A day in the life.....

Now that John is one year old, you may be interested in what a typical day for him looks like. In a word: busy! He is definitely an on-the-go baby, and Mom and Dad struggle at times to keep up with him (we are getting old). During the week while Dad is at work, John and I try to keep our schedule full with walks, playdates and/or shopping so we don't get lonely sitting at the house all day. On the weekend, we head down to Austin for day trips or just hang out and relax together at home.

Here is a typical day for us during the week:

John's day usually begins around 7:15, after he's slept for 12 hours at night. (Yes, you read that correctly: since the beginning of January, John has been sleeping through the night for 12 straight hours!!! Hooray!!! Seriously, John has NEVER EVER slept this long at night. NEVER! I thought he used to sleep this long back when he was three months old, but I just checked his first-year baby calendar and saw that the longest stretch of sleep he ever got then was about 10 hours. Needless to say, Mom and Dad are very pleased with this new trend and -- due to this addition of some much-needed nighttime shut-eye -- have become much more productive people during the day.

After John wakes up, I nurse him, and then we play in the playroom for a little while. He usually hangs out in front of the bookshelves looking at all of his books. Around 8:15 or 8:30, he gets in his highchair for breakfast. Mom sneaks in some breakfast at this point, too. John ADORES breakfast foods! He always has some type of cut-up fruit (i.e. banana, mango, grapes, strawberries, pears or apples) along with a grain. We alternate between multigrain cereal mixed with yogurt or prunes, cut-up waffles or pancakes, and puffs/Cheerios. With his breakfast he also has about two ounces of juice, which helps with his constipation. He has an additional two ounces of juice at lunch for the same reason. (John started using his straw cup for its intended purpose -- i.e. not as a chew toy -- about three weeks ago!)

After breakfast, we both get dressed and ready for the day. I brush my teeth, and then I brush John's (John often helps). We just bought him a new toddler-size toothbrush that he can eventually use on his own, since we used to regularly get our fingers bitten off using the infant fingerbrush. John thinks the new toothbrush is a toy. We don't mind so much, since by playing with it, he is actually cleaning his teeth at the same time.

If we don't have a running playdate with Elise and Stephanie (during which the moms switch off watching the kids while one of us goes running), we usually head off in the car to run some errands. (By about 9:15, we are both very ready to get out of the house.) Getting John into his car seat can be a very difficult and time-consuming task these days. The easiest thing to do is to have something really cool that he can play with to distract him while I'm strapping him in. His favorite distractors include Mom's wallet, cell phone or keys, his toy camera, or his first words book with buttons to press.

When we get back from our errands, it is just about time for John's one nap of the day. (Now that he sleeps so long at night, he only wants one nap a day unless we happen to be driving somewhere in the afternoon, in which case he falls asleep in the car.) I nurse him and then put him down for his nap around 11:15. The length of his nap varies widely. Some days he sleeps only half an hour, other days he sleeps for nearly two hours. During his nap, I am always running around trying to get as much done as possible, since I never know when he'll wake up.

John gets a diaper change when he gets up and then we get ready for lunch. John usually has a "deconstructed sandwich" for lunch: some cut-up turkey and Colby Jack cheese and half a slice of whole wheat bread. He is OBSESSED with cheese, which is pretty surprising, given that he gagged on it and shuddered from head to toe the first few times I served it to him. He has a cut-up veggie sometimes as well.

For the last few weeks, we've been having noon potluck playdates at our house with Kami and Austin, Jen, and Sheri. (Stephanie and Elise will join us after Mike leaves again.) John loves hanging out with his aunties and his little 11-week-old buddy!

Most afternoons, John and I take a long walk after lunch, either in our neighborhood or at the park, where we can also enjoy the swings and slides. When it's too cold for a walk, we play at home. John likes to push his walkers from room to room. Then he'll cruise the walls and furniture and look for something to get into. If we go into the kitchen, he'll "help" Mom do the chores. (Emptying the dishwasher is still a favorite.) We practice his walking a lot, too. He still has the Frankenstein-style walk -- arms out in front of his body and stiff, side-to-side steps. It's so cute! But he's getting a lot more daring about taking off on his own now. It's really exciting to see him gaining confidence.

John has a snack at 3:30 every afternoon. If we're on the go, he has his Mum-Mum crackers that come two to a package. He loves how crunchy they are! If we're at home, he'll have Puffs or some cut-up fruit. He also gets his straw cup with cow's milk to replace the nursing we used to have around this time.

We play some more until dinner at 5:30. I try to change up what he has for dinner every night, but he always has some type of lean meat or protein (cut-up chicken breast, hard-boiled/ scrambled eggs or avocado) and a veggie (sweet potatoes, carrots and corn are his favorites). He might also have beans or rice, or, if we're having spaghetti, he'll have some of that with a little tomato sauce on top.

Immediately after dinner, John gets his bath. He loves playing with his new stacking cups (and watching them drop over the side of the bathtub), but his turtle temperature gauge and yellow squirting starfish are faithful standbys. Then he gets his pajamas on and we have storytime in the playroom. He is very tired by this time at night and can be pretty fussy. As soon as 6:45/7 rolls around, he is ready to nurse and go to bed. Lately he's been out for the night by 7:15.

Dad gets home from work anytime between 7:30 and 8:30. The two of us usually eat something together and then watch a little tv if there's no work/housework to do. Then we follow John to bed!