Oh well. I knew that I would be looking forward to the end of this Summer, since that would mark the end of my pregnancy and the birth of my little guy (yay!). And c'mon (giving myself a little kick in the ass)--I live in Chicago. I chose to live here, and if I can't deal with the weather, I need to move to someplace warmer.

I guess you all might have figured out that I haven't had the baby yet. I'm 38 weeks pregnant, so technically I could bake this kid for another month yet before the docs tell me he has to come out. I hope that my womb is not so very wonderful that he wants to hang out in there for more than a week or two more! Everyone keeps reminding me that the due date really means so little, but it's hard not to hope that October 6th (or thereabouts) will be the time.

This past weekend, we had two parties to go to. Before each party, I rifled through the few items of clothing I had to choose from, decided on something, put it on, and was dismayed at how big and unattractive I felt. In my rational mind, I knew perfectly well that I was fine--a normal, healthy pregnant woman--but I could not get over the feeling of just being... So! Freakin'! Big! C. did his best to tell me that I looked good and that most likely everyone at the party would be fawning over me. And he was right. So many people remarked at how good (and big! augh!) I looked, how I must be getting close to the end, how excited they are for us, etc.

We're picking up the birthing tub tonight. C. has been concerned that I would go into labor before we could get the tub, so at least he can stop worrying now.

What have I been doing? I've been keeping busy. Plenty to do before the kid makes his appearance. I'm cooking and freezing meals for future heating and eating, working on cleaning the house, picking up the last-minute supplies for home birth... I like having that list of things to do, ticking off each item as it's done.

Yesterday, C. and I went to visit our friends who had a baby less than ten days ago. He's so tiny and so beautiful. I could finally look at this little creature and "get" it--to see that, yeah, okay, our baby could be about that size right now in my belly. A real concrete example of the finished product, you know?

The new parents seemed to be doing okay, getting into the routine pretty well. I think we can do this thing. People do it all the time, right? We can do it. Sure! Of course.

(ack! I'm scared!)