Ellie meets her uncle and godfather Sean!!

This weekend we were blessed to have my brother Sean come down from Seattle to visit and meet Ellie for the first time.  He was originally going to come the previous weekend but unfortunately he got very sick with the flu but this weekend worked out even better and he was able to stay a little longer.  The only thing missing from the visit was Sean's wife and Ellie's aunt Laura who was unable to come but she spoiled Ellie by sending Sean with many gifts!!  We all piled in the car to pick him up at the airport and during a brief visit Friday night we were able to tell Sean (we didn't even bother to ask because we know what the answer would be) that he is Ellie's godfather and he was incredibly excited and honored.  (P.S. Ashley's BFF Jamie Holwerda is Ellie's godmother) 


We are so lucky that he is such an amazing, accomplished photographer because he agreed to take newborn photographs of Ellie on Saturday just in time for her third week birthday and for us to finally send out birth announcements.  The photo shoot was definitely a learning experience (think pooping and peeing on blankets, ruined chairs, naked baby bottoms, and lots of costume changes) but it was a blast!!  We were all sweating bullets by the end (you have to keep the room warm for the naked baby so she's comfy and wants to sleep) but it was all worth it!  Ellie cooperated like a champ and it was fun for Russell, Sean and I to come up with different poses and photo ideas for the baby girl.  We had a couple of casualties during the process including a very likely stained brand new receiving blanket (which happened to be white but don't worry, we have like 6 others) and a peed-on white chair which happens to be Russell's favorite seat in the family room.  But I'm willing to accept those knowing how amazing the pictures turned out!  Sean did such an AMAZING job, beyond even my wildest expectations and I am SO grateful he was able to be a part of this experience.  These photos are definitely professional quality and very Pinterest-worthy!!  


Overall we had a great weekend visiting with Sean including watching the Olympics, exchanging our favorite movie quotes, and of course lots of laughing.  And we always LoVe when Sean visits not just because we get to see him but also because he helps us with tech-type things such as updating our laptop operating system, informing us about cameras, and showing me shortcuts on the MacBook.  We were very sad to see Sean leave (in fact, Ellie was crying because she was so upset, LoL) but had a great time with him and can't wait until we get to see him again, next time with Laura.  :D

Hitting up the Dirty Bird

Tonight we took Ellie out for dinner at a restaurant for the first time since she was born with our friends Brandon and Evie. I never thought I'd be so excited for something so ordinary but it was kind of a big deal for us. We didn't know how it would go...would she wake up and be crabby? Would I have to feed her in public (which I still haven't done yet and am not looking forward to)? Would she get woken up by noise?
We timed it perfectly and made sure to go right after she ate and was content and it worked beautifully. We got a table right away and she slept through the whole thing. We had a great time with Brandon and Evie (as we always do!) with lots of laughs, jokes, and impersonations. It was a very pleasant experience except for the fact that we had horrible service which was disappointing for our first night out. I don't know how many times we ended up asking for our fries but they definitely didn't come before our meal, which we specifically asked for, and we still didn't have them by the time we finished dinner. And of course to top it off, they brought us like 4 baskets of fries right before we were about to leave. Well, at least it was memorable and made us laugh and we were so happy to have that experience with our friends Brandon and Evie! Hopefully there will be many more of these experiences to come and we are looking forward to next weekend when we attempt our first weekend away with Ellie at Brandon's family's cabin in Tahoe with Brandon, Evie, and their daughter Aubrey as well as our other friends Ashleigh, Clete, and their son Zach. Check back in to see how that goes!! :)

Russell, Ellie, Ashley, Brandon and Evie at Red Robin

P.S.  We were REALLY proud of ourselves that we remembered to get a picture!  It only took us 3 years of knowing each other and hanging out to get our first picture together so we didn't want to let another 3 years go by before we took another one.  

Brandon and Ellie

Evie and Ellie (that sounds SO cute together!!)

So many visitors, so little time

We have been blessed by SO many visitors during Ellie's first 2 weeks of life!  From friends to cousins to uncles, we've had people over almost every day!  Here are some pictures of Ellie with her many admirers... (sorry to those of you we didn't capture pictures of!!)

Ellie and Jannie

Ellie and NaMa

Ellie, mommy and NaMa

Ellie and great aunt Pixie

Ellie and cousin Taylor

Ellie and cousin Chris

Ellie, Mommy and cousin Chris

Ellie and Gramma (and Baloo and Koby)

Ellie and Clete

Ellie and great aunt Judy

Ellie and NamPa

Ellie and Uncle Jeff

We're expecting more visitors this coming week so more pictures to come!!

Thanks for peeking in!