A family of 7.75

This week I've been hanging out in Coralville, Iowa with my brother and his wife Misty. Misty is 35 weeks pregnant with their third boy and trying to keep him in a bit longer. To slow down her early labor I've been playing with my nephews and trying to keep some order in their apartment while adding two extra kids to the mix. It's been an adventure but we've had a lot of fun. We've taken walks, played outside, gone to a kids museum, made cool science projects like slime and quicksand, made peanut butter dough to play with, and concocted homemade milkshakes and pizza. What we haven't done is sleep! At least not me, anyway...

Don't have any pictures because I've had my hands full :o) Misty has sneaked a few so hopefully we've preserved a few of the memories somewhere.

Pros and cons of chasing 4 kids...

Cons:
one kid always waking another. Just as I get Alyssa to sleep, Max (2.5) whimpers and wakes her up. I try to put Alyssa back to sleep and her hysterics wake Max back up.

Extra cousin love. Max LOVES Alyssa so much he just can't be without her for long. He wakes up from a nap and rushes into her room to see "his baby." Hard for her to sleep with the excited chatter and the toys he gives her (a la dropping them softly on her head). He also loves to give big hugs by pseudo body slam...

Pros:
Nightly story time and songs. It's been so fun to read and play with them. Not to mention that Adien think I'm the coolest auntie ever because I can make awesome science experiments in the kitchen...

Time with my brother, Misty, and the nephews I don't get to see nearly enough of. It's all worth it for time with family.

Glad I was able to come out and help!