The Last "Belly Bumps"

Just a couple final shots of reading at night with Roland. He's been great about giving up the lap time, and the chair Brian bought us has been a lifesaver.

Each night you HAVE to read at least one book about a piece of construction equipment.

Zeus was the only dog that knew I was pregnant. He did the last time, too. Here at the end he's been amazing, he stopped barking at the door when I would come home and would jubilantly greet me with kisses (big licks), following me around the house where ever I went. Last night I was pretty disappointed thinking about the coming surgery. He curled up with me and snuggled up to the baby, as if to tell me he was thinking of us and everything will be alright. Thanks Z!

Early on Roland thought my growing belly was pretty funny. One day I lifted up my shirt and chased him like a big-belly monster. Then we bumped our belly's exclaiming, "Belly Bumps!" and he died laughing. Could-not-breath-on-the-floor-laughing. Time to time from then on the belly would emerge and we'd bump our tummy's in a fit of giggles and talk about the baby. Most times Roland would tell me he had the baby in his belly, but I think as time went on, and mine kept growing, he realized that indeed, it was just me having the baby. So tonight, the final night of the belly, we did our final Belly Bump. I just hope he's as excited when the belly's gone and the baby's here!

I've haven't written too much about the pregnancy because I'm just a person who "considers it a vacation when you reach the destination". Tomorrow, Brian and I will drop off Roland at school and prepare for surgery, welcoming a new life into our family. It is absolutely nothing short of a miracle, one that we sometimes can barely process from the sheer amazement that accompanies it. Right now we are just holding our breaths in anticipation, desperately hoping everything goes OK and the baby is healthy. There's a moment I'm looking forward to tonight, when the dust settles and it's just Brian and I in the quiet with our new, healthy baby. That's when I'll finally start to celebrate.

Thank you, to everyone, for your love, support and encouragement during this time.