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Lily went for her one year pediatrician visit yesterday and is doing well! She’s still barely 18 pounds, so is sitting comfortably in the 3^rd percentile for weight – and is about 27 inches tall which places her in the 5^th percentile for height. So she’s tiny, but is otherwise very healthy. And despite a recent head cold she’s eating very well and sleeping great – no complaints from mommy and daddy!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for a fun 1^st birthday party for Lily! We all had a great time and were glad that she did so well throughout the day. I added a photo recently with a cute shot her of her eating her birthday “cake” (an egg/wheat/dairy-free brownie topped with a blueberry glaze). Credit to Stephanie for the creative, allergy-free eats!

Finally, we got the following two videos the day of Lily’s birthday – as you can see, she can’t walk completely on her own yet, but it’s certainly not stopping her from tearing around the house screeching with glee.

Fall has come to DC quite suddenly this past week, bringing falling temperatures and filled calendars. As seen in the most recent batch of photos added to Lily’s album, Steph’s parents were in town last weekend. We all went out to Chantilly to visit the Cox Farms Fall Festival, a huge event with music, hayrides, farm animals, and a pumpkin patch. Everyone (including Lily!) had a blast and we were able to take some great photos.

Birthdays! There’s something about this time of year – in September, well-wishes went out to Steph’s dad, our friends Luke and Amy, Rob, Brenden, and Uncle Paul! In October we’re celebrating with Noel, Colleen, Stephanie, and my Grandma (on mom’s side)! It’s for this last birthday that we’ll be traveling up to Syracuse this weekend – Grandma is turning 90, so much of the family is gathering up there for a weekend of fun. We’re really looking forward to it, but hope that Lily deals well with the road trip.

Next weekend, it’s time for our annual outing to the International Gold Cup Races. It’s always a fun afternoon, but no babies for our group – so anyone want to babysit?

After that, we’re on our way to W&M’s Homecoming – I’m in complete denial that it’s my 10^th. Should be another fun weekend, though, and we look forward to showing Lily off. Put in your orders for bread ends and house now.

And of course there’s Halloween at the end of the month, and Steph already bought Lily her costume. Oh yes, there will be photos.

Things have been pretty hectic lately, but I can’t let August slip away without mentioning a few things. First, though it was a few days early, on the 11^th we hosted our annual Elvis Death Day dinner, complete with some of the King’s favorite fried foods, his music, and the best stories from his entourage. The very next morning, we saw off our friends Aaron and Kristy as they embarked on a year-long (at least) trip to China where Aaron will be teaching. It’s a very exciting time for them and we wish them well. Thank goodness for Skype!

Back on the home front, Stephanie goes back to school today (albeit half time), so Lily has started with at-home child care with one of Steph’s former colleagues. This comes at a fun time as Lily is teething something fierce, and really developing some great attachment issues. I haven’t received any calls yet, though, so hopefully things are going well. I suppose the anxiety is something every parent must deal with – what will we do when she starts driving?!

Over the weekend I managed to get some photos of Lily up on the site. I will continue to add to this album through the rest of the calendar year, then will probably create additional albums each year going forward. That seems like a good enough way to keep things organized.

Baptism! Lily was baptized yesterday among family and friends. It was a short and sweet ceremony, and Steph and I were immensely happy to share it with loved ones. Many thanks to all who were able to attend. And apologies for the short notice – the Godparents are about to head out of town for a few weeks, and then we hit the chaos of Easter. If it hadn’t been yesterday, we’d be lingering around for a while.

Lily has turned out to be a moose! She went in for a weight check today and has gained a substantial amount of weight. Doc says there’s probably no need to supplement as long as she continues to eat and sleep well. Coincidentally, though, we had a very tough weekend with what appeared to be a stint of cluster feeding – but today’s reported weight gain has been a big morale boost for Steph.

We’re down to one month to go, with not a whole lot to report. Stephanie has been lucky enough to have a good, healthy pregnancy without too many troubles (except for one memorable cat bite), but is really looking forward to the home-stretch. The baby room is ready (photos forthcoming!), the hospital bags are packed, and Steph is putting the finishing touches on the birthing plan. So at this point, it’s just us enjoying the last few days of … “just us”!

And heartfelt well-wishes to our friends, the Mullens, who recently welcomed a healthy baby boy to their family!

We’re making slow and steady progress getting the house (and our lives!) ready for February. With the help of some very generous friends we moved my home office to the basement and have cleared out the new baby room so we (read: I) can paint and furnish. In addition, for our distant friends and relatives I have finally gotten around to setting up Skype on the home computer to share all those fun baby moments in a few months. If you’d like to connect, send me an email (or check my Facebook page) for my username.