Jude Michael Land

After our lovely trip to California we flew straight to Seattle.
Our nephew was due to be born on Monday, January 25th...which would have been cool because that day just happens to be my brother, Bryce's birthday. However, Jude decided to hang out a few extra days, which allowed us to be at the hospital when he was finally born on February 3rd, 2010.

Jude was born at 2:49pm and weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long. What a cute little bundle of joy.



Jenn asked Valerie and I if we would want to be in the delivery room for Jude's birth, so we were able to be there for the miracle of his birth. Jenn is a champ!

One of my favorite parts of the whole day was when Caleb arrived to meet his new baby brother. He was overjoyed and could hardly contain his excitement...at least until the french fries arrived and he decided to try sharing with Jude. :)



While we were in Seattle, waiting for Jude's arrival, we were able to spend some time with friends. It was great to see Chase, Kim and Finn, Trevor & Heather, Kyle & Kelly, as well as Matt's family. We were also able to go to our old small groups. It was so good to see my girls!

We went to the Snoqualamie Taproom and Brewery with Trevor and Heather and had pizza and beer. Kind of a hole-in-the-wall place, but it was really good cheap beer. :)

We had a great time hanging out with Lance and Val and Jaz. It was also really good to see Ryan for the first time in a year.

Another highlight of the trip was the multiple games of Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. Matt and I played with Greg and Joanne, Lance and Val, Trevor and Heather, and Ryan and Gary. This game proves to be my favorite Mario Brothers game because 4 people can play at once...funny memories.



Gary and Jude



Some of the uncle's get to see Jude for the first time!



Big brother Caleb coming to meet Jude for the first time.



Caleb's first time holding baby Jude




The Land Family - Jenn, Gary, Caleb and Jude



Uncle Matt and Aunt Whit with Jude



Me (Auntie Whit) holding the little bundle of joy.



Auntie Val (Bal) and Uncle Lance (Bear)



Uncle Ryan and Jude



Nana, Papa and Jude

After Jude was born we were able to hang out with family for a couple more days and then it was time to come back to Colorado. It was so nice to be there to see everyone and meet our newest nephew! Luckily for us, we will be back in Seattle for a few weddings this summer, so we will be able to see everyone again soon!

California

Matt and I made our way down to California for Donny and Margie Bruyn's wedding. Donny is a friend of Matt's from flight school.
While we were there we had the pleasure of seeing a lot of family and friends.
We arrived in Cali on Friday January 22nd. Matt's aunt and uncle, affectionately referred to as Mimi and Unk, picked us up from the Onterio airport and we headed to meet their son Jeff at the Mexico Cafe for some delicious and HUGE margaritas. My favorite.

Saturday we went to Chino, CA for the wedding. Which was beautiful, but I failed to get any pictures. Its a little awkward to take pictures of people you don't even know.


Matt and I after the wedding



Sophie is all grown up now.


Sunday we had brunch with the Jaynes family and then went to visit Grandma Fluffy.


Brody warmed up to Matt and I pretty quickly.



Corey, Unk, Brody and myself at bunch



Scott, Jennifer, Savannah, Riley and Matt at El Torito


Brody and Delaney on my lap


Monday was a bit of a crazy day. Unk let us borrow his big yellow H2 and we drove to visit various friends just north of LA.



Our first stop was to see my friend Sarah who lives in Sunland, CA. I had not seen her since she moved from Colorado in 2003. It was so great to see her and catch up a little bit.

Congrats to Sarah and Brian - expecting their first little girl in June.

After visiting with Sarah for a few hours, we ventured up to Canyon Country, CA to visit Steven and Jennifer Foltz and their family. Their boys, Eli, Seth and Elliot showed off their army outfits that their Grandma made them for Christmas. So fun!


The Foltz Family

As the day wore on we found ourselves in Burbank where we visited my friend Dan and his girlfriend Sarah who just moved out there recently from CO. We got to see their cute apartment and then went to happy hour at Acapulco.


Sarah and Dan


Matt and I at Acapulco


After all of the driving while only getting 11 MPG in the Hummer, we decided it was time to head back to good ol' Bloomington.

Tuesday morning was spent packing up our things and spending time with Mimi, Unk and Sophie. We then went to visit Grandma Fluffy again at her apartment in Loma Linda.


Grandma Fluffy

That afternoon Mimi and Unk drove us to the airport so we could catch our flight to Seattle to visit everyone and meet baby Jude.