July 2018 - Summary of our summer routine & photos

Now that both of my kids are past the one year old mark, I'm going to stop posting based on their ages, and try to post one per month.  Let's see how long it lasts.....I'm tired!

This summer has been such a joy.  It took a while to get into a routine when preschool ended, but we've found our stride.  This is basically how the day goes:

5:30 am - Wake up.  As of June 24, Lynn has been waking up with Lynx. So I have been sleeping until 7 am.  BLISSFUL. Breakfast is basically from 5:30-7:30.  Some of it is eaten in the kitchen where it's supposed to be eaten, but some is in the playroom, where Mommy allows it to happen too.
8:15 am - Lynx goes down for a nap. Nova watches some TV (usually Frozen, though she's watching the BBC series Planet Earth lately too).
8:30 am - Nova and I either do chores together or read and do Frozen puzzles.  Lynx is not a fan of Nova and I snuggling up, so reading it mostly done when he's asleep.  Puzzles are done when he's asleep, too, because he likes to destroy the design and eat the pieces.
10:00 am - Lynx wakes up!  When I'm on the ball, I'll have an early lunch prepped and our "going out" stuff all set.  We'll eat this early lunch, then head out somewhere. Oftentimes we go to a park or playdate.  Sometimes we go to the library or gymnastics class at the Little Gym in Olney.
1:00 pm - Late lunch in the kitchen. Favorites are mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, sausage, pasta with butter, string cheese, yogurt, grapes, apples, and cherries.
2:00 pm - Lynx goes down for nap 2. Nova watches another 10 minutes of tv.
2:15 pm - Nova goes down for quiet time.  This is usually just over an hour of time in her room.  She has lots of books and some toys in there.  She spends 90% of the time reading.  But, recently, I brought her table up there with some crayons and paper so she can practice drawing.  She doesn't like drawing, but she'll do it periodically. She's into drawing circles lately.
During their down time, I almost always watch TV.  I am so tired, and I've sorta trained my body that this is relaxing time.  I've found that if I spend this time cleaning or working, I am SO TIRED from 4-6 pm that my mom skills deteriorate.  So, I watch West Wing in order to benefit the kids!
3:30 pm - The kids are done with quiet/nap time, so we go downstairs for, you guessed it, another snack.  Then, we go outside, usually to Peachwood Park for some playing.  Nova has been biking to the park on her "new" princess bike, given to us by a neighbor for $20.  She loves it, and prefers it over her strider bike which she had been using up until the princess bike came into her life.
5:30 pm - dinner time.  Lynn arrives sometime between 5:45 and 6:30 pm.
6:30 pm - bedtime begins.  Nova does a puzzle with Lynn while I give Lynx a bath, brush his teeth (which consists of him putting the toothbrush in his hair and laughing hysterically), put on pjs, read several short books, and snuggle.  He likes to pinch or squeeze me while he's snuggling with me which I tolerate the best of my ability.  When I say "ouch" he usually gets gentler.
When the puzzle is done, Lynn gives Nova a bath, brushes her teeth, puts on pajamas, reads three books.  Then, she puts a coin (or two) in her piggy bank if she's been good throughout the bedtime routine.  Finally, they "talk about the day" where Nova asks Lynn to tell her what she did all day.  Ha.  He'll talk about his day and ask her to talk about hers. Lights out by 7:30 pm.
7:00 pm - I am usually out of the house, either grocery shopping or running with my buddy Teri.
8:00 pm - on the nights I don't run with Teri, I've been doing a weight training program that my buddy Kelsey is putting on through Facebook.  I am really enjoying it.  It ends by September, but I hope she'll do another one right away.

And now, on to the photos!

Auntie Brecky and Uncle Mitch visited at the end of June!  Despite much rain, we all had a fantastic time.

Mitch is a good reader.

We were all sad when they left! (And Lynx doesn't like when I tell him "no.")

I made the mistake of asking my husband for advice on where to get a haircut.  He said, "my barber always does a good job." So I went.  The barber cut my hair 2 inches shorter than I asked her to, so I left. I offered to pay her, but she declined. Note my hair on the right!  

I then made the wise decision of asking a friend of mine where SHE gets her hair done.  Note my hair on the left.  Ahh, much better. 

Peachwood Park!

 Swimming sans husband with two very small children is a challenge.  But, Nova is quite the independent lady and can do virtually anything in her "Crab" puddle jumper.  Lynx is not so sure about the water yet, but he also can't tolerate NOT being in the water.  So it's an adventure.

Park time with Seamus! 

Nova's new princess bike....and shades.

I met some new friends while I marched on the Capital to Keep Families Together.

It's HOT. 

A popsicle and pajamas at this gathering!   

We girls went to see the fireworks!  It was Nova's first time being up past 7:30 pm since Thanksgiving.  When I told her we were going to go, she said, "Will I see what darktime looks like?"  The festival at which the fireworks were held had huge lines for everything.  We stood in line for 1 hour and 10 minutes for food.  Nova didn't complain at all, though I did a lot of complaining to Lynn via text.  We got home by 10, but clearly, she was exhausted. 

Another fun place to visit is the library!  They have a play area called the "Discovery Room" that you can reserve and use alone.  It's magical.

Watching Frozen!  Lynx will watch for about 2 minutes before he's off trying to destroy something. 

Nova cracks me up all the time.

The fountain at Olney LOOKS like fun, but have to I spend an hour getting everything prepared....and neither kid goes in the fountain.  They just wander around it and then ask to eat.  So, we don't go anymore.

Neighborhood friends!

Lynx loves to eat dirt.  This is dirt, not food, all over his face.

He also loves rolling around, especially on a blanket, and playing with the remotes.

Eating hot dogs and corn with our buddy, Olivia. 

Neighborhood fun!

Doesn't she look 13? It's like she's saying, "Oh, mom.  If only I weren't soooo popular." 

Again, with the looking 13! Except she's holding a doll and dressed as Cinderalla...

Climbing some stairs to the library for story time.  Nova was at Little Gym for gymnastics class, so I got to enjoy some one-on-one time.

NOVA UPDATES:

We saw a man with a cigarette in his mouth, and she said, "That man has a whistle!"

I went to get her from quiet time. I said to come downstairs with me and get some ice cream. I said, "Do you want some ice cream?" Nova was quiet. Then said, "Can we read this book?" I responded, "We don't have time for ice cream and reading before swimming lessons.  Which do you want?" She said, "Read. I can't read this book yet." So we did.

In the car, Nova said, "Do you want to die?" I said, "No." She said, "Are you goign to die?" I said, "Yes." She said, "Then you grow back up again?" I said, "No, then my good deeds live on after me and I live in you." She said, "I don't want you to die!!" I said, "We won't die for a very long time, hopefully."

Nova said, "I love Daddy so much.  I like you so much, too, but I want to be with Daddy.  He can watch me poop."

she calls "ear lobes" "ear lips"

On July 14, when Lynn was out of town, she got herself ready for bed on her own, with no reminders. I left Lynx's room after putting him down and found her quietly sitting under her covers, with four books on the bedside table. She had dried herself off, brushed her teeth, put on pajamas, and picked out the books for herself.  Major proud moment for me.

We were watching Planet Earth together.  We see what looks like snow.  She said, "There's snow." Then David Attenborough clarifies that it's rain.  She said, "I sorry. I confused."

On July 18, she biked (while I strolled Lynx) to Drew Elementary (her probable elementary school) which is 1.5 miles away. You must take a lot of turns through a new part of the neighborhood to get there. She led the way back.  At each intersection she said, "Is it this way?" and was right each time.  And, no complaining (until the very end) though it was in the 90s. Good girl!

However, upon returning home that evening, everything led to screaming.  She couldn't get off her bike, she (sorta) fell on a blanket, Lynx was in her way (again, sorta). I told her that she's tired, and it's easier to be frustrated when you're tired.  She listened, and stopped the bad behavior.  Another proud moment for me.

On July 24, we were at the Safeway grocery store when Nova and an employee partially blocked the aisle. A shopper snuck in between them, bumping into Nova and saying nothing.  Nova said, "Excuse me." The woman looked at her and mumbled something. Then Nova said,"It's ok. It was an accident."

LYNX UPDATES

On July 10, I discovered that he wasn't teething anymore.  Instead, he figured out how to crack his voice and was doing it all the time.

We started asking him "where's your nose?" he points to his head. But, if I ask him where's his head or ears, he'll point correctly.

On July 15, it seemed like he called Nova "Nana." Though that hasn't been repeated since then, so it's hard to say.

I tried to brush his teeth for the first time.  I told him it was a brush, so he put it to his head, to brush his hair. I told him that wasn't right (in a very silly voice) and now he does it over and over and cackles.

I told Lynx we were going outside. Then I went to the kitchen to get water.  He was mad that we weren't going out immediately, so he followed me to the kitchen, crying.  I told him to go get his shoes on. He went to the entryway by himself and grabbed his shoes by the time I reached him.

On July 27 and 28, he skipped his morning nap, but napped again today, July 29.