The Eagle has landed - a look into nesting at 37 weeks.

Even my daddy's guide to parenting website says that men can nest. It's when the parent wants to make sure everything (yes, everything) is perfect for when the child comes home. Cooking, cleaning, dusting, cleaning, rearranging, cleaning... you get it.

We have made some major changes in our household in the last week, and have at least one more major change to make. We now have a new living room. The overstuffed blue furniture is gone, and we now have a blue (original, huh?) sectional couch. The glass coffee table is out as well, replaced by an ottoman with storage in it. This was done to save space, and give more playing room. We've also added baby furniture: an electric swing and baby play-yard. If somehow you missed my (one of too many) Facebook posts, you saw the couch is very comfy. I tend to fall asleep as soon as I sit (and inevitably lay) down. Oh, Howie likes the new stuff too. He has claimed about four different spots as his. The one major change left? Front door. I will be picking it up today (presumably). It will have a window in it to let sun in during the afternoon hours. It also allows us to not cool the outdoors during the summer (as our current door has a leak).



The cooking has started as well. I've been joking with Nic that we need to freeze pretty much everything we eat, even things that don't need freezing. Restaurant appetizers would be wonderful, but she nixes it. Alas, ask and you shall receive. I woke up this morning to the wonderous smell of raspberry muffins and hamburger. Nic was cooking lasagna to freeze. It's a great idea, and we will have a stuffed freezer for at least a few days after Baby L is born.
 

Baby L is (less than) three weeks away. There is a baby pool on Nic's side. I have the 13th, a full week early. Nic has the actual due date, June 20. All but a few people in the pool have her coming before the 20th, and the earliest is June 1 (someone also had June 6, my bday). The latest is the 22nd. What this tells me? I only have about two and a half weeks to repaint the house, mow the lawn four times, trim the hedges, manage the garden, re-upholster the kitchen chairs, re-side the house, dust the ceiling.........
 

Favorite song heard while writing this post? If you're wondering if I want you to (I want you to) by Weezer.

~Rob

Week 36 Update and Ramblings

Well, the nursery is finally done. I think. Nicole and I have done a lot today to kind of finish things up. Yes, we have 4 weeks (and counting) to go, but we wanted this stuff done. To get long-winded: it's not really done, just done enough for now. All we need before we really finish it is Baby L., a little more laundry, a few things moved once we get our new furniture moved in, and I think that's it. We've been working on getting the house ready (I think I mentioned Nic has started nesting, even if she hasn't admitted it). There just seems to be a lot to do.

That brings me to the next paragraph (nice transition English teacher). Wow, there's a lot to do. We had a little picture of our future selves thanks to the Hartz family. We visited them (as well as the Siebrechts) this weekend, and baby Paige Hartz, in Des Moines. Nicole even got to practice diapers and bathing. I deferred. I will get to it soon enough I feel (I'm not scared... well maybe a little). Thankfully, Paige slept all night. 

*Digression* I have been waking up a lot at night lately. Not just because of my dog, but just naturally. Sometimes Nic is up for obvious reasons, other times I'm just awake. But the thing that really gets me is the fact that I'm waking up on my own by 7am, even weekends. Either my body is preparing me, or I'm getting old. And just a reminder, my birthday is two weeks away. *End Digression*

We have four weeks to go. Howie is finally starting to get that something is happening. I think he'll be okay. He loves to lie on the footstool of Nic's glider in the nursery; I see no problem in that. The monitors are situated around the room, the new furniture is coming Friday (I'm out of school Thursday), and I finally am starting to realize how amazingly special and wonderful my life is about to change. 

                                                Nicole at 36 weeks (after a hard day of work).

~Rob

Fat and Happy

Hello there Karma, glad to meet you.
So I may have bragged a few weeks ago that I was stretch-mark free. Shoulda. Known. Better. I say that because the pregnancy gods are coming for me. In the last week, my fingers have morphed into sausages and my face looks like it did in 5th grade when my brothers so lovingly called me Pork Chop, P.C. for short. (It's OK, I wasn't too traumatized). Anyway, with 4 weeks to go and my scale afraid I might smash it if it continues with its "inaccurate" readings, I still can't complain. That's because, despite my newfound fatness, I am happy. Really happy. Sometimes I get these short little powerful bursts of happiness that wash over me. I don't know how else to describe it other than it feels like all is right with the world when they hit. Rob and I are so, so excited to meet this little girl who has called my belly home for the past 8 months. I want to know if she'll look like her mom or her dad or the mailman - I kid! It seems like all I do these days is picture her in my head, picture Rob holding her and picture her sleeping peacefully in her crib. (For those of you who are thinking how unrealistic I am, please restrain yourselves. I'm not that naive, I just don't want to picture 3 a.m. feedings, nasty blowout diaper changes or spit-up all over our new furniture). We also can't wait to read books to her, sing to her, stare at her, marvel at her and love her like only a firstborn can be loved. June 20th people...it's almost here!

My caption for the picture below comes from that story a kid tells while squeezing his face together...
"Hi. My name's Chubby. My mom's chubby. My dad's chubby. My whole family's chubby."