week 21

Lily is officially 21 today, and keeping surprisingly calm about it :) I'm feeling good...just obviously a little warm and tired. Lily is mostly still during the day, with a kick or two here and there, but I can feel her moving almost any hour of the night.

Having the Bundy kids back has been a blast as far as Lily is concerned. Before any of them greet me, they first yell a hearty "Hello!" at my belly and usually give it a joyful pat. Alanna, Brianna and Jake bring her all sorts of flowers, which I am to save for her for after I get "REALLY BIG, and then she COMES!"

Two days ago Alanna continued to roar like a lion at my stomach. When I finally asked what in the world she was doing, she told me she was indeed "roaring like a lion, so that whenever the baby comes, she'll think she is born in a zoo!" I'm not sure why this is a perk, but Alanna seems to think this is a good thing. Both girls talk to Lily as if she is playing next to them, but Jake is quite confused about her name. Since I had explained that a lily is a flower, he continues to just call her "Flower", and whenever one of the girls corrects him, he says, "OH, so you're going to call her Lily for short?"

Their mom is a good mom, they insist, because her mom taught her, and "because MY mom is not in Haiti to teach me," Brianna has promised that all four of them will help me learn.

Mostly, it has just been a joy for us both to remember what a joy children are, how funny and smart they are, and how capable they are of reminding us how unimportant many of our "very important" things are. They are good for our priorities, and it's been wonderful having their squeals outside our window and their laughter in the house again.

Congrats, Jenny and Will, on your precious new son!