Breakfast with Bobbin
I remember when the morning routine with Bobbin started at 6am, when she would demand immediate removal from the crib and a sprint to the kitchen for her bottle, with no stops in between unless you wanted to deal with the tears and shrieks of disappointment that would invariably follow if you strayed from the path. even to go to the bathroom. This would be followed by frenzied dressing, and hair brushing and teeth brushing (on my part), searching for clean clothes (me again; I always make sure she has clean clothes :-)), keys, and other necessities, and then juggling baby, bottle bag, phone, knapsack or purse, and car keys while struggling to unlock the door, get down the porch stairs while trying not to break an ankle or drop the munchkin, and getting everyone and everything into the car without any collateral damage. By the time we pulled away from the house I was sweating in my work clothes, strands of hair were escaping my ponytail, and I was usually sporting a new stain on my shirt.
These days, Bobbin wakes around 6:45 or 7am, and begins with a review of the day's schedule alone in her crib with Millie Moo. "Mahning, Moo! Seep Ah-kay? Ah-kay. Mama, baba? Juice? See-al? Eh-mo potty show. Chidge. Skoo. Brrrmmmm. Ah-kay? Ah-kay. ". Which translates roughly into "Morning, Millie Moo! Did you sleep ok? Ok. Mama's going to get us our bottle soon. Do you want Juice? How about cereal? We can watch the elmo potty show while we have breakfast. Then we'll get changed. And then we'll go to school in the car. Ok? ok." After going over the day's itinerary with Millie, she'll call out cheerfully to me, "Mama? Baba! Mah-mah! Mah-ning! Baba!" at which point I'll get out of bed and head into her room.
"Moon on?" she'll ask me, pointing to the ceiling light. She calls her light and the one in our dining room the moon. They do both kinda look like the moon, cream-coloured alabaster, with swirls of white. I'll turn on her light and then she'll tell me "Good Mahning" and explain about how Millie Moo was "seeping nite-nite" but now Millie moo is "wake-up" and how they both need to be "chidged" and that she'd really like her "baba" and could I please lift her "dun". I'll pick her up out of her crib and set her down and then she'll grab my hand and say "Mama potty" and lead me into the bathroom. She knows I really need to pee first thing in the morning. I'll do my business while she waits patiently with a wad of toilet paper in her hands, watching me intently. I'll ask her for the toilet paper, and when she tries to reach in to "mama keen" I'll remind her gently that mama likes to wipe herself clean and ask her for the toilet paper, which she cheerfully hands over.
Hands washed and dried, we'll walk hand in hand out to the kitchen and she'll remind me to turn on the fish tank lights, and the "moon" in the dining room, and ask about the "deeh" (deer) and if we can "appah toe" (apple throw) and then point to the fridge and ask again for her "baba". Once I've made it she'll reach up to me and say "Mama, sit? Eh-mo." and I'll pick her up and we'll go sit in the living room and watch one of her Elmo dvds. These days, it's almost always the "Potty Show".
She'll polish off her bottle and ask for "mah", and I'll suggest I get her some toast and oranges instead, to which she'll reply "ah-kay". I'll tell her to keep my chair warm while I go make her breakfast. She loves that. She thinks she's being sneaky, stealing mommy's chair and she'll giggle and call out "Mama!" the entire time I'm in the kitchen. I'll run back in when she calls me and, hands on my hips, exclaim "Hey! You're in my chair! Did you steal my chair? Look at you" and she'll giggle some more and wiggle her butt around in the chair with a proud and goofy grin on her face.
I'll bring her toast and oranges and my own breakfast back into the TV room (yeah yeah yeah. Breakfasts are allowed in the tv room in the morning. Dinner has the strict "Eat at the table" and "no tv" policies) and we'll sit and eat together and finish watching Elmo.
Tommy will usually join us at this point, and Bobbin will exclaim "Mahning, Buddy!" and direct him to go lie in his "new bed" and give him a pat and kiss and hug.
Then we'll head back to her room to get changed and brush teeth and comb hair and get mommy dressed (I do look forward to the day I can go and get dressed without an audience. For some reason, peeing in front of the munchkin doesn't bother me. Nothing's really exposed in that position. But getting dressed and undressed is something I'd really rather do without her fascinated scrutinizing, constant pointing and "wassat?" (what's that?). )
Then we say our bye-bye's to Daddy, Tommy ("buddy"), and the kitties, and head out the door and march up to the car together, hand in hand again, and go to "skoo".
The ride to school is a chatty one. She points out the fire truck house ("WOOOOoooo WOOOOooooo. Tuck. In"), and the "tuun" (turns), and when the lights at the intersection turn green she'll let me know I can go ("GO!"). When we pass the grocery store, she'll exclaim "Appah Sto!" (Apple Store); when we pass the gas station, she'll shout out "Gas!" and when we pass the residential construction project she'll point out "Tata! Two!" and hold up 2 fingers to indicate the two tractors she saw pushing dirt around and digging holes. If it's a nice day outside she'll chat about the "Petty boo kye!" and the wind "wwshhhshshshsh" blowing the "cowds". We see lots of "wata" (water) on our trip to school too. And planes, and birdies. And we see lots of "tucks... BEEEEG tucks!" (trucks, BIG trucks!) and "siddy-bus"es (city busses) and "skoo bus"es (school buses). We pass a restaurant ("Toot toot!") and Daddy's "stahbux" and then we're at school.
Dropping her off is no longer a drama. She's usually off and running or demanding "yum" (her word for yogurt) from her teacher and is just much too busy for anything other than a quick "bye" and a wave for mommy. Some days she insists "Mama, bye-bye" which always leaves me feeling a bit torn (but I get over it quickly :-)).
Yup... mornings are good these days. I make sure I savour every one. Because I know that these will change as she gets older. They'll still be interesting and hopefully happy and fun. But these mornings are perfect. Absolutely perfect.
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