I enter what used to be the office and see that Q has transformed it to a bedroom for Merit.
Alida: Oh my – Q! You did this?
Quincy: It’s my Winterfest gift to you and the baby.
Alida: I don’t know what to say. Thank you…it’s amazing! But where’s the office stuff?
Q takes me to the studio where he has moved his music production equipment, my desk, and my computer.
Alida: But – your photography studio!
Quincy: I figured I could take pictures anywhere.
I look around…almost unable to believe he was able to do all of this without me knowing.
I thank Q for what he’s done. It’s incredible, and I love it, but I’m too tired to really enjoy it. We both go back to bed to get as much sleep as we can before Merit wakes up again.
Peri is up when he finally awakens. She follows his cries to his new bedroom and peeks in at him.
Prosperity: Awww…you’re kind of cute, *grimaces* but you smell and will not be coming anywhere near my new dress.
Prosperity:*leaving the room* I’ll go get someone to rescue you.
Q is on his way down as Peri climbs the stairs.
Prosperity: Uh…the baby needs you.
Quincy: I was just on my way down…and his name is Merit. Your ma chose one of the names on your list.
Prosperity: Really…she actually chose that! I wasn’t serious about it. I just listed a few words from an old vocabulary list for school.
Quincy: Well, it’s your brother’s name now…so maybe you should have taken the list more seriously! *descends the stairs*
Prepares a bowl of cereal and sits down to eat.
Prosperity:*to herself* Oh well…let’s just hope he doesn’t hate me for it later.
Q tends to the baby. Peri finishes up her breakfast and leaves for her first day of high school in the new dress that Michelle gave her for her birthday.
We bring Merit back upstairs as we finish breakfast and get started on our day. Q cleans up and loads up our new dishwasher, which is our gift to ourselves and much needed now that there’s a new baby in the house.
The good news is that with this pregnancy, I haven’t held on to too much excess weight. I’m confident that if I stay active…I can get back to my previous shape pretty quickly.
After a pretty good workout, I quickly rock Merit to sleep, take a quick shower and follow the best advice I’ve ever been given…nap when the baby naps. I lie down on the couch and fall asleep quickly.
The nap doesn’t last very long. Before too long, Merit is up screaming at the top of his lungs for a diaper change and a bottle. The lack of sleep is definitely frustrating, but I feel a lot more confident and prepared to deal with it than when Peri was a baby.
(Generation 1a Chapter Summaries)
