Good Things

1. We've finished almost ALL of our projects before baby!  This included: painting the exterior of our house, trim, and front door, hung up all the nursery artwork, checked those last few items off our baby registry, tackled breast pump set-up, among other things...

2. Discovering the HBO series, The Newsroom.  Might just be my new favorite show, even if you're not a "newsy" person, this show is pretty good!  Thank you HBO for your clerical error that resulted in 3 months of this premium channel for us!

3. Making homemade yellow plum jam with my mom.  Yellow plum jam reminds me of summers spent  in Southern Oregon growing up, picking plums from my grandparents tree.  We had ourselves a Saturday night in, boiling, sugaring, and canning, and I've been enjoying the fruits of our labor for breakfast every day since.

4. Finding a bridesmaid dress that fits!  Have I told you, I'm slated to be my best friend's matron of honor 11 days after our due date.  Yeah, cutting it close, much?  Anyway...I finally found a dress that fits pre and (I'm hoping) post baby bump, that matches with the other bridesmaids.  Hooray!

5. I'm enjoying the slow change of seasons to autumn.  Admittedly, it is a strange feeling to not be preparing for school this year, since my August is usually marked with back to school organization (and jitters), but I'm enjoying the transition a new season.  My husband and I ate dinner on the deck the other night and noticed a hint of chill in the air - as if fall was declaring its impending presence.  Plus, with fall comes all of my favorite things; pumpkin-flavored everything, new fashions (and baby clothes) in all the stores, crunchy, color-changing leaves.  It's just around the corner!

6. My husband is the sweetest.  He spend Sunday night preparing snack bags for me for the week.  These include cut up apples, almonds, veggies, etc. basically munchies for me during the day, but pre-packed in ziploc baggies, ready to go in case we need to rush to the hospital (since they recommended we bring small snacks for during labor).  I should really be the one doing this since I'm not working, but he was determined to contribute :)

7. This amazing weather.  This might be the most beautiful summer Seattle has seen in years; sunshine, blue skies, warm but not scorching temps, it has been downright blissful!

8. Nesting.  I guess my nesting instinct has kicked in - or so my husband claims. In the past few weeks, I've planted our window boxes out front, did a deep clean of the refrigerator, reorganized parts of the basement, and been a vacuum bandit.  I will say, I am enjoying the pristine cleanliness of our house at present. :)

9. Knowing there's only 5 more days until the due date!

10. The growing excitement to meet our baby girl!  What will she look like?  How much will she weigh?  It's a crazy feeling waiting for a baby, but we couldn't be more ready or excited :)

image/teacupsinpeony