Josie Jo : Birth Story

I already posted about my newest niece, Josie, but I never shared any of the pictures I took, other than the ones on my phone! My sister asked me to photograph the birth, and it was an amazing experience, especially being just a few months before I would experience it for myself! I absolutely love these pictures, and love that I was able to capture some sweet moments between my sister and her husband, and also Josie's first moments in the world! Josie is nearly 4 months old now, but I have found myself looking back on these photos a lot lately, as I get ready to welcome my own little girl! Babies are the very best.

I said this about my younger sister, when she had her baby girl, but watching my sister(s) become mothers has been so amazing and so fun. I love that we get to go through life together! These pictures get me a little emotional, because this was such a happy day! Kelli was the happiest I have ever seen her, and watching her and Sean meet their little girl and get to know her was the sweetest thing. 

Kelli & I were originally due one day apart. Me on the 31st of May, and her on the 1st of June. Shortly after Devin and I told our families we were expecting, we miscarried. So when Josie Jo was born on May 31st, I couldn't help but take that as a sign. It was the perfect way to get passed that day. 

Josie girl, you are the smiliest, sweetest little girl I have ever known, and you are already growing like a weed! I am so excited my baby girl gets you as a cousin - you're going to teach her everything she needs to know, I'm sure! 

 

Kelli's reaction to seeing Josie for the first time was truly priceless. She was SO excited and happy! 

 

I'll never forget the way Josie seemed to immediately recognize Kelli's voice. She was trying to lift her head and turn toward Kelli's face right away. She knew exactly who her mama was! (and that's proven to be an important thing to know about Jos - she is a mama's girl!)

 

proudest aunt mckayla

 

look at all that hair!!! we all knew it would happen - just look at her dad! haha

 

completely candid, i swear. he was so smitten from the very beginning, it was adorable.

 

i clearly have a thing for those tiny baby feet and little frog legs!

 

can we just talk for a second about my parents? i think they've been waiting their whole lives to be grandparents, they LOVE IT. it's the sweetest thing to watch. they are high school sweethearts. i can't imagine how cool it must be to go from high school crushes to proud grandparents together. they couldn't be happier and they are obsessed with spoiling their granddaughters!

and we can't forget uncle kyle! my baby brother is the sweetest uncle. he loves his nieces SO much! i'm so excited my little girl will have him as an uncle. he is also a baby whisperer! i'll be taking full advantage of that skill, i'm sure ;) haha

GLACIER | Part 8

This is the last post about our trip to Glacier! I know it's annoying that there are eight parts, but it was the only way to include so many pictures! I really wish the pictures did this trip more justice. Glacier is just one of those places that everyone needs to see and experience for themselves. This was seriously the trip of a lifetime, and we have plans to go back many more times, and take our kids and finish the ever-growing list of things we want to do in the park!

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After our hike to Hidden Lake Overlook, as we headed back down the Going to the Sun Road toward West Glacier, we stopped along most of the pull outs along McDonald Creek. It was so beautiful - I had never seen a river with that glacial blue water! I wish the pictures showed the color of the water better, it was crazy!

For dinner, we went back to Whitefish and were tempted to eat at Craggy's again, but decided to try somewhere else. We went to Casey's & ate at the skybar, which was just open air dining on the roof of the building! The views were incredible! Montana is seriously underrated! After dinner, Devin had seen signs about Whitefish Lake, and we decided to go check it out. We got there just before the most gorgeous sunset I have ever seen IN MY LIFE! We just soaked it all in, it was seriously the best way to end our trip. While we were at the lake, Ryan struck up conversation with a guy who was there taking photos. The guy told him that he was there at the lake because the Northern Lights were supposed to be there THAT NIGHT! What luck!!! As soon as we heard this, we couldn't believe it! We didn't know anything about the northern lights, but we all started pulling up the aurora borealis forecast. We eventually found out that it wouldn't be visible until later that night, and when we told the guy where we were staying in Hungry Horse, he said we should be able to see them from there! It was getting really later and we were tired and didn't want to camp out at the lake for the next several hours, so we were glad to know we could just set an alarm and wake up to go outside and look! I set an alarm for every two hours throughout the night and we never saw them! It was such a bummer, but I think we were just too low in the treeline of the hills to see anything. It was still pretty amazing that we even had the opportunity!

The next morning, we ate at one last Yelp reviewed restaurant, Carolyn's and then headed home. The drive home was long and a little sad, because we didn't want to leave! Even if we had just one more day in the park, I feel like I would have been satisfied. There is just SO MUCH to do and see! The trip couldn't have gone better. It was so much fun. I can't believe it's been three months since we were in GNP!

 

 

cute little boardwalks along the creek

 

the view from the skybar at Casey's in Whitefish, MT!

 

By the way - we're moving to Montana the second we get the chance!

GLACIER | Part 7

After our morning on Lake McDonald, we drove the Going to the Sun Road, once again, up to Logan Pass. Directly behind the visitor's center is a boardwalk pathway that eventually turns into a hike to Hidden Lake, or the Hidden Lake Overlook, for those that don't want to go as far. From the parking lot, we spotted more wildlife! A herd of big horned sheep up on the hillside! By this point, we had seen all the wildlife I had wanted to see: moose, bear, mountain goats & big horned sheep!

We had heard about this hike several times from several people and Ryan, Chelsey and Devin were all pretty psyched about doing it! At this point, I was feeling very pregnant, but trying to stay positive, so I agreed to give it my best! Even though we were at the park in late June, the majority of the trail was still covered in snow! This made for a lot of steep, slippery hiking and it was really hard! People we passed on the trail would make comments about what a trooper I was, which made me feel awesome, but I was also taking this trail about 100 feet at a time, and complaining a lot to Devin, who just kept telling me I was doing awesome. This was also Father's Day, which helped me try harder to be positive and make it a memorable day for Devin! 

When we finally reached the overlook, it was WELL worth the difficult, slippery hiking. Oh my gosh, it was unbelievable! There were goats everywhere, even BABY GOATS (my life is complete. they were the cutest things ever, i think i need a baby goat). It was so worth it. This was our last full day in the park, and we felt like it was so well spent!

Hidden Lake sits at the base of Bear Hat mountain, and the view from the overlook was so gorgeous! We didn't go any further than the overlook, but it was just what we all needed! There are so many other hikes and things we wanted to do and see in the park, which only means one things: we'll be back!

 

can you see the herd of big horned sheep?

 

happy father's day, dev!

 

I mean, this goat sitting here with this view was basically a postcard image.

 

Hidden Lake Overlook! WE MADE IT!

 

DO YOU SEE THE BABY GOAT?! Right in the middle of the picture?! I die.