With Two

Whew.

Is it just me or have the last three weeks completely run together in a blur?  

Just me then.

I tried to prepare myself for the juxtaposed chaos and coziness a newborn brings to a house, and I actually think it worked.  Messes have accumulated longer than I like, and the most cooking I've done has been grilled cheese sandwiches, but we also accomplished a few Christmasy things like baking gingerbread cookies for our neighbors, going to meet Santa, attending Christmas Eve church, waking up to see what treasures Santa left, 

and wonderful time spent with family.  

This went exactly how I expected and hoped.  Is that terrible?

Oh you too can have a half-decorated Christmas tree!  Courtesy of Henry the Tornado who won't leave things alone.

What I didn't prepare for was Henry having a fever for more than a week after his MMR shot at his 18-month check up right before Nelle was born and turning my good 12-hour-a-night-sleeper into one that wakes up in the middle of the night screaming, inconsolable unless 

Dada is sleeping in bed with him...the first night we got home from the hospital.

Andrew and I were literally passing each other in the hall as he headed to Henry's room, and I trecked back and forth to Nelle's.

Baptism by fire.

I also didn't account for our first Sunday home when Andrew woke up with food poisoning and couldn't get out of bed.  Nor did I account for the fact that I couldn't lift Henry for two weeks or else I'd temporarily lose eye sight in my right eye we think caused by a weird postpartum 

high blood pressure stint.  (I'm really over high blood pressure.) 

Or the fact that I then got the stomach bug a week later which left me bed-ridden.

Oh my word.

Even with all of that, these first three weeks with Nelle at home have gone surprisingly well.

And I say that in the tiniest whisper because I don't want to jinx it.

What I will scream as loud as possible is a huge thank you to our parents who have made this transition even with our hiccups as smooth as possible.

Although I selfishly missed the quiet intimacy of just-our-family-of-four-moments on Christmas Eve, I know sharing it was for the best.  After cooking and cleaning and diaper changing and bathing and dog walking and early mornings and disenfecting and miles and miles driven, 

they really deserved seeing Henry light up during this special time and some Nelle snuggles.

(And she is the best snuggler.)

Henry was so high on Christmas cheer and attention the little stinker refused to sit still for Christmas pictures, we barely made it through reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and he still wanted nothing to do with posing with Nelle in Christmas jammies the next morning.

So this is life with two.

Messy, sleepless, nonstop and wonderful.