A day in our lives

With Iris now 7 months old and Felix 3.5, I wanted to write down our daily schedule to see how much it changes over the years. On a typical weekday, I get up at 6, get ready, and wake Iris at 6:20. Nick gets Felix up, dressed, and fed, then we're usually out the door by 6:35. I feed Iris at the daycare while I drop the kids off. I'm back again to nurse her at around 9:45 and 12:45 (love these times!). I say hi to Felix in his classroom if they're not busy. I leave work at 3:30 and nurse Iris again before taking the kids home. For a while, we play or watch a tv show (Top Gear lately) until Felix gets bored or distracted. Then it's time for dinner, when I eat mine quickly so I can feed Iris (or save mine until after she's done). Usually by the time we're all done eating and cleaning up, it's 6:15. We spend a little more time playing, then I put Iris to bed starting around 6:50, and Nick puts Felix to bed around 7. We finally get them both down around 7:45. Nick and I then can watch a show or two before heading to bed ourselves. Wake up the next day and repeat!

Iris has entered that stage where she feels so much bigger when I hold her in my arms, but she still looks little when sitting by herself on the floor. :o) She's starting to figure out how to move herself more every day. If you leave her sitting by herself and she's in the right mood, she'll eventually topple and start rolling around. She's starting to get her butt up in the air - maybe she'll be crawling in a few weeks! She also is very keen on pulling herself up if you hold out your fingers, though she's very wobbly. Iris is eating like a champion. We've introduced most of the veggies, a few fruits, and now some protein into her diet. She gets baby cereal for breakfast, mashed bananas for lunch, and I've been trying to mix up her dinners with veggie combos and baby cereal. Iris is also very vocal these days. She babbles away, and has such a funny laugh. She also pumps her arms and sounds like a monkey when she gets excited about something. Here's Iris's funny laugh:

Felix has really been getting into the show Top Gear and playing with his Legos. It's funny to hear him test cars with the show's hosts in the basement. This morning, he told me he wants to "drive Jeremy's Ferrari." He's got good taste! However, he's being very stubborn at the moment. When he makes up his mind about something, no other offer or choice will do. Case in point: he has been insisting on eating two Easter eggs' worth of candy in a sitting, while we're limiting him to one. Oh no, you'll get a tantrum with just one. Ugh. I'll be glad when the candy is gone (yeah, yeah, if I gave him two, it would be gone sooner...a Catch-22 of parenting).

My health hasn't been the greatest in the past week. I found I've developed what may be an ulcer (blood tests have ruled out other stuff and since I'm not back at 100% yet, it's likely not just a stomach flu). That's made things painful and annoying, to say the least. I'm hoping the prescriptions I've been given start having a positive effect soon!

Felix: 3.5 yrs & Iris: 7 mos