Capture the Day Session: Summer 2014

A personal goal of mine is to do quarterly #capturetheday sessions each year. On July 17th, a Thursday, I picked up my camera and pen to document and detail our day together. Here is our ordinary and extraordinary day in the Summer of 2014:

5:50 am

August wakes crying loudly; I go in and he settles back to sleep immediately. I hold and rock him for 30 minutes longer since he so rarely sleeps on me. Brandon gets up to take over for a bit, but by 7am, we are all awake. 

7 am

August plays in our bed between us. We give him the remote for the overhead street lights and he sort of snuggles with us. After he throws the remote behind the bed, we show him pictures and videos on our phone camera roll. Once he is too antsy for snuggles, we put him on the floor and let him roam the upstairs. He takes the giant Chick-fil-A cup from my nightstand and drinks all my water. What he doesn't drink, he dumps out when he uses the cup as a sword by grabbing the straw.

8 am

We are out of prepped oatmeal so August snacks raisins, Cheerios and milk as I prepare more of our tried-and-true oatmeal recipe.

Boil water. Peel and cut the fruit (apple, banana, peach). Boil the fruit. Add cinnamon and old-fashioned oats: whole and milled. Boil until soft. Cool and serve. 

Brandon comes downstairs to make his lunch and coffee for work. He will be gone by 8:30 so we try to enjoy our time with him. After he leaves we eat breakfast, August and I. Cereal and coffee for me; oatmeal with blueberries for August. It's been blueberries or strawberries all summer long.

9 am

I light a candle and play worship music for calm serenity. We play with blocks on the living room floor. August normally hands them to me, I build a tower and he knocks it down. He spreads out while playing and makes a much larger mess than he did a month ago. I consider walking down to the park but it's already 90 and very humid. 

When August needs a new diaper we go upstairs to get ready for the day. I grab my phone and coffee and camera since I'm taking pictures today. I walk slowly behind August as he crawls up, up, up. We read books and play with Tonka trucks. August sets his jaw and tucks a stuffed animal tightly under his chin.

10 am

We share pre-nap snuggles in the chair to calm August's system. Set the room to "nap mode": Curtains closed. Both sound machines on- yes, two. Fan on high. Sneezy the Panda, Owlie the Owl, water cup and book in the crib. I continue to rock in the chair for a few minutes since he's extra cuddly. Reluctantly, I put August in his crib and go downstairs to work on Spice research. My desk requires a candle, coffee, water and two computers to aid the speed of research. 

11 am

August fussed after sleeping for half an hour but then settled again. I take a short coffee break to stretch when my dad calls to cancel tomorrow's lunch. Back to more Spice work until August wakes at ten til noon.

12 pm

We walk to visit with Mum who is working at Rutledge's house around the corner. August walks the entire way and even turns up the right path to his uncle's front door. I help Mum shift some boxes on the third floor and laugh at old, childhood memories. August meets my bear, Bubblegum Pink (nn Pinky) and the peg cobbler toy. We stay until our stomachs begin to growl.

1:30 pm

Mum joins us for lunch of last night's leftovers: Greek chicken on pita with cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. 

2 pm 

We dessert on iced coffee and visit for a bit while August plays with blocks and his spaceship. Mum brought pictures of August on the MG so we look and talk about her upcoming trip to New York for Rutledge's wedding. He gets cranky for a nap. 

3 pm

Nap time for August and Mumma. To unwind, I grab the iPad to read blogs and the news but learn of the Malaysian flight crash. 298 people. Gone. Torn apart in a Ukrainian field. For a long time, I sit and stare and pray. I eventually read Swistle to calm my nerves and doze off for 15 minutes. 

4:15 pm

August wakes after 30 minutes asleep. He's snuggly and wanting to be close. I give him two crackers and milk and pull the bread dough from the bowl. I've let it sit for 24 hours- I hope it still turns out nicely.

Oven on, pot in oven. Counter floured and doughed.

Waiting on the oven and snuggling on the couch with my favorite little man. He's been into the really soft things lately so he loves being on the couch and pretending to sleep. Why do kids find that hilarious? 

5 pm

Bread in the oven and dishes cleaned up from the day. August plays with his Tonka truck and our World Cup balloons. He watches on tiptoes as the neighbors splash in their kiddie pool next door. Brandon is home by 5:30; they play together while I bring in the diapers, boil pasta and set the table. 

6 pm

Dinner. August gets stripped to his diaper since we're having spaghetti for dinner. We all devour the homemade bread and fresh butter from Happy Cow Creamery. I sip a glass of wine because pasta calls for it. We discuss future travel plans, Brandon's work and August's big adventurous walk to Uncle Rutledge's today. We wipe August's hands, peel the spaghetti off his belly and the boys go upstairs for bath time. August crawls up slowly but happily. I clean the dishes, wipe the counters and sweep the floors. 

7 pm

After filling August's water cup, I grab a banana and head upstairs for stories. I meant to deliver the banana during bath time. We read stories and play a bit longer than usual. August is so joyful and thrives when both Brandon and I are around. Hugs and bed for August who continues to play in his crib for some time.

8 pm

After August is in bed, I try not to look at the clock until I am headed to bed. The rest of my day is so timed and monitored, it's lovely having chunks of time at the end of the day to lose track of. 8 pm until bed is an unmonitored mixup of exercise videos, blog posting, shower, laundry and reading. I'm in bed with my book by 11:30 pm.

View our other Capture the Day sessions here.