Camden's First Day on the Outside

Yesterday was very exciting.

I got out of my workout class and noticed I had two missed calls: one from Jamie and one from my sister-in-law Renata, three minutes apart. I was a little suspicious because Renata and I usually just text, but she didn't leave a voicemail. Jamie did, and it set the tone for the rest of the day.

Two weeks before her due date (and with an induction scheduled for September 23rd), Renata went in for her weekly check up with complaints of a little bit of cramping and spotting only to find out that she was dilated 5 centimeters! Her doctor told her to head to the hospital.

Having only just started washing the baby bedding and clothes that morning, she called me to help out. She considered staying home to finish the two loads, but wanted to make sure she didn't miss her window for the epidural! I spent the afternoon finishing her baby laundry and packing up the baby bag.

Would it be weird for a non-mom to use Dreft? Because that shiz smells so good.

During this time, I kept an eager eye on my phone. Jamie's brother Mike, the dad-to-be, kept both his and Renata's family updated via group text. We had a pretty good play-by-play throughout the afternoon up until delivery time, which was only about a half hour after the epidural.

At 3pm, only five hours after I received those two missed calls, we received the text that the first Ellison grandbaby was here! Our new nephew, Camden Michael. We finally got to see him a few hours later after they were settled and everyone had cleaned up. He's just beautiful and I think it's safe to say that we all fell in love with him instantly.

Let the photodumping commence.

ZOMGBABIES

Let's pretend that it hasn't been about a decade since I last put any effort into this space here and just move right into what happened this weekend. My brother Jason and his wife Catie checked in to be induced on Friday night. They ended up spending the night to prep for the induction that would begin on Saturday. I was really excited and eager to receive updates from my brother back in Ohio, but luckily I had a distraction for the day to help keep me sane.

Jamie's brother Mike and his wife Renata had their baby shower and it was super duper cute. It was co-ed, which is always fun, and included lots and lots of good food and tasty treats. I hadn't really had a chance to wield my camera in any meaningful way since we went to New York this spring, so I took this opportunity to get some Pinterest-worthy pics of the details.

There were quite a few people that came out to celebrate our soon-to-arrive nephew, Camden, due next month. While I snapped everyone's picture, I'll save you from having to look at a bunch of strangers. I will put up my VIPs, though.

My handsome husb and our friend Misty (who recently blogged some Pinteresting snaps from her recent wedding.)

Jamie's brother Pat and his wife Sara. Their bun'll be cooked around Christmas, but they're keeping our niece's name a secret.

Gift time is always fun at co-ed baby showers; there's always a great mix of reactions and commentary.

This card is from us. It says "Hap Pee Baby" then said something on the inside about showering the mom-to-be. It also had little glittery yellow drops all over it. It was hilarious and kinda gross.

Gray chevron elephant pillow from Baker Baby on Etsy.

This chair is one that we've had at our house for years now. It was made for Mike when he was a li'l guy by his and Jamie's grandfather. Jamie wanted to make sure it got passed along to Camden.

Gifts from Misty. Bib from Shower Chic, burp cloths from Ruby and Oliver, both on Etsy.

Mike embraces daddy-chic with his new manbag and Baby Bjorn.

Renata opens gifts sent from Tom and Chris, our in-laws in Myrtle Beach. A keepsake box, hand painted by a young Mike, some adorable Osh Kosh overalls, and Mike's baby blanket.

Crafty Sara put together the cutest gift basket which included this bunting from Backdrop Outlet.

After a successful party, all of the guests were gone by early evening. We spent the rest of the night hanging out, just us Ellison siblings. Jason called and updated me at around 7:30pm our time. Catie had finally gotten her epidural and was resting. He expected that the baby wouldn't come until after midnight.

After wrapping up at Mike and Renata's, we headed home and were in bed by about 11. I had told my brother to text me updates, no matter the time, and had kept my ringer on. Between anticipating his correspondence and Jamie's case of the day-drinking snores, I slept pretty poorly.

At 6am our time, I finally woke up to a text: she's still pushing and they can see his head! At about 7am our time, I got the picture.

He was just grumpy about having to breathe air now.

My heart melted instantly, I just love him so. Luckily, Jamie and I get to see him soon at the end of September, though of course that isn't soon enough for me. I'll be patient, though, as long as my family keeps blasting Facebook with that chubby li'l mug.

New York Trip, Part Two

We left Rochester on Sunday morning. It was about an hour and a half drive through a lot of rural landscape to get to Jamie's Aunt Marie's house in Trumansburg. Being that I hail from Geneva, Ohio, we made a point to drive through Geneva, New York.

Here's a quick history lesson of how unimaginative Ohio settlers were. Before Geneva, Ohio was Geneva, Ohio, it was all Harpersfield Township, named as such in 1806 by settlers who came from Harpersfield, New York. Ten years later, there was some sort of hubbub that (ahem) unsettled some of these settlers, leading them to split and create their own township, Geneva Township, which they so creatively named after Geneva, New York. (The more you know, right?)

The two Genevas do hold some similarities. The most obvious being that they both reside close to a lake with lots of park land, and they both have a Family Dollar.

Geneva, New York in all its glory.

We continued on and eventually found ourselves at Aunt Marie's house for lunch and deer-watching. They have a mob of deer that come and hang out on their property. Being that I grew up in a similar area, it wasn't mind-blowing to see so many deer, but I was pretty impressed with how close they came to the house and how little they cared about us being outside, not far from them. I also giggled at how they looked with their mouths open since I was snapping pictures while they were eating.

After lunch, chatting, and deer-watching, it was time to head out to our next stop: Grandpa Frank's house. He also lives in Trumansburg, so it obviously didn't take long to get there. We visited for a while before heading to dinner in Ithaca with a few other family members of Jamie's.

We spent Sunday night at Grandpa Frank's. Monday morning we were headed to New York City, but not without first stopping at Village Bakery in Montour Falls which is owned and operated by Jamie's Uncle Frank and Cousin Emily. They're technically closed on Mondays, but they were oh-so-kind enough to let us in and show us around. With all the goodies that Emily posts on Facebook, we couldn't not visit and I am so glad that we did!

After getting a full tour and learning the this-and-thats, Emily bagged up the rest of the bagels and pastries in the photo up there that we didn't eat so we could take 'em with us. We said our good-byes and were on the road to NYC. Well, after we stopped at the falls for a few pics.

(I wasn't that blurry in real life. Jamie's still learning my camera.)

Next stop: New York City.

This Post is For the Birds

I always take my camera when I travel, but I don't always use it. I didn't really expect to shoot much during my two weeks in Ohio but I took my camera anyway. I'm glad I took it, though, and I'm also glad that I thought to bring my zoom lens. My mom has a collection of bird feeders in the front yard which made for a good and challenging photo op. I caught blue jays, cardinals, a red-bellied woodpecker, a downy woodpecker, an american goldfinch, and a tufted titmouse.

Oh, wow, and you're still here? Thanks for flipping all the way through. If you only scrolled through the photos to see if there was going to be additional content, well, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Maybe I'll have something better tomorrow.