It has taken me a while to post these, but I wanted to get them up anyway. These pictures are from October, the Balloon Fiesta and our trip to California (hay ride and face painting at Disneyland).

Playing in the tent

Ginny and Bran in the tent in the living room.

Almost 3 Months

Bran is 12 weeks old as of yesterday! On the one hand I can hardly believe how the time has gone, but on the other, I feel like so much has happened in such a short time.
During those 12 weeks, Bran has done perfectly everything a new baby should do: eat, sleep, excrete, become more awake and aware, and start to learn to control his body. He probably weighs around 12 1/4 pounds now, and looks a little chubby, but just right. He sleeps at somewhat regular intervals, and has good long periods of wakefulness everyday, during which we all delight in his smile, which he shows easily and frequently when spoken to. He has just started to grasp onto things with some intention, which delights Ginny most of all!
Ginny is a wonderful big sister. She is usually in tune with his mood and his needs, and will play with him appropriately, or sing or speak soft words to him as needed. In only twelve weeks she has grown up tremendously, now all of 3 years old! She has a great imagination and is very social and fun-loving. She is having a blast at preschool, where she is making good friends.
Since my last posting we have had many adventures, aside from the "having a new baby" one. We spent at week at Aubrie's parents' cabin near Chama, NM; we went to the State Fair and the Balloon Fiesta; we have had great visits from family and a wonderful visit to California to visit our family there.
The Fall in Albuquerque is beautiful, cool, and clear, and colorful. We are enjoying nice runs among the bright yellow cottonwoods. All is well.

Bran Oliver Dunnington

We have a baby boy! Bran Oliver Dunnington was born on Saturday, August 7, 2010. He was born at home, in a pool in the living room. He weighed 7 lbs 4 oz. His birth was beautifully smooth and peaceful. We feel so incredibly lucky to have had such an easy pregnancy, uncomplicated birth, and now a perfect baby boy. Mama, Dada, and Ginny are all doing great as well, taking it easy with the amazing help of family and friends. (The last picture is of Ginny at gymnastics. She is the littlest one, the first kid from the left.)

Here we are, very much enjoying our summer in Albuquerque. The pictures are: Lynn standing in the "pasture" in front of our house, at 8 months pregnant; Ginny sporting her new goggles (they're not just for swimming, you know); Ginny in her room, surrounded by wikki sticks and, of course, books; Ginny on a "climbing wall" at the park, climbing to the top over and over again all by herself (she was pretty proud of this) with Tim standing by.

We are all doing great. Ginny is in her third week of swimming lessons, and has already become a fish like her mama. She wears these huge goggles and can't hardly help herself from going underwater and looking around. She is still loving gymnastics and can soon move to the 3-year-old class (without parent). She likes to practice her jumping and forward rolling whenever possible.

Tim's work is going well. He has just started taking classes in Brazlian jiu-jitsu, and loves it. He has also been doing long trail runs in the Sandias about once a week.

Lynn is feeling great these days, getting very excited about this new baby coming soon. I was lucky enough to participate in a 4-week Yoga for Birthing class over the past month, which was some of the best childbirth preparation I can imagine. I have also been swimming and walking regularly, which feels great.

Our most recent adventure was yesterday, to Blue Hole and Park Lake, in Santa Rosa, NM. Blue Hole is an 80-foot-deep by 60 foot wide natural spring, with crystal clear, blue water. It is the best place to scuba dive in New Mexico, and also a most refreshing place to swim (as long as you love the water at 61 degrees, like I do these days). Park Lake has a water slide, diving board, and places to picnic. Ginny had a blast swimming, watching Dada and Nonny cliff jumping at Blue Hole, and going to the water slide with Dada and Nonny over and over again.

Happy Halloween!

We are having a wonderful Halloween! How about you? Here is Ginny "playing with candy", her favorite pasttime that began last Halloween. Also Ginny in her lion suit. She still growls well, too. We're about to go out trick-or-treating, which promises to be very fun this year.

Ginny's New Dresses

Ginny has recently been the recipient of some new, beautiful dresses, which she is modeling for me in these pictures. They have been great to wear around Madison, since the weather finally warmed up somewhat over the past couple weeks. Plus she has Uncle John's wedding coming up in September. She is the flower girl, so will need a good dress to wear.
I can't believe she is almost 2!!!!!! We are already talking about her birthday party, since she absolutely loves the idea of cupcakes. She is talking so well these days. When she is sitting in her highchair for a meal, she likes to have a fork to use herself. Then she picks up a piece of whatever is on her plate and says, "I fork it!" as she attempts to stick the fork into the food while holding the food in her other hand. "I fork it! I forked it!", she continues, as Tim and I are rolling on the flooring laughing. Last night she was forking kohlrabi.