5 Months Old!

I admit it. We're raising a spoiled baby. What? You don't believe me? Check out these facts...

In five months, Eliana has been to 5 states (Montana, Minnesota, Idaho, North Dakota, and California) and to Canada (the Alberta Province). She has ridden by stroller, sling, car, plane, taxi, street car, cable car, bus, ferry, and a gondola. Eliana has been to restaurants, churches, bars, 3 weddings, 3 National Parks, 3 baseball games, stayed in 7 different hotels, swam in a swimming pool, and been locked in a prison! She owns more clothes than mommy and daddy combined (though they are in several different sizes). She has seen mountains, the plains, lakes, waterfalls, forests, and the ocean. She already shows favoritism to two sports teams: The MN Twins, and The MN Gophers. And she has a totally organic diet! :)

And the number one thing that makes her super spoiled? She has so many people that love and adore her and she's smothered in hugs and kisses on a daily basis! So you tell me - do you know of any other 5 month olds that carry these kind of statistics?

If You're Going to San Francisco...

This last week, Nick was scheduled to TDY to San Francisco for a dental convention. Ellie and I were able to tag along for the ride and Grandma and Grandpa Marcus joined us there as well. We left on Wednesday the 9th and got back on Tuesday the 15th. We were able to do lots of fun things and see lots of fun places in San Francisco. And since everyone always wants to see and hear about Ellie on this blog, here is her recap of our trip!

Daddy, Mommy, and I on the cable car in downtown San Fran






Practicing my skydiving with Daddy on Alcatraz Island





My scared expression upon being locked in a cell at Alcatraz





A picture of me, Daddy, Mommy, Grandma Bev, and Grandpa Daryl at the Giants game. I almost got to be on the big screen during a commercial break at the game, but darn those cameramen - they were too slow in filming me! Uncle Paul took this picture at the game. I also got to see Aunt Karen, but I fell asleep at dinner that night before anyone remembered to take our picture together.

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa on Fisherman's Wharf while Daddy was at his class. We got to listen to a street musician and I thought it was funny when a big seagull came and stole mommy's calamari!


Look at me! I can take out the Golden Gate bridge with just my fist! Daddy took the second picture one morning when he went out for a jog across the bridge and couldn't even see it until he was right on top of it because of the fog.



This is me practicing with my chopsticks in Chinatown.









This is us in the Japanese Tea Garden inside Golden Gate Park (similar to Central Park in NYC).






This was my first trip to the ocean. Mommy even helped me put my feet in the Pacific Ocean, but it was REALLY cold!
Here are the noisy sea lions on the docks at Pier 39. I make pretty good sea lion noises myself, but thankfully, I don't smell as bad!




Here's a photo of Grandma, Grandpa and me at Alioto's - a really good seafood restaurant on the Wharf on our last night.




Here is a picture of Grandma and me at the airport. We were all sad when it was time to say goodbye, but I will get to see them again soon at Christmas.

The Brackett Wedding Week!

Summer must be winding down because we've just returned from our third trip to MN and the last of the big weddings this year. Much like the other two trips, this one went far too fast. We celebrated Mom Marcus' 60th birthday, celebrated Eliana's baptism, did some house-hunting in the Willmar area, and enjoyed a variety of wedding celebrations for Heather and John (including the "hen and stag" parties, a US versus The UK sports tournament (it was a tie with the British winning football/soccer and the Americans winning "American football"), the rehearsal, dinner, and after-party, and of course the actual wedding. All events were very fun, but of course the best part of the whole trip was just being able to spend some time with our families.

Nick and I would like to wish a big Congratulations to our sister, Heather, and our new brother-in-law, John! We love you both and are so very happy that you two are finally able to start your lives together. Thank you for a fantastic week - we really enjoyed ourselves. We look forward to hanging out with the two of you more now that things are starting to settle down.

Here are some photos from the week (I apologize, I wasn't very good at taking pictures and am relying totally on photos other people have sent me!):

4 months old and Baptized!

That's right - "Baby Marcus" is 4 months old and became a member of God's family! Ellie is growing so fast - I'm already finding it hard to remember her as a newborn! At her pediatrician appointment today we found out she weighs 14lbs, 15oz, coming in at the 75th percentile for her age. And of course it was no surprise to Nick and I that she also measured into the 97th percentile for both her length and head circumference - she truly is her father's daughter! Eliana is right on track developmentally and is still learning new things everyday. We are having so much fun with her and enjoy watching her make new sounds and faces.

Eliana was baptized on Sunday, August 16th at Vinje Lutheran Church (the same church and same pastor who married Nick and I). We chose to have her baptized in Minnesota so that all of our immediate family could be there to witness her baptism, but we were also very blessed to have Grandma Margaret and Aunt Bernice fly in from Chicago for the event. And John's parents and brother were also able to make it (they were here a week early from England for Heather and John's wedding). It turned out to be a beautiful day, though it did rain in the morning so the service was moved indoors (it was originally scheduled to take place in the courtyard).

Ellie wore a gorgeous white gown that her great-aunt Rachel made for her and she looked absolutely beautiful. She was being very squirmy at the beginning of the baptism, but as usual, she loved the water on her head. After the water, she started fussing again, but gave her daddy a HUGE smile once all the commotion was over. Then it was time for a bottle and a nap for the rest of the service. After church, we all headed back to mom and dad Marcus' house for a very yummy lunch and visiting. Ellie was of course a little charmer and enjoyed being the center of attention.

Nick and I would like to say a big Thank-you to Eliana's Godparents: Amanda & Steve Szulczewski and Nick & Brandy Pyle - we love you and know you will watch over Ellie and guide her in her faith. Also a big Thank-you to Mom & Dad Marcus for hosting everyone and all the work for the lunch. And Thank-you to Mom & Dad Wyffels Ellie's baptismal cake! We love you and appreciate you all!

Four-Generation Photos:

Off to Glacier with Curt & Kara!

We had some pretty awesome houseguests arrive on the train from Chicago last Friday! Curt & Kara made a trip out to visit us, and while they were here, we were all able to get away to Glacier National Park for 4 days. After a trip to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, we packed up the car and headed up to Glacier. We were able to do some hiking, and for the first time since we've lived in MT, The Going to the Sun Road was actually open while we were there (probably the most major attraction in Glacier, but is only open about 2.5-3 months of the year due to snow and reconstruction). We all enjoyed the scenery that the pass provided and it was fun to do a couple new trails that haven't been open to us in the past.

My particular favorite hike was Hidden Lake trail which took us up a hill and gave a beautiful overlook of a prairie full of wildflowers and we also got to see quite a few mountain goats and big horn sheep. At the end, you reach a great view of the lake - Kara and I almost missed the view as we thought we had found the hidden lake a bit before the actual lake. But after the guys found the lake, they started back down the trail with Ellie while Kara and I continued the rest of the trail to see the view. We decided that our picture would make a great Christmas photo - we'll just have to photoshop the other 3 into it!

Although this was my favorite hike, I also really enjoyed a stop on another hike that we did in Many Glacier. Although the hike was a bit more elevation than we were expecting, it did have a pretty waterfall that we enjoyed on the way back down and I'm sure Ellie enjoyed the sound of the water rushing while she enjoyed a nice meal (it was probably the most serene place to nurse a baby).

We stayed at the East Glacier Lodge - an almost 100 year old hotel located just outside the park, and while I really enjoyed staying at the hotel, I have decided that when you have a 3 month old infant, I prefer the amenities like a sink large enough to wash a bottle, a bathtub, a door that blocks out the atrium noise, and air conditioning (I'll even settle for a fan that fits in the window!) that are offered at places like the Holiday Inn! :) Seriously, though, we had a wonderful time, and despite Ellie's sleep-deprived screams in the car (sorry, Curt & Kara!) and a few blow-out diapers, we all managed to have a fantastic trip.

When we got back from Glacier, Nick unfortunately had to go back to work, but we did meet him for lunch on Thursday. The rest of the time was pretty lazy as I tried to get Ellie back into somewhat of a normal schedule, but Curt & Kara did get a tour of Great Falls. Better yet, Thursday night, we all headed out to the ballpark to take in a Voyagers game - it was some pretty serious baseball in which we lost 1-5. ;)

We feel very blessed to have such great houseguests and look forward to having them again someday! Until then, our guestroom is open again and awaiting it's next visitors!