Our Most Recent Family Pictures

And finally, for the last in this current string of posts, here are our family photos that Nicole took for us. They're actually a mix of maternity and family pics, and we're - as always - grateful that Nicole can capture such great moments of our growing family.

And as for me... I am officially 39 weeks and 2 days pregnant. This was the day in Avery's pregnancy that she chose to be her birthday. We had all hoped that Owen would follow suit, but he is his own person, so we're still waiting. My due date is on Monday - that's the 4th of July to you all. As I'm sure you'd all guess though, I'm hoping he chooses to come before then. But we'll continue to be patient.

My belly is VERY BIG this time. But fortunately for me, I've seemed to only gain weight there (with just a bit of extra padding on my face). It is definitely different than Avery's pregnancy, and the plus-size belly has required some adjustments on my part.

I'd love to share more, but it is getting very late and I am exhausted (as is Ed, since he is still working long hours [and worked all weekend as well] due to the fire at his work). Keep posted for baby news, although you're all more likely to hear it first from a phone/text tree or Facebook.

And don't forget to look through the last four or five posts, since I just threw out a bunch more pictures from the past month.

Have a great holiday, Everyone!

A Father's Day Project

For Father's Day this year, Ed really wanted an old-school razor set. And since that is something I would NOT be good at picking out for him, I gave him the green light to get one a few weeks before the holiday.

However, I couldn't be okay with the idea of not surprising him somehow, so I decided to get the fixin's for making the Perfect Iced Coffee as proclaimed by the Pioneer Woman. It basically consists of soaking coffee grounds in water for at least 8 hrs, then straining the liquid through a cheesecloth into a container that you keep in the fridge. 

I wanted to do this small thing for him because he seemed to be having a hard time with work lately, and I thought it would add a little bit of happiness to his mornings. (And if you heard anything about the fire they had a week ago, then you'd completely understand why this gift ended up being such a good thing.)

What became the best part about it though was Avery wanting to help him make it. I was going to make it with her, but she really wanted to do it with him. It was very sweet watching them work together to make his coffee.

So this is her, working on her own (at the moment)... very focused.

She was really enjoying straining the grounds.

Daddy and Daughter Working Together

A Sweet Moment

Anyhow, we had a nice day at home, and even got to visit with Tom, Malinda and Andy on their way back home from vacation. And sometimes you just can't beat a relaxing day at home with your family.

My Blessingway

And here we have the photos from my wonderful Blessingway. For those of you who have never heard of such a thing, it's somewhat like a baby shower, only instead of being about welcoming the new baby with gifts, it's about honoring the mommy-to-be and showing support for her safe labor and delivery. The point is to invite the women closest to her and for those ladies to bring positive thoughts about motherhood and childbirth to be read aloud and left with the mommy-to-be. 

We also chose to incorporate the bead ceremony aspect of some Blessingways, in which everyone brings a bead that represents the honoree to be made into a necklace that she can bring with her to the hospital to remind her of those women who are in her circle supporting her in this new journey. 

One other thing we did was have my doula give me some henna on my belly (as well as on a couple of the girls that were still here when she did it). The henna was BEAUTIFUL! (And if you want to see it, let me know since I didn't include a picture of it here as it is a bit revealing to show.) 

The Blessingway is a really lovely concept, and I felt truly blessed to have Shoshanah host one for me.

Me and My Girl Before We Got Started 

(Ed was getting her ready to go to the pool, which is why she's semi-naked.)

Amy, Shoshanah (Holding Talia), Me, Dana, and Joanna

The Spread (and Notice the Stellar Work of the Publix Bakery Cake Decorator, Who Was Supposed to Write "Blessed Be" on It)

Dana and Joanna, Right Before The Messages Were Read

All the Lovely Thoughts

Shosh and I

Amy and Her Sweet Boy Jackson

The Beautiful Necklace

Thanks again, Shoshanah, for a truly lovely day.

Owen's Baby Shower

I'm trying very valiantly to get the majority of our recent pics up before Owen comes (well, to be really honest, to get A LOT done before he gets here - I even wrote thank you's already and just need stamps to mail them). So here are the photos from my lovely baby shower, hosted by Amy and Joanna (and so graciously housed at Amy's mom Jeannette's home).

It was a fondue spread, which I LOVED.

Kelly, Daniella, and I

Auntie Sarah and Mimi

They even incorporated my owl theme!

Randi dishing out some yummy fondue.

Pretty Shelly

Me and My Oldest Friend, Jennifer, and Her Cute Boy Braydon

Ed brought Avery towards the end of the shower to open a few gifts. You should've seen her with the magnifying glass that goes with this set!

Shoshanah and Her New Baby Girl Talia

I love this pic of Talia smiling at me.

My Wonderful Hostesses, Joanna and Amy, and I

And, of course, Me Holding Amy's New Boy Jackson

A Moment with Jackson and Auntie Sarah

These two were both worn out from their adventures during the baby shower.

It was such a lovely day. Amy and Joanna did a wonderful job and made me feel so very special. Thank you, ladies!

And Finally... The Nursery!

Well, we finally "finished" the nursery today. Though there are still a few things that need to be added, for now, this is it! We can finally step back and not worry about it anymore! 

And before you scroll down to view the pictures, I would be remiss to not mention how very fortunate we are that my Mom made all of our bedding for Owen, and we are so very grateful to her for that. (And thank you, Mary, for so generously ironing the curtains for us when you were here visiting on Tuesday.)

Without further ado, here are the long-awaited for pics:

And this, of course, is me - from last week to this week. It would appear as though I'm ready to go as well, wouldn't you agree!?!

Just 2 weeks and counting (and that's if he chooses to come on time - I'd be happy for early, personally)! Here's to families of four!

And by the way, Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful daddies out there - we're so lucky in this house that ours stayed up late with me getting that tree decal on the wall AND worked on finishing it first thing this morning. And that's just one of the many, many things he does for our family every day.

Some Mother's Day Fun

And here we've moved on to Mother's Day in our multi-post recap of the past few months... 

It started in the Reagin household with a wonderful breakfast in bed of fresh fruit and yogurt crepes topped with hand-whipped cream (coffee and specially bought low-acid orange juice on the side). Presents included a new CD, helpful items for labor and delivery, and the promise of a new nursing bra.

And then before heading off to visit family, we took our annual Mother's Day pictures in the greenway in front of our house, which I think turned out really well.

Then we rushed off to visit the Reagins at Aunt Kimberlee and Uncle Pete's house, followed immediately by a trip to Granny and Granddaddy's to visit with them and Mary.

And I'm pretty sure it ended with a lovely steak dinner as well, though if I recall correctly, it had to be eaten pretty late since we'd been so rushed throughout the day.

It was a great day for this Mommy though!