Window Art and Other Things ; )

Grandma Bernie is here helping out Maggie and spending some time with Aoife. She got Aoife some window markers that proved to be an outstanding hit! Aoife loved the new medium for her art ; ).



This is video of "Day 2" with the markers. Aoife had filled the windows so we talked about washing them and why, then we went ahead and did it. So, in the video you can see that she thinks it is time for them to be washed again (she keeps singing, "wash, wash"). She has become quite diligent in cleaning up after herself. If she, or anyone else for that matter, spills something she immediately runs to the drawer where she knows the kitchen towels are kept proclaiming, "mess, mess," and then returns to the site to clean up ; )!




What a sweet girl!

Otherwise we have been up to fun things. Not as many as we might like, Maggie has continued to struggle with the pregnancy and will be glad when it is over! She is on "modified bed rest," until after week 35, but both mommy and baby are healthy, healthy. At 33 weeks Baby Girl Stuhan already weighed almost 5 lbs. (according to a recent ultrasound)!

Here are some of the fun shots from what we have been able to get out and do:

Melissa and Cole introduced us to an awesome local place where we can go and pick blueberries, when they're in season ; )! The first time we went Aoife ate every single berry she picked! She LOVED them! The second time she actually put half of them in the bucket -- she still loves them, we froze a bunch and put them in her muffins and morning yogurt.

I am good at this!

Okay, even though I put that one in the bucket, I need to pull it back out and eat it -- yum!

Hmmm....where should I pick next?

At Multnomah Falls, we love this place.

Playing with Daddy at St. John's Park.
Yay, ducks! Quack, quack!
Daddy, I think you're really going to like these rye crackers and this queso manchego...

Aoife delighted in playing in the sand during our latest trip to the beach!

Woo-hoo! We love the beach!

Until next time...

Besos, besos,

James, Maggie, Aoife, and Baby Girl Stuhan

Busy, busy, busy...

The title explains how all of us have been feeling. We have had lots of visitors this summer (Yay!), we have some shows we are working, Maggie has been taking classes for her master's, work has still been really busy for James, and Aoife is just blossoming...it really is a pleasure and a privilege to watch her grow. The videos I am including are a little old at this point, but they are fun! I am also going to include just a couple of our favorite pictures from the last six weeks or so.

Our little girl has gotten quite good at taking care of herself, and everyone else. She is also extremely playful, as demonstrated in this video. Part of this taking care of others can be seen in the beginnings of her imaginative play. She feeds all of her little animal friends and says, "Num, num, num, num," in a sing-song way as she does so. She also covers them up with little blankets, rocks them in her arms, gives hugs and kisses, and tucks them in, saying "Nigh-nigh." She is such a lovey little kid!

As we mentioned before, Aoife loves music and dancing. We are going to find an outlet for this ASAP. She goes to Gymboree music and movement classes for now and we are on the look out for some good dance classes to switch her into soon. The video shows her moving to what quickly became her favorite book and song. Since the video was taken she mastered all of the actions, including roaring out loud and squeaking like a mouse, oh my gosh it is sooo cute when she does either! I think that the book actually helped her to start making animal sounds in general, because now she also moos like a cow, baas like a sheep, oo-oo-aa-aas like a monkey, neighs like a horse, and pants like a dog ; )! I could go on and on, she is so much fun!

Fun at the beach!

I'll show you, Daddy.
Aoife especially loved digging her feet down into the sand, up to her ankles, and just wiggling her little toes! Starfish are super cool!

Hiking with Mommy and Daddy! Daddy gave me a great flower ; )! Thanks Daddy!

I love all my friends. -- Aoife actually sits in or on the ottoman, in a chair, or on the couch and directs us to bring her little friends to sit with her. She then positions them all around herself and sits happily, playing with them.

Aoife is excited about the arrival of her little sister. Every morning when she wakes up she wants to talk to the baby, hug, and kiss her. She says, "baby," and pulls on Mommy's shirt and then pats the baby, hugs and kisses Mommy's tummy and says the baby's name, which Aoife has insider knowledge on...more on that for everyone else later ; ).

We love you all and hope that you enjoyed the update.

We will work on being more diligent with our postings, but I won't make any promises because it doesn't look like life is going to get any less packed any time soon.

Besos,

James, Maggie, Aoife, & Baby Girl Stuhan

It's a girl!

So, we had our "big" ultrasound on Wednesday and things look good! We are very excited, Aoife is going to have a little sister! If raising her so far can be an indication of what is to come, we are sure to have a world of joy and wonder in store. The woman who did the ultrasound let us know that the baby is just about 13oz., "a little bigger than a coke can." That put things into perspective ; )!

Aoife is up to all kinds of wonderful and exciting things. She took her first few independent steps today, YAY! We should have a full-fledged "walker" on our hands soon. She is talking more and more. She has only "mastered" a few words, but she has quite the little vocabulary that we understand. Some of those hard consonants at the end of words still give her difficulty. She says a two syllable word every now and then, like "outside," where she loves to be as often as she can. She is also putting two words together like "dog bark" and "bye-bye daddy." This is all so much fun it is tempting to give her what she asks for every time she asks for it. Like juice, whenever she says it and points at her special juice sippy cup, even if we are trying to limit juice to morning only, we almost cave and give her more. She also loves to dance and sing. I think she is going to have a pretty good little voice. It is absolutely darling when she gets moving, she dances everywhere, and especially in the car. She just moves and grooves happily down the road. We are also working on good habits, she brushes her hair and her teeth now (and likes to brush mommy's and daddy's too) and she is starting to dress herself. She can nearly get her socks and shoes on and has even pulled a shirt over her head (So what it if was daddy's and the fact that it's so big made that task a heck of a lot easier?).




Here is our little sweetheart, being herself. She is such a good-natured little girl!

What I've Been Up To

I have been really busy lately. The weather has been nice, sometimes. When it is, mommy and daddy make sure to take me out to the park. I really like the slide but my absolute favorite thing to do is spend time on the swings!
I love swinging!

Mommy says I am a great helper. I pick up after myself and I am able to do a lot of things that she asks me to do. I can go get my shoes and bring them to her so she can put them on for me. I can pick out pictures of animals I know in books, help put away my toys when asked (specific toys), and I make my parents' day when they as me for kisses and I dole them out happily!!!Putting my towels away after I played with them.

I have also been getting to try other new things:
Like a great picnic outside with mommy and daddy.
A fun ride on Marty's new boat -- thanks Uncle Marty ; ).Playing with some of my new toys I got for my birthday. I love my horsey!
Opening a package (thanks grandma), and of books of all things! YAY!Eating olives with daddy! I can hang ; )! (You can also see I got my first 'boo-boo,' it's okay, I'm it's almost all healed already.)

...and... Yup. That's right. My new baby brother or sister will be arriving at the beginning of November. I guess I haven't really gotten to experience this yet but I sure can tell that everyone around here is excited, including me : )!!!

Well, I'm going to get going now. Mommy will take a minute and fill you in on how daddy and she have been doing.

I love you! Bye-bye.

Hi there. James and I are both really excited about the new addition. Things have been different this time around. I have been much sicker, I think I threw up 3-4 times during my whole pregnancy with Aoife. This time I have managed as many in a single day. It has proved challenging taking care of a toddler and being sick on and off all day. Both of Aoife's grandmas have been out to help, and we loved every minute that they were here! Thanks ladies ; ). Otherwise, James has been really busy at work. Even though it means pretty late nights at least twice a week, and sometimes work on Saturday, we are grateful for the opportunity to get ahead. We are busy and tired, but really happy.

We hope to hear from you all soon and we'll keep you posted. In about 5-7 more weeks look for a post on whether it'll be more pink or blue (we do know that it will only be one or the other, thank goodness).

Love you,
James, Maggie, Aoife, & Baby Stuhan

Happy 1st Birthday, Aoife Roisin!

Well, we celebrated a little early. Grandma was in town and the weather was amazing so we opted for a celebration the weekend before my birthday (it's actually Thursday) instead of after. I had a fantastic time!!! We got to eat outside, and I ate the same kabobs as everyone else. I had fun hanging out with out with Mommy and Daddy, Grandma Bernie, Marty, Melissa, and their new baby, Cole! Thanks for coming to my party guys! I had more fun playing with my presents than opening them this time ; )! And, I had my first sugar. Mommy made me a sugar free banana cake but it had a cream cheese frosting that had some sugar in it! Yummy!

This is my cake. Mommy said she won't win any awards for cake decorating, not yet anyway ; ).Opening presents!
I love bubbles.
That looks delicious!Oh, it is!
Did I mention I like my cake?!?
Playing with my new puzzle from Cole -- way fun!
Playin' with Mommy.
Playin' with Daddy (I'm good at playin').Sharing -- something else I am good at ; )!

I had a fantastic day, and Mommy and Daddy did too. They said that now birthdays have a whole new meaning and they can understand why people get so darn excited about them. They also say to check back in a few days (Mommy will let you know when) to see what else I have been up to and because I have a big announcement to make! In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed hearing about my birthday!

I love you!

Aoife