Leif is really enjoying life right now. We are finally feeling better after battling what must have been three different illnesses over the course of a month, and we have settled nicely back into our routine. We wake up at 6am and spend the next two hours getting everybody ready for their day. Leif no longer cries when the kids go out the door, but rather, he cheerfully waves them off and gets busy pulling out his toys. You can almost hear him sigh as they shut the door:
Finally. Mom is all mine once again.
We spend the next two hours, emptying the dishwasher, gathering laundry, playing toys and going out on the back deck to scoop up dried beans in his new pail that the Easter Bunny left him. Around 10am, he is ready for a sleep and so is mama. I typically snooze with him for the first hour, oh yes, I said the first hour. Then I use the remaining two hours that he sleeps (please don't hate me!) to shower and catch up on some chores (or pinterest . . . tee hee!) When he wakes up, Leif is ready for lunch and then a bath. Once those events are over and yes, if you have ever had a toddler, you know that meal time and tubby time are indeed events, Leif is ready to play outside again. By 2:30pm, the boys return and our peaceful routine comes to a crashing halt, but by then, Leif and I are both ready for life to become a little more interesting and intense.
I cherish the quiet ebb and flow of mine and Leif's days together. They are precious to me and I am cannot help but worry that they are about to come to an abrupt end. I start my third trimester this week and yesterday, I was given my c-section date: June 23 . . . eeeeek! In 10 weeks and 6 days we will become a family of 7! Seven!!! It even sounds crazy! And as excited as I am to be welcoming a new member into Shenanigans Inc, I am sad to say goodbye to our current routine. Sure, a new routine will eventually be adopted and I will be enraptured with spending my days with two babies rather than one, but it makes me a little sad to look at Leif and think:
You have no idea, but your world is about to be turned upside down.
Or does he know?
Thing 5 loves to kick Leif while he is nursing, and this week, Leif finally noticed. He will be happily nursing away when all of a sudden he will get a giant kick to the stomach. Before, Leif did not appear to pay any attention to these nudges, but now that they are getting stronger, Leif definitely is stopping and taking notice. He will pause for a moment and then give me the cutest grin. At first I thought he assumed it was me, but now I am not so sure. He has also suddenly become fascinated with my growing belly, and he insists on rubbing it, and nuzzling up close to it. At first, I thought he was simply in awe with what he thought might be a giant, new boob, but then it occurred to me that he might know that this is where is his new baby brother or sister is. You can't deny that babies are amazing little critters and I swear they know more, and remember lots, of where they came from and what is going on. Now, when Leif asks me to lift up my shirt and he lovingly curls up with my belly, I tell myself that yes, Leif does know. He knows exactly what is about to happen and he couldn't be happier.
My babies . . . I am one very lucky mama!
