Chapter Ten



The months passed by quickly, and Jay is still spending lots of time painting, his career is going very well, and he's a local celebrity, though still not as well known as he wants to be. Little Gabriel and I spent a lot of time watching the cooking channel on television, so I could learn new recipes and different techniques to try. Life with two kids wasn't as hard as I had expected it to be, but that's only because Blaine is in school.

Afternoon naps are also still very common for me to take while Gabriel slept, and while Jay was busy painting. The house was almost always quiet unless Gabriel was crying to alert one of us that he needed a diaper change or to be fed, he was a very good baby from the start, much like how Blaine had been as an infant.

As soon as Blaine gets home from school each day, Jay would stop painting and ask Blaine about school and just enjoy spending time with his oldest son. Being the very intelligent child that Blaine is, he would always talk about how easy the subjects in school were and how he wasn't really being challenged a whole lot with the work. I almost dropped to the floor when Jay told me this the first time Blaine had mentioned how easy the school work was. I mean, Jay and I always thought that Blaine was very smart for his age even when he was just a toddler and was able to grasp the basics of walking, talking, and using the potty chair within the first few days of introducing the concepts to him.

Family dinners were always great, even if Jay did eat extremely fast on most nights so he could get back to whichever painting he needed to get finished for a deadline. The important thing is that he had sat down and ate with Blaine and I before even thinking about painting another work of art, or finishing one. Gabriel was almost always in bed by this time, the little fellow always got tuckered out really early, which could be a blessing for some or a curse for others since he would get up extremely early in the morning time.

Jay and Gabriel bonded really well too. If Gabriel, or Gabe for short, was being fussy and nothing I did worked, Jay could work magic with him. Thankfully those fussy moments where nothing I did worked never lasted very long, or happened very often.

Gabriel is our world, as is Blaine. Those two boys have transformed Jay and I into the most loving, caring parents in the entire world. Being a mother to my two kids has been so much more than I could have expected it to ever be. Which is strange coming from a workaholic, but come on, a job is a job even though I love mine with a passion... Being a parent though is one of the highest and most rewarding jobs a person could ever ask for or want.

Speaking of Blaine, him and I have spent a fair amount of time pillow fighting. It's a lot of fun, and we use a couple old pillows that Jay and I had bought right after we got married. This quickly became one of mine and Blaine's favorite pastimes to engage in together. Jay always had a good laugh out of it when he'd walk in and see the two of us whacking each other with pillows, and sometimes he'd even join in so I could get a quick breather. In this house there's almost never a dull moment.

Then there was some exciting news. Jay and I found out that we're expecting our third child! Like I said before, there's almost never a dull moment in our house... But once our next bundle of joy is born, there will never, ever be another boring moment at our home.

Then it felt as if I spent all my time cleaning, and taking care of Gabriel, then entertaining Blaine when he would get home from school. Jay helped me out too, like he has done during my two previous pregnancies. But this time around I made him let me do more around the house, I knew what I was capable of doing and what I should avoid, so he agreed and that he would only do the things that I needed him to do. Of course my nesting instinct took over with this pregnancy much as it did with the first two, only this time it seemed a bit more intense and much earlier. I had only just started to show about a week ago, and then this crazy cleaning kick began.

Almost as quickly as he had been born, Gabriel was now celebrating his first birthday. It seemed like it was just yesterday he was a tiny, wrinkled little thing, and now he was turning one, as well as in a few months becoming a big brother. We threw a first birthday party at our home just like we had with Blaine when he was his brothers age, but no one came really, everyone was busy with their own plans that day. So Jay, Blaine, and I celebrated little Gabe's first birthday together.

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Even more time passed and my belly grew larger, and rounder by the day it felt like. My due date was rapidly approaching and Jay still rubbed, talked to, and listened to my belly each day just like he had with both of our sons. This time around since we have two boys already we're hoping for a little girl to complete our family.

"Ahhh!!!! The caw Mama, the caw!!" Gabriel sqealed as 'the claw' gets him and tickles all over his belly and sides.

"Hehehe, the claws getting you Gabe!!" I would laugh as I continue to tickle him until he needs to catch his breath, then the two of us giggle uncontrollably, which causes the growing life inside my womb to kick like crazy. After a while, I have to sit Gabriel down so my back and arms can get a break. Gabe is a lot like Blaine when he was a toddler. The only real difference between the two at that age is the hair. Blaine had a head full of it, and Gabriel's seems like it's a bit slower in the growing department, but that's genetics for you.

Family dinners with Gabe were a little different than most dinners in our house. Jay would usually take over dinner duty with Gabriel so he would sit at the island and eat next to the high chair. I would sit at the table because the chairs at the dining table offered more support for me, and were much lower than the bar stools. So it was much safer for me to eat at the dining table rather than try and hop up on one of the stools in my current condition. Finally Blaine would change up who he sat with, one day he would be with me at the table and the next day he would be by Jay at the island. I always ate fairly quick too since my energy was nearly gone by the time dinner is over each day.

But on this particular night, I went into labor right after dinner so any hope that I had for getting to bed early tonight was shot down now. Only this time, I knew that it was labor pains and not just random pain that I thought it was with my first two pregnancies. Jay also must have noticed that I was in pain because he got up quickly from hit seat at the island and rushed to me, Blaine did the same.

"The baby is coming Jay!" I shouted, breathing through the contractions, I knew that I needed to get to the hospital and fast. "Jay, stay with the boys. I'm going to the hospital." I instructed through gritted teeth as another wave of contractions hit my body, full force.

"I want to be there Estelle. Just let me call th--"

"There's no time! This kid is on his or her way out and I need to go now!" My voice came out a bit more harsh than I had intended for it to be, but this was no time for us to be discussing anything. I flashed an apologetic look to Jay for yelling at him, and quickly headed for the door. "I love you guys. I'll be back soon. Mommy's going to have the baby tonight." I said quickly as I blew kisses to my husband and two boys. Thankfully Jay didn't try to stop me, he just nodded and then instructed Blaine to put away the leftovers from dinner and to clean up the dirty dishes, then scooped Gabriel up in his arms to take him upstairs to bed.

Thankfully I made it to the hospital after driving myself there, and how I managed to drive myself to the hospital while in labor,  even if it's only two minutes down the road I will never know. But something in me made it so that I could get through it and make it to my destintation. I must have also scared Molly and the other woman that was standing outside of the hospital whenever I arrived, obviously in pain and driving by myself. But they did end up helping me up to the L&D floor, and judging by the look on my face, a nurse realized I was in labor and needed a room quick. However, even though I thought my labor was going to be really short, it lasted much longer than my first two, which was a shock to me.



Meet little Tory Rodriguez. She was born at 10:53 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs and 12 oz, measuring 20 inches long. Jay and I got our wish to have a little girl now that we have two boys, and we are so very pleased with how our little family has grown. It's also nice to finally have some more estrogen in the house. I also believe that little Tory has her daddy wrapped around her tiny little finger already. Life couldn't get any better than this, and now that our family is complete we can focus on watching our children grow up.