In Preparation

Well, school starts August 24th! Warren is in half day Kindergarten in the mornings, and Jack is in preschool on Tuesday and Thursday in the morning. I am so excited for them...okay and a little for myself to have more of a schedule emerge and get some time with just one kid every week.

But at the same time, it is a little daunting -- the getting ready for school to start, that is. The boys have been staying up much later than normal, eating at all times of the day, and just generally hamming it up this Summer. Plus we have a newborn. Yeah, there isn't a lot of schedule going on around here.

So, starting last week we have been taking some steps to get them ready for the transition into fall. And by them, I mean all three!

Warren and Jack are getting put to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 pm. They now 100% of the time get themselves dressed both in pajamas at night and clothes in the morning. They put their dirty clothes in their hamper and grab the days' clothes out of this nifty contraption Bryan found at Nordstrom for their closet.



You wouldn't believe what a huge deal it is for them to be self-sufficient in this way. Especially since Warren is almost to the point of being able to completely groom himself. He washes his hands and face and brushes his own teeth -- usually. I can just about see the light at the end of the tunnel. I will just say "boys go get ready" and 15 min later two perfectly attired and groomed little boys will emerge. Ahhhh...sure, they sometimes doddle, and they almost always have something on backwards, and it is a sure thing that there will be toothpaste on the counter. But I am suppressing my inner perfectionist/clean freak and enjoying the fact that the morning routine is sustainable.

As for Nolan, I am already starting to see a little bit of a schedule emerging. I give him a bath every night after Warren and Jack are tucked in. Then he has an extensive feeding/burping/snuggle/rocking time and falls asleep at about 10 pm. He usually sleeps for 3-4 hours at this first stretch of the night. A couple more feedings and diaper changes during the night and the sun starts to come up. He is taking two longer naps per day too. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Of course he still falls asleep for little cat naps throughout the day, like when he is in the car. I haven't pushed the issue of a schedule on him yet, but it is nice to see that he is already gravitating to one!

{Morning Nap}


I am feeling confident that we will be rearing to go come August 24th and if I could sum it up in one word right now, it would be -- doable!