impending birth

My due date is on Monday and let me just say it's been a long couple weeks! I've been having braxton hicks contractions pretty much everyday. Enough to get my hopes up and wear me out and/or make me oncomfortable. But apparently not enough to actually start any productive labor!

I'm also having trouble sleeping because I can stay in one position for very long before my hips ache or the blood drains out of my hands. Plus the heartburn that comes with lying down. Then there's the backaches that I get everyday!

Everyone keeps saying that it doesn't look like I've gained much weight. I suppose it must be true. I figured I'd take a belly picture two weeks into my 9th month so I could compare it to the last pregnancies. My face does look thinner, but my belly looks just as big, in my opinion. Oh well.
I was really hoping the baby would be born on the 12th so he could turn 1 or 12-12-12, but alas, the 12th came and went with nothing happening. So now it's a race between him being born on Nathan's aunt's birthday tomorrow (the 17th), my old college roomates birthday (18th) or my dad's on the 20th. And hopefully I don't go much later than that because I'd rather have some recovery time bfore Christmas!
So here are a couple pictures to show my anxiousness about wanting this baby to come. First, one of my practice sessions to get ready for taking some newborn pictures. And second, a special note just for the baby!