Day in the Life - 2 1/2 Year Old

My little toddler is turning into more and more of a little kid these days, and it's (usually) lots of fun! Current cute sayings - "want to play some catches?" He's obsessed with watering and our wildflowers that we planted back in February look amazing thanks to his green thumb. I just need to make sure he doesn't OVER water all our plants, trees and grass haha. I bought a big, soft Frisbee that we've been having fun throwing around in the yard. He's also been digging some inside play action with block building, train conducting and car driving on his road rug (including stops for red lights and at pedestrian crossings - ha!). And racing with mom or dad in circles around downstairs, as always!

Our garden is phenomenal right now, and E has been quite the attentive gardener. He loves checking for red tomatoes every morning and we always have several to pick. He begs to eat one every day, but after the initial burst of juice he spits it out. Luckily there are so many I don't even mind! He can name all the plants in the garden and loves checking on their status every day.

Luke and I got to start out the month sneaking off to Houston for the weekend for my friend Alison's wedding. She's one of my sister's oldest friends, so we had a ball staying at Lauren's house and going to the wedding just the four of us and partying with lots of friends. It's always fun to see my nephews and just be auntie, not mommy. Luke and I snuck away the afternoon before the wedding to go to lunch, hit up the museum district to see some dino bones and visit with my dad! This awesome weekend was made possible because my wonderful in-laws came to Austin to watch him. They had lots of fun, and I was impressed at how much they went out and did!

We embarked on our second family road trip, this time to Branson, Missouri, to enjoy a lovely resort in the area with Luke's folks.  Daniel Tiger was Emmett's companion on the trip and he was happy as a clam in the car, just a couple quick leg stretch breaks and a stop for lunch both ways. The resort we stayed at was lovely and had a baller playground that E loved. He also got to try playing tennis and mini golf and was obsessed with both. We rented a boat which he was nervous about and did NOT want to wear the life jacket for, but we persevered and he was super zen (he even fell asleep on my lap for 30 minutes!). He loved swimming, hiking and checking out the trolley in downtown.

It's been a pretty chill month otherwise. E had his last day of school (no summer school at his preschool, which is a huuuge bummer) and had to leave early due to falling ill. Luckily it was only a 24 hour bug and he was good as new!

Now onto a super fun Memorial Day weekend-in-the-life!

Friday

7:30 a.m. A generously late wakeup call from Emmett, great! We keep things simple with a cereal and fruit breakfast so Luke can get out the door to work at a decent time. E and I go on a bike ride around the block (he found his tricycle after we've had it hidden for the last couple of months) and he surprises me by either riding it or walking alongside it pushing the handles the whole way - woohoo!!!

9:30 a.m. We drop Benji off at the neighbor's house for a doggie playdate since the mosquito spray man is supposed to come this morning and we head off to meet his school besties at Balcones District Park. The boys are soooo excited to see each other after a whole week apart and happily play for a few minutes before demanding to go on a hike. The six of us happily set off down the trail, and except for a few tears and missteps, have a wonderful time and cover about a mile. Back at the playground more fun ensues along with some snacking.

12:30 p.m. Lunch is served! Leftover black bean burgers that are surprisingly delish with avocado, home grown tomatoes and Sir Kensington's special sauce served with a shaved cucumber and (home grown) zucchini salad with homegrown tomatoes and feta. Yum! E's not that hungry after snacking on the hike and playground, so he has a few spoonfuls of peas and a roll. We say bye to dad and then play in the backyard with some bubbles.

2:00 p.m. Nap time! E drinks some milk while I read a handful of books, then he snuggles up on his lamb rug. I hop in the shower because it was suuuuper muggy on our hike. Then I head downstairs to relax for a hot sec and watch the first couple episodes of the Netflix show Girl Boss (addicted!) then I whip up a mango coconut and sweet cream ice cream base to freeze the next day. After cleaning the kitchen, I get us ready for our next adventure.

4:45 p.m. I go to wake up Emmett. He's not in the most chipper mood so we chill in a room for a little bit while he wakes up and calms down. We play puzzles for a minute and get him freshened up, then hop in the car, turn on some Daniel Tiger and head to Austin Beerworks. We meet up with Luke and his coworker gang and enjoy some beers, chatting, East Side King Thai food from the trailer (there's a different food truck there every time) and E runs around playing with his dump trucks and soccer balls.

7:30 p.m. Oops, we stayed a little late - that tends to happen when we go out on Fridays. Oh well! We head home and E is happy to go straight upstairs. We play a super fast version of "beach" then hop in the tubby. Jammies, milk, books and brush teeth, then we say goodnight. He says, wait! I have to go potty. A new little trend. After we're all squared away there, we say goodnight for real.

8:30 p.m. We kick up our feet and start season 4 of Sherlock from the BBC, which just came out on Netflix, hooray! Unfortunately the combo of two beers and a loooong week of momming has made me sleepy mcsleeperson and I can't keep my eyes open.

9:15 p.m. I cave and head upstairs for bed.

Saturday

7:30ish a.m. Another sleepy morning and 10 hours of sleep for this mama. It's great to wake up feeling refreshed! I head downstairs to start making coffee and whole wheat strawberry pancakes while Luke gets Emmett.

8:00 a.m. Pancake time! E loves talking about strawberry pancakes, but actually prefers not to have strawberries in his pancakes - go figure. He pounds his plain pancake with syrup and berries on the side and we enjoy our pancakes WITH strawberries.

8:30 a.m. The boys head to the backyard to play bubbles and I clean up the kitchen, then we chat about our plans for the morning.

9:10 a.m. I throw on my swim suit and drive to the gym to swim some laps. Luke puts Emmett in the trailer and the boys bike to the playground (though apparently they spend most of the time at the trail by the creek right there watching fish and turtles). I arrive to an empty pool and bang out 30 laps feeling good, then reward myself with 10 minutes in the hot tub.

10:20 a.m. I arrive back home after making a pit stop at my friend's house to feed her bunny while she's out of town. The boys aren't back yet so I get showered and dressed and pack the backpack for our next adventure.

10:50 a.m. The guys get back home and E is pumped to "go see the chickens" at Springdale Farm, so we hop in the car and head that way. He enjoys some Daniel Tiger in the car while Luke and I listen to "Ask Me Another" on NPR - love that show!

11:25 a.m. First things first, we go and visit the chickens and ducks at the farm and take a cursory glance at the flowers. We're all hungry, so we walk over to Eden East to order brunch (we land on the tostada, smoked chicken gyro and boudin balls) and have fun playing with cars while we wait and sip on our Ciderweizen by Texas Cider Keeper (Eden East is BYOB). After digging in, we frolic about in the farm for a while, and I pop into the farm stand and buy some potatoes.

1:10 p.m. Time to head home! Play time and then nap time. I make the ice cream and a strawberry sheet cake - yassssssssss. The FedEx guy comes and delivers Luke's early Father's Day present - new hiking sandals and boots. He's pumped!

4:30 p.m. I wake up Emmett a little early so we can hop in the car and head to our friends' place in Mueller for a dinner and play date. These are the two toddlers we adventured to Colorado with last summer (both of whom now have little sisters!). It was a million degrees out (ok not really, but the heat index was 110), but that didn't stop the boys demanding to play outside and having a ball. E loved riding a scooter around. My friend made a delicious casserole and we dug in, then we had cake and ice cream for dessert (which Emmett some how missed! He was digging getting a chance to play with all the toys by himself, not realizing that the reason why was CAKE.)

7:30 p.m. Oops, we stayed too late (that's the theme this weekend) and trundle on home. We play a power game of beach and do a super speedy tub and bedtime.

8:24 p.m. Score, not a horribly late bedtime! Luke and I head downstairs to watch Sherlock again. 20 minutes in, his friend texts asking him to play games, and I encourage him to do it. Bridget Jones's Baby is on Netflix and I make it half way through before heading upstairs to read and go to bed (at 10:45).

Sunday

7:00 a.m. A little earlier wakeup today and Luke is a little groggy from staying up later than me, so I snag E and head downstairs. He asks for Daniel Tiger and an apple and I oblige, then work on making coffee and whipping up some breakfast tacos!

7:45 a.m. Breakfast time! We dig in to our tacos, but Emmett isn't all that hungry after his apple snack. The boys go outside to play bubbles and I tidy up and get dressed.

9:15 a.m. We head out on a family hike at Walnut Creek and have a ball! We cover some good ground and actually discover a trail we haven't hiked before. We hear a turkey which is fun and surprises E. Then lots of time at the creek throwing rocks, and we carry him back out.

11:10 a.m. Emmett isn't tiring yet, and he and Luke head around the block on a tricycle walk while I prepare some lunch. Tortellini with fresh basil and tomatoes from the garden and the last bit of black bean burger and boudin balls. Random, but delicious! We walk over to our neighbor's house after so Luke can keg a beer he was fermenting there, and Emmett helps push it home in his wagon, ha!

1:45 p.m. E asks Luke to put him down for a nap and he goes down at 1:45 - the earliest in a while! I head out to meet my friend Meg to get pedicures, which is a treat I only indulge in once or twice a year, and we have fun catching up. I grab a few groceries and get home in time to prepare us for the evening's festivities.

4:25 p.m. Emmett wakes up from his nap and we get ready to head out the door. We go to our friend's house about 20 minutes away (they were neighbors, but moved away last summer sadly) with our other neighbor pals. The kids are amped up and have fun running around, then we get them dressed to play in the pool. The dads take them in while we moms chat and drink wine. Then I see the sky turning dark and offer to grill up dinner just in case the sky opens up. Good thing, we got it all done just in time! Our friends are amaaaazing bakers and brought homemade hot dog buns - holy YUM!

7:30 p.m. What do you know, another late departure. Another speedy bedtime and we eek it in before 8:30. The thunderstorm has knocked out our wifi, and Luke and I turn to antenna and watch America Ninja Warrior which is pretty entertaining. He laughs at how quickly I get invested in the show. We head upstairs to bed around 9:20 where I read for a bit and he finishes watching a Formula 1 race. Lights out at 10!

Monday

7:30 a.m. Wake up and smell the cereal! We have a lazy breakfast and play time.

9:30 a.m. We hop in the car and head to Mueller for a Hike It Baby stroller hike. Luke is the only dad but doesn't mind at all (he's the best) and we have a great hike with 6 parents and kids, then enjoy playtime at the playground afterwards. As we cross the street we spot a turtle in the road, so Luke rescues it and stops for a (not actual) kiss.

11:50 a.m. We head home to have a simple PB&J lunch with carrot sticks and grapes in the front yard because E is busy playing and just runs over for bites. The we walk over to feed my friend's bunny who Emmett FALLS in love with.

2:00 p.m. Naptime! Once again, E requests dad. That's great, I get started making some mac n cheese and marinating chicken. Then I deep clean my house which is pretty gross after 2 weeks of ignoring housework. Luke and his friend load up the old fence materials and head to the dump.

4:50 p.m. I wake up E a little late and we head downstairs to watch Daniel Tiger while he snacks on a few pretzels. Then our friends arrive and I shake up some blackberry gin fizzes and we dig into the cheese and crackers they brought. The guys fire up the grill to cook the chicken and asparagus and the toddlers happily play inside then out. It's so darling, Emmett holds the bubble wand so his friend can blow the bubbles (he's 7 months younger and hasn't quite mastered holding the tube upright without spilling while also blowing bubbles - yay teamwork!).

7:35 p.m. Emmett comes in the room pantless and diaperless and we realize the evening should wrap up immediately haha! I bid our friends farewell and clean up the kitchen while the guys do tubby and books, then I come up to help say goodnight.

8:40 p.m. We finally get to finish Sherlock! Lights out at 10:15.

Wow, what a crazy weekend, but lots of fun! We'll have to be better about sticking to that 8 o'clock bedtime this week, but I have a feeling with summer it might slip a little. Time will tell!

Day in the Life - 2 Year Old Part 5

What a fun month! And I'm not just saying that because it was my birthday ;) Emmett's school had a rodeo. He had a blast, but all he wanted to do was run around with this wagon with his besties - whatever works!

My sister and her family came in town for the East Austin Urban Farm Tour and we had an epic weekend. Ben and Emmett got along SO well (they even had a slumber party both nights and slept til 7!), there was lots of time where they played together and the adults got to chill and visit - score! We hired sitters for the farm tour so the adults could play - worth it :)

 

 

 

My mom came in town for Easter and we had fun playing croquet (a Lehfeld family favorite!) and hanging out. She babysat so we could go out for my birthday. Fabi + Rosi was even better than I remembered (it had been 7 or 8 years), although the duo we saw afterwards on a whim was....interesting.

 

Our neighbors have been doing some landscaping and Emmett was OBSESSED with helping them dig. Like, anytime they were outside, he'd grab his shovel and say "I'm gonna go help Rocky and Abby!" so Luke and I would head over with him shovels in hand and help out (so the experience was hopefully net positive for them haha).

The best weekend was our Hike It Baby camping trip at Colorado Bend State Park. The weather was GORGEOUS and the site was beautiful. Emmett loved staying outside all day, sleeping in the tent, eating outside, hiking and climbing on the awesome tree at the group site. Can't wait to do it again!

 (he had a hard time adjusting to eating indoors - we ate on the picnic table a lot last week!)

Emmett has been obsessed with water (spray bottles then watering cans then the hose), so our plants have been very happy this month! His awareness of social situations has been fun to witness - he's picking up on more niceties like telling the neighbors "it's a beautiful day" or the grocery store clerk "have a good one!". He's showing some typical behaviors of a two year old, but with some gentle coaching we've had some good teaching moments. He's been sleeping well (10 1/2 - 11 hours at night, 2 ish hour naps) and has a new love of green beans! He is a total jokester who has been cracking us (and himself!) up lately. Also, he's discovered the glory of burbs. He burped the other night and said "I farted in my mouth!" - Luke and I practically peed our pants over that one.

7:03 a.m. Emmett's awake! He's calling for Daddy, but since Luke is on a work trip, I saunter in there. He's less than impressed and tell me to get back in bed and send Daddy, but when I remind him Daddy went on an airplane, but I'm happy to go downstairs and make coffee then come back, he changes his tune and asks to go downstairs with me ;) Instead of standing on his stool to stir his pumpkin dunk and help cut strawberries, he prefers to play with toys while I assemble breakfast. Not surprisingly, he also has a dirty diaper after this independent playtime, so I change him before we sit down.

7:30 a.m. Breakfast time! I forgot to snap a pic, but it was a pretty typical morning. He had pumpkin dunk with Life cereal and Cheerios with strawberries and raspberries on the side. I had almond butter and homemade strawberry jam stirred in overnight oats with berries on top. And plenty of coffee :)

7:45 a.m. It's beautiful outside and Emmett asks to go play. He wants to go "in his toes" (barefoot), but after I open the door and we realize it's kind of cold out, he asks for shoes and a jacket (!!!). We have a great time playing around the backyard, which is a nice change since he normally demands to play in the front these days - making it a challenge to dash inside to get us ready for the day. He's happy playing at the sand table, so I dash in to get dressed and pack his school lunch. We eventually make it to the front yard to play a bit more - he begged to water the flowers, but since we did it last night I got him to settle on just using his spray bottle.

9:00 a.m. He asks to go potty - yay! So we take the opportunity to get him dressed for school and say bye to Benji.

9:12 a.m. We drive to school for drop off. We arrive a few minutes early and have fun visiting with his friends in the parking lot. He's excited for school today, but also a little clingy and wants to show me a lot of toys in class and play with him. After a few minutes though he gives me a kiss and I say goodbye.

9:40 a.m. I drive to Marshall's to do some last-minute shopping for a dress for a wedding this weekend, but strike out. I do snag Luke a few additional shirts for his suit. When we were packing his suitcase we realized when he's got to wear a tie, there's really only 2 decent shirts to pair them with, so I bought him a couple more. I also found some fun sandals that should be fairly easy to dance in at the wedding, so score!

10:20 a.m. I have a few minutes, so I run to Home Depot to buy a new hose (I accidentally drove over the end of ours so we can screw the sprinkler into it...).

10:35 a.m. I head down to Far West for my first manual therapy appointment (kind of like physical therapy, but they're more hands-on). I've had chronic ankle issues for 20 years ever since I sprained my ankle as a kid and then continued to roll it playing tennis over the years. I often twinge it during Body Jam and decided I should see a doctor, who recommended I try this. I really liked Tommy who talked to me for a while, checked my ranges of motion and worked with me on lots of exercises. I came home with homework and am determined to keep it up before my next appointment.

12:30 p.m. Back home! I warm up lunch (leftover Asian chicken, steamed broccoli and rice) and snarf it down. I pull out the steam mop and clean the floors since it's been a couple weeks - oops! I was getting really good about doing it every week, but the past few weeks have been crazy. My in-laws are coming tomorrow to stay with E for the weekend while Luke and I go to the wedding, so I wanted to have the house in decent shape before they get here. I vacuum the rug too and dust some furniture. Then I sit down and organize my thoughts for a Mother's Day gift guide I'm drafting for Whole Foods Market.

1:15 p.m. I head back to Emmett's school to pick him up. He's SO excited to see me and flies into my arms when I pick him up - the BEST greeting! He had a great day at a school and has fun telling me all about it. We head back to the car and turn on some Daniel Tiger for the drive back.

1:45 p.m. Back at home, he enjoys some milk while finishing the episode of Daniel. I take the chance to finish mopping and put dishes in the dishwasher. Then we enjoy the front yard for a while, spraying flowers and playing with his toy pliers. I read some books too. We do a Google video hangout with Luke who landed in DC - E is missing him a lot.

2:30 p.m. I tell Emmett it's time for "one more thing" and then quiet time. He's pretty content playing but comes along when I tell him it's time. It takes FOREVER for him to make it upstairs, he keeps getting distracted. But he's happy to settle onto his lamb rug and we read some books while he sips a little more milk.

2:45 p.m. Nap time! I head to the backyard to spray for mosquitoes (an ongoing battle). Then I reassess my dress collection and land on one for the wedding. Now it's time to settle down to write the post for Whole Foods, which comes together nicely. I even get a chance to start this post and throw some laundry in.

4:51 p.m. Oops, I let Emmett sleep a little late (I usually grab him by 4:45) so I go up to wake him. He's in a good mood and asks to watch Daniel downstairs, and insists on bringing his iguana. We enjoy hangout time on the rug while he watches, and I sneak into the kitchen to assemble my sandwich for dinner.

5:20 p.m. I decide to mix things up, so I ask him if he wants to help me wash my car. He answers with a resounding yes, so we head outside. He has fun using the hose to spray the car, but then doesn't want to stop, so I eventually direct him to water the yard while I scrub the car down :)

6:10 p.m. Dinner time! It's nice out, so we eat at the picnic table in the backyard. He has leftover rice, peas, chicken and apple slices. I have a turkey/ham/cheese/mustard sandwich and kale salad with olive oil/honey/red wine vinegar. With a side of Becker Iconoclast cab sav ;)

6:30 p.m. We head to the garden to water the plants and check on the tomatoes, then I ask if he wants to go on a walk. He says yes as long as he can bring his watering can haha. We putter along the street while he waters people's flowers and we chat with neighbors we run into. Then he runs for a bit, and eventually has me carry him on my shoulders home.

7:15 p.m. Back home and I convince him to head upstairs, but he dilly dallies along the way and it takes a good 5 minutes to play upstairs. We play beach (piling up pillows and blankets and running back and forth to fill it with imaginary sand) then enjoy tubby time. He gets bubbles on his nose and then snorts them off and finds it hilarious. He plays contentedly for a bit so I throw some clothes in a bag for my upcoming trip that weekend. We do jammes/milk/books then brush teeth. Bedtime!

8:20 p.m. My bad, kind of a late bedtime. With the late nap and fun shenanigans, time got away from us tonight. Oh well! I normally chill out now, but I've got a lot to do, so I head downstairs to peel potatoes for mashed potatoes. Luke's parents are coming this weekend so I'm getting the house ready for them as well as myself ready to meet Luke in Houston for a wedding! He calls and we chat while I do the potatoes and bake off some snickerdoodles from dough I made earlier in the week. We hang up and I write out some ideas of things to do for the weekend and info on meals I prepared (they're total Emmett experts so I don't even have to write out instructions!). Then I sit down to watch the new Hulu show the Handmaiden's Tale and do my ankle exercises.

9:30 p.m. The show is not for me, so I head upstairs to get ready for bed and read.

10:06 p.m. Lights out!