Live and Learn: A Day in the Life: 2.5 Years Old

As much as I would like to think I'll never forget what life was like with a toddler, I know these details will slip my memory more and more as time passes. This is a typical Wednesday home with C at just shy of 2.5 years old:

8:00 AM - C wakes up. He is usually up around 6:45 on day that we work, so sometimes he sleeps in a little on Wednesdays since we don't have to be up and out the door. He'll sit in his crib for a little while to fully wake up, then stand up when he is ready to get out and yell "Mommy Daddy, where aaaaaaaaaaaaaaare you?"

8:01 AM - If we let him wake up in his crib for a little bit and wait for him to stand up before we get him, he wakes up in a sweet mood! He is always standing at this corner of his crib holding Lyle and Dog when we go into his room.

8:03 AM - Still holding Lyle and Dog, the first thing he does this time of year is ask "Is it still Christmastime?", run into the living room, and demand the lights on the Christmas tree be turned on. He is in awe of the lights every single day!

8:05 AM - Carter asks for "peanut butter toast" for breakfast everyday these days. I pop a slice of bread in the toaster and start unloading the dishwasher, which we typically run overnight since the new energy efficient dishwashers take forever to run!

8:11 AM - Carter is eating breakfast while I continue to unload the dishwasher. By "peanut butter toast", he means one slice of toast, cut in half, with jelly and peanut butter spread on one half each. So basically a PBJ for breakfast. And a banana.

8:17 AM - Dishwasher is empty; I re-load it with the dishes in the sink that wouldn't fit last night before we ran it.

8:24 AM - I move laundry from the washer to the dryer and start a new load of laundry. I've started doing a load of laundry on Tuesday nights so it is ready to go in the dryer when I wake up; this saves a few minutes of laundry time on Wednesdays!

8:26 AM - Carter is still savoring his gourmet breakfast (ha), so I sit down with him and eat a mug of cereal. It is pretty much this or a cinnamon raisin English muffin on my days at home. We don't get too fancy with breakfast around here! The Christmas mug makes me feel festive :)

8:44 AM - First diaper change of the day.

8:50 AM - C is dressed and has done his asthma meds - ready to play!

9:09 AM - I strip the linens from our bed and C's crib to wash them and make the bed. This was our first day this year to use the flannel reindeer sheets! My favorite!

9:12 AM - C's crib gets new sheets too.

9:14 AM - Time to read Christmas books! We have a bin full of Christmas books on the fireplace hearth, and C is OBSESSED. We read at least 15 a day (and several of those on repeat).

9:21 - Time for another diaper change. C doesn't even bother putting down the Christmas book.

10:08 AM - Bundled up in the stroller to walk to a neighbor's house for a playdate. There were supposed to be several neighbors with toddlers there, but 2 families got sick that morning, so it was just us and one other girl. C had a blast playing with his new friend Emmy.

11:41 - Back home from the playdate and eating lunch. C didn't get a morning snack today, so he ate lunch a little early. Today was (unglamorous) leftovers for lunch - a slice of pizza, a piece of deli ham, and mandarin oranges.

11:45 AM - While C is eating lunch, I mash some sweet potatoes I had baked the night before and then been too lazy to finish. C loves sweet potatoes and demanded some for lunch when he saw what I was making.

11:58 AM - I start folding the first of 3 loads of laundry that day.

12:10 PM - Laundry folding is done! I move the next load to the dryer and start a third load.

12:29 PM - I join C in the playroom to play. He loves shooting baskets.

12:35 PM - And "painting" with water. These Water Wow! books are cheap entertainment and great because they don't make a mess and are reusable!

12:41 PM - And building with blocks.

12:50 PM - Naptime! C is so good about taking naps and doesn't seem to mind. He always wants one of us to rub his back before we leave the room.

1:00 PM - As he is automatically scheduled to do, Thomas (our Roomba) starts vacuuming the house. It is the BEST to not have to do this chore, ever!!!! (Check out my Roomba review here).

1:01 PM - I make myself a ~~kindergartener~~ lunch - PBJ and an apple.

1:57 PM - Another load of laundry is ready to fold.

2:16 PM - I finally get a chance to wrap the Christmas gifts that have been piling up. I'm hosting a baby shower this weekend and can't have a Christmas tree with nothing under it!

3:06 PM - C is up from his nap. He is pretty reliably a 2-2.5 hour napper.

3:17 PM - We hop in the car to run some errands before rush hour traffic gets too bad. C gets a little container of Goldfish for the ride as his afternoon snack.

3:43 PM - We wait in line at the tailor to pick up my bridesmaid dress for my brother's upcoming wedding. This tailor is nowhere close to our house but they do the best job and are dirt cheap!

4:03 PM - A detour through the Starbucks drive-through for a little pick-me-up for Mommy.

5:07 PM - Back at home, I start dinner since spaghetti squash takes so long to roast in the oven.

5:45 PM - Playtime while the spaghetti squash roasts!

6:25 PM - Daddy is home! He is about 45 minutes later than usual since he stayed to work a little late tonight. I finish dinner while C plays with daddy, and we eat (not pictured) - spaghetti squash with meat sauce and mashed sweet potatoes.

7:29 PM - After playing some more, it is time for bed! C is in his PJs, teeth brushed, meds done.

7:30 PM - C always sits in my lap in the glider to say his prayers and then rock for a minute, before he gets in his crib and Blair rubs his back.