First Dinner Away

On December 30, 2005, Bharat and Anila invited us over for dinner. This was Jackson’s first dinner party. We enjoyed a nice evening out and Jack was a good guest. He slept peacefully while we enjoyed a delicious dinner.

Our 1st Christmas as "The Dillard Family"

This was our first Christmas as the Dillard Family! We enjoyed a quiet and peaceful Christmas. On Christmas Eve we enjoyed a walk through Rittenhouse Square. Marty made a delicious dinner. He made corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes. We also went to the Christmas Eve service at First Presbyterian Church. The service was long and after an hour of being a quiet participant Jack got hungry and began to fuss. However, he really liked the organ. It is amazing to attend a Church with such a long and rich history. Ben Franklin use to worship at First Presbyterian too.







Christmas morning we opened presents. Jack got a ton of gifts!!! Both mom and dad got Jack a Christmas shirt. The shirt from dad says, “Feliz Navidad.” The shirt from mom says, “Mommy’s little present.” He spit up on daddy’s shirt so the verdict is he likes mommy’s shirt better.





This was a wonderful Christmas. Unfortunatly our tree did not hold up for the big day. It was a total FIRE HAZARD!


To see more pictures of Christmas click on the following link.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/1082493

Jack's First Bath

Jack’s first bath was a success. He was confused at first and cried a bit. However, once he felt the warm water he settled down and enjoyed his first bath. Nana was on hand to help out, Sarah was the assistant, and Marty documented the experience (even taking video).



We plan to show these pictures when Jack introduces us to his first date!!!



All clean and relaxed!



To see more pictures of Jack’s bath go to the following link.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/1046704

Jackson's First Outing

Saturday, December 10, 2005 Jack crashed the Cohort D Holiday Party. Cohort D is the group of about 60 Wharton students that Marty is taking all of his first-year classes with.

The party was at Davio’s, an Italian restaurant about 6 blocks from our house. Jack feel asleep in the car and slept for the entire visit. Mom and Jack only visited for 30 minutes, but Dad stayed and had a night off.






Marty is proud of his cute boy!



To see more pictures of Jack’s outing go to the following link.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/1031848

Welcome Home Jackson!

We brought Jack home on December 7 (his original due date). Jack, Marty, and Sarah are doing great. Grandma (Sue, Sarah’s mom) is here to help and Nana (Barbara, Martin’s mom) will be here soon.

We had to bundle Jack up because it was 34 degrees outside when we brought Jack home.





Tucker was very excited to meet Jack.





To see more pictures of Jack’s first day home go to the following link.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/1025228

Jackson Thomas Dillard Has Arrived!

Jackson Thomas Dillard entered the world at 7:18 P.M on December 5, 2005. Jack weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces. He was 20 inches “tall".







To see more pictures of Jack’s birth and hospital stay go to the following links.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/1021631

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/1021675

Any Day Now!

Today we visited Sarah's doctor and she said everything looked great and the baby will come any day! We thought we’d get one last picture of Sarah’s belly before the baby arrives.



For comparison, here is a picture of Sarah when she was 5 months pregnant. Same outfit, different belly!



As soon as the baby arrives we will let you all know. Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers and well wishes!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! To celebrate Thanksgiving we invited several friends to dinner. We had traditional Thanksgiving fare. Marty brined our turkey. This means he soaked it overnight in vegetable broth. The turkey was very moist and delicious. Marty also made his special cheesy, garlic mashed potatoes! Sarah made traditional Southern-style white corn bread dressing. Our guests contributed to the meal also.



Anila made a delicious broccoli casserole and a sweet potato dish. Jody came to the rescue and made perfect gravy.



We had a total of 10 guests. Starting from the top right and moving counter-clockwise: Paul, Meme, Rodney, Anila, Albert, Jody, Doug, Liz and Sarah (Marty took the photo).



Happy Thanksgiving! Click the link below to see more pictures from Thanksgiving.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/993960

First Wharton Hockey Game

Marty hit the ice for the first Wharton Wildmen hockey game of the season on Friday. The draft was held about a week ago and three teams of around 30 MBA students will play each other for the rest of the school year.



Marty's team lost the first game 4-2 but Marty played well on defense, stopping several scoring attempts and getting one of the assists for his team.

Countdown

One month to go!!!! On November 7th with just one month to go Dawn and Sarah went out on the town. They met up with other Wharton Partners at a piano bar. Unfortunately, because both ladies are in their last month of pregnancy, going out was more work than it was fun. Sarah and Dawn returned from the club less than 2 hours after they left. Sarah had a sore back and Dawn a sore throat.

Child Birth Class

This Saturday we took our "Preparation for Child Birth Class." The class was organized and taught at Pennsylvania Hospital. Pennsylvania Hospital was the nation’s first hospital! We took our class in the original hospital building.



We learned all about the birthing process. The best part of the class was when we learned relaxation techniques. The instructor taught back massage and hand and foot massage. Marty learned new techniques and refined his skills!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! To celebrate Halloween we went to dinner with friends before heading to a couple of Wharton Halloween parties. We ate at Tequila's where we enjoyed our first Mexican meal since we moved to the East Coast.


Check our festive costumes! Marty is the “King” and Sarah is a “fat” cat. Next year we will have a little one to dress in costume as well.





Happy Halloween! Click the link below to see more pictures from Halloween.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/923016

Dinner in New York

This past Saturday night we made a short getaway to New York City to have dinner with several friends from San Francisco. The dinner was planned by our friend Derrick, a passionate food and wine connoisseur (see his blog here: http://obsessionwithfood.com/). We ate at Blue Hill in a private back room where we enjoyed a multi-course meal with wonderful wines paired with each course. The evening began with appetizers and champagne (Sarah is drinking sparkling cider in the photo below).



The group included Ginger and Kurt (now in Boston), Eric (now in New York), Young, Jeff, Jenn, Chris, Winnie, Sean-Michael, Ling, Nancy, Derrick, and Melissa (all from San Francisco).



All told, it was a wonderful evening full of great food, wine, and conversation. We finished our desserts and coffee around midnight.



Click the link below to see more pictures from the evening.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/907923

Baby Shower

Sarah just returned form Sacramento, California. She was there visiting friends and family for the last time before our baby arrives.

While at home Sarah had 2 baby showers! The first was thrown by her family. The baby received so many clothes that he may never have to wear the same thing twice!
Here are pictures from the shower.







These are pictures of the second shower Sarah had. This shower was thrown by her friends from high school. The shower had an ocean sailing theme. April made the cutest cake, Brandy hosted the games and Lynnette had everyone over to her new house.








Click the link below to see more pictures form the baby shower.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/883908

Mother Daughter Weekend

Annual Mother and Daughter Weekend

Every year, Sarah and her mother take a special trip with Patty, Rema, Natalie, and Holly. This year the mothers and daughters went to Sutter’s Creek, Jackson, and Apple Hill. Holly brought along her 8 month old son Elliot. We had a great trip.






Sarah turned 28 while the mothers and daughters were together. We went out to dinner and had a delicious cake.




Click the link below to see more pictures of the trip.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/886292

Scott and Lauren get engaged

Scott and Lauren are officially engaged! To celebrate Barbara threw them and engagement party. They plan to get married this summer.

The Dillards in DC

We took a weekend trip to Washington DC and visited Mike and Courtney who were just married this past April and are settling into their shared residence. They were magnificent tour guides and gave us a brief overview of the many sights and activities in their hometown.



Our two main activities were a walking tour of the monuments and a sampling of the many wonderful restaurants and bars in the area. Sarah had amazing stamina and was still going at the end of a lot of walking on Saturday while Martin needed a nap before the evening activities.



On Sunday we also took an afternoon tour of Alexandria, Virginia, a wonderful town for walking and refreshments.



Click the link below to see the rest of the pictures from our trip.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/767050

Baby Shopping Trip

Sarah is now 24 weeks pregnant (almost 6 months along). As the due date gets closer we begin to prepare. This weekend Sarah bought the baby's “coming home from the hospital” outfit.



Here is a picture of Sarah and Dawn (Dawn’s due date is one day after Sarah’s) as they set off to Born Yesterday to buy the special baby wear.



Click the link below to see more pictures of the outing.

http://calmarty.smugmug.com/gallery/745444/1/32847013