June 10, 1956

2016 has been an exciting year for our family. Not only did we welcome Dylan, but we were able to celebrate two important milestones last weekend - Poppy's 80th birthday!!...and Nane and Poppy's 60th wedding anniversary!!! Having only graced this planet for 34 years, the idea of being alive for 80 years and being married to someone for SIXTY years is something I just can't understand yet. Looking at old pictures of Nane and Poppy, I can only imagine what it's like to have seen so much change over the years...For those of you who don't know Nane and Poppy, they are pretty incredible people. They have created an amazing family that we're so proud to be a part of, and they continue to be super involved in all of our lives - keeping in touch with us by text, Instagram, Facebook, and via FaceTime! I would bet that not many people can say that their grandparents are fluent in modern day technology like ours are!! Anyways, we were so happy to be able to celebrate them with our family. Here are a few pics:

What a good looking family!

Ally had the awesome idea for all of us grandkids to take a photo with our families that together would spell out:
"Happy anniversary Nane and Poppy.
We love you very much.
Since June 10, 1956."

Below are our favorite outtakes (left and right) from our photo shoot.
The one in the middle was the one we used for the family photo.

We think the one on the left best represents us :D
What do you think??

2 weeks old already!

It's hard to believe that it has already been two weeks with Dylan on the outside! I have to say that I feel way more rested than I did in the third trimester of pregnancy, despite waking every 2-3 hours to feed and change Dylan every night. Dylan has already attended her first meet and greet with a DC politician, and socialized with the up and coming OBGYNs in this town. She attended a parade in Shaw, and went to brunch at the local favorite, Le Diplomat with her Auntie Sheela and Uncle Erik from C'ville. 

She's officially a DC gal now. 

At two weeks...

Our favorite thing to do together: snuggle

Our least favorite thing: the bath

In other news this week...we introduced the bottle to Dylan.  I have been pumping off some extra milk for when I go back to work, and the pediatrician advised us to introduce the bottle sooner than later because Dylan would be more likely to reject the bottle than the breast since she's been such a good breast feeder! Well, she had no problem with the bottle either. Must be because it gave her some special bonding time with Daddy.

Jill got a fantastic new haircut!  She's looking good and feeling good as she kicks off finals week!! Everyone send her good luck!

And last, but certainly not least, this important document arrived this week, marking the end of medical school and the official beginning of my career as a physician. No more tuition payments!!!  Hip, hip, hooray!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

Dylan is 6 days old

After Dylan's delivery, I quickly got back on my feet and Dylan impressed the pediatrician with how healthy she was, allowing us to finagle an early discharge! This let us hit the road down to DC on Thursday rather than Friday...ahead of the other memorial day weekend travelers.

With plenty of boxes left to unpack, we moved back in to our new home in DC for good this time, complete with Dylan. Grandma Chris drove Dylan and I, and David brought Jake down.  Jill, Rachel and our niece Ashley came after school on Friday by Amtrak and when they got in they went running around all the monuments at the mall in the dark (sounded like lots of fun!). 

Here are a few good pics from the weekend:

After we finished taking pictures for a top secret mission (more on that soon), we snapped a few family shots.  Here are some of the good ones!

We were sad to say bye to everyone on Monday...but we're looking forward to our fun summer adventures together ahead!

Visitors for Dylan

We are already back and settled in to our new home in DC! 

Before we left, so many people came to welcome Dylan.  

She is already SO loved. 

Auntie Stace and Auntie June (who by the way is managing Dylan no problem with a severely broken clavicle- ouch!)

Poppy and Gigi.  Dylan's middle name, Thea, is a nickname for Theodora...Gigi's name.

The Link gals managed to sneak in a visit before visiting hours ended!

And of course, Dylan's big sisters.  Those girls will be unstoppable!

Thanks to our other visitors who we didn't catch pictures of - its so nice to know that Dylan already has so many people looking out for her in this world!

She's here!!!!!

Miss Dylan Thea was born May 24, 2016.

7 lbs.  21" in length

She's perfect in every way!

Already face timing with Auntie Sheela

Proud Grandma

In love with her Daddy

Today she will have lots of visitors!  More pics to follow!

While we wait...a blanket for Dylan

While we all anxiously await Dylan's arrival, I have been trying to keep busy with things that don't cause my feet to swell.  Today I finished a blanket for Dylan!  I'm thinking that it will probably be a stroller blanket or a blanket for tummy time (when her fancy pink elephant one is not around).  It's really warm, and nice and thick.  This is the first time I ever did an i-cord (the green border) and I'm excited with how it came out!  Real knitters would surely be able to tell that a beginner made this blanket, but hopefully Dylan will love it anyways. 

If you happen to be a knitter, I used a free pattern from Purl Soho (here).  I didn't use all of their yarns because they are pretty pricey.  But their yarns are beautiful and now that I know what I'm doing, I might splurge on their yarns if I make another!

New Pond Farm

Rachel decided that for her mitzvah project she wanted to work with animals, which made volunteering at New Pond Farm an obvious first choice!  New Pond Farm is a 102-acre educational center and farm in Redding, CT.  Their mission is "to connect people with the land that enriches and sustains us all." There is also a dairy annex, where David was able to find some delicious chocolate milk to snack on while Rachel was working!  There are so many events happening there - from school field trips to astronomy lessons at the observatory, and at any time visitors can walk around and check out all the animals on the farm.  If you happen to be in Redding, CT, definitely check out their website (New Pond Farm) for upcoming events! 

Rachel volunteered in the learning center taking care of the reptiles and amphibians. Thatcher Taylor patiently trained Rachel in how to take care of the animals, and in no time she was totally comfortable taking care of them on her own.  She's a natural! 

We all fell in love with the animals.  Chester was immediately labeled as Grandma Chris' boyfriend.  Jill was smitten by Bazzle.  Blaze, Monica's favorite, was always calmest in Jill's hands! And David just loved Scales....NOT!!! He's terrified of snakes! You could find David at the dairy annex with his chocolate milk :D

We only wish that we could continue volunteering there.

Thank you New Pond Farm for the awesome experience!

Great work Rachel!!