way too much data and no personality

andrew says the best thing about keeping avery up late is that when he pulls her out of her carseat, she will lay still asleep on his shoulder.  cute dad.

i mentioned getting on a routine...here's what our day looks like, more or less. it wasn't until avery was 7 months old that i realized i needed some type of schedule to know what to expect out of my day (and from avery, nap-wise). it wasn't exactly intentional, but this is what turned up.  [after i typed this up i realized how long and tedious it is..for some reason i am fascinated by reading these kinds of things about people. but feel free to skim] :)

4:45 - 6:30 am (sometime in this window) avery wakes up, crying but sleepy, i feed her and put her back down. i am usually up for the day.. way too early.
7:30 am aves is up for the day, but i let her talk/play in her crib until she really fusses and starts to cry

8:00 - 9:30 am breakfast (solids), leave her in her highchair playing with a spoon while i try to clean up a little.  play time, etc. sometimes try to con avery into watching tv while i get something done, but it never works.  on good days i go running with my friends and my jogging stroller at 8. but those days have been few and far between lately.

baby food rainbow

9:30 am nurse avery, read a story, sing a song, put in crib

10:00 am - noon morning nap, i sew*/clean/laundry/shower/etc.

12:30 pm let avie "talk" until she really fusses.... then feed her solids, and we play, or run errands or go to lunch/the pool/vt or play with friends.

1:30 pm nurse, read books, sing...
2:00-4:00 pm avie's afternoon nap.  i sew/think about dinner?/do my calling/pay bills/grocery lists/etc.

4:30 pm get avie when she's ready and try to let her play by herself while i do dinner or finish whatever. this seldom works and is usually avery's fussiest time.  i'll sometimes nurse here, or if i'm desperate i'll go on errands (she's happier when we're out of the house...) often i am making a mad dash to the post office right now**.  not a bad time of day for costco either ha.  and while i'm there i better pick up one of those amazing ice cream bars hand dipped in chocolate with extra toasted almonds.
6:00-7:30 pm andrew gets home from work and takes over avery duty so i can get dinner finished. sometimes. other times i connive a way to go out to eat. we give avery solids and then play some more.  sometimes bathtime/take videos/put her in her walker, etc.  a lot of nights one or both of us have FHE, girls night, basketball, football, activity days, elders quorum meetings/visits, go out with friends, errands, etc. so she has a flexible bedtime. but it's usually around 7:30.  sometimes 11:30. haha. nurse.book.sing one more time, then say prayer....then she's down.

8:00-10:00 pm finish things, sew more, watch tv, etc. andrew attends to his fantasy football...work, elders quorum, etc.  our goal is to be in bed at 10, we can watch tv or read or whatever as long as we're in bed.  i think this works about 10% of the time but at least we have a goal.
10:30 pm depending on how early i nursed avery, i'll sometimes get her out of her crib (still asleep) and feed her one more time right here.
1:00 - 3:00 am (frequently) i wake up to a crying baby that i'm still trying to re-train to sleep through the night. i try to just give her a bottle of warm water to put her back to sleep without nursing. this is hit or miss. i actually just try to block this part out of my memory :) i know i have it good compared to some other babies' sleep schedules....but i got spoiled from avery sleeping 8-10 hour stretches by like 6 weeks. oh well.

this is an ideal day that maybe happens once a week.  i'm usually off schedule most days because i'm out, or avery won't take a nap, or wakes up early, or is getting a giant top tooth breaking through the gum, or my house is in shambles and i can't function...etc.

we had to let avery 'cry it out' until she learned to go to sleep for naps and bedtime on her own...sans swaddle, sans bottle, even sans binky (just because she doesn't take one anymore, not because i don't let her).  it stinks to listen to her cry--and i don't mean in the sweet mom way that i feel bad for her (which i do, but i know she's fine) but i mostly mean that it is just tense and stressful. BUT she is getting better. and on the nights that she still cries for 25 minutes, i sometimes just leave andrew and take a break. go on a walk, get the mail, go to the grocery store, etc. when i come home i have a nice husband and a sweet baby who is asleep. amazing! sometimes i feel bad about leaving, but i gotta do it.

one of the most interesting things was before i started all this, avery couldn't care less about books. she would look away, gaze into the mirror, squirm, and pull my hair when i tried to read to her.  now that we do it at least 3 times a day, she has really started to focus on the books. she touches the pages and grabs at them..but she sits and seems more engaged.

i love her.  as much as i love her naps, i really am so glad i get to spend my days with her.

*i am sewing a lot these days.  these orders don't sew themselves! haha.  i've kind of gotten in a groove.  i turn on conference (i'm just going through the archives. i'm working backwards... at 2007 right now. last conference before president hinckley died in fact).  listening to these talks for 1+ hours most days while i sew has actually been a really good thing for me.
**also where the post office comes in, shipping orders before the dreaded 5 pm deadline.