Late evening conversation...

Jamie: "Um, honey? I think my water just broke."

Ben: "Ok...what do we do now?"

Jamie: "I DON'T KNOW! I'm not ready yet!"

So Joshua is on his way and we're off to the hospital. We'll let you know more when it happens!!! :)

Early morning conversation...

Ben: "Wow, J, it looks like you're really ready to have that baby!"

Jamie: "Ummm...thank you?"

Ben: "No, I just mean you look really front-loaded."

Jamie: "Front loaded? What does that mean exactly? I think you made that word up."

Ben: "I mean that I think it's really cool that you are carrying him so far out in front and you don't tip over. You just look like you should fall over!"

Some women want diamonds, some want a nice car, some want a huge house. I have all I want...a husband who sees me as an engineering marvel. :)

Holy Moly!

We have reached a new milestone...SINGLE DIGITS! We are only 9 days from Joshua's due date. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were announcing that he was on his way? Now he's almost here. He's still made no significant effort to join us, but he only has about 16 days until he is served with an eviction notice. My doctor won't let me go more than a week past my due date which was a relief because we want to make sure that he will be here with us no later than April 10 so his Aunt Jodi & Tio Jay can spend some time with him before Jay deploys in May. Whether he comes before, on, or after his due date though, it's all coming up very, very quickly. I guess we'd better get that hospital bag packed & have it waiting by the door, huh? :)

Happy Easter, everyone! He is risen!! What a joyful time to be bringing a new life into the world.

Warning: Objects in post may appear larger than they feel!

First, I want to point out that there is a shadow behind me that gives the illusion that I'm that much bigger. Second, I want to point out that I can't believe how huge I am! I mean, I know I'm pregnant and that being this big is normal...but oh my gosh! Holy hugeness, Batman! I guess I forget how pregnant I am until I see a picture of myself. That's probably why I don't have very many pictures of me. I look down and see a very different picture. I look much smaller from my point of view! :)

The calls & emails have started. Formerly pregnant friends have told me that the calls to check on any progress would begin soon and they were right! We haven't had internet service since the move until today, so I haven't been able to check my email regularly. Since I havne't been able to email everyone right back right away, some people (like my sister, Jodi, who is SO EXCITED IT'S GETTING SO CLOSE) think that since I haven't responded, I must be in labor. :) So, just in case you're reading this regularly and wondering what's going on, here are answers to the frequently asked questions:

1. Nope, no progress yet. If you're really interested, I'm having contractions every 4-5 minutes, but they are just practice ones and can continue for weeks before they actually start meaning anything. :)
2. Yep, still sleeping through the night. And it's wonderful!
3. No, I'm not uncomfortable or miserable. I'm perfectly happy and so is Joshua.
4. No, I'm not doing anything to 'jumpstart' labor. He'll come when he's ready.
5. Yes, we'll call/email/text message you when something happens.

I have a list of people to call/text message/email and we'll be bringing it to the hospital. If you want to make sure you're on the list, feel free to leave a comment or email me. If I don't respond right away...I'm probably taking a nap. Or maybe I'm in labor. :)

You know you're getting big when...

Spring has arrived here in Virginia. The forsythia are blooming and there are all sorts of daffodils & other spring flowers popping up. Friday was a beautiful day and my friend Kristen brought Savannah over for a walk and a quick shopping trip. We went for a walk around my new neighborhood and then headed over to Target & Carters. Once our shopping was done, we got back in the car to head home. As I was sitting down in the car, my pants decided that they had had enough. RRRIIIIIPPPPPPPPPP! They split right down the front of the left leg. I'm not talking a small rip either. I'm talking from the hip to the knees! I've never had a pair of pants do that before! Now, in all fairness to the pants, they have been getting a pretty tough workout. I've had them since about 24 weeks and they've been my only pants so they've been worn every day (except for the days that they are allowed to rest because I'm too lazy to get dressed and instead wear my sleep pants around the house all day). I had been hoping that I could get through the end of my pregnancy without buying another pair of pants and thanks to my sister in law, Carly, I can! She brought me down some clothes when they were here last weekend and one pair of jeans actually fits me quite well. Carly, I've never been more thankful for your generosity than on Friday afternoon. :)

Today, we came home from being out and about and found a package at our door. Don't you love getting packages?! Packages that are too big to put in your mailbox so they have to leave them by the door are the best. They make you happy even though you don't know who they're from! This one happened to be from a dear friend of the family, Jean Giordano. She and her husband, Sam, were close friends of my nana and papa and are basically family. We opened up the package to find the most beautiful, hand knit blanket that Jean had made for Joshua. It's soft, and blue, and will be perfect to wrap him up in when he comes home from the hospital. He loves it already...see?

Now that I can....I don't want to!

We are all moved in to our new place thanks to my wonderful, supportive, willing to drive 8 hours to help us move heavy furniture in-laws. Randy, Stephanie, Brian, Carly, we could not have done it without you...thank you again and again!!!! We can't forget Timothy's contribution either. He provided smiles and giggles and cuddles when they were needed most. So now that we're all moved in, I can finally get organized and nest. The thing is, now that I can...I don't want to. That time has passed for me. Now, I want to sleep & rest & relax because we all know that won't happen anymore in a few weeks! I'm waiting on that final burst of energy everyone says comes at the end, but it's nowhere in sight. So for now, we'll be living among the boxes & chaos that comes with a new move.

On a baby note, Joshua is considered full term this week. Yay! At my last appointment, the doctor estimated he's about six pounds and she says that he won't be too big as long as he doesn't go too far past his due date. That was music to my ears! He seems to be perfectly content where he is has made no effort to move to the outside world. My doctor says that my due date is most likely quite accurate, so we've given up hope that he might be early. I'm not upset that he probably won't be early. I'm still sleeping through the night and I'm treasuring those long, sleep filled nights. I won't rush giving them up! Plus, it gives Ben & I a little more 'just the two of us' time. Not to mention...who wants to rush labor & delivery?! Not me! :)

Definition

Full (adj): containing or seeming to contain the greatest quantity or number possible
Synonyms: brimming, bursting, chock-full (or chockful), crammed, crowded, filled, jammed, jam-packed, loaded, packed, stuffed

While I know that Merriam & Webster were not thinking of how a woman 35 weeks into pregnancy feels when they defined the word 'full', it really is an accurate description! :) To see how accurate, check out this website - http://www.pennhealth.com/health_info/pregnancy/000088.htm. It's a cross section drawing of the body that shows the changes that a body goes through to accomodate pregnancy. It's incredible and frightening at the same time. I should note that it's obviously a woman and she's not wearing a top. It's nothing more than you'd see during a 'wardrobe malfunction' during a superbowl halftime show, but I figured I should warn you all the same. :) I don't even notice that part really...my attention goes directly to the poor lungs & stomach. Yikes!

Tomorrow, I will be 35 weeks pregnant and although I'm sure that there's no possible way Josh can get any bigger than he is now (there's just NO MORE ROOM!), I've been told repeatedly that oh yes, hahaha, I will get bigger. I have no complaints (other than the few really, unbelievably, incredibly painful kicks & punches that take my breath away...those really hurt!) about being pregnant. This pregnancy has been so smooth & uneventful...both Ben & I are so thankful. Joshua's arrival in 5 weeks (or so) seems so far away and so close at the same time and while I'm excited to meet him & share him with all of you, I am feeling a bit sad that he won't be all mine anymore. Right now, I know he's safe and warm and is getting everything he needs. I don't have to worry that much about him. In a few weeks, he'll be in a world that is cold and loud and bright and strange and mean, and the worrying will never stop. This being a mother thing is rough! Of course, all the worrying about worrying is really tempered by the fact that I get to see my husband become a father. He's so excited! I can't wait to see him hold his son. :)

The celebration cannoli

Tonight, we signed our new lease! Who would've thought we both would've been so happy to move?! We're both really excited to move into our new place for many, many reasons. The full size washer & dryer, the two fireplaces and the huge bedrooms are only a few of the perks. Personally, the thing I'm most excited about is the fact that there is a bathroom on EVERY FLOOR!!! A little thing for some, a very important thing to pregnant women. Back to business...after leaving our new place, Ben suggested that we celebrate. Since champagne isn't an option, we dropped by Don Corleones Brick Oven Pizza to pick up one of our favorite treats....cannoli! Unfortunately, they were all out of the traditional ricotta filled ones, but they had something even better. CHOCOLATE ricotta filled cannoli!!!! Can you hear the angels singing? I sure did as I was eating mine!!!Joshua definitely enjoyed the cannoli too. He's a big fan of anything sweet though. :) No question about it. He is his father's son!

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands...

If there were sound on this blog, you'd be hearing constant applause! We are so, so, so happy...we found a new place to live!!!!! It is a beautiful townhome only a few miles from where we are now. We both fell in love with it as soon as we walked in. The first floor is the garage, powder room, laundry room, den with a fireplace & sliding glass door leading to a fenced in patio. The second floor is another powder room, living room, kitchen & dining room (with another fireplace) and a breakfast nook/sunroom with a sliding glass door leading to a deck overlooking the fenced patio. Third floor is the master bedroom with two walk in closets and a jacuzzi bath & standing shower in the bathroom and a second bedroom with a full bath. So we will now have two bedrooms, two bathrooms and two half baths! Holy moly! There are hardwood floors throughout, new carpet & granite countertops. The best part? We'll be paying significantly less in rent each month! We are so thankful!! We're going to sign our new lease (a 24 month lease!) tonight. I'll post pictures as soon as I can and we'll be sending out an email with our new address as well. We'll be moving in on March 8...yippee!!!!!!!!!!

Another baby brain moment...

Sunday at church I went with Savannah's mommy, Kristen, to pick up Savannah from the nursery. The ladies in the nursery were just falling all over themselves to let Kristen know how wonderful Savannah was and how beautiful she was. Then I heard one of them ask, "so when are you due?". I actually looked around trying to figure out who she was talking to. Then I realized she was addressing me! I had completely forgotten I was pregnant. How I could possibly forget I am pregnant is totally beyond me...I can't even see my feet anymore because of how big my belly is! Of course, this is coming from a woman who shuts the refrigerator door on her belly. On a daily basis. Multiple times. Honestly, sometimes I worry about myself.