a day in the life of bebe and morrie

yesterday afternoon i emailed my advisor the first draft of my first dissertation chapter. producing it was one of the hardest things i've ever done -- much, much harder than getstating and birthing a baby! making the shift from mommy brain back to scholar brain was more difficult than i'd ever imagined it could be, but after many months of struggle i finally buckled down and got it done. there are revisions to come, and more chapters yet to be written, but for now i am enjoying the feeling of relief at having finished the draft. and i am turning my attention to all the areas of my life i've been neglecting, including this blog.

we've been doing our childcare swap with jessie and morrie for almost two months now. it is going great. every day i am so thankful that we came up with this arrangement -- bebe and morrie love each other and have so much fun together, and i am really happy to have near-daily chances for adult conversation. jessie and i spend a good amount of time chatting and catching up each morning and evening, and it wasn't until we started this arrangement that i realized how much i have missed regular doses of grown-up friendship.

wonder what it's like hanging out with two 17-month-olds? well, a couple weeks ago, i kept my camera out all day so i could document it. so, without further ado, i give you...

a day in the life of bebe and morrie.

(you moving picture fans can find a video version at the bottom of this post. feel free to skip ahead if you're bored by the still photos.)


as soon as we get to morrie's house, bebe wants to get in his bed and jump.

morrie likes to organize his clothes. by "organize," i mean "remove from the drawer and strew about the room."

looking out the window is a popular activity

as is wearing this piece of a toy like a head band.

headbands for everyone!

out the front window, we sometimes see pickup trucks.

laughing in their snuggle nest

hugs in the snuggle nest

wait, where did morrie and bebe go?

oh, there they are!



fun with french doors

we got all bundled up and headed out to meet up with some friends to walk to the playground.

we waited for them at the bottom of their street and watched for trucks and buses while munching on rice cakes.

oh, i see them!

(can you see them?)

fun at the playground

vienna and oz on the swings

morrie and bebe on the swings...
wheeeeeee!

eeeeeee!

eeeeeee!

the tot lot mafia takes a snack break.

l-r: bebe, morrie, ila, oz, vienna. (ila, oz and vienna are also in a child care swap. each of their parents has one day with three kids and two days to work. on this particular day, they were with oz's mom christy.)

on the walk home, we stopped to watch for trains. we saw a whole bunch!

once we got back to morrie's house, it was time to eat lunch. morrie and bebe helpfully got their bibs out.

practicing with forks

taking the easy way out

then, before it was time for nap, we read books,

played with stacking cups,

and did some more snuggling.

bebe woke up first. she intently studied the video monitor for signs of life from morrie's crib.

"mommy, i miss morrie."

bebe almost always wakes up first. once morrie stirs, we go into his room and she gets right in his crib.

they're always so happy to see each other.

we finished up the day with a late-afternoon snack. yum!


a day in the life, video version:

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