Day in our life: 15 months

Ok, this probably isn't interesting, but I am fascinated. My days are totally different now. More flexibility but still a routine.

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6:30-7:15.  Bradley starts babbling or crying, I get up, wash my face and then go get Bradley. We sing songs, put away his pacifier and blanket, and nurse.

7:30. Bryan wakes up, says good morning to us, and jumps in the shower.  We read books, change diaper, get dressed, play around until Bryan is dressed.

7:45. We all go to the kitchen for breakfast. Bradley gets plain Cheerios, milk and fruit. Bryan gets black coffee and honey nut Cheerios. I pour a water and then go get dressed in gym clothes.

8.  We all put on shoes. I grab a banana, water bottle and my purse. Bryan buckles up Bradley and I drive to campus to drop off Bryan. 

8:10. Bradley and I get to the gym. Bradley goes to the child watch and I hit the treadmill. Run, bike, lift, floor exercises.

9:15. Get Bradley and go run errands/library story time/go home.

9:30-10:30.  Get home. Play with Bradley until A) one big meltdown or B) Bradley signing sleep. Change diaper, give Bradley his pacifier and turn on music. Nap time for Bradley.

Sometimes nap time for me. Other things: tv time, chore time, Internet time, shower time, phone date, or do homework.

12:30.  Bradley wakes up. MWF, we go get Bryan to do lunch. T/TH, Bradley and I make something at home.

1:00. Playtime. Sometimes we go outside with a ball

or walk to a park

or have a play date

or play Legos

or read books or whatever.

2:30.  Snack time. A little bit of goldfish for both of us.

3.  Diaper change, music on and put Bradley in his crib. Sometkmes he naps, sometimes he babbles.

3:45. Go get him only to find him playing his "No!" game.

This entails me walking in to pick him up but him pretending to be asleep or crawling away from me in the crib while saying "Noooooooo!" and laughing hysterically.

I laugh, too, because it is hysterical.

4:00. Yes, that game lasts a long time. Then we call Bryan and see how he's doing. If he's hungry, I start dinner while Bradley colors

or plays with our tupperware cabinet.

If he's not that hungry, we play or go outside

or watch Elmo videos (omg post coming later about Elmo. Sigh.)

or whatever.

5-5:30. Bryan gets home from work.

He plays with Bradley while I get started on dinner or finish up cooking. Sometimes I enjoy a glass of wine. It's a beautiful, quiet time when I can cook alone and hear those guys in the living room playing.

6:00. Eat dinner. Bradley eats what we eat, just cut up small and separated. If he won't eat anything (rare) or our food isn't that healthy (sometimes), we make him a hot dog with cheese, green pepper and whatever else we've got.

He always gets to pick fruit for dessert and I actually let him eat until he signs all done.

6:30. Operation Bedtime:

Bradley gets a bath,

then brush teeth,

pajamas and

3 books. Pacifier, blanket and one song. 

Sometimes he falls asleep in my arms but usually he isn't. He pets his hair and stays up babbling or lies quietly depending on how tired he is.

7. Bryan and I get our time.

We clean the kitchen and talk about our days. I show him all the videos and pictures I took during the day. Then we sit down to watch tv or play games or whatever.

11. Bedtime for me. Bryan stays up to play games.

Life is pretty good right now.

Manic Monday.

This weekend was lovely and lazy. The guys got haircuts. We drove to Tulsa for lunch and to get Bryan's new iPhone. 

Today, we started the day early with cuddles and running and yelling and downing pears. 

Another day, another day.

Buuuuuuuut, we are getting closer to Christmas. Which I love! My side of the family is opting out of presents. We're not going to be together and were all a little tight on money this year.

Bryan's family is pretty easy to buy for, and we already told them we will be doing a lighter Christmas than previous years since I don't have my job. 

Bryan and I each will only get one present. I'm dying for this awesome pair of boots! 

Bryan hasn't yet decided.

And then, there's our cute baby. I'm anti-spoiling because well, everyone else buys him so much (first grandchild on both sides). But, I'm going to get him the best present! I'm taking a small table that we already have and making him a Lego table. I'm so excited, and I hope it turns out like pintrest. Hahaha

Also, I plan to bake some cookies and dip pretzels in chocolate for everybody else. I mean, who doesn't love chocolate? 

Ok okay. It's a pretty boring Monday here, and I think I'm gonna pin some more cute things before Bradley wakes up!!

I'm there with him.

Bryan ran into one of my friends who is an advisor at the university. I used to see her a lot since our jobs sometimes overlapped on the same student. 

She has a very cute baby boy and a few times when she just got back from maternity leave, she came and sat in my office and talking about pumping and working and how cute our babies are.

I haven't seen her except once (in line at chickfila) since I quit my job.

Well Bryan said he had a good chat with her. He said she asked if I was happy and I told her that you were really happy. 

Really happy.

I probably would have described myself as happy. But maybe I am really happy. There are some not fun things and some less than exciting moments, hell, afternoons. There are crying fits and repetitive games and changing diapers. 

But I'm the one there. I'm there with him.

He's crying and then I can comfort him or fix the problem or (if it's unreasonable crying) talk him through it, validate and then offer something else more fun or appropriate. 

He's gets all the flash cards out of a box, puts them on the floor, then puts them back in the box. Only he can't quite so it, so I help him. 

I'm there with him. 

I think it's great for him to be around me. I am the one to teach him things, to show him how to have fun and make sure he's going out and about, going outside, getting alone time, napping. I like being the schedule keeper. 

Also, I think it's great for me to be around him. Truly, I have changed. It's only been a month and a half, but my mood, my default self is so much better. 

I'm not rushed. I know that I have more time in my day and also that Bradley is newly mobile. 

I'm relaxed. If chores get done, awesome. If not and all I did was nap when Bradley napped, also awesome. It will get done.

And, I guess, I'm really happy.  

This is getting ridiculous.

The call that should've come Monday, didn't. I am certainly not patient. This is ridiculous. I've even written a poem about it.

I am running my heart out at the gym: went from not running a mile without stopping to now running a mile under 9 minutes (BOOM!). I did my first hard core ab workout. Ouch! Still not dropping weight but my body fat has gone down 4%. Something's happening.

I've made all the meals this week: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Actually, it's been good. Not too much extra work and hopefully less calories and less money.

We are finally in a routine here with me not working. I do laundry twice a week- no more huge piles! I am grocery shopping twice a week and have thrown away way less. I take Bradley to the library twice a week and set up one playdate a week. I'm also pretty good about hitting the gym Monday-Friday.

 I'm enjoying this time, but I think I need a hobby. Something besides being a mom or watching tv. I might start writing (really) again. Or reading fiction. Or wrapping Christmas presents. Or singing. I don't know, but I need something else in my life.

No more trips until thanksgiving. While I love to travel, I'm thankful for a full month at home. Home is where your stuff is.

4AM again

We have a pretty firm not before 6AM rule for Bradley. Most days it's not even a choice. Bradley wakes at 7-7:30 most mornings.

Not today.

Today he wakes and screams at 4AM. We let him cry a little. At 4:20, he's still going. 

Bryan goes in to give him a pacifier and console him.

Still crying.

I wait another ten minutes. He normally goes back to sleep.

Not today.

At 5, I go get him. He's screaming and crying. What's the issue? Cold? Hurt? Dirty diaper? No. None of those.

Bradley starts pulling at his sleeves. He cries and pulls at his long sleeved pjs.

I pull one arm out and he hurries to get out of his pjs. When he's in the nude, he's so happy that he grabs his pacifier and tries to climb back in the crib.

I throw on a short sleeved tee and rock him. Within seconds, he's asleep.

Long sleeves, man. They're the worst!

Note: I had to hold my sleeping baby and write this. It reminded me of infant Bradley who always woke at 4. As I held him, he laughed in his sleep. It was adorable!

Waiting

And so we wait.

We check the clock.

We check the phone.

We check the mail.

We talk about what if.

Then we talk about if.

And then we check again.

We check the clock,

It's daytime.

Is the phone on loud? 

We check the phone.

Maybe it's email.

We check the mail.

We talk about it.

Maybe it's just not finished yet.

Maybe it's coming later today.

Maybe it's coming later this week.

Maybe it's coming later.

Maybe it's coming. Or not.

And so we wait.

And then we check the clock.

October 21, 2013

Snip its and Bradley's recent doings

We are waiting on a call. A very specific call. If it doesn't come Monday, I might just bite off all my nails.

Were in South Carolina visiting Bryan's family. Bradley is loving being with his grandparents. They are spoiling him with toys and cookies and constant fun. It's awesome.

Brooke is getting married next year. She picked a date and a venue. I'm honored that she asked me to join her and Bryan's mom (who is doing great!) to go look at wedding dresses. I'll pack the tissues!

I'm running with Bryan's dad every day here. With that run comes great political, religious and gender discussions. And by great, I mean, interesting and controversial. It's fun. Thank goodness I've been around nearly 8 years, and I can say what I think.

We are always on the go. To me, it's normal. We just travel. We get antsy if were in one spot too long, even if that spot is "home." 

And so, we will enjoy the rest of our fall break with the family, showing off Bradley's tricks 

Which now include:

-animal noises: dog(favorite), duck, cat, cow, sheep, dinosaur, tiger, bear, lion, monster, lizard, horse, goat, chicken, owl 

-words: mom, dad, hi, bye, ball, go, mine, milk, more, box, block, door, dog, cheese, meme, papa, shoes, hair, hat, eat, book

-distinguishable gibberish: banana, outside, I got it, please, thank you, I like that, Cheerios, grandma, grandpa, hello, pacifier, blanket, sock, brush teeth, brush hair, diaper, breakfast, car, airplane, stairs, step, Legos, girl, help, work, what's that, remote

-tasks: pick up toys, go to ___, give hugs, give kiss, say please, put this ____, come here, hold my hand, bring me ____, put your pacifier away/in the crib,  throw the ball, kick the ball

I love this age. He's so much fun. He giggles. He walks. He tries to talk. He plays peek a boo. He can entertain himself and he can entertain a group. This is definitely my favorite age.