A Day in the Life – 11 Months Old (+ a 5 Year Old)

It dawned on me a couple of weeks ago (when Bjorn was still 10 months old) that he will be ONE next month!

It is a little sad to see him grow up so fast, but I’m mostly excited because I want to play with him more, interact with him more, and see his personality develop. I’m not sure what to do as far as a birthday party for him with COVID and all. Of course the first birthday is more for the parents anyway, but it would be sad if we didn’t do anything. I guess only time will tell.

For the last couple of months, our schedule has been pretty similar most days–we stay home a lot of the day, Craig is still working from home, and I am trying to find every pocket of time in between watching the boys to get my work done. We are starting to run a few errands and have outdoor play dates with friends now that things have eased up a bit, but things are definitely not back to normal.

At the end of August, we have now entered a new ‘normal’ with Cullen starting kindergarten this past week and 100% of his learning is being done virtually. I guess that means I’m putting my teacher hat back on for a while. (Who was reading this blog when it first started, and I was teaching elementary p.e.?) He has four 30 minute Zoom classes each day and homework in between or at the end of the day. It has definitely kept us busy and added another item to our already-full plates these days!

We are learning to balance Cullen’s school with a baby who just wants to see what’s going on on Cullen’s computer and bang on the keyboard. We’ve set up Cullen’s desk in his room, which is nice because I can be getting ready for the day in my bedroom next door, putting Bjorn down for his nap, or hanging out in Cullen’s room. Luckily Craig is able to step in to help, which I am so grateful for.

I am getting this posted a few days after the fact, but I’m also proud of myself for getting a post up every money despite the busyness of life. So here’s how our Thursday went down last week. A lot of jugging with Craig as I had three workouts to get in, but when there’s a will, there’s a way.

Thursday, August 27

5:45 a.m.
My alarm goes off for my run. I get up, go to the bathroom, change my clothes, brush my teeth, foam roll for a couple of minutes, and check a few messages on my phone before heading out the door.

6:15 a.m.
I let Craig know I’m leaving and tell him Bjorn is already up. I leave for my run. I run 8 miles–meeting a friend part way for a few of those miles.

7:30 a.m.
I return home and nurse Bjorn. His morning nursing session will be the last to go.

7:45 a.m.
I grab a protein bar until I can eat something else. I make sure Cullen is ready for his school day and change Bjorn’s diaper again. (He is a pooping-machine. Ha!)

8:15 a.m.
I hop in the shower and try to get ready before Cullen starts his first Zoom class.

8:40 a.m.
I get Cullen logged onto his computer and find the Zoom link for his first class of the day.

9:00 a.m.
I put Bjorn down for his nap. Craig is able to sit with Cullen for a bit while I do this.

9:10 a.m.
I finish getting ready and tidy up the bedrooms while Cullen finishes up his Zoom class. Cullen works on some homework after his class, and I get some more breakfast (finally) and do some of my own work.

10:15 a.m.
Cullen’s second class of the morning begins. I sit with him while he’s in his class. I work on my phone during his instruction because I have to optimize every second possible to avoid staying up until 11p.m. (Although that happens far too often anyhow.)

10:20 a.m.
Bjorn wakes up from his nap. I get him from his crib, change his diaper, and play with him for a bit. I try to sit with Cullen during his class, but Bjorn makes it so difficult because he just wants to pound on the computer. I pull out some toys for him, but they only keep him mildly distracted.

10:50 a.m.
Cullen is done with his morning classes for the day, so we go downstairs for a snack.

11:00 a.m.
It’s a little early, but I get some lunch ready for Bjorn and Cullen. I stick something in the oven to reheat for myself. I also tidy up and kitchen and handwash some dishes since our dishwasher broke. Boo! I never took that thing for granted because we never had a dishwasher growing up, so I know how time-consuming hand washing every dish is.

11:55 a.m.
Cullen has his first German Zoom class session. They talk in German 100% of the time, which is crazy to me that they can learn this way. I try to sit with Cullen as well as entertain Bjorn. It doesn’t work, so I take Bjorn into his room and take his 11 month old pictures.

12:30 p.m.
Cullen’s Zoom class is done, and he continues to do some homework while I try to do some computer work, but it is nearly impossible while Bjorn is awake since he gets into things he’s not supposed to and really doesn’t play by himself.

1:15 p.m.
I nurse Bjorn before his afternoon nap. I am down to nursing him about 3 times a day. I was doing 4-5 sessions, but he wasn’t eating much at any of them except for the morning one, so I’ve cut back. At this point in time it seems like he will be (could) self-weaning soon.

1:25 p.m.
I put Bjorn down for his second nap of the day.

1:35 p.m.
I head to the gym for my weight lifting session of the day. While there I am also doing work on my phone and preparing a post for Instagram.

2:45 p.m.
I wrap up my weight lifting session. On my way home, I pick up a gift from Cullen’s teachers.

3:00 p.m.
I return home and Bjorn is just waking up from his nap. Perfect timing.

3:10 p.m.
I get the boys and myself a snack. I do a little computer work while they eat. Then we get ready to go for a walk.

3:45 p.m.
I push Bjorn in the stroller, Cullen rides his scooter, and Craig joins us towards the end of our walk.

4:45 p.m.
We return home, and I pick up the house a bit while the boys play together.

5:30 p.m.
I head out for my second run of the day. I run 4 miles while Craig makes dinner.

6:05 p.m.
I return home, give Bjorn a bath, and get him ready for bed. I nurse him one last time for the day.

6:45 p.m.
I say good night to Bjorn and walk out of his room. I finally have a chance to eat dinner, and I work on my computer while doing this as everyone else has eaten. We usually try to sit down together as a family, but sometimes it doesn’t happen.

7:15 p.m.
I clean up the kitchen, sweep the floors, wash all the dishes by hand, and tidy up the house. Per usual, this takes a good chunk of my evening, but it is worth it. Craig and Cullen hang out during this time.

8:30 p.m.
Craig gets Cullen ready for bed. I read to him and tuck him in.

8:45 p.m.
I get ready for bed. Per usual, Cullen comes out of his room a half a dozen times for various reasons.

9:15 p.m.
I foam roll for a bit before climbing into bed and doing more work on my computer and phone.

10:30 p.m.
I finally am to a good stopping place for the night, so I turn off my light and hit the hay.

The end.