The Blog Returns

What?!?! A new post? Could it possibly be true? :)


Well, after an accidental 2 month hiatus, the blog is officially returning. And in my defense, blogging is an artform and artists go through slumps.


Here are some of favorite shots taken during Me and My Baby McGee's "dark period."

Fun at the Fair

We took Shannon to her first fair last night and had a blast. The highlight was the carousel... she was awfully wiggly as we were waiting for our ride to start, but once we got going, she didn't stop smiling for a second.

We munched on junk food, played some games (Shannon won prize by picking rubber duckies out of a tank!), watched the big rides, saw the 4H kids and their livestock (cows!), and ended our night with some funnel cake and listening to the band.

Check out Shannon singing, clapping and dancing to the music. :)

Happy Birthday Shannon!

Shannon celebrated her first birthday with a big bash. Mommy, Daddy, Spike & Sadie, all of her grandparents, most of her aunts, uncles & cousins, and few of her best buddies helped her celebrate.

For those of you who couldn't join us, here's what we did.

We had a cow party because Shannon is quite a fan of the opening track on the Philadelphia Chickens CD. Mommy found a recipe for a cute cow cake.

Shannon enjoyed it quite a bit!

After cake, we opened presents. She was pretty good at ripping the paper off but found the paper she pulled off to be more interesting than the present inside. Luckily, she had her big cousin Joey (who LOVES opening presents) to help out.

Our family room got a little chaotic between the many new toys, wrapping paper, people and dogs!

Some shots of Shannon playing with her buds and new toys.

Happy Birthday, big girl! Can't believe how fast a year can go. We love you!

Buffalo Reunion

Squint really hard and you'll see all the Philadelphia McGee's in Buffalo. (I swiped this jpg from an online album and can't enlarge it anymore).

Over the weekend of July 12-14, we journeyed to Grandpa's hometown of Buffalo, NY for a family reunion. Shannon got to hang out with her many cousins (first, second, removed and otherwise!) and to see her great uncles/aunt.

The main event was a day at Evangola State Park on the shore of Lake Erie. Great picnic food, swimming, heated cornhole matches...it was a fun day!

She loves salt water and fresh water equally!

Amy collected some beautiful beach stones.


Danny found some heavier stones in the water.


The start of burying Josh

CJ having fun in the sand.

Beach mama and baby.

We we headed home on Sunday, we were all wiped out!

4th of July How-to Guide

Here's how you have a good first 4th of July according to Shannon:

1. Wear a festive dress.

2. Make lots of yummy food. Shannon ate nearly everything that was served: hamburgers, hotdogs, corn, potato casserole and potato salad, watermelon.

3. Play fun backyard games like bocce.

4. Invite Aunt Kathy and Grandpa because they have birthdays this week... which means Grandma will make a Texas sheet cake.

5. Sucker your Mommy and then Uncle Kevin into sharing their ice cream with you. (Her first tastes...don't think they will be her last!)

6. Finish the night with sparklers.

7. Go to bed. You can watch fireworks when you're older. (Mommy and Daddy followed this tip too!)

Eleven Months

She's growing so fast, I can't keep up! At eleven months, Shannon is...

...into everything. Professional crawler and puller-upper, she is now determined to use these skills for evil missions. Like playing in dog bowl water (or even grosser, toilet bowl water) the minute you turn your back.

...learning to climb stairs.

...eating "real food" and slowly trading in bottles for cups of milk. This month she had spaghetti and meatballs for the first time. What a delicious mess. And she likes the whole dessert concept too. We came home from Cleveland with pizzelles (Italian cookies) and for some reason we went through our stash faster this time!

...developing quite a sense of humor. She plays peekaboo with herself in her carseat mirror and roars with laughter. (Is the suprise what's funny, or is she laughing at how good she got herself?) Other ways to crack Shannon up: making a toy fall off your head, sniffing and snorting her all over like a dog, or shaking a toy in your teeth. Also the phrase "Amish doughnuts" was really funny for awhile there.

...saying "uh-oh" when she drops (read: flings) her cup from her high chair.

...using her signs. She does milk, eat, light, fan, water and more pretty well. I think I've seen dog a few times, but who knows!

...full of all sorts of amazing tricks: giving juicy kisses, opening and closing boxes, turning light switches on and off (handy when carrying her and laundry!), climing in and out of her baby bathtub

...one happy girl!

To the Beach!

We were beach bums this weekend! We went on a mini-vacation with Monica, Steve and Addie to Chincoteague Island. The island is famous for it's wild ponies, but we felt in love with the laid back, small town vibe.

The beach was a blast. I'm not sure what Shannon loved more, the sand...

... or the surf!

Addie wasn't quite as into the water this trip. Much better high and dry, with a firm grasp on Mom!

After the girls went to bed, we feasted on fresh seafood and fruits/veggies we scored earlier in the day at the farmer's market. We ate for a l-o-n-g time and laughed a lot!

Baby swap!

Hard to put into words how relaxing the time was, but think these shots get close.

Thanks for a great weekend, Silvestros! Is it too early to start planning our next trip?