Our Last Hurrah and False Labor

Saturday I "kidnapped" Eric and we went to have a big last date before baby arrives. We started the day at Morning Glory Bakery here in town and then headed down to Des Moines.   We did spend a couple hours at Babies R Us and Target buying a few last neccessities for baby, but then the rest of the day was just about us and fun!  We ate at Q'doba for lunch (one of Eric's faves!), went to see the Body World exhibit at the Des Moines Science Center (something I'd been wanting to do all summer!), and then did dinner (at Panera Bread - reminiscient of our first date) and a movie (Real Steel).   It was a really fun day just spending time together and doing some things we might not get to as often or as easily once baby is here!  Here are a few pics from the science center of our rocket race (you can judge who the winner was) and of Eric being a meterologist.

 It was hard to get a good pic of the screen itself, but this is the cool effect of what happens when you hold up something green in front of a green screen!

As for the false labor story... on the way home (and well into the night), I was so glad we'd made the time we had for our last hurrah, because I became more and more convinced that baby was on the way.  Unfortunately, it was not the case.  Anyway, I started having Braxton Hicks contractions sometime around dinner - they've been pretty constant for the last month, but have yet to be consistant.  But - not so last night.  On the way home from Des Moines around 9:00, they were exactly 10 minutes apart and were stronger than any of the other contractions I've had up to now.  Then at midnight when we finally went to bed, they were still consistant and were down to 8 minutes apart. I woke up to go to the bathroom at 2:30 and timed contractions at 5 minutes apart and was not able to fall back asleep - partially due to the contractions, partially to the mounting excitement.  They continued at 5 minutes apart for an hour and a half, and I got tired of being up by myself, so I woke up Eric at 4:00... and the contractions promptly stopped.  : (  I was pretty disappointed, because I'm READY!  Anyway, I can only hope the 10 hours of contractions were productive for something after all the sleep I lost and emotion I wasted!  :)