8:00

We start cleaning up all the toys the Girl has managed to drag out. And believe me — in the space of about 3 nanoseconds, L can pull out every single toy in every single toy basket and toy box in a given room.

8:15

Bath time. L loves the bath. She doesn’t love getting ready for the bath. She gets testy, cranky, and whiny. But before we can take a bath, we have to potty. This could be optimized, but we’ll return to this later.

8:30

Bath’s done, dressing begins. This can take anywhere from twenty seconds to five minutes. Like most things, it depends on how cooperative the Girl is. She’s able to put her arm out in anticipation of having the sleeve of her sleeper slipped on. (How’s that for alliteration?)

8:35

Bedtime, with watered down juice and some kisses.

9:00

The girl wakes up crying. She stands up, flings the bottle to the floor, and begins howling. Time for Potty II.

9:10

Having had an enormous BM, the Girl is ready for sleep. At this point, the obvious hits: “L, why don’t you do your business before the bath, when I set you on the potty chair and wait in full anticipation?”

“Because that would make your life too simple, Tata,” is the probable answer.

9:15-10:00

Intermittent crying as the Girl tries to calm herself back down and fall back asleep.