Our Daily Routine

I know this post might not be very interesting to 99% of those few people that actually still read this blog but this is for me to look back on. 

At the beginning of the year, when Cole was 16 months I figured it was probably time to switch him from 2 naps to 1 nap a day. Church was now at 9 AM so he was going to miss his morning nap on Sundays already, so why not change his routine.

6:30-7:00 am - Wake up. Cole is an early riser, unfortunately, but he does like to cuddle. When he wakes up Chad gets him from his crib and brings him in bed to cuddle. He will fall back asleep 50% of the time. Then Chad will get up with him, put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (his FAVORITE show), give him a bottle and hang out as long as Cole will let him. 

7:30 - I get up and we all make breakfast. This usually consists of a smoothie, scrambled eggs with melted cheese, or toast, or oatmeal. Cole LOVES breakfast and will sit in his highchair for at least 30 minutes.

8:30-12 - This is playtime now. I try and go to the gym in the morning and Chad takes Cole on a walk around the neighborhood, I will come home and then run a few errands with Cole. We have lunch or a snack depending on how tired he is.

12ish - Cole takes his only nap of the day. At first this was hard to make it to 12, I never thought he could make it, but now he's a pro. The trick for me was to keep him busy so he would forget he is tired. He sleeps for about an hour and a half. I thought since he's only napping once that he would sleep longer but I'm not that lucky. During his nap I will eat, clean, make to do lists (that half the time don't get done), and just enjoy a break!

1:30/2:00 - Cole wakes up, I give him a bottle and he watches a show, he needs at least 15 minutes to just chill when he wakes up, otherwise he's as grumpy as a goat. If he didn't get lunch before his nap I feed him when he wakes up.

2:00-5:00 - We will either run another errand, go to the park, or just hang out at home, depending in the day and how much I have to do.

5:00-7:00 - Eat dinner, go somewhere with Chad. We don't eat at a certain time at night nor does Chad get done with work at the same time. He's normally around in the evening which is so nice.

7:00 - Bath time, story time, and quiet play. Cole plays the best right before bed, it's like he knows he needs to be good otherwise it's to bed he goes.

7:30-8:00 - We read books, sing a song and put him to bed. He sleeps great! Normally 10-11 hours a night. I've learned that when he goes to bed earlier he sleeps longer. 

8:00-10:30 - Chad and I get to hang out, watch TV and enjoy some quiet time. I never thought I would have this time back when Cole was a newborn, so I cherish every minute of it.

Christmas in Pictures

Cole loved the Disney characters that played music altogether

I don't think they come any cuter. (Notice he's wearing shorts, love CA winters)

He actually hated these Christmas lights but I was determined.

Christmas with kids is so fun!

"Need help opening that present Grandpa?"

Can't believe I am just getting around to blogging Christmas. It was great, we spent it in California with Chad's parents. The weather was warm, food was fabulous, and we couldn't have asked for a sweeter little boy. He loved the wrapping paper, and the occasional present kept his attention for a few minutes. He wouldn't take a nap on Christmas Day, and I don't blame him. Cole doesn't want to miss out on anything, just like his daddy. (He is 15 months here).

San Francisco

Back in the beginning of November we went up to Northern California to visit Chad's Grandma Jensen. She lives just a BART ride away from San Francisco. His parents watched Cole for a day so that Chad and I could explore the city without planning around nap times. This day was a blast! I really felt like we were on the Bachelor, going on this fun date, exploring a new place and finding love (without the helicopter ride). We took electric bikes over the Golden Gate Bridge, had lunch in Saucalito, rode bikes back over the bridge, cruised around Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, ate fresh crab, ate pizza at Boudin's, splurged with a Sea Salt Caramel Shake from Ghiradelli, and then took the trolley back to Union Square where we walked around downtown and then hopped on BART back to our little guy! 

The next day we went to the Oakland Zoo, it was perfect for Cole. He's been learning his animal noises and would smile and look at us like "did you hear they ACTUALLY make that noise?". Oh kids are the best. We also went to Lake Chabot and let Cole run wild, he's enjoying his new found freedom of running.  We had a great time playing games at night with his grandma and parents and can't wait to go back when its warmer and we can go swimming. Chad jumped in to give his grandma a good laugh, even though it was barely 60 degrees out.

We ended up in San Diego

Last weekend we were itching to get out of our apt and go somewhere for a night. Cole was still sick with a cold, which had cooped me up in the house the past couple of days and I was getting stir crazy.  We laid down Cole for his nap on Friday morning and Chad decided to book a hotel down in San Diego, and we were on the road by 1:00, record time for us.

We stayed at the Omni Hotel in the Gaslamp District, its walking distance to SeaPort Village, which is one of our favorite places to walk around at Sunset. It's amazing how much I enjoy just watching Cole walk around with no direction, discovering new sights, sounds, and even tastes. Life really has slowed down in some ways, and sped up in others with a child.

Another favorite spot is Old Town San Diego. Little did we know it was the "Day of the Dead" and  crazy busy with face-painted skeletons and dressed up zombies. Parking was next to impossible so we stopped at the Mormon Battalion for a quick tour to justify parking in their lot. The tortillas you can buy on the street are so authentic and delicious we ended up eating about a dozen for dinner. Between the regular, chocolate and strawberry flavors we covered a 3-course meal :)

On Saturday we met up with our friends Dave and Jill, and their two kids Chace and Ariana at Balboa Park. We had a great time exploring, riding the train, people watching, and catching up. We don't have a ton of friends with kids so it was fun having them close by to do kid stuff with, and also feel like we got to hang out with friends! Oh San Diego, we sure love you!

Shark Sighting

Don't worry this is a friendly shark, who was more interested in people's dogs than in the candy he collected. I never knew I could have more fun than when I went trick-or-treating as a kid. If you know me, you know how much I love candy, which is why Halloween was one of my favorite holidays. But having Cole has made Halloween even more fun. It was great dressing him up, seeing how he would do wearing his costume (he did great), and taking him out to a couple of neighbors.

Since he loves the outdoors he enjoyed walking the neighborhood and stopping at a few houses. At the first house we went to he got two pieces of candy and he held on to those pieces the whole night. He didn't care about anything else besides those candies (which melted in his sweaty little hands), and the dogs that barked at the doors. We then headed back inside and passed out candy to some trick-or-treaters. Chad quizzed each kid about their costume and depending on how well they answered him, AND how old they were, determined the type of candy he gave them (crackers, tootsie pops, or the good chocolate).