Team McGowan

October 9, 2009

Photographs

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

October 3, 2009

Up up and away!

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!

September 21, 2009

A boy by any other name would smell as stinky.

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!

September 2, 2009

30 weeks!

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

August 8, 2009

The Big 5

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!

July 16, 2009

23 weeks...

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

July 9, 2009

Grady's 1st B-day Party!

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...