Haircuts!!!!

One last shot of the shaggy haired baby!

He didn't cry at all! A little wiggling here and there but he did great!

This may shock some of you but this was Stella's first haircut too! I would only let them trim it a little.

The McGann kids getting their first haircuts!

Jacob relaxing in his little car chair.

Now he really looks like a little man

Stella sat on a bunny for her haircut.

We went out for lunch afterwards and couldn't stop staring at Jacob.

Boo Hoo! Where is my baby!?

See prior post regarding my feelings on that and the post before that to see Stella on a fun hayride!

Jacob

I took these pictures of Jacob last Friday...the day before he had his first haircut. I LOVE Jacob's hair. It is soft and just looks so cool to me. Sadly though a mullet was forming in back and as amusing as that was I knew it was time. To me though it is the end of his true baby look. Although he is still very much my baby and I love the feeling of his sticky fingers on my face when I give him a bottle and how he pats my shoulder when I carry him and how he grabs my arm when he is in his high chair and how he smiles when I open his door and how he still very faintly smells baby.....he will now do all of these things looking more boy. Much like his hair these things will fade away soon as he moves from bottle to sippy and highchair to booster and will walk on his own. UGH! So hard to see this little guy turning one and I wish I could go back...just a teeney bit and savor the moments a little more than I did. Not too far back of course, I do enjoy my sleep! A little early for resolutions but I am really going to try and enjoy more and not settle for feeling like I am just trying to endure. Time goes to fast to waste it on that.

Jacob got a fat lip that morning in music class. Rugged little dude.

Me and my little man

Love his chubby fingers and the shaggy hair!

Hayride

Stella had her first fieldtrip last week to Windsor Farm. It is a great farm not far from our house that we have been to for the past 2 years with Stella. They do a fun hayride and drop you off in a pump-nig patch. Brian worked from home while Jacob napped so that Stella and I could go alone. Even though they welcome siblings....Stella doesn't exactly welcome Jacob and I thought it would be more fun for her if he wasn't tagging along. We had a fun time and here are a few pics. She was all excited to show Daddy her pump-nig and hopefully we will get to go back soon with him and Jacob.


Stella with her teachers Miss.Kim and Miss.Cindy

Stella and her friend Avery giggling away on the hayride

I love this shot of her running....when she would crawl...which she did very fast she would sometimes look down just like this. So sweet.

Stella trying to help Avery carry her pump-nigs.

Ok, I need to stop with the pump-nigs but it is so cute to me! A couple other little things Stella says right now. If you ask her a question and she doesn't know the answer she will ask you-Can you think of it? Her favorite answer to almost any request is...maybe later. Finally she loves to say I love you and I love you too.....two phrases no mommy will ever tire of hearing.

ELEVEN months!

Jacob turned 11 months old on...what is today? Well, the 6th....so that day. I think it was Tuesday. No really, what is today? My mother asked if I had seen some story on the news lately and umm...I can't honestly recall the last time I saw the news. I did catch a few mins of the Today show for some reason this week and heard that Kate is broke. Not sure that really counts as news though. I'm not really complaining about being so out of touch at times that I don't know the date or the latest news it is just weird and sometimes it hits me just how in my bubble I am.

None of this has ANYTHING to do with the fact that Jacob is now 11 months old....other than he is a big part of the bubbleness. To say the year went fast is just silly...to say it was a blurr is obvious.....to say I am sad he will be a year old in mere weeks seems odd but I will be. BUT, to say that I adore the stink out him is spot on. He is just about the sweetest little guy ever. He does this thing when I pick him up sometimes where he burrows he head into my neck and shoulder-almost like he is coy or shy or something. It makes me melt. Also he can stare at you with NO expression whatsoever and then ease into this astoundling smile that just makes you giggle. No matter where we take him people comment on how adorable he is and usually his hair, which is sandy blonde and soft as feathers and well, getting a tad long. I am dreading cutting it but it is getting a little mulletesque in the back. He thrives on the slightest bit of attention and will chew on anything...including the large rubber mats they use at music class. He does this by essentially shoving his face on the floor since it is too large to pick up. Cute but awkward. He still gets screamed at many times a day by his big sister who will also make an effort now and again to chase him up the stairs or even almost play with him...sort of. He is strong though and a recent tug of war over a hula hoop was a tie! She had better watch out. He has really made our family complete and each day we feel so blessed that he is the amazing little man that he is. We will like him even more when he stops biting and pulling that dang card out of the cable box.

I have taken 100's...many 100's of photos of him to try and get one for his b'day invite and here are a few that didn't make the cut but are worth sharing.

His blank but cute stare

Super smiles!

He isn't a huge fan of pictures right now so kept climbing up on me to get the camera.

Finally gave up and crawled away~ I love his bum!

My handsome little man!

I didn't want to leave Stella out! I got this adorable shot of her at a birthday party we went to last weekend. She wore the hosts old t-shirt as a smock for the pumkin painting and I just thought it was so dang cute! She seems to really like fall and all the "Boo's" hanging up and the scarecrows and her absolute favorite...the punknigs! Brian keeps correcting her to say pumpkin and I know it is the right thing to do but I just love hearing her say it. TeeHee.

It's the little things...

I am going to TRY to blog more about the silly little things that happen from day to day that are fleeting and will mean little to anyone but us....but will mean a lot to us! As Jacob approaches 11 months I am filled with a variety of emotions from YAY to tears and wish I had taken the time to document more...remember more...savor more....live more. Some days it is hard to do much more than get through it but that isn't the right approach....I need to enjoy the days for the CHAOS that they are and relish each cuddle and question and whine. It shocking to me that Stella will be THREE soon, Jacob will be ONE (didn't we just have him) and I will be 40 this year! Having my baby making days behind me brings both relief and a sadness. I can't wait to get rid of all the damn bottles but I can't tell you how it feels to hold the newborn! Plus we have the greatest two kids EVER (sorry to everyone else) and can't help but wonder who else we would come up with. I feel deeply that more babies are a risk and not in the best interest of our family....but there are moments I wish little Ezra or Sadie could come and join us.
ANYWAY....getting back to the silly little things....
Today Stella and I were pushing Jacob in his stroller. We both had something in our hands...coffee in my left, pumpkin bread in her right....so we each took a side of his stroller and made our way to music class.......along the way she looked at me and said .......we work together!
OMG, I friggin love this kid and can't tell her that enough.
Another HUGE moment of PRIDE for me is that Stella LOVES West Side Story! Brian gave me the new b'way soundtrack for my b'day and Stella loved every bit of it...from the overture to the sappy songs! I finally got the idea to play the DVD for her. A dvd that Brian had bought me years ago and we watched just before our move to NJ. Well....holy crow....she LOVES it! When I got her up from her nap the Jets were in her bed! I loved it when she couldn't take her eyes off The Sound of Music but this is over the top and all she watched all day! I won't deny it....I got a little choked up at one point.
Oh that reminds me....I told Stella the other night that I loved her and she replied 'I love you too'....I totally welled up with tears and she asked me if I was sad and I said NO! Sometimes I am happy when I cry and she almost made me cry! Well, now every time I tell her I love her she replies 'I love you too' and after a pause she says....'.you almost cry?'
Anyway...I know some of this will be a tad boring to you who read this blog but I really want to try and be better about documenting some of these little things.