Thirteen days to go! We see Emma's little silhouette near the light at the end of the tunnel, and she is beautiful. We have successfully completed all the classes that we planned on taking. This week was a doppio, "Infant CPR" and "Infant Child Care". We will definitely have to practice the techniques we learned regularly until the steps become automatic. Perhaps "Emma the frog" will allow us to practice on her. The CPR class focused on CPR and choking. Although 911 is capable of teaching you these techniques on the phone during an emergency, I found it very desirable to learn and rehearse the steps in a classroom environment in a non-emergency situation. Does that mean I won't be a basket case if I ever had to administer the procedure? Probably not, but it did give Elena and me the opportunity to understand how much force to apply when manually pumping a heart, how much air to blow when providing oxygen, and how hard to strike the child in the back when attempting to dislodge something they have swallowed. You would definitely be surprised at the forces required when applying these life-saving techniques to a child. I am happy that we attended and hope that we never have to use them.

We had been looking for a rocker or glider for Elena and me to feed Emma in for several months now. We finally found one that satisfied our requirements and had it delivered Thursday. We were getting worried that we would never find something that we liked that was within our price range. In the end we chose something that would match our furniture in the living room so that it would serve us beyond Emma's nursing.

Elena went to the Dr. this week and was told that she dropped. There is still no effacement or dilation but I think Emma wants her Daddy to win the "Guess Emma's Birthday" competition. I have updated Elena's and Emma's Weight graph for the month of September. With 2 weeks to go, Elena and Emma are at an all-time high of 157 lbs (21 lbs over Elena's normal weight). I am really proud of Elena for keeping her wait under control. She looks so beautiful.

Elena's body has become quite swollen in the last two weeks. This is due to the fact that her body anticipates a significant amount of blood loss during labor. As a result, Elena's blood volume is being ratcheted-up to 150% of its normal level. Her fingers and toes are like little pig hooves by the end of the day, so I have been rubbing her feet a few times a week to push the blood out and to give her some relief.

So after further investigation it turns out that the storks that were in our backyard last week, weren't storks at all, but rather SandHill Cranes. It appears as though the storks have become another victim of our globalized economy and have had their work outsourced to the less expensive but equally talented SandHill Cranes. No worry, as the Sandhill Cranes are magnificent birds, at four feet tall and with a wingspan of 6 to 7 feet they are extremely capable birds, and I wouldn't doubt if Emma arrives on the back of one of these things like Harry Potter on Buckbeak.

Elena and I are trying to get as much in before Emma arrives. Elena has completed her and Emma's hospital bag as well as our checklist of things to do when we go into labor and in the days after. I have installed and balanced Emma's car seat which will now become a permanent fixture of our car, and will work on my hospital bag today as well. By the end of the day I will have all our bags loaded into the car so that when the big day arrives I will just have to load Mommy and go. If I remember. I am sure I wouldn't be the first man to arrive at the hospital without his wife.

Elena got to see her Mom this Saturday. Due to a combination of distance and illness it has been hard to get together. As a result, 3 months have passed. I think part of the problem was that her Mom has been too busy shopping for Emma. She rolled out a full-sized suitcase filled with outfits for Emma. Emma got real excited and started kicking as we "oohed" and "aahed" over each article of clothing. She also gave us some beautiful outfits that her co-workers purchased for her. That really touched us as these are people whom we have never met but have been engaged throughout this process and have even participated in Emma's various polls. Thank you so much for sharing in our excitement. Elena, Emma and I sincerely appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity.

Finally, just when I thought things couldn't get any better, Elena and I have been given the honor of being Godparents to our good friend's (Rob and Lissette) second child, Matthew, due November 20th of this year. I can't express enough how touched Elena and I are to have been bestowed this privilege. We have truly been blessed this year.