I went into labor with both Henry and Nelle in the dark of the night...Henry of course spent the dark of another night in utero until he decided it was time to come out, and Nelle had her mind made up and surprised us just barely over two hours later.

All this to say, every morning when I wake up from the pain of another body pushing on my rib cage because I haven't peed all night and he/she is flat out of room, I think, we get another day of just four.  Also thank goodness rib pain first thing in the wee hours of the morning is the worst thing I have to complain about.  

I'm definitely pregnancy blessed.

 

We get another day of waving "bye bye dada" out of the door and watching him back out the drive, another day of it taking an hour and a half to get out the door for a walk around the neighborhood when I swear it should really only take 20 minutes, but three stops to play and read books, clean the kitchen from breakfast, change a diaper, dress two littles and myself and feed the dog...well, it's always an hour and a half.

 

Another day of having two littles in the stroller for an afternoon trip down to the pool.  Or a trip to Botanica with friends.  Or the zoo.  Or the park.

 

Or just two in the row of three carseats in the car on the way to the gym, where every time I think, this will probably be my last run pre-babe, you can do it...

yet, we're back a few days later to do it again.  Mostly so I can take advantage of the drop-in daycare and shower by myself.  It's worth the shower shoes.

 

Another day of toddler talk where I can't even count the amount of words Nelle says because she jabbers so so much, but I'm doing my best to notice her little sentences she's stringing together and the funny way she interprets things.  Like when she really wants me to hold her, but she says "hold you" instead with her arms stretched out to me.  And how she works, "I did it!" so proudly into the conversation all day long.

And when Henry on his bike ride last week looked up at me and said, "Hi Pineapple!" then kept coasting along in front of us.  

Or when Nelle was swimming at the pool on Friday and after doing something to impress him, he ran up to her and said, "yeah baby, that's what I'm talking about!".  

 

It clearly hasn't been all roses and sunshine this summer.  

It's actually been very trying and exhausting.

Sometimes Girlfriend decides she's a bit over nature and adventuring.

 

But there's still been sunshine.

 

A lot of bright, sunshiney days.

Henry got up before Nelle the other morning and came into our room to wake up Andrew and I.  A few moments later, Nelle followed him in and was so, SO excited to see him.  Her entire face lit up, seeing her brother, and she squealed 

and gave him the biggest hug.

 

That's going to be the summer of 2015 for me.  

 

Henry bound and determined we are having a boy and naming him Coco, 

Nelle squealing at the sight of her best bud, 

and the really good moments of four waiting for five.

 

See photos of last year's peach picking trip to Beck's Farm here.  Somehow Ham lost his baby fat, Nelle grew a mess of curls, and now I'm crying because a year goes so fast.  Of course if you're tired and exhausted from parenting toddlers, 

but especially if you're seeing sunshine too. 

Two weeks ago was an all-hands on deck, let's survive kind of week.  

I had an occular migraine at least once a day, every day except for one the entire week.  Andrew fed us and managed to sneak away from work when he could, and finally we called in reinforcements (my parents) on Friday so I could pass out for the rest of the afternoon.  We still don't know what the cause was, but I have a feeling it has something to do with lifting my double Bob stroller into the back of the Tahoe, carrying it out of the garage, etc.  It's probably past the weight limit I'm really supposed to be lugging right now.  Okay, I'm sure it is.  And that's what triggered my migraines post-delivery with Nelle...bending over to grab Ham and hold him.  

Coincidence or not, I've been migraine-free for over a week, 

and I haven't picked up the Bob.  

 

So there's that. 

It kind of feels like two weeks ago didn't exist, and that last week then had to be a major catch up week.  And nesting week.  Andrew really loves those.

Lots of laundry, lots of piddling in the shared room, lots of complaining about the curtains needing to be hung until the curtains actually did get hung up yesterday, lots of cleaning.  Lots of cleaning because Henry decided he needed to wake everyone up at 6:15am most days last week instead of sleeping much closer to 7am.  And when Andrew and I tried to catch a few more winks, Henry decided to get Nelle out of her bed and take care of breakfast.  

Eggs for everyone.

Scrambled, specifically.

On the kitchen floor.

Like three days in a row.

After he got in trouble for breaking several eggs the first day, he quickly figured out he could just tell Nelle to crack the eggs for him.  One morning I woke up to hearing Henry coach Nelle, "yeah, yeah just do it here." 

 

Followed by giggling.  Lots of giggling.

 

He's learned to manipulate his little sister 

into doing what he knows he's not supposed to.

Already.

So there's that.

 

I made a point to spend one-on-one time with each of the tots this weekend because I know once babe comes, I'll be divided even more, and Andrew will have to step in at the beginning to make the park runs, and pool trips, and bike rides.  

Henry and I shared a cinnamon roll and read and read and read at Watermark Books on Saturday morning, and came home with two new books for he and Nelle's shelves.  He also wore head-to-toe K-State except for on his head where he wore his cowboy hat from his first Halloween costume.  And Nelle and I picked out donuts from The Donut Hole where she took samples out of all six because she didn't have to share with anyone else, and I followed her up to the top of the play equipment one time too many to go down the tunnel slide with her on Sunday morning and said bye to the ducks at the pond just as it was starting to get uncomfortably hot.  

And so there's that.

Maybe the best kind of nesting that has nothing to do with getting our house ready for the baby, or my work ready for the baby, but getting me a bit more ready for our baby, making sure our first two know they're loved to pieces.  

Even with raw egg on the floor, towels in the toilet, stuffed animals on the ceiling fans, flower pots broken on the patio, crayon colored onto the glass of picture frames, and every jar from the fridge taken out and hidden behind the couch.  

Yes, even then.

 

There's always that.