Reese Witherspoon is one happy mama-to-be, even if she is "feeling very round" (her words, not ours).

The actress was in Chicago for "An Evening with Reese Witherspoon" and to receive the Renaissance Award at the annual summer gala at the Ritz-Carlton Chicago, an event which benefits the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago — but the buzz was all about her upcoming baby.

Though the 36-year-old beauty was tight-lipped on the sex or name or her third child, she did admit to the Chicago Sun Times that she's "very excited" about the pending birth, expected to happen in late summer or early fall. She also confessed to some cravings.

When it was suggested she might be avoiding foods like Chicago's famous deep-dish pizza, she quipped, "Maybe, but it's not easy. I'm always feeling like I'd like to eat everything in sight!"

She also gave a shout out to her colleague (who directed "Election") and friend Alexander Payne, who conducted the post-dinner Q&A with the star.

"Alexander was a big champion for me early on, and said, 'That's the girl I want in my movie,' so I've always had a soft spot in my heart for him. And we've subsequently become very close friends. We joke about this, because it hasn't happened, but we both truly do want to work together again. And I know we eventually will find a script and a time when that can happen.”

Well, it probably won't be anytime soon, that's for sure. Witherspoon is currently busy shooting "Devil's Knot" in Atlanta with Colin Firth.

"It's about a crime that occurred in 1993," she said. "It happened in Arkansas, and it's what I'd say is a very American story. And, after I finish that, I’m going to take a little time off — and go have a baby," Witherspoon said with a wink.

Sounds like a good plan to us.

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