Now that we're on more of a schedule, one of my favorite parts of the day is after Sophie's bath when we sit in the rocking chair together as I feed her before reading her a story. We have so many great books and it's so fun to see her looking at the pages and listening to the words. I loved sharing these books with you last time so I'm back again with an updated list of books I can't wait to read to our daughter:

• Stellaluna: This is one of my all-time favorite books from when I was a kid. The illustrations are gorgeous and I just loved Stellaluna so much. I can't wait to read this one to Sophie soon.
• Press Here: I haven't read this one yet but I love interactive books like this. We have a farm animals book with different little swatches on each page and it's so fun to let her touch them.
• What Do You Believe? and The Kid's Book of World Religions: On Easter this year I wondered how we would celebrate when she's older--Rob and I both grew up Catholic and I was really involved in my church, but that's not the case for me anymore. I want to acknowledge what we believe, but I also want Sophie to know there are a lot of other ways people have a relationship with God (or not). These books seem like a good place to start that conversation.
• Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth: This one is in my Amazon cart ready to go. I just think it looks so beautiful and sweet--it's one of those books I wish I had had when I was younger.
• Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History: I am obsessed with this book--I think I read that it's coming in a board book format soon and I might get that one, too (Sophie loves books but she's a little young to sit still long enough for a non-picture book at this point). The illustrations are beautiful and I love having the opportunity to introduce her to so many badass women of color.

That's all for now! As always I'd love to hear any recommendations from you--I'm always on the hunt for a new book!

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Right now, I believe...

that nothing smells better than a citrus tree in bloom.

that a baby sleeping 12 hours overnight is a huge win, even if it doesn't last.

in smoothies with oats and spinach and lots of berries.

that it might have taken 30 years to figure out but a daily cleaning schedule might let you finally live in a clean house.

that you can't please everyone and that's just fine.

that if there's half & half and milk in the fridge, you should go for the half & half.

that hopefully 4 months isn't enough time to forget how to teach a Pure Barre class.

What's true for you lately?

The other day Nadine shared a "Day in the Life" post and I always love reading those, so I thought I'd share an updated version--my day-to-day life looks a lot different than it did in 2015! Sophie is 4 months old and our day already looks so different than it did just a few months ago!

7-8 AM Sophie wakes up (usually! sometimes it's before 7:00 but lately she's been sleeping longer which has been great) and I get her out of the bassinet and feed her in bed. Rob's alarm goes off at 8:00 and he lets Ender out of the crate and into the yard to pee, then all four of us usually hang out in bed for 20 minutes or so. One of us will make me a latte (Rob drinks coffee and eats breakfast at work) so I'll sip on that and Rob hangs out with Sophie before it's time for him to get ready. 

9-10 AM Rob is out the door around 9:00 and Sophie, Ender, and I move to the living room for some playtime. I usually put Sophie in her activity center and we hang out while I finish my coffee. By 9:30 or 10:00 it's usually time for a nap so I change her and we head back into our bedroom. I usually chat with my mom around 9:00 since it's lunchtime in Virginia.

10-11 AM Sophie is napping and I'll make myself some breakfast--usually oatmeal but sometimes eggs or a smoothie. Ender whines because he wants to go on a walk so I'll sometimes play in the yard with him for a few minutes, but usually during naps I try to get work done, either around the house or on the blog (not evident this week as this is my first post and it's Friday).

11 AM-12 PM Sophie usually wakes up right after an hour so I change her again and feed her and put her in this baby carrier and leash up Ender for a walk. I always want to walk for an hour but it's usually closer to 40 minutes. If we don't have plans I usually eat some lunch around 12:30.

12-2 PM Depending on the day, sometimes we'll go out to meet a friend for lunch or run some errands. Today I need to pick up a prescription and get some groceries for the weekend so this is when we'll do that. Her second nap is two hours after she wakes up, which usually is around 1:00. I'll let her fall asleep in the car but I'm really trying to be home for naps so she can sleep in the bassinet. I promised myself I wouldn't become a slave to her naps but hey, never say never. Life is a lot easier for all of us when she's well-rested, so it's worth it right now. 

3-4 PM Sophie is up and we do more playing after she eats again--tummy time in the nursery or more activity center chats. I'll read her a book or two and sometimes we'll just sit on the couch and chat. Ender snoozes on the couch most of the day (which is hard to believe if you've ever been over and witnessed how insane he can be when people are visiting).

4:30-5 PM I try to get Sophie down for a catnap until 5:00. Bedtime is supposed to be by 7:00 and it's a lot easier if she's only been awake for 2 hours--otherwise we start melting down around 5:30. I feed her at 5:00 so she isn't too sleepy to eat enough before bed, which seems to be working. 

5-6:30 PM Hopefully Rob is home (it depends on how busy he was at work and which shuttle he catches) and we all catch up before it's time to start our bedtime routine. Sophie and Ender are always super excited to see him and it's the sweetest.

6:30 - 7 PM Sophie gets a bath, eats again, and then we read a bedtime story. We slide her into her sleepsuit (she wears this at night and for all her naps) and put her in the bassinet. She chats to herself a little and falls asleep pretty soon after.

7-10 PM Rob and I eat dinner and veg out on the couch with whatever show we've been watching (lately it's Love on Netflix but we also crush some Bon Appétit videos on YouTube). I'll have a glass of wine sometimes and then pump at 9:00--on a perfect day I've already pumped twice during Sophie's naps but most of the time I forget or don't feel like sitting still while she's sleeping. I take a shower every night and try to be in bed by 10:00, which has been working lately, although sometimes it's closer to 11:00.

4 AM Oh did you think that was it? No, Sophie wakes me up around 4:00 every morning to eat. I change her diaper and feed her in bed and put her back down by 4:30, praying silently that she sleeps until 8:00, which lately she has been doing. Sometimes she's wide awake again at 5:45 or 6:00, and if that's the case I'll usually nurse her in bed until it's time for us to get up and do it all over again!

Thanks for reading! Next week I'm going to start teaching again (a couple Pure Barre classes once a week), so our schedule will be slightly altered, but I'm excited to get back in the studio and I think it'll be nice for Rob to have one evening alone with Sophie every week. I definitely miss working out every day but we’re planning to get a few things for our garage soon so I can work out during one of Sophie’s naps every afternoon.

I'm working on a baby sleep post right now, but let me know if you have any questions or post requests--I love writing what you guys want to read! 

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