M and eM Photos

Good-Bye, But Not Really

2011-08-05T20:59:00.001-10:00

So the time has come to change things up a little, and so we have decided to move our family blog.

We hope this does not depress our avid fans who are fond of us, but not of change. We are sure there are just tons of you out there, grabbing your hankies, shaking your fists, crying, "Why???!!!!"

But for the rest of you we are happy to announce that we quite like our new little site, and it's posting capabilities are easier, its options more open, and therefore we are sure you'll make it through this.

Thanks and hope to see you round our new web page! Peace and love!

www.mcintoshphotos.com/familyblog

P.S. You're gonna want to go to this blog...Grand Cayman pics are coming and some of them are AWESOME! So...just a little incentive!

A Little O' This and That

2011-06-23T10:04:00.002-10:00

Once again life has been busy, busy. Despite our efforts to simplify and minimize things always get crazy. But that's ok, since most of what takes up our time is a lot of fun! For instance, check out our (third) post for the day, (yep, we had one of those chain-post things going on today)!

We were honored to attend Lia's preschool graduation. The most startling part of this evening was realizing Lia will be in kindergarten next year! So weird!

Elliot posed beautifully for a graduation card for Uncle Jared, who just finished his senior year of high school! Go him! (This is one of Melissa's favorite photos ever!)

Once again we invested in new camera equipment. Despite the fact that our wallets were hurting, we had a lot of fun practicing with our new gear...

...even to strange results sometimes...

...but hey...who ever tires of dramatic cat photos? (Heh, hem)

Elliot has been loving blocks lately. Used to be she just liked knocking them down, but she has since learned the satisfaction of stacking. She does pretty well keeping those towers up!

Yeah, this is our fault...our girl can be a total veg-head sometimes, (though the Curios George-induced-comas usually only last about 10min, then it's off to playing again!)

Matt has successfully lodged a love for pandas in Elli's heart. She was the one though to combine panda-time with scooter time. Way to pump as much fun as possible into one time-slot, Elli!

Our sister-in-law, Katie, created a monster when she told all her family where a really awesome, little nature trail is. We of course had to check it out, and we loved it! In the next few photos we are standing in the middle of some gorgeous sequoias...

...Elli would not let go of that California poppy.

There is a little pond surrounded by reeds at one point.

And Melissa really liked this. For a moment she almost thought she was in Oregon, (except that it was like 90degrees out in early June...then she remembered where she was). But still...very cool concept!

Elliot found out what clover was on our little trek. She kept trying to make Momma eat it, until Mommy hid the plant in Elli's pocket, (very confusing for little Elliot). Still, we loved our afternoon stroll!

Other than that, we have been hanging out with fun friends and family, doing our photography thing, (check out our new blog/portfolio by the way...it's pretty rad thanks to Matt. Just click the link in our sidebar), trying to keep cool...

...and being cute as ever!

Happy Father's Day! (It's Never Too Late for a Post)

2011-06-23T09:36:00.000-10:00

Father's Day is past, but we just had to make sure that Matty-Matt knew how much we appreciate him!

He deserves only the best we can give him...

...because he definitely brings out our best sides...

We really love that guy!

Thanks for being the best husband, friend, and daddy ever!

Warning: If You Make Friends With M and eMs...

2011-06-23T09:32:00.000-10:00

We will probably drop by unannounced and somehow end up in your pool...

...where we will play with your relative-guests...

...and with your adorable kiddies...

...BUT, we will be very grateful for letting us come by!

The End

Just For Fun, Just Cuz We Can

2011-06-01T11:23:00.000-10:00

This Elli's Made For Walking

2011-05-23T18:51:00.001-10:00

For those who have not seen in person, let the records show that Elli can walk! She is actually doing much better since these videos were taken, even though they are less than a week old. But this will give the masses, (or Grandma and Grandpas), a little something to cheer about!

(Melissa apologizes for her interjections in this one, but Elli was being shy.)

The lighting in this video is terrible but she was just so cute we included it anyway!

And this is a two-for...a little walking, a little ball-throwing!

Yep, our kid is darn cute!

All the Sillyness

2011-05-11T08:43:00.000-10:00

Feels like we were running around like mad for awhile, but, thankfully, life has slowed down a little. Elliot on the other hand is no closer to slowing down than an avalanche! Here is what our cute girl has been up to:

Up until this last weekend we had blue skies and warm weather like it was mid-July. So we took ourselves outside as much as possible. Elliot is starting to love our park adventures and tells us so all the time!

One of Elli's favorite things to do lately is climb up on our cat-scratch box. Sometimes she brings toys up there and just sits, for long stretches, and plays. Other times she stands and smacks the wall while yelling, which is what we captured a photo of here.

Even though sweet Elli has been able to get to standing from sitting down since late March, this is the first picture we've taken of the feat. Look how proud she is to show off her skills!

Something else Elliot loves to do, whether she has pants on or not, is "walk." Of course she has to have her toy that Billy, Katie and the McNuggets gave her, but with this contraption Elli can maneuver all over our house. Usually, as when this photo was taken, she is giggling the whole time.

The other day Elliot climbed into her toy drum. Surprising she could get her long legs in there, but she did!

When in the kitchen Elliot finds ways of getting around. What a mischievous little monkey!

On mother's day we went to a park with Matt's parents, Billy, Katie and the kiddos. Elliot was a little pooped from church, so we sheltered her from the cold, (yeah...it went from like 90 degrees to 40 in a day; crazy weather!), in a mound o'blankets. The rest of us enjoyed a tasty meal though!

Back inside at Billy and Katie's we celebrated Grandma's birthday, which also fell on Mother's day. Elliot wasn't too crazy about the party-wear...

...but everyone liked the cake!

Something Elliot did like on Mother's Day was a beach ball that she found at BK's. Never have we seen our girl so fearless...she threw herself on this thing, rolled off of it, bounced over it, and....WALKED with it! She went a whole three steps at one point, holding this ball up in front of her! Seems all she needed was a fun diversion to show her that she can in fact put one foot in front of the other!

Happy Mother's Day to Melissa, who loves being a mommy everyday, anyway. But she's thankful to her husband and Elli for her gifts and hugs!

Since Mother's Day Elliot has just been up to all the usual, including adding slime to our cupboard doors, (which are Plexiglas and for good reason). Yesterday she took around five steps, with no diversion, two different times! Looks like walking is in the near future. Some days it is hard to believe how fast Elliot is growing, but we just love her!

Easter!

2011-04-26T10:54:00.001-10:00

Having Elliot old enough to at least enjoy all the attention she got for Easter this year was super fun. Here's how things went down:

The Friday before Melissa and Elliot went up to Big Bear to visit with Grammy, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Tom, Niki, Katie, Heather, Cozette and Lillian. (Matt was at Magic Mountain with his students. Poor guy!) After a fun game of lazer tag, (where Uncle Tom was dominated by his female opponents...he was a good sport about it!), we all went to a park. Elliot finally had fun in a swing, all by herself! (She liked to drool and watch it hit the ground...gross!)

Grammy set up a little Easter candy hunt. Elliot was all too eager to find the goods, (which she stuck in her mouth, wrapper still on, and chewed until there was a hole which she could suck sweetness out of. Again...gross!)

Cozey found delicious bunny teeth...super attractive!!

Next we all took a few swings at the Easter pinata Grammy had made!

Niki held babies until it was her turn again! Cute girls!

Our Big Bear day was a blast. We've been so glad to see our family so much lately!!

Easter Sunday Elliot got all spruced up in her new dress!

Such an Elli-look!

From the front! Elliot is pointing to her nose because she is super excited these days to prove she knows where it is! She can also locate noses on other people, though her finger is apt to go right up them!

Then it was time to find what the good ol' bunny had left us! Elliot found her basket with help from Daddy and dug right in...

...each item was inspected for about two seconds then thrown on the floor!

Melissa's bundle of tasty treats!

And Matt with his camouflaged bucket!

Later, after church, we went to Chris and Robin's where we had a big old Easter egg hunt. Elli was really getting into this activity!

Don't mess with Elliot's eggs...seriously...

Dinner was awesome and we hung out with all our fun peeps. Such a great day!!

We hope you all had a great Easter too!

(Oh, and we all thought this was so cute, but only because we don't have a dishwasher...I'm sure this would get old if we did! But hey...she probably could have used a rinse cycle!)

Catching Up!

2011-04-21T09:17:00.000-10:00

Goodness, it feels like we have been running around like a bunch of crazies, but we are back...at least for now!

So, St. Patrick's came and went, and nobody was in danger of being pinched, especially Elli in her cute get-up. Aside from doing an adorable leprechaun impersonation, Elliot also learned the joy of pulling ALL the clothes out of her dresser. This may not be the best talent to encourage, but she was so happy!

Later in March we were able to attend Lillian and Cozette's birthday up in Santa Maria! Their mommy, Heather, put together the cutest owl-themed party! Elliot loved the decorations!

Here's Elli at Heather and Phil's house, on the big party day. She's actually wearing an outfit they gave her and she looked way too pretty in that thing! At their table Elliot is demonstrating how to get her parents to say, "Whoooo!" and throw their arms in the air. Even if her mouth is stuffed with food and she can't make the noise herself, we are expected to give her a hearty yell, or she will freak out!

For the next couple days after Lily and Cozie's party we hung around with our fun cousins. Heather took us, sans children, to Pismo beach where Melissa dreamed of Matt buying her taffy, (it did not happen), and where we collected tons of whole, unbroken sand dollars! Some of them were still alive, like the one below. Those we did not take home but threw back in the water. Pretty cool though!

Heather got a couple photos of our royal hotness...

...and Matt got Melissa and Heather together. When these girls were little they LOVED posing for the camera and setting up "awesome" shots of themselves. Guess some things never change!

The next day in Santa Maria Elliot got a hairdo and Bindi from Heather. She's cute and she knows it!

Then all of us went to Solvang where we were supposed to just get some good food, (which we did!), and window shop. However, in an antique shop Melissa's eye caught a sparkly, and well, she just knew it was something special. Matt never bought Melissa a ring because we were given one by his parents that used to belong to Matt's great-grandma. However, we always said we would replace that ring and pass it down, so the tradition could continue. After some very short thought, even though he was not expecting to buy his wife a ring that day, Matt said he'd buy it, if Melissa was sure. She was.

Phil and Heather thought it would be romantic if Matt proposed to Melissa again...so he did, even though he was really raw from the chunk of money he had just spent!

Here's a couple shots of the ring:

Melissa absolutely loves it, and now that it's been a little while, and Matt's pain has dulled a little, he loves it too!

We had so much fun in Santa Maria with our family, but the time came to go home. There was one reason we were a little anxious to do so: Meka. Our oldest, furry child tried to scare us and ran off a couple of days before we left to head north. Being that he is usually an indoor cat only we were pretty worried. However, upon our return Meka was found chowing on the food we had left for him outside. Ever since our little kitty has been overjoyed to be home, in all of his favorite spots.

Lately we have just been having fun playing with our little girl! She loves to pull the Dr. Seuss creatures off her toy chest, and she is always willing to share her toys!

We have a park we can walk to from our house, and lately we have been going pretty much every sunny day. Elliot is learning to swing in the toddler swings, but prefers our laps.

Other than that, she just keeps getting older and older! We took her in for her one year appointment and here are her new stats:

Weight: 18lbs 13oz (9.8th percentile)

Height: 29.5in (50th percentile)

Head: 18in (60th percentile)

Her doctor said she is small, but steady, and has a good, big head! That's our girl!

Hopefully life will be slowing down a bit so we can stop and smell the blogger more often. Till then, Happy Easter!

ONE Big Birthday Bash!

2011-03-15T11:51:00.002-10:00

Every good party starts with one killer-diller outfit...and one cutey to wear it!

And here are a few of the decorations displayed at Elli's shoe-themed fiesta...

Before Elliot got to attempt to blow out her candle Melissa had to photograph the cake she made...

...the box is just cake with fondant and the shoes are twinkies covered in fondant. Melissa was just slightly ecstatic about how this dessert turned out...she had never made fondant or decorated with it before. Thank goodness for unfailing plans!

And here Elliot got to see her cake lit, at last!

Not so into the cake, we tried a cupcake for Elli, but she seemed pretty skeptical of that as well.

Never minding Elliot's sweets-aversions, we carried on with presents and a shoe contest. The categories were the most, "fun, fierce, flashy and fashionable." (It was an alliteration. So clever!) All of the winners were more than deserving!

For the next day and a half we had Melissa's cousin, Heather, her husband, Phil, and their two little cuties, Cozette and Lillian with us. Look at those sweet, smiling faces!

While at the park with our cousin-friends we learned that Elliot will crawl in a very strange fashion, (well...only slightly more strange then her eerily speedy army crawl), in order to not touch her hands to grass.

And apparently our daughter is more daring with her standing abilities these days, (she even got down from that chain link by herself!) We suspect that Lillian's unstable, yet effective walking inspired Elli to try harder!

Well, we are tuckered from our very fun weekend, so for now we'll sign off! Thank you Elli for turning one and allowing all of us a good time!

The Birthday Shenanigans

2011-03-15T11:36:00.000-10:00

So, for grandmas and grandpas not around to see the big March 4, we wanted to give a little more insight as to how Elli's big one year came to pass!


First thing in the morning Elliot found her presents, from persons hear and far.

Skyping with Grandy and Grampy - you can see them in the screen!

Ready for her dinner of homemade mac'n'cheese with strawberries on the side. That's our one-year-old eater!

Not sure what she thought about her birthday Jello Aquarium.

We thought it was pretty cool, (even though it turned out a little darker than we thought. Oh well!)

Eventually Elliot figured out how to enjoy her first, real, sugary experience.

Of course, everyone hits their sugar coma at some point.

All in all Elliot got some sweet loot, got lots of photos taken of her, and seemed to enjoy her anniversary of her birth. Sweet girl!

Happy Birthday to Our Little ONE!!!

2011-03-04T16:38:00.000-10:00

It's official! Our gorgeous, sweet, silly, smart little baby Elliot has reached the mark of her first year!

There are not enough words to explain how much we love her...

...we just hope we can show her everyday!

Of course we are not proud parents, at all.

Ok, maybe we are...but how could we not be with a little someone so adorable!

Happy Birthday, Elli-Bean!

Birthdays and Boogers and Fangs...Oh My!

2011-02-12T15:26:00.003-10:00

So we are sure that breaths have been held just waiting to see what we have been up to since Christmas, (aside from impaling chickens and entering label contests). The answer? Well...

Our sweet niece, Lia, turned five on February 3rd! What?!? How in the world she got so old is beyond us...probably magic.

She is so good with Elliot!

Next was Matt's turn to add a year to his age. Now it is official that the world has been a better place for the last 29 years! Elliot and Melissa thank their lucky stars for this guy every single day!

To honor him Melissa cooked up a little birthday treat. Who says 29 is too old for a video-game themed cake?!

Oh...and the trick candles allowed for Matt to make not just one, or two, or three, but four wishes. Must mean something great for the year to come!

The best part about the day was that Billy and Katie inadvertently got Matt a Snuggie to go right with the cake! This gift and Matt were definitely love at first sight, and now Matt slinks around the house, convinced nobody can see him in his stealth blanket with arms.

All of us got to combat the weird flu/cold that is going around. Elli went through her bout like a champ, even showing off a little with cool snot-bubbles.

For some time Elliot has been going team Edward on us, (if you can't see what we mean just click on the photo and make it bigger). Capturing her vampire smile can be quite the trick since it is usually very quick, (like Edward), but just look at that sparkle! (Like Edward). Unfortunately, the vampire look will soon vanish as Elli's two middle teeth have broken through. This makes four on top, four on bottom...that is one toothy grin! (If only her hair would make such an entrance!)

Oh, and what is this? That's right. Our sometimes timid girl is throwing caution to the wind these days and has learned to pull herself up to standing! Wow, wow! Gratefully we lowered her crib only the day before she decided to really master this art! Now she is an unstoppable, standing fiend!

As always, stay tuned...more cuteness to come, we are sure!

Jones Soda!

2011-01-31T20:31:00.001-10:00

We are currently in the process of getting one of our pictures on a Jones Soda bottle. We thought it would be cool and we are already a "staff pic":

Check it out at:

http://www.jonessoda.com/gallery/view.php?ID=1204643&search[text]=mcintosh&offset=3

True Love...

2011-01-19T09:38:00.003-10:00

...is never being too chicken to dine with the one you love.

(Yeah, Elli's face says it all.)

Happy Mu Year!!!

2011-01-01T11:21:00.002-10:00

Happy tails to you, until we meet again!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

2010-12-27T20:27:00.000-10:00

We are completely befuddled as to how our first Christmas with our baby, and in our new home, has come and gone. However, we took extensive photos in order to show family who we were not close to this holiday season just how everything went down. We think it was AMAZING!

Before Elliot could get out of bed we bustled around readying our living room. Christmas lights had to be lit, and our "fire" had to be roaring! As you can see, Santa can work with any conditions, (even if it involves hanging stockings with dental floss on a huge entertainment center!).

Could it be that our little monkey was going to have a new friend?...

...she was more than happy with the arrangement!

Once we all opened our stockings, which were all filled with way too much good stuff from the jolly old man, we treated ourselves to a little "pre"breakfast. Melissa's mom and Katie had given us treats which were perfect for making the best hot chocolate ever!

Next it was present time. Elliot had quite the pile to get through...

...yet somehow she managed...and loved it!

A crepe breakfast filled our tummies with Christmas magic...

...and Elli donned her festive bib.

In the afternoon we put on our party clothes...

...and headed over to Grandma and Grandpa M's for more fun family, great food and, of course, presents!

Overwhelmed by their parents' generosity!

Elliot found all sorts of methods for unwrapping those present things!

Our Christmas was so, so, so fun! Having Elliot with us this year added so much excitement and love! And thank you to everyone who sent goodies, cards and gifts! We appreciate your kindness and felt so loved!

This picture was actually taken the day after Christmas. We had the honour of attending Grandma Terrill's, (Matt's, cousins', grandma), Christmas party for all Terrill's in the area. Apparently there is another "honor," (usually bestowed on the newest-newlyweds in the clan), that we were much to "perfect" for, having a live version of Baby Jesus. So, with Chris and Robin laughing at us, (and pleased with themselves for getting out of the roles themselves), we played the nativity family. Our favorite part was when Robin's uncle, Harry, talked us into the experience by saying, "Who knows...this could be the first step to something really big!"

At least Elliot enjoyed herself, waving to all the sheep, wisemen, and audience. Maybe Harry was right...

We wish you all the best in the year to come!

Hope it's not a yawn!

Christmas Eve!

2010-12-27T20:09:00.000-10:00

Our day before the big day started at Billy and Katie's with Elli's cute cousins!

We were making cookies for Santa. All we can say is Santa was one lucky guy...those desserts were delicious!

Sophie helped frost the cookies and her belly!

Lia prepared for the rest of the day!

In the early evening we exchanged our traditional Christmas Eve garb...

...and tried to get a picture of all of us wearing our new PJs.

At least Elliot's portrait turned out! Is that not just the sweetest little thing!?

Grandma and Grandpa M came over. First things first, gifts for Elliot, (just a couple that might have been a little too much on a crowded Christmas day).

Then we had matza ball soup, among other tasties treats.

All of us played Rumikube while eating our desserts, (pumpkin chocolate chip muffins...delicious!).

After Grandma and Grandpa's departure we read Luke, chapter 2, watched A Charlie Brown Christmas, and read The Night Before Christmas. Speaking for Elliot, she enjoyed her first Christmas Eve, but her parents were VERY excited for the next day...!

Earlier in December...

2010-12-27T20:00:00.001-10:00

Our Christmas season was so fun and busy! Where to start?!

Adopting the tradition of Melissa's family, we built our own Christmas village...

...Chris and Robin helped us. This was Chris' masterpiece...

...and here is Robin's...

...she likes big coconuts...

...Melissa made an "ode to Tangled" (GREAT movie by the way!)...

...and Matt went with a good old buyou theme. (A couple days later one, or all, of our cats ate the fish out of Matt's swamp. Matt bravely fought back tears.)...

...Elliot's house was true to being a girly-girl. Her "fun slide" out of the roof was her mommy's favorite thing though!

We got to go to our very first dinner party! However, this was no simple party...we had been invited to a murder mystery!

Hosted by this lovely lady, Lorell, (one of Matt's teacher's at school), and her husband! Their house was beautiful, and everyone came dressed in 1940's garb. We all had to act French, (or try to get out of acting), and play a part in the game. Very, very fun!

Here are the lovely ladies! One of them was the killer...guess who...Melissa! Yep, that's right. And nobody figured it out. She's so clever!

The handsome gentlemen!

A few days later Elliot got to visit her great grandparents. We were so glad for an opportunity to see them!

What's Going On!

2010-12-09T19:54:00.000-10:00

Aside from our daughter growing faster than bamboo, we have been pretty busy around the M & eM household. You can tell this is true for two reasons: (1) is that we have not made a "real" post since Halloween. (2) We are putting photos in this entry that are not fully edited...which for us is like being caught with our pants down...

...however, we will somehow get through this and let you all in on how we've been doing, cuz we know you just can't wait until our editing process is over!

In November Melissa turned 26. Nothing too interesting about the age, but we did have a great time with family and friends at Benni Hana's eating the most delicious foods! Also, Melissa demanded a picture with her favorite little person...her favorite person was the only one out of the two big enough to hold the camera! But Melissa was sure glad both persons were there for her on her big day!

We got to celebrate Jaxon's birthday with him, which came complete with a very cute cake made by his mother!

Mattboy also had a day to have his birth appreciated, and we are proud to say he not only blew out his candles, but also Jaxon's, whose cake was just to the side!

For Thanksgiving we went up to Big Bear to be with Grammy, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Tom, Nikki and Phil, Heather, Cozette and Lillian. Elliot got to sit and watch Lily crawls circles around her. However, Elli had an edge on the clapping thing...until she taught Lillian how to do so!

Ultimately they both loved each other's company...and cheerios.

Our last day up in the snowy mountains we decided to brave the cold, (ok, it wasn't that bad during the day... and only 15 degrees at night).

Sledding is always a good way to enjoy a winter wonderland...

...and we kept the crashes to a minimum, which was good for most parties.

All in all we had such a great time over our Thanksgiving break. Games, food, and good, fun family...always a wonderful combination!

This month Elli has decided that she loves dog kisses...

...and Santa...

...but better if you can get both! (This was at a fundraiser for an organization that trains guide dogs.)

Yep...no Santa anxiety for this girl! She was mesmerized by the jolly fellow!

Just wait till she gets presents from him...then the love will be sealed!

Being that this is Elliot's first Christmas, we are enjoying every moment. She really loves our Christmas tree and screams in delight almost every morning when we take her into the living room. Per tradition she got her first ornament...

...which she hung by herself, (mostly)!

And today Elliot made her first mess! Ahhh...such proud parents are we! Melissa just needed to go to the bathroom for a few moments, then make a bottle. Elliot had been whining the whole time, (poor girl has had a cold which has made her a little clingy, though very cuddly, which we like), so Melissa assumed that was all that was happening. Well, we underestimated our daughter's ability to multitask. Turns out she can pull all the wipes out of their container and cry at the same time! Skills.

Guess that's about it. For your viewing pleasure here are Elli's nine month stats...please take your time, enjoy, and be amazed:

Height: 28.74in (88th percentile)

Weight: 16lbs 6.1oz (10th percentile)

Head: 17.72in (78th percentile) (lots o' brains!)

Till next time, Merry Christmas everyone!

Have You Seen This Baby???

2010-12-04T19:56:00.002-10:00

Oh wait...her she is...

How can that even be the same kid??!!
This is definitely a gushy mom post, but if you remind me that my sweet, hilarious, cooler-than-cool, cheerio-munching, smart, baby girl will be one year old in exactly three months, I might freak out!
But seriously...happy nine-month birthday to my best little-friend in the whole world...your daddy and I love you so very much!!

A Very Small Announcement

2010-11-17T19:04:00.002-10:00

Back when Elliot was first born, I, (Melissa), started a "mommy blog." Aside from the fact that I love being a mother, and the new responsibility a baby brought was extremely emotional, I also just love to write. That is why I am bothering to put a notice on this blog.
I really need to practice my writing. Eventually I plan on finishing a master's degree in creative writing. If I ever get there I do not want my mind to be all rusty. Therefore, I found an outlet for a little compostion "oil," if you will.
My goal, originally was to finish one thought every week. Well, Elliot is 8 1/2 months old I have have completed a total of three entries. (Ironic how being a mother depleted much of the time I used to spend writing!) But Elli's and my routine is a lot more established now, and I feel that it is time I just tell people to check out my writing, and then I'll have to keep up!
I realize that many may want to gag at a "mommy blog," others are apathetic, and some may see it as cliche. But that's ok. For those who would at least be interested, please leave comments and tell me where I can do better! Nobody ever believes me, but I really do thrive on constructive criticism, (or even destructive, instructive, conductive...whatever you choose to leave!)
Anyway, check out our links and follow the one that says, "The World in My Arms." In the meantime, take a look at these adorable photos of Elliot, and just try to tell me they are not the sweetest thing you've ever seen, (ok, but don't really...I would like to stay in my ignorant bliss!). Thanks all!

Because You Know You Want More...

2010-11-01T20:12:00.000-10:00

We had SO much fun this weekend, and put way too much effort into our costumes. These facts combined elicit this next post:

The day before Halloween we attended Tommy's late, but definitely worth-the-wait birthday party.

Here's a sight you don't see everyday...

Grandma loves.

Jack-Jack Attack!

"UpCake Girl!" as Sophie would so cutely say when asked who she was!

A very majestic Lia.

Tinker Bell was having a blast...she just couldn't stop flying around.

Billy and Katie had tons of fun activities, games, food and friends...another really great party by Katie! Thanks!

On Halloween we went to a trunk-or-treat with Chris and Robin.

During the car ride there Chris found a new use for his favorite Dot's candies...

...at least he gave the ever-patient girl a taste!

Tinker Bell discovered if she reached her hand into her magic basket she could find things her teeth could puncture and leak all over!

Could we even be more precious?

Notice that Elli has terrible stranger-danger reflexes...if she'll reach for Frankenstein's hand within the first minute of meeting him, whom will she fear?

Look at that adorable witch and wizard, (or Elton John dressed as a wizard...we have to get it right).

After the trunk-or-treat we headed over to Chris and Robin's for an evening of chili, corn bread and pumpkin seeds, (delicious!).

Some of those seeds actually came from pumpkins we carved at Chris and Robin's only days before. Look at those works of art!

One of the perks of Halloween this year was getting to know so much about Tinker Bell. Such as...

...give her a water bottle and that fairy is your friend forever...

...she gets a little loopy late at night...

...motion sickness does affect her...

...she's cute no matter what she's doing, (even if she had to loose the wings because they kept scaring her when they stabbed her in the face!)!

Hope you all had as great a time as we did!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T10:59:00.002-10:00

And my yours not be as self-inflictingly embarrassing as ours! ;-)

What Happened to August, September...wait...October?

2010-10-19T16:20:00.011-10:00

It feels like life has been very busy, though most of that has to do with just this small thing: MCINTOSH PHOTOGRAPHY!

We don't want to give anything away, so just know that after four years of photographing, planning, editing and paying lots of money, we have officially launched ourselves on the world, (or at least the Southern California area!).

Check us out at http://www.mcintoshphotos.com/, and from there you can click on the blog link to see even more!

Enough tooting our own horn. Aside from getting our photography act together, we have done quite a bit. Here are some highlights:

August sixth we got to attend Melissa's cousin, Jamie's, wedding. Her and Spencer made a gorgeous couple, and we had lots of fun with all our family!

Way too cute!

At the end of August we attended Spencer and Jamie's open house in Provo. Elliot got to meet her Uncle Danny, the handsome guy on the very right end of the first pic, (though the picture does not do him justice!). He was on a mission when we took our trip up to Oregon, so we all met up in Utah for a very good time!

Four generations!

We took a trip to Oak Glen and found out some interesting info about Elli. The decision was difficult to keep her or turn her in for the reward...until she made that face. Then we knew we had to hold on to this one!

Elli also demonstrated how much she likes to "stand." The reason her hands are blurred is because they are always moving!

There was a whole string of birthdays. Samburger turned one...

...then Ashlyn turned four, (who we don't have a picture of, but we did get a shot of us at her party!)...

...and our dear nephew, Tommy entered the realm of a one year old! Elliot and Melissa got to go to an awesome pumpkin patch with Tommy and his family. (They did not get to stay long, so our pictures were mostly of Elli, but please believe she grabbed that goat by the nose. Classic!)

We love all the little people in our life and cannot believe they are getting so old!

Our niece, Lia, started soccer again and we were privileged to go to her first game. She's gots skills!

Elliot might not be up to the soccer challenge yet, but she is a master at playing peek-a-boo all by herself...

...and has quite a talent for the "scrunchie face," (which she can transform into adorable in a split second).

We would continue, but we are all tuckered out. See our McIntosh Photography blog though for a teaser to one of our latest, very awesome shoots!

We Got Teeth!

2010-09-14T14:49:00.003-10:00

Those two little bottom chiclets have caused quite the fuss around here. If Elliot's teeth were an animal they'd definitely be a snail!

Although they have not been in a rush to find their final place-in-mouth, Elli's pearly whites have given her lots of chewing motivation...

...(she actually liked the lemon, so please do not call us horrible parents)...

...regardless of texture...

...cleanliness...

...or what might be injured...

...even in her sleep...

...Elli will be found using her new chompers on something...

...no matter what...

...and usually, that is a good thing, because if there is nothing in her mouth, than most likely a yell is coming out!

Half A Year!?!

2010-09-05T19:54:00.002-10:00

We have had our little girl, in our arms and in our home, for SIX MONTHS now! Although it doesn't seem possible that she is that old, every new phase with her is just cuter and cuter!

Seriously...if those grins wouldn't crack a parent up, we don't know what would! What's great is that those faces are not just reserved for us. Every person who wants Elliot's attention gets it, and usually they receive at least one heart-warming smile.

Because we were not around for Elli's four month appointment, she got a five month check-up. Now she has to wait until seven months before she can get her next set of, (shhhh...shots). Poor girl. But we do love the doctor visits for one reason, and that is for a status update on our girl's growth.

Here are her five month statistics, (since we never shared):

Weight - 13lbs 1.5oz (16th percentile!)

Height - 25.98 in (84th percentile!)

Our girl is going to be a model!

Our lives have taken such an awesome meaning since our Elli-bean arrived. Even though we had fun before, everything glows a little more!

We love you, Elliot!

Back Home but Still Go-Going!

2010-08-18T08:35:00.002-10:00

Since our wonderful adventures in Oregon/Washington, Elliot has been getting cooler and groovier by the second...

...her tongue is still adorably hanging out of her mouth all the time...

...and she is constantly trying to broaden her ideas about the world.

While Elliot has been doing her thing, we built an AWESOME blanket fort, which inhabited our living room for about a week. Nothing like tuna melts with avacado in a blanket fort to make one's day!

Elliot got to go to Crescent Bay. She wasn't too fond of the sand...

...but she loved to sit in her bumbo in her little beach shelter and laugh at Mom. (She was laughing so hard she had to hold her head to keep it on...melts her Mama's heart every time she looks at that sequence!)

A little later Elliot finally met her cousins, Jamie and Cherie, at Jamie's wedding! No better place to get to know each other!

A stay at Great Grandma and Grandpa's allowed Elliot to meet even more family she hadn't yet!

Then Edgar and Anne, one of our favorite couples, got to meet our little cutie!

Daddy is a great dance partner.

Hanging with second cousin, Lillian! (Gotta love the classic, Elliot scowl...Lillian doesn't have a scowling bone in her body!)

Our FOURTH anniversary came and went, but not without a celebration! (Four years, and we're still so dang hot!) Melissa set up a surprise, "progressive" dinner for Matt while his brother took him on a trip to Best Buy. Billy and Katie babysat Elliot for us so we could have a quiet, distraction-free, evening. Even though this was our first year staying home for our anniversary, we decided there could hardly be a trip that was better.

While Elliot let us have our anniversary time, she got to hang out with her cousins. Apparently our girl can not only take a hit, but she deals them out too!

Ok, you have to click on this collage and make it bigger...if this does not make your day 100% better, we'll give you your money back, guaranteed!

No matter where we are, or what critters we run into, life could not be better!

Part 3 (and last) of Our Awesome Vacation

2010-08-12T09:29:00.000-10:00

Moving on after our slight lapse of non-blogging, we will finish the tale of three people on a really cool trip:

Day 9 - July 9

After spending the day recovering from our Seattle drive, we were feeling good about going to dinner with some dear friends. Melissa chose to get in touch with her German side at a place called Gustav's...kostlich! (or delicious! for you non-German speaking Herr's and Frau's)! On the left of this picture we have Dan and Diana Belcher, (thanks to Dan for holding a sleepy Elli), on the right Mom and Dad, and at the end, Kris and Tony Bardi.

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Here are Brother and Sister Ipson with a cute looking couple.

Elliot really just liked the napkins, (when she was awake).

Day 10 - July 10

A little BBQ never hurt anyone!

Some of us sat around the tables, some of us on them...

Day 11 - July 11

Natalie wanted Melissa to do her hair. Despite the fact that Nat's hair hates to curl, the do turned out pretty well!

After church Grandma and Grandpa read a very profound Peanut's pop-up book to Elliot. (Seriously, don't make fun of Charlie Brown around Melissa's parents...it's very important business!)

Day 12 - July 12

Elliot found her tongue...

Day 13 - July 13

Our parent's backyard is so green and gorgeous, we went out to swing all the time!

Day 14 - July 14

Luckily we have been able to meet up with Melissa's best budy, Jenna, the last two times we were in Oregon. Elliot liked her Aunt Jenna and catching up was so nice!

Little did we know we would be instructed in the art of hula-hooping by Jenna. She actually makes her own hoops! They were way better than those store bought things and even Matt could keep them up with his non-hips!

Wheeeee!

Melissa and Jenna were inseparable from seventh grade till we went off to college. But they've stayed in touch and Melissa's very grateful!

Day 15 - July 15

Grampa took the day off work so we could all go hiking at Mt. Hood. Before we could park at our destination we needed a pass. When we got to the ranger's station they were gone for lunch, so we pulled up some shady grass and had our own meal, (we made Matt spit Elliot back out though).

On the trail we had a gorgeous day! When we came to a clearing with a river and bridge there was a slight debate about how deep the water was. After some retarded, (no offense, Jared, Matt and David), attempts to measure with sticks that were too short, the perfect instrument was found. Indeed, the water was not 6 ft deep as Grandpa had predicted. Wow...hope that victory was worth it!

Mt. Hood...so pretty! We were actually in the foothills, as you can see!

Uncle David had just gotten to Oregon from Utah the night before. Bonding did not take long for him and Elliot!

So cute!

Only three of us made it to the end of our trail. Unfortunately we had some time constraints, and about 1/3 of the way to the falls we realized not all of us would make it. Matt, Jared and David RAN all the way to and from Ramona Falls! Crazies!

Day 16 - July 16

Jared needed senior pics taken. Since we have not given him his copy we won't preview them here...except...

...the goofy ones!

Uncle Jared and Elliot had a lot of fun together our whole trip!

We used the lovely settings for some other shots too.

That evening Jenna's parents invited us to dinner. Melissa used to hang out at their house ALL the time, so dining with them brought up great memories! (Left to right: Melissa, Elliot, Jenna, Sara, Karen, Bill).

After our tasty supper Elliot just wanted to play with Lucy...

...and pose for more than appropriate portraits.

Day 17 - July 17

Uncle David went to his best buddy's wedding, (the real reason he came to Oregon though we pretended it was for us). We had to get some shots with him looking all dapper and stuff!

He could really get Elliot to crack up!

Day 18 - July 18

After church we had a friendly round of croquet. Oregon evenings are SO nice!

(Uncle David beat everyone...badly...so HE was happy...)

Before bed Grandpa read one of his favorite kiddy books to Elliot, The Big Red Barn. Elliot loved it!

Day 19 - July 19

Our last day in Oregon!
We had so much fun! A few pics of all the siblings...

...and Grandma, seemed an appropriate way to end our stay. (Grandpa was at work but he drove us to the airport later).

Elliot had really loved being the center of attention for so long!

And we all flew off into the sunset.

Actually though, we did fly out in the evening and Elliot was an angel, as she had been on the way to Oregon. What a good baby!

And thus endeth our vacation, (and the longest blog post EVER!) Thanks to everyone who made our stay so grand! We love you!

Part Two of Our Awesome Vacation

2010-07-28T11:02:00.000-10:00

Day 6 - July 6

Taking a small vacation-in-a-vacation, we left our family for a bit and headed north to Seattle! After a three hour drive we parked near the waterfront and found we had unintentionally stopped right near one of our points of interest. Therefore, wasting no time, we explored the Seattle Aquarium. Elliot got to meet an octopus...

...and get attacked by an octopus.

All sorts of strange things were available for Elli to check out...

(that's a porcupine fish, it's just hard to tell from this shot)

Looks like Elliot should avoid any encounters with sixgill sharks considering she's hors d'oeuvre size!

Before heading out to our evening plans we checked into our lovely inn. Ok...it was not exactly five star, but it was nice and the location was awesome. Elliot was definitely digging her first motel experience!

Our rest over, we walked about one block away to the Seattle City Center. Melissa remembered the fountain and lawns from her childhood rompings.

We actually paid the oodles of money you end up spending to eat at the Seattle Space Needle. Even though it is extravagent, we highly reccommend this place! You eat delicious food while the restaurant rotates 360 degrees as you eat! The view was spectacular. We just had to order the entertaining dessert we had seen other patrons receiving. It was called the "Lunar Orbitz," and while it was only a couple of scoops of ice cream, Elliot could not stop staring at the dry ice effects they throw in.

Such dissapointment though when the fun stops!

From the restaurant we were able to check out the observation deck and take pictures of the views we'd been oogling at.

Once the breeze got too chilly at the top, we headed home for the night!

Day 7 - July 7

Melissa wanted to check out another one of her childhood memories, the Pacific Science Center!

First stop, the Cretaceous period. Very ferocious!

A few exhibits later we decided to skip to the one we really wanted to see: the butterfly terrarium! There were all sorts of gorgeous bugs, and many stayed still enough that even Elliot could appreciate their beauty!

For the next little while we checked out insects that we were glad were dead and behind glass. To end our science center experience we watched a lazer show set to the music of Queen. While we thought it was pretty funny and entertaining, Elliot went to sleep.

Just for Elliot we checked out Elliot's Oyster House. We thought at first, "What a coincidence it has our daughter's name!" until we found out the whole bay is called Elliot's Bay. That's ok...the food was still great!

Before calling it a day we took one of the most touristy things you can probably do, which is a harbor cruise. Even though we had seen most of the bay from up high in the Space Needle, it was still kind of cool to get a different angle on everything!

Elliot enjoyed the service on the ship...

...although once the meal was over she was hard to impress.

Part of the harbor we probably would never have checked out on our own was the industrial side. While not very pretty it was actually interesting all of the stuff they pack and ship out to Alaska. The red boat in the picture below is one of those that goes up to the oceans around Alaska and breaks up the ice for crabbing boats and whatnot. Kind of cool if you've ever seen "Deadliest Catch."

Day 8 - July 8

Supposedly you must see Pike's Place Market when you go to Seattle. While we could see the charm if you actually lived nearby and wanted fresh foods, there was not much to do if you were just hanging around. However, we did meet some interesting characters, (if you click on the picture you can read the sign above the fish...kinda funny).

After walking through the stalls and buying a few tastey snacks, we decided to call good enough done and head back to Portland before any of us got too "crabby."

Part One of Our Awesome Vacation

2010-07-27T18:20:00.000-10:00

So, some of you may have noticed that we were not at our typical hangouts for awhile. Perhaps others of you noticed we have not blogged in awhile. Most likely nobody noticed either of those things.

Anyway.

The fact is, we went up to Oregon to visit Melissa's family, and while it was a long enough time that our house went farel and had to be tamed again, it was one of our most fun trips. Because we were there for almost three weeks, we're going to break what went on into three posts, each of which will be quite the doozy! Brace yourself and here goes:

Day 1 - July 1

We started out this lovely, rainy, (and that is not sarcasm...ok...on Melissa's behalf...she really loves the rain), at the Japanese Garden in Portland. To host our first day in Po-Town we had Natalie and Pablo. Though our first time meeting Pablo, we found out Natalie has married a definite winner and Elliot especially liked him!

As this was one of Elliot's first experiences in the rain, she found it more comfortable under a blanket.

After our gorgeous journey in the garden we ate some tastey Thai food and then hung out with Natalie and Pablo playing games like "Trivial Pursuit" and "Who can we gossip about next?"

Day 2 - July 2

Heading out from Natalie and Pablo's, we went to set up for the pinnacle event of our stay. First Grandy, (yes, Mom, we decided that will be Elliot's name for you if you accept...it is a cross between "Grandma" and "Wendy"...clever, right?), had to do some holding and smooching of her favorite grand-Elliot.

You see, the whole reason we went to Portland, (when we did...we would have gone eventually), was to surprise Grampy for his 50TH birthday! He did not know we were coming. While he was at work we decorated the whole family in black and green, and then somehow things kept going...

...like creating a crepe paper web Grampy had to get through when he got home...and then putting Elliot in a box for him to find.

We hid in the family room as Grampy got through the obstacle course. When he reached the box...

...he found his surprise! (We also jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!" but oddly enough he was pretty occupied with Elliot...you would think she's cuter than us or something!)

After a delicious meal Grampy opened his presents. Old Geezer slippers seemed appopriate and Grampy was a sport about the whole "age" thing. Birthday dessert made for one complete celebration!

Good thing since some were pretty tuckered out, (and in case you're wondering, as spiritual as Matt is, a 45min prayer is a stretch, even for him!).

Day 3 - July 3

We took this day just to relax and be with family. The stake had a Fourth of July celebration in the morning, (where Elliot wore the dress Melissa made...we did not get pictures...we know...so unlike us), and later Natalie helped model some of Elliot's cute smiles!

Day 4 - The Fourth of July

Since it was Sunday, we spent Independence day around the house and at church. After church Grampy and Grandy posed for a couple of pics...

Elliot wore an adorable tu-tu that her Aunt Katie made for her...thanks Katie!

Day 5 - July 5

Another day of chilling and just being together. Thank goodness since we were to wear ourselves out in the next few days... (to be continued)!

Have to Brag

2010-06-24T09:23:00.003-10:00

So, those who know me know that I take very few opportunities to be domestic. Not because I can't be, but usually I'm too busy with our photography, or playing with Elliot, or hanging out with Matt, or reading, or writing, or a whole list of other things that I find to be more fun than being crafty. However, I had this vision of an Independence Day dress for Elliot, and once I got the idea in my head I just had to make it. Here is the finished product of what started out as just a thought:

The dress...

...and the matching headband.

The side/back of the dress. You can barely see the really cute buttons I used! The first time I put the dress on her I thought it didn't fit. This time though it worked just fine. Either I'm crazy or Elliot was pooching her belly out the first time just to drive me insane!

And this picture is just because our girl is so cute and can make the most awesome faces. I love this girl. (Obviously...nobody else could get me to spend so many hours at a sewing machine!)

Now we got the dress, we just need the occasion! I guess it's coming right up, which in and of itself is amazing...Elliot will be four months old!

How in the gravy did that happen?

A Week in the Life

2010-06-18T19:34:00.001-10:00

These past few days Elliot has been acquiring all sorts of new skills. For instance, the Toe Grab:

"Hey, look! I got my feet!"

"Whoa! Where'd they go?"

"Ah...there's that slippery little booger."

Or how about the "Binky Dislodge" trick:

And her new favorite activity, standing:

"What? Are you watching me?" "Oh yeah...you're looking at me!"

Not only has she been busy in her physical activities, but Elliot has learned some valuable lessons this last week. Such as...

...don't ever let your parents take you into a hat shop when you have no protesting abilities.

...if you do anything goofy, semi-disgusting (if you weren't a baby), or extremely flexible, it will be caught on camera and immortalized.

...and no matter how friendly the dinosaur you are riding seems to be, he is just sure to feed you to his friend for a quick buck.

Sometimes you just have to learn things the hard way.

Three Months and Growing!

2010-06-07T13:22:00.002-10:00

Our girl just won't stop growing, no matter how much we plead with her! Well, ok...it's been pretty fun watching her come into her own, so guess we aren't too sad. For her three month "birthday" Elliot got to go swimming in Jason and Heather's hot tub! We weren't sure how she would handle the wet, (it was not hot...don't worry), but she seemed to like it! Her favorite was when Jaxson would jump in and splash her. Looks like our girl was born to swim!

Aside from swimming, Elliot loves her hands! Watching them, grabbing toys with them, sucking on them, gagging herself with them, flailing them around...you name it, she does it! At three months she also loves to hold her head all the time now, practice standing, make a "motor" noise with her lips, and hear herself scream. She's sleeping in her crib now, and from 9-10PM until 6-8AM! Mommy is so happy! On the fourth of June we had not seen her turn herself on her side while awake, but when we would go to get her in the morning she was always on her side, though we put her down on her back. Finally, on the fifth she turned on her side like it was no big deal. Apparently she just decided to get active! Yep...she's a funny girl!

When the feet are pruney, it's time to call it quits, and guess that means the end of this post!

What Happened to May?

2010-06-07T13:07:00.001-10:00

So, we are a little behind, and you know us and pictures...there's a lot to post!

Elliot has just been growing, and also growing more fond of the camera. Guess she better get used to it with her parents around. She posed in this giraffe outfit just for Grandma K.

Later we had a family gathering to celebrate Grandma M's birthday. Elliot loves big gatherings...the more people to pay attention to her, the better!

Melissa got to celebrate her first Mother's Day! While Matt was very sweet and made her breakfast and a card, really every day is Mother's Day for Melissa. With such a sweet daughter it's easy to be happy in motherhood, (even if Elliot does look terrified when her mommy kisses her).

Spring was springing, (what happenned...it's already summer!?), and Grandma M's irises were gorgeous, as always.

We got to go to Oceanside with some of Matt's fun family. We were celebrating Shauna's birthday! Happy birthday, Girl!

Elliot seemed to be cool with her first beach experience, (and the pun was not intended, but it was a very cool day at the beach. Blankets and fires for everyone!)

We took some romantic shots for all the loving couples there that day. Chris and Robin were first, and fortunately for them, unfortunately for everyone else, their pictures turned out the best, (darn that fading light!).

Before May was over we had another birthday. Elliot's Aunt Katie! We had a really fun night going to dinner and hanging out eating cake. Ok...there was a weird incident with a live band, but other than that, good times! :)

Look at those cute babies!

Other than that, we've just been chilling!

New Tricks!

2010-05-15T08:34:00.001-10:00

This is definitely a post for the grandparents, but anyone else who's curious as to what Elliot has been up to lately is free to check it out!

May 12 we finally caught on camera how much our girl loves to talk:

Then the next day Melissa put Elli on her tummy and for the first time she did this:

(Melissa apologizes for her babblings in both videos...Elliot responds more to people than to cameras at this point!)

We play the proud parents so well, don't we?

Our Two Monther

2010-05-06T10:17:00.003-10:00

Elliot is growing like crazy! It's hard to imagine that tiny, wrinkly, newborn we brought home two months ago. Here are her 3week and 2month stats (for comparison):

Length: 20.5in/22.75in

Weight: 7lbs 12oz/9lbs 4.5oz

Head Circumference: 14.3in/15.2in

What a little cutie! She is pretty skinny for her height, but look at her dad and you'll see why!

Since it has been a little while this will be a combo Elliot update/what we've been up to post.

On April 26 we got to go to Heather's 26th birthday! Elliot loves her adopted Uncle Matt. Of course it was a great party...as always with this group!

Funny kid!

This last weekend Elliot got to go on her first road trip! About a four hour drive to Santa Maria. She did great! Slept almost the whole time and did not fuss at all! That's our trooper!

The whole point of the trip was to meet Phil and Heather's new addition, sweet little Lillian! She was blessed on May 1, and we were so glad to be there!

Fun times for Heather and Melissa to share...cousin-best-friends are the best!

Poor baby! Shots are more traumitizing for: A. The Baby? or B. The Parents? Hard to say. The little scream she let out with every shot was like nothing she had ever done before. So sad! It would be great to never make her go through that again. Unfortunately four months will come up soon.

Despite anything Elliot is a sweety! We love our little girl so much!

Hot Rod!

2010-04-20T15:26:00.005-10:00

There's not much to say for this post except that our ward held the activity where our Uncle David was able to show off some of his auto-beauties. He brought three of his cars, (including the yellow Challenger), and the sandrail that him and cousin, Greg, built. If you think we are cruel for putting our six-week-old baby on an engine block and in headphones, well, just look at those pictures! Totally worth it! She loved it!

The rest of these are of the so-called "adults" in our family. The term is questionable as we scarf down cotten candy, pose sexily by the Camaro, and push Gomer in Elliot's stroller, but there it is!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T17:51:00.010-10:00

Like we said before, we are a little behind in all that's happened. So, we are just going to skip to today and you can look at our 365 slideshow to see Elliot in the past few weeks. (The 365 is a picture a day for Elliot's first year...we totally stole the idea from Melissa's cousins, Phil and Heather...thanks guys!) (Oh, and we have not caught up the slideshow in a bit, so hopefully that will happen soon as well, but stay tuned.)

We had to post today because not only is it Easter, but our little girl is one month old now! So crazy! It does not even seem possible, but it is true!

Here's how Elliot spent her month mark:

Being that it is conference weekend we started out watching the morning session. After that we went over to Billy and Katie's to take some pictures. Lia and Sophie were given Easter dresses that came with a matching dress for a doll. Guess who got to be the doll? Yup!

In a rare moment Sophie wanted to hold little Tommy! Holy wow!

Cute little cousins!
By the time we got home, (after Katie fed us a delicious breakfast, oh and she made that cute headband), Elliot was passed out. We watched a second session of conference and let her rest. In an attempt to do some adorable picture Melissa got Elliot in the nude. Our girl just would not stop moving though, so before Melissa could even get her camera settings and lighting situation figured out Elliot had rolled off of the pillow she was on! This shot was right before the stunt. Luckily Melissa's momma bear reflexes kicked in and she caught Elliot, (ok, she would have been fine anyway...it was like a whole three inches and a very subtle decline). We decided to bag Melissa's "precious" idea. (This picture is funnier than what she would have taken anyway. Much more appropriate for our family!)

After awhile we got to search for the baskets the Easter Bunny left us, (ours came in the evening...probably got tied up due to lack of sleep or something...just maybe). Each of us had a basket from that kindly little rabbit.

Elliot really did like her basket...it just took her some time to decide.

And here is our horrible attempt at doing a timer portrait. Oh well...at least we can say we tried.

We just wanted to give a little update and wish everyone a Happy Easter! We are so grateful for the Atonement and the ressurection. Because of Jesus Christ we can be an eternal family. We hope all of you enjoyed this special day!

Our Little Blessing

2010-04-04T17:42:00.007-10:00

Because we are so far behind we cannot post everything that has gone on in the past few weeks. However, we just wanted to mention that Elliot was blessed on March 21 by her daddy. Most of Melissa's immediate and extended family were able to come in from out of town, and almost all of Matt's family that live near here came to support us. Everything was so sweet. Elliot wore the blessing dress Melissa wore, plus was wrapped in the blanket Matt was blessed in.

We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives, to have the Priesthood, and to know that Heavenly is aware of and loves our little girl even more than we do. All we can hope is that Elliot knows how special she is and what a blessing she is to us!

The Story

2010-04-04T17:00:00.005-10:00

We promised we would have the story of how Elliot was born and then life got a little crazy. Better late than never though, right? So here goes:

March 2 was the big due date...there it came and there it went. However, the very next day was my weekly, scheduled appointment. When I went in to the doctor's office I was kind of freaking out. I just wanted to know that everything was ok with the baby and I had been feeling uneasy for a couple of weeks. I guess when you cry to your super nice nurse they feel sorry enough for you to plead with the doctor to do a sonogram. My doctor told me that everything was probably fine but she wanted me to feel better so she gave in to my and the nurse's request.

At first everything with the baby was great but then my OB checked the fluid levels. Turned out they were pretty low, which can be an indication that the baby is no longer getting adequate nutrients. After taking her look-see my doctor went over to her computer all calm and nonchelant and then said, "Well, I'm going to have you go to the hospital right now and get induced." What?!! I mean, I knew they would induce me at 41 weeks if I had not gone into labor already, but that meant I still had a week. Despite my shock I was pretty excited...waiting another week was sounding pretty horrible anyway.

With permission from the doc we went home, grabbed our hospital bags and some food, dropped the dogs off at Matt's parent's house, then made for labor and delivery. By the time we were leaving I was having pretty good contractions. Guess I just needed to stress out to get things started!

Arriving at the hospital I was in a bed with Patosin dripping away by about 8:30PM. Not much was going on so I tried to rest and Matt tried to sleep. I was already dialated to a two when we got to the room, so my contractions sped up right away with the Patosin to every one to two minutes. They were still really mild and bearable though.

By 10:30PM I was a three. The nurses kept telling me I could ask for an epidural anytime, (I am a total wuss and will admit it...I was not even going to try labor without drugging myself!), but I didn't feel like my contractions were anything to cry about.

Around 11:30PM my nurse came in and told me the doctor wanted to break my water to speed things up. Since so many of my friends have had to wait for hours to get to that point with their induction I was all for getting things going. They moved me to a delivery room and the nurse told me she would get the anesthesiologist to do my epidural before they broke my water since once your water is broken Patosin contractions can be pretty painful and intense. That's what they told me. A few minutes later the nurse said the anesthesiologist was tied up in a C-section but would hopefully make it to me before the doctor did to break my water. No sooner were the words out of her mouth than in came the doctor with her little crochet hook thingy. They gave me a choice: wait for the anesthesiologist and take a few more hours to have my water broken or just go ahead and break my water and hopefully I would get drugs soon. Not wanting to wait any longer than necessary to see my baby I voted for the second option. The only reason I am putting this part of the saga in here is to be able to say this: after my water broke I thought I was going to DIE! Props to those who go natural. I think you are way strong and I think you must be crazy! My contractions were still every 1-2min. and lasted for about a minute! I think I lost a little piece of my soul. And it took another two hours before the anesthesiologist showed up and got that needle into me. Wow. I definitely did not take that relief for granted! Like I said...I am a wimp and I plan on being one with any subsequent deliveries I may go through!

After that little hiccup, everything went pretty routine, as it really had so far. I went from a three to a four in about half an hour, so around 3AM on March 4th I was a four. With the epidural running I was free to sleep and did so. Around 5AM I was dialated to a six, and then around 6AM I was an eight. At that point I was too excited to sleep. When they checked me again at 7AM I was a ten.

I started pushing around 8AM. Now people liked to give Matt a hard time about how he was going to deal with this part of having a baby. He does tend to have a fear of blood and/or needles which has caused some fainting problems for him earlier in his life. However, aside from leaving the room when I got my I.V. and my epidural, Matt stood by my side the entire time I pushed, held my foot for me and even watched Elliot's head going in and out so he could give me encouragement. Not only did he not get squeamish, he was the perfect labor coach. He would tell me I was doing great, he got a cool wash clothe for me at one point, on his own accord, and wiped my face for me. And after 45min of pushing I stopped believing the nurse when she would say, "It's coming!" but when Matt began to say things like, "Oh wow! There it is!" or "Good job, honey! It came out a lot that time!" I did believe that and it really helped me keep my energy up. Thanks, baby! You're the best husband in the whole world!

At 9:21AM the greatest miracle of Matt's and my married life occurred and Matt got to tell me, "It's a girl!"

And she is the sweetest little girl!

Since We've Been Home

2010-03-15T09:34:00.006-10:00

We are trying our best to stay caught up on all of the pictures we have been taking of our beautiful girl. If you know us though we've probably already taken 1,000 photos, (maybe that's an exagerration), so it takes some time! However, here are a few more photos for your viewing pleasure. Please note that in the following shots you will see our daughter was somehow born a Trekkie even though we are more Star Wars fans. Plus there is a sequence of the adorable faces Elliot makes when she's working up a poo for her diaper. Yes, even when she's pooping our daughter is adorable! You will also see her dressed up with Mommy in the best possible way to impress her daddy, (all those who know of Matt's panda fettish will catch that), and her first bath is in the mix here too. Please enjoy!

We are so in love with our little Elliot. She's already growing up, and while it's kind of sad, it's also so precious! She is the sweetest little spirit and we are so blessed to have her in our lives!

It's An Elliot!

2010-03-08T05:55:00.008-10:00

Elliot Marjorie Born on Thursday, March 4, 2010
7lbs 12oz
20.25in Long
Perfect As Can Be!

So, we kept meaning to post this sooner, and we've taken more pictures since our beautiful girl has come home. However, we wanted everyone to meet our gorgeous girl that we are so in love with and completely smitten by!

Here is her just moments after her arrival into the world! Already so beautiful!

As soon as she passed the APGAR with flying colors it was back in the happiest-mom-in-the-world's arms!

The first day Elliot got to meet Grammy, a whole bunch of friends, Aunt Katie, and Grandma and Grandpa M. (We'd put all the pictures up but like we said...we're still trying to get them all together). She is so blessed to be born with such a great group of people around her, and we appreciated all the support and company!
We ended up staying an extra day in the hospital, but that's ok. Daddy loved holding his new baby girl no matter where we were!
The new, little family!

And the all important, "Going Home Outfit." We wanted to make sure our little girl is brought up right and knows what is important! :) We finally went home on Saturday, the 6th. It feels so good to be here now!
Like we said, there will be more pictures to come and we'll divulge the whole story of how Elliot came into the world and all that. For now it is time for Elliot's parents to recover from last night! Stay tuned!

A Birthday and Hopefully, Soon, A Birth Day

2010-02-20T10:24:00.008-10:00

So, this really should have been posted back on the 4th, but I fell a little behind. I will now make up for it by officially announcing that my dear Matt has turned 28. He had a fun couple of celebrations with friends and family, (all of whom spoiled him), and well, despite the fact he is SO OLD now, he's doing quite well. Really though, I am very grateful for this man and so glad he was born 28 years ago! Love you, Matt!

In other news, the annoying part is that there is no news. There is still a baby in my tummy, but we really want Judelliot on the outside now because our house is spick and span to the point of ridiculousness, and our nursery is complete! Well, we call it a nursery, but it's more "the kid room." Instead of going "Baby Themed" we went literary. Since I am a huge Dr. Seuss fan, (no author out there can fill a kids head with more nonsense words and imaginery characters), we decided to go "Seussian," if you will.

Here is the view of the room if you're standing in the doorway:

This is the mobile we hung from the ceiling fan.
When trying to buy anything Dr. Seuss, things can get a little pricey due to trademarks and all of that. Therefore, I went a little nuts in the do-it-yourself department. The artwork on the walls was all traced out of two books, colored and framed by me.

Matt had so much fun putting together all of the IKEA furniture we bought, (got to love the wordless instructions). But he perservered and the results are worth it. We'll add more Dr. Seuss books to the shelves of this baby, (we figured the books are the best decorations to have since they are kind of the best part of Dr. Seuss), but for now we are using what we have.

I actually sewed the valence on this wall. I am not a sewer. I'm glad it turned out the first time because there would have been a valence-less wall otherwise! The toy box has decals on it...I am not talented enough to free-hand such artwork, but I had to have the Lorax somewhere in the room as he is truly a hippy, Oregonian-ish character after my own heart!

Now the valence was a project, but the crib bumper was a whole other story! Actually, the sewing was not too bad, but the hours of cutting combined with sewing was pretty crazy. I must really love this baby! (I did not sew the quilt on the corner or the fitted sheet...those were bought!)

A long time ago I bought a couple of lamp shades I never ended up using. So, since I had Dr. Seuss fabric left over from the valence and bumper, I just covered one of the shades. Whatever works, right?

And here is the final wall to conclude our "Nursery 360." Since the walls are painted to match The Cat and the Hat, the mischevious feline had to appear somewhere in the room. Decals on the closet doors were the perfect touch to tie it all together...I thought!

We have to mention that much of the furniture and decorations were provided by very kind family, so thank you, thank you to all who contributed pieces of this room we love so much!

The bedroom is all done, the clothes all washed and put in drawers, diapers all fresh and clean and waiting to be pooped in...now we just need Baby!

Blobbin' Around...

2010-01-27T09:48:00.007-10:00

Well, that is how Melissa feels lately, but before she officially cannot move at all we decided to take a trip up to Santa Maria and visit with Melissa's cousins, Heather and Phil. We had not seen their daughter since Christmas-time of 2008! Cozette is getting to be such a cute girl! We'll have to keep better contact with her in the future!

After a short drive from Phil and Heather's place we reached San Simeon where there are elephant seals to be found year round! January is kind of a low-key time for the monsterous animals. They were right in between the major birthing season, (though we did see a couple pups who were only an hour or less old), and the mating season, (though we did see some male face-offs and some females who definitely knew how to get rid of unwanted male attention!).

Seeing the mother seals with their pups made Melissa feel better, (especially in the blobby area). But really, you can draw some true parallels between human and elephant seal motherhood. For instance:

...even marine mothers just feel like screaming every once in awhile...

...pups can get unruly and need a little discipline......some mothers do not know when to say no to helping out their friends...

...and spit-up comes to babies of all species, (and yes, that is its mother's stomach the baby is spewing on)...

...but all in all there is a whole lot of love to go around!

On the other hand, maybe we should not even try to relate elephant seal males to human guys...

...not sure they would appreciate nose comparisons...

...or how they can't take a hint, even when the woman they are going after is biting and flipping sand in their face...
...or how often they are seen laying around, yawning, saying there is nothing to do...

...and pretty sure this is a position no football-watching guy wants someone to draw a parallel to.

Really though, visiting the elephant seals was cool. The noises they make, their antics, how they move across the sand, (when they actually care to move), was all very fascinating and we took way too many pictures!

Before we left, Heather and Melissa had to get a pregnancy shoot together. Now that's what you call a baby bump!

And which do you see - a vase, or two pregnant chicks?

I Sure Hope This Year's Not Stupid

2010-01-03T08:56:00.006-10:00

Well, we are back home now, trying to recover from vacation hangover. Our trip was so fun, and even though it's always hard to say good-byes, now it's time to face a new year and get ready for all our upcoming changes! Before we forge ahead though, we have to recap our last couple of days in Oregon:

Melissa got to got to dinner with her old pal of twelve years. Matt endured an entire dinner at Olive Garden of the two girls gabbing away...what a champ. And Jenna was kind enough to not make any fat jokes even though Melissa is visibly bigger then last time they saw each other!

New Year's Eve started out with a feast of several different hors'devoures. Despite eating way too much we still were able to down our Italian sodas and dessert!

Melissa has explained the Old Maid tradition on this blog before...check out the 2007 New Year's Eve post if you're wondering why Jared is drawing on poor Melissa. Let's just say you do not want to end up with the Old Maid, but you do want to be the last person to pass it along...
...the losers always tend to stand out in our post Old Maid group shot!

After watching A White Christmas, the time had come to toast to a brand-spankin' new year! It's hard to believe we are already a decade into the new millennium!

Of course we had a sweeter way to bring in the new year than just sparkling apple cider...

In the words of Matt, "I sure hope this year's not stupid!" (to which Melissa's family offered another toast). But seriously, we hope all of you are enjoying the New Year and we are looking forward to continuing on in love, learning, stress, adventure, hilarity...whatever is bound to come our way!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-30T08:39:00.006-10:00

Even though we are not over with our Christmas break vacation in Oregon, we thought we'd do a Christmas update before the new year rolls around. Hanging out with Melissa's family has been really fun, but since so much has happened since the 21st when we got here, we'll just hit on a few highlights!

Of course we had to construct the famous graham cracker village. Melissa's family has been doing this for years, and everyone gets more and more creative as time goes on...

...this year Matt contributed a light house, complete with a real light, and Melissa made the house from Disney's UP. Neither were an easy feat, but we are no fair-weather gingerbread builders! Everyone's creations turned out very well though...probably one of the most impressive villages to date!

Jared turned 17 right before our eyes, (and at the same time some of his cake decorations decided to go up in flames...ha ha)!

On Christmas Eve Melissa's family acts out Luke chapter two. Due to Melissa's condition there was no way for us to get out of playing Mary and Joseph, (even though Mary still had a very suspicious bump long after bringing forth her son). David playing Mary's donkey-ride was a nice touch this year as well...each year we find a way to bring a little more insanity to the production.

Christmas morning was full of the fun energy, good food and laughter that always accompanies the big day. Somehow we made away with a haul! Thank you to everyone for spoiling us way beyond what we deserve!

This is Melissa's mom and dad holding a picture of themselves, (it's on the ornament we gave Mom for Christmas).

Monday was freezing cold, but we decided to go explore the Columbia River gorge where you can see waterfall after waterfall. The winds were crazy anywhere that was unprotected! However, we bundled up and took a peak at Laterall Falls...

...and Multnomah Falls. Multnomah is pretty famous, but this was the first time even Melissa, a native, had seen it in person partially frozen. Very pretty!

Yesterday we all went to the Portland Temple to walk around the grounds. Matt had never seen it before. We think he was impressed...it is a very gorgeous temple with really pretty grounds, even in the winter.

By the time we got home it had started to snow. Even though it was barely sticking...

...by nightfall we had a good couple of inches, (which of course meant snowball fights)!

We just can't believe Christmas is over, but we are glad to still be with family. We hope everyone had a great day remembering our Savior, and we will see you in the New Year!

Better Late Than Never

2009-12-15T10:47:00.008-10:00

Guess the title could be about this post, or about the subject matter. We finally had the opportunity back in November to celebrate our anniversary, which was way back in August! Judelliott still had Melissa puking for our actual anniversary date, so we postponed a trip until Matt had a free weekend. We set out for Vegas on November 21st and stayed there until the morning of the 24th.

Day 1

Our first adventures really started on the 22nd. During the day we checked out some of the fancy hotels around us. We stayed at The Imperial Palace, which is pretty much the rat-hole of the area, but even still we are not picky and thought the room was just fine. However, when you saw Ceasar's Palace right across the way the comparison was pretty funny. Then again, at the Imperial Palace Matt was not forced to sensor the decor!

Our pinnacle event for the trip was supposed to be seeing The Beatles LOVE, by Cirque du Soleil. Before the show we checked out the Mirage, where the LOVE theatre is, and we took pictures before mobs of lines formed to get in. Turned out to be a smart idea!

The show was really amazing! All the music was original Beatles scores, but they were remastered for way better sound quality and then they did really cool remixes for in between scenes. While most of the performances were dance numbers, they also had several that incorporated the acrobatics and such that Cirque du Soleil is so good at. Totally worth the big chunk-o-change we spent on the tickets!

Day 2

After going to church we came back to the strip and checked out the Bellagio. That hotel is so crazy! They have so much going on, but the coolest is their conservatory that they change for every season. We loved the fall get-up that they had going...

A mini-replica of the hotel, complete with mini fountains that look just like the ones outside! Of course we watched the large-scale fountain show. It goes off every half- hour and it's really cool...lots of water spoutin' out there!

Another amazing feature in the Bellagio was their candy store! Holy cow! They had chocolate fountains, the most gorgeous pastries you've ever seen, candy that made you drool just looking at it, and even treats for the kiddies. Unfortunately everything in the store cost almost as much as getting to see LOVE, so we just enjoyed "eye candy," (no pun intended).

Day 3

No trip to Vegas is complete unless you attend a buffet. We chose the Paris for its breakfast since Matt remembered their food being delicious and in the morning it's way cheaper. Not only did we get breakfast, but since we arrived so late we got to eat the last 15min or so of their morning fair, then we skipped right on through to lunch, which is usually twice the cost! Stuffing yourself at an all-you-can eat is always better when you know you beat the system!

For most of the day we walked, and walked, trying to see what else there was to see. Outside of the Paris they had a crazy "kool-aid" fountain...well, that's what we called it.

New York, New York!

Had to stop by and see the lions at the MGM.

If we had not gone to the M&M factory it just would not have been right considering it is named after us!

Finally our last big to-do was that night when we saw the Blue Man Group. This was not in our original plans, but we checked out this half-price ticket company that sells tickets for the current day's show. Since we knew we most likely won't be going back to Vegas any time soon, (four days is plenty to see it all when you do not gamble), we said, "Hey, why not?" We are SO GLAD we made our spontaneous choice...that show is so hilarious! There is no way to describe it all, but their humor was exactly up our alley, and we both laughed so hard Matt almost went into labor! Seriously, great, great entertainment and we would pay full price to go see it again, (though half price is, obviously, just that much better)!

Next day we headed home, still laughing and very glad for our time spent!

Family and Friend Frenzy!

2009-11-30T10:21:00.004-10:00

November has been a very busy month it seems and we have been so lucky to be able to visit with lots of friends and family!

On November 7th we had a shower for Taub and little Sam. The shin-dig turned out really fun and of course we always love hanging with our buds!

That same day happened to be Melissa's birthday. She is officially old now at 25 years. Whew! Tami was so sweet as to bring a cake just for Melissa to the shower. After the baby festivities Melissa was spoiled by family near and far and taken out to dinner by Matt's parents. She had a great time being the center of attention and thank you to everyone for making the day special!

The very next day we got to go visit with Grammy again. We always love those trips!

Only one week later Aunt Virginia came all the way from Georgia and we had the priviledge of visiting with her! She's so great!

Aunt love continued when Trudy showed up the day before Thanksgiving! Sharing laughs with her is always a load of fun!

Thanksgiving we were just surrounded by our favorite people. The food and company were so great!

Mom and Dad hosted the Thanksgiving party...

...and after dinner we all played a friendly(ish) round of croquet. Melissa won but she doesn't want to rub it in anyone's faces...except for Billy's, Matt's, Uncle David's...

Day after Thanksgiving we went to Oak Glen with everyone after a delicious breakfast at Chris and Robin's, (thanks Robin!). Not only did we get to enjoy the most scrumtious apple cider doughnuts, but we got to spend more time with immediate and extended family, which was a great way to end the week!

We'll have to come back to our Vegas trip. We finally got to celebrate our August anniversary by taking a jaunt over to Sin City. Pictures coming soon! Now we just have to get over the fact that fall is almost over and Christmas is coming as fast as can be. Crazy!

Belly Update

2009-11-30T10:10:00.004-10:00

For those who do not live nearby we know how you just can't live without seeing Melissa's fatness. Here are the latest results of Judelliott's active developement!

Halloween!

2009-11-03T11:25:00.009-10:00

This year we started the fall festivities off by going to the pumpkin patch near us. Turns out it's a pretty cute little place!

After taking our loots home we carve, carved away. Matt's panda turned out especially well!

On the actual night of Halloween our first trick-or-treaters were the cutest little herd we had ever seen!

Awwwww! So sweet!

Even giraffes get boogies!

Loving her costume!

Even though we had no real costume party to go to, we did not want to miss out on the opportunity to play dress-up. Can you tell who we are? (A few people guessed right).

Lucky for us we were invited to hang with the Horspools for the night. Going trick-or-treating with all the kids was fun for us...man they love their candy!

Apparently the fun was a little too much for Ryan who barely made it back out of the bathroom before passing out...all that sugar grabbing and munching will really take it out of a kid!

Some of the Horspools left, but the Tangs and those still around joined with us in decorating "Monster Cupcakes."

Very scarey! (The cupcake that is...)

These are our finished Monster Creations...we suggest this activity for anyone...really gets the creative juices flowing!

All in all our Halloween turned out to be a great time! Now we are just excited for the rest of the holiday season!

A Trip to the Park

2009-11-03T11:16:00.007-10:00

We love playing around with our cute little nieces!

Making it Official

2009-10-04T16:25:00.002-10:00

Most of our readers already know that we have been cooking up a bun, but we thought we'd make the blog announcement after getting our "big" ultrasound.

Here is our little baby-to-be at 18 weeks, 3 days (putting our estimated due date at March 2, 2010):

We could have found out the gender, but, (while some say we are crazy and/or masochistic), we decided that we prefer a good ol' fashioned surprise on delivery day. Hence we refer to our growing baby as "Judelliott." The nickname is actually a combo of the names we have picked: Jude, for a boy, and Elliott, for a girl. According to the ultrasound everything looks good so far...always a relief to hear, especially after months of morning sickness and praying for the best!

We've started the habit of taking belly pics. Melissa is around 12 weeks here. We know there is not much to see, but we just had to start somewhere with the record.

And here is around four weeks later. Still not much, but there is a bump, and actually it's grown since then, (a little). We'll keep with the four week intervals and take another portrait around week 20. Melissa feels like she is huge compared to her pre-pregnancy figure, however she feels she cannot say anything because then she hears, "Oh my goodness, you're so tiny!" (more than once, we might add), and feels a little stupid.

Needless to say we are pretty excited! We're just glad all is going well so far and Melissa is able to hold down some food each day. Before we go, and at the expense of being accused of child abuse even before we've given birth, we just had to make the comparison between the ultrasound picture they gave us and a Jolly Roger. It is not Judelliott's fault that the tech gave us the big-head view, but that's how it went, and we just see it for what it is!

Until next time just remember: To error is to be human. To arrrrrr is to be pirate.

Crescent Bay and Holy Cow!

2009-10-04T15:32:00.007-10:00

So, last weekend we headed to the beach with Taylor and Aubrey. Even though the day was outcast, after our hot desert of a home we did not mind the break from sun! The boys went snorkeling a little bit and then we all just hung out, rested, and ate dinner at The Crab Cooker.

Tay and Matt's old buddy from college, Sean, was in town. Here's the trio before braving the wakes...

...and here is Matt retreating to land after not seeing much of anything. Good swim though!

We caught Aubrey off guard...

...and we caught Taylor...um...

The weird thing is, those would be the last pictures we would take of Taub before they became...

...a mom and dad?!!! Crazy! Little Sam made his entrance to the world earlier than expected by all friends and family. We were surprised to get the news on September 28th, but we were glad we got to stop by the hospital later that day and say hi to the cute little guy and his parents. Good job, Taub, on a cute baby!