17 weeks

I can't believe I'm already 17 weeks!  The time seems to be flying by...  I felt the baby again a few times the past week.  Much harder then the first times but still pretty light.  I love the feeling though and I can't wait until it is more regular.   

Since I just wrote there isn't too much to tell. So I thought I would share an early pregnancy (emotion) story with you all.  I am friends with many of you on Facebook so you probably saw what I think of as the beginning of this story.  Shortly after I found out I was pregnant I saw two birds making a nest on a light fixture on the bottom floor of our apartments.  I couldn't help but think about how they were preparing for their own LOs and how Evan and I would soon be doing similar preparations.  About a week later I discovered that someone (most likely the apartment complex people) had removed the nest!  I was devastated and I hoped the two birds would be able to rebuild somewhere safer.  For the next few weeks, I continuously saw the birds sit on the light at night, cuddled up next to each other for warmth and safety.  Eventually I would only see one bird there so I got suspicious and went to check the area near the light.  Underneath the second story on a cross beam they had built a new nest!  I was so happy and one of the birds would always be sitting in the nest so I guessed there were eggs in there.  I would check every once in while to make sure the nest was still there and it always was!  At the beginning of July, just as I was becoming more sure of my LO we got a notice that the apartment complex would be pressure washing the outside of the apartments (which for us meant needing to close all our windows and keeping them closed for two days while the work was being completed).  I was a little concerned about the birds and their nest but I didn't think the front doors and underneath the porches would be cleaned...

The first day of pressure washing was fine they only spent about 25 minutes on our building.  I was able to open the windows again and let in the nicer, cooler air. I even ran downstairs and checked to see if the nest was still there and it was. Once washed our building was not supposed to be touched again. So I rested easy...until the next morning (when I had woken up at 6:00 am and could not fall back to sleep). At 8:00 am, I had a man step onto my porch (3 stories up) from the roof and ask that I close my sliding glass door so that they could wash the windows and siding.  Besides being weird, I was annoyed that we were being inconvenienced again (btw, this was the week it was in the 90s the entire time and we have no ac) I closed my window and for the next 3 hours was forced to sit in stifling heat wondering when it would ever stop.  On top of that, they were also pressure washing our front door and the stairs and all of that.  When I realized what they were doing I really started to freak out because I thought about the birds and since there was a pile of bird poo directly under the nest that they would definitely be cleaning that area too.  I knew the birds had eggs so if the nest was destroyed, the eggs would be too.  My heart was broken as I felt sure the nest and eggs would be destroyed by the heartless water pressure men.  I prayed, I ranted, I yelled at Evan when he would try to reassure me.  I thought about going out there and begging them to leave the nest alone but then worried if I brought attention to it that they would definitely destroy it.  I was so conflicted and eventually sat down on the couch and started to cry...then to bawl. Evan tried to comfort me the best he could with hugs.  After about 20 minutes of that I put on some shoes and ran downstairs.  I could tell by the water on the doors and the walls that the washers had indeed been there...  My relief and happiness were immediate as I looked under the porch at the beam.  I dashed back up the stairs with a big smile across my face.  A long torturous morning but it ended happily.    Two weeks ago I saw the 2 babies hanging out in the nest. SO cute! The babies have already left the nest but still hang around and the parents sleep on the light while the babies I assume are in the nest (I didn't want to disturb them).  With my own pregnancy I can't help but feel connected to this little bird family and I am so happy they were successful at raising their babies.