So when I said this blog would be about the minutiae of our lives, I meant it. Many of the blogs I read have documented a day in the life at some point, and I always find it fascinating to see how other people spend their time. I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Even if this is boring to the rest of the world, I know I'll appreciate looking back on this someday when I've forgotten what life with an almost one-year-old is really like.
Also, enjoy a few selfies courtesy of yet another self-absorbed millennial, along with a few terrible phone photos. :)
Friday, July 3, 2015
Brian and Anne are both 30.
Claire will be one in ten days.
I am normally home with Claire on Fridays, and Brian is usually at work, but because of the holiday, we were all home together for a glorious three-day weekend. This was a pretty typical weekend day for us.
3:15 am--I'm awake. This must be a carryover from pregnancy insomnia/new baby wakings because everyone else in the house is asleep. Grace the cat is snoring, as usual. I fall back asleep at some point, but it is pretty normal for me to wake up sometime between 2 and 4.
5:45--B's alarm goes off, and we hear Claire chatting to herself. It's my morning to sleep in, so he gets up to make breakfast, feed the cats, and get Claire up. I attempt to go back to sleep to no avail, so I lie in bed and check email, Facebook, and blogs on my phone. And the weather. Always the weather.
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| Thanks for not being terrible, Michigan in July. |
6:30--I get up and see Brian changing Claire on the floor of her room. She's usually in a good mood first thing in the morning, but diaper changes are now the wooooorst ever, and she's ticked off.
I head into the kitchen to make breakfast (a waffle with peanut butter), and end up nursing Claire, who is slightly apoplectic, even though Brian just gave her a bottle. Ohhhh babies.
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| those curls, though |
6:45--She nursed for approximately two minutes, then goes back to playing. Brian hands me my coffee (beans from Zingerman's, so good!), and I eat my breakfast.
7:00--We play on the floor, read books, point at things, and attempt to catch the cats. And then we realize Miss Claire needs a diaper change...uh-oh.
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| slightly blurry, just like our lives |
7:15--Diaper change of doom. Claire is losing her mind, and no amount of singing, talking, or toy distractions will prevent her meltdown. This has become a two-person job. When's naptime?
I bring C back into the living room to cuddle and calm down while Brian cleans up and gets her breakfast ready.
7:30--C eats (blueberries, applesauce mixed with yogurt), and I finish my coffee at last while Googling "one-year-old hates diaper changes." The internet tells me this is a control issue and is extremely common as little ones become more independent. They suggest singing and/or giving her a toy. Sooo helpful.
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| Isn't it fun to have your dining room and your living room in the SAME ROOM?! No, no it is not. Our tiny apartment is driving everyone slightly crazy. |
7:50--More playing on the floor and reading books. We are deep in the mommy phase right now, and she prefers to be touching me or in my lap at all times. I know this will not always be the case, so I'm going to enjoy the cuddles as long as they last.
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| Got this one at the library this week. When you read the same book 47 times a day, it helps to have fresh material. |
8--Brian brings Claire into her room for a nap. This is an early naptime for her, but she usually can't stay awake for longer than a couple of hours first thing in the morning.
8:15--I shower, get dressed, and actually spend a few minutes doing my hair, a rare occurrence. Brian prepares himself to go to the gym. We enjoy a few moments of quiet, and I fold and stuff the cloth diapers we washed the night before.
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| This is the "before" picture, but it looked better than the "after." I don't know what that says about me. |
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| Be still my obsessive compulsive heart! |
9:30--C is awake and happy, thank everything. The length of her naps will make or break our days, so we are always grateful when she sleeps for a nice long while.
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| Cute, happy girl |
She has yet another dirty diaper, so I change it and there is much less freaking out this time.
9:45--Brian heads off to the gym. I unpack the wipes and overnight diapers that arrived this week (Amazon Prime is the best.). We generally cloth diaper during the day, but the Huggies Overnights are the only diapers that will last all night long.
Claire pulls the books off her shelf and pushes around the diaper box. I drink a smoothie and talk to her. She starts fussing and pushing her face in my chest, so we nurse, then look out the window and point to the trees, bushes, birds, and swimming pool, as we do every single day.
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| We do this evvvvveryday |
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| Why buy toys? Boxes are fun! |
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| Second breakfast |
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| Holding up her pointer finger when I ask how old she is. Just waiting for that Harvard admissions letter! |
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| Loves to look out the window |
10:30--I decide we need to get out of the house, so we head over the farmer's market. I forget that everyone has the day off, and it is INSANE. There is a line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot, so I almost give up and head home. But then after circling around the block, I miraculously find a spot!
I put Claire in the Ergo, and we walk the length of the market to check things out. It is super busy and crowded, but there is a lot of great stuff there, too. Unfortunately, I didn't bring much cash with me, but I buy some blueberries and a loaf of raisin bread.
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| Love being able to kiss her head while she's in the Ergo |
11:15--We head to the car, and there is somebody waiting for my spot. It takes forever to get Claire out of the Ergo and snapped in the carseat, but whatever.
11:30--We're home, and so is Brian. Claire thinks she wants to nurse again, so I give her a sippy cup of milk, which seems to keep her content for a minute. I get started on lunch for all of us. I try to soft boil some eggs, but they end up overcooking. The runny yolk is what makes them delicious, so this is sad.
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| Maybe this means one day we can bottle-wean... |
For Claire, I prepare leftover roasted asparagus and brussels sprouts, halved chickpeas, quinoa, and feta cheese. I have no idea if she'll eat or like any of this, but we'll try it. She is not yet to the stage where she openly refuses green vegetables, so we'll take advantage.
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| Baby feast! Food photographer I am not. |
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| Grown-up feast with sad eggs. This is what we fondly call a "bowl of food" at our house. |
12--The three of us sit down to eat at the same time, which is pretty rare. C gobbles up all her food, takes a few tiny sips of milk, then throws the cup on the floor. Brian cleans her up and they sit on the floor and read books while I finish eating.
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| Kitty kisses |
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| Pointing |
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| More pointing! |
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| "I am tired, Mother!" |
12:50--It's naptime again, so I bring C into her room to change her diaper and rock for a few minutes. I turn on her white noise machine, close her blinds, and put her in her sleep sack, then we sit in the rocking chair while she puts her head on my shoulder. This is one of my favorite times of day.
1--I put her in her crib, and she rolls over and goes right to sleep. I get started on making a cake for our friends' 4th of July party (this one: http://www.shutterbean.com/2008/magnolia-bakery-chocolate-wafer-icebox-cake/), which is super easy and looks delicious. I stick it in the fridge to chill overnight.
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| Why did I ever buy whipped cream before? This is so easy. |
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| These cookies were impossible to find because they were in the candy aisle, not the cookie aisle. Why, Meijer?? |
1:20--I sit down and send some emails, then talk to Brian about our plans for the rest of the weekend. In extremely exciting news, we decide to order take out for dinner and rent a movie, so we discuss both of those very important items (hashtag date night!).
1:50--Claire is awake. A short nap, but 2.5 hours of napping over the course of the day is fine by me. She nurses, then we play on the floor and read books (again).
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| Cutest baby toes ever |
2:15--We decide to go for a walk and run some errands. There's a nice trail about 15 minutes north of us in Rockford, so we drive up there. It is a beautiful day--warm with a light breeze. We stop at a little playground along the trail so Claire can swing (the best ever!) and chat with the other people there, pushing their kiddos on the swings. We attempt to continue walking, but C is not having the stroller today, so we go back to the park and sit in the grass. A mobile baby means we have to chase her everywhere so she doesn't eat anything. She offers us leaves and clumps of grass.
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| This was before we had to turn around to change her diaper out of an abundance of caution. |
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| Iced coffee. Always. |
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| She could swing all day. |
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| Handing blades of grass back and forth |
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| studying the trees with Dada |
4:00--We pack it up and head to Lowe's to look at paint. We're moving later this summer (more on that later!), and are planning to repaint Claire's new room, which is currently a light pink. It is impossible to decide on a color when you are looking at a million tiny squares of various shades, but we find a couple we might like and take home a few samples.
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| blowing kisses/playing the "wawa" game |
5:00--We arrive home, and Brian gets Claire's dinner ready. Tonight's menu features a cheese quesadilla, rigatoni pasta with tomato sauce, and broccoli. She likes all of these things. Brian says she likes carbs and cheese, just like her mom, which I'm going to assume is a compliment?
5:30--We have reached the time of day when Brian and I are both worn out and ready to fall asleep. Claire, thankfully, entertains herself for a little while. Brian supervises. I empty the dishwasher.
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| this is about as close as Grace will tolerate |
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| too bad this is blurry, but she's started resting on the floor when she's tired |
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| oh, cheeks! |
6--Bathtime! Brian lays out her pajamas and diaper, then brings her in the bathroom. 90% of the time she loves taking a bath, so this is normally a happy part of the day. I order dinner and clean up the aftermath of Hurricane Claire.
6:20--Similar to diaper-changing, getting Claire ready for bed is now a two-person job, so we tag team the pajamas. She doesn't get too upset, thankfully, and Brian carries her into her room for storytime + nursing. He reads a book, I feed her, then he leaves, and she waves to him. It is adorable.
Brian leaves to go pick up our food, a movie, and beer. It's not exactly a glamorous Friday night, but I'm still looking forward to it.
6:30--Claire is asleep. I sit down and call my dad, then sit on the couch for a few minutes. I am so hungry and excited for Brian to return with dinner.
7:30--We eat, at last! Palak paneer is so delicious. He rented Mockingjay Part I, which I honestly don't even remember being in the theaters (we're a little out of touch these days).
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| palak paneer, aloo tikki, and naan |
9:40--The movie is over. It was okay, but not my favorite. Simultaneously a little boring and very dark. I almost gave up on it halfway through. I am impressed with myself for not falling asleep (not a commentary on the movie...I'm just notorious for passing out during night-time TV watching).
Brian cleans the litterbox, and I put the dinner dishes away. I brush my teeth and take out my contacts, check on C on the monitor, then climb into bed. I don't have the energy to read my book, so I mindlessly scroll through Instagram.
10--So tired. I turn off the light and fall asleep in thirty seconds.
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| always have 400 books and magazines on my nightstand |
