typical day

i forget what my days were like when riley was an infant. i only remember those mornings where she got up at 4am and was ready to get her day started. or when she'd be up at 7 then we would take our morning nap from 8:30 to 11:30 while she lay on my chest on the couch. everything else is a blur.

now, i sleep until i hear spencer make noise. i go into her room and see her perched up with her arms and that sweet happy face smiling back at me. it's 7am, i'm exhausted but i come to life as soon as i see her. "good morning, sweetheart." i don't even change her. she freaks if i try to change her and i really don't want riley getting up at this point. riley wakes usually a bit before 8. i remember thinking she would never sleep later than 6. so now, we're all up. riley needs her orange juice asap and so do i. after some time watching oswald or franklin, we turn off the tv and make oatmeal. riley eats oatmeal 5 out of 7 days a week. spencer watches from her exersaucer. riley pulls her "stoo" up to the counter and pours the oatmeal and milk into a bowl. it's always too hot when it comes out of the micro so we sing that new edition song "you've got to cool it down . .. oooo watch out. you're gonna lose control." i add an ice cube. she was sitting in her highchair but i'm thinking she's too old for it. eating at the big girls table is a real challenge, but we do it because i think she needs to learn. mike disagrees.

after breakfast we all play until spencer's nap around 9:45. riley and i either watch sesame street or play in the basement with the cards (a plastic bin of cards people gave us for one of the girls' births, riley's baptism, christmas, riley's 1st and 2nd birthdays, anniversary card for mike, etc). basically, i try to keep things quiet so spencer doesn't wake up. she only sleeps until about 10:45 now so then we go up, play more, change diapers, get dressed, spencer eats oatmeal and fruit. i make riley's lunch. riley's down at 12:30 thought it's been slipping to 12:45 and spencer's back down at 1. riley's up around 2:30, spencer sometimes not until 3:30.

daddy's home! i prep dinner, we all play in the basement. the basement is mike and riley's domain. they could stay down there for hours. we eat. bathtime, i get spencer ready for bed around 6:50. i typically exit spencer's room and see mike and riley watching something like edward scissorhands, ghostbusters. we get riley ready for bed and read from about 7:30 to 7:50. lights out. "tell me about ratatoille." "tell me about frankenstein and randy." it's a new tradition that i spin a yarn before bed. usually the same one with slight variations of where ratatoille lives and what he eats. (for a while it was about riley and frankenstein playing at the park and swimming.) hopefully she's sleeping by 8. that's it. wow, doesn't seem that eventful to think about it but typing it out makes it out to be a busy day.