It's been months since my last post, and slowly my chaotic world got crazier, but for the better.
I married my best friend. Matt is someone who I have looked for and dreamt about, and I don't think I could have found a better person to spend the rest of my life with.
My wedding, looking back, was a blur. The entire day goes by so fast, that I have to look at pictures to remember certain things. My ceremony was wonderful, full of smiles, laughs and family, and our reception was yummy, complete with my Disney cake.
Our honeymoon was 7 days of magic, fun, sleep and relaxation. I wish I had blogged each day of it, to keep a written detailed list of how much that honeymoon meant to me, but I will never forget it. For me, its more vivid than my wedding day.
Fast forward to December, and it was filled with packing, starting a new job, a great trip to NYC, and Christmas. Christmas was a snowy white day in Maryland, with my new family and my own, eating, laughing, and opening gifts.
It's now into January, a new year, and an amazing year to look forward to.
We are having a son.
His name will be Riley Joseph.
As of three weeks ago, Riley is now 3.12 lbs and approx. 14 inches long. He has a steady heartbeat, strong and kicking up a storm always, and sucking the iron out of his mommy, who is now on extra meds to stay strong. I feel pretty well, minus exhaustion and losing my breath easily thanks to his big noggin resting on my lungs and ribs, but I cannot wait to hold him in my arms. It's as if a bubble just went off in my head, saying "Next month he will be here!".
I am so excited to see what he looks like, what he will do, what he say, and who he will become.

We chose the name Riley Joseph for two people. These two people have influenced us in many ways, and they are our grandfathers. Matt's grandfather is Stanley Joseph, hence Riley's middle name.
My grandfather was a proud member of the Irish drum core, the Riley Raiders, which my entire life has been filled with stories of his days in this band, and how many friends and men he has met and influenced thru this band. He was so proud of his accomplishments and his heritage, that I couldn't think of a better suited name for our child, than Riley.
My grandfather's good friend, Dick Penrod, wrote to Matt & I last week, saying how no family member has ever been named for the Riley Raiders, and that he would be proud to put Riley in their Irish day parade and pay tribute to he and my grandfather. It makes me very proud of my Irish potato who isn't even born yet.

My due date is still February 20th, though I have a strong feeling he will be born on the 26th, which is my grandfather's birthday. My cousin Shannon and her husband Anthony just had their son Anthony Michael, in November, and my cousin Renee and her husband Shane, had baby Carter William, in September. Both of their babies were born on their grandparents birthdays. My cousins and I are two years apart, and our babies will all be 2-3 months apart. All boys too.

Well I have 6 weeks and 6 days left till I am a mommy. Im hoping to work up till the very end of my pregnacy, so I can spend as much maternity leave as possible with our baby boy.
I will be posting more updates as soon as I can ...

<3 Maggie