Summer is ... over

This was our second summer with Eden. Since we were both way too busy last summer with dissertations and gearing up for new jobs, we both vowed that this summer would be much more relaxed. Ashley planned to spend all her time with Eden for the month of June, and we both decided that June would be a no travel month ... a staycation.


We met both goals.


Although I did go to the office on most days, it was a truncated schedule, and I was open for a random trip to the park. Most of those had to happen prior to 10:00 a.m. since the highs here hit 100 on a regular basis. I also ran with Eden alot in the morning (her in the jogging stroller, of course) giving Ashley some much needed Ashley time.


Ashely made lots of things - clothes, curtains, bags, baby stroller covers - and stuck to her guns. She and Eden really bonded. You can definitely tell that Eden spends quality time with her Mom - the way she acts around Ashley and the way she responds to her is just amazing to watch.


It was good to have a less stressful summer for several reasons, but the main one? As Adam and the Couch Potatoes say, "You're only 1, 2, or 3, one time, only one time." Indeed.


Since the beginning of the summer, Eden started shifting her daily schedule. It's funny that we questioned whether we were going to be able to get her to shift from two naps to one {in preparation for her new schedule at PDO this year}- since she was born she's always been on her schedule. We've really never had to do much to try and "train" her on a schedule. She has just done it on her own ... and on her own time (which is often sooner than we would have thought).

Here's the summer schedule ...

• Wake time @ 6:30 {{*or 9:00! if we were out partying at a sunday school party the night before}}
• Breakfast and play time with Daddy for a bit
• Momma is up around 8:00. Neighborhood walk in the stroller by 8:30 (if it's below 90 degrees) and home in time for breakfast number two.
• {Daddy heads off to campus}
• Sleepy-slow time @ 9:00 ... reading books snuggled on the couch and/or some sesame street
• Back to playing @ 9:30 or 10
• As much of a snack as she'll eat
• Read some more books on E's big bed with Georgia and her paci
• Down for her ONE nap of the day @ 11:30 or 12:00
• {momma's work time}
• Generally, 2.5 to 3 hours later E wakes up and plays "no, I don't want to get out of the crib, I want you to *chase* me from one end to the other while I giggle and run on the mattress"
• Lunch around 2:30
• Playtime/run errands
• Late afternoon playtime with Daddy
• At 5:00 it's time for dinner#1. She sits in her highchair for part of the dinner, than asks to get down so that she can sit in someone's lap and eat off their plate
• Playtime/tickle-time
• Bath ... for june = 6:30. Although we pushed it back to 7:15 in July, around the first of August she started to show signs of needing bathtime around 6:15. We're convinced she's putting herself back on her school schedule.
• Books in E's big bed with Momma and Daddy
• Bed ... for June it was around 7:45, now it is between 7:00 and 7:45 depending on the night. This means one last snuggle time and bottle with Momma. The bottle is being phased out soon (if we can bring ourselves to doing so).
• In the bed with Georgia, a paci, and a book, and it's night-night time.

We really feel blessed to have had such an amazing summer. Ashley could often be found saying that she "really shouldn't talk about it out loud" for fear that she'd jinx it or something. Regardless, we're grateful for all our family time and focused work time and for being able to head into the new semester feeling like we've had a nice summer break.