(The Sakura Bloom Sling Diaries have been immensely inspiring to me as a new mom. Seeing parents living beautiful days out with their babies opened a world of possibilities when I felt my options were to either cloister away at home with my kid and my unkempt eyebrows or be too overwhelmed by gear or distance to be functionally sane outside. The Sling Diaries showed me a kind of family life that I hadn’t previously had much exposure to and prompted me to purchase our ring sling, which has made momming more enjoyable and other tasks actually doable. Sakura Bloom is casting diarists for the sixth installment of the series now, and I had to apply if only for the opportunity to share what they’ve given to our family. The following is my entry in response to their theme, “A Day in the Life.”)

There are no morning people here, not even the dogs. Already skilled at picking up our life rhythms, Bowie seems to know when Cody’s days off are and sleeps in accordingly. It’s nearly 9 as her eyes open to see us beside her. She smiles big enough that her cheeks push her eyes closed again for a moment. “Magandang umaga!” I greet her good morning in Tagalog while Cody stretches over to plant a kiss on her head.

I scoop her up to potty and change. Afterward, I follow Bowie’s eyes to the bookshelves for this morning’s stories. By the second one, her thumb has inevitably settled into her mouth. I ask if she has enough energy to sit through breakfast with me. After my bowl of oatmeal, we crawl back into bed. I roll to my side so that Bowie can have her own breakfast and fall back to sleep.

Though we’re all more ambitious and enthusiastic after a morning nap, it’s not quite the same as a cup of coffee. While Cody fills up the French press and feeds the dogs, Bowie and I head to the piano. She excitedly reaches for the keys before we’re even seated on the bench. Her hands move beside my fingers, and for songs she really likes, she kicks her legs, smiles, and sings with me.

Spring arrived early in Seattle, so we’ve been getting out for a good walk most days. The sun is shining and the streets are littered with cherry blossoms as we wander through our neighborhood before Bowie’s afternoon nap.

Cody and I catch up with each other and a couple of chores while Bowie sleeps. When she wakes up ready to play, he puts on some tunes for a baby dance party. The two of them bounce and laugh together while I work on dinner. Having spent the past month and a half reaching for our food, she has loved being able to finally eat with us. Not everything makes it into her mouth yet, but the dogs don’t seem to mind, and it’s almost bath time anyway.

Once dinner is washed out of Bowie’s hair, we begin winding down for the night. We settle beside her in our bed, reading to her until she turns toward me to eat. After she dozes off, we still find ourselves staring, smiling, and whispering over her, amazed at the tiny person who has made our hearts enormous.