The arrival of Zinnea Rae Reardon (July 30, 2011)

Our sweet little girl finally arrived on July 30th, one day after her due date. Alesha went into labor about 4:30am on July 29th, but Zinnea didn't make her final appearance until 11:37am the next day--only 31 hours later! Zinnea weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and was 19 3/4" long. She's already growing, having put on about 9 ounces by her first doctor's visit on Wednesday. She's doing great!

Here are a few photos of Zinnea and family following her birth. Enjoy :)

More to come!

Mike, Alesha and Zinn

Belly and fruit series-final edition (39 1/2 weeks)

Hi everyone,

Believe it or not, Alesha and baby are creeping toward the anticipated due date, which is this Friday (July 29th)! Here is one last fruit series photo for your enjoyment-a watermelon! It's actually fairly believable that this particular watermelon could be inside Alesha's belly.

We will make sure to let everyone know once the baby is here and eventually post some photos (probably sometime in the middle of the night in a state of extreme sleep deprivation). In the mean time, here are a few more recent photos as well of Alesha's expanding belly and swollen feet.

 Last weekend, Mike and I went to Dupont State Park to wet our feet and relax in the sun. It was awesome!

Alesha's swollen feet, squeezed into her Chacos. Booooo!

Love,

Alesha, Mike and baby

Professional photos by Jonathan Myers (a.k.a., Uncle Jon)

Here are several (of the many) photographs taken by my brother, Jonathan, of my growing belly. We spent a few hours at Curve Studios in the River Arts District and on the train tracks taking photos on early morning recently. Many thanks to Jon for sharing his talent and time!

Enjoy,
Alesha, Mike and baby

38 Weeks-Belly Shock Waves

Check out baby Reardon's amazing acrobatic skills, only able to be seen from the outside of Alesha's belly. Those movements are starting to feel pretty intense as the baby's amount of room gets tighter and tighter. Soon enough we will be holding this little one in our arms.

Enjoy!

Love,

Mike, Alesha and baby

38 Weeks

We are down to the wire ladies and gentlemen. Let us know what you think.... boy or girl? Both (that is scary)? What day? What time?
As we both finish up our jobs, start breaking ground on our house, temporarily relocate, build a shed, Lesh finishes her semester, and I continue to guide and help write a guidebook, we are hoping for a few more weeks before birth. BUT, the biggest and best suprise of all is on its way and we can't wait to see who has been growing in Lesh's belly all along.
The picture above is from Long Branch Environmental Center in Big Sandy Mush- go there for all of your blueberry pleasures. We took some video where you could see hiccups bouncing from the belly but it was too big of a file to download. So, you will just have to see it in person.
Enjoy!
Mike, Alesha +1

30 weeks

 We have an outty ladies and gentlemen. The little one is growing too quickly for Alesha's bellybutton to maintain its comfortable inny position. Turns out, there are many unexpected sacrifices that expecting moms have to make and this is just one of them.
Most of you know that we are now living in Arden with Roy and Sue and yes, our house finally sold! We are always pushing on Alesha's belly and occasionally the baby pushes or head butts back. The baby should be about 3 1/2 lbs now and is developing its ability to see.

25 1/2 Weeks

Well folks, not only is there is a lot going on in babyland (kicks, movements, karate chops, ect) but the same goes for the soon-to-be parents! Life has been somewhat chaotic in last few weeks, but Mike and Alesha know things will work out eventually. Anyway, back to those kicks--Mike and Alesha are really enjoying that and spend almost every night sitting together, one hand each on Alesha's belly, feeling these amazing movements! It's the coolest thing.

Here are some recent photos of our growing baby and subsequent growing belly. All of a sudden it seems like Alesha's belly is expanding rapidly. Even strangers are doing a double take as if to say, "Is that lady eating too many cream puffs or is she pregnant?" Maybe both, they wonder.

Top photo: 24 weeks; Middle photo: 25 weeks; Bottom photo: 25 1/2 weeks (yesterday).

Mike also put together the baby's crib over the weekend (see below). It's exciting to see something tangible, like the crib, come together! The reality that we'll have a tiny, wonderful baby soon is becoming more and more vivid with every kick, baby item assembled, and expansion of belly.

Stay tuned for more details!

Love,

Mike, Alesha and baby