Most of you may know, but Lily is in Connecticut visiting Shauna and Winter.  On Friday, I took a day off of work and Andy, Lily and I ventured off to Portland.  We took Lily to the Children’s Museum for a few hours of play (she has been once before).  Her favorite activity there is the grocery shopping area.  She also enjoys playing with clay.  After the museum, we met up with my mom for an early dinner and an early bedtime.  Lily and Nama had to fly out of PDX on Saturday morning at 6:30am (which meant waking up at 4:30am to catch a 5 o’clock shuttle).

Lily was so excited and restless in the hotel that it was hard to get her to sleep.  At one point, she was laying quietly, but broke the silence to tell me the following:

“Mom, when my baby brother gets older, I want to marry him.”

When I informed her that this would not be the case, she seemed a little distraught and asked me where she was going to find a husband.  Funny girl, so worried about this at three years old

4:30am came and Lily was UP and EXCITED.  As far as I know, the shuttle and plane ride with Nama were successful.  Shauna and Winter took the train to the airport so that they could meet up with them immediately.  Then, Lily, Nama, Shauna and Winter rode the train back to New Haven together to begin a week of fun!  Lily and Winter will get to celebrate Easter together (today) and Winter’s 2nd birthday (April 11).

Meanwhile, in Oregon…  Andy and I spent Saturday morning at OMSI (Andy had never been and I had not been in years).  It was a lot of fun:  We particular enjoyed the pregnancy exhibit, the brain-teaser puzzles in the lobby, and learning about the Lyre Bird!  Watch the full video below to see some of the “tricks” of this amazing bird!

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After OMSI, we met up with Melissa (who was on her way to Corvallis).  She and Alan graciously let us spend the night at their super cute downtown apartment in Portland while they were away.  Saturday night was a poker tournament (neither Andy nor I cashed, though we came close).  And then Sunday was the drive back to Bend, which is where we are now.

Lily will be in Connecticut until next Sunday — approximately 9 days away from Lily (this will be the longest yet for both Andy and I).  We will survive although we miss her much.

On my 28th week of pregnancy.  Moving along.  No news to report.  We think we are settled on a name.

As mentioned, Erik came for the three day weekend.  We bored him in a super-long poker tournament on Sunday (part of a 12-week series, where points are accumulated, and big money prizes are given to the top twenty point leaders at the end of the series).  Anyhow, Andy took first place at Sunday’s tournament and I took second place *sigh*.  This moved Andy into second place overall and me into third place overall as far as point standings.  6 weeks left!

Lily loves movies.  We do our best to try to limit her screen time, some days are clearly better than others.  There is a direct relationship between the amount of screen time she gets and the lack of sleep we get.  Her current favorite movies include:  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the old one, which she calls “Willy Wonka”), The Princess Diaries, and Alice in Wonderland (Disney Cartoon version).

Also, we are trying to emerge Lily in classes through Parks and Rec:  Monday Gymnastics, Tuesday Swimming Lessons, Wednesday Soccer, Thursday Swimming Lessons.  She does great at class — she loves hanging around the teacher, and is very good and following directions.

I will get some photos up soon.

In pregnancy news:  I felt the first external kicks last night.  Andy has yet to feel them.  They were subtle, but they were there.  I think I am 21 weeks along about now?

The contractions are pretty regular, about every minute or two. But, the doctors and nurses think that with normal progression, she will be delivering around 5:00 am, Wednesday morning, October 8th. (10-8-08) for you Asian number-lovers *wink wink, Grandma*.

Anyway, I just thought that I would let everyone know that Stacey has been a real trooper. She has taken it all wonderfully, allowing (what seems-like) hundreds of visitors come and spend time with her, bring her food, company, attention.

Kristy and Bob have been here all day, keeping us company. They’re great.

So, it’s time to get back. Probably next post will be about our new addition.

Today, at 9:40, I have my weekly appointment.  My doctor just said to come in as planned and they would see how far along I am and give me some more details, etc..

Although I have been having contractions all night, nothing has picked up in intensity or regularity.  I will know more once I see the doctor!

However, one this is clear…  Lily is on her way!

Second presidential debate is on tomorrow night (Tuesday).  The questions at this debate are supposed to come from the audience (or internet submissions) and not from the moderator.  Always looking forward to these.

Tonight is the vice presidential debate.  I don’t know if excited is the right word for me to use.  I am interested to see if it is as one-sided as I think (hope) it will be.

Today is also my last day of regular tutoring.  I am turning over all my regular clients next week to other tutors.  I will tutor a few hours next week here and there – mostly just people who I have worked with along time who want to squeeze in some extra hours.

Andy has been on the brink of catching a cold or getting sick for the last few days.  There is something starting, but he has done a great job of fighting it off.  We both hope he can stop it before it really starts!

Things that I cannot WAIT to do:

I cannot wait to:

• have normal sized feet
• sleep on my stomach
• shave my legs, without it being a “process”
• workout
• wear my rings
• sleep in the same room as Andy (I have to sleep on the couch most nights… Not that sleeping will happen much when Lily comes)
• see my feet
• walk, not waddle
• wear jeans
• use the bathroom a normal amount of times per day
• give Andy a normal hug
• fit into a booth
• carry heavy things
• help Andy with more chores (kitty litter)
• have a night with no leg cramps
• hold Lily!

When the doctor came in, she measured my belly and felt my stomach to locate the baby.  The baby is positioned head-down (which is good, and it will be very unlikely for her to turn now).  She is getting ready to come!  The doctor also told me not to expect a small baby!  She said, “Don’t expect a 7 pound baby to just come popping out!”  Looks like I will have a bigger baby to deal with.  Both my sister and I were big babbies, so this isn’t much of a surprise.

16 days until due date…  I am pretty ready for her to come.  Up until this last week, the house has been clean and prepared.  With a broken vacumm and lots of tutoringthis week (to make some extra $$$), I have fallen behind on my house chores!  Laundry, dishes, and a messy living room have taken over.  I need to get this taken care of before Lily shows up!

It has a little holder below for supplies and the bassinet can be removed from the top to reveal a changing table.  This bassinet is very portable and will be easy to carry along (the removable top part).  Also, since the crib is in the baby’s room, the bassinet is for while she is sleeping in our room.  I have a feeling that the baby and I will sleep in our bedroom and that Andy will be spending some nights in the guest room.  He has to work 8-5 every day, so a good nights sleep is very important for his survival!  We will see if this is even possible

Andy has arranged to take one full week off of work when Lily is born.  He will return to work after the week is up (part-time for a while? full-time?  I don’t know).  Whatever it is, I am sure it will work out just fine!

Today, I am having lunch with some friends (Brooke and Renee Peterschmidt.) It will be nice to see them. Brooke, who was also our wedding photographer, recently took some family pictures of Shauna, Colin, Terrie (Colin’s mom) and the rest of the family. Her website is www.lastingexpressions.us – you might be able to go check out some pictures there if interested.

After lunch I have 3-or-so hours of tutoring… Not a bad day.

For those of you that need to waste some time, here are some things to look up on youtube. You won’t be disappointed:
- Anything by Flight of the Conchords (I particularly like the “threesome” clip – check it out, might have bad language)
- Manoj (India’s telemarketer elite – very funny!)
- Christian the Lion (if you haven’t already seen it)
- Paul Potts Britain’s Got Talent audition (a favorite clip of all times)

I am sure I am missing some more hysterical favorites!

Slow day at Borders today. None of our usually people watching crowd has shown up – there are about 4-6 people who come regularly… We (my father and I) have been trying to figure out their life stories. Gives us something to do.