Babywatch 2014.

Well, November 3^rd (the big d-day) has almost come and gone. Baby Nieman continues to show no signs of dislodging from her comfortable (for her) position, and the obnoxious baby apps have switched from alarmist (“Do you have varicose veins? Bad skin? Hemorrhoids? Fat ankles? No sex? Gas? Nothing to wear? The constant urge to pee?”) to patronizing (“Still no baby? Your time will come!”)

It’s Monday, so I did the only thing that made sense. I got up, went for a swim, had breakfast with Mom, and went to work. Seth and I have settled into the thought that “this baby will come when she’s ready,” which is kind of nice. Viewed through those particular rose-colored glasses, every diaper-free day following a decent night’s sleep is a gift.

Not that we’re not excited for her to join us. It’s just that we’re not wishing away this time, either.

So we had another quiet weekend at home. November weather had finally arrived (although around here, it’s probably not here to stay), and Saturday we hung out in bed all morning and watched the gusts of wind blow new piles of leaves into our previously cleaned-up yard. We watched Army’s devastating loss to Air Force on the couch, and then went for a bike ride.

Oh, and I cooked. Vats and vats of soup and other freezable stuff. I must be in “nesting” mode, and since the nursery is basically ready and I’m always kind of a fanatic about the cleanliness of the house, it’s manifested itself in my sudden doomsday prepping where food is concerned. I think Seth is getting offended (the implication being that we will literally starve to death if I don’t cook every night), but he’s been pretty indulgent about my insistence that we peel ten pounds of potatoes and roast a farm’s worth of broccoli and butternut squash. Luckily, my favorite thing on the planet is this soup, because we’re going to be eating it for months.

Sunday I had a Kennedy Center date with Michelle and Grace, who was on her best behavior for her first “big girl show,” the world premiere of highly acclaimed musical The Little Dancer. We had a terrific time, and it was an incredible production.

Seth took Ashton and his son Gabe to try out the new fishing rod Seth got Gabe for his birthday. And then dragged me up to Damascus for a farewell barbecue for the Causeys.

Oh. I almost forgot. We also survived Halloween. With almost no trick or treaters and having just survived a seriously long week (Seth, especially, had been pulling late nights cramming for a big midterm), we lit our pumpkins, ate a few of the chocolate covered pretzels we had stocked up on for the occasion, and passed out on the couch. (The one on the left has to be the photo of the week. Are we ready to be tired new parents or what?)