Big Week

We have had a big week this week! It has been wonderful!

Casey was off Wednesday and we spent the whole day together - it was so nice. We have started de-constructing our deck so we can build the deck that we have wanted to build since we moved in the house a year and a half ago! We have a tentative plan and we are going to build it in phases. Very exciting! We want a place that Clay can play without the dog getting to him. (So, we will be putting a gate on the steps so Harper can't get to Clay. Or the door. Or the windows. Or the grill. She tends to be - slightly - destructive to doors, windows, and grills.)

Casey and I had our first date while Gram (Casey's mom) kept Clay last night. It was the first time I had ever dropped Clay off somewhere and left him. And I did good! I wasn't worried in the least, I didn't even cry! Can you believe it?! I was so excited to spend some Casey and me time it didn't bother me. I knew that he was in great hands and knew that he would be happy with Gram. (And he was - didn't even know I wasn't there, I'm sure of it.) Casey and I went and had sushi (which is kind of ironic because our first date ever was eating sushi) and now our first date without Clay with us was over sushi. We talked about a lot of things and got back to "us." Not that we have felt neglected, but it was great for us to talk about our 5 year plan and our goals and plans for the future. (Immediate and long term.)

So, one of the things we decided is that I will indeed be going back to school. Probably starting next semester. The plan is for me to be a nurse practitioner by the time Clay starts school. (5 years from now.) It is something that I have thought about doing, but we decided that it would indeed be for the good and betterment of our family. So, school bound I am. I am excited and scared at the same time. I haven't been a student in quite awhile and I hope that I still have the discipline for it. I will be able to complete almost all of the courses I will have to online, so, I will not be away from Clay. That is important to me. The end result (me being a nurse practitioner) would mean nothing if I missed Clay growing up. I am going to go at a snails pace starting out just to get back into the swing of things. I will let you know how it's going while I am in the process! Wish me luck!

We also had to take the bassinet part of the pack and play out because Clay has exceeded the weight limit! He is so big and growing up so fast! He loves his new big boy bed! He will fuss a little, we put him in the pack and play, he lays there and plays for about 5 minutes and then he's out! He puts himself to sleep and it is wonderful! Granted, I would love to be able to still rock him to sleep, but he's not having it. He is letting me know that he is independent and that he will be just fine. I'm almost certain he says "Mom, I'm not a little boy anymore." While it is sad to me, it is so great to see him be so independent. (And that I'm not hindering that like I thought I would.) I love watching him grow!

We went to the bookstore and got Clay some great books yesterday. I have already read some of the stories to him. He's so interested in what I have to say - I could read him anything and he would love it! (That will be good when I'm in school. I can read my school books to him and he will probably love it.) I hope that he enjoys reading as much as I do. (I also got a book yesterday - it will be the first book I read since I had him. I'm excited about the book!)

I got to sleep in this week (until 7ish) and got to wake up to Clay smiling at me and Casey looking at me. It was great! I love waking up to my family - we're all such morning people! Clay lays in bed and talks to us for about 20 minutes before we all crawl out of bed and it is great. He is so vocal! He talks and talks and talks. Sometimes he gets a real intent look on his face and he looks like he is really telling us something we need to listen to. We have never laughed so much in our lives, I'm convinced, as we have listening to him talk! It is so cute.

Loving life - couldn't be better!