Folly Beach Maternity Session

Monday morning, Charlie and I reunited with our wedding photographer while on our vacation. Surprisingly, Charlie did not complain one bit about the 5:45 am alarm. Her name is Kim Graham and she is phenomenal. I found her about four years ago on the internet and cannot say enough positive things about her. She LOVES playing with lighting and using natural light as you can see from the pictures below. Here are 4 "teaser" pics, which are all we currently have. When I have more, I will post more, but until then, here are Mason and I on Monday morning at almost 30 weeks. You can find Kim Graham on Facebook too.

Waiting All Year for This....Literally

So, July 4th holiday (2010), Charlie and I visited Folly Beach with my sister and her family. When we arrived, we instantly knew this is where we wanted to start our tradition of family vacation. I am HUGE on tradition. When we got back, we made plans to see if the in-laws would want to partake. They did and asked us to find the house, etc. So, after finding the house, booking it, and much discussion about family vacation; it is finally here!!! SQEEEEEAAAALLL!!! I have posted some pics from Folly Beach as well as our accomodations. I will try to update as best I can. Hello to relaxation, quality time with my family, shopping, lazy beach days, and my favorite Charleston-area eats.

If you are interested in vacationing in the Folly Beach area, you should check with Beth Lamm who has at least 3 different rentals in the area, that I know of. She is super organized, super easy to work with, and her properties are impeccable. Her properties also have great reviews.

Bikinis and Breakdowns

During the summer work weeks, Charlie and I often go to our neighborhood pool around 5-6 in the evenings. We are home from work, the pool isn't crowded, we catch up, and one of us likes to feel weightless in the water. Its great actually. I have been rocking my pre-pregnancy bikinis; however I have officially out grown those. How do I phrase this delicately? Oh forget it, side-boob is not attractive. So Friday evening, I tried out my pregnancy tankini, black and white print, trimmed in red. Once I got this on, queue the waterworks and emotional breakdown. To be honest, I do not know what the big deal was; my best guess is hormones. Its not that I am unhappy with my pregnant body; ironically I am incredibly secure rocking this little boy's baby bump. Charlie is so into this pregnancy and always makes me feel so amazing about myself and builds me up that I don't have time to be insecure about my pregnant body. However, the pregnancy tankini combined with hormones did not go over so well. In my mind, I attribute tankinis to growing up (no, I do not fret about aging either), being a "mom," something we wear to hide flaws, or something we wear becuase its not considered appropriate to wear bikinis anymore. I totally understand that others do wear tankinis while not pregnant because they feel more confident, more secure, or they are more conservative than me. To each, their own. Pre-pregnancy, I have not worn bikinis with the intention of showing off my body (which is exactly what they do), its just something I have worn since I was a little girl during the summer months. Bikinis are my norm in the summertime, so why do I feel the need to change my norm just because I am pregnant? I have wanted this belly for 2.5 years, and I have it, so let's rock it. To fix the breakdown, on Saturday morning I made a trip to my local Pickles and Ice Cream in Southpark and fixed this problem in a very "Mary" way. Behold my new maternity leopard print bikini.

Thank you Lord that you have blessed me with a ridiculous emotional breakdown, which only means that this is a healthy pregnancy and Mason is growing and developing exactly as he should. Healthy pregnancies mean tantrums and breakdowns over nothing and for that I am eternally grateful!! Have a great day ya'll.

25 Weeks

I cannot believe we only have 15 weeks to go until we meet Sweet Mason. To be honest, I am not going to update each little bullet point that I normally do for these posts. Instead I will just hit the highlights:

At 25 weeks and 1 day pregnant, I feel fantastic and trying to savor the last few weeks of feeling this way before the exteme heat, swelling, fatique, and discomfort completely set in. Little man has caused a total weight gain of 16 lbs and continues to move constantly. My belly button is in, but my former belly button piercing has flattened out and my actual belly button is getting pretty shallow. I got in trouble this week with Charlie for running up a balance on my Ann Talor LOFT card for maternity clothes, but I needed clothes and I took advantage of a promotion, so I "SAVED," right?? I continue to wait for USA Baby Charlotte to call to inform me all pieces of Mason's bedroom are here and to set up the delivery time. Charlie is adamant about putting everything together. Crown moulding is up in Mason's room and crib bedding is due to arrive any day now. I cannot wait to post pictures of his bedding.

On a similar note, as I type this, our dear friends, Ross and Lindsey, are in labor with their first child, Tatum. We received a call at 2:00 am this morning informing us that Linds' water broke. I cannot wait to go and meet this sweet child, and Mason is ecstatic, full of kicks, and ready to meet his future girlfriend. I will post pics of the happy family when I have them.

Hope ya'll have a great day.

Mason's Room is Officially in Progress

As I sit here and type this, our two dogs, Tonka and Stella, are cuddled up with us on the couch. I just keep thinking how much of a rude awakening these two are in for......but so are their mom and dad.

This weekend was low-key. We have stayed around the house and began official work on Mason's room. Let's just say, we could possibly be on a first name basis with the Lowes employees. Don't get me wrong, I have decluttered and organized what baby "stuff" we have received from people or my yardsale adventures. Charlie was adamant about painting Mason's room himself. Painting was completed about 2 weeks ago, and this weekend started the crown moulding project. So far, Charlie is 95% complete with this project. Here are some pics so you can see the nursery progress.

The paint color contrasted with the former builder paint color.







Pre-crown picture

The closet before the crown.

After the crown moulding was added.

Another picture of hubb's work.






Dad working on the lil man's room.

I love the angles in this picture.





It just makes me smile when I get to see Charlie working with all his power tools that I know he loves. I also find it incredibly attractive that my husband knows how to do things. This week, the crib bedding should arrive the nursery furniture is due to arrive any day now. Holy Moly, this is REALLY happening. SQUEEL, I just cannot believe we have been so blessed.

In other news, we are in the process of switching churches. We love our former church, but after some thought, prayer, and realization, we have decided the fit is just not quite right for this family. So I leave you with this thought that was discussed in this morning's service. You know on Sunday nights, sometimes we become overwhelmed or just not excited about tomorrow or what Monday brings. Maybe its because we have to go back to work, to the grind, to a job we find meaningless. Just remember, when these feelings overwhelm/overtake you, You and nothing are meaningless if the Holy Spirit is in the midst. Hope you have a Happy Monday!

Reagan Turns 4

Last Saturday, May 14, 2011, Reagan turned 4. My sweet, beautiful, adorable niece Reagan is already 4 years old. In the big picture, its quite amazing that she is 4 and just as fiesty as ever, but on the selfish side, I miss that cute infant/toddler who was so cute and cuddly. She is still cute and cuddly, but she is now a little girl and I fear there is not much more time that she wants to be cuddly. She takes dance lessons for goodness sakes. I arrived early to help my sister get her ready, french braid Reagan's hair in pigtails, and take care of last minute party details that are essential to a 4 year olds birthday party. Here are some pictures of the big event.

Welcome to Reagan's House













Some pre-party pictures with Lori, Gavin, and Reagan

Reagan and Mommy

Ice Cream Truck Fun with all Her Friends







Tinkerbell Cake

Cake is Served








Her Kitchen for her New Playhouse

Lori and I










Lori, Mom, and I

21 Week Update

Good morning sweet friends. I just want to start this day off with praise for another beautiful day, we are here; in the now, so let's make the most of this day that has been given to us. We have so much to be thankful for in all our lives: family, friends, blessings within, homes, warm beds, and people to share our lives' journey with. God is so good and continues to richly bless Charlie and me; I have no clue what we did to deserve any of what we have both outside and within. So thank you God for this day and for the many blessings given to us.

I have decided that I am going to attempt more blog posts. There is just so much going on, and there is so much I want to share. For right now, I am going to share the 21 week update on Baby Boy Cagle.

How Far Along: 21 weeks, 1 day

Weight Gain: up 1/2 lb per 19 week appointment

Maternity Clothes: Almost always

Stretch Marks: None

Sleep: Very well

Best Moment of the Week: Feeling our little man move more and more everyday and night. Also purchasing the stroller and carseat. It feels great to finally take action and begin preparing.

Gender: Team BLUE!

Belly Button: Getting more shallow

What I Miss: Nothing, I LOVE carrying this baby.

Symptoms: Nothing new really. My chin acne may be disappearing. Either way, I don't care, its my badge of motherhood that I wear proudly. But the sun may have helped clear it up.

Looking Forward To: A great weekend with a prenatal massage and Reagan's dance recital.

Milestones: I am the most pregnant I have ever been and blessed with a baby boy.