...start your engines...

The next update will likely be an announcement of some kind.... Not to go into detail, but I do believe early labor has started (quite robustly) and my friend Sandie came over to hang out with me and distract me...she's decided to start timing my contractions since I guess they're coming faster that I think they are (?) -- they aren't all that bad, just pretty uncomfortable, and I can talk through them no problem, so we're still early in this fun game of birthing.

You'll probably hear from Taggy next with a full report -- might have news for you tomorrow or the next day -- Wish me a short, smooth and healthy delivery !!! xoxo h

Day +7

It's hard to imagine that someone so large in the mid section can eat sooooo little. I spend hours preparing the turkey only to watch Heidi the Great nibble away. Heidi is still very active walking the dogs and doing odds and ends. Her nature is not to sit still, so quite often she tires herself out. We are enjoying how our dogs (Potter in particular) are paying closer and closer attention to everything Heidi does. It's as if they are just waiting for this to be over and the routines to resume.

Keagan flew in from school in hopes of meeting his little sister to be. We all had a nice visit. He will return again from school for Winter Break in 2 1/2 weeks. Oh....Mr. Dylan has completed his first week of culinary school and loves it. He's quite impressed with his selection of Ninja knives to slice and dice small objects using various techniques.

Well...that's all for me for now. Have to take Keagan to the airport in about an hour. Hey...if you think Heidi looks big in the blog photo, you should see the one I took of her last night. "Iceberg" scale : ) love & kisses

No news is....no news

Nope. No baby. Not yet. But I got to enjoy a leisurely and decadent Thanksgiving holiday -- didn't lift a finger (so guilty!). My mom took over the heft of the kitchen duties, including the shopping, prepping, cooking AND the clean-up (how terrible am I?!). Tag deep-fried our turkeys again this year - spectacular as always.

I continue to roll around the house, larger than life...feeling those "deep sea" movements in my belly...and wondering what it will be like to have a newborn in this house. As eager as I am to reach the end of this pregnancy, I'm anxious about the enormity of the baby's arrival. Not the birth -- I'm as prepared as I can be for the challenge of birth -- just the incredibleness of her arrival...it's overwhelming to think about. Maybe she's waiting for me to settle my heart about it? Are you ever really ready for the arrival of a firstborn? What an awesome responsibility...

Let's talk about Dad

So, my dearest Tag has been on the receiving end of a vast array of reactions when folks find out we're expecting. As you might imagine.

Our friend Karla, who's been Tag's close buddy forever and ever, is nominated for most extreme reaction on the "WOW !!! I'm So Excited For You Guys!!!" end of the spectrum. I think probably Leah, Tag's college-age niece, is a shoe-in for the opposite end of the spectrum (her reaction went a little like this: "Are you serious? Uncle Tag is going to be like 100 years old when that kid goes to college!").

In any event, we can all agree that Tag is a trooper, and he's my personal Super Hero. He didn't sign on for more kids when we married...he didn't even really sign on for 400 lbs of dog when he married me (!), but he went along with that too. And he's been so amazing through all of it. This baby is Tag's ultimate gift to me, and I'm so so so blessed to have him for a life partner.

Ninth Month Musings

Due Day is coming to a close...and it makes me think back all the way to March of this year, when I first confirmed that I was (amazingly) pregnant (and on my birthday no less!). What a gift this pregnancy has been. Six years of hoping ... praying ... and suddenly, fast-forward to November and I'm counting down the days (hours?) when we'll all get to meet this precious and much anticipated addition to our family.

We spent the past nine months staying extremely busy -- this pregnancy really didn't slow me down at all until the past couple weeks. We finally 'finished' the back-yard and the Garden House turned out perfectly.

The year was full of concerts (seven total! including Eddie Vedder at the Orpheum, which was incredible) and performances (saw Wicked -- awesome, and also caught a Cirque show), camping in Michigan (in a tent, in the POURING rain, on a DEFLATED air mattress - we made it through one night and packed it in...sorry Paul), and Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City and Sharpie 500 (yes, we did our best to fit in, and I think we did an okay job -- we just pretended we were at a Harley rally :-) ).

So we've drug our little one around to all sorts of noisy cultural events and hope it's provided her with a full neurological cocktail of positive stimulation. She sure is active in the womb...maybe we over did it (?!)

Ready...set....

The nursery is stocked with tiny diapers, cozy onesies, and soft blankets --

We also hung a drum lamp and a white roman window shade, but I haven't taken photos of the room with those additions yet.

Here is the incubator in action, at 39 weeks and 5 days.

Tick Tock... Three Days till Due Date

Thought a blog might be a good way for distant friends and family to follow along as we prepare for the arrival of Baby Graham. I'll post photos along the way so you can see what the nursery looks like, what the belly looks like...

Yes! I'm still working, and VERY GLAD for the chance to be productive and focus on other things, because as those who know me well understand, waiting is NOT something I am good at.

In fact, I have been a bit irritable lately (sorry 'bout that) but I easily remind myself as often as possible that things are going so well, I'm so incredibly blessed by this pregnancy, and before we know it, it will be over and we'll be on to a completely new stage (BABY STAGE!!). So - I continue to enjoy my now gargantuan beach ball of a belly, and the movements of the Belly Monkey inside, and try to get as much good sleep as possible.