A Day in the Life of Madeline

I've been thinking about doing this post for a while (and I've worked on it over several days), but here it finally is. I wrote it out one day and shot pictures for it another day. It's a snapshot of what a day is like when you're an energetic, amazing, fun-loving, determined, headstrong two year old.

6:20 a.m. - Mommy brings her a sippy cup of juice and is usually told "sleep longer." I open her door and turn the hallway light on while I finish getting dressed. She is usually pretty upset to have to get up. This day was no exception.

6:25 a.m. - Mommy comes in and turns on the light to begin getting her out of bed. I pick out her clothes while she's adjusting.

6:30 a.m. - This rolls out of bed, complete with crazy hair.

Some days I get her dressed myself. Other days she wants to help.

6:45 a.m. - The "Madeline Train" leaves the station and we're off to school. Some days she asks for "Move it Move it" (which is a song from the movie Madagascar), other days it's Madeline music (which means toddler radio on Pandora), and other days she asks for mommy music (which is usually 80s on 8 on Sirius XM).

7:05ish a.m. - We arrive at daycare. On days we take Charlotte with us, we drop Madeline at her room and then we drop Charlotte at hers. Wednesdays is show and tell.

8:40 Breakfast is served

9:15 Circle time of stories and songs

9:45 Tabletop and art activities

10:30 Outside play (M/W/F sandbox; T/Th in the courtyard playground)

11:15 Handwashing and preparation for lunch

11:30 Lunch

12:15 Sandbox play time

12:30 Quiet time in anticipation of naps

3:00 Wake up and snack

3:45 Outside play

4:30 Art

5:00 til end of day is self selection (ie kids wandering around like crazy monkeys pulling out anything and everything they can)

5:20 p.m. Pick her up (usually looking like a hot mess). Hair disheveled. Shoes full of sand. Some sort of paint or crayon on her hands, legs, clothes, etc.

We drive home and talk about her day. Who she played with (usually Julian, Kate or Kai) and what they did. Sometimes we listen to the radio and sing songs, other days we talk the whole way home.

5:45 p.m. - Get home and watch Elmo until dinner is ready. Sometimes have a little snack while waiting.

7:30 p.m. - Bath, PJs, teeth brushing, story time and eventually bed time.

That diaper will get ya every time.

I also wanted to share some of the cute things she says and does (more for me to remember than anything else).

"Hold me mommy" and "I want to hold you" are the go-to phrases when she is wanting our attention. The mere mention of either one is sure to generate un-calculatable amounts of angst when what you're doing doesn't work when you're holding her.

"Let me do it." We are full-on into the I-can-do-it-myself stage. Doesn't matter what she's doing - she wants to do it on her own. I find myself sometimes getting frustrated because I know if she'd let me do it, it'd get done faster. But then I remember that she's growing and realizing she's capable of more than when she was younger and I try to let her finish to whatever extent she can.

Bouncing girl - She loves to bounce on Brian's leg and is getting more adventurous. In the last few days she uses it as a springboard to jump and land on the ottoman in the middle of the room. It sounds much more dangerous than it is.

Food - We're really hit or miss here. Some days she eats everything you put in front of her, and other days she just picks. I know she's eating at school so I don't stress about it too much. I figure if she's hungry, she'll eat.

In case you're wondering what a day is like for Charlotte, it's pretty much eat, sleep and poop. She's quite the multi-tasker and frequently poops while eating and/or sleeping.