Down Under

We are now deep into May, and it has come to my attention that we have a second child arriving sometime next month.  Turns out Jennifer's expanding torso is not due to the mounds of candy we received at Easter.  There's someone moving in there - I've seen a leg or arm or knee try to poke through.  I suppose it's about time we prepare for his arrival, especially if he's like some of my relatives who always arrive early to an occasion.

This past weekend we took a few major steps to make our home ready for the little guy.  Jennifer sorted through some of Kyle's infant clothes that somehow survived his amazing ability to stain.  Meanwhile, I tinkered with the old crib, making it suitable for a baby once again by raising its mattress.  I didn't realize I would also be creating a fort.

Once the complex operation was finished, we let Kyle back into the room.  He looked at the crib with a huge smile.  "Under the crib" he said, and he immediately grabbed a book and slid under it.  He then spent much of the evening there.  When the crib was low enough for Kyle to sleep in it, he barely had enough space to have fun beneath it.  The best he could do was to lay flat and slide himself under without raising his head any more than an inch off the ground.  Though the space was limited, Kyle still had fun doing this.  We approved because it was easier to have him slide around than to dust under there.  Now, with the mattress moved higher, Kyle can actually sit beneath it, and suddenly he has a new favorite spot.

After checking out his new digs, the little guy "read" aloud some of the great works of literature, including Thomas the Train: Little Engines Can Do BIG Things by Charles Dickens. "Read" is in quotes because he's just flipping pages and saying, "bigga bigga bigga big-KA."  I guess that's what I sound like when I read him a story just before bedtime.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?  Once he was done reading, Kyle played with some of his toys and then installed lighting and a refrigerator.  I hear he's already having mail forwarded to his new place, and he is contemplating buying a hot tub for it.  He's going to be very disappointed once his brother learns how to sit up and I have to move the mattress back down.

This unexpected development makes me wonder what will happen when we do other things to prepare for the baby.  When I install the infant car seat, will Kyle use it as a snack holder?  Will he use baby bottles as binoculars?  Will he use the bouncy seat to fling himself above the fridge to reach the cookie jar?  These are all things I suppose I should now consider.  With June arriving fast, I guess we'll get these answers soon enough.