Once a quarter I bust out my professional camera at home and lug it with me for a full day to document a ‘day in the life’… photographing the everyday routine of our current lives. I’ve been doing this project for 2.5 years now and even though these moments feel mundane (and honestly a little boring), it’s really fun for me to go back and look at the prior posts.
Friday, June 10th, 2016 [Colin is 3.5 years old, Jillian is 20 months]
The day usually begins around 7am. Colin came into our room at 7:01 as soon as ‘the clock turns green.’ (We have this ‘ok to wake’ clock and it’s actually really effective!)
If Jill is awake, she gets mad when Colin leaves (they share a room) and screams in her crib for me to come get her. MOMMMAAAAA. MOMMMMAAAA. “Baby” already in hand and ready for an adventure.
We got dressed, ate breakfast & then headed out to Whale Tail Park for the morning. I actually think this photo of Jill in the sandbox is my favorite from the day. I held my camera close to the ground and snapped the photo without being able to look through the viewfinder to focus and didn’t expect it to even turn out… lucky shot!
Swings are still a favorite (I feel like they’re featured in almost EVERY day in the life post!). Now Colin can handle the ‘big boy swings’ but he wanted a ride in the baby swing anyway.
We swung by Safeway on the way home from the park. We invited some friends over for a cookout so I had to grab a few quick things. Trader Joes is our usual jam, but occasionally we have to grab a few staples from the ‘real’ grocery store and when we do, this car shopping cart comes to the rescue!
My secret for keeping the kids well behaved during the trip is to purchase balloons upon entry. $1.49 is a small price to pay for their silence.
When we got home, we played outside on the patio because our iRoomba was running inside and the kids looooove to interfere with it. Bubbles were the perfect distraction.
After the roomba was finished we came back inside, ate lunch & put Jill down for her nap. Colin watched an episode of Thomas while I answered some emails (none of it seemed interesting enough to photograph) and then we set to work getting the house ready for some weekend visitors. I know… I know… cleaning the toilet is ‘interesting enough’ to photograph? But, come on! He looked so cute ‘helping’ me!
When Jill woke up from her nap, Colin rushed into their bedroom to greet her, but really I think he was just anxious to grab his current favorite book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (I picked it up from Powell’s during my Portland visit last weekend).
This is Jill, mid scream (MOMMMMAAAA!), demanding to get out of her crib.
Jill sat on the toilet while I cleaned the bathroom. Lately, she’s been very interested in the potty and goes through all the steps: sets the potty seat on top, sits down (fully clothed as you can see), then flushes & washes her hands. Obviously missing a crucial piece of that puzzle but she’s awfully cute when she gets so excited about sitting there like her big brother.
With Jill awake, I had two helpers to finish cleaning the house… here she is dusting the bed…
Once the house was fully cleaned, I photographed the kids flopping around on our bed. How could I not?
I love their hands in the above photo. Jill is clutching her baby & Colin is clutching THREE lovies. He has one ‘real lovey’ and two ‘pasta lovies’ (his pronunciation of ‘imposter lovey’). The imposters have to stay home all the time, but the ‘real lovey’ is in his hands nearly every hour of the day.
Back downstairs for some dinner prep.
And balloons, obviously.
While I’m cooking in the kitchen, Jill loves to empty cabinets around me. She ran off with a mixing bowl on her head. She’s the best.
Next we headed to the gym. Colin snagged a dandelion from the neighbor’s yard for the trip (lovey too of course)!
Back home from the gym in time to get dinner ready for the kids… of course EVERYONE crowded around me in the kitchen and started whining/pushing/grabbing. I busted out the iPad for a quick minute so I could finish the dinner prep without their impatient hands in the way. Usually the iPad is reserved for special occasions (flights & restaurants mainly) but Jill recently discovered how to take it out of the drawer by herself and… fine… THEY WIN.
After the kids finished their dinner, we headed upstairs for an early shower before our company came over.
Bed time is usually preceded by the kids running from their bedroom to our bedroom for Dad to ‘chuck’ them onto the bed. ‘Chuck me, Dad!’ John was shirtless for this particular chuck session so he asked that I skip the photos. Instead you can see Colby sporting his new summer cut and watching the kids act like fools.
With the kids in bed, we fired up the grill and cracked open some adult beverages.
After some yummy steaks (my husband is a grill MASTER) and plenty of conversation, we called it a night. Here’s Colby signing off from his perch at the foot of our bed.
Goodnight!
Want to see more days in our life? Check out my previous posts in the series or follow me on Instagram!
All photos were taken with my Canon 5DMarkiii & 35mm f/1.4 lens [see more of my camera gear recommendations]!
