The Daily Grind

At the end of the day when I am holding Halle and rocking her to sleep I often wonder what exactly I did all day. Where did the day go? Did I even do anything? Some days it doesn't feel like and some days looking around my house it looks like I definitely didn't do anything.

7:00 a.m.-My day usually begins when I am woken up by the sound of Halle moving around and grunting in her crib letting me know it is time to get up. (She never cries to get out just grunts till I come get her and than she is all smiles! Definitely one of the best part of the day if I'm not feeling too tired) She wants to eat right away of course. I nurse her and than get myself some breakfast. We play for about half an hour and than she starts to get tired again.

8:30 a.m.-Halle goes down for a nap and yes I take one too. This is one of the most precious times during the day for me because she sleeps so well and I get a little bit caught up on the sleep I missed the night before.

10:30 a.m.-Halle is up again and ready for more food. After her feeding she usually gets a bath every other day. Than it is my turn to get ready. For some reason Halle is so content to sit in her bouncer and watch me get ready for the day. She especially loves my straightener. She just bounces herself and watches mom. It is pretty sweet.

12:00 p.m.-I usually grab a quick lunch and than Halle and I run out and do any errands I need to do. Mostly this consists of going to the grocery store. Somewhere along the way she will usually fall asleep in her car seat for about 40 minutes (She takes about three of these little cat naps a day).

2:00 p.m.-Halle is ready to eat again and since she passed the four month mark the doc said I can add rice cereal to her diet. I usually feed her the cereal in the afternoon. She loves it and will start to fuss if I can't shovel it into her mouth as fast as the wants. Surprisingly she will still do a full nursing session even after she has had her cereal. She is a bottomless pit! We usually play with some toys and read books after she eats.

3:30 p.m.-Halle starts to get a little antsy in the afternoons so if I don't have more errands to run I usually take her for a walk in the stroller up around the Provo temple grounds. Halle loves to be outside and won't even listen to me calling her name when we are out there. She is in her own world looking at everything going on around her. Usually she will fall asleep before we get home. Once we do get home I try to do a little cleaning or relax with a book until she finishes her nap.

5:15 p.m.- Halle is up and eating again. I usually put her in her bouncer afterwards and let her sit close by while I get dinner ready unless Wes has come home and than he will usually play with her. She watches Wes and I eat most days. However, oftentimes she seems to know when it is time for us to eat and wants to be held up at the table. All glasses and plates must be pushed far back from her because she is very grabby!

7:00 p.m.-At night Halle and I just get to play unless I have started a load of laundry and than it is much harder to do that. Sometimes she will take a nap and sometimes she will stay up until her next feeding. She is unpredictable at night. Sometimes she is fussy and sometimes she is the happiest she has been all day.

8:30 p.m.-Halle has her last feeding of the day. I change her bum and than put her pajamas on and start the long process of putting her to sleep. She fights sleep so much! She is so tired her eyes are drooping shut, but she will keep kicking and punching the air trying to keep herself awake. I have had to get creative coming up with new ways to put her to sleep because she figures out my tricks after I've used them only a few times.

10:00-10:30 p.m.-Halle is finally asleep enough that I can put her down for the night in her crib. As much as she fights it, she really is an amazing sleeper. Most nights she will stay asleep until 7. Some nights she still wakes up just because she wants her binky. After I put her down I finally have some time to do whatever I want which mostly is sleep. So I read, get ready for bed, have a short conversation with Wes (which is sometimes the only conversation we have had all day) and pray.

11:30 p.m.- Mommy goes to bed!

I guess I don't really do much, but keep my little Halle alive and keep our house running (and I do a pretty poor job of that...just look at the mess!) That is a typical day for me. Some are more productive and some days I don't even have time to get out of my pajamas and shower until I have put her down for the night while the dishes keep piling up. But when that little girl smiles it just melts my heart and I don't care about what I should have or should be doing. I love being a mom!