Busy, busy, busy

I think BUSY describes my life since I headed back to work. First let me start with work. It is going well for me. I received about 13 new referrals my first week back, so I have been busy doing assessments and also getting used to all of the changes. There are so many things that are changing at my office, so it is difficult to keep up with. To give you an example, I have no idea who my boss is right now, but I'm sure at some point someone will tell me that I'm supposed to report to them. :) My patients are glad to have me back and really love having music again.

As far as Kent's work goes, he is going part-time at his current company starting next Monday. He is really excited as this will give him more time to work on his own business. He is finally to the point with his business is enough to support us with him only working part-time. He'll be watching Alex every other Friday too, which he is very excited about. Working at home half of the time will also give him more time in the evenings to spend with myself and Alex.

Okay, that's the update on work. Next, here is an update on our housing! We bought a condo and will be closing on July 13th. We're not sure when we will be moving as the seller's having 30 days after closing to move out. We're hoping that we will be moving as soon after closing as possible. The new condo will be close to Brookfield zoo. It is a 3 bedroom and 2 bath condo. It is also right off of the forest preserve bike path and also has a pool. We're very excited to be in our own place again.

This last weekend was my parent's 25th wedding anniversary celebration so on Friday we headed to mom and dad's to celebrate!!! Alex did great on the ride there and was excited to see his grandparents, aunt & uncle again. By Sunday I think he was ready to be able to nap in his own crib again. After sleeping for an hour on the way home, he decided to let us know he had had enough and managed to scream for the next 30 minutes. Once we got home and got him out of his seat he calmed right down. :) He is doing wonderful at his daycare. I'm not sure how much he weighs now and how long he is, but I'm hoping to stop by the doctor's office to find out. He is now reaching and grabbing objects consistently. We're really enjoying his smiles and coos. It is amazing how he changes every day.




Cousin Claire



Aunt Shannon & Alex



Grandma & Claire



The best invention for babies



Our Little Peanut



Little Ladies Man

Alex's first road trip

This past weekend Kent, Alex, and I packed up the car and headed to wonderful Alexandria, Indiana. One of my good friends from college got married, so we took our first road trip with Alex. On the way there, he slept for the first 3 hours or so. We stopped to change him, which turned out to be a good thing since he had a major blow-out, and he then needed to eat. We put him back in his seat and took off again. He was definately a trooper on the way there. At the rehearsal he was a wonderful boy! He then fell asleep during the rehearsal dinner and was asleep most of the way back to the hotel. On Saturday, he had kind of a rough day, but pulled through and was great when he needed to be. He slept through the entire wedding ceremony and the reception dinner. He woke up in time for his first Mother-Son dance. :)

On the way home, we stopped in Remington to get gas, and realized that it wasn't too far out of the way to surprise my dad for father's day. So, we continued on to Watseka and looked for their vehicle at church. It turned out that church was getting out in about 5 minutes. So, after the closing prayer, we walked into the sanctuary and got to see some wonderful surprised faces. Mom and Dad were so excited to see us. Okay, who are we kidding, they were excited to see Alex!

Regan and the beautiful bride


Alex and the Bride



Alex and Mom's first Mother-Son dance


On the way home

Back to Work

Well, the first two days of work have gone pretty good. It was different to go back to work on Monday, but good seeing all of my patients this week. Tomorrow and Thursday I will be heading in to team meetings. Hopefully I'll get a few referrals while I'm there. While I have been out, there have been a lot of changes as far as staff members leaving, so it will be a challenge as I try to convince the nurses that their patients need music therapy. Eventually they'll get used to having me around again. Everyone seems excited to have me back so that has been encouraging.

Alex has been a good boy at daycare so far this week. Jennifer loves having him and continues to say that he is "such a perfect little boy." It is good to know that he is in good hands. I do miss him during the days though.

I'm including a few pictures of this past week. Alex absolutely loves his baths so we thought we would take a few pictures last night. There is also a picture of Alex after his first day at Jennifer's and then a picture with Jennifer and her girls.

Alex after being at Jennifer's



Bathtime



Jennifer, her girls, & Alex

Company and work

This past week Alex got to meet his Grandma and Grandpa Thompson for the first time. Kent's parents came to visit us on Thursday and Friday. It was good to see them, since it had been since November, and it was great for Alex to finally meet them. The time was mostly spent staring at Alex and wondering what he was going to do next. Funny how adults do that when they get around babies. :) We did venture out to get Oberweis ice cream on Thursday evening. Alex was great and fell asleep as we were all enjoying our treat.

On another note, I head back to work this coming Monday. I'm having mixed feelings about it, but overall I think I am ready to be back at work. I am excited to see my patients again, and I know that they will be excited to see me, as they have been without music these past 2 months. I also know that Alex will be in great hands with Jennifer. (We'll post a picture after his first official day with her.) I am a little worried about how tired I will be after working a full days work and then getting up at night to feed Alex. Hopefully I will find the strength and energy to compelte the tasks that I need to. I'm sure it will take some adjustment, but I'm hoping that time will be quick and painless. :) So, if you think about me on Monday, send up a little prayer.

Like my hat from Kendra?



Alex and Grandma



Alex with Gma & Gpa Thompson

2 months already!

I can't believe that Alex is 2 months old already! He is growing and changing so much. He went to the doctor today and received a clean bill of health. He weighed 11lbs 9oz and was 23 1/2 inches long. He is starting to become more and more interactive. He has started to sleep longer through the nights. Right now he is only waking up about once a night (usually around 2am) and then he sleeps until about 6am. We can't complain since he is only 2 months old. Alex will start daycare on Monday, and we're looking forward to Jennifer watching him. We are confident that she is going to be wonderful with him.

Mom and Alex



2 Month Photo



Another 2 Month Photo



Having fun on playmat