The Baby's Room!

Brian has been working so hard to get Baby Boy McGann's room ready for him! Thankfully it is about 90-95% there. YAY! Last weekend he painted and painted and this weekend was retouches and putting together the crib. All that is left to do is find a bookcase and put some things on the walls.

Even though offers of help were made by everyone from my parents to our friend Jon, who HATES painting, Brian refused all help....simply saying "I want to do this for my son". He'd had the same response to similar offers when working on Stella's room 2 years ago so I knew just how much he meant it. In the end her room was filled with special touches and lots of love and this little guys room will be no different. In fact yesterday Brian picked out the perfect bear and lovey for his crib just as he had done for Stella.

These kids are very lucky to have a Daddy like Brian!

While he was fighting with paint brushes and crib parts I spent hours going through all of Stella's old clothes and weeding out the gender neutral stuff adding it to a HUGE bag of things I got from our friend Patti, along with a big bag of stuff from my mom AND the many many things I have picked up...well, this little guys closet is already full! After seeing the crib together and getting his little Converse out of their box, I thought to myself....ok, we are ready for you little guy! Oh, wait....we still don't have a name. Always something!

In other news this week....we had a sonogram to be sure the baby's size is ok and although he is still big he is more in the middle of the big range. :-? So we aren't as concerned about that. Brian was bummed that no records will likely be set and I was relieved that my spine might stay in tact.

Also, Stella turned 21 months today and has a cold to celebrate! WooHoo! She is such a doll and we are so enjoying this phase and age. I kiss her 150 times a day and it isn't enough. Poor little bird is snoring on the monitor tonight. I hope she feels better tomorrow.

Here are some pics of the baby's room and a sonogram shot. I also included a before shot of the room when it was an office...it later became a guest room. Exciting, no?

Stella is not quite sure what to make of this!

Stella walks down memory lane with some old toys!

The bear and lovey that Brian got for Gobble!

A cute shot Brian took of Stella and Mommy

7 weeks to go!!!

Video--Stella chasing a bunny

This is really just a test, not sure if it will work. This is video I got on my phone of Stella chasing a bunny. Way, way cuter in person but this video will have to do...



Well, the audio doesn't work but it's still pretty cute!

Busy Busy Weekend!

How is it already 9:10pm on Sunday night? I feel like I just got Stella up from her nap on Friday afternoon. Weird. I actually started this at 8:15pm but as usual Blogger and I aren't working well together. sigh.

Stella has outdone herself lately in overall cuteness and just being amazing! We have so enjoyed her in every possible way. She has THE BEST laugh you could imagine on a 20 month old. Very hearty considering her girly cuteness. I even heard her laughing this afternoon in her crib when she woke up from her nap. We can leave her in there chatting away for quite some time and even learned the hard way that letting her have that time is better for all of us! So today she must have told quite a story to beary because she was giggling away. What has really been neat to see is how her ability to communicate has impacted everything....she is much happier and so are we! She listens well and obeys and is just wonderful to spend time with. It is hard sometimes to look at her and see a little girl and not my baby but she is growing into a really sweet and neat person and it is amazing to see. I feel very fortunate to have her.

Yesterday Stella and I went to www.carousellavenderfarm.com. We have been there a few times in the past as our good friend Martha works the 'shop' for her friend and owner Niko Christou. This farm is simply stunning and each trip out there is wonderful. Brian needed to paint baby boy McGann's room so it was the perfect way to give him the needed time. We brought Patti and Stevie along too. Here are some pics of this fabulous place!

Thanks Patti for taking this shot of SB and I!

Me with both my kids!

Getting big hugs from Stevie!!!

Today was Daddy day as I went off to take pics in Weehawken. Stella and Daddy walked all over town as they love to do. It was sorta funny this weekend that she had one day with mostly me and one day with mostly Brian. He did an AMAZING job on the baby's room and it is almost totally finished! Thanks honey, I know painting SUCKS! We both agree it is a bit more blue or darker than we thought it would be but the color is really beautiful and will look so great with the black crib and dresser. I will try to take some pics up there tomorrow. The photo session I had today was with a 6 month old little boy and I can't help but get excited about our own little guy after playing with him and knowing Brian was getting his room ready. Hard to believe it is only 8 weeks away!

OH! We had a major bath breakthrough this weekend too! Stella seemed to be having the time of her life in her tubby yesterday and even though Brian was in there splashing along with her she never fussed at all even during the scrubbing and rinsing so we may try a bath minus daddy next time! Brian has gotten a lot more use out of his swim trunks than he ever imagined he would...in a tub anyway!

65 years young!

Today is my mom's birthday and she is 65 fabulous years old. She might see it differently but that is how I see it. Having just watched Brian turn 40 and recently turning 38 myself it is hard to believe how fast the years go by and not wish things would slow down a bit. I think in many ways Brian and I feel like our lives just started when Stella B was born. But that isn't true of my mother who has many years of real living behind her and many fabulous friends and memories that have filled each one.

My father is having a party for her tonight to celebrate her and her life and I am sure some great stories will be told. She has created a multitude of happy memories for anyone blessed to know her. Stella and Baby boy McGann are very fortunate to have their Grammie and although we can't join in the celebration tonight, (a 400 mile drive is beyond out of the quesiton for this preggo) we will be there in spirit and in the form of table flowers. TeeHee.

Here are a few pics of my mom. Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

On her wedding day!

I think this is me she is holding!

Holding Stella B for the first time!

At Stella's 1st birthday!

A special day

Stella's Grandma Barbara McGann would have been 77 today.

In the years I have known Brian he has shared little memories of his mom here and there and tried to tell me what she was like. It's hard to piece it all together and come up with the woman I see in the pictures below. Recently, I joked with Brian's sister that I would love just five minutes to chat with their mom. I'm sure that wouldn't be enough time to get my MANY McGann family questions answered....BUT....in 5 minutes I could see if she is as proud of Brian as I think she would be. In five minutes she could impart a little wisdom about being married to her youngest son and shed some insight on being a part of this McGann family. In five minutes she could reassure me that she smiles down from Heaven at her little namsake Stella Barbara and will always help keep an eye on her. In five minutes I could confirm that Brian has her eyes and smile and thank her for having that 5th child. I never knew how precious 5 minutes could be.

As She gets older I believe stories about his mom will become a special thing between Stella and Brian. A way for him to remember her and a way for Stella to know her Grandma McGann and feel honored to share her name. I hope so anyway as I think it would be wonderful for both of them.

Today we send birthday wishes and blow kisses to heaven!

This one might be my favorite. I really see Brian in her here. It is such a genuine moment.

40th B-Day Weekend!

Well, this weekend was my 40th birthday and I'm not really sure what to say about that. It's totally mind blowing that I am this old but there's not much I can do about it, and I certainly feel better about things today than I did on my 30th birthday! So I'm not going to complain too much...

Anyway, we had a really nice weekend and a big thanks to my lovely wife for planning such a special, fun time...We had a fantastic dinner last night at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It was neither cheap nor healthy but worth every penny and every calorie. One of the best meals I've had in a long, long time...Today was fun too as our friend Jon came to visit and play with our new toy--a Wii! Jen got me one for my birthday and it is so much fun. I'm far from a "gamer" but I think she knew I would get a kick out of this and I definitely have. It's one of those really fun things you would only get for a very special occasion like this. We had a total blast with it today!

Jen got me some other fantastic gifts; one of my favorites was a really nice framed shot of the photo from our Ocean City vacation where Stella and I are looking out at the water. It's just gorgeous and hanging up in our bedroom now. And I even got a small framed version for the office! Anyway, it was a great weekend and again, thanks to Jen for making it so special and for never giving me the chance to feel bad about being 40. And thanks to Stella too for being an absolute joy all weekend! She has really been great lately and just so, so much fun. Here are some fun pictures we took tonight as we came in from playing. She was having lots of giggles as I tossed her up in the air! I'm including some other fun pictures from the weekend too...yes, I even got some Wii boxer shorts!

Quick update!

Just a quick post about my dr's apt today. Thankfully the only notable thing about it was the insane flash thunderstorm that began on the way. I thought for sure the dr was going to tell me I was dialated and put me on bedrest. PHEW! I can't even fathom how that would play out for a day much less 9 more weeks. Stella was very cute at the office hanging out with Daddy in the waiting area and then getting a grand tour with Joyce the nurse. She was so curious. Baby Boy McGann is doing great and head down but not down and out yet....much as it feels like it at times. Poor Brian is lacking in quality sleep as my snoring has hit a new peak that he thought was previously unattainable. Last night he woke me up to tell me I sound like I am suffocating. How pretty! sigh. He is a patient man. We have a sonogram in a couple weeks that will give us an update on the baby's size! We can't wait to see our little guy again.

I am posting a final shot from our vaca that I loved. This is from the boardwalk and to the right you will see Stella's infamous tiny shell that defied logic and made it up to our room. I think he wrote about it in vaca post #1 or 2. So cute!!!

Vacation Pics!

Here are some vacation photos. I'll try and do these in order but who knows how they will come out!

The view from our balcony: So nice!



Stella B on the go! The best part of any vacation? Not wearing pants!



Stella and I on the beach. The shot of us looking at the ocean is one of my all time favorites! It's great being married to a photographer!




Mini golf! There were some amazing courses down there! We lasted about 10 holes!





Stella & I on the beach, pensive and bothered by the wind!



Last one for now. Is this kid beautiful or what?!

Summer Vacation, Day 6

Our last full day of our vacation was a quiet one! Baby boy McGann was giving mom a hard time this morning, with lots of movement and kicking, so she took it easy while Stella and I took a quick trip to our local playground. We didn't last long because it was so hot and sunny! After naptime we headed into town to pick up a souvenir or two, and then got an early dinner. Then we came home for one final trip to the beach. Stella was loving being in the ocean, but she lost interest after nearly getting knocked on her butt by a wave. We then took one last trip to the kiddie pool, and Stella was really moved by the experience, if you know what I mean. So we headed up for a diaper change and a couple of episodes of her new favorite, "Melmo" (i.e., Elmo). We just put her down and she seems to have settled in. Oh, she did so much better sleeping last night! It was back to normal for her and we didn't hear a peep from her all night.

This was a really nice trip. I feel like we found a spot we could come back to over and over, and I'd love to be in the very same unit that we rented because it is just perfect! I think coming home one day early is the right thing to do because it sounds like the weather is not going to be driver friendly on Saturday. Stella really did great this trip. She was in such a good mood almost continuously. She had her fussy moments but that is to be expected, with being in an entirely new environment. I feel like I saw her grow up a lot on this trip. Her communication skills are just so much better. She understands what we want her to do and usually she does it, and that's awesome! Next year, wherever we go for vacation, we'll have little Baby Boy McGann with us and Stella will need to show him the ropes!

Summer Vacation, Day 5

Oh wow...gosh...where to begin...we've had quite a 24 hours since the last entry. Stella was a complete wreck last night. Without a doubt, our hardest night with her since she started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks. We're not entirely sure what was wrong with her...we're considering everything from congestion, to new tooth, to ear infection...but something set her off and she couldn't fall asleep, and she just got hysterical. We went in and got her up, something we never do and something we probably shouldn't have done, but I just couldn't deal with hearing her cry like that. We sat with her for a bit, then put her down again and that stuck for probably an hour or so. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but Jen tells me that she went in 3 times over the course of the night. Eventually, she managed to settle her down and we had peace and quiet from 2:00 AM or so on (I think that was the time, again, I can't really remember).

Stella slept in, which was great, and she was still out at 8:30 when...the fire alarm in the building went off! Of all mornings for the fire alarm to go off! And it wasn't just a simple alarm, it was a blaring, horrible sounding alarm with someone making an announcement periodically about reports of an "emergency" in the building, and telling everyone to evacuate. Jen and I scrambled to get ourselves together. Amazingly, Stella seemed to sleep through the chaos for the first minute or so, but then she just completely lost her mind. I went into her room and she was bouncing up and down in the pack & play, shaking her head back and forth and going "no no no no no no". I felt so bad for her. We headed out and walked down 8 flights of stairs with lots of other people. Poor Jen probably didn't have this in mind, being 30 weeks pregnant! Stella did great when we got downstairs and was all excited to see the firetruck, saying over and over "oooooh, wattsthat?". I love when she does that! Anyway, all things considered she did great.

After breakfast, we decided to drive out to Assateague Island, a nearby beach with wild horses that wander the beach. Very odd. We didn't last long there though because Stella was fussy and it was so hot and sunny. She we just drove home and put Stella down. She napped for over 3 hours! She woke up in great spirits and her congestion seemed to be gone. We decided to take a try at mini golf, which was interesting. Stella didn't really seem to get the concept, although she did periodically pick up our balls and put them in the holes for us. Thanks Stella! After that we went out for dinner and then home...We just put Stella down about 15 minutes ago and so far, so good. She fussed for less than a minute, but is quiet now. We're hoping we have a more normal night.

In other news, it looks like we're probably going to come home Friday instead of Saturday, as the remnants of Hurricane Hanna will be hitting the area on Saturday and it doesn't sound like good driving weather, to say the last. Anyway, it was a long and trying night/day, but it ended nicely and the trip overall is going very well!

Summer Vacation, Day 4

We had a surprise today in that Stella appears to have woken up with a slight cold. She's been sneezing constantly and has had a runny nose for much of the day. For the most part, she's still in very good spirits despite this. We're trying to stay positive and hoping she'll wake up with no signs of the cold tomorrow. The air conditioning in our condo is a bit odd. It can be freezing in her bedroom but quite warm in ours. So we think that may have contributed to it.

Anyway, despite the sniffles we had another fun day. We started out with a trip to a local playground which Stella enjoyed. Then, we headed to a kite store to see if we could get something a bit better after yesterday's kite fiasco. Well, $20 buys a much nicer kite than $1.99, so we picked one up as well as some other toys for Stella. We then hit the beach to see if we could get the kite aloft. It was a bit of a struggle, partly because Stella was not happy being at the beach for some reason. We eventually did get it up in the air, but I was much more excited than Stella was, so she and mom headed for the pool and I soon followed. I'm hoping we get another chance with the kite tomorrow. For some reason, I find it quite amusing!

After lots of fun in the pool, we headed up for lunch and then naptime. Stella slept well but woke up congested, but again, still in pretty good spirits. We played for a bit then headed back to the boardwalk. All of the rides were shut down and it looks like a lot of things are already closed for the season. But all the stores were open, and really it was just about strolling and people watching (and eating $6 french fries...good, but overpriced). Then we had dinner, or I should say Jen & I had dinner but Stella did not eat any of her fried mac & cheese. After that, it was home for some more playtime and then night night. Poor girl just sneezed and I can tell she's having trouble breathing. Hopefully she'll sleep well tonight. Not sure what is on the agenda for tomorrow. What's nice about Ocean City is that there's not a heck of a lot to do, so we can't help but kick back a little.

Summer Vacation, Day 3

Well, today was a bit more challenging than the first 2 days, but I think that's understandable considering how great Stella has dealt with being in an entirely new environment. She woke up fussy and until we headed out for the day she stayed that way. But once we got out, she did better.

Our plan for the day was to head for the boardwalk and just walk around and explore a bit, and then maybe have some lunch. The boardwalk was a bit of a challenge. Stella wanted out of the stroller of course, but she wasn't interested in walking at too fast of a pace. We let her go at her own speed, which meant we really didn't get anywhere. Eventually Stella walked up to the stroller and patted the seat, telling us she wanted in. I don't think I've ever seen that before! We wound up going to lunch at a place called Mackey's, which was very good. Stella ate an entire hot dog! After that it was back to home, where Stella used one of her new words over and over--"kite!". She could see kites flying outside our window and she loved them! We decided that after her nap we would go out and buy a kite and see if we could let own of our own fly.

We hit the beach again tonight and Stella was a bit more clingy than the day before. We got her down to the water eventually, and she was very, very excited! I got her out there pretty far and the water was going up past her knee when the waves came in. She lvoed it! We won't say much about the kite adventure, other than the fact that a $1.99 kite is about as sturdy as you would expect. We got two because they were so cheap so maybe tomorrow we'll have more luck. We finished with another dip in the kiddie pool and then back upstairs for dinner. We planned to keep her up a bit later than usual because she was in such a good mood, but at about 10 to 7 she ran into her room and started patting the bed where we've been sitting and reading her stories. She went down with barely a whimper so it seems that she was more tired than we realized. All in all, a pretty good day! Tomorrow we're going to try the boardwalk again...