Photo Shoot

This darn baby is so cute I just can't help myself. This may be considered borderline child abuse for how long I made her sit in weird things and wear little outfits, but I just had to try to get some fun shots! Ella loves the sun, but doesn't love the camera, so it's hard to get her to "pose" - I guess I'll cut her some slack for being only 8 days old. :) I promise every post won't be pictures of her, but that's my life right now, so that's what you get!

More Photos

Wow. I've been a mommy for one week. And what an exhausting week it has been! I've never been so consumed by one single thing - and it's amazing. I love Ella so much it brings me to tears about 20 times a day. The sleepless nights, the endless feedings, the MANY diapers are so worth it to have her cuddle up to me and sleep contentedly. They say the first week of a first child's life is the hardest week of a mother's life, so I'm sure glad I got through it! She's a joy and we're so glad she's joined us! Here are some cute pics our friend Caity took of us on our big day. Enjoy!

And the winner is...

ELLA GRACE HAGEN!!
My favorite was Lola, Jon's was Ella, and Amelia had such great sentimental backing. I have always loved Stella, for no particular reason, so we had a serious dilemma on our hands. The interesting thing is that when we got serious way back when about naming this child, Ella Grace was the first name we both thought of. Then we let it simmer in the back of our minds, mostly because it is super popular and we didn't want that for our little jelly bean.

So, when we saw her on Tuesday and tried out all the names, Ella fit the best. Lola seemed a bit too sassy, and Stella was a little too strong. When it came to Amelia and Ella, we just had to pick one, and this one seems to fit! So, that was a long story for a very small baby with a pretty small name!

Thanks for your votes and support! We love you all!

Baby Hagen

Hi, my name is...

Lola Mae
Ella grace
Stella Mae
Amelia Grace

Which one suits her the bestest?

65 Questions You've Probably Never Been Asked

I got this little quiz from my cute friend Mindy (see her blog link on the right!) We'll see if I can get through all of these!

1. First thing you wash in the shower? face

2. What color is your favorite hoodie?Chocolate brown, it says San Francisco and it's Jon's, so it fits me right now!
3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Oh yeah... you bet I would!
4. Do you plan outfits? Yes... all the time! I have to, or else it might not be clean. :)
5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? Tired, but good... excited for our baby.
6. Whats the closest thing to you that's red? My paper towel holder in my kitchen.
7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? Oh man, I just woke up. I had a dream I was floating down a river in Brasil and waving at everyone. I've been obsessed with wanting to go swimming lately, so that's probably where it came from.
8. Did you meet anybody new today? Not anyone REAL.
9. What are you craving right now? German pancakes... they're in the oven right now!
10. Do you floss? No because I bleed like crazy. I've never had a cavity, so I think I'm okay.
11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? Ireland
12. Are you emotional? Yes... very... emotional... poor Jon.
13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? Yes, teachers do weird things sometimes.
14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Mostly suck or lick. I have very sensitive teeth.
15. Do you like your hair? Yes - I just got it cut yesterday and it feels sooooo good!
16. Do you like yourself? Generally, unless I make an 8 year old cry or yell at my honey. Then I don't.
17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? Is Texas barbeque involved? If so... yes!
18. What are you listening to right now? The oven is heating up and someone is mowing their lawn outside.
19. Were your parents strict? More strict on me than my younger sisters... that's why I'm the experimental child!
20. Would you go sky diving? I've always wanted to, but now the looming reality that I'm going to be a mother any minute makes me a bit more hesitant. More to live for and stuff...
21. Do you like cottage cheese? With peaches, but not anything else! Ew. I think some has been living in our fridge for months. Blech.
22. Have you ever met a celebrity? Rulon Gardner... does he count? :)Michael McClean? Ryan Shupe?
23. Do you rent movies often? no.
24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? My toenails are super sparkly!
25. How many countries have you visited? Mexico, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Belgium, England, France, New York... :) Just kidding. So, 7!
26. Have you made a prank phone call? Sadly, yes. Unfortunately they invented caller ID so I can't anymore! (Oh yeah... *69)
27. Ever been on a train? yeah
28. Brown or white eggs? whatever
29.Do you have a cell-phone? Who doesn't? Except my brother in law, Ty! :)
30. Do you use chapstick? I do. Yes. Very addicted.
31. Do you own a gun? Jon has a BB gun and I hate it.
32. Can you use chop sticks? Yesssss... I want SUSHI right now!!
33. Who are you going to be with tonight? Family, Jon, Baby X.
34. Are you too forgiving? Can you be too forgiving? I think I'm not forgiving enough sometimes.
35. Ever been in love? Yes... it's a wonderful thing!
36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow? Um, no idea!
37. Ever have cream puffs? MMmmmm... my work threw me a baby shower last week and a teacher made some. They were INCREDIBLE!
38. Last time you cried? Oh gosh... watching Gray's Anatomy last night. I cry at everything, though!
39. What was the last question you asked? I just asked Jon how he slept last night... he just rolled outta bed!
40. Favorite time of the year? Early summer... June.
41. Do you have any tattoos? No.
42. Are you sarcastic? Unfortunately... I need to tone it down at school!
43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? Don't even know what that is. So, no.
44. Ever walked into a wall? All the time, every day. Then I always look to see if someone noticed. Usually they don't. At least I don't think they do!
45. Favorite color? Green. All greens. Very calming color.
46. Have you ever slapped someone? Yes.
47. Is your hair curly? Sometimes... with a diffuser.
48. What was the last CD you bought? Oh gosh... I don't buy CDs! But the last CD I downloaded on iTunes was Viva La Vida by Coldplay.
49. Do looks matter? I would like to say no, but I'm afraid that most of the time YES they do. Especially mean looks and dirty looks.
50. Could you ever forgive a cheater? Hmmm... no.
51. Is your phone bill sky high? Sometimes! It's hard to share minutes...
52. Do you like your life right now? Yes. I am so blessed. My life is in balance at the moment.
53. Do you sleep with the TV on? Only if I fall asleep on the couch. No TV in the bedroom!
54. Can you handle the truth? It's hard, but yes.
55. Do you have good vision? No, and it's getting worse.
56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people? Yes! Thermwise, that annoying guy on the Questar commercials, Lloyd Newell, and that Clean House chick with the flower to name a few.
57. How often do you talk on the phone? A lot at night.
58. The last person you held hands with? Johnny Boy... so cute.
59. What are you wearing? A robe.
60.What is your favorite animal? Giraffe
61. Where was your profile picture taken? Do I have one?
62. Can you hula hoop? No. No cartwheels either. Or handstands.
63. Do you have a job? Yes
64. What was the most recent thing you bought? Costco run... including a polish sausage dog. Sick, but so good.
65. Have you ever crawled through a window? Yes! On my mission. In an ugly jumper and knee-highs. So awkward.

Katie's Quilt

My sister is amazing. Have I mentioned that before? She's in high school and makes these amazing projects. She was kind enough to make our baby's quilt for one of her final projects in quilting class. Here's a ghetto pic I took with my computer's camera until we get our camera back. It's absolutely gorgeous, so I'll get a better picture when I can! (p.s. - the last picture flipped for some reason ... no clue why! Just ignore my lack of technical skills ... it's early)

Our Little Nest!

I'm not so into the typical pink nursery, so it took me a while to figure out what I wanted for our little girl's room. Here are the beginnings of our little bird-themed nursery. We have a lot more work to do, but I'm so excited for HER to see it! :)
Katie made these cute bumper pads that have a matching quilt ... the next post will be ALL about it!

Here is a bird mobile that my sister Katie, Amelia and I made... lots of fun!

This is the other side of the nursery ... the BORING side so far. Once she has a name we'll hang the letters on that hangy thing. Eventually there will be more color over there. It smells like baby powder and Dreft and all it needs is a little cute bundle of joy!

Freak Out!

Oh my gosh. Does anyone else get nauseated and excited and extremely scared when they look at the counter in the corner? 13 days? That is definitely NOT enough time to find a name for a baby... or feel completely ready!

Yes, you may be thinking that I have known this day was coming for nine months, so I should be ready... but I'm NOT! Jon and I stay up until all hours of the night talking about the upcoming "BIG DAY" - he's a bit freaked too.

I can't wait to see her and hold her, but ... then what do I do with her? :) The anticipation is kind of like waiting for Christmas morning except that you can actually count down to that big day. Ours could happen any time. Like now. Or in 10 minutes. Or in 10 days! It's killing me!
*On a side note, I'm really going to post about the nursery. I promise. We took down my home office to make the baby room and in the process packed up my iMac with my pics on it. I'll unpack it again and post those soon. Stay tuned...