Team McGowan

sweet brothers!

2010-04-26T23:13:00.006-05:00

Grady LOVES his baby "budder" Jett or Jettoo (b/c Mommy calls him Jettaroo!:)

This was a few weeks ago...Grady totally tackled Jett & Mommy was worried, 'til I saw this! It lasted for about 5 minutes! SO sweet!!!

Grady always wants Jett to sit in his chair w/ him...

~jen

Earth Day

2010-04-24T22:19:00.008-05:00

If you know my husband, you know he is on the edge of being a tree-hugger...sorry, honey - it's true!:) True story...we didn't have recycling service at our old house, so Aubrey bought bins for the garage, where we sorted out paper, plastics, aluminum, etc. He would then haul it into Frisco every week in the trunk & back seat of his car! Now that we live in Frisco, it's much simpler - it all gets tossed in the same bin & they haul it off for us...ahhh!:) If I'm being honest though, I have to admit his "green-ness" has rubbed off on me. Even though the environment wasn't the main reason we decided to cloth diaper, it feels good not contributing to the 18 billion disposable diapers that are thrown in landfills each year (which take as many as 500 years to decompose!)

This year, in honor of Earth Day (& because we saw a really cool episode of Curious George), we decided to build our very own compost pile! Now we won't have to throw out banana peels, coffee grounds or egg cartons AND our grass & flowers will benefit too!!!

Daddy's big helper!

Grady meets his first worm...
the finished project...

We also took a trip to Shades of Green, one of my favorite spots in town & Aubrey got me some gerber daisies!:-) Here is Grady bug, helping me water my new plant! He LOVED watering everything...the grass, the plants, the side-walk...he kept saying "ma wawer pees!"

It was a beautiful day & a very fun family project!!!

~jen

Are you still there!?

2010-04-20T13:07:00.006-05:00

Hello, fellow blog readers...are you still there!? Life has been crazy & blogging somehow fell to the bottom of the list. Now I'm wondering if anyone's still checking in besides my Mom (Thanks, Gigi!:-)

Can you believe how big this guy has gotten...

And look at this little ham...

More updates soon...

~jen

Joy

2010-02-22T21:17:00.003-06:00

I've probably heard it said a hundred times in different ways over the years, "Joy is not based upon circumstance. It transcends the ebb and flow of happiness and sadness. Joy is not so much an emotion as it is a way of life.”

This is a perfect word for our journey as parents? Our kids fill our worlds with happiness and yet they can bring us so much frustration. One minute we are laughing and the next we are calling upon our back-up self-control reserves to keep from squeezing their little cheeks off. This ain’t no sweet grandma cheek squeezin’ mind you. This is the kind of grab their face, get their attention, growl through gritted teeth squeezing. Don’t even pretend like you haven’t at least wanted to go there!

Personally, the best way to endure the seemingly constant back and forth parenting affords us is to focus on the joy that our boys bring. It’s not necessarily found when they are acting like angels or lost when they are going crazy like little devils. It’s there all the time. The joy of our children is there under the surface of the shifting tides of our daily routines and interactions with them. The times when I see most clearly through to the heart of joy are when everything is quiet and still, the night has taken my focus away from the colors and shapes of the day, and in my arms I hold a sweet little body with a face and a heart and a name. In these fleeting minutes, I try my hardest to close my eyes, breathe, forget the world outside of this little embrace, and hold my little one, my child, my little joy.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2010-02-13T22:12:00.006-06:00

I have 3 precious sweethearts this year for Valetine's Day...

I LOVE my boys!!!

Sorry we've been such bad bloggers lately...there's SO much to catch up on!

~jen

Confessions Of A Rookie Dad #4

2009-12-15T22:44:00.008-06:00

Confession #4 - I Love To Burp!!

Babies that is... mine in particular. Having Jett has reminded me just how fulfilling getting a huge ole belch out of such a little person can be. You know the drill. Baby is fussing right after eating so you lay him/her over your shoulder and give'em a few good whacks on the back (don't go all mall massuese on your baby though). And then, if you are a little skilled and a whole lot lucky, your child will momentarily turn into a grown man while he/she expels pent up air in a loud reverberant fashion. There have been a couple of times recently when even I have turned my head to make sure my child hadn't suddenly grown a beard.

Now, there's a difference between needing to burp your child and loving to burp your child. Don't be confused or beleaguered by this statement. It actually boils down to two things: Competitiveness and Mutuality. The competitive nature in us wants to get that burp out and when the burp comes it is mutually satisfying for baby and burper. It's really a win-win situation! But woah to you who are chomping a the bit to grab a stranger's baby and commence burping. There are a couple of things you need to know.

#1 Spit-up is the enemy. One should never attempt to burp without a burp cloth, which in my opinion, would be more accurately named a spit up cloth. Don't be too confident or just lazy because at that very moment it is guaranteed that you will feel all kinds of warm goodness running down your back or shoulder...Mmm Mmmm... or on your nice shirt. It's not worth the risk. Listen, in the words of an old DC Talk song, "I had to learn the hard way. I guess I'm the type of guy who has to find out for my self."

#2 Positioning is key, but it is different for every child. Some like the over the shoulder, others prefer the choke hold or the lap lying positions. There are inherent pros and cons for each, but you've just got to try'em all! The perfect mix resulting in baby happiness and both parental and clothing cleanliness will come to those who work at it. Soon, you too will love to burp.

This is just to get you started with your new burping love affair!

What are some of the finer things you have learned while burping?

~A

P.S. Do not attempt without a burp cloth! Pride cometh before a fall!

Month one... did I just say month?

2009-12-07T21:46:00.008-06:00

Wow! Our little Jett-man has crossed his first major milestone. He is now a 1 month old. I'm not sure how long you can still call him a newborn, but, considering he's gained almost three pounds since his debut, I think newborn is a fading memory. Here are some pictures and a little welcome home video from Grady!

Welcome Home Jett from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Grady welcomes little brother home!

Arrival: Terminal L&D Gate 14 - Part 2

2009-11-21T14:46:00.016-06:00

Flight Information:

Airline: Little Miracle Airlines
Flight: Jett Aubrey McGowan
Departure Airport: HVN
Arrival Airport: JAG
Arrival Time: 11/5/09 1:31 PM
Terminal: L&D
Gate: 14

Let's continue:

2:oo AM - Jen had three contractions in a row and almost woke me to head to the hospital. They didn't continue, but it was an encouraging sign that her body and baby were ready.

5:15 AM - Wake up call! Of course, the reality was that we both woke up multiple times during the night staring blurrily through one squinty eye at the clock to make sure we didn't oversleep. That coupled with nerves made it a broken night of sleep. Let's just say that in our lives we've been late a time or two, but we didn't want to be late for this.

6:00 AM - Dang! We had the McGo-Van loaded up and were on our way! Per my friend Patrick's suggestion, I brought a camping cot for myself to sleep on, because you know they just don't care about dad's in these hospitals. I mean, you would think that we were invisible! What happened to patient's rights... or patient's helper's rights? I demand at least a pull out couch at a minimum! I demand more than just one complimentary meal! I demand more than one squeaky rubbery pillow to lay my head on! Oh wait... Soooooo...

6:25 AM - Booyah!! Overacheivers!! Or just nervous. We arrived early at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Allen. It felt a little weird walking in the hospital not feeling or breathing or contracting like you're on the verge of having a baby. It was comical to walk to the nurse's desk and say, "Um... yeah... so... we're scheduled to have a baby today." It felt like checking into a hotel, except it was 6:30 in the morning and it was more like an Econolodge than a Ritz... and it had spot lights on the ceiling... hmmm... and a VCR... and a single bed that resembled the Craftmatic Adjustable ones you used to see on TV (they must've done a deal with them... you know, instead of the Westin signature "Heavenly Bed" or the "Ramada Sleep Number", it was the "Econolodge Signature Harder Than Hell Make You Want To Leave Soon Craftmatic Adjustable Bed" with built in speaker, wired remote, and room service call button. The future is now!) Weird.

But hey, our friend Leslie, who works at the hospital, had left us some pumkin bread in our room as a welcome gift. So, I partook... it was good!

6:30 AM - We encountered one of the uncanny, but cool moments of the day when we were escorted to our room by our attending nurse named KC. I immediately noticed that she looked familiar, but are you ready for this? Turns out that she was one of the nurses who assisted during Grady's birth. Wow! She was in training the day the G-man was born at Plano Presby and now she was with us for Jett's birfday! She ended up being our daytime nurse the whole time we were at the hospital too! Pretty cool!

8:15 AM - After various blood pressure things, hep-locks, paperwork, and other formalities over the first hour or so, Aliza came and it was time to "break the bag of waters." Ha! She just took "breaking your water" to the next level. For some reason, the only thing I could think about when she said "bag of waters" was one of those cooking bags that Mama uses when she cooks a turkey in the oven. It keeps all the juices contained and when it's done you pull it out and break the bag.... of waters. You see the correlation? And I'm sure that Jen is so glad that I just compared her to a turkey baking in an oven contained in a placenta-like Ziploc bag. Uh, so, strike that last mental picture. It was nothing like that. So, all that to say, the water or the bag containing the water was broken around 8:30 and the contractions soon commenced.

8:30 - 11:30 These few hours were comprised of a lot of ramping up. We walked the halls and entertained a few surprise early visitors. We summoned Gigi and she arrived to help us along. Jen was really committed to going natural again this time, but was a bit more nervous. In her words, "This time I didn't just THINK it was going to hurt, I KNEW it was going to hurt!" I, on the other hand, felt a little less nervous because I had done this all before. In fact, I was a professional L&D assistant. I just didn't have a degree or a badge on that cool zippy retractable clippy thing. Oh and Gigi and KC were there too... and Aliza was virtually a Nobel Prize winner for natural births. Aaaand we had one of these "birthing balls", which looked like two big exercise balls that collided in a nuclear particle accelerator. It wins the award for birthing tool of the day!

As the contractions grew more intense and frequent, my confidence began to wain though. Aliza was my ace in the hole, but I hadn't seen her in a couple of hours. Jen was facing an increasing amount of pain and I was out of tricks. It turns out that Aliza was in the final stages with another patient who had been in labor for over 24 hours! Oh my! At this point, I was prayin hard for that lady to just pop that baby out, if you know what I'm sayin'! After all, it's what's best for all of us, Laboring Lady. You get out of labor and get to see your new baby and we get Aliza. Sounds like a deal to me.

What else could we do? Where could we turn for answers? Well, I did what any other resourceful modern-day husband would do... I turned to my iPhone! After a few minutes of Mindy Smith (soothing but sad), in a last ditch effort, I selected a Jim Brickman playlist from my Pandora App. I wonder if it's developers had this in mind when they began their streaming dreaming. Regardless let it be said again, music does wonders to sooth, but when you have a world of music at your fingertips, the possibilities are endless.

11:30 AM - With the end of the "War and Peace" of labors realized, Aliza arrived just in the nick of time. I don't know that there are many times in my life that I have been so excited to see someone! And the wait was well worth it. She is a pro! She was so calm and kind and I could tell that Jen was topping the hill. She was feeling much better with Jim and friends in the ears and Aliza, Gigi, KC, and I at the hands... and rubbing on the back... and shoulders... and doing whatever it took.

1:10 PM - With one journey coming to an end and another about to begin, it was time to get this Jett landed! Aliza gently guided, while me and KC manned both sides of the bed. Gigi was right by Jen's head. At one pivotal point, I caught her with tears in her eyes, and I nearly broke down myself. But I didn't. I stayed strong.... Ok so Jen was really the one who stayed strong! I can't explain to you how I felt about her in that moment, how much my love for her grew, and how proud I was of her. A true side of beauty that I had never seen. I was amazed, honored, humbled, and thankful all at the same time.

1:31 PM - Finally, we got to see our little man for the first time. He stuck his head out with one arm soon following and Aliza turned to me and asked, "Do you want to catch him?" I was floored, but absolutely up for it! What an awesome opportunity! I grabbed him and laid him right on Mommy's chest. It was a very sweet moment for all of us, but especially for mommy and Jett.

We were a little disappointed that we had to have the induction, that it didn't happen in our perfect timing, but we knew that this was God's timing. When Aliza broke Jen's water, there was some myconium already in it, which means that he had already gone to the bathroom in the womb. This can be very dangerous, even fatal if it isn't caught soon enough. If we had waited even another day or two, the levels might have been at a point that would've warranted an immediate C-section. Thank God for His timing and his hand on our precious baby Jett!

For this reason, they took extra care to suck out his chest and nose and stuff. They wanted to get all the fluid out so she stuck the tube in a second time. At that point, Jett grabbed the tube, pulled it out of his nose and rolled away from the lady doing the procedure! I was so proud that I laughed out loud! I'm sure it's a sign of things to come and it won't be so funny when it's me, but hey...

A few hours later, our BIG boy Grady came to meet his little brother for the first time. He took one look at him and gave him a kiss and then tried to honk his nose... it has begun! Our two boys! We are so excited about our family of four!

If you've come to this point in the story, thanks for hangin in there! You are our real friends. Thank God for our little miracle!

Just before Aliza arrived.

M..M..M..Mommy and the Jett

Daddy and Jett-man!

Our Family of Four!

Making our victory lap!

Team-mates! Me and KC!

Jen, Jett, and Aliza!

Arrival: Terminal L&D Gate 14 - Part 1

2009-11-13T22:58:00.009-06:00

Flight Information:

Airline: Little Miracle Airlines
Flight: Jett Aubrey McGowan
Departure Airport: HVN
Arrival Airport: JAG
Arrival Time: 11/5/09 1:31 PM
Terminal: L&D
Gate: 14

Yes! He is here! The Jett-man has arrived and we are so excited to meet him!

I can't believe that he's already over a week, but it's been full of many cool moments. I'm just now getting a chance to sit and write this down, but I didn't want to wait any longer because I tend to be a tad forgetful where details are concerned anyway. But, in consideration of our faithful readers' time, I've chosen to split this into two different posts. So hang tight! This flight is about to take off!

Why Nov 5th?
When we began this journey with Jett, we made a decision to switch lady doctors because Jen felt she wanted someone who was more encouraging and natural friendly. The hospital where Grady was born sees about 2% of women deliver naturally so we were looking for a more suitable climate for our plans. We found our midwife, Aliza, through some friends who had used her and sung her praises. She was able to deliver at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Allen, otherwise known as Allen Presby. It just so happened that this hospital is the best in North Texas for people choosing to deliver like us. Wahoo!! Aliza was so awesome during the whole pregnancy and we knew that we had made the right decision. There was only one problem. She had to go out of town on November 8th.... Jett's due date was November 10th.... Uh-oh! But we did not want to have this baby without her. Thankfully, Jen was progressing very quickly toward an early delivery anyway. By the time of our last appointment on October 29th, Jen was already dilated (I just realized that "dilated" is not "dialated"... wow! thanks spell checker) to a 4 and Aliza felt confident that if she broke her water that Jen's body would pick up the cue that it was go time! So our "Rupture Induction" was scheduled for November 5th at 6:30 AM! It was kind of crazy to know that no matter what Jett would be here by November 5th.

The birds

The day before we had Grady while taking a "get this baby out" walk, Jen and I spotted a Blue jay and a Cardinal. We took it as a sign that he was coming soon and indeed he did. As we drew closer to Jett's arrival, we joked that if we saw those two birds again, then we'd know he was coming. Well low and behold, while out on Wednesday 11/4 on just such a walk, Jen saw a Blue jay wisp by as she was pushing Grady in his famous Red Car. Crazy, yes, but uncanny, no! All we needed though was a Cardinal sighting to seal the superstitious deal. And as crazy as it sounds, while Jen was feeding Grady lunch, he began pointing and grunting loudly. This was nothing unusual of course because his language skills remain at the intelligible only on occasion stage. On this day though, he insisted even more than on most days that mommy turn in the direction of his singular appendaged indication. And what to her wondering eyes did appear? Why, it was a cardinal sitting on our counter staring back at them with its beady eyes. Albeit its eyes were ceramic and the bird itself was a small candle holder. What's so crazy though, is that neither of us had even noticed it being on the counter until he pointed it out! I'm sure I put it there, but just forgot about it even though it was in plain sight. Anyway, we took this as proof that Jett was coming and a sign from the Lord Himself. You know that always feels good.

The Night Before Jett-mas

And all through the house, the world has never seen such hurried nesting! Instead of having to tackle huge projects though, we were only putting the final touches on a number of things thanks to Jen's thoughtful planning. Somehow she knew this day was coming... I don't know what tipped her off. Anyway, we were finishing up our focal point board and getting ready for Gigi and Aunt Kim's arrival. By midnight all was quiet at the McGowan house awaiting our 5:15 wake up call. Jett's birthday was finally here!

To Be Continued...

Grady Meets Jett!

2009-11-08T20:14:00.004-06:00

I am working on a post to tell you the whole story, but we've been a little busy the past few days. We are so excited that Jett has arrived and so is his big brother, Grady!

What a pair they're gonna be!

~A

Tour de Jett

2009-11-04T12:03:00.001-06:00

Ready for Jett's final approach!

Tour de Jett from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Getting ready for Jett's arrival. We're preparing a place for him!

trick or treat & 38 weeks!!!

2009-10-31T21:04:00.020-05:00

We had our 38 week appt. on Thursday and I'm dilated to 4 and little Jett man has dropped even more! My mid-wife is going out of town on the 8th (2 days before my due date!!!), so if I haven't gone into labor by Thursday she wants to break my water, which she thinks will send me straight into labor!? So...it looks like by Thursday, little Jett man will make his grand entrance!!! CRAZY!

We have been nesting, cleaning, walking, eating spicy food...you name it! No luck yet! This little man is comfy cozy where he's at!:-) Instead of sitting around, waiting on him...we decided to go to a halloween party tonight & then trick or treating w/ Grady man! He was absolutely adorable in his monkey costume...seriously the cutest kid I saw!:-) He would walk straight up to the door, take some candy out of the bowl and then try to walk into the house!:-) SO cute! After about 7 or 8 houses and some scary cat lady...he was done! He's never had candy and didn't seem too interested, so I didn't push it! Soon enough he'll understand!!! Here are a few pics...

the fam...

the monkey & the deviled egg!

We also took our little monkey to the fall festival at church last Sunday which was a-ma-zing! Here are a few pics...

~jen

Photographs

2009-10-09T22:44:00.003-05:00

Here are some recent shots taken of our growing family. Thanks to our good friend/photographer Kevin Hail for his time and talent! To see the rest of our pictures and some other cool pics that Kevin has taken, visit his Flickr Page.

~A and J

Up up and away!

2009-10-03T21:04:00.008-05:00

It is perhaps one of the cheesiest and/or trippiest songs played on oldies stations across the universe, but yet it is so catchy. "Up up and away in my beautiful balloon." While it is unfit as a theme song for life, it is quite fitting as a theme song for a balloon festival. Needless to say, it was definitely bouncing around in my head a couple of weekends ago when we visited the Plano Balloon Festival. We didn't know what to expect, but we had heard from friends that it was pretty cool.

It was a beautiful day and the people were out in droves. Of course, Mrs. McGowan in her pregnate state and I in my sympathetic nature fell victim to the Super-sized Corndog stand right off the bat. I mean... uhh... good! Seriously, doesn't everybody like corndogs? Grady and I tag-teamed one. I ate the dog while he had the corn. He then proceeded to mooch some off of Mommy too. I was proud. It was a team effort. Go Team McGowan!

A little word of advice when visiting festivals, carnivals, and other -ivals of the like. Please do yourself a favor and bring your most off-road ready stroller. I decided to bring the cheapy umbrella stroller whose wheels were so small that it made it almost impossible to roll it through grassy areas. There were a couple of times that the tiny wheel dug into the turf and I nearly vaulted over the stroller or suffered a cheap shot to the gut by the poorly padded handle. Next time I'm bringin the sidecar!

Anyway, Grady loved the balloon "glow" as they called it. After dark, the balloons all burned their torches in unison which resulted in an amazing display. Little man was clapping and cheering them on as they counted down to each glow.

Here are some pics from our adventure!

A boy by any other name would smell as stinky.

2009-09-21T22:01:00.002-05:00

The pressures of parent life are too many to number. Worries about what on earth we'll feed this kid, he's a trash compactor... or about how many close calls he will have between the fire place and the face before our first ER visit... or about how long before your child has one of those meltdowns in a restaurant that is completely uncharacteristic of him and you are completely surprised ;) (you know the ones where everyone looks over at you with this "you and your child are the bane of our existence" glare.) But all of these pressures are preceded, superseded, yea anteceded by this: the responsibility of choosing a name.

With such a weighty decision at hand, we at the McGowan Consortium have chosen not to leave it to the powers of chance, Aquarius, or the 5th dimension. Neither have we chosen the flip and point in the baby book, the casting lots, or drawing straws method. No, in fact we have come up with a three step process for selecting the perfect name for any child.

1. Forsake all baby name books and websites. Yes, you must resist the urge to purchase 10,000 Obscure Baby Names That No One In Your Neighborhood Has Considered. You must also avoid the temptation of staying up 'til the wee hours of the mornin' scouring every baby website for that perfect name. **The only baby name book you may purchase is The Baby Name Wizard, which is an intriguing statistical analysis rather than a compilation of meaningless fabricated mashed-up monikers. ***If you do not heed this warning, you may end up in a mental institution.

2. When you find a name that has potential, use it. Call the baby that name. Moms talk to your baby saying things like, "Gertrude, wouldn't you love to have some ice cream? I know mommy would." And dads, listen carefully! Talk to mommy's belly in the best baby talk you can muster saying things like, "Hey little Gawain, I can't wait to change your first poopy!" **Additional note to dads: If you feel like the bless-ed child is not hearing you, feel free to use your wife's belly button as a microphone therefore increasing the vocal resonance in the uterus. ***The "use it" method will tell you very quickly if the name "Quincy" is the right name for your child or for a late 70's detective television series.

3. When you find a name that works, stick with it. Get ready for people to love it or hate it. It's inevitable that Aunt Maude will feel the need to point out that, in her opinion, "that's not even a name", but stay strong and stick to your guns. After all, it's your child anyway, right?

That having been said, after employing this method judiciously over the past few months, we have finally come up with a name for our little man-to-be. In just a few short weeks or maybe tomorrow, little Jett Aubrey McGowan will make his grand entrance into our world. We are so excited to meet him. The journey to his name has been longer than expected, but well worth it. One of our late favorites was Landry, but after step 2, it was clear that this wasn't a fit. Jett kind of came out of nowhere as a surprise winner, but after step 2, it was the clear choice. This kid is surely a Jett. Sometimes we stop and think, "Are we crazy naming our little boy Jett? He's probably going to be wild already, but now he's guaranteed to be over the top." But hey, the method is tried and true. As for his middle name, that was Mommy's idea, not mine. But I can't say that I don't like it! :) We can't wait to meet him!

~A

P.S. It also bears mentioning that his initials will be JAM! Ha!

30 weeks!

2009-09-02T10:25:00.003-05:00

We are seriously more than behind w/ our updates...life has been a little crazy this month!!! But I wanted to give everyone an update on our new little man! I had my 30 week appt. today and it went great...bp was 120/78 and I've gained 16 lbs. to date, which she and I were both thrilled about! He is already head down and she said he probably won't turn back now! He is posterior or "sunny-side up," just like Grady was which is why she said I am feeling SO much movement (and back pain)! His heart rate is still in the 140's and was so strong, though she had to chase him around to hear it!:-) We have almost decided on a name, so...stay tuned!

~jen

The Big 5

2009-08-08T14:59:00.003-05:00

Yesterday marked the fifth year of our marriage and, being the milestone that it is, we decided to do something special. We went to Mooyah Burger! :) Haha... actually, Grady hasn't been feeling too well for the past few days (we turned the corner from spit-up to throw-up) so we have rescheduled our anniversary celebration. All that being said, it was a great day in the life of the McGowans. We even had a conversation yesterday about what a day in our lives looks like and how it is similar or different than we thought it would be.

It's interesting to think about the statements you make when you first get married:

Well, we want to wait five years until we have kids or Yeah, we want to do some traveling before we do or We want to buy a house right away or We don't want to buy a house right away or We are going to work out together every morning and study the Word together every night. Oh, and we will never own a minivan (not said by the McGowans).... and the list goes on.

The point is that on the starting line of five years everything seems so far off. Early on in our marriage, we did this chart called "our 5 year plan" and on it we listed all the things we wanted to accomplish/do in the next five years. It was so crazy to even write "2009" or "2010". It felt so futuristic as visions of flying cars and lunar colonies flashed through our heads... well, my head anyway.

We've ended up hitting a lot of the goals thus far. In some categories, such as baby-making, we have been early over-acheivers! In others, like vacations and travel plans, we are a little behind. But, in the end, now that we are at the finish line of this many years, it has more than flown by. I am so in love with my wife and our little family and I am hoping beyond hope that the next five years will slow down so I can stop and hold them and hug them and soak in this love in every moment. But you and I both know that it's not going to slow down. It's going to go even faster.

So standing at the starting line of another five years and having a little perspective now, what do we do? I say this. Life is going to go faster without a doubt, which means that I need to take advantage of every moment and with everything I have love my beautiful ones with all I have. There is no time to get stuck in my pride or to spin my wheels searching for God knows what. I could spend the rest of my quickly passing life pursuing things that do not matter, all the while missing the greatest gifts that I could ever be given; the love of my wife and boys and precious time with them.

Time is free, but it's priceless.

You can't own it, but you can use it.

You can't keep it, but you can spend it.

Once you've lost it you can never get it back.

~Harvey McKay

Here's to as many years as God gives me with this beautiful woman.

Jennifer, I love you!

23 weeks...

2009-07-16T15:53:00.009-05:00

I had my "24 week" appt. on Monday...we're about a week ahead of schedule b/c of so much traveling! It was pretty uneventful but hey, that's a good thing right!? I've only gained 6 lbs. which is crazy b/c I'm pretty sure this belly is growing by the day!:-) It's probably due to 2 things...this awful Texas heat & chasing a certain little wild man around!

The baby's heartbeat was so strong and he kicked the wand every time she moved it...he's a very active little guy! I have definitely been nesting...I think I've cleaned out every closet & cabinet in this house! Crazy, I know! Here is a picture that Aubrey made me take at the restaurant last night since we have very little belly documentation this time around!:-)

~jen

Grady's 1st B-day Party!

2009-07-09T23:18:00.020-05:00

We drove to Nashville last weekend for Aubrey's 10 year reunion and decided to celebrate Grady bug's big day too! What a weekend!:-) My sweet sister opened up her home for the party & it was perfect!!! Here are a few pics...

the birthday boy w/ Mom & Dad...

showing off his age!:-)

opening presents...Grady was SO into it

(I was pleasantly surprised!:)

Grady was all smiles during his b-day song...he didn't

mind being the center of attention one bit!

He turned into a giggle-box w/ the cake in front of him...he kept

looking around like "are you sure this is okay!?"

Grady LOVES the water & has no fear...scary!

crawling out of the baby pool!:-)

more to come soon...

~jen

Confessions of a Rookie Dad #3

2009-06-16T21:39:00.005-05:00

Confession #3 -

I use the word beautiful to describe my son(s).

I know it's against man law or something to use words other than "handsome" or "rugged" when referring to your male progeny, but I'm just being honest. There is something beauiful about this little man. And already, I can tell that our new little man-to-be is going to be beautiful just by looking at the sonogram pictures.

Yes, someday they'll be "extremely good looking", "sharp", "smooth", or "dashing" like their dad, but for now... they're just plain beautiful (in the manliest sense of the word).

p.s. this pic is from here

This Just In!!!

2009-06-15T14:00:00.002-05:00

IT'S A BOY!!!!

Mom, Dad, and Grady are so excited!!!

Here is one of the pics from today!

Confessions of a Rookie Dad #2

2009-06-09T21:58:00.008-05:00

Confession #2 - My hands are dirty

For 27+ years of my life I put a low value on the importance of clean hands. What I mean by that is, well... I didn't wash my hands very often. OH COME ON! Don't sit there in your self-righteous hand-washyness as if you really follow the full FDA instructions. Oh and I'm sure that you say your full ABC's while scrubbing the soap from your ultra-hygenic appendages. I'm not saying that I didn't wash at all. I mean I'm not completely disgusting. But my confession is that, since Grady has come along, I have become acutely aware of the dirtyness of my hands. Whereas it never used to bother me to go directly from cleaning the bathroom to eating a nice juicy sub sandwich, now I am incapable of doing so. I have this unavoidable urge to wash my hands before and after every meal and even after working in the yard. I don't know from whence it hath cometh, yea but it hath cometh. I am truly a changed man with clean manos. I have even begun to enjoy something that I have missed out on all of these years: the joy of scented hand soaps. Two of my favorites are Mrs. Meyers Lavender and Bath and Body Works's's' Dancing Waters!

This is my confession. I feel so fresh and so clean clean.

~A

Confessions of a Rookie Dad #1

2009-06-02T22:50:00.003-05:00

For quite a while now I've wanted to post about something that is near and dear to my heart, Dadhood. My knowledge on this subject pales in comparison to many other dads that have more/older/nutsier kids than I do, so I'm calling this "Confessions of a Rookie Dad". (btw I get so confused with quotational rules... period before or after the quote?) I don't claim to know a whole lot, but I figured that, before our next little one arrives and I'm up for promotion to the intermediate dad level, I should jot down a few things I've learned.

Confession #1 - I am not Mom

This may appear at first glance to be an obvious statement. That's due, in part, to the fact that it is. But for me the reality of this hit quickly after Grady came along. There is some glaring evidence which proves that I am indeed NOT mom:

I did not endure pregnancy and childbirth. - CHECK

I cannot produce milk. - CHECK

I absolutely do not have a motherly instinct. - i.e. Tossing Grady in the air while lifting him from his chair after eating - CHECK

I do not have a motherly touch. - i.e. diaper changes are strictly function over form... just remove most of the poop and slap a new one on while challenging myself to use the fewest wipes possible. None of this pamper the booty stuff - CHECK

I am not the preferred consoler - Tears instantly turn Grady into a Mama's boy - CHECK

There are so many other things I am not, but that's not to say that I am nothing. I mean come on, I'm the dad for pete's sake! Oh yeah, hooray for dads!!! But definitively, I must confess, as the evidence suggests, that I am NOT mom! And thank God for making moms the way they are. Grady has a rockin mama who has been perfectly fashioned for the job! In fact, knowing this only makes her that much more hotter! Who knows? Maybe there's some direct correlation between my extreme attraction to her "mom-ness" and her present precipitous pregnant state. Wise guys keep asking me if I know how this baby thing works. Hardy har har. Listen here.

Not the Mama!

Grady's 1st Baseball game...

2009-05-21T15:15:00.006-05:00

We were given tickets to the Roughriders game on Monday night (for you Nashville readers...that is our local AA team). Along w/ the tickets, which ended up being on the 3rd row, right behind home plate...we had a free parking pass and little pink bracelets that allowed us to eat free!!! Grady thought Deuce (the mascot) was hilarious and got to give him a high-five! He danced every time the music came on and of course got to know everyone around us!:-) We had such a fun time...thanks Evans family!!!

~jen

"look what I found, Mom!"

2009-05-17T22:27:00.008-05:00

Grady was crawling around in our bedroom (which was, to my knowledge pretty well child-proofed!:) and I had run into my closet to grab some flip flops when I heard a loud "BOOM!" I ran into the room to find this... Take 2: the next day Grady crawled into my bedroom and straight to the guitar! We've decided it is definitely not off limits! Oh, and his new nickname is August Rush b/c he likes to play some harmonics action!:-)

I mean, seriously...have you ever seen a sweeter smile!?

My boys...my everything!!!

~jen

From the Video Vault

2009-05-11T23:15:00.010-05:00

My oh my! It's been way too long, but after much public outcry, for your viewing pleasure, more videos of our son! You are bienvenidos!

Smack Talk from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Praise The Lamb from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Practicing his worship moves!

First Steps from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

I grabbed the camera right after Grady took his first steps! So sweet!

The Clapper from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

An early training session preparing Grady for his public clapping debut at his dedication at church! :)

Peas Out from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

He seems to be struggling with the peas.

There are also a few additional shorts on our vimeo page if you wish to tune in.

~A

9 month summary...

2009-04-27T21:17:00.007-05:00

I haven't made a habit of doing monthly posts but this has been a very momentous 6 weeks!:-) I can't believe my Grady bug is 10 months old!

Okay, so I honestly thought the kid would never crawl! The only thing he seemed interested in was "assisted" walking...If you put him on his tummy, he would just grunt!:-) Well, after our trip home for Aunt Sasha's shower, he decided it was time! He's been pulling up & cruising around his musical table for awhile...so I thought maybe he'd just jump straight to walking!? I've been making a list of all the milestones the kid has hit recently for his baby book & thought I'd share some of them w/ you...

March 16th - Grady started crawling...it wasn't pretty at first w/ lots of face plants into the carpet but he got the technique pretty quickly!:-)

March 23rd - found Grady standing after his nap...he was screaming, of course b/c he had no idea how he got there or how to get back down; that same day he started saying Dada!!!

March 26th - Grady drank out of a straw at McDonald's! He seemed so interested in my coke, so I figured I'd let him chew on the straw. Next thing we know, the coke is slowly rising to his mouth! I thought maybe it was a coincidence but he still does it every time! So, now I just order him a kid's water! What a stinker!

April 6th - I realized that he could go from crawling to sitting!

April 9th - GRADY TAKES HIS FIRST STEPS! Only 3 weeks after he finally started crawling!:-) My sister and nieces were in town and we were hangin' out in the play room. Grady pulled up on Kim, turned around and took 3-4 steps to me! We all got so excited but I assumed it was a one time thing. Aubrey got out the video camera and Grady proceeded to go back and forth from me to Kim about 50 times! It was so special to share that precious moment w/ Aubrey, Kim and the girls! He has continued to cruise the furniture and will let go and walk to the nearest thing...a toy, the table, my leg! We're glad that he now catches himself instead of face-planting...especially since he seems to have no fear or memory of bonking his head!:-)

April 30th - Grady started clapping! And now he does it all the time! It is seriously the cutest thing and makes me smile every time!

Also, Grady just recently got 2 of his front teeth...no not the middle ones, the side ones!:-) He is one serious snaggle-tooth and matches his cousin, Hannah! I guess the little man decided that since he's going to be a big brother now, he needed to master some skills!:-) What a guy!

~jen

BABY DOS!!

2009-04-14T09:55:00.007-05:00

That's right...baby number 2 is on the way!!! The picture above is the postcard that we sent out to let our family & close friends know. The main question we've gotten - "Was this planned?" The answer is no - but we are so very excited about the little life that is growing!!! What a gift! I am due on November 10th - so Grady and the little one will be about 16 1/2 months apart!:-) WOW!

Here's to maternity clothes and running shoes!:-)

~jen

"doctor DOCTOR, Mr. MD, DOCTOR!"

2009-03-30T22:07:00.004-05:00

I love that old song! Aubrey & I both grew up on oldies music and could sing you every song on "oldies 96.3eeeee!" I never finished part 3 of my blog trilogy. So here ya go...just a week late!:-)

We had been home from Nashville for about a week & a half when it happened...our first real sickness!:-( Grady woke up on a Thursday morning (March 12th, to be exact :) with a fever and a nasty cough that had been coming on for a few days. We took him to the doc where she prescribed some breathing treatments for the little guy's wheezy cough! She also gave him a low dose antibiotic for what looked to be an ear infection comin' on! She told us that after a few treatments, he'd be fine and wouldn't fight us anymore. What she didn't tell us is that we needed a dang straight jacket for those first few!:-) Poor guy...we would strap him into the bouncy seat and each hold an arm and he screamed the whole time! It seriously broke my heart! But she was right...after that, he would just sit and watch one of his videos w/ the mask on - pitiful, I tell you!

What made it even worse was that he seemed to be getting worse instead of better! By Saturday morning, his temperature was still hangin' around and even higher...103! So, we took him to Acute Kids (such a great place, btw) where they put him on a stronger antibiotic b/c they said it looked to be bacterial after all. The doc said that though the breathing treatments were helpful, they weren't necessary...WHAT!? Don't tell me that this torture was for nothin'! He said that they had definitely helped open up his airways and w/ the healing process overall...SHEW! So glad he stuck that in!:-) By Monday the kid had no fever, less fussies!:), and just a lingering cough! HALLELUJAH! I'm sure glad Spring is headed our way here in TX!!!

~jen

part 2 - time w/ the fam in Nashville...

2009-03-19T10:54:00.004-05:00

When we weren't doing shower stuff, we got to catch up & spend lots of time w/ family & friends!

Grady w/ his cousin Abbie...

w/ Abbie & Hannah Grady & Hannah
giving Trystin a high-five! w/ his cousins Trystin & Jace... me & my girlies!!!
hangin' w/ Uncle Mike!

Hannah, Grady, Everett & Ethan playing w/ Michael's tools...

Grady did so well on both plane rides! He flirted, explored everything, ate cheerios, slept, played...I was so proud! When we arrived back in Dallas, this is what we found...

What a sweet welcome home!!!

~jen

Part 1 - Sonya's Shower

2009-03-17T09:41:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately...we are finally coming up for air after a few weeks of unbelievable craziness! I plan on posting a tid-bit each day for the next few days to get you caught up on what's been goin' on w/ the McGowans!

The last weekend in February, Grady & I took a trip to Nashville for Aunt Sasha's shower! Despite the fact that it was 30 degrees and raining...the shower was a huge success! Everything was green and pink...even the chocolate!:-) It was a 'sweet shower' and I have seriously never seen so much yummy dessert in my life! Sonya got some of the cutest stuff...doesn't hurt that she has such great taste!:-)

Here are a few pics...

The bride-to-be & me!

filling her plate w/ sweets!

only half of the dessert table!!!

pink & green m&m's - party favors

the only boy allowed at the shower...he had a highchair on the front row!:-)

Grady & Nana

The Boyd ladies all in attendance...

Me & Kim w/ Ang

Grady & Gaga...

to be continued....

~jen

the cutest valentine...

2009-02-20T21:49:00.005-06:00

I have been waiting to post this picture of my precious little valentine! I wanted to make sure that all of Grady's family & (girl)friends got it in the mail first!:-) It was a unanimous...YES! My friend Shannon took some pictures of Grady recently for her 'Share the Love' contest and she surprised me with these for letting her use Grady's picture...what a gal!!!

I had the best valentine's day yet! It started w/ this...

Grady was a little under the weather, so Jaci (our sweet sitter) came early and I got to go to church w/ Aubrey. Afterwards, we walked out to the parking lot to get the car...only it wasn't our car! It was a gorgeous, silver porsche! ...what a fun surprise! He took me to Pappasitto's (my FAVORITE!) and then we spent the rest of the evening riding around and talking. When we were almost home, Aubrey reached in the side pocket and pulled out a little purple box. He said "I wish I could do more"...WHAT!? I'm thinking "all I got you was a homemade card and some dark chocolate m&m's!" He spoiled me w/ not 1...not 2...but 3 massages!!! Seriously the best gift ever! Thanks to both of my gorgeous valentine's...I have to be the most blessed woman alive and I don't deserve it!

~jen

A Few of My Favorite Things - Baby Edition

2009-02-06T21:23:00.002-06:00

As Grady has grown over the past seven months I stand amazed at how rapidly he moves through various stages. Let’s take his hands for example. At first baby hands are merely another thing attached to their tiny little body. Pretty soon though they turn into somewhat of a curious anomaly and he stares at them in wonder rotating them back and forth in slow concentrated motion. Then comes the jerky, “I… can’t… seem… to… get … this… in… my… mouth” stage which is soon followed by the emergence of the little fist eating monster inside of us all. Finally he begins to work on dexterity. This is the process by which he learns to grab and hold things in his surprisingly strong baby death grip as he moves them to a slobbery collision with his baby gums. Jen loves it when he applies this technique to her hair. Fortunately, mine just comes out when he pulls on it. :)
That having been said, I have come to the realization that there are things that, potentially, Grady will never grow out of; things that will go with him as he grows. One of these transcendent treasures is in fact one of my favorite things.

Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book

If you don’t know about the yawning yellow yak with Yolanda on his back and if you cannot explain how nine new neckties, nightshirt, nose fit in the same sentence, then you seriously need to run out and pick this up. I’m not sure what to think about Dr. Seuss sometimes. On some levels, he’s a kook and yet on others he is a complete creative genius. I mean, “Four fluffy feathers on a fifer feffer feff.” Holy Smokes! It’s crazy, but so much fun!
And finally, as if you needed more evidence, “Big Z little z. What begins with Z? A Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz as you can plainly see.”
~Big A little a

No More Gummies!!!

2009-02-01T22:40:00.009-06:00

It's been a rough few weeks for our little family. First Grady had a stomach bug and he passed it along to Daddy. At the same time, our poor little guy started teething for the first time. He was in obvious pain, which was heartbreaking, lost his appetite for his favorite veggies and was excessively slobbering. For a long time, we couldn't see anything breaking throught the surface, but we could feel little bumps on his gums when he would let us check. Let's just say that Grady is not fond of Mommy and Daddy sticking their fingers in his mouth unless he is instigating it. In some ways, it felt like we had rewound about 6 months, because he was getting up at night and couldn't get back to sleep. It is amazing how quickly you forget what 3AM looks and feels like. Let me just tell you, it's not good!

Soon we began to feel the razor sharp edges of his little teef poking through. Within a couple of days, Grady had regained his appetite and the worst was over. People say that the first are the worst and I sure hope that "people" are right about this one. I don't know if we can stand nine more bouts with this kind of teething. It seems like a lot of work for one pair of pearly whites. In the days following "the breakthrough", both of us made the same rookie mistake. We allowed Grady to bite down on our finger and quickly found that his sweet little gummy gnawing had turned into a painful toothy chomp. Now we're just waiting for them to fully arrive so we can take some cute pics, but for now you will have to settle for some teething pics... sans teeth.

Painful! Poor guy!

Slobbery McSlobberykins

"I don't want to show you my teeth!"

I'm feeling much better! I'm strong to the finish cuz I eats my spinach!

Early oral hygeine training.

Feels good Mommy!

Grady and Daddy feelin much better!

7 months!

2009-01-23T14:24:00.014-06:00

I seriously can't believe that my baby boy will be 7 months old tomorrow! The past month has flown by and Grady has been busy growing and learning new skills. He started sitting up while we were in Nashville and pretty much has that mastered...w/ an occasional topple!:-) I put him in his bouncy seat the other day to watch a Baby Einstein video and when I came back a few minutes later, this is what I found...
Now that took some major ab strength!:-) He refuses to lay back now...why would he when he can sit up like a big boy!?

We actually missed little man's 6 month appt. b/c we were still in TN. When I called to reschedule, they couldn't get Grady in w/ his doc 'til April! They could get us in with his nurse practitioner, which we were fine with but we decided to take it as a chance to re-think our decision. We LOVE Dr. G but haven't been especially happy with the other staff. We were also disappointed that they charge extra for nurse's visits (i.e. delaying vacs). I didn't do very much research when looking for a pediatrician b/c so many folks recommended Centennial...and once we met Dr. G, we totally understood why!

Recently, a friend of mine was telling me about how much she loves her son's pediatrician. I e-mailed her to find out more and it turns out she has a more holistic approach and is very supportive of a delayed vac. schedule! We know that the subject of vaccinations is super controversial but after praying and researching the subject, we feel like this is what's best for our family right now. I was so nervous about switching until we got there! The appt. went great and we left knowing we had done the right thing! A much better fit, I think!

Grady had barely gained any weight since his last appt. but she wasn't worried. She said he's so active and is probably just not gonna be a big guy...shocker, I know!:-) My chunk-a-munk is now a skinny-minny...in the 25th percentile! But he's still hanging on in the 75th for his height!

In other news, my friend Shannon came over last week to get some 6 month pics of Grady and also some Valentine's shots for her website! I wasn't planning on being in the pictures (hence the ponytail & t-shirt) but I think they turned out GREAT! To see them, go to http://www.shannondphotography.com/index2.php and in the clients section, type grady!

More to come soon!

~jen

Christmas Videos

2009-01-15T12:17:00.002-06:00

Grady-man was a hoot over the holidays! We were so excited about his first Christmas and suprisingly, so was he.

Here are some highlights from Grady's first Christmas.

Buddy Lee "Man of Action" from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Wrapping Paper from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Zoom Zoom from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Christmas Greetings from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Technique from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

~A

Baby's 1st Christmas...

2009-01-07T11:04:00.032-06:00

We're back from our 2 week trip to Nashville and Grady is spoiled rotten w/ a play room that looks like Toys R Us!:-) Gigi flew in to help w/ Grady's first road trip and man was he a little trooper! 4 stops and 14 hours later we arrived in TN! We spent the first week relaxing and catching up w/ family and friends. Daddy flew in at midnight on Christmas Eve and the festivities officially commenced! Although Grady's main concern was eating all of that colorful wrapping paper...you could tell he was excited, not to mention over-stimulated!:-) We spent our 2nd week at Nana's where Grady got his first taste of real food...carrots! We've since moved on to sweet potatoes and squash and man does this kid love to eat!!!

The week before Christmas, a dear friend of ours (who also happens to be a photographer) took some pictures of Grady w/ my precious nieces as a surprise for Gigi and let me tell you...it was a huge success! She loved it and cried every time she looked at it (which was about 50 times that day!) She said it was the best present ever...a picture of all her grand babies!!! Here's the shot we gave her... (Click on Grady to see the rest of the pictures!)

Here is the red car that Santa brought Grady...

Grady hangin' w/ Nana and eating some yummy wrapping paper!

w/ Abbie & Hannah...

Happy New Year!

~jen

Tasty!

2008-12-11T10:15:00.000-06:00

There's a new craze that's sweepin the McGowan nation. It's unorthodox I know, but still the hottest new thing! Grady, being the trendsetter that he is, has once again reached new heights. Or is it new lows? Yes folks, Grady's the name and toe-sucking is the game. I am truly counfounded by this kid's gumby-like flexibility. I mean, I won a couple of sit and reach contests in elementary school, but that's nothing! When he lays on his back, it's like a contortionist circus act. I'm not sure if it's just general curiosity or the taste, but he loves it. I actually took the liberty to taste his toes and they are pretty good. To him though, they must taste like turkish delights compared to that bland rice cereal slop he's been eating. FYI, I also tried the toe sucking thing myself, but I was unable to raise my foot quite far enough. Although, I was able to get it close enough that the smell quickly quenched my desire to continue. Warning, if you are unable at this juncture to even touch your toes, attempting to taste them could be harmful to your health. Leave the toe sucking to the kids... oh and the thumb sucking too.

~A

we survived...

2008-12-03T23:27:00.004-06:00

Grady's first cold! He woke up last week w/ a fever and a horrible cough! I was so afraid that it was an ear infection or worse but the doc said just a nasty cold! We fired up the ol' humidifier and suctioned out the poor kids nose at least a thousand times! And then, of course Mommy caught it! Needless to say, we were thrilled to have Gigi here to take care of us!:-) It was definitely a bummer to be sick over the holiday but we still had a great Thanksgiving! We celebrated w/ Gigi & our dear friends Pete & Jolene at the good ol' Cracker Barrel!

Grady Man feelin' rough but such a trooper!

Me & Gigi

the whole gang!

~jen

All Things New

2008-11-20T00:42:00.003-06:00

The last six weeks have been a whirlwind adventure for the McGowan clan. We have:

-Listed our old house - kind of on a whim

-Sold it - kind of a week later. Praise Ye the Lord and Big Strib our realtor.

-Bought a new house - had only one day to search

-Moved - with lots of help from Nana and some great friends, including Eddie McKinzie (Pastor John's dad) who quipped my favorite quote of the past few months. He would be taking a break and someone would ask him if he was alright. His response was, "Just sittin here waitin on the world to catch up." Nice. I will be using that one.

-Experienced daylight savings time in a whole new light. Fall back used to be a semi-annual highlight. Yeah, it's all fun until your 4 month old thinks it's 6:30, but just kidding... it's really only 5:30. Haha... gotcha... not too funny... but still cute.)

-Been verbally assulted, insulted, battered, etc. by our new neighbor. Vengance is the Lord's..... oh wait, um... No one is beyond His reach...there's pow'r in the blood... yeah that's what I meant!

-I can walk to work in about 8 minutes. Love it! And Jen and Grady can come and visit me at the office.

-Grady finally figured out how to roll back to his tummy! This is a/an historic accomplishment!

-Introduced the little man to cereal, a.k.a. mushy grits, and he is seriously takin to it like a champ! He loves to get a spoon full and wash it down with a little thumb sucking before the next. I am working on a video for that!

-One day Grady gained 5 lbs from the time I left for work to the time I got home. OK that's a tiny stretch. But no joke, sometimes he grows and changes hour by hour.

-Implemented our weekly Family Menu! Seriously saving some cash and loving the time we get to cook together as a family. Daddy grills the meat, Mommy cooks the veggies, Grady's the taste tester, and Riley mops the floor. Like a well oiled machine! (ok, just kidding about the taste tester thing... don't be so uptight... laugh a little... I never knew that babies loved jalapenos)

-We finally had room in our new house to break out the exersaucer. Yes, I totally wish that they had one my size. Envious I am, but so proud of Grady. He's doing so good at holding his head up and grabbing everything in sight.... such a big boy! We love him so much!

That's enough news for now... Even though America's Funniest Home Videos begs us for mercy and threatens to file Chapter 11, 13, 19, and 84 everytime we say it, here is some riveting new footage of our little guy. Just meeting the demands of the public... Sorry Bob Saget and that other guy that's not really funny on the show, Grady Lane is comin at ya live and commercial free! Enjoy!

Sir Laughs-a-lot from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

GradySaucer from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

A Sad Story from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

~A

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-04T20:41:00.006-06:00

Okay, Okay...so I'm a bit late posting this but hey, give me a break! We put our house on the market, sold it, spent a week in Minnesota, found a new house, packed up and moved...all in 4 weeks! Stresses me out just typing it!:-)

We took Grady man to the Fall Festival at our church last week! After a long day, he wasn't exactly thrilled about being a zebra!:-)

cutest zebra ever!

My photographer friend, Shannon took this one...

Daddy & his little zebra

Grady & Eme (birthday buddies!)

Shannon also took this one of Grady w/ her son, Christopher & hubby, Jonathan!

~jen

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-23T21:00:00.002-05:00

We took Grady to a pumpkin patch today & let him pick out a pumpkin!:-) Here are a few pics...

~jen

MinnesOta

2008-10-11T19:27:00.009-05:00

The McGowan family just returned to Texas today after a week in Minnesota. We were invited to lead worship for Northwestern College's homecoming week. During the morning chapel services, it was just me, Aubrey, a guitar and 1,800 students singing at the top of their lungs! It was an amazing sound and experience! It was such a beautiful campus w/ trees everywhere turning shades of red & yellow! We also led worship for an alumni candlelit communion service on Friday night in the most gorgeous chapel...it's actually the #1 wedding site in all of Minnesota! This trip was such a blessing in so many ways! They flew us there...payed for our hotel, rental car, food and for the "gig"! We really only spent a few hours each day on campus and had the rest of the time to relax and check out the Land of 10,000 lakes!:-) Here are a few pics from our adventure...

Grady all bundled up! Goin' out to eat...
First rainbow I've seen in years!
The Mall of America...

Cathedral of Saint Paul

Grady had to take showers w/ Daddy all week! I totally forgot to take a picture of the redneck roll-away crib that Aubrey made towel bumpers for...it was a little crazy to be in one room w/ a baby!The chapel at Northwestern...gorgeous!!!Last but certainly not least...SUE! Our new friend who hung out w/ Grady all week!

~jen

A Few Of My Favorite Things - Baby Edition #2

2008-10-03T09:53:00.004-05:00

In all my years, I have still not accomplished the great feat of reading the Bible through in a year... until now!!!!! No longer is that guilt trip to be lain on my shoulders by greedy read-the-Bible-in-a-year manufacturers and their holy-literacy regimes. In the past month alone, I have read the Bible through more than FOUR times... count it faithful brothers and sisters!!!!!! Back off you Gifters of Guilt... You Deliverers of Dissention... Take That!!! Of course, I have to admit that it probably does not meet the publisher's standards for the specifications of an adequate study Bible. Actually, it has cardboard pages and cool colorful pictures. Oh and it summarizes the whole of Biblical truth, wisdom, and knowledge in less than 20 pages! So, if you are feeling burdened by the guilt placed upon you by the "one year one-ders"... pick up your copy today, of my #2 Favorite Thing - Baby Edition

Little Golden Book Bible!

Happy Guiltless Reading!

Gone Country!

2008-09-30T21:14:00.009-05:00

One of our favorite country sayins around here is "I tell you what..." It's a common coloquialism at the McGowan household used for everyday things like describing the weather and talking about the price of gas. (i.e. "I tell you what, it's hot out der." or "I tell you what dem gas prices are chewin up my life savins.") The proper way to read/say it is to pause slightly after the phrase before you continue... for a dramaticized effect! Go ahead and try it... you know you want to.

Well, today... I tell you what, that kid of ours is growin like a weed! He's got more appetite than a bunny's got hops. I tell you what, that kid is talkin like he's got somethin to say to the world. I mean he ain't messin around. We been rollin around, squealin, squirmin, kickin, cooin, conversationalizin, sneezin a little, snottin a lot, smilin, and everythin else! Oh... and let's not forget (drumroll pleeezz) SLEEPIN!! I tell you what, that little boy of mine can snooze like a hibernatin grizzly bear in the dark of winter! Yeeehooo!

Ok... enough of the country talk. All that I'm sayin is that our little man is growin and changin every day. He tells us stories and listens attentively to us as we read him the Bible every night. (more about this to come in "Favorite things Baby" post #2) Oh yeah... big points for mommy and daddy.

And finally after much Tom-foolery, here are some pictures and yes, in leiu of the much awaited, debated, and ultimately terminated Bush 700 Billion dollar bail-out plan, here are some new videos for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy and hors d'oeuvres... I mean au revoir... wait.... see y'all later!!! I tell you what!

PICTURES

The man in black!

Shady McShadykins

I told Jen that she was drinking too many Diet Cokes while she was pregnant, but she wouldn't listen! It's not his fault!

VIDEOS

Look Who's Talkin' - another language! from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Our little steam-roller & Nashville part 2...

2008-09-18T17:03:00.011-05:00

We got back safe & sound from Nashvegas last Thursday night & hit the ground running! We had a jam packed weekend at church, so Grady & I have spent this week resting & getting back into our routine. Grady also learned a new skill this week, which he would much rather practice than sleep! He figured out how to roll over during one of his naps on Monday! It's so cute b/c he has the most startled look on his face every time! The only problem is that he doesn't know how to roll back over, so naps have been a bit challenging this week! We're so proud of our little steam roller!:-)

Our trip home was wonderful w/ LOTS of spoiling involved!(including me b/c when Aubrey's around, he doesn't let me change a diaper!) Grady was dedicated at our home church on Sunday with both of our families in attendance...it was such a special day! We also took a trip to the ol' college town of Murfreesboro to visit my Aunt Barbara and stopped in to let Grady meet his great grandparents, Grandmother & Pop! He met his friends Emery & Liam for the first time & got to be there to congratulate his Aunt Sasha at her engagement party!!! I could go on & on...it was so neat to introduce our son to folks that have been such a huge part of our lives!

Click on the picture below to see more pictures from our trip home...

The McGowan Boys...

We have a ton of video to upload that we'll post soon!!!

~jen

A Few Of My Favorite Things - Baby Edition

2008-09-15T15:37:00.004-05:00

Before Grady-Man came to this world, I took the opportunity to share with you a few of my favorite things in regard to pregnancy and all things baby. You can view those posts here, here, and here. Having been parents now for going on three months, (I know that's pretty crazy huh?) we have seen some really cool stuff and some really lame stuff mass produced and specifically marketed to sleep deprived gift card toting delirious fresh from the throes of late night feeding parents. It's seriously a racket and every product tells you that it guarantees that, if used according to guidelines, it will have your kid sleeping through the night, talking, eating well, and 100% colic-proofed at 3 weeks of age. This is specifically why babies, baby-making, baby-caring, and baby-spoiling make up a billion $ industry. (don't quote me on the stats)

Ok enough of my rant about the extortion of nuevo parentos and on to a few of the things that have reached "favorite" status in my book because they really deliver.

A Few Of My Favorite Things - Baby Edition

#1 - The Happiest Baby on the Block - DVD

I have to say that I have been a less than avid baby book reader. Ok, so I haven't read a thing since chapter five of "What To Expect When You're Expecting". At least I tried to keep up. But then one day our good friend Ronnie told us about this book that was ingeniously turned into a DVD about methods of soothing your baby. This was around week 3 or 4 when Grady's scream was just getting to that "I think my ears are bleeding" level. We were up like every other normal parent about every three hours feeding and then trying to soothe him and coax him back into a deep sleep. About once every couple of nights though, he decided that sleep, sleeping alone, or sleeping at all did not work into his nightly agenda. Seriously, he would do so good for a few nights and then during one feeding in the middle of the night he would decide to sing out and wake the neighbors with an unconsoleable cry. After calming him down and getting him to sleep, it was about time to feed him again. Haha.
Then, at just the right time, Ronnie drops this DVD in our laps. It's covers "The Five S's", which are techniques for soothing your baby. There are two things that I love about "Happiest Baby": #1 Whattaya know? It delivered! As cheesy and awkward as the author, Dr. Karp, is on the video, we were mesmerized and couldn't wait to experiment on Grady! My favorite is the "shoosh" Oh Yeah! #2 The marketing cronies at the publishing company had a stroke of genius... They put the main content of the book on a DVD! They must've known that the last thing new parents want to, need to, or have time to do is read some crummy old book! No offense to you baby bookworms.

Here's to happy babies and happier parents everywhere!

~A

2 month appt. and Grady's Nashville Debut!

2008-09-05T14:05:00.003-05:00

From Grady Wk 10 and Nashville Part 1

Grady had his 2 month appt. last Friday. He weighed in at 13 lbs. 9 oz. which puts him in the 90-95th percentile for weight & at 23 inches long, he's in the 70th percentile for his height! I'm so proud of how he's growing! He also received a few vaccinations (a.k.a. shots!!!) which was so pitiful it had me & Aubrey in tears (big shocker, I know)! It's just so heartbreaking b/c he's totally defenseless...just laying there looking up at us like "how could you let her do this to me!?" He had a pretty rough day Friday. He kept doing this horrible screamy whine as if to say "Don't forget what that mean lady did to me this morning!" He ran a fever through Saturday afternoon, which they assured us is totally normal. My sister said it doesn't get any easier when they do understand and you have to strap them down to get a shot!:-)

We arrived safe and sound in Nashville yesterday afternoon and got to introduce Grady to his Uncles Jon and Michael, his Aunt Jaime, and his cousins Trystin and Jace.
He will make his TN debut tonight at a Sip-n-see at Gigi's house! We are so excited for him to meet some of our favorite people! I was super nervous about the plane ride, but he was the perfect little angel all the way through. People treat you so nicely when you travel with a little one. They couldn't keep their eyes off of him and we couldn't blame them.

Here are some more pictures for you guys. Aubrey is still working on a couple videos to post.

~jen

A day is as 1000 years!!

2008-08-26T19:43:00.011-05:00

It's been 11 days since we've updated you on what's happening in Grady-land and we fully understand that this is a sin! 11 days in a newborn's life is like 3 years in yours and mine. The changes are coming so fast. He has begun to sleep for longer and longer intervals at night, his poops are becoming larger and less frequent, he is starting to roll over to his side, and, after he has worked through his last package of size 1 diapers, he will start sporting 2's. By the time we visit the doctor on Friday, Grady-Mac-Truck will probably be 14+ lbs.

In other news, Grady was visited by three special people this past weekend, Nana, Papaw, and Sasha. In adult language, that is my Mom, Curtis my step-dad, and my sister Sonya. Grady and Nana are old buds, but he had not had the opportunity to put his magic spell on Sasha and Papaw! But oh did he pour it on! Curtis is the person that I have to thank for all the neat sayins I have rolling around in my head like, "KD-bar the door (what?)", "You ain't got enough sense to pour piss out of a boot" (I'm just quoting, so don't be offended), and "On it" (pronounced like Ohn-it). Sonya, on the other hand, is the one person that I can trust to someday divulge to Grady the truth about my invisible childhood friend, Tupidy. No, really! This goes without saying, but Grady won them over quickly with his chubby belly and edible cheeks.

I know they will miss him, but we are making the trek to Nashville in a little over a week. They won't have to deal with Grady withdrawals for too long. And, for all of our friends reading this from the comfort of your Tennessee abodes, you will have the chance to see the cutest baby in the world!!! I can hear it in my head like a classic monster truck commercial...

SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! Grady Lane, The Mac will be on the scene... featuring "The Edible Chubby Cheeks", "The Mommy's Nose" and "The Mini-Santa Belly"... Don't miss it!! Bring the whole family!! Kids 12 and under wash your hands!! AT GIGI'S HOUSE!! AND NANA'S HOUSE!! GRADY-MAC!!! NASHVILLE!! DON'T MISS IT!

After a few short months with Photoshop Express online, which looks like a racecar but runs like a dump truck, we have decided to move away from using it. Here is the link to our new photo albums location. You will still be able to see our old albums on photoshop, but henceforth we will post them to the new site.

Videos remain on Vimeo... it's so fresh and so clean clean!! Love it!

Splish'n and a Splash'n w/ Mommy from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Not the Next Michael Phelps from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Papaw and the Jumping Bean from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Just Add Water

2008-08-15T08:28:00.008-05:00

I'm pretty sure that I looked down the other day and saw Grady grow 3 inches and gain a whole pound right before my eyes. He's kind of like those little pill shaped things you used to beg for at the grocery store that when dropped into water grew into a giant dinosaur-shaped sponge. Man, so cool!! I mean the sponges... oh and of course Grady is cool and B-I-G, notoriously!

Seriously though, he just looked over at me and I was astounded once again at his good looks. I mean he is a chip off the old block for sure! :) Ok, so he looks more like his mommy, but he's definitely got his daddy's toes.... yesssss!!!

Well, Grady man has been doin a lot since we last talked via one-way-blog-conversation (wouldn't have to be one way if you would comment!) I mean, he's starting to make talking sounds instead of sticking solely to grunting. I'm so proud of him, already diversifying his portfolio! I knew he'd be smart! He's also into hitting and grabbing things with his hands and is seriously about to roll over. Jen and I checked on him the other day during a nap and he had turned himself sideways in the crib. He also made the leap or, shall I say, mommy and daddy made the leap and he's been sleeping in his crib all night. We hooked up the monitor, but opted not to attach the supposed-to-bring-peace-of-mind-but-really-keeps-you-awake-worrying-with-every-little-sound movement sensor mat! It was a good decision.

And just when you thought that the Olympics had completely dominated your lives and extra curricular viewing schedule, more pictures and videos of Grady are posted which prove to be more exciting and less monotonous than Michael Phelps gold medal #8!

View Photos Here

Life's so sweet in the bouncy seat... for a minute. from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Riley on the main line from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Riley's Mad Skillz? from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Grady Lane Update!!

2008-08-03T19:25:00.009-05:00

Sorry we haven't updated in a while...things have been pretty busy around here! Gigi, Kim & the girls kept me company while Aubrey was away at youth camp. Grady had his one month appt. and was again awarded an A+. He has also been busy with his normal daily activities of sleeping, following people with his eyes, grunting, smiling, filling diapers and, of course, eating. Evidence of his healthy eating habits can be seen all over... in his cheeks, his belly, his legs, and his double chin. In fact, the picture above is Grady's tribute to his Grandaddy and Papaw, who both sport the belly-hanging-over-pants look.

On a more serious note, I know some of you have been praying w/ us for our good friends Justin & Alyson. Aly's water broke last Sunday at 23 weeks. On Wednesday night, little Jonathan became the newest member of heaven's nursery. My heart is broken for them and I can't even wrap my head around why this happened but I'm encouraged by their strength and trust in the Lord. The service on Saturday was so special! Please continue to pray for them as they heal.

Honestly, Grady is such an unexplainable gift and I am so in love w/ this little man! Here are some pictures & videos from the past few weeks...

For Pictures CLICK HERE.

Grady Fresh from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Grady and Hannah Feeding from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Grady in a deep sleep from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

~jen

It's my baby's birthday... and she's beautiful!

2008-07-28T09:59:00.005-05:00

I can't tell you how much I love this woman!
She is the most wonderful wife and now she's the most beautiful Mommy too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN / MOMMY!

LOVE,

DADDY AND GRADY

Grady McGradykins

2008-07-20T20:24:00.005-05:00

We can't believe that our little man is almost a month old! He is getting so big and has unofficially gained about three pounds since his birthday. Everytime we wake up... and that's pretty often... it seems like his little cheeks have gotten chubbier and his little belly has rounded out a little more.

In the past week or so, he has finally hit his stride with sleeping and eating. He and mommy are doin so awesome! We've gotten to the point where we are willing to trade a couple of minutes of crying for an hour of walking around in our sub-spacious house to get him to sleep. I even got to play mommy and feed him the other night, by bottle of course! :) He took to it like a champ.

He's earned a couple of nicknames to this point in his life such as:

SweetAngelPreciousBabyBoy (thanks to Nana)

And depending on his mood he is...

Grady McGradykins

Fussy McFussykins

Grunty McGruntykins

Grumpy McGrumpykins

Unused but no less fitting names are...

Sleepy McSleepykins

Chubby McChubbykins

Poopy McPoopykins

Sharty McShartykins

I could keep going if you like... :) I'm sure that he'll have plenty of other names if I know his dad very well!

And, yes, in spite of the declining financial markets and the near collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, consumer demand for pictures and videos of little Grady Mac have spiked to an all time high. So, in response, the controlling partners at babymac08 have decided to release yet even more unseen footage. Enjoy and remember... invest wisely! Coming soon... GradyMac: The college fund!

Here are some CoolGradyPics

And some Cool Grady Vids

Hunger Cues from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Soothing Techniques from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Family

2008-07-13T18:47:00.006-05:00

Ahhh! It's really good to have great family!

We just dropped Aunt Kim off at the airport. Since Grady's birfday and thanks to Nana, Gigi, and Aunt Kim, I don't think we've cooked a meal, mopped a floor, cleaned a bathroom, done more than a couple loads of laundry, or been grocery shopping.

We could really get used to this. Looks like Grady already has!

Love you gals!

Grady Lane Update - Week 2

2008-07-10T12:46:00.006-05:00

Here we are flying past the 2 week mark. Every Tuesday we sing happy birthday to our little man... I guess that will stop sometime soon, but it's fun for now at least. Well, fun for mommy and daddy... he's probably like, "Allright already... enough with that birthday song... give me some more... Diamond Rio!" :) Yes, Diamond Rio, Josh Turner, and our Slow worship mix are favorites for our daily dancing routine.

We had our second Dr's appointment on Grady's fortnight birthday. His name is Dr. Geutersloh and he's quite opposite from the fast talking lady doctor. He's laid back, kind, and has a name that sounds like a mixture of Goober and cole slaw. So we like him... Dr. Gooberslaw! I can hear Grady calling him that right now. hahaha!!! Grady had, much to our surprise, gained a whole pound since his last appointment and almost 3/4 of an inch! For his efforts, he was awarded 2 A+'s from the doc! Way to go buddy!!! We didn't realize that he was really growing until then! But he and mommy are doing so well with feedings and he is such a poopin and peein machine that it comes as no surprise.

In response to an overwhelming demand, here are more pics and videos for your viewing pleasure!

PICS
Here is the link again.
http://themcgowans.photoshop.com/

VIDS

Wake Up from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Smiles and Kisses from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Grady Chillin from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Highlights from Week 1

2008-07-02T14:02:00.011-05:00

Here is some eye candy from our first week with little man Grady!!!

PHOTOS

Click on this link to view our photo albums and save it as a favorite if you want to keep up with what he's doin!

VIDEOS

1st Doctor's Appt. from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Grady Lane Update from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

~A

Let me tell you a little story about Grady and Jen (to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies)

2008-06-27T19:51:00.007-05:00

Warning: Yes it's long.... but lay off!! It's a good story... Just read it, but not on your phone like some people I know. :)

It feels like it's been a whirlwind since Tuesday morning. I think that's because it has. Mom and Grady are doing so good and we're enjoying the company of Nana, Gigi, and Aunt Kim. He's poopin and peein like a champ and I am quickly becoming a diaper changing phenom!! If I do say so myself. What I am about to tell you is probably nothing extremely out of the ordinary for many of you who have been through this experience, but I have to say that the labor and delivery process was the most amazing, beautiful, and awe-inspiring thing I have ever experienced and I'm not even the one who had the baby!

About 1:30 on Tuesday morning Jen received a call... it wasn't from Gigi or the Doctor. It was a conference call from Grady and Mrs. U. Teris! She said she got up for her usual late night pit stop en el bano and said something hit her like a freight train. She told me later that if this wasn't a contraction that she didn't want to know what one felt like. So, after about 30 minutes or so and another contraction or two she woke me up from my long nights rest. (I mentioned in an earlier post that we were rebelling against the common advice that we should catch up on rest while we could... true to form, we had gotten to bed about midnight.) After another hour or two of debating whether this was the real thing or not we finally decided that... yes indeed, this was the long awaited day! The realization came in waves and so did the increasingly frequent contractions. I busied myself between by working on a focal point collage that was yet to be finished.

At this point, it was 3:30 (still AM) and we decided to call Gigi and Mama to let them know. By 4AM, we gave them the official word and like Revolutionary Minutemen, with bags packed for a whole week prior, they were on the road to Texas just before 5AM... coffee in tow!

I laid on the floor in Grady's nursery for the next few hours timing the contractions with Jen in the chair breathing and trying to relax. It was so crazy! The best thing was that all that stuff they said in our birthing class was really happening... contractions went from 15 to 10 to 5 minutes apart. Holy Smokes! The worst thing was that my sweet Jen was workin' hard to keep down dinner, water, breakfast... anything. By 0800, everything she possibly had to puke up was gone and the contractions were borderline 4 minutes apart. That's when she looked over at me confidently and said, "It's time!"

At that, bags, car seat, cd player, pillows, snacks (for me), laptop, phones, phone chargers, candles, lotions, little mini fan, one anxious dad, and one about-to-be-unpregnant mommy were in the car and on our way! Riley told us good luck and we left him to take care of the house while we were gone.

We screeched into the hospital with Jen really feelin it. They sent us upstairs and took us straight to our room (thanks to the wonder of pre-registration)! There were three things we had specifically prayed for regarding the L&D (as insiders call it). First, we asked God to help Jen to go into labor naturally without induction... we had our answer. Second, Jen really wanted to "go natural!" as they say. I was ready to do anything I could to help her, but we asked God for a good nurse that would be willing to help us. Third, we asked for Grady to be perfectly healthy in every way.

Within two minutes we met Jill, our L&D nurse. I'm pretty sure that she didn't know how to read Jen because she was casually talking with us until she proceeded the dialation check..... uhhh then she got serious real quick! She turned to us with a look of surprise and said, "Well you're at a seven." Immediately she turned to the nurse in training and began speaking hospital jargon like, "Get me a table and an IV, give me a setup of this and that and get her hooked up to the monitor... stat!" She asked if Jen was planning on going natural and was excited that she was. Come to find out, she had three children naturally herself! This was a huge answer to prayer #2! At that, Jen threw up one last time and was ready to go! I took the opportunity at this time to get all of our creature comforts from the car. Yes, ALL of them! Those people were probably lookin at me like I was crazy... like I was movin in. I'll just say this, the only things we used were the focal point collage, the mini fan, and the tennis balls in the sock for massaging! Genious! I took a should've been quick pitstop at the "Financial Counselor's" office because I guess you have to prepay for these kinds of things. She was slow!! And I was like.. uhhh yeah could you speed up the process because my wife is having a baby right now.... you know that's why we're at the hospital and all. I seriously ran down the hall and through the doors back to our room. I was waiting for a nurse to yell, "No Running in the halls!"

I made it back and it turns out that Jill was truly a miraculous gift. For the next hour and a half, she worked with us so closely and supportively. When it was time for the next dialation check, Jen's water had broken and she had progressed to a 9... It was 10:30AM! We had only been at the hospital for an hour and a half! There were a couple of people that stopped by to visit for Jen to sign some papers. At this point I was in shock. Picture my wife bursting at the seams pregnant filling out paperwork and signing her name between contractions! Not cool! The first lady was the "Financial Counselor" and she was in an out. The second lady seriously almost got punched.... by my wife!! She was the anesthesiologist's nurse and she spoke in a very hard to understand form of english. Not that I have anything against people who speak a very hard to understand form of english, but when your wife is literally within minutes of having a child it's punch-you-in-the-face frustrating! So she seriously proceeds to go through my wife's whole medical history with all her "did you's?" and "have you ever's?". I'm thinkin', "Lady you better lay off," because I can sense Jen's agitation through her labored breathing. Jen cut her eyes toward Jill while the lady was jabbering and said, "Is this really necessary?" Then Jill looked at the lady and said, "OK that's enough, let her sign the papers and be done. She's not getting an epidural anyway!" The lady was so shocked... "You mean you no get epidural... oh... well that good for you and baby... I think that good... you still need fill out paper... oh but that good...thank you good luck." With that, she was gone and we were quickly back in action because she had progressed even further... to a ten!

I don't quite remember how the next few minutes transpired exactly, but there was a fray of activity. Jill called the fast talking lady Dr. and he said he had his running shoes on sittin on go. I was busy massaging, adjusting fan positioning and speeds, and texting Gigi and Nana who were already on the Dallas side of Little Rock with updates. (for those of you that don't know they were makin dang good time... I think they were pretty excited :)

About that time, Jen asked Jill when she would know to start pushing and Jill responded with a "Oh you'll know." Oh and she knew... in about five minutes, she felt it and she was ready. I was lookin at her in awe and amazement. Right before my eyes through the breathing, pain, and grip of her hand I saw so much love, strength, beauty, courage, and sacrifice! I loved her more in that moment and ones to follow than ever before.

The doctor arrived at about 11:15 along with a couple of ladies from the nursery and another nurse. They said that there hadn't been any babies born yet today so they thought they would come and cheer us on! Seriously, it was like we had a whole fan section. They said that natural births were rare in Plano, TX and she was the talk of the L&D wing. Our doctor told us that a natural birth in Plano was an epidural without makeup. He had the whole room laughing except Jen... She was kickin at his head because he was joking around. He told her that she was a "Rockstar" pusher. I'm not sure what that means, but she was kickin butt! Jen kept apologizing that she was so tired and we were all like.... uhhh you woke up to contractions at 1:30AM, threw up everything you had in you, and you are still pushing like a rockstar! It was kind of funny looking back. There was excitement in the air and Jen was showing everybody how it's done! You could sense everybody on the edge of their seats rootin for her! Jill was right there keeping Jen focused while Dr. G was still cuttin up. Jen kept saying, "I'm not sure if there's really a baby in there." We all reassured her that there was and that he was coming soon!

And then whattaya know?.... after about 45 minutes of pushing, our beautiful little boy was born. He took his first breath and we got our first look at our little man! He was perfect in every way! God had answered our prayers!

The next hour and a half was just me, Jen, and Grady with the occasional people coming in and out. What an awesome, unforgettable, and unexplainable (well, I did my best) experience!

After everything calmed down, Jen asked me if I had any snacks left and all I had was a protein bar called a "Builder Bar". It had a picture of a muscle-y guy on the front and I thought, "That is perfect!" I believe now that my beautiful delicate wife is stronger than any body builder! I have so much more love, respect, and healthy fear for her than ever before. Way to go Jen! And Happy Birthday Grady!!

~A

Happy Birthday Grady

2008-06-25T16:07:00.005-05:00

Now presenting... Grady Lane McGowan!!!

Born: June 24th, 2008 at 11:55 AM

He weighed 7lbs. 11oz.

I can't yet describe to you how it feels. Someday soon I will be able to put it into words, but not today.

Grady in the Hospital from AUBREY MCGOWAN on Vimeo.

Grady's Nursery...

2008-06-20T20:12:00.005-05:00

Here are the long awaited pictures of Grady's Nursery...

"Any day now"

2008-06-14T11:48:00.007-05:00

was the doctor's report...which could mean tomorrow or another week!? I'm dilated to 2 and 70% effaced, so we're getting closer! The nursery's ready, thank you notes are done & we can't wait to meet our little guy! Here's a 38 week picture and also a belly pic (that I swore I'd never put into public view) but I loved this one and it shows how much Grady's dropped...

~jen

A few of my favorite things - Part 3

2008-06-12T11:54:00.006-05:00

This, by far, is one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. I could really get along with whoever wrote this book!! Special thanks to our friens Eric and Tyra for this both enlightening and borderline offensive gift.

Here are a few of the gems!

You should own this book... Pregnant or not!

Buy

A few of my favorite things - Part 2

2008-06-08T22:49:00.007-05:00

For my second "favorite things" post, I have utilized the technology of the cellular telephone to bring this wonderful experience right to your own computer screen.

At a shower/luncheon at Jen's work (which I was so kindly invited to attend), we received some very kind and cool gifts. Grady got a big swing that had the manliest polka-dots in the world on it. In my opinion, polka-dots are the epitome of unmanilness, but Jen assured me that it's OK for ages two and under. Anyway, among the wonderful things we received, not withstanding the turkey reuben from Jason's deli... yummy, we were given some balloons. One of these was shaped like a baby with an enormous head and very small body, but very cute regardless.

Jen and I decided to meet up after work at a furniture store to look for a dresser for Grady's room. En route, I had this awesome idea to take the baby balloon and put him in the passenger's seat. Seriously, he was just floating there with this little smile on his face. I thought he was so cute, I started calling him Grady and talked to him on the ride over. No worries you paranoid parents, because I securely fastened Him to my computer bag via the nice balloon string provided. I pulled in right beside Jen in the parking lot so Grady was looking right at her. We seriously laughed our heads off, because it looked so funny.

On our way home, I moved him to the back seat for safety reasons. You know, the AAP and ACOG recommend that an infant not ride in the front seat when there is an airbag present. Something about a balloon exploding at 200mph and a car seat don't match. Jen snapped this shot of Grady in the back seat with her mobile telephonic device equipped with a 1.3 megapixel camera! I have it on my phone as the background... you should too!

~A
P.S. For those of you that may question... Yes, we can fit a carseat in the back seat of the 'rolla! Just ask Kim.... we stuck two carseats and an adult back there once. A bit uncomfortable, but blissfully efficient!

A few of my favorite things! - Part 1

2008-06-06T19:19:00.012-05:00

Over the past few months, which by the way have travelled by at the speed of light, I have found a few interesting things amidst enormous consumerist clutter of babydom! I thought you might find them entertaining, informative, provocative, and downright appalling. I guess it all depends on where ya come from!

For our first installment, I give you...

#1 - The manchild

This was one of our favorite pictures from Month 5 of our What To Expect While You're Expecting (Yes, I said month five because it really takes like 10 months to read... cut off a few hundred pages and you'd have War and Peace.) Anyway, you might understand the fear that struck us when we saw this "What your baby looks like" picture. I thought... OH NO!! This baby has early onset HGPS. Look at the furrowed brow and the bald head. Give him a pipe, fidora, and a cane and he could star in Grumpy Old Men III.

Powerful! Yet Scary!

-A

PS. This work of art otherwise known as a photo was edited on a PC... Take that you Mac Nazi's!!

the tent...

2008-06-04T14:12:00.006-05:00

Aubrey has a new blog that he's working on, so you might have to settle w/ my ramblings for a while! We had our second weekly exam yesterday and there's not much new news to report. The doc said that I'm almost dilated to a 2, so there was some progress in the week! I have to admit that I have become somewhat miserable overnight! I think it may have something to do w/ Grady "dropping" b/c I'm having lots of low back/hip weirdness and I feel, well...huge! I went to Target yesterday to try to find a few maternity items to get me through the next few weeks of heat and hugeness and had absolutely no luck! I mean why do they put big flower and animal prints on pregnant lady dresses!? As if you don't already look like you've pitched a tent from the side, now it's a big red flashing tent that screams "I'm about to pop!" I do have this pink cotton gown that I put on the moment we walk in the door that I know Aubrey would probably love to burn! It is so ugly but so comfortable! So...if you see me in that soon, just know that it was the only thing I could come up with that doesn't bind or tent!

~jen

9 months!

2008-05-29T10:09:00.003-05:00

I woke up this morning thinking "9 months!" On one hand this pregnancy has flown by and on the other I feel like I've been pregnant forever!:-) I had my first weekly exam Tuesday and it went great! Grady's heartbeat is so strong & he's still head down, ready to go (possibly for good now)! I am dilated to a 1 & 50% effaced, which I was not expecting! Unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily mean that Grady will come early - but it is a good sign that my body has started the labor process!

I can't complain - I've had a great pregnancy but I will say that this Texas heat is starting to get to me! 95 degrees and my big ol' belly are not a fun combination! Yesterday, I took Riley for a walk around 11 b/c it was supposed to be a little bit cooler (like in the 80's). Yeah well, I must have read the forecast wrong! As we were rounding the last street, my fingers looked like sausages and Riley decided that he was finished. He pulled me over under a shade tree, plopped down on the grass & looked at me like "I can't make it any further!" I waited for a minute but figured we better both get home & get some water before I swelled up like an elephant! So, I picked up his little domesticated butt & carried him the rest of the way! I'm sure we were a lovely sight!:-) When we got home, he drank a gallon of water and went & layed on my bed under the fan! Needless to say, my new form of exercise from here on out will be swimming!

~jen

Cap and Gown

2008-05-22T09:15:00.004-05:00

In this season of graduations, we take time to honor those who have worked hard and studied with discipline to receive a degree of higher learning in order to expand their horizons on both a personal and professional level. For example, Kindergarten graduation. "Since you have leaned your ABC's and colored in the lines for at least three months, we dub upon thee the high honor of graduating from the grade before we call them grades, you are now... almost 1st graders."

What a powerful moment! Then there's high school and college and sometimes when you're real snooty master's or doctoral graduation, but we all know that the pinnacle was truly reached at the tender age of six... at least that is the only time you looked halfway decent and non glamour shot-y in a graduation photo.

Well, tonight marks an epic achievement in our journey to parenthood, we graduate from our childbirthing course. Yes, once again we reach the end of an educational journey full of surprises and reality checks about the joy of birth. Tonight, we end with a discussion entitled, "Postpartum" a.k.a. "What in the heck do we do now?" But this if far from where it began...

First of all, they refer to this class as a 12 hour course. Seeing as though a normal college course is considered a 3 hour course, we expected that these four 3 hour sessions would be jam packed with information. Kind of like a mindnumbing mini-mester over spring break.

These classes are a little like your honeymoon. You know, you arrive at your dream destination or maybe just PCB and it's just the two of you at the center of the universe. That is until you realize that 500 other couples got married on the same day you did. Major Debbie Downer moment. Birthing class is similar in that you are in a room of people who are stealing your kids glory!!! I mean, June is my kid's month folks, yeah the whole month so have your baby some other time! But it seems that they are unwilling to waver and they even have the audacity to feel the same way that we do. Oh well, Grady will still be the coolest kid born this June! (or possibly July, but for Jen's sake, June)

As you know from experience, the people can really make a class fun or they can make it a beat down! Our class makes it a little of both. You've got the sweet people that you connect with. You have this sense that they really get it... life in general that is. They agree with you, make you feel comfortable, but don't pry too much into your business... understanding that after this class you will not have time to continue the budding relationships you have made over these short weeks. We love those people!! Normal people, because all normal people are like us... anyone not like us is not normal. That's just the truth of human nature.

Then, of course, there are the "not-so-normal people". You know them (and I apologize in advance if you are them). There's the couple that talks too much and answers every question like they have done this before... It's like, "and why are you taking this class?" You can sense a collective sigh in the room whenever they begin talking. There's also the "Touchy feely" couple. They are the ones who feel strangely at ease massaging and caressing one another during the class. They may even go as far as to give one another public foot massages. Back and shoulder rubs are completely acceptable in public, but FEET! Come on, I don't want to see you rubbin' on her nasty feet! It doesn't help that when she unveils them they looked like they belong to Frodo Baggins or Fred Flintstone. Think "Will Farrell and Drew Carey get pregnant and come to pregnancy class." Needless to say, an uncomfortable time is had by all! The final couple is not actually a couple at all. It's the "My lazybutt husband didn't want to come so I brought my mom" couple. Man, this just burns me up!!! I mean come on dude grow some... uhh... take some responsibility for what you did to this girl. He's probably the same dude that won't lift a finger to change a diaper and will whine like a little girl when the baby spits up on him. What a frickin loser!! Baby!! Idiot!! Poor girl, it's like she's having twins... one is a little cute baby and the other is an annoying ugly hairy baby with a bad attitude... I bet he's one of these guys that won't drive a minivan either because he's too cool... Dude, get a life!!! I will pray for your soul!!!

Ok... well... since we're on the subject of hairy babies... During our last class we took a tour of the labor and delivery and postpartum sections of the hospital... plush... not quite steak and lobster (see earlier post)... but nice! We passed the newborn nursery where a nurse was burrito-ing a sweet little girl who was born a month early and just 4.5lbs. She was so cute! And then this revelation struck me... Grady, who is still in Jen's belly mind you, weighs more than that little baby who is outside in the world already. Immediately a sense of comfort washed over me followed by a sense of "holy cow this is really happening!" Jesus help us!

After that we moved on to the postpartum section. The waiting room looked like a scene out of Alice and Wonderland or like it came off the set of the Doodlebops! Very colorful and bubbly. Down the hall we passed the postpartum nursery and saw the eigth wonder of the world. There was a baby in there with more hair on his head than a sasquatch. It felt a little like a Coney Island freak show. This kid's hairline was down to his eyebrows and it was thick and black like Eddie Munster's!! He and Eugene Levy must've had a baby together and named it Cheech Marin? We seriously laughed out loud. Jen said his head looked like a briar patch, but she meant brillo pad... sweet Jen! We kind of felt bad, but we kept staring until had to move on to the next exhibit.

Ok, I've gone on too long, so I'll have to spare you the details about all of the Golden Boat, the teacher from Krum, and the 1980's pregnancy video on VHS. But I do want to make a quick remark about the Epidural video. Seriously, it was way over the top. I think the doctor on the video said something like this after he fed the quarter inch steel cable into the lady's back, "And in just a few seconds the contractions will get weaker and weaker... Soon it will begin to feel like a gentle massage... and in just a few minutes your perfect silent smiling sleep through the night baby will be delivered plus twelve thousand dollars shipping and handling.

Can't wait to see Grady in is cap and gown...

~A

Birthing Class, Shower Bliss & An Ode to Gigi...

2008-05-14T12:39:00.015-05:00

We are officially half way through our birthing classes. They have been great...very informative and actually fun, who knew? When we were in Nashville, Gigi (my Mom) bought us this amazing video camera, which Aubrey is pretty much obsessed with! At our first class, I was busy filling out paperwork and signing in and suddenly got this overwhelming feeling that someone was staring at me. I look over and it's Aubrey...w/ the camera, commentating our class! I was like what are you doing...put that thing down! So embarrassing!:-) So, no worries...we're getting lots of practice before Baby Grady comes so that you will have plenty of posts for your viewing pleasure!

My last day of work was Monday & Aubrey had his final exams last night, so things seem to be winding down for the home stretch! Our showers are now officially over so we are busy putting Grady's nursery together and writing thank you notes for all of the amazing blessings we received! Seriously, I had the most wonderful showers and felt so encouraged and loved! My sister asked a friend of ours to take pictures at the Nashville shower and she captured the day so perfectly! You can check them out on her web page at www.picasaweb.google.com/lindseylou1980

Yeah, so I'm not really going to write an ode or a lyrical poem about how wonderful Gigi is...I just don't have the skills! I'll leave that to my wonderful husband! I just wanted to brag about what an amazing Mother God has blessed me with! She flew down last weekend for my TX shower, which meant so much & then spent the next few days helping me sort, organize, make returns, etc! I really don't know what I would've done w/out her! She has given me & my sister such a great, Godly example to model after!

The picture above is of me & Grady last Thursday before our class. We had an appt. yesterday and the doc said that everything looks great! Grady's head down & ready for his grand entrance! I can't believe we only have 6 (give or take) more weeks! I hope I'm ready but either way, he's coming!!!!!!

~jen

Pictures from 30 week appt.

2008-05-03T23:32:00.003-05:00

Grady's First Headshot

Sweet little man

He's got hair!

Profilin!

Getting something to drink.

Subway, Strollers, and the Tank

2008-04-19T10:57:00.007-05:00

Greetings from the great city of Hendersonville, Henersnvil, or H-vegas as many call it. Jen, Grady, and I are in town for Grady's first baby shower!! This pregnancy has been a time of a lot of firsts for me. My first visit behind the doors of the lady Dr.'s office, my first time to feel a little human inside of my wife's belly, and my first experience with breastfeeding class. None of which were quite as overwhelming as our first experience with Babies-r-us! Let's just describe it this way:

Visit #1 - Felt a little overwhelmed, got dizzy and light-headed, almost puked... Jen didn't fare much better. Three hours later, we had registered for only 6 items. Jen says more, but she was delirious and pregnant... :)

Visit #2 - Aunt Kim... GOD BLESS AUNT KIM!!!! She came to our rescue. Having gone through this process twice and therefore possessing quite a bit of 20/20 hindsight, she became our salvation. No offense to Jesus, but I think even He would be overwhelmed at the prospect. Let's just say I don't think Jesus was a person of excess, but BRU (as the insiders say) is the breeding ground for it! Anyway, thanks to Kim, we have a wonderful registry of things for Grady that we will have no idea how to use when we get home. :) I guess she'll have to come back and show us. Hey! and to you people reading this blog with previous baby-rearing experience... Don't be screenin' our calls!

Moving on... over the past few months the phrase "eating for two" has become more of a reality for my budding wife. According to Jen, it is true what others have said, that everything tastes better when you are pregnant. I'm sure all you past and present preggos would agree. A couple of weeks ago I got this text in the middle of the day that said.... "I just ate a footlong!" I had to check who it was from because it couldn't have been from my "barely finishes a six-incher" wife. But sure enough, she had just victoriously downed a footlong like a conehead in one continuous bite! I was on the floor laughin! You would've thought she was a junior high boy proudly proclaiming that he just ate a whole large pizza! I offered my congratulations.

Meanwhile, back at BRU... have you noticed how fancy strollers are? I mean they have all the luxuries of a nice car. Most of them have lightweight aluminum frames, with cup-holders, and soft cushy seats that recline. Some of the car seat things look like wingback chairs... I'm surprised they don't have the lazyboy kick outs. They also come in some pretty fancy fabrics and designs. For real... mark my words... in about three or four years they're gonna start putting lcd screens under the hood of those things.

Finally, we had our last sonogram on Monday with Dr. G! (I'll post pictures soon). When we got there he said, "You guys mind waiting about 10 minutes? I've gotta go deliver a baby... be back!" What!?!?! Man, he not only talks fast, but he delivers fast too!!! We'll see.

So Grady is checkin' out just great! He's practicing breathing and head down kickin the fire out of Jen. She says he must be getting tighter in there though because his movements aren't quite as big.

In other matters, he's definitely a boy and he's gonna be a tank! Right now he's 3lbs. 8oz. and a whole week ahead in his development. Upon further inquiry, Dr. G says this doesn't mean he'll be born a week early, it just means that he gonna be BIG! Of course, Jen was celebrating! ;) Doc says if he continues on the regular course, he'll be like a nine pounder!!! He's definitely healthy. Here comes Grady Mac chuggin down the track.

And he's comin' fast... only 9 1/2 more weeks!!!

~A

Grady's Mama

2008-04-10T23:01:00.003-05:00

Well, most of the time I get on here and blab about things that are somewhat related and at times not at all related to our son who will be born in late June/early July!

Today I'm breaking the mold!! I know, it's scary, but just follow along. I want to write about something that is directly related to Grady.... his mom... my beautiful wife.

As much as I feel my love for this little guy growing and welling up inside, I feel so much more my love for her growing. It's growing for her it seems in proportion to her belly :) Sometimes it seems like I kiss her goodnight and wake up in the morning feeling like Grady's grown even more and my love for her has grown right along with him. Everything seems to be accellerating, moving so fast, but I think it is so beautiful that love is not lost in the midst of everything; it hasn't fallen behind. In fact, it is not only keeping up, but it is living, breathing, thriving, beating more than ever.

I know that many of you already believe this, but Jen is going to be the greatest mother. She is so deeply passionate and full of love and kindness. It is the greatest gift in my life that I get to experience this as her husband and soulmate. I can't wait for our sweet baby Grady to know this love too.

I could go on and on, but I'll sum it up with this: I think I've only seen the beginning of Jen's love and beauty. The best is yet to come!

Grady, you are truly blessed! Your mother's love is an extraordinary gift.

~A

WWMS (What would Mary say?)

2008-04-01T23:14:00.008-05:00

Ok, so it's been quite a while since we updated our loyal readers on all things babyish here in the McGowan household. Well, all you're getting today is a teaser, because it's 11:55 at night for cryin out loud!!

So Jen and I have not subscribed to the unsolicited baby advice magazine, but little did we know that every expectant mother and father gets signed up for a free subscription. I think it's some weird conspiracy theory that the hospital hoodwinks you into after you have your baby. They say something like, "We won't turn over your little bundle of joy until you sign this legally binding agreement promising that you will liberally divulge all of the knowledge you have gained in the last 10 months about pregnancy on any and every person you know, remotely know, see across the street, in the mall that is, looks like, or smells like they are pregnant or rubs their belly in a suspicious manner even if they are still holding the soggy Krystal carton. In addition, you must also take it upon yourself to rub any and every pregnant or suspected-pregnant belly that you see, so as to spread the general discomfort felt by all pregnant ladies who have been touched by an eager uninvited toucher. Finally, you must not tell anyone of the secrets of this contract or we will send your child to a legalistic religious Montessori school, make them wear tights and you will foot the ivy-league bill. Sign here _________."

The whole point I was making is that we have opted not to take the free advice of some that would say we need to sleep now and get rested for when the baby comes. No, we stay up late and wake up in three hour shifts every night just to spite those eager two cent-ers... Well, we haven't gone that far, but we sure aren't storin up sleep. It's against our religion... You know, don't want to be caught sleepin' when Jesus comes. Just ask the ox that lost his feeding trough.

I wonder what kind of advice 'ol Mother Mary would give anyway...
"If Gabriel shows up at your house, don't be afraid... you're already pregnant."
"You are gonna learn so much from this child."
"Don't worry, not everybody can have a perfect child?"
"Oh, don't get me started on hospital accommodations!"
"Super-natural is the only way to go!"

Ok... I'm done... please forgive me if I offended your deep rooted affections for Mary.

Week 25 - Preggo Pics!

2008-03-14T00:06:00.001-05:00

National Geographic Presents...

2008-03-09T22:39:00.009-05:00

Warning: The opinions expressed here are not necessarily the opinions of the whole McGowan family including but not limited to Jennifer, Grady, Riley and their extended family. They by no means concur with or endorse any of the statements herein.
____________________

I would like to think that I am a well-rounded person. I mean, I have a love for music and art, I love to build things and watch the History channel, and I even like to watch a chic flick every now and then. I'm sure those are the indicators that you all look for in a well-rounded person/man; a musically-artistic-crafty in-touch-with-his-feminine-side-historian of sorts. I also thought that, by nature of my well-roundedness, I had become pretty knowledgeable about many things, but soon I would find that there is a universe of knowledge that has somehow evaded me to this point in my life. And who knew that this deluge of new info could come from one class about the wonderful world of BREASTFEEDING?

When Jen told me about the class I was pumped (no pun intended). This was going to be our first baby-related class and I was ready to learn. I thought, "This should be pretty quick and painless. They'll probably talk for a few minutes about how you should definitely do it and then send us on our way with a couple of pamphlets containing little p.c. cartoon diagrams of baby and mommy bonding 'neath a HooterHider (otherwise known as a modesty shawl... actually, I just made that up)."

WRONGO!!!! I casually asked Jen what time the class started and she said, "6:30." Cool, I thought. Then I asked her the telling question, "How long do you think it will last?" And she replied, "I think it says right here, until 10:30." Dun dun duh!!!! Holy shnikees! (quickly doing the math in my head) That means this class is going to last for 4 hours. What on earth could could anyone possibly say about breastfeeding for 4 hours? I was officially blown away, but nonetheless... intrigued. Here's how it all went down...

6:29 - we arrive, miraculously on-time
6:35 - the instructor shows up and says that we'll wait for others to show
6:40 - Jen goes to bathroom and leaves me alone in a breastfeeding class full of mostly couples and some women by themselves, but no MEN by themselves... except me..."No, no, I'm not a creep, just signed up for the class by myself, kinda curious about how this whole thing works... Ok, nice meetin' ya... Breast of luck to ya! I mean..."
6:45 - Jen returns, class commences, everyone introduces themselves... 20 minutes...
7:05 - Video - No really... Hmm... let's see... we're in a breastfeeding class... there's a video... listen, it's not what you think. Well, maybe it is, but hey, you just have to think about it like... a National Geographic Documentary about some indigenous tribe in an unexplored part of Africa. It's educational... and a little uncomfortable... but in context, informative.
7:40 - go grab a used breastfeeding dummy out of the tupperware box... ours had a flat nose, no spine, and uneven stuffing... perfect!
7:45 - Proper holding positions... the cradle, the cross-cradle, and my personal favorite "the football hold". Yes, that's the technical term.
8:00 - Proper latching form and technique. It's actually quite intricate, but thoroughly demonstrated by the teacher with her faux nipple and gianormous baby dummy...
8:15 - potty break... can you say "stampede"?
8:35 - pamphlet.... checked out... ate some snacks like a pregnant lady cuz I was hungry.... somethin somethin... dry cracking... somethin somethin... lanolin...
9:00 - The next hour was my favorite... pumps and pumping 101... Wow! These things are awesome!!! I mean there's everything from a hand pump that looks like a transparent air horn... to the double pumper 350 dollar job that comes with its own backpack... This was recommended for ladies planning on going back to work while breastfeeding... I can only imagine... "Hey Louise, you've got a call on Line 7." "TELL'EM TO LEAVE A VOICEMAIL. I'M PUMPING!" Oh, that's gotta be awkward.
Just then I realized, this class was not only about learning the intricacies of breastfeeding, but it was also about suckering you into dropping 350 on one of their designer pumps... at first, I was outraged, but then outrage turned to "Hey, now that's pretty savvy marketing." Ahh, but our frugality held strong... haha suckers... not gettin us today!
10:00 - Dismissed... Newly enlightened and more well-rounded than a pregnant belly.

I have a feeling that our Childbirthing class is going to be life-changing... seeing as though it is comprised of four, three hour evenings of mind-blowing revelation!

~A

My Little Gymnast - Week 24!

2008-03-04T21:24:00.005-06:00

I can't believe tomorrow marks Week 24! It seems like I started feeling Grady move overnight! He is actually kicking me right now, as I type!:) He is such an active little guy & Aubrey gets to feel him almost daily now, which he is very excited about! I know women have been experiencing pregnancy & having babies for years but this is seriously the neatest miracle I have ever experienced! Every week when I read what is happening with my baby, I am amazed! He weighs over a pound now and is nearly a foot long! The last update said that he will double in size over the next four weeks, which means guess what...so will I!:) Not really but I am growing quickly now...we will post some pictures soon.

We had an appt. last Friday, which was pretty uneventful. It was the usual weigh in, (Grady & I have gained 14 pounds now!) blood pressure, pee in a cup, listen to Grady's precious heartbeat that makes me cry every time I hear it & out the door. Dr. Garner says that everything looks perfect and that after next month's appt., we will start coming every 2 weeks...crazy!

I am starting to feel things speed up now & pressure to get the nursery ready, showers planned, books read, classes attended, etc. etc...but I know it will all get done! We had our first prenatal class last week...breastfeeding 101, which I am sure you'll hear more about in Aubrey's next post.

Stay tuned!

~jen

Boot Scootin' Grady

2008-02-14T14:25:00.004-06:00

As some of you may know, Jen was actually visiting good 'ole hometown Hendersonville last week. Unfortunately, she got sick the first day and it didn't get any better. She arrived on Thursday afternoon and pretty much stayed in bed from Friday night until Wednesday morning when she left. I was seriously bummed because I had been sick the week before she left and had done everything I could not to get her sick... I mean I didn't even try to kiss her for like a whole week. During her hours in bed though, Jen did some research on the flu and found out that you can catch it from just breathing the same air as someone who has it. It wasn't a fact that made her feel any better, but I kind of felt relieved that it could've been anyone... Maybe even the high school kid that checked her out at youth the other night (not joking)... I mean, it's rude! But she does have that pregnant glow! :)

Anyway, we were worried about little Grady and Jen was afraid to take medicine even though she had a fever. But talking to the Dr. she found out that the fever was more dangerous than the medicine, so she took some Sudafed. She began feeling better, but hadn't felt Grady yet that day. Worry had set in until he started just kickin her like a mule...

Pause the story... prior to her leaving I made her spit-shake and swear on Ducky that she wouldn't let anyone feel him before I did. I mean, this kid is half me... I wanna feel him first (ok I'm a brat) But hey, it's only fair! Jen gets to feel his spaceballs-alien-like-stomach-churning-no-longer-just-fluttery kicks and punches all the time. It's only natural that I want to feel his boot scootin' boogey too.

...When she felt him, she called Gigi in. She was so excited that he was moving again that she must've had a moment of pregnesia because she said those words, "Hey, come here. Can you feel him?" (Wait just a second... I feel so betrayed!!)
Well, needless to say, as hard as he was kicking, Gigi felt him right away. :( All in all, I guess I'll let it slide. :) I mean he's technically some small percentage of her too. Love you GIGI!!!!

That being said, when Jen arrived home from her sick leave in Nashvegas, we had stopped at Sonic for some much needed pregnancy rations (It's new on the menu. Look to your right as you pull in. It's all preggo friendly.) and he started to kick again..... OH YEAH!! This was my big chance.... I channeled all of the focus I had into the synapses of my hand... and... YESSSSS!!!! Me and GradyMac had our first contact!!! He gave me five through Mommy's belly and it was awesome... so slow though... he must've been really concentrating on his form... I told him the key is to "watch the elbow". Grady, Grady, Grady, this is just the beginning of our entertain/annoy Mommy antics! Oh man I love this kid and his Mommy more and more everyday!!!

~A

Our Little Block of Cheese

2008-02-02T21:40:00.000-06:00

Sweet Grady's Face

Profilin'

Gators are #1!!

Sorry it's been so long friends, but we were waiting for the results of our 20 week appointment (which was actually at 19 1/2). We came in on two wheels as usual because the hospital is a good distance from our house... ok it's a long way. As a preventative measure we've made contact with the local sherriff's department to secure an escort just in case Jen's labor rushes on her like a linebacker and won't quit until the sherriff's deputy has delivered the baby in the back seat of his Crown Vic still a good 10 minutes from the hospital. Wait, that only happens in the movies anyway right? I mean she could labor for something crazy like 36 hours (love you Lindsay). In that case we could live in dern Vancouver, BC and still make it to the hospital in time to brush up on our breathing techniques and our teeth before the Dr. even arrives. I digress...

Because they were doing a sonogram, when we passed beyond the sacred door, we were greeted with a surprise... Instead of turning right just past the frilly leopard print shaded accent lamp... we went LEFT!! We kept our cool though and just followed. It just led into the sonogram room and the lady exchanged some greetings, but we were just like.... let's get to it. It was the normal sonogram lady and a "trainee". So the four (five) of us were in this small room about the size of a pantry and it must have contained the one vent that heated the whole doctor's office, because when she shut the door and turned out the lights, you immediately felt like a human sized chocolate chip cookie baking in a really big oven. Man it was hot... for me... I thought, if I'm hot, Jen's got to be on fire over there laying with her belly exposed and her lower back clinging to that funky tissue paper that they cover the beds with.

Anyway, the real tech lady got to work and she got her measurements and we heard the heartbeat and crown and rump and circumference and yadda yadda yadda. About ten minutes later she had printed out some pictures which can be seen above. (Grady already has a sweet face and a ridiculously long index finger) So just when we thought that we would get some fresh air the lady says, "Would you mind if our trainee took some measurements and marked some things off her chart?" What are you gonna say? At this point, I grabbed Jen's sweating hand. Trainee lady was in her final year of whatever sonogram school, but for real she needed to quit school and become one of those massage people outside of Penny's in the mall. She was beating up my wife and kid with that little nubby detector thing like the Cobras came down on karate kid. And for that matter, She was so so sssoooooo sslloowww and had to repeat everything. Oh man, Grady was totally squirmin doin umbilical cord somersaults and whatever else he could do to get that lady off of him.

Well, we did make it out alive, but not before we spent what felt like two hours in the sono-oven. All in all, we had a great checkup and the fast talking lady Dr. says everything with Grady is Great! Everything is developing perfectly and he weighs 11 ounces. I got to thinking about what we could compare him to just to get an idea and I thought.... ahh the partially eaten block of medium cheddar in our fridge.... Grady, we love you, our little 11 ounce human.

~A

Preggo Pics - 17 Weeks

2008-01-20T22:24:00.000-06:00

Yes folks, they are here! More highly anticipated than NFL's first perfect season and the Nevada caucus combined. Without further adieu, here are the pictures of my beautiful bride with child. Grady is growing and so is the belly. You can't help but look at these pictures and be struck with amazement thinking about how beautiful our child is going to be... coming from a mother like this, I mean! (And not to mention the other handsome half of his paternal pair.)

We'll be back soon to tell you about Grady's flutters and umbilical jump rope/somersault skills.

~A

Baby Name Wizard

2008-01-10T22:32:00.000-06:00

Now that we know BabyMac is indeed a boy, it is entrusted to us as parents to come up with a name for this child. A name no doubt that will be unique enough to make him stand out in a crowd and yet not so much so that he curses the day he was born and the parents that bore him.

There is this crazy phenomenon I have experienced during the past few months in regard to realizations. What I have found is that there are a couple stages that you go through. The first stage is titled, "I understand that at some point this is going to happen." It is in this stage that you work up a number of scenarios about the decision you will make, the emotions you will feel, and the words you will say at a particular time. Then there is stage two entitled, "This is for real... wait, is this really happening?" At this time, you kind of cock your head to the side like a dog when he hears you say something familiar, almost as if it just hit you that the moment you've imagined has now arrived. Then all the decisions you had made with your inexperienced brain come into question.

Such was the case with the name that we had picked out for our son, Grady. We had discussed that we both liked the name. In fact, about a year ago Jen and I were talking about what we wanted to name our kids and she mentioned Grady without even knowing that it was my Grandfather's name. From that point on, we were pretty much sold. But then, when the moment came last Thursday to pin the name our prized child, it was a little weird for me. The second realization had come. "Man, are we sure? This is a really big deal! Grady? Is there some cruel nickname that a Jr. High bully could make out of this? We are making a life-altering decision right here and now by giving this kid a name. This is for real!"

Even later on that day I wasn't sure if I was ready to broadcast it to the world, but not to worry, my good sister-in-law and Kim and her CIO Kelly did that for us :) Love you gals.

So Baby Mac's official name is Grady. As for a middle name, well we'll have to consult my new favorite page-turner, "The Baby Name Wizard".

~A

P.S. No seriously, it's my favorite! I would reccommend it to anyone, pregnant or not.

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails...

2008-01-03T22:40:00.000-06:00

...that's what little boys are made of!:)

That's right...Baby Mac was confirmed all boy today! Aubrey was excited that the underdog won in the poll results. I sortof felt like it was a boy all along and I guess I was right!

First headshot...a profile which I was scared looked like a "Who" until Aubrey informed me that it was his hand in front of his face!:)

Hi Mom!

Definitely a Boy!

stay tuned!

~jen

Technical Stuff

2008-01-01T12:32:00.000-06:00

This Thursday we are going upstairs at the doctor's office for an ultrasound that may tell us what we're having. Yes, we do want to find out. We're pretty sure there will be enough to take in on BabyMac's B-day. Oh, and yes, I said "upstairs" because apparently they have an ultra-mega-powerful-magic8ball sonogram that will give us a better chance of finding out. It was really weird, when Jen called up there though. They questioned her like she was a criminal; as if she was some pregnant lady trying to scam a free sonogram off them. I wanted to tell them, "Listen here! Our Doc told us to call you so apparently he wants us to have one! So shut-up and stop pestering my emotionally volatile pregnant wife with technical questions that she doesn't have the answer to!!!" Post-interrogation we were able to secure an appointment.

In my pre-pregnancy mind, it seemed like people didn't find out what they were having, even if they wanted to, until much later. But people find out between 15 and 20 weeks on a regular basis. This is going really fast!

You know, well-intentioned people often tell us "Life as you know it is over!" But I'm kind of glad. Don't get me wrong, I love life as we know it. But this life - pregnancy, Baby Mac, parenthood - is even better!

We'll see Dr. Garner (a.k.a. The Fast-talking Lady Dr.) on Friday. So as soon as we have news we'll let you guys know. In the meantime, that means you only have a couple more days to vote in our poll while it still matters. Your baby predicting reputation is on the line...

Can't wait,

~A

Put those people on a leash!

2008-01-01T11:45:00.000-06:00

This year already holds the promise of being a milestone in the McGowan family history books. Sometimes we go into a year with enormous expectation for what is to come while other years we have no clue what is about to happen. 2008 looks to be a year for both of these. At the same time we feel so much excitement for BabyMac's arrival, we also feel anticipation for all of the unknowns.

During the past few months and as we continue through the next 5 1/2, there have been and will continue to be rapidly increasing waves of reality that soak in more deeply as time passes. Now, even on the verge of week 15, Jen was saying that sometimes it still feels like we're just pretending. Of course, during the first 12 weeks, the frequent nausea served as a subtle reminder of "Hey, you're pregnant."

There is also the recurring reality that we are going to be parents; a role for which there are no prequalifiers. There are applications for jobs at McDonalds and 7-11, but not for parenthood. You have to take a test and actually pass it to get your driver's license, but there are no tests required by law to have a baby, although we may need to talk to our legislators about that. It's actually quite the dichotomy. On one hand it is rather hilarious (and comforting might I add) to see some of the crazy people that are having kids. Some are celebrities while others are just regular everyday kooky people whose paths you have the privilege of crossing. The other side is that it's really quite sad that their progeny will have to be raised by such crazies! From the outside, these people aren't any more ready to have kids than a couple of caged lab rats. OK, that's mean... but you understand what I'm sayin'... wait, you thought that I was referring to you... Oh no... Of course not... You're not a crazy parent... You're just protective... Hey look out! I think that leash is on too tight... no really his face is blue... no, not your dog...

Sincerely,

Baby Mac's Crazy Daddy

P.S. Happy New Year!!

Ya'll is the problem!

2007-12-25T01:41:00.001-06:00

Let's get straight to the point. Some people have asked the question, "Why Baby Mac?"

The origin of the name Baby Mac is pretty simple really. It stems from a foundational flaw with the whole English language; the lack of sufficient personal pronouns. There are two examples that uncover this linguistic fracture millions of times every day.

The first is "Ya'll"(as most people spell it) or "Y'all"(as Jen spells it). This conjunction has been the subject of heavy scrutiny through the years. It is close cousins with the slightly more pc, "You guys" and variations thereof. The problem here is this, there is no second-person plural personal pronoun in the vast resources of our dear language. This was a glaring oversight by those classic English linguists. If they would've just made something up, who knows maybe the Civil War wouldn't have taken place. North and South would have lived in perfect harmony. But nooo!

The second is equally as problmatic. This is the use of "it" as a pronoun in reference to a baby whose gender is unknown. I think this is just cruel! The heck if you'll catch me calling my very own flesh and blood "It." That's so cold and creepy. Think clowns and Stephen King. There's no "it" in Jen's tummy. No "it" on our sonogram pictures. No "it" monogrammed on our baby's first blanket. No, our baby in these unknown gender / pre-name days will be referred to as "Baby Mac"!

Ain't no child of mine gonna be called "It" ya'll!!!

And that's it...

~A

The Wizard of Ob: Behind the Curtain

2007-12-25T00:15:00.000-06:00

Here goes for part two of our baby story.

Our first visit to the Dr. was a success. It was awesome! I was just glad to get in the door. I'm sure every first-time expectant father feels this way at some point in time. I mean, you've heard of this "Lady Dr." all your life, but have you ever been there? Your wife goes for checkups and stuff, but it remains a mystery to you. Perhaps you have even, upon a rare chance, darkened the door of the waiting room. Or you've even spoken with the receptionist clad in unusually bright and busy toucan laden scrubs. Don't let her fool you though, she is only a gatekeeper and her colorful garments only a distraction to keep the secrets on the inside and you on the out. The "real" nurse is the one that comes to the door and calls your wife's name.

When this happens on any other day you continue to thumb through the pregnancy magazine, but on this special day you look at your wife for the cue as if to ask, "Is it ok if I come too?" Swallowing the lump in your throat, you follow her like a leashed chimp and under your breath you whisper, "Lay low, keep your mouth shut"... Quoting the scripture, "Fear not, for I am with thee."

Much to my surprise though, I found my imaginings of sterile bright corridors filled with the sounds of women in the throes of intense labor to be quite unfounded. In fact, the hallway was lined with scenic paintings and tables topped with froo froo fringy leopard printed lamps. There was no screaming, on the contrary, I heard the peaceful sound of soft 80's rock. I think I even heard Delilah telling me that everything was going to be allright. I felt comforted. And, as if that wasn't enough, while they were doing Jen's bloodwork I sat in a cushy (also leopard printed) chair beside a table overflowing with issues of Golf Digest and Field and Stream. I thought to myself, these guys are good. They have really done their market research.

Finally, the nurse called us back to the sonogram room. I think from this point to the time we stepped back out into the lobby was seriously like 3 minutes and 28 seconds. She turned the lights out and we saw a little blob on the screen. She said, "Here's the baby's head." With a couple of clicks and strokes on the keyboard she says, "Your baby is due June 25th, weighs approximately 2.3 ounces, is developing well, all of its vitals are great, it will graduate high school with a 4.0 and have a small freckle on the back of its left ear that they will nickname choclate chip.... Oh and here's the heartbeat... squish squish squish squish... allright, looks like we're done here." She flips the light on. "You can get dressed the doctor will be in shortly congratulations!"

What!? Done here!? Seriously!? Yeah, I heard the heartbeat, but only like four of them. I want to hear more. No such luck. The doctor was pretty much the same. Great guy, funny, but a fast talker. All I remember is, "Hey, pregnant huh? You know how this happened right? (haha) Everything looks good. Any questions? Congratulations! Here's the date of your next appointment."

You mean I paid $40 bucks for that? Thanks Doc. At least we got a couple cool blobby black and whites of Baby Mac out of the whole deal. I'm sure by the end of this whole process we'll get more than our money's worth.

:)

Sorry to be so long...

So long,

~A

"e.p.t. third quarter profits soar!"

2007-12-21T17:03:00.000-06:00

Ok, so here's part one of everything "baby story" at the McGowan house. I'll begin at the present. It is December 21st and we are right around 13 1/2 weeks. Yes, we're already through the first trimester and I'm just now posting about how it all came to pass. I hope this is no sign of things to come, although it is my (Aubrey's) M.O. to be a little belated with things.

I guess it all started about 10 weeks ago after arriving home from a trip to Nashvegas. The news had just been revealed by my good buddy Lewis that they were going to have a little one on or around June 3rd-ish. When they told us, Jen and I were in the "I'm not sure if we're pregnant and we weren't planning on it, but we sure did everything wrong if we did not want kids right now" phase. At that, we turned and sheepishly grinned at one another. Upon our return to TXas, struck with the reality that people our age are actually having children, Jen pulled out the one remaining pregnancy test from a three pack purchased during an earlier "phase". That particular time turned out to be a false alarm, but this time seemed a little different. Perhaps because of the faint and barely recognizable plus sign that magically appeared in the result window. Don't you hate it? They give you just enough color to make you think you are pregnant and yet not enough to really confirm. Blasted things!

Well, being the good husband that I am and recognizing the growing anxiousness in my wife's voice, I volunteered to run to wally world and get a real test. You know, one that hadn't been compromised by the extreme elements of a 3 month undersink storage. 13 dollars and 40 minutes later, I had arrived back at the homestead with a surefire "guaranteed within 5 weeks of conception" digital test. This one clearly told us on a "large" LED screen "pregnant" or "NOT pregnant". The definitive answer was fast approaching... the moment for which we (Jen, Riley, and I)had all been waiting. But what did we get? The "large" LED screen guaranteed us that we were indeed "NOT pregnant". Little did I know though, that my wonderful wife had downed a whole nalgene bottle of water so that she would be capable of completing the test. As we read the instructions and result details with the anticipation of an old lady reading Danielle Steele, we realized that there is a reason why they say "don't drink excessive amounts of water before taking this test."

So what do you do? Well, we came to a consensus that neither of the tests was reliable and we should buy more. I picked up the e.p.t. multipack for 7.50. She took all three... in a 36 hour period. Yes, the same faded plus sign every time. At this point, we were pretty sure that we didn't need to take any more tests, so maybe the Dr. could tell us something.

more to come...

Coming Soon!

2007-12-11T22:55:00.000-06:00

Introducing...Baby Mac

Boy or Girl - 50/50 chance either way.

Grand Entrance - On or around June 25th, 2008

Name - "Baby Mac" for now.

How far so far - 12 weeks

Be back soon to tell the whole story.

~A