Almost here.... 40 weeks

This could be it. I've waited so long to feel what labor feels like, and now I think I might just get my chance!
Last night, Rowdy and I went on a 'last hurrah date' while Mom and Lori took Cody to his special water fountain and out for mac-n-cheese at Marco's. We had a lovely dinner sitting outside at Wildwood. While we were there, my contractions started getting more noticeable and frequent. Still in the mildly uncomfortable arena, but definitely all-over contractions, including down low - which I took as a good sign.
After dinner, we walked up to Papa Haydn's to splurge on decadent dessert. The walk was longer than I remembered (10-12 blocks maybe?) and the stronger contractions made it pretty challenging to concentrate on our conversation while walking. Dessert was HEAVENLY - Rowdy had the cheesecake and I had a chocolate truffle cake. Blissful.
Because I haven't been sleeping much lately, I was determined to get real rest. Sadie suggested I take a homeopathic remedy for sleep, so I did and fell into a lovely slumber. The contractions have been strong enough to wake me up throughout the night at times, but afterward I could get back to sleep. Everytime I've gone to the bathroom since bedtime, I've noticed something that could be from my mucus plug. All good signs.
Now I'm up in the moonlight at 4:30 AM ('my' time in recent weeks) because I was thirsty and couldn't stop thinking about labor. It feels eminent, which is a new feeling for me. I welcome the contractions. They are comforting to me, even in their increasing discomfort. I can feel our little girl moving down and squirming against the pressure of the contractions. She usually does a little stretching when each one is over. They are every 6 minutes right now and VERY noticeable (i.e. my breathing changes and I feel the need to move my hips during each one). I will try to get some more rest and then hope for real labor to begin tomorrow.
I can't describe how excited I am to birth our little girl into this world. I have very high hopes that we will hold her in our arms very soon. And while I will be happy however she is born as long as she is healthy and strong, I wish very much to be able to birth her naturally the way my body was designed to do. I can feel how strong my body is and I want to give it the chance to do what it clearly knows how to do. I want to experience the miracle of childbirth - that is my wish.