Jaycee would figure out how to turn her daddy into a pile of warm play-doh that let her do whatever she wanted; I just didn't think it would be so soon. One of Jaycee's newest little gimmicks is the biggest teeth smile you have ever seen. If she were to smile any bigger, her face would surely crack. The funniest thing about this giant grin is when she chooses to use it. When she sees something funny or is smiling back at you, she has a standard sealed lip smile. But when she sees you have something she wants, that magical grin appears as she walks toward you with her hand(s) out. You see the picture. How could you not hand over what ever it is that you have that she wants? I'm sure it won't be long before she starts to flash that smile instead of throwing a tantrum.

Also new in Jaycee's bag of tricks is the pointer finger. Not only can she show you exactly what she wants with her finger, but she has also found it to be a useful tool when trying to figure out if something is worth playing with or if the dogs are asleep or not. As I write this, Jaycee is poking Bella (our Chihuahua) in the nose to she if she wants to play or not.

Between the pointing and the grinning, I am rarely confused about what Jaycee wants from me. The question is: how the heck am I supposed to say no...

A Daddy's dream...

Before we found out if we were having a girl or a boy, I often found myself thinking about the future.  Like a lot of expecting fathers, I had a hard time picturing a baby, I could only envision a walking talking kid who wiped their own butt.  So when it came to thinking about a boy or a girl, I found it easier to picture a boy.  I saw myself out on the soccer field coaching his team, cleaning him off with a hose after a good mud romp, and a list of other things I remember from my childhood.  When it came to a girl... blank.  Now it wasn't because I didn't want a girl, it was more that I just honestly couldn't picture how it was going to go.  I mean, I can't brush long hair or put on nail polish.  I just couldn't picture bonding with her like I could a boy.  Then we found out we were having Jaycee and all the sudden I had to start figuring it out.  We were going to be together everyday, so I had better get this straight.

As my blog details, all has gone swimmingly.  In fact, now I can picture how its going to be when I have a walking talking kid who wipes HER own butt.  I have to be honest, that picture isn't much different than the picture I had of a boy.  I can see myself out on the soccer field coaching her team, but instead of blue or yellow jerseys, I see pink.  I think we all spend a lot of time talking about men and women being equal and how a girl can do the same things as a boy and it wasn't until Jaycee's arrival that I really understood how important that lesson is.  I couldn't dream of denying my daughter a chance to bond with her daddy simply because she was a girl.  Whether its soccer or anything else, I have every intention of taking my opportunities to be wherever she wants to be.  Whether she follows my dream of being a professional soccer player or her mommy's path to teaching or any dream for that matter, she'll know that when she looks behind her daddy will be right there.

By the way, to all of the parents with boys playing soccer with Jaycee in a few years: Look out, because girls kick butt...