Sundays with Dad

It would appear that Perrie is being brainwashed ... er, influenced ... about sports team at a very early age! This is Brandon's favorite outfit from Perrie's closet ...

PS. It should be noted that the Raiders won yesterday -- if only she had been born at the beginning of football season!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! We hope that you are all having a happy holiday season. Perrie's first Christmas is relatively quiet, but I'm sure that it's only the first of many busier Christmas mornings to come!

Our friends Ryan & Andrea came over for Christmas eve dinner. We had quite a feast - swedish meatballs, yams, green beans, ... - and topped off with a chocolate salted caramel cake. It's STILL snowing in Seattle, so we'll probably have a quiet Christmas inside!

Adventure

Pre-Perrie, one of our favorite past-times was going out to eat at restaurants ... Seattle is full of great places to eat.

To celebrate her 2-week birthday today, we went to my favorite breakfast place in Seattle. She looks like an old pro already!

Given all of the snow, we are happy to have an excuse to stay in our warm & cozy house!

P.S. We really are rookie parents -- we forgot her diaper bag during our outing this morning (but thankfully, remembered the baby)

Dad

Well, I had thought that everyone might be tired of baby pictures ... but here are some more by popular demand.

Perrie and I have been lucky to have Brandon home to help us get settled. There have been plenty of dad-daughter bonding moments (Brandon can tell his diaper story later). He says "you know, she's going to be a daddy's girl" -- oh well, there are worse things!

The snow is really coming down now - I'm happy that we have an excuse to stay inside!

Checking things out

This is our favorite time ... Perrie is checking out her new little world with wide blue eyes. Most of the time she is sleeping - resting up for all of her visitors. We have appreciated having my parents here this week. Brandon's parents arrive tomorrow. Then we'll have Kelly, Liza, and my parents back for Christmas. Thanks everyone!

Week of Firsts

Well, it's needless to say that our week has been full of "firsts". I managed to catch one with the priceless picture of Brandon and Chelsea checking out the first dirty diaper - Brandon looks skeptical. There have been plenty since then!

Who does Perrie look like? I can't decide - her hair is dark in back and light in front, her eyes are greyish blue.

Perrie Grace Ausk

I think that the message has disseminated by now ... but we are happy to announce the arrival of our beautiful little bundle of joy!

Perrie Grace Ausk was born on 12/9/08 at 4:04 am. She was 7 lbs. 5.5 oz and 21 inches long.

We all came home yesterday are doing OK thus far -- sleep deprived, but doing OK.

We'll try to keep adding pictures to keep you updated!

NAMES

Happy Thanksgiving everyone ... hope that you enjoyed your holiday. We are anxiously (and one of us impatiently) awaiting our new little family member - only one more week until the due date.

As you are all waiting to hear the real name, I just have to share this list of name suggestions - straight from our nephews. This list is priceless and really gave us some unique ideas - thank you Jameson, Nelson & Basil!

A - Alice, Alisha
B - Bailey, Bigfoot, Bobcat
C - Cara, Caren, Cinderella
D - Dill Pickle, Debra
E - Elizabeth
F - Frannie, Froggie
G - Gi
H - Hannah (Montana), Huskies
I - Izzy
J - Julia, Junior
K - Kara
L - Laura, Larazee, Linebacker
M - Meredith
N - Nana
O - OB1, Oprah, Obama
P - Posie
Q - Queen of England, Quey
R - Raney, Rock, Ray mysteno
S - Sara, Spongebob
T - Tessa, Taya, TV
U - Unrated
V - Victoria
W - Wahwahwah, Willie
X - Xena
Y - Yoda
Z - Zoey

Friendly Wager

It's about that time . . . what will the baby's birthday be? (Follow the link below & take a guess!)

Just so that you can make a fully informed decision: her due date is December 5th, I arrived about a month late, not sure if Brandon was early or late (Jo?), and I've been having lots of contractions. Guess away! The winner can have the honor of babysitting for us. :)

http://www.expectnet.com/game.php -- On the top left box you enter "Crisafullicousin" to get into our game

Happy Halloween

It's that time of year again - time to go stock up on candy before Friday night! Chelsea and I got into the spirit and carved some pumpkins this year. I don't have much carving experience, but I think that they turned out all right! Please avoid any wise-cracks about the size of my belly compared to the pumpkins...

Walla Walla

OK, maybe Bozeman wasn't our final pre-baby trip ... last weekend we made the trek to Walla Walla (yes, home of the sweet onion). We had rented a big house with a group of friends for the weekend. We ate some good food, played Rock Band, visited some wineries, played cards, and the the boys had a little touch football competition. Overall, a fun & relaxing weekend! I would recommend it!

Bozeman

It seems like it has come to blog updates only once monthly . . . sorry. Two weeks ago, we made our final pre-baby trip to Pony/Bozeman. The weekend was packed full of activity, but was lots of fun and reminded us why we miss Bozeman! We were able to visit with Kelly, Liza, and my mom. We went to Wendy and Taylor's wedding and caught up with lots of old friends. It was well worth the trip!

Visitors From Denver!

We had a busy Labor Day weekend. Kevin & Ashley made the long trip from Denver . . . Oscar was VERY excited to see his former dog-sitters! Our friend John was also in town for the weekend and we managed to take in a concert, eat a lot, visit many friends, etc. Catching up was great fun -- we miss them!

Seattle Sunset

My mom was here visiting this weekend. We did some shopping, boating, and plenty of eating. For my mom's birthday, we went to Shrek the Musical. It is having a pre-showing here before it moves on to Broadway. It was fun with lots of good songs and good humor.

On Monday, my cousin Chelsea arrived from Florida. She is moving here to take a traveling Occupational Therapy job for three months so we should have plenty of fun!!

Fireworks!

Sharing some pictures from our 4th of July adventure. We packed up a picnic with our friends, loaded up onto their boat, and parked in Lake Union waiting for the fireworks show that is shot from a barge in Lake Union. The first picture is Emmy & Heidi with the little girl from a couple of boats over (we were tied together so that we could use their bathroom - although it ended up not working). The second picture is Ben & Andy waiting for the fireworks to start.

Finally, around 10 pm the fireworks started. It was a great show & I took lots of pictures. What a great way to watch the fireworks -- better than sitting on the rocks for hours (right Mom & Carolyn?).

Birthday Celebrations

HELLO and welcome back!! I have no excuses for our absence, but I'll try to get more pictures coming.

We have been celebrating our birthdays over the past month. For my birthday, Jim & Jo were visiting. We were able to go to a couple of baseball games, do a little shopping, and (of course) eat a lot! My friend Heidi also made a birthday cake for me so I had a double celebration.

For Brandon's birthday, we went out to eat tapas with a group of friends. For dessert, we walked down to 'Cupcake Royale' and had cupcakes (with one candle, of course).

Stay tuned for more summer adventures and Happy 4th of July!