Schedules

I've decided schedules are over-rated.

So far, the only schedule we have in our house is Bryn's bath time at 8 p.m. and bed time at 9 p.m. After that, anything goes. She's up at least once in the night for a bottle, anywhere from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. Sometimes she's up for 1/2 an hour, sometimes 2 or 3. Sometimes she's awake 20 minutes after she goes to bed. Needless to say we don't rent movies to watch in the evenings. Mornings start at 7 a.m. Or maybe at 10. Naps are usually 20 minutes, unless they're 2 hours. Sometimes she gets up so late there's no time for a morning nap. All of this fits in very well with Girard's spontaneous (ha!) nature.

Mealtimes are a challenge but always entertaining. After discovering she won't eat baby food we decided to try real food. Yams are delicious but not three days in a row. Potatoes are yummy one day and get a raspberry the next. Yogurt is really good. Unless it's not. Rice noodles are always a hit though more fun when they're eaten with chopsticks, which is pretty tricky. Scrambled eggs are good but not as good as the steamed egg she ate every day for lunch in China. (Anyone out there know how to make steamed egg?) Bryn doesn't like chicken. Her dad, who can eat a whole chicken in one meal (minus the head and feet) doesn't understand this at all. She is probably the only child on the planet who doesn't like Alphagetti (we're trying everything). She does, however, LOVE Jello so we're now trying to convince ourselves that it's nutritious.


Bryn's Jello grin


Our own eating habits have changed a bit as well. While my main meal is still Cheez Ritz crackers, I've started tasting everything I feed Bryn just to show her how good it is (yum, yum...see Bryn, it's good!). Girard is eating all the leftover food I make that she refuses to eat, though he draws the line at rice cereal. The other day he was looking in the cupboards for something snack on and came across a sealed foil bag. He opened it up and started eating, sputtered a bit and said "What the @#% is this?!" Hmm...chrysanthemum tea leaves I bought in China. Poor guy has been reduced to foraging in the plants. Our dog Jessie, who has stomach problems and is only supposed to eat carrots and special low-fat vet approved dog food, now spends her time under Bryn's highchair waiting for the discards to hit the floor. Amazingly (knock wood) she hasn't been sick yet.

Our house isn't as organized as it once was which will cause endless amusement for those who know us best. My cupboards are a mess — but really, does it matter if the All Bran is between the Cheerios and the Froot Loops instead of beside the Froot Loops where they really belong? Girard used to shovel the walk after every snowfall. We're now the lazy neighbors who let things like that slide. The mailman is sliding too but what the heck.

Despite all of this Bryn is growing and is a happy little girl. She's put on close to 2 pounds in the past two weeks. She's gone from not even being able to sit up on her own to standing on her own little legs which are starting to develop rolls of baby fat. Instead of crying in the tub like she first did, she now splashes water all over the place and gives kisses to her rubber duck. She loves to sing and look at her books. She giggles and smiles and chatters and her personality is emerging more every day. We love her to pieces and can't imagine life without her. Schedules? Who cares.


Girard making sure both his girls are happy.