Brooks Ellis Johnson was born 2.02.2022 as predicted, weighing 8 lbs. 11.5 oz. and measuring 21 inches long. He was definitely making himself at home in the womb, but it was time to come out and meet the family, so with just a little medical encouragement, he did.

Beckett suddenly looks so grown up!

Chelsea and Brian have a lot going on right now. In addition to wrangling an active toddler, while managing two full-time busy careers, as well as the round-the-clock care a newborn requires, they just sold their house and are in the middle of building another. Their realtor kindly gifted them with a newborn photo shoot with her niece: Amber Hall of Rustic and Roses Photography. All the best shots in this post are hers, not gonna lie!

I was on call for Beckett duty, so I stayed over there from the 1st until they came home on the 3rd, and it was a blast. We colored and played with Play-Doh and read piles of books. There was a raging snowstorm and absolutely frigid temperatures, so we didn’t venture outside at all. Beckett got his energy out by jumping on beds and couches and into a foam pit full of pillows and by chasing the dogs around the house. I . . . supervised. My energy, I can assure you, was adequately utilized without jumping on anything at all.

I’ve started teaching Beckett a little French, so we made a few tiny videos. Here’s one where I asked him to say, “Bonjour, Natacha” to send to my French tutor and friend: He actually can pronounce it all better than that now, and we made one to send to Pascale, too, that at least had the “bonjour” part enunciated better. Still,  I adore this video so thought I’d share it with you.

Then when Chelsea sent us a funny, grumpy-face photo of Brooks, less than 24-hours old, we decided to do  our own photo shoot–quick snaps with my phone–of various Beckett expressions:

Uncertain

Sad

Grumpy

Concentrating

Happy

So, Brooks, welcome! Yes, life can get hard. Even the grumpiest expression may be warranted every now and then. But I promise, sometimes it’s super fun. Either way, you are loved already!