The statistics of your life.

One-third of Americans have consumed ground beef in the last 24 hours.

-- Good Eats

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More black men voted for Ruben and Clay during the last American Idol final than voted for Bush and Gore in the 2000 election.

-- NPR's Morning Edition

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By the age of 2, children can understand 70% of the language they will understand for the rest of their life.

-- Something my grandmother was told by someone at Piper's Gymboree class. This is weak sourcing, I know. Color me Ann Coulter.

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More than 100 million acts of sexual intercourse occur every day.

-- World Health Organization

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BabyWatch Update: We had our 40-week appointment this morning -- and just a little progress. She's at two centimeters ... Baby's in a good, head-down position (occiput transverse) ... and we're still waiting. We scheduled the non-stress test for a week from today, which is significant because a) we don't really want a bad non-stress test, resulting in induction, and b) Piper came the night before her non-stress test was scheduled. Stay tuned....

The waiting is not the hardest part.

With each task we finish, we think to ourselves, "Okay, now the baby can come."

I thought this as I came from our garage this morning after having installed the base of The Expectant One's car seat.

We've thought it a dozen other times over the last two weeks: After we finished Piper's Christmas thank-you notes ... after I assembled the changing table ... after the basic painting of the nursery was finished (even if the sheep on the hills are only sheep torsos, sans legs and heads) .... when we found the tools for pain management during labor ... after the bags were packed for the "hostipal" (as Piper calls it).

And of course, none of this speeds up the process at all. "Zuzu" (her in utero name) is on her own timetable, and she's keeping mum to her Mum about said schedule.

Tonight, I'll do a grocery run, pick up some essentials we're low on in the house. I'll top off the gas tank. After dinner, I'll put some plastic over the windows in Zuzu's room to help with a touch of chill coming in (and to keep our gas bill, pushing $400 a month, a few dollars lower, we hope). And once I turn off the blow dryer on that project, I'll turn to Laura and say: "Okay, now the baby can come."