Routines

I believe that every child benefits from a routine.  We learned that with our first daughter.  Routine is especially important for Haley.  Haley does best when she knows what to expect.

MORNING

I try my best to follow the same routine with Haley every morning, sometimes I don't.  I am human you know.

Sometimes she wakes up on her own and sits down at the computer, sometimes I wake her up.  I like it when I get to wake her up.  Haley wakes up immediately and completely when I say "Haley.  It's time to wake up."  I say it fairly quietly and kind of in a sing song way and she opens her eyes, yawns, stretches and gets up.  Talk about instant gratification. 

This is in complete contrast to waking her Big Sister up, for that I need a bullhorn, a crowbar and a wrecking ball. 

Another reason I like to wake Haley up is because when she stands up I get a hug.  I love hugs. 

Then we go downstairs.  Haley usually chooses a video to watch and then she chooses what she wants to eat for breakfast.  She likes to watch a video while she eats her breakfast.  I read the paper while I eat mine.  Haley will sometimes read one of her magazines or look at the JCPenney's ads from the paper.  She multi-tasks. 

After we eat our breakfast we make her lunch, get her dressed, comb her hair and brush her teeth.  She usually has a few minutes to do what she wants after that; she will use the computer or watch some more of her show.  Then we put on her shoes and her coat, grab her backpack and CD and when the bus pulls up we head out the door.

I leave it up to her teachers at school, I know they are all about structure.

AFTER SCHOOL

When Haley gets home we take off her shoes, she takes off her jacket, we head to the bathroom and take care of business in there (we always wash our hands).  Haley has picked up my need to wash my hands as soon as I get home, I can't do anything until I do.  Then we check her backpack.  She shares any artwork that she has brought home and then she is on her own.  After all day at school I figure she needs some down time.

NIGHT TIME

Our night time routine starts with pajamas, then we brush her teeth and she gets in bed.  She has to have her Daylight pillow to her left (see the note about her favorite engines at the right hand side of this site)  and her horse pillow on her right.  She gets a kiss from Horse (a Webkins horse I brought her from Texas.)   She is very insistent about those three things.

Then I say "I" she says "I", I say "love" she says "love", I say "you" and she says "you" and then in the same manner I say "See.  You.  Tomorrow." and she repeats.  I started this a couple of years ago in the hopes that some day she will say it on her own.  Every once in a while I get a version of it.  Usually if the mood strikes her to say "I love you" it just comes out "I you."  She has said this enough times that we know that she means I love you when she says it.  Sometimes she will repeat after me so quickly we almost say it at the same time.  I am still waiting for her to say it to me first.

That right there is another reason that I think routines are important.  If we do our routines enough maybe they will become so routine that she won't need me to tell her to do them.  Is that too much to expect?