Days Off

Today after church, Nathan was talking to Katie, another MD and was telling her about having a break. "I've had the last week off!" He told her, I corrected him that it had only been 3 days. Nathan needs to go back to work. He thrives on working and I can see the cooped up feelings creeping in.

We had a great 3 days together. We haven't really had much time together since Nathan got back because we're either working around Allison's schedule or Nathan's work schedule.

On Friday morning I tried to get my driver's license but when I handed the clerk my paperwork she said I wasn't 'verified' so I had to send all my documents to the Kansas Revenue Center - and that the processing would take a few weeks. I was so nervous sitting in that little room waiting for my number to be called - I even went out test driving the night before and practiced my parallel parking.

On Friday night we had a couple from church over - Kyle and Lisa. Lisa has been making meals for Nathan while we were in Boxall so we invited them over for dinner at our place to say thanks. It was great to get to know them - there are so many new young couples at the church - I feel like I have a lot of catching up/friend making to do.

Saturday was a really gloomy day. The three of us went for a long walk around the neighborhood in the morning but it started to rain (and continued all day) so we stayed inside all day. Nathan caught up with some paperwork and Allison and I watched movies.

Nathan starts his new placement tomorrow so today was spent preparing, getting laundry done, and enjoying our last day before Nathan heads back to work. Allison was getting tired but refusing to sleep so I did what always works- took her picture until she fell asleep.

Allison has been sleeping really well- often only waking once in a 12 hour period- and last night she slept through the night! 8pm until 6am! It was amazing!

Getting Work Done

 

Nathan had today off because he worked for 21 days straight in order to have 6 days off. Nathan has to work tomorrow for a 4 hour clinical shift but after that- he's all ours! 

Nathan took the late shift last night and did a great job. Allison slept well but Nathan didn't. He said that he was so stressed out by every little sound that he checked on her almost a dozen times. I forgot about that phase and how long it took me to be able to sleep through her 'faker' sounds. I let the reins go a bit tonight (even though I kept the baby monitor on in our room to listen in and was wide awake for the whole feed) and of course, he did great.

Since we had the day off we decided to run a few errands and do some work around the house. Nathan put on his best 'Mike Holmes"  overalls to cut the grass and while Allison napped I put the finishing touches on my fall themed table runner. I had a bunch of squares left over so I started a second runner (that is super easy) that I can put under my sewing machine so that I doesn't scratch the table I've been using. Right now I have a pillow case under my machine and I thought the scraps from today's project would be perfect to make sure I don't mark up Annie's desk. 

Calvin and Ben (Nathan's sister Heather, and her husband Ian's kiddos) sent us some artwork to help make the place feel a little more like home. We promptly put up our new decorations.

Tonight after Allison's bath Nathan read her their first story together. I don't know how he made it through that book without crying - I teared up just listening to him! I guess I also think how Robert Munsch also lost his first two children and how he wrote it for them.

Saliva and Seepies

This is my little Pavlov Puppy. After I change her diaper and walk her into her kitchen to wait for her bottle to finish warming- this is the face she makes. Every. Single. Time. She knows what's up.

Nathan and I have been trying to give Allison a lot of outdoor time because the weather has been so hot lately. I know we'll never give her as much fresh-air as my Dad used to give her, but we're trying since it gives her such good "seepies" also know as sleep. We don't baby talk much with Allison but when she wakes up from a good nap happy or starts to get grumpy I can't help myself, "Is someone getting seepies?" Last night Allison slept for 8 hours straight. It was amazing. Especially since she woke up, gobbled her bottle, and went back to bed for ANOTHER 4 hours.

Nathan offered to take the night shift because he doesn't work tomorrow....let's see how this goes....

Settling In

Nathan and I have been settling into our Prairie Village home.

Last night we went to a Gospel Community Group that meets at our friends Danny and Katie's house. We used to attend a meeting on Tuesday but Nathan's schedule is so busy that his most common (one day) off each week is Sunday so it makes the most sense to go to a GCG that night. It was a great meeting because Danny is does such a great job at leading but I had a hard time paying attention because Allison was a being busy and her feeding time came right in the middle of the group. I was so stressed even though it's not a big issue and most people there have kids (there were 7 little girls there and only one little boy!) but it was so hard to multitask.

There were 2 families that started at Wornall after I left that go to the group so it was great to chat with them a little more.
Today after Nathan got off work we went to the Johnson County library to get library cards! It was pretty exciting. Everyone at the library gushed over Allison.

Nathan only has 2 more days to work of his ER rotation until he's off for a few days and I'm counting down the hours. It's lonely here without him. Allison and I have been going on walks around our neighborhood but last night, I went for a 45 minute walk with Allison at 5pm and saw NO ONE. Well, 4 cars drove by us, but that's it. No people, nothing. It was really eerie because it was so gorgeous outside but no one was around.

Even though we're settling in, I'm still struggling with realizing I'm not as mobile and free as I used to be and that my days aren't going to be filled the way they used to be. I've been working on sewing a table runner for the last 3 days! It's torture to see it sitting beside my sewing machine unfinished...

As I'm writing this post, Nathan just got out of his chair, stomped to the kitchen and when I gave him a LOOK, he bellowed, "What are YOU doing?" I shhh'ed him and his eyes bugged out, "I forgot we had a BABY!" Looks like someone else is still working on settling in....

Family Pictures

Nathan, Allison, and I took our first family picture when we arrived in Kansas City last week. I'd like to forget it since I looked like I had just spent 16 hours in a truck. Nathan didn't work until 5pm today so I dragged him out of the house to a nearby park to take a few family pictures. It was alot of work because Allison was tired and didn't nap well in the morning, then she wouldn't look at the camera (and smiles were out of the question!), then we had to deal with a dog that lived in the house behind the park who kept photo bombing our pictures. After an hour we decided to call it a day and that we'd try again soon. All I wanted was one nice picture and I lucked out that I got several that I love. So officially -these our are first family pictures!

 

Goodbye

Last night (while Nathan was at work) my parents took us to the Olive Garden for dinner. Allison was so good - she sat at the table and didn't cry once. I was really nervous about her freaking out since it was close to bedtime and I don't think restaurants are a place for crying babies. Grocery stores? Malls? Airplanes? Sure, let your kid meltdown- it's what kids do and no one is paying to be there. But I wouldn't want to ruin someone's meal with my crying kid- that's just bad manners. Luckily, Allison was good and I was able to eat my Steak Gorgonzola while it was hot.

After dinner my mom and I used FaceTime to talk to Shelley and the kids while my Dad did a few last jobs around Annie's house. My dad loves being outside and I think he only came inside this week to eat and sleep. He's been working away (even though I told him he doesn't have to). He's been trimming falling limbs, cutting back perennials, cutting the grass, leveling the washer, stopping the washer from leaking (by adding an extension hose), and weed-eating. The yard looks great, and with my mom watching Allison, I was able to get the house set up.

Once we were caught up, I knew the time had come to say goodbye to my parents.

We had a great visit with them and even though it was time for them to leave, it was really hard. My mom had been getting teary on and off for a few days and I kept telling her that it was okay to cry and kind of laughed that she was such a softie. But today when we gave our final hugs and they loaded into the truck and started down our street I couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

I'll miss them so much.

My parents have been such a big help with Allison and I don't know how I'll adjust to being without them. Nathan works so much and such long hours that I know I'll be doing a lot alone and I'm scared about it. Even though I have a great support system here, I'm used to being in Boxall.

It will be a period of adjustment but I'm happy that the three of us are together.

Around KC

Nathan has been working every day so that he can have 6 days off at the end of the month. Thankfully, my parents are here to help with Allison while I get unpacked. It feels like I have way too much stuff. I think I'll end up sending some back with my parents. I didn't know what Annie (our landlord and friend!) had here so I packed kitchen wares and house stuff but she has a perfect little set up here so I don't need much. Also, Madison and Steven dropped off tons of baby stuff for Allison so her room has everything - my dad spent all afternoon building her crib.

My mom and I have been touring around KC, doing a little shopping (finding Scarlett a Halloween costume) while my dad stays home and works on the yard. Nathan has done a great job at keeping up with the grass but he's so busy and my dad loves outdoor work so he's happy to help out. Each time we come home a new job is done - front hedges trimmed, weed-eating, and yard clean-up. He's such a worker bee and I know he's much happier to visit here than when we had our apartment by the plaza. Here we have a perfect front porch and a big yard. Also, Allison's had a couple of meltdowns so far and it's nice that we're not sharing walls with anybody.

My parents really wanted to try some KC BBQ. My mom and I went to Oaklahoma Joe's today to get some sauce and rubs for my brother and the smell convinced us that we needed to go as soon as possible. Allison was doing well all day so we loaded up the truck and headed to B.B.'s Lawnside BBQ for dinner. The food was great and between the 4 us of we sampled most things on the menu - pulled pork, chicken, burnt ends, 2 types of potatoes, coleslaw, baked beans, and of course KC beer.

Allison slept through the whole meal!

On our way home Nathan took us for a quick tour of his work and a few KC landmarks.

Parents

I'm so glad to have my parents here helping out. Even though Nathan is only gone 8 hours a day, he needs his rest when he gets home. My dad has been exploring the neighborhood with Allison and my mom (the early riser) has been giving me a couple extra minutes of sleep by giving Allison her early morning feed. I'll really miss them when they go!

 

Getting to Know Her

It's hard for me to remember that Nathan has never seen Allison outside the hospital. I've had 2 1/2 months to get to know her routines and what she likes and how to take care of her so Nathan has a lot of catching up to do.

He's been doing really well with her and is already comfortable being left alone with her. I say this sincerely because I was scared the first time I was alone with her. Nathan keeps talking about what a little miracle she is and I can see how happy he is to have us here.

The Long Haul

My parents and I debated how we would lay out our plans for the 16 hour drive to Kansas City. We wanted to be comfortable but we also wanted to give Allison a good night's sleep. We knew that stopping at a hotel might make our trip a little better, but the ideal time to drive was at night while she was sleeping.

We decided to drive through the night.

My parents took turns driving while I sat in the back with Allison and kept her comfortable and fed.

We left at 3pm on Tuesday and hit the Port Huron border by 4:30pm. The border guard asked me for a manifest of everything I packed in the UHaul, I said I didn't write one but that I packed it all and would take responsibility for everything in it (Border Wars and Border Security are two of my favourite shows). He said that he needed a list and even though I offered to write one he said it was "too late." I'm not sure why since if I drove down the road, wrote one, and came back, it would be the same information had I written it right in front of him. He also said he needed the list because "you could have cocaine or firearms back there." Ummm....I'm pretty sure if I had those things I wouldn't be putting them on a list!

I kept that thought to myself.

After a quick interview inside and the usual, get your information, go sit down, call you back up, sit back down, we were successfully accepted to the USA!

The night drive was brutal and after a few stops for coffee, gas, and snacks that were so tasty at 4am, we arrived at Nathan's front door at 9am.

We took our first family pictures today and even though I look a little (ok, a lot) crazed from our long drive, it was really special to get a picture of the three of us. I'll be taking a better one ASAP!

Packing Up

Well, today is my last day in Boxall before the big move. I'm excited to see Nathan again but I've become so comfortable living in Ontario. Everything is set up here and it's Allison's first home- plus, I get so much help from my parents. I feel so lucky to be stuck between wanting to live in two places. To have two homes and two sets of great friends. I feel so divided each time I leave. I had a big cry today while packing up my childhood room. I've always had my room at home- even when I went away to school for 6 years, then got married, then Saba, then KC. I always came home and my bed was there and I still had clothes in the closet. It feels like I'm growing up and I'm scared to do that!

I'm really going to miss living with my parents. It's difficult because I don't know when I'll be back. In the past we've always known I'd be back for long stretches, but now it'll be to visit. Oh...I get teary just typing this. My parents are real superstars and they've made me feel like Allison has 4 parents.

I was really sad last night when Fraser and the kids stopped in and at one point there were 6 of us in the bathroom while the kids played in the bath. I thought how much Scarlett and Tanner love my parents and how much fun they have and how I want Allison to know them and have a similar relationship. Right now I'm just focusing on how much fun it will be for Nathan to "meet" Allison in a few days!

Ness Got Married!

This past weekend was really special - one of my dearest friend's got married! My university roommate married her longtime love, Mark, in beautiful Muskoka.

I was so lucky that my Mom offered to go with me to the wedding so that I could really enjoy myself. I don't think it would be much fun with Allison - especially since I was dancing 'til 1am on Saturday night!

My mom and I set out at 10am on Friday and arrived 5 hours later to the Trillium Resort and Spa. It was in a tiny town called Port Sydney and as we drove in there was a sign that said "Population 800...and one old grouch!" It was just like the Boxall sign that I posted last week - except with X4 the people.

The resort had a dozen cabins and reminded me of the movie "Dirty Dancing." Our cottage had a small kitchenette which was perfect because we had to make bottles and keep Allison happy. The cabins were rustic and we didn't have cable or internet in our room but we were so busy that we hardly noticed. 

 

We drove the truck and it was packed full for only 2 days. I'm starting to worry about getting everything to Kansas!

The rehearsal was at 4pm on Friday so I was able to watch the practice run. The resort grounds are really nice and the wedding was in front of a gorgeous lake view. All the guests who stayed at the resort were invited to the rehearsal dinner and it was great food. It was BBQ style but much fancier than that sounds. After dinner the guests had a big bonfire and roasted marshmallows.

The day of the wedding was fun because I was able to help out with a few last minute preparations. Vanessa was kind enough to allow me into her bridal suite and I really felt like I was a part of the day. Around noon I headed home to take a shower and get myself ready. My friend Ashley lent me a full wardrobe for the weekend (dresses, jewelry) and her mom, Debbie, lent me the shoes!

The guests that were staying at a nearby hotel arrived (by bus) around 3pm and we were all seated (in the light rain) by 3:30pm. When Vanessa started to come down the aisle I couldn't help but tear up. I was just so happy for her and even though I'd already seen her in her dress, it was such a big moment. My mom and Allison came to watch the wedding but when Allison started to fidget, my mom took her for a walk.

I didn't know anyone at the reception (except for Vanessa's immediate family) but everyone was really great and I quickly made friends with my table. There were so many interesting people to talk to! Of her 75 guests, most were living out of town - some from Italy, the Netherlands, and New Zealand! I even spent some time chatting with a woman who lived in KC for 3 years. I loved all the speeches and everyone had wonderful things to say about Mark and Vanessa. It seemed like everyone had a really good time - one guy even split his pants during a big dance-off!

Showing the ladies how to line dance

 The reception was great and I loved the dancing. I could have danced until 4am! The bus arrived to take guests back to their hotel at 1am so I dragged myself back to our cabin just in time to give Allison her first night feed.

Checkout was at 11am on Sunday and after a big buffet breakfast and congratulating the bride and groom one last time, we set out for the long ride home.