The Girls' Birthdays!

Jordan is 2!!! She turned 2 on Thursday! Jenny is 4!! Her birthday was just yesterday!! We had their birthday party Saturday afternoon. It was a gorgeous day and we were so excited to have pretty much the entire family here to celebrate! The girls got to get dolled up with make-up, press-on nails and tattoos. I got some boy tattoos for the boys, too. The kids also painted sun-catchers. We enjoyed cake and ice cream and the girls opened a bazillion gifts! Present opening time is alway chaotic when there are 2 birthday girls and a lot of cousins around to help. It was crazy but it was so fun! The kids had a great time. We grilled out and watched the ballgame after the party while the kids played with all of their new toys.

Zoo Trip

This past Friday, I went with Nathan's class to the zoo. It was a gorgeous day! We had a great time, and I was excited to see the lions and tigers AWAKE! They are always asleep the past times I've been to the zoo. Jason was able to meet us at the picnic area to eat a sandwich with me and Nathan. I think Nathan's favorite part was feeding the lorikeets.

Playing Catch-up!

ok....so I'm new to the blog thing still and haven't learned to manage my time to stay up with it!! so...I will catch you guys up on all that has been going on the past few weeks....and it has been busy busy busy!!

October 23

A week before Halloween, Jason came down with that dreaded H1N1 swine flu! Yuck! We kept him quarantined downstairs and I was lysoling everything! He was truly ill, and I felt so bad for him because he wanted so badly to hug the kids, and he couldn't for an entire week! He could do nothing but watch TV and sleep. We were very fortunate and grateful to God that no one in the household got it! Praise the Lord! We were happy that Jason got better just in time to enjoy Halloween with the kids.

October 31

Halloween was a blast with the kids! I took "Mario" "Dragon/Yoshi" and "Wingless Bumble-bee" to trunk or treat at our church. Nathan has been wanting to be Mario since last Halloween! He played the part well! He has the Mario pose down to a tee! Jenny wanted to be a character from Super Mario Brothers so we put her in a dragon costume and told her that she was Yoshi. She was cool with that...as long as we kept telling her she was Yoshi, and not a dragon! Jordan went as a bumble bee but Jenny played with the costume and somewhere in this house the wings are hiding, but she went anyway as a wingless bumble-bee, anyway Our neighborhood is a fairly busy neighborhood on Halloween. Lots of kids and lots of fun. Jason and I dressed up, too. I went as Spider lady and Jason went as a punk rocker. We grilled out hot dogs and had fun with Jason's sister, Renee' and her husband Aaron. The kids got way too much candy!

Wedding

This past June, my sister-in-law, Renee', got married to Aaron Ludwick. I was honored to be one of her bridesmaids, but even more special was that Nathan was the ring bearer (his second time at it since he was also ring bearer for my brother-in-law's (Rob's) wedding, too!) and Jenny was the flower girl. It was a dream wedding for any girl and the location was awesome--Anderson Gail Farms in Shelby, Alabama. Sadly, Renee's wedding was probably the last wedding there, unless the new owners plan on doing the same. Check out some of the photos from the gorgeous wedding, and of course, my gorgeous babies in the slideshow.

Jordan

Jordan Leslie-Ann Lee--November 12, 2007

Jason and I had decided that two kids was where we were going to stop. I would have ten kids, but they do cost money! We thought that with two kids, we could provide them with a nice lifestyle and would be content with the one boy and one girl. God had other plans, though! Surprise!! In late February of 2007, we found out we were pregnant! Shortly thereafter, Jason and I made a decision that I would resign from teaching for a while and stay at home with the kids. It was quite ironic that I had just finished up getting my master's degree, to only resign from teaching! I miss teaching music, and miss having faculty friends, but I would not trade this time I have at home with my children for a million dollars!!

Jordan's due date was November 15th--Jenny's birthday! I really didn't want them to have the exact same birthday! It was bad enough that two of our kids' birthday fell in the middle of the most important month of Auburn Football! haha! Jason was traveling a lot to Miami for a job he had down there, so we thought inducing would be a great way to make sure he was around when Jordan decided to show up! Once again, we had to be at the hospital at 6:00am. Same as before, Dr. Stone broke my water as soon as I got robed, and we were well on our way to meeting our #3! All of my labor and deliveries were so smooth, but this time, I had a slight scare. Shortly after receiving my epidural, my blood pressure bottomed out. I mean....way out. It was 60 something over 30 something. I remember seeing blackness closing in around me and every one's voices were reverberating. It was so strange, and scary! I don't know what the nurse was squeezing, but she took an IV bag and was hovering over me and squeezing it hard and I started to "come to." I got sick when my blood pressure came back up, but after throwing up, I was fine. After only four hours of labor, Jordan was here weighing 7lb 12oz.

I can't believe she'll be 2 next month! Time has really flown by! She is truly a blessing. We may not have "planned" to have her, but we could not imagine our lives without her!! She gives the best hugs and is so loving! She is a pistol, too, though! She gives Jenny grief and loves to pull her hair! (I think it's because she's jealous of all of Jenny's hair! ha) She is finally starting to talk--some! Her consonants are not clear most of the time, but she's trying. She can say, "War Eagle, hey!" very well!! She actually says this better than "mommy." She still calls me "Bobby" or "Boppy" more than she says "mommy." It's the m's!!

Jenny

Jennifer "Jenny" Celeste Lee--November 15, 2005

God is so good! We planned on getting pregnant and spacing our kids somewhere between 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 years apart. God saw fit to allow that plan to take place, and we were pregnant again! I was so happy when we found out we were having a girl!! I would have been completely happy with another boy, but there is just something special about having one of each. Again, I was not ever sick with "morning sickness." I did have a stomach bug at one point during my pregnancy with Jenny that was not fun at all, and I had one scare where I thought I might be having early contractions or that something was wrong. Jason took me to the ER, and they gave me an ultrasound (after THEY had filled my bladder with water--not fun, very uncomfortable) to check on the baby. Everything was actually fine, and the doctors chalked it up as....gas...so embarrassing! We did have to change my OB/GYN because Dr. Cybulski "retired" his OB duties, so we decided to switch to a practice at St. Vincent's. Jason is a project manager for Brasfield and Gorrie, and since they had redone the Women's Center there, we really wanted to have our next baby there. A sweet friend of mine, and a NICU nurse at St. Vincent's suggested Dr. Stone, and I just loved him! Similarly to the situation around Nathan's birth, I was concerned about getting in a concert with my choirs! So, we did an early Christmas/Holiday concert. Jenny was induced on November 15. We had to be up at the hospital at 6 am. It was a neat feeling driving in the dark to downtown Birmingham, knowing that we were about to meet our little girl! It really happened super quick! Dr. Stone broke my water shortly after I got there, and I remember my contractions felt a lot stronger than they did with Nathan. I kept wondering when they were going to offer me the epidural! I finally asked, and the nurse said I could have had it hours ago! I just did get it in time as I was already 7 cm. It wasn't long after that I felt movement and told Jason that the nurse needed to check me again. They called Dr. Stone and Jenny was here after just 2 pushes weighing 6 lbs 3 oz.

Jenny is almost four, now! She is a mess!! She has already had two sets of ear tubes and an adenoidectomy. We're still struggling with ear infections and now we're trying to figure out what to do about her tonsils. She's a tiny thing. Her first year was a battle of severe reflux! We saw a gastro-doc, and they tested her all sorts of things including celiacs disease. Thank the Lord that came up negative, but at a year old, we were truly concerned over her health. She was not gaining weight, and was falling off of the growth curve! She did turn the corner as seemed to do better after we determined she was allergic to eggs. She's still below the 5th percentile for her age/weight/height. Other than her ENT issues, she is pretty healthy.

Jenny loves to sing and is great at coloring. It is amazing how well she stays in the lines. I've never seen a three-year-old that is so particular about her coloring! She'll color for hours! She loves to watch Dora and Diego and enjoys playing with her cousins, too! She thinks she can swim, and she really can, but can't touch, so I still make her wear her floaties if we are not in the pool with her!

Nathan

William Nathan Lee--born May 13, 2003

Jason and I had been married for a little over 2 years when we decided the time was right to try to start having kids. God was very gracious and granted us with the miracle of conception like within our second month of trying. My pregnancy was pretty easy with Nathan. I never really got sick, felt nauseated a few times, but I never got sick. I didn't have any unusual cravings, but I did have an aversion to my prenatal vitamin. I couldn't stand taking them! I had to shoot them down with orange juice and had to work hard not to let the pill touch my tongue or any part of my mouth. I was fortunate that I had saved up enough sick days to not have to take an actual maternity leave, as it was getting close to the end of school. I was worried that I would not get my Spring concert in before Nathan would make his arrival. My biggest nightmare would be in the middle of conducting and my water break right there on the stage! We had our concert on Friday--May 9th. This was also my designated last day to teach, as well. Monday, I had an appointment with my OB/GYN, Dr. Cybulski, and he really thought we might have another four or five days. Nathan, however, had different plans! That night, at about 3 o'clock in the morning, my water broke! (yay! I wasn't on the stage..haha). I didn't start having what I would call "real" contractions until we got to the hospital. I was probably having them, but I really didn't know what to expect. I was expecting excruciating pain, but it wasn't that terrible. As they got closer...like seven minutes apart, they did get stronger, and I opted for an epidural. The whole birthing experience was a pure joy for me! I loved being pregnant, and I really did enjoy giving birth! It's just such a miracle! After pushing for a little over 45 minutes, Nathan entered our world at Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham at 1:38 pm. Our 8lb 8oz bundle of boy joy!!

Nathan is six, now! He is a very smart boy who actually enjoys school! well...as least so far! He loved his kindergarten teacher so much, and she was such a blessing. I was truly blown away by all they learn in kindergarten! I certainly don't remember learning how to read--fluently in kindergarten! I am so happy that he has another fantastic 1st grade teacher for this year, too! He is reading just about anything we give him, and he loves math.

For fun, Nathan enjoys swimming at Grammie and Pappy's, and he loves playing with his cousins, friends, and neighbors! He loves playing Mario or Sonic on the Wii, and enjoys playing games on the computer as well. He likes to draw and is actually quite good! He is trying his hand at fall ball this year, and it's been interesting to say the least! I am proud that he makes contact with the ball, but let's just say that as far as fielding goes.....he gets a bit bored. We are proud that he is trying, and he does seem to be catching on. Nathan is a true lefty, so it's been a struggle for me to help him out on throwing and hitting as it is quite awkward for me to even try anything left handed!