Ellis was able to experience his first airplane flight, and although his parents undertook the trip with much fear and trembling, he was fine during both segments of flights. We even got a compliment from a flight attendant, who was completely unaware that we had a newborn with us. Yeah for Ellis! We're keeping him!

Due to the fact that we could not spend the holidays with Heather's family in the Pacific Northwest, we decided to fly up in January and see much of the family. Here are some of the visuals from our trip, including photos of many in Heather's family. We were also fortunate enough to bump into our former Bay Area Friends Howie and Beth Smith and their twin boys...Enjoy! Gp + hp + ep

Ellis just celebrated his 3rd month of life...Here are some of the photos taken during this time and a much needed shot of Ellis with his dad. Enjoy...

Here are some new photos of our amazing son Ellis Anthony...To update, he is still working on his dance moves (see earlier post), and we could have sworn that he said the word "hi" yesterday a couple of times. Now that he has mastered English, we will be starting his language training in German sometime next week...He went to the doctor today, and we were grateful to hear that our prayers were answered as the doctor could not find any trace of his earlier heart arrhythmia. We also found out today that is now over 16 lbs and 25 inches tall! Hard to believe that not that long ago he was half that weight and nearly 6 inches shorter. The local NFL football teams are already calling inquiring about his availability in 20 + years...Now if he could only grow some more hair! Enjoy the photos! Thanks for checking in...george, heather and ellis.

Christmas 2007 came and went, but not surprisingly without photos being taken. Below are shots of our newest son with his parents, with his mom, with Santa (his first visit!) abuela (grandma), and a shot of some of the primos (cousins). Enjoy...hope everyone's holidays were as festive and memorable...george and heather and ellis

Well, as many good things eventually come to an end, so did someone's 30's. Yes, my friends, Heather turned the ripe old age of 40. Hard to believe by looking at her, but yes, she is now learning if the saying about 40 being the new 20 is in fact accurate. Okay, I must come clean! It was in fact myself, George, that turned 40 the first week of December. Yes, I turned 40 and lived to tell about it! Here are some visual proofs of the big event, and some friends who joined me in the celebration. Many thanks and love to my lovely wife Heather for all of her planning and "schemery". It was an amazing weekend, and I truly felt loved and cherished. Thanks to all who made it to the birthday bash, and found it in their hearts to actually be nice to me that day. Special thanks to the Harrisons for the "George Poliszuk 40" pins (see below) that were stolen from the Mitt Romney Campaign, and Rick, Liz and Gabriel for the incredible surprise and special appearance from the Pacific Northwest. Much love to you all. Enjoy the photos! gp

Here's a recent video of our Ellis getting down and funky....enjoy

These are pics (not in order) of wonderful friends and family that have come to visit...Erin Nassir happened to be in San Jose when Ellis was born, and came that day to see him...it was such a blessing, as most of our friends and family are elsewhere. My mom was here (as is seen in previous pics in the blog)... my friends from Carlmont stopped by - Amber has a babe who's 6 months now...so we needed a Jake and Ellis pic...then we had the bonus of seeing Greg and Annette White with their babe Madison (can't wait to see you guys again this weekend!) - followed by my dear friend Sarah from Connecticut who came and just hung out with me. My dad, Grandpa Arneson, came after her, and we took Ellis for his first glimpse of the city...he made it through a DaVinci exhibit AND lunch...it was good practice for mommy! Last but not least, we had George's brother Robert and his family here for Thanksgiving. Madison, the middle, is almost five, and she thought we had named the baby 'Alice'. She said to me...'he's pretty cute, even if he has a girl's name' :)...we'll clear that one up when she can spell...all my attempts at getting her to see the difference came up empty. We are celebrating George's birthday this weekend (I won't tell you which one, but it's a big one between 30 and 50 :)
Parenthood is awesome and tests every bit of patience at the same time sometimes. I can't believe, though, how much I love this little guy...I look forward to getting my smiles every morning, and can't wait to introduce him in person to everyone!

Here are some additional photos of Ellis with his beautiful cousin Lilian, in a rather agitated state!, and his cousin Lilian with his favorite Aunt Heidi! Enjoy...

Parenthood has been easier and harder than we expected. Ellis has been awesome, and is quite the handsome fellow and monkey boy. We absolutely love being parents, and treasure each moment/day that we get a chance to hang out with him. Heather has carried the majority of the load with the 24/7 feedings and also with the transition to her true calling, being a mom. I have changed quite a few diapers, and feel most useful when trying to get him to sleep, which I have had a lot of success at so far. Speaking of sleep, we are sleeping a fair amount but know that every night is a new adventure. We have been the beneficiary of some amazing dinners from our friends the Branches and also Menlo Park Presbyterian Church where we have been attending.
Here are some additional photos, and snapshots of our son. Enjoy! George and Heather and Ellis

Okay, without further ado, here is our newest addition, or Ellis Anthony. Ellis Anthony Poliszuk was born October 14th, 2007 at 12:54 am, weighing in a 7 lbs 13 oz, and 19 inches in length. Labor, from the time of the shorter contractions to the time of birth, was only about 6 hours, and he literally was out in two pushes once the latter stage of labor kicked in. I will spare you the gory details, but the doctors and nurses were surprised how quickly he wanted to come out and they were scrambling to prepare to catch him. It was a surreal sight seeing him born, and then processing the fact that he is our child. As you will see from the photos, he is an awfully handsome fellow and currently looks like a combination of the two of us. Feel free to comment otherwise, but that is our story and we are sticking with it. Heather and I could not be happier even with the sleep deprivation, and we are already deeply smitten by this guy. Enjoy the photos and video! Thanks for all of your support, love, and prayers on our behalf.

George, Heather, and Ellis Poliszuk

These were the last photos taken of Heather before giving birth. Both were taken on Friday Night October 13th, 2007, and Ellis was born a night later or on Saturday Night. As you can see in the photo, Heather looked great and did not appear to be nearly 10 months pregnant. Little did we know how much our lives would change in a short period of time...