Good Mornings

I'm a routine person. Ritual, if you will. Call it my Catholic upbringing, or my Virgo nature, or possibly a bit of a Type A personality. Either way, I like it, and I need it. And ever since having children, I swear by it. Kids definitely need routine, and I'm happy that we figured that out early in the process with Clare, and then enveloped Danny into it as quickly as we could.


Of course, as just about anyone reading this blog can attest, Clare and Danny are completely different people. While Clare was a model baby, sleeping twelve hours solid beginning at about four months, and occasionally even longer than that, Danny has always been an early riser. He slept through the night reasonably early, but would max out at 10-11 hours. Not wanting him to awaken Clare, I used to retrieve him from his crib and bring him to my bed for that morning nursing, and later cup of milk. I began to keep a stack of board books on my nightstand, and soon we had settled into a routine of starting the day by reading books together. Those early morning hours were generally pretty quiet, with Tim either snoozing or at least pretending to snooze next to us. They were the one time of day I could guarantee to devote exclusively to Danny, and we both reveled in it, even if it was a bit bleary-eyed on my end.


Perhaps coincidentally, Danny's language really flourished at a young age. Of course, he didn't walk until he was 16-1/2 months, and was the late bloomer in gym class when it came to jumping. But as the weeks went by and we continued to read, more and more familiar words popped into Danny's vocabulary. I remember that both he and Clare had their first word at 11 months, and I also remember that it was ball - for both. This is an interesting coincidence that is hilarious as far as Clare is concerned, and not at all surprising for Danny.

I suppose you're wondering why I'm wandering down this particular stretch of memory lane. I just wanted to document it before the inevitable force of Mommy Brain takes its toll. Although, it's not exactly a memory yet, because Danny and I still follow this ritual. We've moved downstairs to the couch, and thanks to a mildly hectic early-morning schedule to get Clare to school, we are confined to weekends or days off. Like this week. Danny asks me every morning if we can read stories, and I'm so happy to be able to indulge him during spring break. I'm also holding on, because before I know it he'll be reading on his own, perhaps choosing to get himself out of bed each morning.

Well, if he ever earns his way out of the crib, that is...