April Goals + update on the transition to a big boy bed

Spring is definitely in the air! Unfortunately the pollen is too, but nonetheless, we are LOVING the warmer weather and outside time!

Today, we're actually taking the kids to Legoland in Atlanta. We haven't had a mid-week family date in a while, so we're all pretty excited about it!

Before I jump into my goals for April, here's a quick recap of March's goals:

1.
Finish All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

This was a really good book. The WWII setting and the fact that it follows the stories of two children made it tough to read at times as a mom, but I loved that it gave a completely different perspective from all other WWII books I've read. One of the main characters is a boy who is recruited by the Nazi army- so realizing the way these young kids were brain washed and basically given no other choice but to serve their country was really eye opening. You can check it out here.

2.

Schedule Barre Classes
Whew! Y'all. Barre is hard. I'm sure the growing belly accessory I'm carrying around these days didn't help matters, but it is a seriously intense 55 minute workout! Thanks to Matt going in late a couple of days and giving me some time to sneak to a couple of classes on the weekends, and then my friend Andrea keeping the kiddos for me Monday morning of this week (bless her!), I was able to get in all 5 classes in my 30-day window. There's a part of me that wants to give it a try again when I'm not pregnant to really compare, but I don't know if I would put it in the category of one of my favorite types of workouts. Worth trying for sure though!

3.

Share 4 New Recipes

Chicken Enchiladas (recipe here)

V8 Tomato Basil Soup (recipe here)

French Bread Ham & Cheese Melt (recipe here)

Cilantro Lime Guacamole (recipe here)

4.
Schedule Dentist Appointment for Ryan

Our big guy will be going to his first dentist appointment in the middle of this month!

1.
Read Love Lives Here

I'm in a monthly book club group with some Mops moms and this is the next book on our list. I don't know a ton about it yet, but am excited to start it based on the subtitle and what little bit I know about the husband and wife- Bob and Maria Goff- and how they prioritized time with their family and ministering to others. It should be a good read! You can check it out here.

2.
Set up Ryan's Big Boy Room

If you follow us on Instagram, you saw that our big guy's big boy furniture was delivered a week ago this past Saturday. He immediately wanted to take his nap in his new bed and has been so excited about sleeping in it. He's done a great job of staying in his bed and still seems so excited about it, but I've noticed he hasn't been sleeping as well during nap and during the night, which has been affecting him (naturally) during the day. It really took me until yesterday to put it all together, but unless there's a 2 3/4 sleep regression I don't know about, I think he's having a hard time getting used to his new bed PLUS a new room. Right now there's nothing else in his room aside from his furniture because I initially intended to create a "new" room with big boy decorations, a reading corner, a play area, etc. But since he jumped right into wanting to sleep there, it's hard to actually set up his rom while he's sleeping in it.

SO, yesterday when he woke up after only sleeping for an hour during nap (he usually sleeps between 2-3 hours) and was extra emotional and not able to tell me why (nothing hurt, he didn't have a bad dream...) I asked if he would maybe like to sleep back in his old room and crib for a little while until I could get his whole room set up for him. And the sweet guy said he would.

So yesterday afternoon, Matt came home early (seriously so thankful for him as Natalie was also woken up at the one hour mark by her having-a-tough-time big brother and sweet girl was struggling to make it to the 5's much less bed time), took Ryan and Tally to the park while I got Natalie down early and got Ryan's old room set up again (sheets back on the crib, sound machine, clock, monitor, stuffed animals, etc. back in his room) and spent some time organizing his closet with Spring/Summer clothes. 

As I was having that much-needed thinking/organizing time, it dawned on me that most kids switch to a big boy bed in their same room where the crib was, rather than switching to a new bed in a new room that (in this case) is still completely empty outside of the furniture.

So now my plan is to try to recreate his "nursery" room as much as possible in his new room, reusing the book shelves, pictures, and even his rocking chair where we always did our "milk and stories" each night. And then I'm going to let him come with me to pick out some new pictures and things for the walls and room that feel a little more big-boyish. And then hopefully, once his room is all set up and feels more like his room, he'll feel better about transferring into there for good- at which point I can start setting up his old room for Baby Girl's arrival in June. :)

3.
Share 2 New Recipes
I haven't decided what I'm going to make yet, but I'm thinking one will be a fish recipe, since I haven't branched out with any new fish recipes in a while, and I'm not sure what the other one will be- so we'll see what this pregnant mama craves in April. ;)

Hope you guys have a great Wednesday! I'll be back Friday with a Life Lately update.