Ari’s become a bit more sick. My initial observation that this first trimester is not as bad as when she was pregnant with Julien was premature. Rather, it’s just different. There are only a few things that Ari can eat right now that won’t instantly make her sick. But the funny thing is, what tasted good today won’t taste good tomorrow. So we’re slowly stockpiling snack food that may or may not ever get eaten. Our friend Amy thinks it’s a girl thing. Meaning, that the baby is going to be a girl. Amy is pregnant with a girl and had a very similar first trimester.

Whatever it is, it’s not being very nice to the mommy right now. While I was cooking dinner last night, Ari had to leave the house. I found her sitting at the pinic bench in the backyard. There was a storm gathering, and it felt good outside, nice and cool. I thought this was why she had come out, to enjoy the break in our torturous heatwave. Not so. She came out because the smells from the kitchen were overwhelming, and not in a nice way. She looked up and me and said sadly, “Can you carry the baby for a while?”

I sat out with her for a little bit and watched the storm brew, felt a few spits of rain. But not wanting to burn dinner, I asked Julien to stay with mommy, to take care of her. He is going through a very helpful phase of toddlerhood. He wants to be a part of everything. If he misses an opportunity to help, he becomes very sad. So this was a perfect moment for him. I left the two of them on the bench, Julien with his arm around mommy’s shoulder.

At dinner, Ari worked on the computer. It was just Julien and I at the dinner table. I listened to it rain outside. At one point I said, “Hey Julien, thanks for taking care of mommy earlier.”

He stopped for a second to recall what he’d done. “You’re welcome. Hey dad, mommy’s sick,” he said.

“Yeah, she’s gonna be sick for a little while. But she’ll be better soon.”

“I think mommy needs to take some medicine so she can feel better.”

“Well, it’s not that easy. See, mommy’s going to have a baby, remember? And right now her tummy is having a bit of trouble adjusting to the new baby.”

“Yeah, and I’ve got a baby in my tummy, too! And when he’s ready to come out, he’ll come out my butt.”

A minute or two later, on the verge of hyperventillating from laughing so hard, Ari told to me that, while I was cooking dinner earlier, she explained to Julien why she wasn’t feeling well. Talk of the baby led to a more in-depth discussion on the particulars of childbirth. And she apparently explained it very well. Julien understood that the baby will pass through an orifice. And since his body does not contain the proper one, he’ll settle for the next available.