Jumping Bean

Gilberto and I woke up rather painfully this morning. No one tells you before you get pregnant just how painful having children will be. As in elbows, knees, palms and heels.

It starts in the womb with little baby body parts wedged up under your ribs and a bit of sharp kicking. That is to be expected. But it continues after birth, and gets worse the bigger your kid gets. Seriously, I had no idea how much I'd get jumped on. We went through a very long phase called Warn Mommy Before You Jump.

Gabi also runs everywhere, and uses our bodies to stop herself. That is a lot of fun, too. It usually involves hands slamming into the soft tissue of your arm. I've been know to yell at her to use the wall next time. Luckily all of our neighbors are parents, who are also jumped on and slammed into on a regular basis, and overhearing something like this doesn't cause alarm.

Gabi was especially excited this morning, since she knew it was New Year's Day, and woke us up by jumping on us. Like a little jumping bean that couldn't stop. A blanket does help buffer the blows, but little three year old hands and knees dropping down on you like a bowling ball is NOT pleasant. Actually, it feels more like being jabbed with a cue stick. And frantically trying to move out of the way only reveals new areas to be subjected to pain.

Needless to say, we woke up very quickly. And then sat in bed while Gabi covered us with dolls and stuffed animals. There was still a bit more jumping here and there, but it's much easier to defend yourself when you're sitting up. And, since we're experienced, surrounded by pillows. Pillows are for more than just sleeping on and hitting people on the head, they are a much needed barrier to elbows that come flying at you out of nowhere.

We are now downstairs, bringing in 2008 with Noggin cartoons. And Gabi is jumping on the chair, instead of on us. Though I still have a pillow in my lap, just in case.

Here's to less bruising in 2008!

Happy New Year!