T-minus 7 Days

And counting. With only a week left until my due date, I thought it might be a good idea to document this last little bit. Not that I'm very excited about showing off how I look at the moment (maybe I should have changed out of the sweats....), but I think someday I'll like to look back and see it. Like once I've instantly returned to my pre-pregnancy weight/shape after giving birth. Because that's how it works, right?

I also got a nice video of Baby kicking Mommy. He moves a lot--I think it's him saying he wants to get out. I say let him out now. Though I will miss feeling those kicks. Some of them anyway....

The Sound of Music

With eight days and counting until my due date, we're trying to get everything ready and take advantage of the last bit of baby-free time we have. Ben's been sick the past few days, so that mostly involves hanging out around the house, eating soup and taking naps. In the meantime, I just try to ignore the multiple comments a day I get about how miserable/huge I look (just a little advice--expectant mothers still have feelings).

We did make it to our favorite Eastern Market on Saturday, where we were entertained by this man (who reminds us both of Grandpa Fisher) and his musical abilities.

Since we live on a busy street not far from downtown, it's not uncommon for us to hear traffic and occasionally loud conversations. The performance we witnessed this afternoon was the best that we've seen on the street so far. This woman (or man, we couldn't really tell), walked up and down the street multiple times singing gospel tunes. The sound's not great, but you get the idea.

Halloween and Stuff

For those of you who pay attention to that little widget on the side that counts down until my due date, you will notice that it has magically jumped ahead 10 days. Yep, my due date is now November 21st. Which means only 3 more weeks until the little guy comes. I found a doctor downtown who will take me this late in the game, which means no more 35 minute commutes to the doctor, and no hour long trip to the hospital when I'm in labor. Yay.

On Friday we went to the Detroit Institute of Arts. Ben has been wanting to see the Diego Rivera mural for months, and he was very excited to finally see it.

They had all kinds of Halloween activities at the museum that night. We tapped into our inner spookiness and decorated these sugar skulls. You might be surprised to find out who decorated which one....

There was also a show with acrobats doing all kinds of crazy, flexible things on ropes and bars that make a round, pregnant woman like me who's about to tip over while sitting on the floor feel slightly ashamed.

Then of course, we carved pumpkins at home. We had a contest and voted, but it was a draw (though Ben claims I can't vote for myself and I claim the baby and I count for two votes--and he votes for me). This one's a little more obvious as to who did which one when you know that Ben has become obsessed with mustaches lately.

De-Troit

We have been in our new apartment for a few days now, and we love it. We found a place in downtown Detroit, minutes from Ben's work. It's a good location, and we think we're going to like it here--for the next year at least. So far, we also really enjoy our branch--it's small, eccentric, and very friendly.

Unpacking has been slow.... With Ben working all day and me being the only one home to unpack, it's slow goings. Plus we still have a few important things to get, like couches. But we're slowly making it a cozier place to live.

I did clear out one corner of the spare room to prepare for the baby. It's not much, and there's boxes on the other side of the room, but it makes me feel accomplished. And a bit like a mother (10 points if you can find the Boise State memorabilia in this picture).

To break in our apartment, on Monday night we had a lovely cheese and fruit plate. Ben has been wanting to do a cheese of the month. We got Brie, which isn't super exciting, and we've had it before, but the Brie that we found was just too creamy-looking to pass up. It definitely lived up to the expectations.

We're still trying to get more updates on the baby situation. My doctors are having me come back in tomorrow to re-assess the due date. So hopefully I'll have some updates on that soon--they seem to be dragging their feet about giving us any kind of information.  But we're definitely excited to have him, no matter when he comes!

Our Little Fatty

We had another ultrasound today, since I switched doctors mid-pregnancy.  It was fun seeing the little guy again, though laying on your back for that long is a lot harder at 34 weeks than it is at 20. Partway through the exam, the tech said it looks more like he's due mid-November instead of early December. But at the end, she told us he weighs a whopping 7 lbs 9 ounces and according to his measurements is due October 27th.

She did say that the calculations can be off by a pound either way, but that's still a pretty big kid. I think there's no way he's coming in October--not only am I still carrying high, but I just call it a mother's intuition.  I hope I don't get proven wrong--one week is just not very far away.  Though I personally would be surprised if we made it all the way to Thanksgiving.  We're still going to plan on a December 1st due date until my doctors tell me otherwise (I meet with them again next week)

We got some great pictures of him-- here's a profile of him eating his fist. We got to see him yawn and put his fist in his mouth.  He has a huge mouth--he got that from his father.

Here's a nice shot of his squishy face. He's looking right at the camera and you can see the shadows of his eyes and his nose and lips. Not to mention those pinch-y cheeks.

Trips and Stuff

It always seems like nothing happens for a long time, and then all of a sudden there are three or four things to report on.  Maybe it's just me procrastinating a post. But this might be another lone one....

Last week, Ben's sister Lora got married in Logan, UT. We flew out for the event, which was beautiful, and we're excited to have Will in the family.  I'm mostly excited not to be the new one anymore.  It was also nice to get to see the whole family, even though it had only been a little over a month since we had seen the Utah Fishers (and Battys).

On our way out to Utah, we spent a couple of days in Chicago for Ben's work. I went out to Rockford and stayed with my Aunt Mariah for those few days.  This is my cousin Spencer, who's 3, and he and I are the "bookends" of the grandchildren.  We were watching Cars, hence the grin on his face.

The timing worked out that my mom was up there as well, so it was nice to get to see her and be spoiled by the excited grandmother-to-be.  Of course, that did mean that Ben and I had to spend about 48 hours apart....

In other good news, this week we were finally able to find an apartment! It's taken what feels like forever, with a lot of searching and even more waiting--owners in Detroit are notoriously bad at responding or making decisions of any kind. But we found a cute place with a great manager who actually responds, and we're moving in next weekend. But I'll talk more about that later.

I realize I've been bad about posting pictures of myself lately.  People are very surprised to find out that I still have seven weeks left, and we're often asked if we're having twins. Almost every time I meet another pregnant woman, not only am I bigger than her, but she is usually due before me.

Such was the case in our birthing class today.  The class was very educational; we learned a lot about when will happen, how to know when to go to the hospital, helpful breathing, etc.  I admit, it was a bit emotional for me to watch videos of women huffing in pain, knowing I'll soon be doing the same thing.  But we're so excited for our baby to come--I'm getting very impatient for him to get here.

But back on track.... I've decided not only to post a couple of pictures, but also a nice video of me doing DDR.  Our date last night included going to this arcade with antique games (in addition to a few more recent ones)--it was a pretty cool place.

This was an old moving picture machine that played the Phantom of the Opera when you spun the wheel.

I don't even remember what this guy did, but we did find out that Ben is a flirty lover while I am amorous and like oatmeal, whatever that means....

Domestic Canadians

Being a stay-at-home mom when you're not quite a mom yet allows quite a bit of time for projects. In fact, having projects to work on is part of what helps keep me sane during the day.

For my birthday, I received money to buy myself a sewing machine, which is something I've been wanting for awhile.  This week, I finally bought one, and I love it.  I even got a sewing box and a few other things to go along with it.

I thought I should keep my first project simple, since it's been a few years since I've used a sewing machine and I wanted a chance to get familiar with this new one. Burp cloths seemed simple enough, and here was the result (I thought my mom would particularly appreciate the I Love Grandma ones, since this is her first grandchild).

I've actually gotten into a lot of different kinds of arts lately, especially drawing and painting. Here's another baby project I did awhile back:

That's right, this is now one of those blogs where the writer posts all kinds of fancy schmancy homemaker-type projects she's done, with the secret hopes of receiving admiration from all her readers.  Just wait until the baby's born and you get 15 pictures of him taking a bath.

On a side note, yesterday I was listening to one of the radio stations I've found since moving here, and I guess I had never really paid attention to the commercials.  Maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised when they started talking about Ontario elections, web addresses that end in ".ca" and things to do in Windsor, Ontario.  I even heard them say "zed."  Crazy Canadians.