Two in case you haven’t noticed[s].

1. I have a LOT of odds and ends posts that I’ve been saving, haven’t gotten around too, or have been otherwise held up on and am getting to them in fits and bursts. Is that a saying?
2. I recently uploaded pics from both Tony’s phone and mine. Like, a year and a half worth of pics. I’ll start with Tony’s. View his full collection here.

I was in early labor!

Remember this?!?!

Perfection.

At Off Our Rocker in January.

Jordan and Becky outside of his new apartment.

The view from his balcony.

On Easter Sunday….fell asleep during service.

Just last week.

…to be continued with my phone. Probably later tonight.

Well, tonight brought on some very short (<15 second) contractions spaced almost exactly 8 minutes apart. They persisted for a few hours until Ashley fell asleep. Certainly nothing major, but pretty exciting nonetheless and certainly a step in the right direction. Could this be the start of our adventure? We shall see. In keeping with the advice of our favorite birth instructor (Hi Emily!), we’re trying to keep in our normal routines through these first little contractions. Tonight that meant watching the end of Project Runway (Go Chloe!) and a pretty disappointing Next Food Network Star, even despite the addition of my boy Alton Brown. Somewhere in there I made a quick run for some pregnancy fuel and a full tank of automobile fuel, which is one less thing I’ve got to think about in the coming days. It should also be noted that Ashley informed me July 2 is Lindsay Lohan’s birthday. Maybe stay in there until the 3rd, Ali?

On a more serious note, I’d like to take a second to thank everyone who reads this and has given us reams of love and support over the past nine months (and beyond, I suppose). It’s pretty awesome that you all keep coming back to see what we have to say. We love to get everyone’s comments and poll votes and page views. It’s wonderful to know that we’re not alone in our excitement and anticipation of Alizabeth. Thank you all. We love you and treasure you.

And a public note to Ashley, who quite literally makes this child possible… Over the past nine months, you have constantly been putting our daughter’s (and often my) needs ahead of your own. Every day I am amazed at your persistence and steadfastness in the face of an ever-expanding figure and the intermittent losses in mental capacity (pregnant brain!). You are an amazing woman to have tackled this pregnancy head-on and not only nurtured a healthy baby, but reinvented and improved yourself (and me) in the process. I am forever thankful for your tenacity during the past nine months. I consider myself blessed to have you as a part of my life. I am in awe of what you have accomplished and am very much looking forward to what we will do in the future. I love you.

We now return to your regularly scheduled waiting….

the weather’s held up today and we’re taking full advantage of the warmth and bit of sun. there’ve been some crazy birds bustin around which are quite entertaining. the ice cream trucks are making their rounds. ah, summer. also had a long walk and some errands this morning. everywhere we go folks comment on the bursting-forth-ness of ali and it is kind of nice to tell people "yesterday" to the ubiquitous "when are you due" question. anyways, tightening and backaches here and there but no definite action, yet.

So please don’t think we’ve some how forgotten you! It’s been borderline comical, the loved ones who think updating them has slipping our mind. Believe me, we wish we had something to tell as badly as you’d like to be told!

Today we vaccuumed out our respective cars (which was way more of a drama than it should have been. Blame no one carrying cash these days, Out-of-Service machines, Saturday morning traffic, and numerous car washes), had an impromptu business meeting, walked to the local teryaki joint for bubble teas, I napped while Tony did some stuff around the house, and are now about halfway through the second season of Project Runway. I finished Harry Potter this morning and that makes me sad. I miss it!

No contractions. No breaking of water. Just, what I assume, is typical late-late pregnancy fatigue, irritability, and inability to get/remain comfortable.  I have no idea how people go one, two or more weeks late. Please, God, don’t let me still be pregnant next weekend. Although I am sure, like most things, this is something you just have to take one day at a time.

As I’m sure is fairly obvious, today Ali is "due" to enter the world. I’m kind of thinking that’s not going to happen. Maybe tomorrow though. Maybe even EARLY tomorrow morning. Wouldn’t that be nice! Basically I’ve been feeling fine. Large and tired and cranky but okay other than that. I’ve slept really well the last two nights. Tony says I had a couple contractions last night and told him I’d been having them for a few hours but I don’t remember any of that (I tend to talk/have full conversations in my sleep).

This morning we took a hike-ish walk to and around a local county park. We did the same thing last Tuesday and had some major action later (although that may be more due to the stripping of membranes) so we shall see if we yield results from this latest endeavor. Either way, it was good to get out of the house, which I didn’t yesterday. The weather here has been very strange. Cloudy, overcast, threatening rain and yet very muggy. At the same time there are a lot of random sunbreaks so it really messes with you. Wednesday we went to the library and I was happy to find Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which I am now almost done re-reading in anticipation for the release of the last book in the series. Also, it’s a really good distraction…nobody is pregnant at Hogwarts!

I hope this baby comes soon. After my mom gets off work late tonight she has a break until Thursday evening (thanks to fourth of July) and Billie will be back in the country Sunday. Plus, to be quite honest, I am just through. I have little desire to boast about how overdue my child was and I am fully aware that each day she stays in she grows that much bigger. If I’m hoping to push this girl out with no pain medication, I’d prefer she be nothing remotely resembling massive!