11:25 am. James wakes up and we end up talking in the
nursery for 20 minutes. He shows me how
much he can bounce in his crib and I sit nearby and cheer him on.
12:00 pm. Lunch!
Leftover football food for me. (Homemade
guacamole and chicken wing dip, using shredded wheat as chips. Way healthier and, let’s be honest, the chip
is only a vessel for the deliciousness you dip it in. Might as well cut the salt and add a little
fiber.) James had banana, cheese,
oatmeal, and sweet potatoes. He ate a
lot and relished every bite, smearing some in his hair for a mid-afternoon
snack.
12:45 pm. I attempt to fold laundry and James discovers
using an upside-down laundry basket as a walker. This quickly becomes his all-time favorite
thing EVER, as you can see.
However,
what the camera only hints at is that each time he pushed it into an obstacle
he suffered a complete and utter meltdown.
I’m not used to this…James rarely really cries unless he’s hurt. Usually you hear a frustrated, “Unnnhhhh,”
but that’s about it. But for some reason
getting the laundry basket stuck equals the end
of the world. This goes on for a
while until I finally hide the basket in the laundry room and shut the door.
1:15 pm. Piano practicing. In an attempt to distract James from the
torture of the stuck laundry basket, we play some songs together. I show him where middle C is and he
practices playing it with a perfect right index finger. I attempt some songs around his zone in the middle
with mixed success. He eventually gets
down and cleans off a shelf of books next to the piano. This is inevitable and I’m quite surprised it
takes 7 full hours of consciousness for him to realize that he hasn’t checked
it off his list.
1:30 pm. James summits the staircase and heads for the
bathroom. I follow close behind, knowing
that as long as he has his binky nothing too germy can enter his mouth. He climbs the toilet and alternates between
pounding the top of it and exploring the flush handle. Once he figures out that pulling the handle can
yield various amounts of sound he redirects all energy towards the ultimate achievement. It takes a few minutes but he finally flushes
the toilet. (…yaaaayyyy…) Flushed with triumph (ba-dum-SHH!), he happily
moves over to the tub, making sure that all items on the ledge are pushed over into the tub. When this task is
complete he exits the bathroom, knowing that his work is finished. I rescue him and wash his hands. Boys are all the same.
1:45 pm. James goes into his bouncer so I can finish
folding the clothes. I put some music on
and he bounces sleepily, using Steven as a pillow. I sense nap number 2 coming on and whisk him
upstairs once the last pair of socks has been matched (only one leftover this
time!). A lovely rock and down he
goes.
I use this break to
get dressed and ready for my evening rehearsal and catch up with VWH, who is in
the throes of beginner lessons at school.
3:30 pm. James awakes and joins me in the kitchen for
dinner prep. He loves to help, so I give
him metal mixing bowls to bang on and push around the floor as I steam, blend, poach,
bake, and stir fry. I start by making a
few batches of green food for James this week: peas and beans. He likes to celebrate the loud noise of the
food processor. I’m cooking for the
babysitter too tonight so I can’t forage, which is probably what I’ll end up
doing much of the next few days. She is
a good excuse to make real food.
5:30 pm. After much play and cookery, James and I
eat. I have veggie and chicken stir fry
with a brownie for dessert. He eats
peas, yogurt, banana, oatmeal, and cheese.
I’m very proud of the fact that he eats a large helping of peas without
complaint. This does not usually
happen. Good job James.
5:50 pm. Bath Time for a James Bear. The preceding sentence is a song that we sing
as we get ready for the bath and he’s learned to get extremely excited when he
hears it. Tonight he bounces up and down
so hard leaning over the tub that I’m afraid he’s going to bonk his chin. Bath time is VERY fun tonight, with lots of
kicking and splashing Mommy, who regrets getting changed earlier for
rehearsal. I must remember to tell the
babysitter to watch her step if she goes in the bathroom. I need one of those Caution Wet Floor signs.
6:25 pm. James is bathed and pajamaed. I am flying around trying to clean up some of
his “work” by putting books on shelves and dishes in the sink. I wonder aloud why I’m doing this…it never
bothered me when I babysat if the house was a little messy. And yet here I am, cleaning to impress my
babysitter, who is one of my dearest friends from college, so she completely understands
what a slob I can really be. My mother I am becoming.
6:30 pm. Megan is unsurprisingly prompt and I give
James goodnight kisses. As I head out
the door I realize that the first day is essentially over. Making music and then gladly embracing my
pillow is all that remains.
9:55 pm. VWH texts to tell me he has safely arrived at
his destination. With a thankful heart I
sign off for the night, happy to we all have survived day one.
10:05 pm. James starts wailing from the nursery…
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