The Babymoon

"Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages. Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom--there I will give you my love." 

-Song of Songs 7:11-12

What is a "babymoon" you ask? A "babymoon" is a honeymoon-like vacation that you take before the baby comes. It gives couples a last minute chance to reconnect and spend quality time together before their lives become all about recovering from labor, poopy diapers, and sleepless nights. I love how The Bible does not ignore the fact that couples need time to connect with each other and occasionally have a vacation!

Well Jamie and I had the privilege of taking a babymoon together these past few days and man was it relaxing. When we looked into where we should get away to, originally I wanted to go to Charleston or Savannah, BUT those are cities where you almost have to walk everywhere (more like pregnant waddle) AND if it rains there is not a whole lot to do. Being that we were going to go in April (one of the rainiest months of the year) we needed a place where we could do a lot of things indoors if the weather wasn't great and where we could drive everywhere. Hmmmm.....

So we came up with the idea to go to Pigeon Forge/Gaitlinburg area in the Tennessee mountains. Everyone who has ever been knows that it is very...hmmmm...cheesy, BUT it is lots of fun! We went to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Aquarium, the Hatfield and the McCoy's dinner feud show, saw a romantic movie, did some light shopping at the Tanger Outlets, went on the huge 200' high Smokey Mountain Ferris Wheel to see beautiful mountain views, ate a bunch of good barbeque (including some of the most amazing bbq nachos with queso...heck yes!), and swam in the heated indoor pool at the hotel to our hearts content. It did rain a lot, so I was glad that we choose the location we did.

Our energy levels were pretty well matched because Jamie was recuperating from tax season, which ended the day before we left, and I ...well I am 8 months pregnant where the saying "feeling tired" is an understatement. The first morning on our vacation, we woke up late, got breakfast downstairs, went swimming, and THEN decided we wanted to nap for a while. Normally, Jamie loves to nap and I am anxious to go see everything, but this trip we really balanced laying around and not pushing ourselves too hard with a couple of really fun outings.

Below Are Some of My Favorite Pics from the Trip

Hatfield's & McCoy's Dinner Show

Just trying this thing out for when Baby Girl Reynolds starts dating!!

The Aquarium

 We teased that this large very slow moving fish was Jamie's "spirit animal". 

 How cute is this photo? Apparently, both the penguins and The Reynolds are expecting!!

The Smokey Mountain Ferris Wheel

Views from 200' above the city looking at the mountains!

Maternity Photos

 Anyone remember this onsie from when I first told Jamie we were expecting?

 What can I say....I married a piece of work!!

 I keep trying to tell him my bump is better than his, but he doesn't believe me! Lol!

A fun appearance by Mr. Bryson, the Reynold's first real baby of the house!! 

A very special thank you to my friend Kate Joy, who swears up and down that she is not a professional photographer, but who has taken some of the best photos of Jamie and I EVER!!
She extravagantly gifted this photo session to me as a baby shower gift!
Kate you're the best! Love you!!

Showers for Baby Girl Reynolds

In March, I was blessed to have not just one, but TWO amazing baby showers! One was in the DC area and was thrown by my Aunt Beth and my Mom. It was attended with mostly family and had a special appearance by Ellen Marini who I was privileged to finally be touching baby bumps with (she is pregnant with her 4th). I enjoyed spending time with my sister-in-law Katy and getting to see cousins and aunts who I haven't seen for a long time! My Aunt Peggy (my Mom's BFF since college) blessed me with a fun tricycle diaper cake (how creative!!) and Aunt Beth's newly remodeled kitchen provided the perfect backdrop for a beautiful celebration.

In Greensboro, my small group girls, consisting of Emily Trader, Emily Tinsley, Jamie Springer, Liz Hinshaw, and Jenny Tinder, threw me a wonderful and very emotional shower to celebrate our upcoming addition to the Reynolds clan. My shower in Greensboro had lots of time to reflect on the tough journey that Jamie and I took to get to this place and had lots of happy tears. I woke up extra early the morning of to spend some quiet time in prayer in the nursery. Tears were flowing as I sat in thankful awe of all that God had done and imagined just how far he carried me over the last few years. My mom drove down from DC and she started falling apart only minutes within walking in the door and meeting my sweet friends. She was told "well now I know where Emily gets it from"....sooooo true!! My mother-in-law (Momma Terry), sister-in-law, and niece (Gianna) were able to make it in from the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Momma Terry gave the sweetest speech. Let me just say that I seriously lucked out in the mother-in-law department!! Katie Nash came down from Virginia, past students turned good friends came, my boss and girlfriend from RCC was there, and friends of all ages from church attended! The women who prayed with me through infertility said such heartfelt things. Through many conversations everyone agreed that Jamie was going to be a great daddy!!

Between both showers I was extremely blessed with so many things that we really needed and lots of fun gifts too! When I say blessed....I mean almost embarrassingly so! Every shower I came home from, I would have Jamie unload the gifts and you should have seen the look on his face at the sheer amount of baby stuff we were gifted with. But what I am truly most overwhelmed by is how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends and family who have supported us through such a hard time and who now are celebrating with us as we prepare to welcome this very wanted and loved baby girl into the world.