Reed Castleton: May 2012

6:00 am: Good Morning! Wide awake and ready to eat. (Sometimes we hear him talking in his bed before this!) He is an early bird. He eats 7 oz in a hurry. He likes to help hold the bottle. He is usually eating while we read scriptures. He then is thrilled to play on the floor with his toys. The kids come and play with him in between the before school routine. Piano and violin practice, lunches made, school bags ready. 7:30 in the car to take kids to school. Reed likes to be in the car. 20 minets later we are back home. Time to get dressed for the day play for a bit and then...

8:00 am: Morning nap. He knows it is nap time before I lay him down. He starts to cry as I get his bed ready. I wrap him up. He fusses and wiggles an arm or two out of his wrap. Then goes to sleep quickly. He'll usually sleep 2 or 3 hours.

10:30 am: Reed is awake and ready to eat! 7 oz yummy! If I have places to go or erruns to run now is the time. The clock is ticking he'll want to go back to sleep in 2-3 hours from when he woke up, so we get moving. He doesn't sleep good if he is not in his bed. So I make sure I am always home by nap time. This is my only chance to get out of the house for the day. :) Reed likes to be on the go. He is a happy shopper. He looks around and chews on his toys. He always smiles for the nice old ladies that always stop to admire his cuteness. When we get home He is happy to get out of his seat. When I start to get him out of his car seat he wants to help. He'll arch his back and push with his feet. After all that sitting he is happy to roll and play on the floor. He is not moving forward yet, but has all kinds for cute floor tricks. He can do a baby push up. All of his weight on hands and toes! As it gets closer to nap time he'll want a change. So I'll snuggle him, sometimes we read books or play with toys. When he starts yawning its back to bed.

1:30 pm: Nap time again! Afternoon nap is usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on morning nap. It seems that if morning nap is shorter then afternoon nap is longer and visa versa.

3:00 pm: Awake and hungry. I always hold Reed while he eats. I love that cuddle time. When he is done eating he wants to play. The other kids get home from school and he is happy to laugh and play with them. He gets excited to see them. Reed will often sit in his high chair and watch me get dinner ready. He likes to be close to what is going on. After kids are done with homework and dinner is in the oven the kids have started swimming. Reed loves to be outside! We sit in the shade together and watch the kids. The water is getting warmer so I'll be getting Reed in soon. I think he'll love it. It is in the afternoon or evening that Reed will have a poopy. He does not like being messy. He will cry and fuss to let us know. It is starting to be a workout to change a diaper. He wants to roll and wiggle as soon as that diaper is off. So trying to hold him still and get a new diaper on is a challenge. I often get help to try to keep him distracted from rolling.

5:00 pm: We are ready for dinner and sometimes Reed will take a third nap. When he does it is shorter, like 45 min. If his afternoon nap was longer sometimes he skips it. If he skips it then he'll be ready for bottle and bedtime early. If he doesn't sleep he joins us for dinner. He likes being a part of the family. Mark is home and Reed likes to sit on his lap while we eat. He is starting to grab at the plates and forks. It keeps Mark on his toes.

6:45pm: Pajamas, Bottle and a little play time with Dad.

7:00pm: Bedtime. He is cute at bedtime. Sleepy with a full tummy he is smiley cuddly and sweet. Sometimes he gets giggly. I'll wrap him up put him in bed. He'll make happy talking sounds for a few minets, fusses for a bit and then off to dream land. He'll be up in 11 hours.