We have officially made it to a year! And that was officially the fastest year of my life.
We had a very small birthday celebration for Bjorn with Craig’s parents (who live in Anchorage) Sunday evening. It is kind of sad to not be able to celebrate with a lot of people especially for something pretty momentous like a baby’s first birthday. Although, we all know the first birthday is really more for the parents, and a celebration for the parents getting through that first year of life. Ha!
Well, here we are. One year old. A little sad, but also exciting because I love interacting with my kids more.
I recapped our day last Friday. Honestly, our schedule is very similar to my 11 month update. Cullen is still doing virtual school from home, Craig is still working from home, and I am trying to get as much work done in the small pockets of time I have throughout the day.
Anyway, here is what our Friday looked like trying to balance “homeschooling” one child while keeping the baby from ripping his papers apart and pounding on his keyboard. Don’t think things run as smoothly as this may appear in this post. A lot of jobs go half-done for an hour or two before they get finished. For example, I’ll start cleaning up the kitchen, but I won’t finish cleaning it until 11 a.m.–or basically right before it gets dirty for lunch again. I also do not do a good job of sitting down to eat meals–I’m usually standing up, getting food for the boys and myself, while simultaneously cleaning the kitchen.
6:00 a.m.
My alarm goes off, and I get up for my run.
6:05 a.m.
I check the monitor and see Bjorn is still sleeping. I finish getting ready.
6:20 a.m.
I check the monitor again and see Bjorn is now up.
6:25 a.m.
I let Craig know I am leaving and also tell him Bjorn is up for the day.
6:30 a.m.
I leave for my run and meet my friend half way in between our homes. I run a total of 8 miles for the day. This is one of the few days I only have one workout.
7:40 a.m.
I return home and nurse Bjorn.
7:50 a.m.
I make a few stories for Instagram and get Cullen ready for his first classes of the day–clothes changed, announcements checked, and papers prepped for his classes.
8:00 a.m.
Craig starts work from home.
8:30 a.m.
I finally get a chance to eat some breakfast that Craig made for me.
8:40 a.m.
Cullen gets logged into his first Zoom class.
8:50 a.m.
I put Bjorn down for his nap: diaper changed, sleep sack on, pacifier, books read, placed in crib awake, and sound machine on before leaving. Within a few minutes he is sleeping.
9:00 a.m.
I tidy up the house, clean up the kitchen, make the beds, and do a little bit of work: check emails, respond to athlete’s texts, and foam roll while I am going these things.
9:20 a.m.
Cullen wraps up his first class of the day while I am working on these things. We chat for a bit before he goes and grabs a snack.
10:00 a.m.
Bjorn wakes up. He has been taking shorter naps this past week, and I am going a little crazy because I used to be able to count on 1.5-2 hour nap every morning, and now it has been anywhere from 30 minutes to no more than 60 minutes in the morning and afternoon. I had every intention of taking and shower and getting ready during this time, but it doesn’t happen.
10:05 a.m.
I get Bjorn from his crib, and Cullen and him play together for a bit before his next Zoom class.
10:15 a.m.
Cullen starts his next class.
10:20 a.m.
I finally have a chance to take a shower and try to get ready for the day. It takes me far to long with taking breaks to keep Bjorn occupied or clean up after his messes.
10:50 a.m.
Cullen’s second class ends. Now he’s able to play with Bjorn while I finish getting ready.
11:15 a.m.
I finally finish getting ready, and now it is lunch time. I get some food for the boys. Bjorn has cheese, pieces of torn bread, and cut up nectarine. Cullen has an apple, carrots, yogurt, and peanut butter-filled pretzel bites.
11:50 a.m.
Cullen’s third class of the day begins. He is able to click on the right Zoom link now and mute and unmute himself, so he’s pretty self-sufficient during his classes, but he often does need help finding the right worksheet for the class or a supply he can’t find (glue stick, white board marker, etc.).
12:00 p.m.
I attempt to clean up the kitchen while also keeping Bjorn entertained. Luckily Craig is able to take Bjorn for a walk during his lunch break to give me a little bit of a break.
12:25 p.m.
Cullen ends his third Zoom class.
12:30 p.m.
Craig and Bjorn return, and I take Bjorn upstairs to change his diaper and read a couple of books to him. We hang out for a bit with Cullen as well.
1:10 p.m.
Cullen starts his last Zoom class of the day.
1:15 p.m.
I usually wait about 3 hours in between naps, but I do push this one a bit longer because he is doing okay, and I don’t want him having an even longer stretch between his second nap and before bedtime because the witching hour can turn into witching hourS otherwise.
1:20 p.m.
I put Bjorn down for his second nap of the day and pray he sleeps at least an hour. I sit down at my computer and try to get as much work done as possible. I also eat a snack while I work since I didn’t have much for lunch.
1:45 p.m.
Cullen’s last class ends. He plays independently for a while.
2:10 p.m.
Well, boo, Bjorn only naps for 45 minutes and wakes up crying, so much for getting much work done. I go and get him and nurse him.
2:20 p.m.
I prepare a snack for Bjorn: yogurt, a fruit and vegetable pouch, and some small pieces of salami.
2:30 p.m.
Cullen is done with school for the day, so I allow him to watch an episode of Wild Kratts–his favorite show right now. (It is crazy how much he has learned from that show!) I try to keep Bjorn entertained while also doing some computer work.
3:30 p.m.
I run a few errands with the boys. We go to Michael’s to get some decorations for Bjorn’s smash cake, and we also pick up our Target order, curbside.
5:00 p.m.
When we get home, I put things away while Craig prepares dinner.
5:45 p.m.
We eat dinner as a family, which doesn’t happen as much as I would like. Often with me having to work in the evening or because there is just too many other things going on, we end up scrounging for food or eating whenever it fits into our schedule.
6:10 p.m.
Bjorn and Cullen take a bath. Craig starts cleaning up the kitchen. (We swap duties, depending upon the situation or what we feel like.)
6:25 p.m.
I get Bjorn out of the bath, put a clean diaper on, pajamas on, and then nurse him one last time.
6:35 p.m.
Craig reads a book to Bjorn and then puts him in his crib for the night.
6:45 p.m.
I start working on Bjorn’s smash cake and making some cupcakes. During this time I am also multi-tasking: cleaning up the kitchen, responding to emails and texts from athletes, sending work messages, and all of those little things that don’t necessarily take a lot of time but cumulatively they do.
8:30 p.m.
Time for Cullen’s bedtime. I have him get his pajamas on and brush his teeth. When he’s done with that, we read a few chapters from The Magic Treehouse. We are working our way through the series, and he is loving it.
9:00 p.m.
I get back to my work and try to finish as quickly as I can because I am ready for bed.
10:00 p.m.
I finally wrap up my work in the kitchen, tidy up the rest of the house, and then get ready for bed.
10:45 p.m.
I crawl into bed exhausted from the day but also very thankful for everything.
The end.
What a busy day Michelle! Have school not returned to in-person learning in Anchorage yet? Seems like the little kiddos would really benefit from learning in-person. Do you think Cullen will be able to go back at some point this year? Hope you had a great 1st birthday for Bjorn! đŸ™‚
No, we are still doing virtual learning for the time being in Anchorage. I would love it if Cullen was able to go to school in-person soon–there is so much play and interaction that they need as young kids, but I know the district is trying to be safe. They are trying to get them back in-person for the second quarter, so hopefully soon.