In the meantime...

...the waiting continues. This past weekend Tish was sure that she was going to have the baby. But hey - isn't that the definition of Braxton Hicks contractions? The week went by, without any babies. At least we hope it's not going to be like what Elizabeth had to go through. Still, maybe I should borrow their sign! I wonder if anyone ever got a picture of it...

Nope.. no sign of the baby yet. Might as well put up a picture of the doctor not in scrubs, which is when I will see him

The Sen taxi service is always on call for the lady

My parents have been here from India. They were originally supposed to come for my cousin's wedding, but we timed the baby's arrival to coincide with their trip. (For everyone that believed that...) It's nice that they will be around to see the birth of their grandson. At least we h

Even dads are allowed to have some fun

Remember the brief period when Priya used to be deathly afraid of slides? Well, now she has figured out that climbing up the rungs is also fun in itself.

Waiting for water to boil

That's what it feels like waiting for a baby to arrive. But once the boiling starts, things happen fast!

This past weekend I went down to Texas for Brett and Rachel's (my cousin) wedding. It was a great wedding! The sad part was that Tish and Priya couldn't go (well.. more like Tish was 8 months pregnant...). In a way, I'm glad they didn't come because on Monday I was stuck at the airport for six hours (2 of them on a plane) because of weather conditions in Chicago. It's always great being at my aunt's place though - lots and lots and lots of good food! Thanks Sweety aunty!

My brother, Nitin, made a quick trip over from China. It was really good to see him again. He spent a day with us in Chicago, so he was able to visit with Tish and Priya. We went out to Texas de Brazil which is a great Brazilian churrascaria.

While I was away in Texas Christy, Tish and Priya went to Michigan for a baby shower. Priya got thoroughly spoiled - but who can resist such a cute girl?!!

Coming up for air

Here's just a quick note to say that we're still alive! Most of the work around the house has been finished. The nursery has been painted and carpetted. Our room has been painted, carpetted and furnished. And the kitchen has been re-floored. There was a bit of a snafu with the kitchen, which added more work. The original estimate for the flooring only had the kitchen floor. We overlooked the back stairs and landing which were the original linoleum. So coming from the back door, you would have seen carpetting going down to the basement, a nice laminated floor in the kitchen, and linoleum steps and landing. Hmm... I paid the installer a little bit extra on the side to do the landing, but then he ran out of material for the stairs. That left the task up to me. I found the laminate (under a different name) at Menards. The stairs were a little bit of a challenge since the pattern in the kitchen did not follow the long edge of the plank. So to match the pattern, you would have the cut the plank up in squares, and join them end to end. My jig saw cutting has never been remarkable, so the first tool I got was a table saw. The next purchase was an electric nail gun that gave me the most problems (I eventually found out I could use the pancake compressor I had with a pneumatic air gun). And thanks to Steve, the quarter-round was mitered (and it will never look as good as his!).

So here are some quick pictures. Finished ones to come later...

The bedroom minus the shades

The flat-panel TV that may live on top of the dresser

The kitchen floor

And the stairs...