Every morning . . .

Every morning when J gets up, we open his curtains and I show him the sunrise. I tell him the colors and about our day. Then we head downstairs for awhile. I peel back the blankets that are keeping dog and cat hair off my couch and we nestle into the corner. J eats breakfast while I take in a little Morning Joe and the Today Show. When J's done eating we cuddle and play. I keep a few toy and books stashed in the living room for morning play. J sits on my lap and in between hugs and smiles we read, watch TV and he plays with his rattles and keys (or the remote if he can convince me it's his). It only lasts about an hour before his morning nap, but it's one of my favorite times of the day - every morning.



Every evening J also has a routine. Can you tell we (I) am schedule driven? After dinner we often take a family walk. With cooler fall nights becoming downright cold our walk is turning into family play time indoors instead. This is really the only time D and J get time to play. As J starts to get tired we get his bath ready, another time for he and D to bond. Then I step in, and it's another favorite time of day for me. I feed J his nighttime bottle, we cuddle, and I rock him to sleep. He chats with me a bit, we listen to the iPod (soothing singer songwriter music and other easy listening hits from the 70s, 80s, 90s AND today). Sometimes I sing to him. Soon he is off to sleep in my arms. He is so peaceful and perfect. It's a wonderful bookend to our morning cuddles and I will repeat it's one of my favorite times of day.