Nightly Routine

Last week my scrapbooking hero Ali Edwards issued a little challenge for us - her loyal followers - to record our nightly routine. I love this idea as I'm really focused on enjoying every minute of Brody's toddlerhood (even thru the tantrums and blatant disobedience!). On a good night, here is how it goes...

5:30 - 5:45PM Kevin comes home and he and Bubba play while I get dinner ready. I look forward to this time all afternoon! The whole process of cooking dinner relaxes me. Yes, even the clean up!

6:00PM - Ideal dinner time. Dinner varies from pasta to chicken to homemade pizza to meatloaf. Traditional stuff. Brody usually dines on mac-n-cheese but recently has been eating what we eat. After dinner we enjoy some more play time and really try to get him active so that (1) he might get tired and (2) in case he has to poop!

7:00PM - Bath time! Brody's bath tub has a removable shower head. It's perfect for bathing toddlers. He loves spraying it everywhere and it makes washing his hair a little less traumatic. The bucket of toys include various bath books, little sea animal figures, empty bottles, balls for a basketball net that hangs in the shower, plastic cars, etc.

7:30 - 8PM - Brody likes to run around naked for a while. The other day he pee-peed in the potty for the first time! It was a big deal to Kevin but Brody sort of shrugged it off like, "No biggie". Sometimes we'll play Easter Egg (an attempt to get him familiar with the hunt game so that he gets it during Easter!) where I'll hide various animal figures all over his bathroom and he'll find them. He's REALLY good at it!

{the picture below is of Brody's 'Big Smile'. For some reason, his 'big smile' translates into a serious scowl. I thought I'd give it try!}

Sometime after Bath & Before Bedtime - Brush Teeth. He doesn't spit yet but he sometimes does a really good job of brushing his little baby face teeth.

8:00 - 8:30 PM - Read Books. When I put him to bed it's about 8:30pm. When Kevin does it, Brody is usually in bed by 8PM sharp. I love this time of cuddling and reading books. He's started rebelling against bedtime a bit but most nights he goes to bed pretty easily. Typically we read between 1-3 books/night. Then we'll turn off the light or let him do it and spend a few minutes saying nighttime prayers and singing songs.

8:30Pm (at latest) - Bedtime. There are two bedtime buddies Oso and Coco. We all give each other hugs and kisses and if necessary....tickle time. It can be traditional tickle time or involve the itsy bitsy spider (ee-bee-pie-dur) or the little piggies running all the way home. As long as it involves crazy laughter, we're good.

I'm only speaking for myself here. I think Kevin's book - bed process is slightly different. All I know is that when K puts him down it's usually quick and quiet. For me there is often about 5-10 minutes of screaming. At very rare times we'll have to go back up and calm him down.

8:30 - 11:30PM - TV, Surf, Read, Bed....we spend this time watching our favorite shows (we love you, DVR!) and checking/answering emails and catching up on our fav blogs. We go to bed as early as possible without being early enough every night and do it all over again in 24 hours.

Good times. Great times. Even when it's rough...it's all about the now. We wont have these times with Brody forever. In fact, when other babies come along...we'll never have these times with Brody again. Wow. So thankful for the routine. So thankful for the time!