8/29/09 3 weeks (3 2/7) 
I wanted to take a picture of him in the belly mask, but he wouldn't fit! And he's growing so fast that I couldn't wait until our professional shoot. I wish I would have done it sooner! Who would've thought he would grow so much in just 3 weeks!?!
Here are just a few more random photos from our July... It's been a fun & busy month! We've been doing a lot of this lately:
And below is a cell-phone-photo of the boys eating their gummies (Juice-Plus) on the couch. Believe it or not, I was able to completely eliminate the furniture "artwork" with some crazy carpet cleaner I bought!
And below are some photos from my baby celebrations. Again, since many in my family are blog-shy, I have a very limited number of photos I can post. I just don't post pics if anybody else is in them. (Unless they have their own public blog, and/or say they don't mind.) But it's frustrating, because we had some REALLY cute and fun photos!!! So my sister (Annie) threw Kevin and I a co-ed BBQ Poolside Baby Celebration. It was sooo much fun, and absolutely perfect!
My other sister, Christine, threw me a Blessingway. It was so special and fun and meant so much to me. These (linked) are posts I had written previously as I was planning her Blessingway, and here's another that talks more about what it is.
Getting pampered and feeling refreshed... loving the company of my Mom and sisters!
The belly mask we made after the delicious meal. I mean, DE-LICIOUS, some of the best food I've ever eaten!Below, taken at a little carnival put on by SDFFCU.
And the last picture is just cute to me... the boys wanted the baby to have something to play with-- they each got their Lightning McQueen cars and put them in there for the baby. So cute! Already practicing their big-brother skills!
The Blessingway This post is mostly informational--- I'm planning a Blessingway for my sister and a few people were wondering what exactly that is. I thought it'd be easier to send them here instead of explaining or rewriting it in emails, etc. I learned about it from one of my favorite pregnancy books "The Natural Pregnancy Book" by Aviva Jill Romm. I'm super excited about throwing one for my sis!!!
The Blessingway started as an old Navajo ritual to celebrate any of the many changes in a woman's life (birth, menstruation, birthday, etc). It's become more popular amongst midwives in our culture, but it's taken on a pagan connotation to some. A Blessingway is not affiliated with paganism, and it can be adapted to any religion or none at all. It is simply a celebration of the coming of a new baby and the transformation of the new mother's life. It is a sacred time with close woman friends/family, where the new momma is showered with blessings and love, and her pregnancy experience is honored. We are doing this celebration in addition to the traditional baby shower. The shower has a different focus but this celebration focuses more on nurturing and preparing her emotionally & spiritually for her birth and motherhood.
Most blessingways have some sort of ceremonial aspects to them. Often some singing, definitely some foot massage for mommy-to-be and lots of pampering, yummy healthy food & drink, candles, prayer, sharing of stories or empowering anecdotes, and the "rituals" we are choosing to do are: planting a seedling/tree and making a belly mask (belly cast, see links below). This is why it's important to have only a small group of women you are close to and comfortable with. We are all close like sisters and want to nurture eachother and help in whatever ways we can, and mostly celebrate this exciting and powerful thing that is pregnancy and birth. We may close our party with optional sign-ups for a labor prayer chain and/or bringing meals after baby is born. This is all still in-the-works. The idea popped into my head at 3:45 this morning and I've been thinking about it ever since. If anybody is still reading... :) You can "comment" me if you have any fun ideas or thoughts.
Below are some informational links. (They are HYPERLINKED: meaning you have to click on the underlined {RED} word and it will direct you to the site). I've also included a little excerpt after a few of the links.
Blessingway Book (Mother Rising) Look at the beautiful belly henna picture above!
Blessingway ceremonies create a sacred and safe environment where a mother-to-be can explore the challenges and joys that lie before her as she approaches birthing and mothering. Surrounded by the most important women in her life, she gains a sense of power, confidence, and support that will help her rise to motherhood.
Birth is a key life passage for women. But modern culture has become preoccupied with the arrival of the baby-to-be and has lost touch with birth's profound impact on the expectant mother. While our most common birth preparations focus on getting women physically ready to give birth, the blessingway ceremony helps a woman to prepare mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for the work of birthing, and it opens her to her instinctive abilities, which will guide her as she steps into the role of mother
Natural Touch Doula- Blessingway
With a blessing way the emphasis is moved from traditional gift giving to offering blessings for the baby and family. During a blessing way ceremony the woman's close female friends are asked to gather together to honor her and her baby.
Mother Care - Christian Blessingways
A Blessing Way, much to the chagrin of the Navajo, has recently become associated with pagan rituals, yet a Blessing Way can be adapted to any religion or none at all, it's the celebration of the woman about to give birth that is of importance.
Although society seems to have trivialized birth so that baby showers are often commercially bent without much reference to the sacredness of the birth experience, we can choose to gather with women to honour the work of the mother and recognize birth as the transforming experience it is. The intention is always to create an atmosphere of reverence and love. We gather to create a space that is sacred but not serious. And since Blessing Ways are part of the creative process which is birth - anything can happen, Blessing Ways are joyful celebrations!
Chris, here are some pictures of belly masks. I had never seen the decorated ones... they are neat but I really like the look of the plain white ones. I like the ones that are offset diagonally off one shoulder. I had also never seen the ones with the hands on the belly- there are some really beautiful ones. Yours will be too, because you have a beautiful baby belly! Do you want to make the party even later in your pregnancy so your belly mask is 'farther-along'? Okay the two links below have photo galleries. They are made with a kit, but I have directions on how to make them without buying a kit.
White Belly Masks (click on the white image for the full gallery)
Painted Belly Masks (belly casts)
