A Day in the Life :: Summer 2018
A glimpse into a day in my life! This particular day is Thursday August 23, 2018. Josh just turned 2-3/4 years old, and our new baby Ryan just turned 2 months old. A mix of mom life and work life with a few straight-from-my-iPhone pictures.
2am – Ryan wakes up for a night feeding. He’s not sleeping through the night yet. His longest stretch of sleep has been maybe 4 hours? We’ll get there eventually! For now I’m loving our quiet, peaceful night feedings, just him and I.
2:30am – Ryan and I are back asleep.
5:00am – Ryan stirs a bit. I give him his binkie hoping he’ll go back down. Really trying to get him to make it until 6:00am for his early morning feeding. Binkie doesn’t work, so I nurse him for just a few minutes to get him to last until 6:00am. Then we both go back to bed by 5:15. He sleeps in my arms because he is just so sweet and snuggly and I know we’ll just be asleep for about an hour.
6:15am – Shawn leaves for work and wakes me up before he leaves. I would love to sleep a little more, but I feel much less stressed if I can get a few things done in the morning before the boys wake up. I get dressed in my workout clothes, make the bed, get Josh’s morning milk ready, and get my pump assembled.
6:30am – I nurse Ryan, then pump. (I pump after my first feeding of the morning and last feeding of the day to keep my milk supply up and to build up my freezer stash.) I get Ryan dressed, and we have a few minutes of cuddles and coos and he does lots of morning stretches. He just started smiling, it is the best! I freeze my milk I just pumped, clean the pump, start the bacon for breakfast in the oven, and make myself a latte while Ryan sits in his Podster.
7:10am – Josh is awake! I go in right away and put him on his potty. His bed is dry, no accident last night, hurray! We just started night potty training him (he has been day potty trained since March), and it’s going pretty good! Then Josh gets his sippy cup of milk, and we sit on the couch together while Josh watches Paw Patrol (his absolute favorite). We FaceTime Shawn to say good morning. Then I do tummy time with Ryan while Josh watches his show. Ryan is already rolling over from belly to back, he’s been doing it since 3 weeks. So nuts!
7:30am – I put Ryan down for his first nap of the day. Then I check emails real quick: respond to my Tastes Lovely emails, go over an email with the timeline for an upcoming wedding we have (timeline looks great!), play with Josh and his toys, and cook breakfast.
8:00am – Breakfast! Today we’re having my favorite breakfast of the summer, scrambled eggs with garden tomatoes, pesto and bacon. I’m going to be so sad when I can’t get summer tomatoes anymore! Josh and I chat during breakfast about garbage trucks. Ha! He’s such a boy.
8:15am – Clean up breakfast, get Josh dressed, and load up the stroller (I just got a used Duallie Bob, and I am obsessed!).
8:30am – Ryan is just waking up, right on time! Load both boys up in the stroller, and we head out on our morning walk. We walk to a park that is about a half mile from our house. Josh tells me about all the spider webs, birds and airplanes he sees outside, and whenever he hears a noise. Ryan is being a little sweety and just hanging out.
9:00am – We get to our first park. I nurse Ryan while Josh plays in the park. This park is so great because it is fenced in all around, and there is only 1 entry/exit. Josh knows where to stay, and he is so good at playing and exploring the park.
9:30am – Load up the boys, and keep going on our walk. Josh gets a snack and some juice for this part of the walk to keep him occupied. Ha! We walk north for another 15 minutes, then turn around and head home where we go to the “Big Park” (as Josh calls it).
10:15am – We get to the “Big Park”. Josh plays all over and makes lots of friends (any kid he sees is his friend, and he even calls them friend when he walks up to say hi. “Hi friend!”. So cute.) I wear Ryan so I have both hands free in case Josh needs help on the playground. Ryan usually falls asleep in the carrier at around 10:30. Josh is having so much fun at the park. I love watching him play and laugh.
11:30am – I load Josh back in the stroller to head home. He never wants to leave, so I have to think of a way to make getting in the stroller sound fun. Today it’s because they’re mowing the lawn. “Josh, let’s get in the stroller and we can go watch the big lawn mower cut the grass!) It’s just a 5 minute walk back to our house. The hardest part of our whole walk is our super steep, long driveway and pushing up the stroller. I am *sweating* when we get home.
11:35am – Home from the park. Ryan is still asleep in his carrier. I make Josh’s lunch and my lunch while Josh plays with toys.
11:45am – Ryan wakes up. I nurse Ryan on the couch while Josh plays with his toys.
12:00pm – Lunchtime! Josh’s lunch today is turkey slices, grapes, peanuts, pretzel sticks dipped in peanut butter and half an RX bar. My lunch is a thai zoodle salad. Josh watches Paw Patrol while he eats his lunch. Ryan is hanging out in his podster while I eat super fast, then I play with Ryan while Josh finishes his lunch.
12:30pm – Naptime! I put Josh down for his nap, then put Ryan down for his nap. I take the fastest shower in the history of the world, then climb in bed all clean and fresh and enjoy the silence of the house. I read for about 15 minutes (right now I’m reading Crazy Rich Asians), and then I sleep for about an hour and half because oh my gosh I’m SOOO tired. I usually grab Ryan and we take our nap together, because if I’m holding him he’ll sleep much longer. I am forever and ever grateful that I have 2 such great nappers who take a big afternoon nap at the same time!
2:30pm – Ryan is up. I nurse him, then do my makeup and get dressed in non-workout clothes (ha!). I am all ready *just* in time before Shawn gets home. I wonder if he thinks I look this good all day long? Ha!
3:00pm – Josh is awake. Dry bed again, no accidents, hurray!
3:15pm – Shawn is home from work. Our favorite time of day! Josh is so excited to see him, and they wrestle on the ground while I play with Ryan.
3:40pm – Load the boys up to take to my parents house. Shawn and I have a meeting with our Trust lawyer. We are finalizing our living trust (so very adult of us), and have our meeting at 4:00.
3:50pm – Drop the boys off. My parents are the actual best. They love watching them.
4:00pm – Get to our trust meeting. We get to discuss very fun things like whether we want to be buried or cremated, and under what circumstances we want artificial life support, and at what age we want the kids to get full control of their inheritance if Shawn and I die. Kind of morbid, but with 2 kids it feels great to have this finally taken care of. This has been on our to do list since Josh was born!
5:30pm – Trust meeting is over, and Shawn and I are being very fancy and going on a date! My mom insisted. We head to sushi, my favorite. It is SOOOO nice to have a full conversation with Shawn (gosh I love him), and eat my food right away, and not have to cook or clean up dishes after. It’s amazing. We joke that this feels like vacation. Ha! I even get a glass of wine. Oooh la la!
7:00pm – Pick up the boys. My mom fed Josh dinner (did I already say that she’s the best?), so we head to the park again for some fun before bedtime.
7:15pm – Play at the park. This is one of my favorite times of day to come to the park. We have the place to ourselves! And it is a perfect, warm summer night. Josh and Shawn run all over and play on the park while I hold Ryan. We watch the sunset. Everything feels perfect.
8:00pm – Head home. I give Ryan a sink bath. He loves baths and the water. So peaceful and sweet. Then I take him in our room and nurse him. Shawn starts Josh’s bath and I love hearing them talking and laughing in the bathroom while I’m nursing Ryan. Ryan’s done eating, so I swaddle him up and get him in bed. He falls asleep almost instantly. I pump off any remaining breast milk. Josh is ready for bed, and him and Shawn head outside to say goodnight to the chickens (their nightly ritual), then Shawn and I tuck Josh in to bed.
8:30pm – Both boys are in bed! Shawn and I pick up the house. Shawn works on editing our latest wedding film, and I write this post and add in the images. We also watch the newest episode of Big Brother, our favorite summer show.
10:30pm – I head to bed to read while Shawn watches a little TV to unwind.
11:00pm – Shawn comes to bed and falls asleep instantly. I keep reading because I know Ryan is going to wake up soon for his late night feeding.
11:15pm – Ryan wakes up to eat. I nurse him, then get him back to bed. I get up and go in Josh’s room to “dream pee” him. I barely wake him up, put him on his potty, and tell him to go pee. He does, and I think this really helps him avoid accidents in the night while he learns to hold his pee all night long.
11:45pm – I’m back in bed, and fingers crossed I can fall asleep by midnight! Ryan will be up in probably 2 hours to eat again. I’ll sleep again someday, right? *wink*
12 Comments on “A Day in the Life :: Summer 2018”
Hi! I’m glad I came across your blog! I enjoyed reading this because it gives me hope that i can establish a routine with 2 kids,under 2! I have a 22 month boy and a 6 week old baby girl! I’m just starting to potty train my son. What method did you use to potty train your little one? It sounds like he is doing great!
You can do it! The first 6 weeks were kind of chaos. Ha! But in the best way. I got lucky and my husband had a 5 week paternity leave. Otherwise, whoa, that would have been a big juggling act. You’ll get there momma! You’re doing great!
And I used the Oh Crap potty training method. Worked great! Was only going to the bathroom on the potty by day 2! AMAZING! You can do it. He’s now been potty trained for almost a year. He’ll go to the bathroom, pull down his own pants, go potty on his little potty, pour it in the toilet, flush, pull his pants up, and wash his hands. All on his own! IT’S AMAZING!
the boys are so cute!
Thank you! I sure love them!
Nice to see a happy couple sharing life. Thanks for sharing those boys are precious.
Thanks Nadine! Love all my boys so much! I’m one lucky gal : )
How special to share your precious family Nat! Beautiful photos & truly, you are doing an amazing job as wife & mother – attitude is everything & I bet I know who you got that from?
Thank you so much reading Barbara! Don’t I have the best boys? How lucky am I?! And yes, a positive and cheery attitude makes all the difference. I learned it from the best! My mom has been such a great example to me. I’m a good mom because I was raised by a good mom. Big hugs!
I love you Nat! You’re killing it as a new mom of two. So proud of you friend
Love you Court! Can’t wait to come visit soon and get our boys together!
Thank you for sharing your life with your family:)) You are such a beautiful family and those boys couldn’t be cuter. I remember when my days were filled like that,and I always had energy. Yes, one day you will get to rest, and when those days come about, you will be wishing you were right back where you are. You and Shawn are building beautiful memories for those angels right now:)) What a fantastic mom and dad. I love seeing how you feed Josh and how you prepare it on his tray. Those boys are so healthy looking and so precious. Your Thai noodle dish looked simply delicious. You are so busy all day long, how in the world do you ad your taseslovely site on to your day. You are a Super Star in my eyes!!!!
God bless your beautiful family every day.
Love, Susan
Thank you Susan! You always have the nicest things to say that make my DAY! It will be nice to have some rest some day, but for now I am *loving* all our jam packed day full of my boys. Josh is such a healthy easier, makes this momma happy. That thai noodle dish is delish! Can’t wait to share it here on the blog with everyone once I get the recipe perfect. Big hugs Susan!