Jeff & Jennifer Brinkerhoff Family Blog

We had a fun Thanksgiving on Thursday.
Jeff and I made a delicious dinner and enjoyed eating it with Ellen.

Playing on the floor after dinner

Last year, we went to the beach between dinner and dessert and this year we decided to make it a tradition. The sun was peeking through the clouds, but it was still a little "windy" and "cold." (This, of course, is all relative. It would have been considered beautiful weather at the Oregon Coast :)). We put our feet in the water and walked up and down the Newport Pier. We had fun taking pictures and sharing this unique California experience with Ellen.

Jeff and Ellen playing in the water

The picture on the right shows how excited Ellen gets when she gets to stand up.

The video below shows her "vocal" side.

Most of Jeff's siblings went home the morning after the wedding, but we stayed for another day and got to visit some of his extended family.

Hanging out with Dad--can't you just see how much Ellen adores her daddy?

We visited Jeff's aunt and uncle who have a dog. Ellen hasn't been around a dog before and she acted so funny. She had a very concerned look on her face and kept making a whining/crying noise as if she was scared, but she wanted to be right next to the dog. If we put her down on the other side of the room, she would crawl right to him while making the scared noise. We thought it was hilarious, and of course, got video footage.

We had a good time at the reception that night.

Ellen was happiest crawling around on the floor.

It was so fun to see Aunt Melissa!

Aubrey has an amazing voice and she sang a song to Kevin at the reception.

There was a nice lunch that afternoon at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

I hardly had to hold Ellen at all with Jeff's Aunt Ann sitting next to me :)

Cute bride and groom

The "cool" table

We (Kevin's siblings) sang a song that we made up for them.

Jeff's youngest brother, Kevin, got married last weekend in the Salt Lake Temple. We are so happy for him and his new wife, Aubrey. They are an adorable couple!

Outside the temple

The newest Mr. and Mrs. Brinkerhoff

Family Photos

When I came back from Portland, my sister, Michelle, came back with me. We had so much having her with us for a few days. Michelle was so good with Ellen--it was so nice to have such a great helper!

I tried to take some cute pictures of Ellen at the park, but she wouldn't stop
eating everything on the ground, so this is the best I got.

We went out to eat the last night Michelle was here and I got this cute picture of Ellen. The funny thing is that it doesn't really look like her--but it sure is adorable!

Ellen and I got to visit Portland in the middle of November. It was fun to spend time with my parents and sisters. She had a great time interacting with her cousins.

The four Alder grandchildren

Ellen with my grandparents

Ellen and her grandpa--it's so fun to be able to see Jeff's family when I go home.

As I mentioned before, we moved to a downstairs, two bedroom apartment last month. October was a really busy month so it took a month to unpack everything and get pictures up on the wall. I wanted to wait and take pictures when everything looked perfect, but then I realized I would never take them. Enjoy looking at our new set up.

Front Room

Front Room looking into the eating area; Kitchen

Eating Area; Bathroom

Our Bedroom

Ellen's Room

The Saturday before Election Day, we participated in a sign waving rally for Pr*position 8 (an amendment to the California Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman) at one of the largest intersections in our area. Ellen was a little overwhelmed with all the honking, but did well overall. Jeff and I started helping with the campaign in August and put in a lot of time during the last week and on Election Day. We are grateful it passed!

Two other street corners

Sometimes I put Ellen in the bouncy seat to drink her bottle if I need to get something done right away. Once she's done drinking, she usually starts to squirm around and often gets herself out. However, today I turned around to see this! She never ceases to amaze me with her new tricks!

Ellen at the park on Halloween morning in her cute bib.

We had a ward party on Halloween. We went as two farmers and a piglet.

Ellen with her friend, Sophia. They are only two weeks apart in age.