So long tired, old friend. Hellllooo sexy new friend!

Hey everybody. It's been a crazy week. I've been sick, Shea's been sick, and our trusted old SUV took an early and unexpected dirt nap this week. I've been battling a minor throat cold and Shea had a fever of 102 for one day. The good news is that he's better now. In fact, he gained 6 oz. in one week, bringing his weight to 12 lb, 4 oz. He also grew 1.5 inches since the last measurement, coming in at about 24.5". He's doing well. He recently discovered 2 new things: His voice and his tongue. When not sticking his tongue out, touching it, and licking everything in sight, he's practicing his best impression of Robert Plant or Sebastian Back (anyone remember 80's hair band Skid Row?). We don't seem to mind the high-pitched squeals as long as they're done in good spirits.

In other, news, our truck was maliciously mauled by a medicated mother from Marblehead (like the alliteration?). Jess parked my truck outside Salem State College on Thursday and when she went to drive home, couldn't find the car. She saw some broken glass where she thought she parked it, so she called the police to report it stolen. When she described the truck, the officer said, "Oh yeah, that was hit by a car and totaled." Apparently, they forgot to inform us of that fact. The woman swerved, cause unknown, hitting our truck and causing it to slam into the car in front of it. All 3 cars were totaled. Here's the picture of my truck:


Thankfully, nobody was hurt, including the only bound copy of my thesis. WHEW!! Hopefully, we'll get some decent dough from the insurance company so we can buy a new one. I found a really great deal for a Honda Element from a guy who is moving out of the country. The guy is really nice and we really like the car. Hopefully, financing will work out to make it somewhat affordable without sacrificing too much. Go to this link to see it: http://www.freewebs.com/moochachacar/

One last thing: For anyone with HBO, check out John Adams tonight. This may be the episode where I may be in the movie. They hired the Friendship as background for a scene where John Adams travels to France. I was wearing a white shirt and pants with green stockings and brown hat when they filmed it last summer. I may be on the bowsprit or hauling on the anchor line. Try to look for me. I'll update you to see if I saw myself. Anyway, Jess is going to post some new pics of Shea soon.
Happy Easter everybody! "Bock, bock!"
Doug, Jess, and Shea

News and notes from Casa de Christel

Hi Everyone,

Thought I'd add some new pics that we've taken recently. As I'm sure a lot of you know, we'll be purchasing a new vehicle after the untimely demise of the Suzuki. In spite of having an added car payment, we're excited now about the new Element, I think it'll serve us well. Shea's doing so many new things these days, it's hard to keep up! Giggling all the time, sticking his tongue out at people, conversing (i.e. yelling and squealing) with himself, his toys, anyone in the general vicinity. It's so much fun to watch him learn new things daily. These first pics were taken on Easter Sunday while my mom was visiting-clearly you can tell that she and Shea really don't enjoy each other's company at all (rolls eyes) ;} The rest are just some we've taken over the past couple of weeks. Hope you enjoy them!

Love,
Jess, Doug & Shea

Shea and Grandma Murray: A laugh-a-minute comedy troupe!

Enough with the smooches Grandma!

Snoozing with Daddy, don't they look adorable?

How's my hair dahling? Cuddling with Mom after a bath (hence the curly mop).

Ain't I handsome?

Omigod, don't take my picture!!!

Belly Evolution Slide Show

Hey guys,
Well, it snowed again today, so I got off work early! Hooray SNOW! I've put together a little slide show of the evolution of the belly. Jess and I selected the best of the weekly belly pictures and did a little "Ken Burns" effects on them. Technology, in conjunction with high-speed internet, is so much fun!!! I put Blind Melon's "Three's The Magic Number," the theme of this blog, as background. I also threw in a few audio surprises at the end!

I've also attached a draft layout for our backyard. Let us know what you think - we really need the input! It may take us a few years to do everything, but we're hoping to at least get started this summer with garden boxes on the side of the house. Hey, at least we got grass to start from. The gray blocks are steps to the side yard and driveway. The black lines with green beside them are latices with climbing vines to cover the retaining wall. We're thinking about a flagstone patio with river rocks outlining the flower beds along the sides.

Shea and Jess stopped by the daycare center today to get acquainted. Shea was quick to begin charming the other infants and staffers. THAT'S MY BOY! He'll do very well there we think. We'll keep you updated on the first day at daycare. Stay warm and cozy this weekend!!!
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

Shea meets the Lutz side of the family.

Hello everyone!
It's been a busy week for Shea. He's begun teething. Yes, I said it, he's teething. He's always gnawing on his hand, gumming everything in sight and drooling like a St. Bernard. The doctor felt the top left tooth lurking just under the surface and Jess and I think we've seen glimpses of the tooth just starting to poke out. He's practicing rolling over onto his back, coming within an inch several times. He doesn't give up though, so daddy has the camcorder always at the ready. He's really starting to master grasping at things and swings around his favorite butterfly toy like a 5 month old. It's so much fun seeing him develop as quickly as he has. Kids are great!

I wanted to put up a few pictures of Shea meeting the Lutz side of the family over Christmas. I hope you enjoy these. The next post will be some of Frankie's visits. I'm also playing around with the movie-editing software that came with the new computer. My first assignment is to develop a video montage of Jess's belly evolution. The software has a "Ken Burns" feature (for you PBS and documentary fans) that lets you pan around still pictures during a slideshow. I know, I'm a dork. Anyway, stay tuned!!!
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea

Shea attempts to wake up mommy and daddy through a shrill scream...it didn't work too well. He clearly failed to realize that it was that same shrill scream that kept mommy and daddy up all night!

Everyone's all smiles now that Shea stopped screaming! ;-}

Like a grizzley hugging a gnat, Grandpa tenderly cradles his grandson.

Grandpa was a baby hog and wouldn't stop touching Shea. Eventually, Maureen elbowed him, saying, "It's my turn damnit!"

Hanging with the hotties, Shea gets to meet Jeannie and Great-grandma.

I'm blogging!

Can you tell I never do this sort of thing?  I do think it's a great idea though, especially with so many of our friends and family out of state.  

So what's new...well, Shea's growing almost by the hour it seems.  He's sleeping mostly through the night now, which Mom and Dad are grateful for. He's really starting to babble and make lots of sounds now, which I think is cool.  Here's a pic that Doug took just the other day, all smiles again!  Anyway, I'll try to post some more when we've got some other pics to put up.  -Jess :)

First Entry: Pictures of Shea

Hey everybody!
My cousin Jenn inspired me to create this blog to keep you all up to speed with what's been going on in our lives. The title of the blog, "Three is the Magic Number" is not a rip off of Jenn's blog, "...and baby makes three," but comes from a Blind Melon song we love. It's appropriate for us now. I'm going to try to post it if I can. I'm hoping that this entry will be the first of many so that you can all share in our lives. My goal is to update the blog weekly so you can see all of the wonderful changes taking place.

Thanks to some snow and sleet, I have a few extra hours before I have to go to work. I threw together a few pictures of Shea that I hope you enjoy. I'll try to post a few more from Christmas later this week. For some reason, we haven't been taking many pictures lately, but will try to post at least a few every week. Shea's really developing lately. He smiles all of the time, especially when I sing off key. He loves new and strange sounds, so I have to be creative. He tries to mimic the sounds and coos a lot lately. He's also getting really good at batting and grasping things. He started to try to roll onto his back last night and is getting really strong when on his belly, but he really doesn't like it too much and grumbles until you pick him up. However, his legs are super strong and he likes to stand up when we hold him. Who knows, maybe he'll go straight to walking?

Anyway, I've got to begin to get ready to go to work now. So, stay warm and enjoy these pictures!
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea
Sleeping with Pop Pop. Dad claimed he was "just resting my eyes."
Proud aunt and uncle holding their new nephew.
Brooke taking care of Shea.
Yes, we dressed him up like a reindeer for Christmas.
Happy as can be in Mom Mom's arms.
"You're damn straight that good looks run in the family!"
Sleepy buddies.
This is his coy smile. Gotta love the Superman curl in the front - just like daddy!
Look into my eyes!!!
"Little does Pop Pop know this, but I just pooped!"
"Don't give me no backtalk sucka!"
"Who you lookin' at?" For some reason, he gave us the "stink-eye" on this one.

Kids are so much fun to play with. I think he was mocking us here!

Another coy smile. This is my favorite picture of him!