Day in the Life with a 4.5 Year Old and 13 Month Old

Summer is here, and we are busy! We had a nice groove during the spring with Emmett in school and Adelaide napping while he was there, so we've adjusted again now that he's home. We joined the YMCA and I've been having fun trying new classes, the kids are tolerating the child watch, and we all love the cool pool! Luckily Adelaide has taken to transferring well from the car to her crib for naps (for the most part), so we are able to get out in the mornings without stressing about getting home before she falls asleep.

He continues to be an awesome big brother and a lot of fun to hang out with, though we also deal with some typical 4-year-old emotion swings and power struggles. Adelaide is still a peach, but she's getting BUSY and is THIS close to walking. She likes to climb EVERYTHING right now, which can be a bit stressful at times.

I was hoping to catalog a "normal" day for us, but of course Adelaide had other plans :)

6:20 a.m. We've been starting our days earlier than usual this week. Emmett came tiptoeing in whisper to Luke at 6:20 and I woke up and quickly realize there was no falling back asleep. After lounging for a few minutes downstairs to see what the guys are up to. they are watching a random TV show, and I encourage them to go for a bike ride since and Emmett always wanted to go in them and sometimes it's hard to find time to go! In his excitement, he cheers a little too loudly and we hear Adelaide wake up, sigh.

7:15 a.m. They head off to bike, and I grabbed Adelaide and nurse her. After some snuggles I get her dressed and we sit on the front porch to wait for the guys to come home while I sip some coffee it is surprisingly cool this week. We only need to wait a few minutes before they roll up excited to see us!

7:45 a.m. We all head inside well I whip up some breakfast. On the menu, smoothie bowls! I never really have gotten into having smoothies as a meal, but if you throw it in a chilled a bowl and sprinkle it with plenty of coconut flakes and a little granola, I'm game! Emmett has not one, but two egg and cheese breakfast tacos with some raspberries on the side. We give Adelaide breakfast tasting plate, but I guess she nursed too much because she hardly touches her food. The kids get down to the business of playing while Luke has upstairs to shower and I tidy up a bit and get Emmett's things ready to go.

In my smoothie:

1 pitted Medjool date
1/2 cup milk
1/2 frozen banana
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup spinach

8:30 a.m. I pile the kids up in the car, we waved goodbye to Luke and we take Emmett to his soccer camp. Unfortunately, Adelaide falls asleep right before we get there and takes it 2 minute car nap, which I feel does not bode well for the day... After dropping him off, we head home.

9:30 a.m. I throw Adelaide in the stroller and we go for a walk with my friend Karen and her sweet little baby Audrey. We cover some good ground and enjoy catching up. Luckily, Adelaide falls asleep in the stroller and takes probably a 30-minute nap. And, we spy a deer on our neighborhood greenbelt - a rare siting!

10:15 a.m. After we get home, I let her wiggle around and play for a few minutes and then let her in the car to go grocery shopping. She's in a good mood at the store, and we get everything on our list. Unfortunately I pick at the slowest line ever and I can tell we're going to rent a few minutes late. Luckily one of Emmett's besties is doing soccer camp with him, and his mom is happy to pick him up so he's not waiting for me inside. I sheepishly roll in 5 minutes late and he's excited to see me and tell me about the day.

12:15 p.m. Next up we pop over to the allergy doctor for me to get my bi-weekly shot. I brought some sandwiches and a ball, and we sit right outside the doctor's office and they're shady courtyard and eat and play and generally have lots of fun. fter waiting the requisite 30 minutes, we head home and Adelaide falls asleep in the last 2 minutes of the drive. She's been transferring really well lately, but unfortunately today is not our day and she wakes up. I attempted to nurse her down for a nap, but after a while I can tell it's not going to happen. Emmett usually gets to enjoy his TV time while I put her down for a nap and then do a future wars, so I told him he can keep watching, but if she gets anxious or fussy, we might turn it off early. I can tell she's got a poop in the works, and she happily crawls around playing in the living room so he gets to keep watching while I snarf down some lunch (quinoa, lime and cumin spiced black beans, cabbage, carrots, avocado and quinoa - topped with a fried egg!), empty the dishwasher and do some dinner prep.

3:00 p.m. After getting her cleaned up, she starts playing with the play kitchen while Emmett and I work on some Father's day cards and crafts. she starting to get pretty fussy and I know she must be exhausted. I told him it to throw in his swimsuit and we leave early for swim class. I plan to stop by the library to drop off some books that are due, and both kids pass out in the car, just as I had hoped. I drop off the books and head over to the YMCA where I mouthbreathe in the parking lot for a few minutes. Adelaide wakes up at 4:35, before Emmett if you can believe it!

4:45 p.m. Swim class time! It's always a little crazy keeping Adelaide content while also trying to watch Emmett, but I actually pull it off today and get to watch all 30 minutes without her crawling all over the pool area - woohoo!

5:30 Back at home, we play in the front yard waiting for Luke to get home. When he gets here, he and the kids head out back to fire up the grill for some steaks and zucchini while I pull out the Israeli couscous salad I made and pop some crescent rolls in the oven for the kids.

6:15 p.m. We sit down to dinner and have fun catching up on our days. I give the kids some plain couscous, which they aren't digging, but they chow down on steak, zucchini and rolls so we'll take it.

7:10 p.m. After clean up, I head off to Body Jam. I'm wiped from the day, but I'm looking forward to sneaking away for a bit, and I love going to Kayur's class when I get the chance - he's an awesome dancer!

8:45 p.m. I get home and catch Luke and Emmett before E falls asleep. He asks me to show him some of my sweet dance moves, so I oblige haha. Gotta get him excited for a hip hop dance class he's trying the next day! Unfortunately, Adelaide is still fussing in her crib, so instead of kicking up my feet, I go nurse her for 15 minutes or so. I put her down and she's still a bit fussy, but by the time I'm done with a quick shower, she's asleep. Phew!

9:10 p.m. Luke and I meet in the kitchen and gab a bit while I munch on a few cashews and he pours a glass of wine for himself. We watch an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine then head upstairs for bed.

10:30 p.m. Lights out!

Day in the Life with 4 Year Old and 9 Month Old

In the spirit of not letting another 6 months go by, here's another day in the life! Adelaide has changed a lot the last few weeks. She's comfortably going from laying down to sitting back up all on her own, she's rocking on her hands and knees and scooting backwards. She's got 5 teeth and has the most charming wave, and she loves playing with balloons (with mama's supervision). She's also really taking to solid foods. She loves feeding herself easy finger foods like peas, beans and Cheerios, and girlfriend can pound a pouch in no time!

Lately:

She's also starting to cut down on nursing a bit, but her nursing and sleeping habits still vary a lot day by day. Like, some days she takes one 20-minute nap, on my lap. Like, that's it, all day. Other days, I'll get one 2 1/2 - 3 hour nap out of her. Other days, it's a couple short-ish naps. We just go with the flow, and luckily she stays happy. Her night time sleep has leveled out a bit the last couple weeks with even a few 10-12 hour nights again mixed in - woohoo!

Emmett is really into imaginative play and will tell these intricate stories or have us act out these crazy scenarios for long periods of time. He also likes to act out what he sees on his favorite TV shows. We played a weird version of shuffleboard for an hour last week with some coins on our coffee table based on something he saw on If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - ha!

7:30 a.m. I wake up to Emmett jumping on me in bed telling me Adelaide is awake. I'm all smiles because she slept through the night! It takes me a minute to get out of bed, and I find Luke, Emmett and Adelaide all snuggling in Emmett's bed, happy as can be. I say good morning and we get the download from Emmett because they had a new babysitter last night so Luke and I could go see the Texas Roller Derby Girls for a fun, different date night. He had a blast, and so did we :) Then I grab Adelaide for a quiet nurse in her room.

8:00 a.m. Breakfast time! Luke has some blueberry muffins I made yesterday warming in the toaster oven, so I make some scrambled eggs and grab a Sumo orange. Emmett had a little bit of cereal in a cup and a cup of milk while watching a show with Luke before I woke up, and claims he's not hungry for breakfast- ugh! not cool... He says the orange looks good though and eats half of it. Adelaide chows down on some Cheerios, ignores the eggs I give her and sucks on the orange for about 2 seconds before discarding it. Since she's just nursed, I didn't really expect her to eat a ton, so no surprises here.

8:20 a.m. Adelaide rolls around on the carpet while Emmett and I pretend to drive in a car and go to the zoo (but it was closing, too bad ha!), an ice skating rink, and a music shop. Then he and Adelaide move to the play room to horse around while Luke gets himself out the door for work and I throw some clothes on. I make Emmett's lunch for school, feeling bad I didn't go to the store so he won't have his usual fresh strawberries. He says apple slices will work just fine though - no sweat!

9:18 a.m. I think he's having too much fun playing at home, because he declares he doesn't want to go to school. Uh oh... We go through this maybe once a month, and it's so stressful for me. He LOVES school, but every now and then he kind of freaks out about going. We talk about it and I remind him about everything he loves there, and offer to let him take a stuffed animal. He agrees while still grumbling, but gets in the car. When we pull in the parking lot, he says he LOVES school. 4 year olds - am I right?....

9:40 a.m. Adelaide and I head over to Target. I have fun cruising for Valentine gifts to send to my nephews for their annual Valentine box and get a few groceries as well. I was hoping to get a few produce items, but the selection looks particularly dismal today, so I only get a bag of apples and plan to hit Whole Foods with the kids tomorrow.

10:30 a.m. I'm in line to check out and realize Adelaide fell asleep - oops! I get out to the car and load up. Luckily she wakes up when I get her out of the Baby Bjorn, and I realize she has a dirty diaper. I change it, then nurse her in the passenger seat in the vain hope that she might fall back asleep on the way home. She doesn't, but no worries!

11:00 a.m. I throw the milk I bought in the fridge and head out on a walk. I listen to the first half of the latest Stuff You Missed in History Class episode on the regulator wars - which was inspired by the Outlander books/show. I've been reading the series, so was excited for this episode! I texted my neighbor Tiffany when I headed out, and 15 minutes into the walk she says she's down. I loop around to scoop her up, and we walk and chat.

Noon - I realize Adelaide fell asleep in the stroller - woohoo! We do one more block and say goodbye. I get her in the house and put on some white noise, and she stays asleep. Yay! Lunchtime for me. I warm up some leftover Instant Pot risotto with some roasted cauliflower. For color, I steal some steamed butternut squash I made for Adelaide (she hasn't really enjoyed it the few times I offered, so I figure she won't mind ;)  )

12:30 p.m. I kick up my feet to eat on the couch, turn on an episode of This Is Us and get typing. Then it's time to catch up on laundry mountain!

So. Many. Socks.

1:40 Adelaide wakes up, and just in time. I grab her and we have a nice nurse, then finally get her dressed for the day and head out the door to pick up Emmett.

2:15 Emmett is all smiles after school, and it's gorgeous outside. We play on the playground with a few of his best pals. Adelaide even gets in on the action! I can't put her down on the ground, since she'll immediately start shoveling rocks in her mouth - ha! We have an applesauce snack before heading out.

3:30 Back home, and Emmett has some "relaxing TV time." Adelaide plays on the rug for a while and I do some dinner prep and unload the dishwasher. Then she has another nurse.

Throwing cups - but really, those rolls though! <3 <3 <3

4:40 We head to the backyard to pick some kale and sage from our garden for dinner. Fun fact, we planted our garden way too late and then didn't tend to it, like, at all. But, the kale came in thick and happy, as did the sage, so at least there's that! After gardening, we have fun swinging, playing baseball, basketball, and other 4-year-old random ball games.

5:45 Luke gets home just in time for some preschooler drama. I feel bad he often gets home right when someone is melting down, especially because we usually have mostly lovely days! We talk Emmett off the ledge while I finish up dinner.

6:00 We sit down to dinner! On the menu: panko crusted honey mustard salmon, mashed sweet potatoes with sage brown butter, simple kale salad (recipes below). Adelaide has bits and pieces of everything, minus salt. Emmett doesn't like sweet potatoes or kale (luckily he likes most other veggies though), so he gets brown rice and peas on the side.

Sleepy boy <3

6:30 Emmett looks REAL tired at dinner and just houses two bowls of peas and a few bites of salmon. He asks to go upstairs and take a tub (it was a long, high energy day for him, so no surprises here). I decide to do a quick nurse with Adelaide since she didn't eat a ton at dinner. She's down (which is good, because if I try to nurse and she's NOT hungry, she may be tempted to bite -- ouch!!). She falls asleep on my lap, but no dice with a 6:30 nap. I throw her over my shoulder and we head upstairs, which promptly wakes her up. Emmett is in full tubby mode but says he doesn't want to tub with her tonight, so we wash him up then put her in. He loves "babysitting" her while she's in the tub and happily keeps her entertained with toys while Luke monitors. I sneak back downstairs to tidy up from dinner, then get changed.

Sorry sleepy girl, too late for nap, too early for bed. WAKE UP! :)

7:10 p.m. It's Monday night, which means it's time to head out to Body Jam! They just launched a new routine last week, and I'm really digging it. My watch pings me at 8 with Luke sending a celebratory text that he already got both kids in bed and asleep - woohoo! I stay after to gab with my jam pals for a few minutes, then head on home.

Post-Jam glow

8:50 p.m. Back home, Luke gives me the bedtime download. Apparently, Emmett wanted to keep them company while Luke gave Adelaide a bottle. He crawled in her crib and promptly fell asleep. So when A passed out, Luke placed her next to him and then scooped him up and put him in his own bed. I wish I could've seen that!

I hose off, then pour a little bowl of cereal and we watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

9:35 We head upstairs to get ready for bed, read, and pass out at 10:30. That night, A wakes up once at 12:30 to nurse, and then luckily goes right back to sleep. Spoiler alert, she doesn't wake up til 9:30 and takes her first nap at 2:30. So unpredictable!

Panko Crusted Honey Mustard Salmon

2 salmon fillets, skin-on
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons German or grainy mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup panko
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Stir mustard and honey together in a bowl, then spread over salmon. Top with panko and gently press down.

Warm an oven-safe skillet like a cast iron over medium heat and drizzle with oil. Place salmon, skin side down, in the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. Place skillet in oven (don't turn salmon over), and cook another 8ish minutes (depending on thickness of your fillets). Enjoy with or without salmon skin (it's easy to scoop the salmon right off the skin with a spatula when removing from skillet).

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Sage Brown Butter

3 medium sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 sage leaves, cut chiffonade-style
Salt to taste

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Place in steamer basket and steam until tender, about 10 minutes. (Alternately, you could microwave or cook in the instant pot, but I like the texture of steamed potatoes when mashing). Remove from heat and mash. Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium-low heat, add butter and sage. Let butter melt and stir occasionally, until right as it starts to get brown. This took me about 4 minutes, but definitely keep an eye. Pour over sweet potatoes and stir. Season with salt to taste.