Bunk Beds!

Today was a busy day, and we are all absolutely exhausted.  But the conversation was much lighter than yesterday's discussion, thank Goodness!  We went to Ikea to buy the kids' bunk beds in preparation for Abby's transition to the big kid room.  We cleared out the backseat to prepare for bringing home our goods and loaded the kids in the car.  They were totally delighted with the prospect, and there was much excitement around the trip.

It's surprising I don't have more photos from Ikea, as it's one of David's favorite places on Earth.  When I moved into his townhome when we married, EVERY piece of furniture and even the silverware and house plants were from Ikea!  

Frankly, I find trips to Ikea to be quite exhausting, even before adding 2 young kids to the mix.  They purposefully make you wander up and down serpentine paths stocked with enough goods to cause a sensory-overload seizure.  And somehow, we always end up taking a trip when I'm at least 6 months pregnant.  Just the name Ikea makes me tired.  But anyhow, we all survived the trip, even me and Joshua.

Jonathan tried out the bunk bed with great enthusiasm, and the kids tried out everything in the kids area that didn't look like it was likely to break.

The kids were extraordinarily 'helpful.'  Meaning, they REALLY wanted to help.  Of course, in truth that complicated everything.  Desperate to get them away from their attempts at pushing the heavy carts and to avoid the threat of tipping over large cases of dishes and glasses, I suggested, "Jonathan, you and Abby go ahead of the cart and be the leaders!"

This suggestion was very well received.  "Abby, come on, we're the leaders!  We're the leaders!  Follow me!"  He was cute, but the best was Abby running past me to catch up with him, "' 'Cuse me, Mommy!  'Cuse me!  I'm coming Jonathan!  We are de weeders!  We are de weeders!"  They were such a happy, hysterical sight running through Ikea. I'm sure there were those who didn't appreciate my children's loud exuberance.  But frankly, the only thing that makes this Mommy more tired than going to Ikea pregnant is going to Ikea pregnant while chasing 2 kids.  So as long as they weren't actively destroying things, by this point we simply let them run around being "weeders."

Finally, we survived the check-out process and parked our carts in the loading area, waiting for Daddy to bring the van around.

The loading crew.

All set!

Jonathan was very excited to help unload the car, and David was sure to save all the lighter items for him.

After we had disassembled the old bed, we realized we were committed to completing the project tonight!  Jonathan helpfully vacuumed the area.

He was eager to help put the bed together, and ran back and forth between the project and the living room, where his sister sat watching Caillou after less-than-graciously declining a nap.

Last screws!

By the time we were done it was late, we were digging through the fridge for left-overs to construct some sort of dinner, and with the complication of some tired-child meltdowns, we decided we'd delay Abby's actual first-night in the big girl bed until tomorrow.  But the kids got in a few minutes of star-gazing under the canopy that covers Jonathan's bed, and we're looking forward to moving Abby into the room tomorrow, and lots of fun bunk-bed bonding.

Addendum:

Night 1: A few rounds of up and down, including an episode of Mommy walking in and finding both kids wandering the room with flashlights in hand.  But, 120 minutes later and they're both asleep.  I figure it's a reasonable start. They definitely had a lot of fun in those 120 minutes!