anticipating madeleine's arrival

well, it's been a while since i've posted a general update on the pregnancy (this will probably be the last one since i am due in a week) and have had a few requests, so here we go.

it has been a busy past few weeks and i still have a bunch of things that i would like to do before madeleine arrives (this includes buying the child clothing), but the list is slowly whittling down and i'm feeling a little more prepared.

here are a couple pictures of the pregnancy profile.

i'm still feeling pretty good with the pregnancy, although i do feel a lot bigger. i've started to notice little things that weren't a problem even a couple weeks ago. for instance, all of a sudden i have a hard time looking over my shoulder when i'm driving because my body doesn't turn so well anymore. my ankles just barely started swelling last week, which i was hoping to avoid. i try to keep my feet up as much as possible, but it's not always possible with work. despite feeling big and having cankles, i still haven't hit the stage where i feel like i am dying to have her NOW and am counting the days. perhaps that is because i feel like i still have things to do and i'm hoping for randy to finish finals before she comes.

my aunt threw me a baby shower last weekend and it was great. we mostly just sat around, ate, and talked. my mother-in-law was even nice enough to come down for it. i got some great gifts and have to particularly brag about the beautiful quilts and bedding that i got. madeleine is blessed with two grandmas who know how to sew very well. here are some pictures from the shower, as well as a couple pictures of the quilts:

as soon as i got home from the shower, i made up the crib and it looks great.

for some reason, just having the crib made makes it feel more final that she really is coming. i think that randy noticed that as well - he walked into the room for the first time after i had made the crib and said, "wow, we're having a baby." i think that he's more anxious for her to come than i am, if that's possible. on sunday, he insisted that we pack the suitcase several times, although i've still managed to put it off. i really should get around to that...