Quiet Mornings with Rye

I love mornings with Ryenne. In this crazy in-between stage where we are living out our "normal" lives in a place that isn't really our home, mornings with Ryenne give me a taste of what life is like when we really do have our "normal." Everyone is out of the house, it's just me and my girl taking it easy and casually getting breakfast going.

Ryenne typically sleeps in til about 7:15 or 7:30, and I try to sleep in - or at least lay in bed - until I hear her voice. David is out of the house at 3am, and then Lee and Mom head out nearly at the crack of dawn. Somehow I manage to sleep through all of the busyness (did I mention that we are currently sleeping on the floor of my mom's living room?), and soak up the last few winks of shuteye I can get before my bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed daughter wakes up raring to go.

When I finally hear Rye's voice coming from the back bedroom, I climb out of bed (or off of the futon) and Jovi and I eagerly greet her :) It's one of my favorite parts of the day. And although you might expect that she would say "Morning, Mommy!" or "Hi, Mommy!" Her classic first expression is usually "HI, PUDGY!!!!!!!" "Pudgy" is what Ryenne consistently calls Jovi. She CAN say Jovi, but for some reason she always calls her Pudgy, despite the fact that between the two of them, Ryenne is definitely more pudgy.

We like to sit and cuddle in the arm chair for a couple of minutes before Ryenne starts saying things like "Eat?" "Bu-burrs?" "Orch?" (eat, blueberries, orange). That's my cue that it's time to get breakfast started and away we go - Ryenne usually chasing Jovi out of the room and into the living room.

Ryenne waits very patiently for me when I make breakfast for her in the mornings. Breakfast usually ranges from oatmeal, to eggs and sausage, to yogurt and fruit, to pancakes (pancakes are Daddy's speciality though). So, while I make breakfast, Ryenne usually plays with Jovi or colors at the table until everything is ready.

Ryenne is a VERY good eater. She went through a little phase where she was very picky and refused to eat anything that was the color green. But then the miraculous phrase "First this, then this" registered with her, and now we can get her to eat practically anything as long as she has some incentive!

After Ryenne eats all her food, her next task is usually to pester Jovi, and it's not more than 10 minutes usually before she is asking to "eat" again lol... Thus our day begins.

I love my quiet mornings with my girl and I'm so thankful for these moments where I can embrace the beautiful, growing little person she is.