My Favorite Boy

In the midst of bringing home our second child and trying to figure out what she needs, our favorite boy has grown up just a little bit more. These pictures and especially the video prove that.

Great Month

In Elise's first month, she has experienced much. Visits from Uncles and Aunts;
Grandmas and Grandpas;
Old Friends;
And New Friends too;
She has been naked;
And Dressed up;
She has been held;
And has dreamed by herself;
Most of all, she has been loved and so has her family.
Thanks for all your support!

Finally, more pictures

Here is a more comprehensive look at Ellie, momma Julie and the events of the last couple of days.As you can see, Julie was an amazing laborer and deliverer, pushing out the baby in about 11 hours (from first intense contractions to delivery of Ellie). She was in the water for the birth and claimed it was better than being pushed on by a 120 lb Korean woman. Ellie's weight is displayed on the scale. I am not allowed to say it from this point forward because it is rude for a gentleman to do so.
Micah visited the hospital and wondered why mom and Ellie could not come home. He had to settle for me as Julie's mom stayed the long first night in the room with the other two women. I think they watched "Beaches" and "Thelma and Louise"...typical girls night out.
Julie's great idea was to have a birthday party for Ellie when we got home. Micah was excited because he got ice cream and cake for dessert. This of course worked well until Micah realized the party was not for him. The stunned look on his face is just after we told him that we were celebrating the birth of his sister.

Baby Ellie

Here are the first pics of our new beautiful girl. We are now home, so feel free to call us too. Thanks to all the well wishers and congratulatory givers out there. Wish you all could be here.

Jim,Julie,Micah and Ellie

B...E....A....Utiful

Jim Carey's famous line from the Truman Show certainly applies to my wife in these pics. Please click below and follow the link to Jennifer's Blog to find out. Once you are at our friend's site, click on "Blog".

Jennifer's Blog

Curious Micah

Micah and I got the chance to go to the Seattle Children's Museum for a Curious George Exhibit. Micah is obsessed with George and has been since he was very young. The exhibit had a rocket ship with a slide, a life size George and a place to build with large blocks.
The museum also had some old standby favorites, a bus with life size steering wheel and a grocery store. Micah was very exhausted after his visit with George and the Man in the "llellow hata"

Male Kalikemaka

The traditional Hawaiian greeting on Christmas was so fantastic to hear this year while we spent some time on Oahu.
Our vacation started out with a great trip through the snow to the airport. We waited for hours in the terminal to board and followed it up with 3 hours on board the plane waiting for it to be de-iced. Try entertaining a 2 year old for 3 hours...on a plane. We took off at 10:30 and finally arrived in Hawaii at 2:30 local time. We then had to wait for 2.5 hours for the rental car agency to open before we could drive the 1 hour to our condo. If all this sounds like complaining, it isn't because Micah was so great during the adventure. His parents might not have arrived in Hawaii with the sanity intact if he had been anything but the gem he usually is.
Julie, Micah and I enjoyed the sun, the 18 hour island wide power outage, body surfing with friends, eating a Hula pie at Dukes, seeing a turtle, and watching our son enjoy the ocean.
Thanks to family and friends who helped us get to our favorite state and enjoy ourselves along the way. Here are a few pics that give the flavor of our trip.

First Snow

Micah got to experience his memorable first snow this week. Here is a shot of the first snow ball he got to throw. Dad had to make it because of the limited dexterity he has with mittens. Since the first toss of snow, Micah has been obsessed. Each time we put him in the car, he makes me (dad) make a snow ball and throw it at the car window. Then all the way home, he talks about how the snow hit the car.
Julie also took some pics of Micah next to our humble tree. We are so blessed to have ornaments from Korea, China and Cambodia adorning our tree. What stories they will be for our children.
In a bit of dichotomy, the Brownlee family is headed to Hawaii today. Our next post will be full of fun in the sun and throwing rocks at the beach.

Thanksgiving

The whole fam traveled to Julie's brother's house in Washugal Washington to celebrate Thanksgiving. Because we will be in Hawaii for Christmas, it was a two holiday celebration that included several presents for Micah, a dominating victory in a Ping Pong tournament for Jim and a surprise upset in the Poker game from Julie.
Below are some pictures and a great video of the time we had. Thanks to the Tkach/Bechtel clan for hosting us!

More Fall Fun

I absolutely love everything about fall. For me, it symbolizes the beginning of a new year and serves as a reminder that the holidays are just around the corner (Is it too early to start listening to Christmas music?). Watching a toddler play with leaves, dress up in a costume, and carve a pumpkin for the first time added to my enjoyment this year. Here are some pictures of Micah's "trick-or'treating" experience, minus the candy. We stopped by Jim's aunt's, and Micah knocked on the door and said "treat". Then we headed down to a quaint shopping district where kids lined the street waiting for their turn to say the phrase and receive the prize. We skipped the lines and just checked out the various characters wondering around. I can't wait to see how he responds to Christmas festivities!







Each week Micah and I visit our friends at Toby Jones Retirement Center. He loves going as much as the ladies love him. A few weeks ago Micah wore his monkey costume, and boy was he a hit. Lorraine, the wonderful lady in the picture, just turned 99, and we spend about 30 minutes chatting with her each time we go. In the picture, Micah was participating in the exercise class with her. He enjoyed following the directions of the instructor and playing with the balls. I feel so blessed to be able to have time to play with Micah and visit a variety of people.

I've also really enjoyed being a table leader at MOPS this year. Our table ventured out to a local organic farm where the kids picked apples from a tree, pulled potatoes out of the ground, rode on the back of a tractor, fed the chickens, and chose a pumpkin from the field. Micah decided that this is the year for green pumpkins, so that is what we brought home.