Time for Bed

A few months ago I was fortunate enough to be able to switch my hours to an earlier shift so that I could have an extra hour at the end of the day to spend with Hunter. Even just one hour makes a world of difference, now I feel like I get to actually have play-time with my son, whereas before I was arriving home just in time for Alex and I to eat dinner, then Hunter's dinner, then bed. Now we get to have a good solid hour or so of fun before we have to start winding down for the night. This is beneficial for a couple of reasons. One, it is an excellent de-stresser from the workday. Two, it provides the necessary bonding time for a working parent with a child. And three, it wears him out.

We do not have a set bed time for Hunter, we just take each night as it comes and wait for the signs that show he is ready to start winding down. Once he gives us the cue, we start our bed-time protocol: New Diaper, Pajamas, Yogurt/Rice, 2 Books (one for each parent to read), Singing/Story-telling if the books are not quite enough, and to end it, rocking in his dimly lit room with the sound machine producing imaginary waves in the background. 

Hunter: "Wait...I forgot to give you a hug"

Hunter: "Oh, so that is what a BLOGG looks like!"

Charlie likes to get in on story time every once in a while

Cuddles!!

And of course we can't end the night without a good pull of Mom's hair....this kid is going to make me bald before I'm 30!

 As Hunter gets older and is moving around more, his bed time has slowly been moving up, which actually bums me out because I don't get as much time with him. Tonight, for example, he barely made it to 7:30, which makes me even more grateful for the hour shift change in my work schedule. I am tempted to put some Ambien in his morning cereal so that he sleeps at daycare and stays up longer to hang out with me at night....but something tells me that giving an 8 month-old sleeping pills might be frowned upon, so I guess I will just cherish the time that I do get to spend with him.

In other news, now that it is facebook official, I want to send out a huge Congratulations to my cousin Bonnie who just got engaged over this past weekend in one of the most romantically, perfect ways possible. Its not my story to tell, so I won't post it here (as those who know her should hear it directly from her), but it is definitely one that could not have been scripted. To Mike and Bonnie: You guys are an amazing couple and I wish you a world of happiness!