"Pretty much ready."

We're down to two weeks (ish) until the arrival of Baby Nieman. People ask us if we're ready all the time. At the risk of sounding like ill-prepared (or nonchalant) parents-to-be, our answer is: pretty much. Car seats installed? Check. Baby monitor and breast pumps and last "assemble from pieces" must-have item put together and working? Check, check, and check. We've even thought to schedule as many "sleep in" days as humanly possible before the arrival of The Noisy One.

We spent last week checking off the last few things. We figured out the insert in the ergobaby (no easy task, as you can tell by Seth's face).

We (by whom I mean, "Seth") finally got the wall art project done (nursery-appropriate woodland creatures, which was a major compromise). He did indeed use shotgun shells for stencil weights. I love that guy.

So the nursery is basically ready for business. And baby laundry done and folded. This is likely the last time we'll ever be able to say that, and we know it.

We also toured the labor and delivery ward at Walter Reed (and were pleased- if a little disconcerted- to discover big, private rooms that make the shoebox of a room poor Seth had to recover in pale in comparison).

And we managed brunch in Baltimore with friends. (I may or may not have glared at Seth for hours while he downed pitcher after pitcher of sangria. A nice, well-deserved break, yes, for the Dad-to-be. And reminder for Mom-to-be that her turn is coming soon.)

Seth had what may have been his last pre-baby hunting trip, and- in a stroke of phenomenal good fortune and impeccable timing- got that Sika stag he's been chasing all season.

And I had my last solo (mis)adventure for awhile. Which involved a vandalized tire in a bad part of town,

an insurance company fail of a tow job that resulted in my car very nearly being taken to this place,

and the eventual report that my car had been "lost, or possibly stolen" followed by hours on the phone and its eventual location, followed by days of attempting to get the tire repaired (and, currently, a rented Hyundai of some sort.)

And this baby is finally obtrusive enough that I can't really run to relieve stress (or, in the case of this weekend, to flee sketchy parts of town!) So we've decided that, all things considered, we're "pretty much ready" for Baby Nieman's arrival (and perhaps even for the temporary settling-down that event will require.)

Especially if she's this cute (photo of the week: the adorable Lehua feeding an elephant statue.)