Thursday, March 29, 2012

Straight from the horse's mouth

Gannon is very vocal these days and with good reason. He must make sure everyone knows he's 8 months old and...
he has 2 teeth now! So, to mark this occasion, we knew it was time to bring back everyone's favorite part of this blog. Drumroll, please...

The TOOTH TRACKER!
Holla!
Yes, it's back, and in masculine form for tracking Mr. Man's mouthful.

And, by the way, when I say vocal, I mean loud. Not like he's crying or mad, though. He's making so many different sounds, it can be quite entertaining. But, add in a 3-year-old competing for attention and suddenly you feel like you're in the middle of a banner day at the Chicago Board of Trade.

With each passing month, this guy gets happier. It makes our day everyday. And, for those of you that have asked or wonder, no, it's not an act and we haven't trained him to be this way "for show."

Gannon is long and solid (an excellent eater!) and loves to lay back and relax. His favorite pastimes are pulling hair and giving slobbery kisses. Following in his big sister's footsteps already, Mr. Man loves to dance! He rocks back and forth and really gets his belly wiggling!
Such a ham he is!


"So, whaddaya say ladies? I'm single and ready to mingle!"

Monday, March 26, 2012

"Did you chop down this tree?"



On Saturday afternoon, Paul and I took Isla to see Dr. Seuss' The LORAX in 3D.
("He's right in front of us!")

After seeing a preview of the film before Beauty and the Beast 3D (and watching other previews of it repeatedly on the computer at home), she fell in love with this little mustached fellow and could hardly wait to see the whole movie.

Needless to say it was another successful trip to the theater with plenty of popcorn, of course. Isla greeted The Lorax with a very loud "HI!" as he came on the screen to introduce the movie. She knew many of the lines (it was then obvious just how many times she'd watched the preview) and laughed, sang, and clapped throughout it all. It may be a little while until she truly understands the moral of the story, but I bet she wouldn't mind if we planted a few truffula trees!

"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not."

A special thank you to our dear friend Mary for hanging out with Gannon while we were away.
She is a natural with a baby (and Mr. Man's new girlfriend!)

Friday, March 23, 2012

Special Delivery

Introducing the newest member to the Memphis-based Kapellas family:

Persephone Elise
8 lbs, 5 oz
19 3/4 inches
Welcomed with lots of love on Thursday, March 22.

Congratulations to Michael, Jenna, big sister Cadence and big bulldog brother Lou!
We're so happy you're here and healthy and look forward to meeting you very soon!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

My goodness, My Guinness

We finally got over our hangovers from St. Patty's day so I can get back to blogging...kidding, of course. Here are the highlights from our very fun afternoon at the Irish American Heritage center to celebrate being Irish!

I don't think it gets much more Irish than this. And yes, this Greek guy has some Irish blood running through those saganaki-clogged veins.

It's an annual tradition to celebrate St. Patty's Day here (even though we don't always make it here annually and our drinking is curtailed considerably due to the wee ones in all of our lives.)

But we caught up with some old friends and Isla had a blast dancing to Wiggleworms songs with Jonah and his little brother, Graham (below, sitting, bottom left corner).


Gannon felt right at home here, sporting the very same bib his big sister wore 3 years ago when she was a mere 7 weeks old.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about, Dad. I need to get the full experience!"

"Ahhh! Guinness really does make everything better. Especially teething."

We closed out our celebration with the amazing sounds of the Shannon Rovers Pipe Band. Isla has always loved the bagpipes and was cheering them on the whole time while perched on Paul's shoulders.


The sign of a true Irishman after a long afternoon of celebration.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Plenty O'Kisses

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!





Who doesn't want to kiss this?!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

There it is!

Mommy finally got a photo of my first tooth (as I told her she would in a previous post.)
So, I'm ready for that steak now!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Lunch Buddies

Look who we got to have lunch with on Saturday!
Alicia (and baby bump!) and Adeline came into town for a quick visit, leaving just enough time for a great afternoon of food and fun!

You can see how much the girls enjoyed their jelly sandwiches and milkshakes, with lots of laughter and dancing on the side. (The guy playing guitar was fantastic!)


"Auntie Alicia, do you think there's a boy in that belly? I could really use another dude to play with."

Thank you so much for the few hours of fun we shared. Little visits like this always make the distance between us seem not so far!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Feel the Beat!

Get on up,
Clap your hands,
When you hear The Fresh Beat Band!

Yesterday was the day Isla had been waiting for since her rock-star birthday bash. Last night, she went to a "live and in person" show starring a few of her musical friends from the Nick Jr. TV show, The Fresh Beat Band.

(Apparently, an obscene amount of children in the Chicagoland area were gifted tickets to this special event judging by the traffic and parking issues we faced to make this show on time. More on that later...)

We made it to our seats, after the required glow-stick purchase, of course,
and Isla was ready to ROCK!
On guitar, Kiki! On keyboard, Shout! On drums, Marina! And the real MC, DJ Twist in the house!
Not only do they sing and play instruments, they're great dancers too. Isla followed along with all their cool moves. Get up and Go GO!

Play it loud, just like a Rock Star!
Time for the F-F-F-F-Freeze Dance!
Good times today, indeed!
I finally got her to control her "Loco Legs" and stop dancing for a picture.
What a great show!

And here she is today...

Been there, done that, and got this super cool T-shirt!

Isla has thanked me over and over for taking her to the show as we have talked about it all day and sang all of the songs (I had them in my head all night anyway). And nothing makes me happier than seeing her so very happy. Well, maybe one thing...

Earlier I mentioned the crazy traffic and parking issues. A normal trip to the Rosemont Theater would take about 18 minutes from our house. Just to be safe and to make sure we had plenty of time for the 5 o'clock start (and to get a glow-stick), we left at 4. After spending over an hour in the car waiting on the exit ramp, the main road, the line to park, the parking lot, we ran to the doors, up some stairs, stopped for the glow-stick and were in our seats at 5:13. Whew. Can you just picture the frenzy of this mom trying to keep her promise of making it on time? And then the show didn't start for another 15 minutes. Thank goodness!

So, my point (and what else makes me very happy) is this: Isla was calm, cool and collected during the whole ordeal. Not once did she complain or ask "are we there yet?" repeatedly. I have been working with her on her patience the past few months and I didn't think we were making any progress until yesterday. Maybe she was just saving it up for that moment? But what better way to make a mommy proud and know that something is getting through other than Fresh Beat Band songs! :)

We had a great day!
It was a super way,
to spend some time together.

We had a great day,
the very best day,
and nothing could be better!