freeze frame

The day normally starts with Ben's alarm going off, or Madison waking up to nurse. You and Ben creep around the room getting ready, trying not to wake Madison (she's in the pack and play in her room at night, but we move her to the swing after the last feeding to try to keep her asleep longer. Ben tries so hard to be quiet, and will always roll up his belt to bring downstairs because it jingles.  Sometimes you linger in bed trying to soak up the last few minutes of stillness, and will get out of bed when you hear Ben blow drying his hair (so the gel sets).  You get ready and normally Colter will wake up around 6:20. You wait until 6:30 to get him- usually just enough time to tip toe down the stairs and climb over the gate and read a couple devotionals and pray for the day.

Colter normally wants to be carried down the stairs and you love to feel his soft flannel zip up jammies. You feel a twinge of anxiety as you pass your closed door- knowing that Madison is sleeping and wanting to keep it that way so you can have a little alone time with Colter. Colter always thinks the lights are too bright, so you leave them all off, except for the one by the garage door. He almost always asks for a "snack" and usually wants red berry cereal. You set him on the counter while getting breakfast ready and if you're having waffles, he likes to put them in the slot and push the lever down. He will also immediately start to beg to have a waffle with jelly on it, and when you get it out of the fridge, he says over and over "want some." Once you're all settled on the bar stools (most of the time Colter wants to sit in his knees not in his little chair), he immediately asks to "read Jesus book." He normally wants to "read piggy food" (the story of the prodigal son) or Zaccheus. It warms your heart that he loves to hear Bible stories.

After breakfast you clean up the dishes while he announces what he wants to play with first- which is usually cars or trains. Sometimes he'll say "play kitchen stuff" or "play Boeing" You'll continue to clean, but it's not long before he says "want me to play with you?" which means... "I want you to play with me." You lay down on the ground and will play a million different things before you hear the squwak from upstairs. Colter always gets a big smile on his face and sucks in his breath when he hears Madison wake up. You try to keep up his excitement so you run to the stairs announcing "we're coming sister!" Colter will normally follow right behind and say the same thing "we're comin sister!" He always likes to close the baby gate and will pretend the stairs are an escalator or elevator. If it's an escalator, it's just like the one in the book Courdoroy, so he'll talk about the book and how it's a palace upstairs.

You open your door as Madison is wailing for someone, and the minute she hears you or Colter, she stops and opens her bright eyes. You thank God almost every day when you see her for what a sweet girl she is. She almost always gives off big grins, but will want to eat right away. You usually prop a big pillow up against the foot of your bed and nurse while Colter climbs up on the computer chair and listens to a bunch of different songs. You have learned to keep the mouse with you because of the number of times he requests "different song." After nursing, you get dressed, brush your teeth, and normally head out on an outing. It always takes coaxing to get Colter to come to the car, and normally you have to bring Madison downstairs  get her ready, and then go back up to get him.

                                               

Outings typically consist of different parks, friend's houses, music class, library, museum, play gyms, or going to the barnes and noble train table (which Colter calls the train store). Madison usually screams the entire way in the car seat, and you'll spend the whole drive rocking her car seat with your arm which eventually turns numb. During the whole drive, Colter is always asking for different songs.. you're never quite sure what he actually wants to listen to since he always wants to change the song. Once you get to where you're going, you quickly jump out of the car, get on the ergo, and rescue little lady from her scream fest. You're normally out until 11:30ish unless you pack a lunch.

On the drive home, you normally feel a little anxious ,knowing that the next hour will likely be craziness. After you unload screaming Madison and get Colter inside (who never wants to come in), you usually have to feed madison, change both kids' diapers, read books, and get Colter up to bed while trying to keep Madison as calm as possible (she is always way ready for bed). You want Colter to feel like he still gets special time reading books, but it always seems like Madison is so tired that you end up having to bounce her standing up, while reading to him sitting down. Colter still hates his diaper being changed so you have to work with super speed while he flails his legs around. For some reason Colter loves to help changing Madions diaper and he'll call out "poop patrol!" whenever I start to change her.

You finally get Colter down.. normally you'll hear him kicking the side of his crib rails, or talking about trains coming for 10-15 minutes and then... silence. Luscious silence. Because Madison doesn't nap great in the morning, she is normally super tired so lately you've been nursing her to sleep and putting her in the swing. She has been doing crazy naps that are sometimes up to four hours long which means sometimes you get a great break during nap time. On occasion, she has slept all the way until 5 or even 6 when Ben gets home.

Colter normally sleeps a couple hours and will normally wake up by talking about trains again, or you'll hear kick kick kick as he kicks the rails of his crib. Colter's usually pretty grumpy when he wakes up, so you normally offer snacks and try to do a few activities before madison gets up.

Ben carpools to work with David, our neighbor, and typically gets home around 5:15 each day. You spend the time outside climbing up the steep hill of the neighborhood, playing in the kitchen underneath the deck, going down to Jessica's to play in their garage, or just walking around out front. The minute you hear the crunch crunch crunch of Ben walking on the gravel on the side of the house, you breath out a sigh of relief and know you've made it through another day. He normally asks "where's Colter?!" and colter gets a big smile on his face. You usually head inside with Madison and Ben will stay out for a few more minutes. You either feed Madison, or try to get dinner together really quick. Dinners are still really scattered- Madison usually wants to eat or is still asleep in the ergo... which means you can't sit down, so you stand on the other side of the counter. Ben normally talks about his day, or we talk about the outing we did or other happenings  After dinner, Ben will usually play with Colter or take him upstairs for his bath.

You recently started a little bit of cry it out for Madison's bedtime because you and Ben were spending two hours every night to get her to sleep. She responded so well and now goes to bed on her own after only a few minutes of fussing. This has opened up your evenings tremendously and you and Ben have started to be able to watch shows and talk more together. Life feels a little more normal in the evenings. You typically head up to bed around 9:30 and are asleep by 10.

And so mama.. if you ever wonder what a day was like with two young kiddos.. here it is!