James is 32.
I am 26.
Maddie is one week shy of 16 months.
We live in Utah County, Utah.
I chose a Monday, a workday for James and a day off for me!
2:00 AM: Maddie is up - screaming her head off. I have determined to no longer be a softy at night and bring her into my bed. It always backfires and no one sleeps well then. I head to her room, give her her paci and blankie, rub her head, tell her I love her, and walk out. She is TICKED. We do this over and over again for a couple hours until she finally falls asleep again around 4:15ish when I stay in her room with her and doze in the rocker before sneaking out and heading to my own bed.
8:34 AM: Maddie is up! She is just talking to herself in the monitor. I realize James is still sleeping - and he should be leaving for work right now. Shoot, slept through his alarm. I wake him up, brush my teeth, and head into Maddie's room. She always gets so excited to see me in the mornings. I love it! She hands me her blankie first, then when I pick her up she lays her head on my shoulder and closes her eyes. I wonder if she is tired from being up last night and bring her to bed with me for a minute. We snuggle for a few minutes and then Maddie announces she is done with the word and sign "EAT!!!!" This is her very favorite word lately, she says it all. the. freaking. time.
8:45 AM: Hop out of bed, make Maddie breakfast and get her started eating (bagel & cream cheese, milk). Then I make James' lunch, check the weather, and unload the dishwasher. Maddie is currently in a phase where she will eat best if I leave her alone and pretty much just ignore her. If I give her attention then she just throws things onto the floor and screams instead of eating.
9:00 AM: Switch the laundry, then make James' and my breakfasts. Maddie is still eating in her chair. She's actually doing quite well eating this morning. James and I sit down to eat.
9:32 AM: Send James off to work! Maddie requests several kisses before he is allowed to leave. She has recently learned to pucker her lips and it is the CUTEST thing! We have to move my car out of the way so he can leave. Maddie loves to sit in my front seat while we do this. She feels like such a big girl.
9:45 AM: I get myself and Maddie dressed and ready to go to the library this morning. Maddie empties out my drawers in my bathroom while I apply a bit of makeup and pull my hair up. Once she is freshly diapered and dressed, we go into her bathroom to do her hair. She is getting much better at this and today exclaims "pretty!" when I put a headband in.
9:55 AM: Maddie requests Daniel Tiger. I turn on an episode while we have a few minutes before we leave. She LOVES this show. While watching, she keeps touching her head and saying, "pretty!" and then taking out the headband and making me put it back in like twenty million times. Ugh, toddlers. I eventually decide to nix the headband and put a little ponytail in to keep her hair out of her face. She hasn't figured out how to pull those out yet.
10:10 AM: We head out the door to story time at the library. I have to stop for gas on the way there, but we still end up being the first ones there! Maddie no longer scowls at the lady who does it, but she refuses to go near her. At least she smiles and talks to her though. Maddie's favorite part of story time is the singing, and today she loved the little shakers they passed out.
10:55 AM: At the end of story time, they pull out a bunch of toys and let the kids go to town. We have been going to this for some time now, but I can see that Maddie still doesn't feel comfortable. She won't interact with any of the kids or other moms, and she definitely exhibits symptoms of social anxiety. She smiles some, but mostly just watches everyone and everything that is going on. I wonder what we can do to help her in situations like this. I know at her age, separation anxiety and "stranger danger" are a normal phase, but I can tell she's a different case. I've been around enough babies and toddlers to know what the normal range is, and she's pretty extreme.
11:14 AM: I run by Sonic on the way home to pick up lunch. Maddie is beyond ready for her nap and super crabby, so she cries all the way home, despite me handing her French fries on the drive. #momoftheyear. We get home, eat, and she goes straight to bed.
11:50 AM: Maddie falls asleep in her bed. In order for her to sleep, she currently must have blankie, paci, and three specific stuffed animals in her bed, silly girl. I switch the laundry again (Mondays are laundry day) and start folding towels while watching Parenthood. I love that show. It is my second time going through it and I've never seen season 6, so I can't wait for that! Text a friend and set up a play date for this afternoon.
12:23 PM: Time to clean bathrooms, everyone's favorite chore, ugh. But must be done! Fortunately it doesn't take long before my bathrooms are sparkling.
12:50 PM: I step in to the shower. Just as I step in, I hear "mamamamamama" coming from the monitor. No way, kiddo. An hour is not long enough of a nap. I continue my shower and let her fuss for a few minutes. By 1:06, she is asleep again.
1:10 PM: More laundry to fold and more Parenthood to watch while I do that!
1:32 PM: Maddie is up for good this time! Only an hour and a half ish, but it'll have to do today. We get ready for the second time today and I re-do Maddie's hair as it did not survive naptime. We have a snack and play with her toys until it's time to leave. She's so funny and loves to play behind the curtain over the sliding glass door these days.
2:20 PM: Head out for our play date! I didn't take any pictures while we were there, but Maddie enjoyed playing with her friends and I love hanging with my friend! Works out perfectly. :)
5:30 PM: Time to head home and start dinner prep. Maddie is beginning to melt down, she has had it for the night. Probably because of the hour and a half nap. She ideally needs more like 2-3 hours of a nap to be happy all evening. As I'm working on dinner, Maddie eats a little of her own, but not much. I make sure to give her some Pediasure since she hasn't eaten great since breakfast. She pretty much crawls around and whines at me until I pick her up and try to cook and hold her.
6:10 PM: Bath time! Maddie loves her bath, although she is constantly trying to drink the water. So gross haha! By the time she gets out of the bath, James is walking in the door from work. She is so excited to see her daddy!
6:33 PM: I brush her teeth and notice her gums bleeding. Woah, never had that happen before. I also notice her molar (on the other side) is just about through the gum. Ouch. Aaaaaaand all of a suddent her cranky attitude, no sleep, and not eating very well of the last few days makes sense! Give her a dose of Tylenol in the hopes that she will sleep easier if her mouth doesn't hurt.
6:40 PM: Bedtime routine time! Lotion, jammies, and a story with dad. I come in with a bottle and we read scriptures together and then I rock Maddie with her bottle. She is so beyond tired that she falls asleep almost immediately, poor girl.
7:11 PM: James and I eat our dinner - sloppy joes and veggies. I turn on Kids Baking Championship because the Bachelor just started and I don't want to have to watch commercials when I watch it.
8:00 PM: James works out - T25 - and I sew, creating a Valentine's pillow and a bunch of bean bags for tot school this week. Some weeks I am ahead of the game and prep tot school Sunday night so we can do it starting Monday, but not this week. I finish gathering everything we need for rainbow week. Once tot school is ready, I clean up the kitchen.
9:20 PM: Time to fold the mountain of laundry while watching the Bachelor. I love this show... and Olivia is super crazy. There's always at least one crazy though! It's quite entertaining.
10:50 PM: Drink some hot chocolate, watch a little Chasing Life, and start getting ready for bed. By 11:30 I'm passed out cold.
