looking back

I just found this delightful little note on Theo dated from March 2005, when he was just 1 1/2 years old... I think it must of been from when I had to go out of town for work for multiple nights.  The first time leaving my boy!!! The trauma!!! The funny part is.. this is written to MY SISTER.  

As if she needed detailed notes on how to take care of my kid.

Theo and Thumpie Dog      March 2005

ha ha ha.  I wonder what I will look back on five years from now and laugh at myself for...

e notes on Theo…

Evening Routine:

Early Evening:

Theo is usually very tired, hungry and thirsty when picked up from school.  He usually has a sippy cup full of juice, milk or water for the car ride home.  

Juice or milk if possible is the best option because 

it will help him with the hunger issue until dinner is ready. 

Dinner:

Dinner on school nights has got to be fast, instant food because Theo is SO hungry.  Noodles, Hamburger, Meatballs, Peas, Carrots and Beans are on his current list of favorite foods.  

Dessert is fine after dinner, although definitely a special occasion treat and not every night. 

Ice cream, Frozen Yogurt Bars, Cookies and Chocolate are favorites…

After Dinner:

Bathtime helps the bedtime routine and Theo loves taking a bath.  The water can be quite warm and he is having fun lately with splashing, pouring and putting his face in the water.  

He still has a hard time balancing in the water 

so please don’t leave him alone in the bathtub (Mommy paranoia).  

To rinse shampoo out of hair I generally either lay Theo flat on his back, holding his hand and rub water over the hair or I count to three before pouring water over his head 

(which he doesn’t like and will stand up after you do this).

After Bathtime is time to brush teeth, which Theo really enjoys and then storytime, generally reading a favorite book two or ten times (depending on the night).  

After Stories, Theo usually will get his yellow blankie and nanny 

and is ready for a bottle sometime between 7 and 8 pm.

Bedtime:

   Theo always has a full 8 ounce bottle of warmed milk before bedtime.  It’s our time to snuggle at the end of the day… after bottle time then it’s off to bed which means that I carry Theo to his crib, lay him down, cover his face with the yellow blankie, give Theo a “nanny”, cover his body with a big blanket, give him a good night kiss and walk out of the room (after turning off the light).  Theo is very good about falling to sleep on his own and generally will fall right to sleep.  If Theo wakes up in the middle of the night, he usually just needs to be laid back down, given the nanny and yellow blankie and a repeat of “good night, it’s time to sleep now”.  

Occasionally Theo has a more difficult time after waking up in the middle of the night 

and might need something extra before falling back to sleep.  

This might include another bottle, some snuggle time or just a little back rub…

 good luck if it is one of those nights!

Morning Routine:

Waking Up:

   Theo generally wakes up around 6:00 and 6:20 am.  I will bring him into bed with me and we’ll snuggle for another hour before getting out of bed.  Theo enjoys a little breakfast snack right way: Yogurt, Cheerios and Applesauce are all time favorites.

 He’ll want to have an early morning snack around 10 or so…

Naptime:

   Theo really needs at least one nap a day and generally falls asleep between 10:30 and 12:00 and sleeps for anywhere from 40 minutes to 3 hours.  

Generally the radio is on, tuned to NPR to create background noise during nap time. 

Theo should be allowed to sleep as long as he needs to and not be woken up…

We also sometimes go for a morning stroller ride which generally will mean there will only be one nap, 

around 11 or so.

I hope these little notes help out a bit and have a GREAT TIME with the boy!!!

Camping     Spring 2005
Have you ever done something like this
and then looked back on it a few years  later only to think,
"egads! What was I thinking?!?!"