Life lately

In an effort to remember these days that are flying by, here is what a typical week day looks like for our family:

1. Around 5:45, either Andy or I wake up to exercise. If it is my turn, I go on a walk around the neighborhood with Jenn. If it is Andy's turn, he goes to Eat the Frog with Graham. Sometimes (like this morning), one or both of the kids wakes up early and will come lay in bed with whoever is left behind (why does this seem to happen to me more often than Andy!?). Then, we all go have breakfast - Addie asks for a "nana" and will occasionally even sit in her highchair to eat said "nana." Reid is becoming more interested in cereal (specifically the confetti-os we get at Whole Foods) and will sometimes put milk with is and sometimes not. They will both eat as many berries or other fruit that they can get their little hands on and will sometimes asks for "milky" or water. Reid will sometimes asks to watch a show like Puppydog Pals, Ninjago, Power Rangers, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, or the like, and Addie will occasionally asks for "Mee Mo" (Mickey Mouse). Usually, we do not watch TV in the mornings but on some mornings, like this morning with the maid coming, we give in. The show they both agree on watching right now is Mickey and the Roadster Racers, and I try to put on Sesame Street on Saturday mornings ("Sesame Street Saturdays"). More often, our mornings involve music and, sometimes, a dance party. Reid also likes to play with his legos in the mornings (Adeline likes to get involved, also, which doesn't always go over well..). If he is feeling particularly energetic, Reid wants to sword fight or wrestle or practice his karate moves (he just started karate class but has been practicing "ninja moves" for months) and sometimes Andy (primarily)  will give in. Occasionally, Adeline gets in on the action but she mostly watches and will play with her dolls or just insist on being held. Once we get them both dressed (Reid prefers fast clothes and Adeline prefers clothes with Minnie Mouse on them), we will hustle them in to the cars with a car snack. Favorite car snacks include strawberry crepes (taking a break from them at the moment because I was worried about sugar intake) and pirate booty (we only allow pirate booty on "pirate booty Mondays"). Then it is off they go to Trinity Lutheran. If we are lucky, we will get pictures or videos of them throughout the day - they usually seem to be engaging in fun activities and overall content. On a rare occasion (although needs to happen more often), I pick up Reid to go to lunch (his favorite remains sub-a-way) but now that I work 3 days/week and spend more time with the kids, I have been less prone to lunch breaks with Reid. Then, around 5:15/5:30 (me) or 5:45/6:00 (Andy), we pick the kids up from school. Adeline is so excited to see us every afternoon and often insists on walking in the hallway, drinking from the water fountain, and drinking from Reid's cup. She will also run away from us with a mischievous grin and get upset if we try to carry her out, so pickup can be a bit trying in that way. Reid is also excited to see us and he usually has a piece of artwork (he is in to coloring in designs and drawing rainbows and writing his name right now) to show off. We then load both kids in the car and brace ourselves for I-4/17-92 traffic! Reid does pretty well in the car (although he typically insists on either turning the radio off or turning on one of his favorite songs, which include the Cheers theme song, the Puppy Dog Pals them song, Rock and Roll all Night, and Old Town Road). Adeline, on the other hand, has become increasingly upset about our long car rides (I can't blame you, girl!). Often a car snack will help both kids settle down, but somewhere along the ride, Adeline will typically fuss and say she has poopy (she usually doesn't) or reach out her hand for us to awkwardly hold from the front seat. Once we get home, Adeline likes to play a game where she wants her seat belt unbuckled but then wants to crawl around car. After getting her out of the car int he midst of her protests, we all walk inside and Reid lets Finn outside (his first real chore) to go to the bathroom. Then, it is scramble time! I try to put together whatever I can for dinner or, if I beat Andy home and he has the kids, we all wash up and sit down to dinner. After dinner, we play for a little bit before bath time. Next up - bath time. The kids typically bathe together and, after brushing teeth (which Adeline loves to try to do on her own), one of us takes Adeline in to her room for book time (currently favorites include the potty book and a book on opposites and the dinosaur dance book and brown bear brown bear) while the other plays with Reid for a bit. If Andy isn't home, I sometimes let Reid watch a show while I put Adeline to bed. Then, once Adeline goes to sleep (she goes to sleep pretty easily after book time, rocking, and turning off light and on moon and stars), it is time for Reid's best time routine. Admittedly, we struggle a bit with Reid's routine. Lately, we play with magna tiles or legos in his room for  a bit and then read a few books and either fall asleep with him or leave him in the room while we shower in the hopes he will fall asleep. After that, it is our turn for bed-time, which we often postpone by watching tv for far longer than we should. And that, my friends, is a typical day in the life of the Laydens. <3 <3

My Little Loves are Growing Up!

There are a lot of things I miss about the newborn and infant stage (definitely not including sleeplessness and worries), but I am pretty in love with the little beings my kids are these days. Reid says the wittiest and funniest things (story below) and has the best imagination, while Adeline is a little mama with a cute sense of humor, enviable dance moves, artistic interests, and she gives the best hugs and kisses around. Andy and I are heading to DC tomorrow to a new partner conference his law firm set up and, while looking forward to some quality time with Andy, I already miss my littles. At time, they drive me crazy sometimes and ramp up my stress level, but I feel most complete when my whole family is intact and together.  Now for the fun Reid story:

Last week, right after I loaded the kids in to the car to head to school, I asked Reid whether he needed to go pee. After he replied with a very clear "no," we were on our way. About five or ten minutes in to our drive, Reid alerts me that he needs to pee and he needs to pee right now. I am super frustrated, partially because my co-worker just alerted me she is staying home sick and I am already running behind getting to work, but I pull over at WaWa and take Reid (with Adeline in tow) to the bathroom. As we walk from the bathroom to the car, I notice rows and rows of snacks and brace myself for the snack requests. Luckily, I did not get the barrage of snack requests I envisioned so it was time to move to the next challenge- getting the kids back in the car. In order to get Reid back into the car as quickly as possible, I challenge him to race Adeline and see who can get buckled in first. Reid, never backing down from a challenge, gets in his car seat and hurriedly buckles himself in. I then buckle Adeline in (after proclaiming Reid the champ) and walk over to Reid to check his buckle job. I notice his buckles are all twisted and tell him, "You are all tangled up," to which he replied, "You want me to get a snack?" I said, "No. I said you are all tangled up." Reid then responded with, "Ohhhhhh, I thought you were saying you wanted me to get a snack... in spanish."  :) :) :)