Life has been slightly hectic and crazy the past little while. After announcing that baby #2 is on his/her way this summer we’ve also been adjusting to me working full time at the hospital as well as trying to transition Nate from his crib into his ‘big boy’ bed. As I’m sure most of you are aware, I am a Registered Practical Nurse. I graduated in 2010 and basically since 2012 I’ve worked two part job nursing jobs. This past December I was given the opportunity to try out a full time straight eight hour day line at the hospital I work at. After discussing it thoroughly with Kurt, we decided it was best if I took this line as it would allow me to build up my seniority hours as well as give me a much needed break from the long-term care home I work at. Things there have been a bit stressful over the past year and as much as I love the residents and my job there; I often found myself dreading going into work and it would drastically affect my mood and personality. Those who know me well, know I’m usually a very bubbly and upbeat person, especially at work, but with all the new management and rules/policies they were rolling out, it was becoming more and more apparent to myself and Kurt that taking a leave of absence for six months was the best option. It’s been different only having to commute to one employer and not having to worry about switching shifts if they conflict or having to short shift between the two jobs. As much as I HATE waking up early in the morning and as hard as it is only getting one day a week off; the fact that I actually get two weekends a month off with Kurt and Nate has been amazing!

Nate has adjusted really well too. I was worried that because I’d waking him up super early and driving him to my dad’s house every day, he’d be grouchy and irritable but thankfully he’s been remarkable! Not once has he woken up at 5:30 am miserable or moody and he’s only fallen back to sleep once on the 40 minute drive to my dad’s. Luckily, my dad and step-mom have a crib at their house so he gets to make up for his lack of sleeping in by taking a longer afternoon nap. I’m really proud of how well he’s done over the past few months. Between us moving into our new house, commuting to and from my dad’s, adjusting to me not being home as often, and now getting ready to move into his ‘big boy’ room; he’s been amazing!

Speaking of his new ‘big boy’ room, this year for Christmas one of the gifts we bought Nate was his new PAW Patrol bed. If you’ve been living under a rock or don’t have any kids under seven in your family you’ve probably never heard of the PAW Patrol but it’s the “in thing” with young kids these days. Nate just started getting into this show this past summer. Up until then, I’d known about it but never really put it on for him to watch but nowadays he’s all about Chase, Marshall, Skye, Ruble, Zuma, Rocky, and their leader Ryder! Seriously, he’ll see a police car driving on the street and he’ll start yelling “Chase! Chase!” THAT’S how into the show he is! We’ve got more PAW Patrol toys in the toy box than I can count! (Haha! Well, maybe not but it’s getting pretty close) So, given his love for these furry cartoon dogs, we decided to go all out with his new bed. There’s a large sticker of Chase, Marshall, and Ruble on the head board then of course we just had to get the matching PAW Patrol sheets and fuzzy blanket to finish it all off. I must say, I’m not one for decorating your kid’s rooms with what they’re super into at the time because they change their minds so often but in this case, I don’t mind splurging a bit on a decked out PAW Patrol bed set since it’s at least not his whole room; which by the way it’s still a work in progress.

The whole crib to bed transition has been a bit hard on all of us. Nate’s bed is currently set up in our bedroom in the corner and has been there about two and a half weeks now. If we were still living in our old house, I’m sure we would have just opted to put his bed in his room but since in our new house, our bedroom is on the main floor at the back of the house and Nate’s is upstairs, it makes him closer to the front door. Although he’s never once attempted to unlock the front door, it is one of my biggest worries as a parent; especially since we’re so far away from the front of the house it could be possible we wouldn’t hear him. So until we can get some extra locks for the doors, he’ll be staying with us in our room. This has made nap time and bedtime more of a challenge. Nate never once attempted to climb out of his crib so for almost two years I’ve been so used to being able to just put him down during nap time or bedtime and walk away knowing he wasn’t going to go anywhere. But now that he’s not restrained by four walls, he’s in and out of that bed multiple times. We’re constantly having to tell him to go back into his own bed and even having to sit with him until he actually falls asleep. Not gonna lie, there’s been more than one occasion where I went into our room to put him to bed and ended up falling asleep myself at like 9 o’clock at night. Kurt will come into bed around 10:30-11:00 and I’ll wake up thinking it’s only been a few minutes as opposed to a few hours. I’ve tried to blame it on the pregnancy but let’s face it, I’m just getting old and can no longer handle only getting five or six hours of sleep at night!

Well, that’s it for now! Just a little update on our life lately!