Patience

Maybe I'll have to name this baby Patience, because I sure feel like I could use some. Happily for the baby, I am still pregnant and all is well. She got too comfy and decided to stay put awhile longer than I thought, so even though I FEEL a week or two overdue, I've got 11 days until my official due date. I am dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced, and have been for over a week. Evidently I take a month to go through the first phase of labor. My midwife has all but given up on knowing when this baby will come, so she gives me her weekly schedule at every check-up just in case.
Being off of bedrest has been wonderful, and I am so grateful to everyone who helped us keep me down all that time. I've been freezing meals and cleaning house (looking for new renters for our basement apartment...it's been a mess) and trying to get another one of Ryan's online classes over with and praying for a passing grade! He has been so busy with work lately, too, and is generally discouraged because we had to sell his baby (the scooter). He sold it to our friends the Kelly's and they said we could go for a spin after the baby comes, since I couldn't ride pregnant, even with a "belmet" (my belly protection device, much like a helmet,that I dreamed up but Ryan didn't approve of).
While still on bedrest, Ryan and I celebrated our 4th anniversary! We feel so old. I couldn't do much and Ryan had no time, but two sweet girls who work with him and have become good friends helped me decorate the Loft above Juniper Hall, made us a cake, and watched Lily while we ate Pizza Factory, watched our wedding picture slideshow DVD, and exchanged backrubs and love letters. I got Ryan gerbera daisies this year because flowers are supposed to be the traditional fourth anniversary gift, so I got them in our wedding colors, and he got me some beautiful lilies. I was LOVING having so many flowers in my house! Ryan was probably bummed, but he was super sweet about it and we enjoyed our hour together before he had to go do homework.
The fourth of July was spent seeding bare spots in the lawn at our house, cleaning the basement, sorting through clothes that Lily HAD to play dress-up in after I'd already sorted and folded, and of course hitting the Cedar Parade. It starts just a block from our house, so we took a break from yardwork and walked Lily up to the corner where it begins, parking ourselves just off of main street in the only shade available. It turned out to be a sweet location because we were the first people that anyone saw and they all went throw-happy with their goodies. Lily scored a bag or two full of treats and toys, Ryan got a t-shirt, and we all got popsicles and bottled water. Lily's favorite parts (besides the goodies) were the SUU T-bird mascot, a person dressed up as a cow, and of course the horses at the end.
Now we wait until this little angel shows up, hopefully sooner than later!