A Typical Morning with Two

For everyone's sanity, we try to keep our days fairly consistent; meaning our mornings pretty much look the same throughout the week.  Here is a peak into what that looks like for the most part:

 Both boys wake up between 6 and 7am each morning, but we don't get them out of bed until 7.  First things first, diaper changes and a nursing session are in order.  Usually Jackson requests to read books while his brother nurses, which means we all spend some time in the rocking chair together.    Then we head to the kitchen for breakfast.  This is Jackson's favorite meal of the day and his go-to is often old fashioned oatmeal with cinnamon and sugar.  

  

Around 8:30 Judah is ready for his morning nap.  You have about a 50% chance of being able to put Judah down without Jackson interrupting frequently, "Momma play Jackson's room."  They are both learning slowly to deal with the other intruding on their plans.  Judah does fairly good at falling asleep despite 2-year-old jibber jabber and Jackson is learning to be patient and wait.  We will sleep train Judah to fall asleep on his own in about 2 weeks.  The other 50% of the times, Jackson will either find some toys to play with or will have gotten into something exciting that Mom and Dad aren't too happy about...

...this morning, he was happily playing with his cars.

While Judah naps, Jackson and I have time to spend together.  We try to get outside every day even if it's just for a short time and the morning time is usually the coolest, although we are usually both caked with sweat 30 minutes later.  Jackson loves being outside and it allows me time to get some yard work done.

There are days that we get beckoned inside by Judah, but more often lately, the heat drives us inside after 45 minutes or so.  We need to recoup and refresh with a sponge bath and snack.  

Around 9:30, we have "school."  Jackson has mastered his colors and counting, so we have turned our attention to letters and fine motor skills.  He always gets to choose 2 activities to play/review and then we work on our letter of the week.  Today, he wanted to fish and read the book about colors.  

Judah is awake!  He wakes up hungry for his 2nd breakfast and ready to play! Since we've been playing in Jackson's room, we switch things up and hang in Judah's room.  Jackson usually brings in some of his cars and then rediscovers the many toys that he unknowingly passed down to his brother.  He can be bossy at times and wants his brother to do exactly as he says.  He is learning to share and take turns, but that is really tough for a 2-year-old.

 

Around 11, we head to the kitchen to prepare some lunch.  By this time, Jackson is getting pretty riled up and ready for a nap.  So, I usually get something for him to munch on while I fix the rest of lunch and we listen to music together.  He loves listening to Psalty the Singing Song Book or other praise songs like "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and "The Lord's Army."  Today, we ate Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, chips and strawberries.  

 And Mama's favorite time of the morning...NAP TIME!  Diaper changes, stories and quiet, peaceful sleep! Most days, the boys will both overlap their sleep for about an hour, but on a good day its more like an hour and a half.  Jackson will sleep for 2 hours, but Judah is still transitioning to longer and less frequent naps.