Even my toes are ready!

Let's hope I can see them again soon without the help of a camera!

The waiting is the hardest part...

Well, another week has gone by, and I'm another week closer to my due date. But I have to admit I'm feeling a little bit down. I had hoped that we would have a picture of our baby up here by now instead me continuing to waddle around, increasingly uncomfortable, as summer threatens to get hotter and hotter. Anyway, I know all the "positive thoughts" stuff--the "it will be worth it in the end" and "a couple extra weeks will seem like nothing in the long run," and, my personal favorite, "she'll come when she's ready," but I'm ready now.
Nothing too exciting to report. We won't see the doctor again until Monday. And, as it has been since the 13th, she could come tomorrow (fingers crossed), or she could just hang out until the doctors go in and get her as late as July 18th!!
It would be nice if she would come by the 11th at least so we could have her home to meet Kim and Eric and my dad before they all head back to their homes. It would be even nicer if she would come today!
So, we just keep waiting. I guess now would be the time to offer your creative suggestions or old wives tales about how I can get her out, because begging, pleading, bargaining, and yelling haven't worked. Oh yeah--none of that walking stuff--my hips are just falling apart, I can barely get out of bed. Marching around for miles in the hopes of inducing labor is just impossible now.

Don't forget to vote!

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go, but you still have time to vote!
Since she hasn't budged, there's still time to get your vote in as to when you think the baby will arrive, how much she will weigh, and how long she will be. Remember--the winner gets diaper duty immunity! Please vote in the comments at the "9 Months" post.

A truly unique gift

Sadly, I never had a chance to meet Ed's grandma Gustafson. But from what I hear, she was a really special lady. She had a tradition of making hand-made baby blankets as gifts for anyone who announced they were expecting. Our daughter is lucky enough to be the recipient of her last one. In May of 2000 Grandma Gustafson made a baby blanket in her favorite color--blue--wrapped it up and addressed it to her first great-grandchild. Since our little girl is that great-grandchild, she received the blanket. Mona mailed it to us and we opened it with Jim. It's just so special that she thought to do something like this, and we really cherish the blanket. I'm sure it will be well-loved, but we hope to keep it preserved well enough for the other great-grandchildren to be able to enjoy it too.

Get Out

Well, I've been "full term" since June 13. And I'm ready to have this baby! She doesn't seem to feel quite the same way, so I had to serve her with an eviction notice.


EVICTION NOTICE

TO: Baby Girl

Pursuant to the provisions of Illinois state law, the Golden Rule, and common human decency, (as well as several human-rights treaties, I'm sure!) you are hereby given an eviction notice and notice to vacate on or before July 4, 2008 the premises and appurtenances owned by your mother in her womb, which premises are now occupied by you.

THE REASON(S) FOR THIS EVICTION NOTICE IS/ARE:
1. Your failure to pay rent due and in arrears when demanded. A settlement offer to pay rent or vacate was served upon you on June 13, 2008 (commonly known as 37 weeks gestation), and you have refused and neglected to pay rent for your entire tenancy. Furthermore, you have continued to use and deplete all the resources available on the premise and have made no effort to compensate your mother for said usage, and have not indicated any willingness to cease and desist such usage--in fact, your demands have increased as the months have gone by.

While previously, an agreement may have been able to be reached regarding a payment of liquidated damages in return for extending your stay, the relationship has degraded to a point that eviction is the only option.

2. Substantial damage has been done to the premises as follows:
a. notable cosmetic damage including, but not limited to: acne, hair growth, lina negre, and spreading of the nose
b. irreversible structural damage including, but not limited to: stretch marks, loss of integrity of breast tissue, serious abdominal and uterine expansion
c. damage to the plumbing and other systems, including, but not limited to: heart burn, carpel tunnel, constipation, urinary incontinence, swelling of extremities and gas
d. numerous miscellaneous offenses interfering with other's enjoyment of the premises including, but not limited to: mood swings, leaking breasts, bleeding gums, cervical mucous and other untold horrors spilling out, rib kicks, and bladder punches.
e. Finally, we have received credible information that you have made a threat of serious, irreversible and permanent damage to the premises in the near future.

3. Your failure to comply with a material term of the lease as follows: in entering into this arrangement, your mother was made to understand that while there certainly would be some discomforts, you would grow quietly while providing your mother a sense of excitement, peace and fulfillment, as well as a noticeable "glow." You have failed to comply with these terms, causing your mother untold distress.

4. Behavior by you that adversely affects the health or safety of the landlord (your mother), as follows:
a. The damage noted in section 2 is incorporated here by reference.
b. Your constant kicking, punching and wiggling is causing considerable pain and discomfort to your mother as you persist in your attempts to take up more space.
c. Your refusal to relocate is putting your mother in serious danger of a complete mental break-down.

5. For other good cause as follows:
a. The term of your tenancy expires on July 4, 2008, and in consideration of all the grievances listed above, it is impossible to willingly grant you a 2 week extension.
b. Arrangements have been made for your comfortable relocation to much brighter, more spacious accommodations, rent free, with round the clock servants, plenty of room to move and grow—failure to accept this offer should be considered valid grounds for involuntary commitment.
c. Your mother has decided to take a sabbatical from her duties as a landlord, and said sabbatical cannot begin until you have fully vacated the premises.
d. Your father wants to meet you!

Dated: June 23, 2008

Jen Gustafson, Your Mother (landlord)

I hereby certify that on the 23rd day of June, 2008 at 12:00 pm I affixed a true copy of this above original eviction notice to the abode of Baby, the above-named tenant.

It's done!

Our patio was finished on Friday. It looks great and we have a table and chairs and Jim and Joanne sent Ed some fantastic adirondak chairs and table to put by the fire pit for Father's Day. We've been having breakfast and dinner out there every day since they finished and we just love it.
Romper has a little pool to cool off in and now he has shade that he can relax in so he doesn't seem to mind as much being outside in the heat. And we're finding it really relaxing to sit outside together--I forgot how much we've enjoyed our paitos in the past. I'm so happy that it is finished before the baby arrived.
Tonight, Jim and Joanne came over for a cook out and fire on our patio. We had grilled oysters, cantaloupe, steak salad with blue cheese, grilled crostini, and grilled peaches with raspberry sauce over vanilla ice cream. Ed was a master-griller and everything turned out great. We had a very enjoyable evening.

Kudos!

Eric has been plugging away in graduate school at Brown for a while now. But this year he's being published! It's a really big deal, and although I don't really understand all the scientific stuff in the paper, I know it's quite an accomplishment and it's great to see his smarts and hard work paying off.
His paper "Polycomb Group Gene Expression in the Sea Urchin" lists him as the first author and will be published in the July edition of Developmental Dynamics.
We are so proud of him!

So Jealous

Eric, Ed's brother, recently returned from a bachellor party and we are so jealous! He and his friends went down to the Virgin Islands where they chartered a boat and sailed around for a week. Here are some of the pictures he sent back. It looks beautiful and we so wish that we had been down there floating around in the bright blue water!

House of Babies

I'm starting to think we may have the most fertile house in the neighborhood!

It began in May when we found a rabbit hutch under our chimney. More accurately, Romper found a rabbit hutch under our chimney, but we don't need to go into that.

Then, the robin showed up, made a nest on the front porch and laid eggs. A while ago the hungry chicks hatched, and last week the chicks flew and I guess they've probably moved on now. We'll give it a few more days before we tear down the nest though, just in case.


Now, we have a mother duck and a nest chock full of eggs under a bush by our front porch!
The race is on to see which comes first--the ducklings or our baby!

Outdoor living

They have finally started our patio--yay!
Yesterday the crew came and marked out the boundaries and dug up the sod. Today, they are tearing out the concrete steps, and we've been told that (depending on weather) it should only take a week to finish. We are expecting some rain in the forecast next week though, but I'm hoping it will be done by Father's Day (and before the baby arrives!)
Jim and Joanne sent Ed a surprise father's day gift--two wonderful L. L. Bean adirondak chairs with cushions and foot rests. They have these chairs up in Door County and we affectionately refer to them as the "dream machines." We can't wait to put them out on our patio by our fire pit and relax outside.
I'm planning on starting some herbs, peppers and tomatoes in pots out there, and, hopefully, once the patio is done we'll have time to have some friends over for a bar-b-que before the baby arrives! I'll post pictures next week when it is done.

9 Months

Today I am officially 9 months pregnant. And we're still waiting.
We went to the doctor yesterday and everything is right on track and measuring exactly where it should be. The doctor said he thought that maybe the ultrasound we had 5 weeks ago just caught the baby during a growth spurt, because for the last few weeks, she's been measuring right on track. So, it was a relief to hear that we're thinking 7.5-8.5 pound baby instead of 10-11 pound baby... of course, they can't be certain, but it's still nice to hear!
Also, the baby is no longer transverse--for the last two weeks she has been head down like she is supposed to be, so we will just be waiting for her to decide that she's ready to come.
So far, everything has been so perfectly normal that I wouldn't be surprised at all if she shows up right on the 4th like she's supposed to. But, I'm getting pretty warn out, so if she's ready, it's fine with me if she wants to come early!
It seems unlikely that we'll get another ultra sound, so I think we'll just have to wait for her to arrive to find out what she looks like (probably a bit like Winston Churchill, at least for a while!).
So, it's just a waiting game now. The doctor said she could come any time from June 13 to July 14. Feel free to start making your guesses about her birthday, weight and length in the comments--who ever wins will be granted diaper immunity when we visit (unless it's Ed--you're stuck buster!)
If it helps inform your guess, Ed was 8 pounds 9 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long, and I was 8 pounds 7 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. Ed was 2 weeks early and I was about 12 days early.

Ed got a party too!

Last Friday the people at Ed's office surprised him with a baby shower where HE was the guest of honor! They dressed him up like a pregnant lady--complete with a fake baby belly, maternity shirt, too tight shoes and rubber bands on his feet so he would know what it was like to have them swell. He had a "baby" to take care of during the party too.

They had lunch catered and brought in an ice cream cake--butter pecan--and it was delicious!

For one game, they pitted Ed and I against each other in a race to diaper and clothe a baby doll. They gave us 30 seconds and we both ended up with partially dressed "babies" who certainly would have had concussions, if not broken bones, if they were real! When they gave us a full minute to do it, my baby was diapered and dressed, and Ed did get the diaper and some of the clothes on and it was fun.


They even brought gifts. There were so many adorable things for our little girl, but I think we got the biggest kick out of the daddy diaper change kit. It includes gloves, tongs, goggles, and a nose plug, among other "necessities" for diaper changing.
We had a great time, and it was so nice of them to throw this surprise party for the daddy-to-be!