My Morning

Hi there. Hy here.

My day starts somewhere between 5am and 6:30. When I wake up, I find my room spotlessly clean, my door wide open, and a gate that keeps me from getting out. This isn't a problem though. I go to the edge of the gate and look up. There, perched on top of the washing machine just above my head, is a massive pile of books and a couple toys, one of them usually involving the alphabet. Daddy puts them there when he checks on me at night, opens the door to cool off my room (or heat it up in winter), and puts the gate in place. I pull them down one at a time (sometimes ten at a time) and spend a while quietly reading and playing.

Enough is enough, though. Eventually I call out, "Daddy, come in!" If he or Mommy wake up before 7, they come to tell me it isn't time for them to get me yet and close my door. If not, Daddy will drag himself across the floor, inform me that he needs to go to the bathroom and pray and then he'll be with me. "Okay!" I shout, and then continue asking him to "Come in." Daddy has taught me to say, "Good morning," when I see him or Mommy.

When Daddy comes in, I tell him all about my morning. Today, for instance, I told him, "I found a picture." It was an ad for the Disney Movie Club. It has a picture of Peter Pan and Mickey Mouse. I told Daddy I wanted the picture on my wall, and then I placed it on the wall like Mommy did when she was decorating.

After talking a little, Daddy and I read the scriptures - one of the children's versions. I best like stories about the temple or people singing. Then Daddy sings to me and I say my morning prayer. Daddy changes my diaper and dresses me. He used to ask me which I wanted to do first, and what after that and after that and... but I always asked for things in that order, so he figured it out eventually. After the in-room routine, Daddy lets me out to watch the scriptures on TV and then 10 minutes of some movie. Right now we're watching Ratatouille, which I can say. "Ratatouille. See?" If I haven't seen Mommy by the time we leave the room, I go in search of her. After the TV, I have breakfast.

Breakfast is usually yogurt, peaches, applesauce, or cookie dough. I drink apple juice and also chocolate milk that I mix myself. After breakfast, I play by myself for a few minutes while Mommy and Daddy have breakfast and Daddy gets ready to go to work. Then Mommy and I play and work for the rest of the morning. I usually get some time to write, draw, or color at some point in the morning.