Russell's Media

December and Christmas 2011

2012-01-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! Emily and Sam woke up bright and early Christmas morning and couldn't wait to see what Santa had left in their stockings and under the tree. Nana and Grandpa slept over on Christmas Eve to watch the kids tear into their presents. Emily said the sleepover was her favorite part of Christmas this year! We spent Christmas Eve with the Russells, and a special guest - Santa!

Enjoy this year's Christmas pictures.

November 2011

2011-12-01T11:22:00.001-08:00

This month we had fun at our elementary school's new playground, hosted a holiday party with my high school friends, and decorated our Christmas tree. We lucked out with a warm and sunny day for picking out our tree, and the kids really enjoyed the tractor ride down the big hill to the parking lot.

'Tis the season for pictures!

Thanksgiving 2011, Round 2

2011-12-01T11:09:00.000-08:00

And for Thanksgiving round 2 - fabulous dinner hosted by Paul and Christine. Sam was in a silly mood, and Emily loved the kids' Charlie Brown Thanksgiving menu.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too, and enjoy the pictures!

Thanksgiving 2011, Round 1

2011-12-01T11:04:00.001-08:00

This is our 100th blog post! Whoohooo!

Thanksgiving with Sara's side of the family - lots of great food, fun with relatives, and a hunt for a giant turkey. The kids were beside themselves at the site of Farmer Brown chasing his escaped turkey around the backyard. Thanks Aunt Andy for such a fun idea!

Check out the crazy pictures.

October 2011 and Hallowasn't

2011-11-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

This has certainly been one bizarre October! But even a snow storm two days before Halloween and the rescheduling of trick-or-treating couldn't ruin our spooky fun. Since we couldn't go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, we invited the cousins over for an impromptu party and indoor trick-or-treating. The kids thought it was pretty awesome. To get ready for Halloween, I took the kids on an eerie trip to the zoo and we made lots of crafts, including some haunted houses and a creepy gingerbread house.

Enjoy the pictures! And don't worry, you will get to see a lot more pictures of my tiger and witch after we go trick-or-treating this weekend.

Boo!

September 2011

2011-11-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

We did a lot more in September than have birthday parties for Emily (although both of her parties were awesome!). The kids had a crazy amount of fun drawing train tracks all over the driveway and riding their bikes on them. Emily is getting really good at maneuvering and Sam loved having a "caboose" hitched to his bike. We also took the kids to Halibut Point in Rockport where we all had a blast climbing on the huge rocks by the sea.

Enjoy the pictures!

Emily's Birthday Party at the Discovery Museum

2011-09-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Emily's birthday (again) with all of her friends at the Discovery Museums. Pizza, cake, boat building experiments, and plenty of time to play in the museums with her buddies. We have one lucky 5-year-old!

Thanks to all the awesome kids who joined us, and to the fabulous moms and dads for all of their help passing out food and wrangling children.

Enjoy the pictures.

Emily Turns 5!

2011-09-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my awesome daughter! I still can't believe Emily is 5, but, as the mountain of presents can attest, she definitely had a birthday. Thanks to Uncle Paul and Caroline for being the paparazzi and thoroughly documenting the day.

Enjoy the pictures!

August 2011

2011-09-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

August was a month of day trips - Davis' Farmland and Mega Corn Maze, Canobie Lake Park, the New England Aquarium, the Acton Children's Museum, and a friend's lake house. Good times! We certainly found a lot of ways to entertain the kids this summer!

Enjoy the pictures.

Russellpour-apalooza '11

2011-09-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Rasoulpour family came to visit in August, and fun was had by all! 6 adults, 7 kids, and 1 bouncy house - how could we not have a fabulous time??

Enjoy the pictures!

July 2011

2011-08-09T04:24:00.000-07:00

We were always up to something in July - Botanical Gardens with Nanna and Pop on the 4th, spending time with the animals and on the train at the Ecotarium, dancing at Jazz at Sunset, playing at Mirror Lake, swimming lessons, and hanging out with great friends.

Enjoy our pictures!

June 2011 and the Flip Flop Fiesta

2011-07-04T03:39:00.000-07:00

Our big adventure this month was a trip to the Southwick Zoo. The kids' loved the the prairie dogs and snapping turtles! We took an excellent train ride through the woods and saw moose and swans, Sam went on his first rides with his big sis, and of course we all ate some ice cream.

Emily also had her big gymnastics show - the Flip Flop Fiesta. She and her bff Erica did a great job on the bars, balance beam, trampoline, and floor exercises, and earned big trophies at the end!

Enjoy our pictures!

April and May 2011

2011-06-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

Easter fun with the Russells, two trips to the Boston Children's Museum, and fun at the playground, Davis' Farmland, with bubbles, and on tractors. April and May were a blast!

Check out our pictures, and even a few videos.

March and a Little April 2011

2011-04-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Sam!! And Happy Birthday John! And Happy Anniversary Sara and John! Phew. Quite a month.

Sam had at least three birthday parties to celebrate the big 2. One with all the Russells, one at home with a brownie Spiderman "cake", and one with the Matouseks to celebrate the birthdays of cousin Tom, Grandpa, John, and Sam. Both of the Russell boys enjoyed their celebrations and presents.

Besides all the parties, we had a lot of fun in the last month and a half. Surprise snow storm on April 1, playground fun, and puddle splashing galore.

Enjoy the pictures!

February 2011

2011-04-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

We mostly spent February indoors, as the snow outside piled up. Activities became more and more creative as we tried to find fun things to entertain our stir-crazy kids. One of the highlights was a trip with all the Russell ladies to see Princesses on Ice.

Enjoy our pictures (more than we enjoyed the snow storms)!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! Emily and Sam thoroughly enjoyed Christmas Eve with the Matousek/Pilkanis clan and Christmas Day with the Russells. Every present Emily opened was "just what she always wanted!". But it took Sam 2 days to get through all his gifts - he was just too busy playing with his new toys to want to open more presents.

Enjoy the many many pictures.

December 2010

2011-01-27T18:14:00.000-08:00

This month has been all about getting ready for Christmas! We went to a great childrens' Christmas party, visited Santa at the mall, and enjoyed a Christmas tuba concert. Emily had a blast building the first snowman of the year, but Sam was not quite sure how to feel about the snow. In other news, Sam graduated to the kids' table at Nanna and Pop's house!

Enjoy the pictures!

November 2010

2010-12-21T08:23:00.001-08:00

November flew by - John and I had a great weekend getaway to Boston, we decorated our Christmas tree, and did our best to enjoy any not-too-freezing days outside.

And the highlight was John graduating from Harvard - whooohooo!!!

Enjoy our pictures.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-21T08:18:00.000-08:00

Although neither Emily nor Sam would try turkey, they had a lot of fun playing, feeding the geese, and snuggling with family on Thanksgiving. They were both a lot of help making our turkey cake. Well, Emily helped and Sam devoured toasted coconut.

Enjoy the pictures.

Murder Mystery Party

2010-12-21T08:15:00.000-08:00

John and I joined some good friends for a night of excellent food, plenty of wine, and a little murder.

Enjoy the pictures!

October 2010

2010-11-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

Show me your mad Halloween face!

We had a fantastic October - what a beautiful month! Halloween, Halloween parties, pumpkin picking, pumpkin carving, making scary gingerbread houses, playing in leaves, splashing in puddles, and even running around the beach. John and I joined the other Russells for the Falling for Science event at the Discovery Museum (mmmm, science of the martini), and much fun was had by all.

Enjoy the latest pictures.

September 2010

2010-10-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

Back to school for Emily! She was so excited to be heading back to preschool and her friends- what a wonderful change from last year. We also squeezed in one last beach trip with Nana and a visit to the zoo.

Sam is picking up new words every day, though "Mommy" is still the one I hear most often! He and Emily are playing so well together suddenly. Nothing makes me happier than hearing them giggling together or watching Emily find ways to include Sam in her games. It helps that he is a wonderful tea party guest!

Enjoy the pictures.

Emily Turns 4!

2010-10-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Emily!

Birthday presents, birthday playground trip, birthday dinner with Nanna and Pop, and of course birthday PARTY!

Em had a blast celebrating her 4th birthday, and we all had a lot of fun too - especially the adults who were brave enough to try the bounce house!

Enjoy the pictures.

August 2010

2010-10-08T17:20:00.001-07:00

We had quite a month! Visit to the Discovery Museum, apple and flower picking with friends, and crazy face painting at Davis' Farmland. We enjoyed a great visit with lots of John's family - Aunt Ann, John, Jimmy, Mary, and their 4 kids. And of course we spent lots of time just playing around outside.

Oh, and John finished our fire pit - awesome!!!

Enjoy the latest pictures.

July 2010

2010-08-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

Don't you love the sunglasses?! This month we took a trip to the Tower Hill Botanical Gardens with Nanna and Pop and had a great trip to Davis' Farmland. Sam really loves the animals there, and Emily even went into the Splash Park.

And yes, you will see pictures of Sam painting with colored vanilla pudding. What was I thinking?

Enjoy the pictures.

Tanglewood 2010

2010-08-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

John and I had our first weekend away in 2 years! We went to the Berkshires, and had a wonderful and relaxing time wandering through the Botanical Gardens, exploring the sculpture garden/woods at Chesterwood (the home of Daniel Chester French who sculpted Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial), and finding a cool pottery studio.

The highlight though was picnicing under the stars at Tanglewood, listening to Mahler's 3rd symphony. By the way, this is the longest symphony EVER! We enjoyed every minute of it.

Thank you very much Nana and Grandpa for watching Sam and Emily!

Here are our pictures.

Flip Flop Fiesta 2010

2010-08-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

Emily had her big gymnastics end of the year show - the Flip Flop Fiesta - on June 14. She did a wonderful job on the bars, balance beam, trampoline, and floor exercises. Way to go Emily! And congratulations on your first big trophy!

I tried to get her centered in the pictures, but I will admit that some are more like "where's Waldo". Happy hunting!

Enjoy the pictures.

June 2010

2010-08-07T07:16:00.000-07:00

Emily gets her nails painted, John and Pop install a kitchen pantry, we plant some flowers in the garden, and the kids have lots of fun in the pool. Oh yes, and Emily learns how to walk like an Egyptian. Great month!

Check out our pictures from June.

Emily sings supercalifragilisticexpialidocious at warp speed

2010-07-30T16:42:00.001-07:00

What else need be said?

May 2010

2010-06-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

What an awesome month! We had a visit from Andy, Meghan and new baby Mackenzie, went to CT to stay with friends and their girls for a night, explored the Boston Children's Museum, built a fire pit in the backyard, and had tons of fun playing outside.

Emily just finished her first year of preschool. She made a lot of friends and is already looking forward to a few weeks of summer camp at school. I can't get over how bright she is - not to brag but my girl is wicked smaht.

May was a huge month for Sam - 3 new teeth, eating with a spoon, learned how to say "kitty" and is WALKING. He took his first steps at 14 months 2 days. I'm glad to report that he's still a very happy, cuddly little guy.

Enjoy our pictures!

April 2010

2010-04-20T17:02:00.001-07:00

Wow! What a month! Easter, visits to the Butterfly Place and Davis' Farmland (with friends), and lots of time outside enjoying the lovely weather. And yes, I was very brave at the Butterfly Place and faced my irrational fear of butterflies and moths. Fortunately, the Goliath Moth had not yet emerged from its cocoon - yuck! In other news, Sam cut his two top front teeth this month.

Enjoy the pictures!

Happy First Birthday Sam!

2010-03-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

Sam turned the big ONE! He thoroughly enjoyed his cake and even put up with the silly hat I couldn't resist buying for him.

Enjoy our pictures from his party.

February and March 2010

2010-03-17T10:46:00.001-07:00

The last few months have been busy! A trip to the Discovery Museum, a birthday party for friend Matty at the Aquarium, and plenty of playing outside now that the days are getting warmer.

Sam is cruising and even trying to stand up on his own. Emily is enjoying her new bike!

Enjoy our pictures.

January 2010

2010-02-07T00:47:00.000-08:00

A new year has brought a lot of changes for Mr. Sam - he's now crawling and standing holding on to furniture and toys! At his 10-month checkup, he weighed 17lbs 12oz and was 28.75 inches. He is getting much more demanding, and his favorite game involves chasing and then tackling the cats. The cats are not amused.

It feels like we've all been sick all month, but we did manage to find some time for fun in between sneezes. One of the best parts was a visit from our friends, Reza and Teresa, with their son Julian and their iPhones.

Here are our pictures.

Christmas 2009

2010-02-07T00:27:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas, spending Christmas Eve with the Russells and Christmas Day with the Matousek/Pilkanis clan. Emily and Sam had a blast opening all of their presents and were surprised with a Christmas Eve visit from Santa. Emily kept Great Grandma very busy with games of tag and showing her all of the toys in her room - what a great Great Grandma indeed!

Overall, Sam's first Christmas was a huge success, and it was incredibly fun watching Emily enjoying her family and gifts.

There are a lot of pictures here, but the kids were so cute I couldn't resist posting them all.

Enjoy our pictures!

November and December 2009

2009-12-20T17:09:00.001-08:00

Christmas, and the rather large number of pictures that go with it, is almost here! Here's an early Christmas present - pictures from November and December.

We've been busy with a trip to the aquarium, hosting our first Thanksgiving, decorating the tree, building gingerbread houses and snowmen, and having friends over to visit. Sam cut his first tooth on December 15th, and second on December 17th. He now rolls wherever he wants to go, which is usually under the Christmas tree. Emily is having a wonderful time in school. She's made some friends and is excited to go in the mornings. She's also really enjoying her gymnastics class with a friend from school.

Enjoy our latest pictures!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T17:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

Emily and Sam had an action-packed Halloween this year. Pumpkin carving, a Halloween party with a friend from Emily's school (complete with hay ride!), and of course trick-or-treating. Sam stayed home and helped me pass out candy while Emily and John went trick-or-treating with the Russell cousins.

Enjoy our frighteningly cute pictures!

September and October 2009

2009-11-02T17:09:00.000-08:00

The last two months have flown by! Emily started preschool, Sam learned to sit up on his own, we planted a million and one bulbs in the front yard for the spring, and we spent some warm afternoons at the playground. It took a few weeks, but Emily has adjusted very well to school. It didn't take nearly as long for me to get used to several quiet hours a few mornings a week!

Enjoy the pictures!

Emily Turns 3!

2009-09-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Emily!

Check out our pictures from Emily's 3rd birthday party.

Anna and Russ's wedding

2009-09-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

Although usually our pictures center around the kids, John and I had a big night out over Labor Day weekend - Anna and Russ's wedding! Beautiful wedding and so awesome to spend time with my high school friends. Apparently I "brought the class" to Table 14, but we still got shushed during the speeches (sorry). What did they expect putting us all together . . . on the balcony . . . in the corner . . . with an open bar??

Here are the pictures that prove we can still have a good time.

Vacation 2009

2009-09-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Once again, our family went to NH for a fun week of vacation. This time, we stayed with Nana and Grandpa Matousek, which was a huge improvement over last year, when Emily spent the entire week asking to see and call her grandparents.

We visited Storyland and Santa's Village, and played in the pool. Emily surprised us all by getting her face painted by a stranger. Sam was totally happy to hang out with us on all of our adventures. John and I even got a day off to go hiking and play mini-golf.

Enjoy our pictures!

August 2009

2009-09-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Think they're related?

August brought lots of exciting events - visits with friends, town fair, and a trip to Davis' Farmland (complete with Daddy face painting). Sam started solid foods, and Emily discovered that it can be fun to bring Sam toys to play with.

Check out our pictures!

July 2009

2009-07-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We watched a local parade, and Emily enjoyed it until the fire trucks came along with their sirens blaring. Despite the rain we had a fun month, with a visit from Caroline, a playdate with cousin Allison, and even a visit with cousin Mary up from FL.

Sam is now 4 months, and is 26 inches and 14 lbs. He jumped from the 50th to the 90th percentile in height, wow!

Enjoy our latest pictures.

June 2009

2009-06-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

Rain, rain, go away! We've been stuck inside for a lot of this month, but as you can see still never a dull moment at the Russell house. What a month! Emily learned to use the potty, and Sam started laughing and being ticklish.

Enjoy our latest pictures.

May 2009

2009-05-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

Sam is two months old, Emily is 32 months, and Mommy just turned 360 months. You do the math :-) Oh well, at least Daddy is still 14 months older than Mommy. I wonder when we'll start measuring ages in years again?

Sam's big accomplishment in the past month: SMILING!! We've even heard a giggle or two.

John and I are starting to get the hang of this having two kids thing. This month we took them both on a fun day with both sets of Grandparents at Davis' Farmland, played with cousins, made excellent kiddie purchases at the town-wide yard-sale day, and got the deck all ready for summer.

Enjoy our latest set of pictures!

April Fun 2009

2009-04-27T16:51:00.000-07:00

Sam is 6 weeks old and is getting some strong neck muscles! We had a busy month, with two birthday parties for Uncle Paul and lots of visits with friends and family. Emily got to hit a pinata for the first time and even shared her Smarties with Mom.

Here are the pictures from April.

Easter 2009

2009-04-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

Emily had a blast dying Easter eggs and going on egg hunts this year. She is a huge fan of chocolate for breakfast . . . and cake for dinner.

Here are our pictures from Easter.

The First Two Weeks Home with Sam and Emily

2009-03-31T14:08:00.000-07:00

Sam has had a great first two weeks home. He's now up to 8lbs 2oz and is generally a pretty happy baby. Emily still enjoys being the big sister, although she'd sometimes like to "turn him off" when he cries.

Enjoy the latest pictures, with a bonus video at the end!

Happy Birthday Samuel John!

2009-03-31T14:02:00.000-07:00

We're excited to announce that Samuel John Russell was born on March 16 at 4:37 pm, weighing in at 7lbs 4oz and 19.5 inches. Happy Birthday Sam!

Check out our pictures.

Emily 2 1/2 Years

2009-03-07T13:36:00.001-08:00

Emily is now 2 1/2 years old, and is getting ready to be a Big Sister. In the last few months, we've had a lot of fun at the Discovery Museum, friend Lily's birthday party, playing outside, and watching Mom's belly grow. Emily is very excited to be a Big Sister and is already planning to change all of Sam's diapers, hold his hand in the parking lot, sing him lull-a-byes, and teach him to walk - or so she says.

We also moved Emily into her "big girl" room. As you can see in the pictures, we kept her new room very gender neutral.

Enjoy our latest pictures, and hopefully we'll be posting pictures of Emily with baby Sam soon!

Holidays 2008 - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Everything In Between

2008-12-30T13:29:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas! Here are our pictures of the holidays, playing in the snow, and general merriment from the past two months. If you look closely, you can even catch glimpses of my growing baby belly.

Enjoy the latest pictures!

London!

2008-11-12T11:22:00.001-08:00

My mom and I just spent a great week in London. We did as much as we possibly could - bus tour, rode the London Eye, boat cruise to Greenwich, day trip to Bath, British Museum, Tower of London, shopping in Picadilly Circus, saw the play The Mousetrap, high tea at Brown's Hotel, dinner at Gordon Ramsey's pub, Tate Modern, British Library, National Gallery and Portrait Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Kensington Palace, and Buckingham Palace. Did I forget anything?

Here are our pictures.

And thanks John for spending a week home with Emily!

Emily 26 Months

2008-11-12T11:13:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy few months. Emily dressed up as Pooh for Halloween and went trick-or-treating with her cousins. She even said "trick or treat"! Apparently shyness goes away when candy is involved. Emily also enjoyed helping Daddy paint our new front door. And I threw in some pictures of my growing belly just for fun.

Enjoy the latest pictures.

Happy 2nd Birthday Emily!

2008-09-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

Emily just turned 2 years old! We had a fun birthday party with lots of kids. The rain even held out until after the party (thank you Hanna) and the kids were able to play outside and on the cool moon-bounce.

You can also see our great new finished basement in these pictures.

Enjoy our party pictures!

Emily 24 Months

2008-09-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

Emily had a fantastic month! John and I took Emily and her cousins, Conner and Allison, to the zoo. She and all the cousins played at Davis' Farmland. A new water table arrived from Nana, and the box was almost as much fun as the water table itself.

Enjoy our latest pictures.

Emily 23 Months

2008-08-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

We're only one month away from Emily turning 2!

Enjoy our latest pictures, including Emily's trip to Cape Cod with Mommy, Nana, and Aunt Jane.

Emily Movies

2008-07-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a few movies from our vacation to NH.

In this one, Emily enjoys going "round and round" on her first Ferris wheel ride.

Here, she is wandering around our condo calling Nana/Nanna and Pop, which she did pretty much the whole week.

New Hampshire Trip 2008

2008-06-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a week in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Emily had a great time playing at Story Land and hiking with her cousins and friend Julian. She especially liked the rides that go "around and around". And yes, we did take all 5 kids under the age of 5 out to dinner one night.

Here are the pictures from our trip.

Emily 21 Months

2008-06-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

The past month has been a lot of fun - celebrating Mother's Day and cousin Allison's first birthday, playing outside, eating ice cream cones, and more!

Enjoy our latest pictures.

Emily 20 Months

2008-05-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

Emily is now 20 months old! She's very busy doing puzzles, playing in the yard and at the playground with her cousins, "reading" books, imitating animal sounds, and being generally adorable. As she is always telling me, being this adorable takes some serious effort but she's up to the job.

This picture set also includes our photos from Easter. The Easter Bunny was very very good to Emily this year- and Grandpa was too!

Enjoy the latest pictures.

Emily 18 Months

2008-03-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

Emily is 18-months old! We don't have too many pictures from the last few months because Emily's new favorite activity is to look at the pictures on the camera. She spends far more time behind the camera than in front of it.

In the last few months, we've played outside in the snow (Emily apparently HATES snow), visited the aquarium, and started playing with play-dough.

Enjoy the latest pictures!

Christmas 2007

2008-01-20T07:16:00.001-08:00

Emily had a great time at Christmas Eve and Christmas Day parties, and thoroughly enjoyed opening her presents. Emily also got to spend lots of time with her Great Grandma, and even shared some toys with her.

Here are our pictures.

Faster slideshow.

Thanksgiving 2007

2008-01-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

Here are our pictures from November and Thanksgiving. Hope you enjoy them as much as Emily enjoyed her dessert!

Faster slideshow.

Happy Halloween 2007

2007-11-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Emily was one cute chick for Halloween this year. She got all dressed up for our playgroup's Halloween party, had a great time playing with Caroline (who helped us carve some awesome pumpkins), and spent some cuddly time with the family.

Enjoy the pictures!

Faster slideshow.

Emily 13 Months

2007-10-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

It's official - Emily is a toddler! She's having a great time walking around and exploring. In the past month, we also took a trip to Michigan to visit our friends Reza and Teresa, and their new baby Julian. We took something like a thousand pictures using Reza's camera, and those links to Reza's pictures from the vacation are below as well.

Enjoy the pictures from the last month! Click here for the faster slide show.

Check out Set 1 and Set 2 of Reza's pictures from our vacation.

Emily's Birthday, Round 2

2007-09-09T07:49:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun at Emily's first First Birthday party, we decided to have another for Sara's side of the family.

Thanks to Nana and Grandpa for hosting and making awesome food and the world's coolest goldfish bowl birthday cake.

Enjoy the pictures.

Fast slideshow.

Emily's Birthday, Round 1

2007-09-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

Emily was lucky enough to have two birthday parties this year. The first party was with John's side of the family and was shared with cousin Alex, who turned 4. Emily loved all of her gifts and was a huge fan of birthday cake.

Happy Birthdays Emily and Alex!

Enjoy the pictures.

Fast slideshow.

Emily 12 Months

2007-09-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

The last month has been lots of fun. We picked blueberries and peaches, enjoyed a visit from Great-Grandma, and explored a neat museum with Emily's cousins. Emily also learned to stand up on her own, push her toy car all around the house, and even took a little step on her own.

Enjoy the latest pictures!

Fast slideshow

Going Mobile

2007-08-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

Emily is on the move.

Emily 11 Months

2007-08-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

Here we are, one month away from the big ONE!!

Emily is always on the go these days - cruising on furniture, crawling up the stairs, having picnics with the Moms' group, and keeping John and I on our toes. We were lucky enough to have my cousin Caroline stay with us for a few days to play with Emily. (Caroline, we miss you and hope you are having fun at summer camp.)

Enjoy our pictures from the last month.

You can also see them in the faster slideshow.

Emily 10 Months

2007-07-09T06:33:00.001-07:00

Emily is on the move! She's crawling, pulling up on pretty much everything, and having a great time.

Enjoy our pictures from the past month of Emily exploring the house, "helping" me with laundry, having fun with family and friends at our 4th of July party, and playing in her kiddie pool. There's even a picture in there of me and John all dressed up for a murder mystery costume party. Yes, John is really wearing that hat!!

You can also check out the faster slide show.

We hope you all are enjoying the summer, too!

Emily's First Vacation

2007-06-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

We just got home from our first vacation with Emily. We took her to Deer Park near Loon Mt. in NH for a week. Nana, Pop, Great Aunt Jane, and Cousin Caroline joined us for part of the week too, and had lots of fun playing with Emily.

Emily had a great time swimming in the indoor pool, exploring the river that ran right behind our condo, learning about sand at the on-site beach, taking walks into town with Nana, and looking for the Lost River while watching Mom and Dad attempt to squeeze through caves.

Here are the pictures from our trip.

And of course, the faster slideshow.

Emily 9 Months

2007-06-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

Emily is now 9 months old! We've been enjoying the warm weather, taking a trip into Boston and going to a few cookouts. Check out the latest pictures.

For a faster slide show, click here.

Emily 8 Months

2007-05-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest pictures of Emily! In the past month, Emily got her first tooth, enjoyed some sunny days, and started trying very hard to figure out this crawling thing.

You can also check out some pictures of Emily hanging out with her friend Charlotte.

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Wait for it

2007-04-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Emily's getting much better at sitting up, but sometimes she gets... distracted.

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Warning! Serious Easter Cuteness

2007-04-09T18:25:00.000-07:00

We just posted our pictures of Emily in her Easter outfit. She is way too cute. Enjoy!

Check out all of the pictures.

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Emily 7 Months

2007-04-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Emily is almost 7 months old now and is on the move! She can now roll all the way across the living room, sit up, and play peek-a-boo like a champ. This past month was a busy one - Emily and I started swim "class", we went to a baby shower for Auntie Teresa and a birthday fiesta for Daddy, Pop and Cousin Tommy, and ate lots of new food. Much fun was had by all!

Check out the latest pictures!

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Emily 6 Months

2007-03-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

Emily is 6 months old and weighing in at about 13 pounds. This past month she went to her first baby shower for John's cousin Sara and her soon-to-arrive son where she met lots of family for the first time. John and I also took advantage of one warm day and took Emily on a snowy walk.

Enjoy the latest pictures!

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Roll Baby Roll

2007-02-11T12:05:00.000-08:00

Emily just learned how to roll over.

She's very proud of herself.

Emily 5 Months

2007-02-06T11:49:00.001-08:00

Emily is now 5 months old! Check out the latest pictures.

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Emily 4 1/2 Months

2007-01-22T07:13:00.000-08:00

Emily has been very busy since the holidays. She met her Uncle Sam, Aunt Mary and cousin Terri, had a sleepover with her cousin Caroline, discovered her feet, and got some fun new toys. She's rolling over onto her sides and has finally decided that Mommy is funny and has started laughing.

At her four month doctor visit she weighed in at 11 lbs 7 ozs and 23 1/2 inches.

Check out our latest pictures!

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Christmas '06

2006-12-28T15:23:00.000-08:00

Emily's very first Christmas where she meets Great Grandma for the first time and explores the world's largest stocking. Much fun is had by all.

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Emily Week 13 - The Pictures Just Keep on Coming!

2006-12-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

Emily has been a very busy girl in the last few weeks - meeting her Aunt Gemma, trimming the Russells' Christmas trees, enjoying a yankee swap, cuddling with some stuffed animals, and having fun in the bath. Enjoy our latest pictures!

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Emily Week 11

2006-11-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

Emily is now 11 weeks old! She's smiling up a storm, making new noises, and enjoying some time with lots of family.

Enjoy the latest Emily pictures!

For a quick slideshow of the pictures, click here.

Thanksgiving 2006

2006-11-26T13:35:00.000-08:00

Enjoy our pictures from Turkey Day 2006! Emily enjoyed her first Thanksgiving, but I think she'll like it even better next year when she can eat some turkey.

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Pre-Thanksgiving at the Rasoulpours'

2006-11-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

Before actual Thanksgiving, Reza and Teresa hosted a trial run and invited all of us Russells. We also celebrated our nephew's first birthday, although his older brother seemed to have more fun opening the presents than Conner did. Happy Birthday Conner!

Check out some pictures from the day.

Emily's First Halloween and More!

2006-11-03T12:44:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy few weeks! Check out Emily's adventures, getting her first kid's menu, hanging out with lots of family, sleeping through a PartyLite's party (although she did approve of the candles Mom purchased), and of course experiencing her first Halloween! She may have slept through Trick or Treating, but we made sure to take her picture with the pumpkins via baby monitor.

Enjoy the latest set of pictures!

For a quick slideshow of the pictures, click here.

Emily's Fifth Week

2006-10-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

Emily is now 5 weeks old! See pictures from the past week.

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Emily's Fourth Week

2006-10-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

More fun with Emily! Check out pictures.

Emily's Third Week

2006-09-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

More pictures of Miss Emily. This is going to be a recurring theme.

Lots of Firsts in the First Two Weeks

2006-09-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

First bath, first walk, first time in a "billy bed" . . . . Check out Emily's first two weeks home from the hospital. She's so cute!

Does this hat make my head look small?

2006-09-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

Here we are preparing Emily for the big trip home. We are lucky that the hospital let us go since Emily's head is clearly not nearly big enough for her hat. We promised we'd keep an eye on that.

Click on the image to see the full album.

Also, just to embarrass Emily in the years to come, here is her old man introducing her.

It's a GIRL!!!

2006-09-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to come up with something clever to say but more elegant words escape me.

The wonderful and amazing Emily Jane Russell was born on September 10th at 2:40pm tipping the scales at 6 lbs 5 oz.

Here are some pictures of Emily and some of our family carefully selected to show how beautiful my wife is even after giving birth. Click on the picture to see lots of other pictures.

Mother and baby are both doing very well. Father survived the ordeal with minimal bruising although he smells like a yak since he's wearing the same socks he was wearing 36 hours ago.

Thanks for all your love and support. Here's a bonus video of Emily for those who have taken the time to read this far.

Love,
John, Sara and Emily

PS So, did you win the baby pool?

How to make having a baby even more like a carnival

2006-07-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all to the Russell Baby Pool. Guess all sorts of things about the new baby and win prizes... sort of. Play anyway, it'll be fun.

Go to the Russell Baby Pool website and enter the game name RussellCountdown. Have fun!

Cozumel July 2006

2006-07-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

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Originally uploaded by jjrussell.

Pictures from our trip to Cozumel.

Cisco Suprise Baby Shower

2006-07-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

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Originally uploaded by jjrussell.

Our friends at work threw us a surprise baby shower! Check out the pictures.

Greg's Graduation Party

2006-06-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

First baby picture

2006-04-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

Most wonderful thing ever
Originally uploaded by jjrussell.

Here's the first ultrasound picture of the newest baby Russell. We'll try to get the lighting better next time. And don't bother asking, we didn't find out if its a boy or a girl. We'll all just have to wait until September.

Christmas Tree '05 Part Deux

2005-12-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

The whole gang
Originally uploaded by jjrussell.

We had a lot of help with this one. Infants, babies, cats, Lepore's, Russellpours. It was crazy and a ton of fun. Enjoy.

Christmas Tree

2005-12-01T18:38:00.000-08:00

img_1885
Originally uploaded by jjrussell.

Here are some pictures of us helping decorate the tree at Paul and Christine's house. Alex helped a lot too...