Fall birthdays!

This Fall has been busy with birthdays! We celebrated Jack Farrell's first birthday on October 29th. He had a joint birthday party with Sadie Eggert and you'll just have to read Lizzie's blog post about it to get the full effect of the 1 year old's party in the pouring rain. . . here's the http://farrellfamilyoffour.blogspot.com/ make sure you scroll down to "Birthday Party Switcharoo" posting. We then had Madison's third birthday on November 14th, see photos below of her gymnastics bash with 15 of her friends from pre-school.

It's hard to believe that Madison and Mia are already three years old as it seems like just yesterday we were in the hospitals with them or patiently waiting for their arrival. They are now both in pre-school and have the cutest personalities. Madison with her expressive hand gestures and stories and Mia with her thoughtful and kind gestures. They are only 12 days apart so on November 26th we celebrated Mia's 3rd birthday. I got to see both of them on their actual birthdays which was a special treat. Both girls were a little sick for their parties so their Mommy's were busy coming up with "plan B's" but it all worked out in the end and I know they had a great time. Here are a few recent pics!

Welcome Sawyer Delagnes Muzzy!

Ryan's cousin Claudine and her husband Mike had their 3rd child on Saturday November 15th. We were all so excited for the arrival of Muzzy #3 and couldn't wait to find out if it was a boy or girl. Mike comes from a long, strong genetic chain of males and Sawyer didn't break it, he was the 18th male born into the Muzzy family over many, many generations! He joins his brothers Jackson Ray and Hudson Leo, three boys!! Here are some cute pics of them. . . he has a full head of hair and weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 oz.

Claudine, Mike and Sawyer, just hours after giving birth!

Ryan and I meeting Sawyer for the first time!

We brought Sawyer a "Superman" onesie!

So cute!!

Red Tie Gala 2009

Some of you may remember that 2 years ago I was heavily involved with the Little Sisters of the Poor benefit Gala, the Red Tie Gala at Neiman Marcus. This year I wasn't as involved with the overall planning but still helped out in some capacity with volunteers and the raffle. We donned our black tie outfits on Friday November 7th and headed to Neiman Marcus to enjoy the food, drinks and great music. We then headed to the after party hosted by the Sangiacomos at the top of the St. Francis Hotel. I think this was my favorite part as we found a seat right away and I could rest my swollen feet! :) It's a great cause as the Little Sisters help the elderly poor who are sick and have no one to take care of them.

Emily and Ry

A little tired as this was at the end of the evening but so glad we supported this cause!

Ryan and his red bow tie and red socks to match!

Essential Reading

Ryan doing his "essential reading" . . . he wanted to add his comments to the blog!

Who knew that there were so many books to read prior to having a baby?! And each one has a different title that appears to make them essential reading. I mean, really, what "Expectant Father" is going to say he does not want the "Happiest Baby on the Block" and learn as much as he can "Week by Week" about "Our Amazing Newborn"? The sheer volume of material is somewhat overwhelming. However, we also get real, direct advice from those who know best - our parents. It is hysterical when we tell our parents we have a stroller, a jog stroller, and a snap-and-go stroller. I think their comment was "We had one umbrella stroller and you turned out fine." Kidding aside, we appreciate all their love and support. Only 8 weeks left to finish all these books!

31 weeks TODAY!

Well, we are growing. . . if you can't tell from the photos! I am feeling great and as today we mark 31 weeks. I feel blessed to be feeling good and I love feeling the baby move. The baby has some serious kicks, turns and pulses that I feel throughout the day. Ryan loves to feel the baby move and we often lay on the couch just waiting for baby to move while starring in amazement at this miracle of life.

Truthfully, I'm feeling BIG! BUT my Mom tells me that I am not BIG I'm just pregnant which somehow makes me feel better. Let's be honest, no pregnant chick wants to be told she's "HUGE" or "BIG" just tell her she looks great and she's doing a fabulous job carrying this little one! For example, I was walking up the hill yesterday and saw this lady walking her dog she was all smiles (you do get lots of strangers just smiling at you when you are pregnant) and as we were approaching each other she said "how do you feel" and I said "oh good, thanks" and she said "well you're doing great and you look wonderful". . . wow, I was all smiles the whole way home! I will refrain from sharing with you all the crazy things people have said to me as there have been some ridiculous comments. Here's the lesson, when you see a pregnant gal just smile and tell her she looks great, that's all she wants to hear! AND thank you to all of you who are cheering us along!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Happy Halloween! This was our self timer photo of our Halloween night. . . don't we look festive! We had our good friends, Stephanie, Dennis, Jack, Anne, Julie and Chris over for some dinner and pumpkin carving. We never quite made it to the pumpkin carving but it was fun to catch up with everyone! Next Halloween, we'll be joining my sisters and their little ones (and Poppo and Grammy, my Dad takes the day off work to see the grandkids in their costumes!) on Chestnut Street with our little one all dressed up. . . can't wait!

Oh the places you'll go. . . Baby Dunn!

Last week, Ryan and I had a great 29 week check up with our Doctors (Dr. Musci (ultrasound dr.) Dr. Laurie Green (ob/gyn)) last week. We had another ultrasound to check the placement of the placenta (it was a little low last time they checked) and it has moved!!! This was great news as it reduced the chance of a scheduled c-section. The baby has grown and is weighing in at 3 lbs. 6 oz as of now. We were really surprised at the growth but felt blessed that everything was on track. The doctor asked us how much we both weighed at birth I thought he was kidding as I didn't think that mattered, BUT it does!! Ryan was delivered by c-section at a glorious 8 lbs. 9 oz and I was 2 and half weeks late (Mom and Dad had just moved to California from DC with my three sisters under the age of 3!) so I waited for them to settle in. . . arriving at 8 lbs. 13 oz. YIKES!!!! If these genetics matter we are looking to have a good 7-8 pounder! Regardless, we had a great visit at the doctors and felt so good about the growth of our baby. They now have ultrasound in 4D (it's so amazing we love the pics) so here is our little angel's leg and foot. . . oh the places you will go Baby Dunn! :)