Happy Birthday Marlee!

Today is Marlee's 2nd birthday! We celebrated by taking her to Chuck E Cheese to play with her friend Jacob. They had lots of fun, but I think they were a little overwhelmed with amount of stuff to play with. Here's a link to a few pictures from the evening of fun!

Here are three pictures of Marlee over the last 2 years. It is amazing how time has flown by. I've always heard how important it is to share your child's birhtday with them. So, here are my memories of the day that I became a Mommy!


Marlee~September 30, 2006


Marlee~September 30, 2007


Marlee~September 30, 2008


I still CLEARLY remember this day 2 years ago. Actually it is the 29th that sticks in my mind so clearly. I had no indication (kind of) that Marlee was on her way other than I didn't feel well. Come to find out, I had labored all day at school. It was a Friday, and I had one week left until my due date. I was spending another long day at school. Lindsay and I had decided to stay late and get some things done. I was putting the finishing touches on my long term lesson plans. 5:30 rolled around and I hollered at Lindsay and told her I was calling it a day.

I got home around 6:00. I was sitting at the computer, and Chad was painting. He was trying to get our living room painted before Marlee was born. While checking my email, I felt a gush of water (don't you love the gory details?!?!). I ran out to Chad and said, "Either my water just broke, or I just peed all over myself." Indeed, my water had broke.

Labor pains and contractions came on rather quickly. We waited about an hour after my water broke to call the doctor. She said to tough it out for as long as I could stand it. So, Chad and I went to Wendy's to grab a bite to eat. We knew we were probably in for a long night. Then I took a long hot shower and fixed my hair. I was feeling pretty good. We sat out on the front porch and rocked and watched the airplanes in the sky. Then the pain hit and the contractions got closer and closer. I was practicing all of the tricks we learned in parenting class. None were helping. Chad called the Dr and off to the hospital we went. We got settled into our nice and quiet delivery room.

I got my epidural around midnight. Chad and I settled in for a long night. We expected 7-8 more hours before she arrived. Well around 4 AM I awoke to the worst pain imaginable. I buzzed the nurse and Kaye, my Midwife, came and said I was ready to push!

Apparently, due to me laying on my side for too many hours, my epidural was ineffective on the right side. I pushed for an hour and a half screaming at the top of my lungs. I wouldn't wish that pain on anybody! I swear I saw the light. I tried to get Chad to let me bite him! I STILL remember the pain and I STILL see those images! I will never forget nor will I ever regret that pain!

It is amazing how much pain I was in that it instantly went away when she was put in my arms, all 8 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches of her at 5:27 AM. I hope each year on September 30th, that I will remember her birth as clearly as I do now!

Happy Birthday Marlee! We love you!

Wordless Wednesday

I am borrowing an idea from my friend Elizabeth. Here's our Wordless Wednesday.

Enjoy!

Contagious

Cooper has developed a since of others around him. No one is funnier to him than Marlee. Once she figures out that she is making him laugh, she says, "me so funny!" and continues to make Coop laugh.

We were on the patio this evening after dinner and Marlee caught Cooper's attention. I swear he laughed for at least 5 minutes. Here's the best video we caught of him laughing. You hear me and Marlee giggling. The consistent laugh is Cooper. He gets a few deep belly laughs. I hope he dreams about how funny Marlee is!

Prayer Request

I am asking for your prayers for the 5 year old nephew of my friend Brooke. Hayden is having brain surgery Wednesday at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Please pray for safe travel and a speedy recovery.

They have set up a blog to share Hayden's story and to keep everyone posted on his recovery. If you are not familiar with his story, please take a moment to visit his blog.

I love you Brooke and will be praying for Hayden!

http://hayden-johnson.blogspot.com

Thankful

As the 7th anniversary of September 11th comes to a close, I wanted to take some time to reflect on life. As a teacher, I look to find teachable moments. So, on each 9/11 I share a book called the Fireboat with my class. It tells the true story of a retired New York fireboat names the John J. Harvey and how it came to the rescue of New Yorkers in need. I always get emotional when sharing the book and reflecting on the events of that day. I got to school today and pulled it out, flipping through the pages and looking at the illustrations remembering where I was and what I was doing 7 years ago. I stopped and thought, many of my current students were not even born yet! How their lives are forever changed because of one day. It struck me as odd. I thought about the innocence of their age and how they are so unaware of life before 9/11. I just felt I didn't want to change the image of a beautiful life through their eyes. I know as a parent you want to protect your child from the harsh world for as long as possible. So, I decided against the teachable moment, and allowed my students another blissful day of childhood.

Our school chose to use this day as a Hero Celebration day. When I dropped the students off at the cafeteria for lunch, there were several local Heroes there to greet the students and talk with them about their jobs. When I picked the kids up, one came running up to me with a piece of paper with autographs from the Heroes in the cafeteria. We hung the paper up in the room when we got back. We talked about why they were there and why we call them Heroes. I was thankful my school chose to remember this important day the way they did; honoring those who put their lives on the line for us everyday near and far.

So, I want to say Thank You to ALL of the Heroes out there that protect our children and keep us safe. From a mom who's thankful for another blissful day of childhood.

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

Marlee did and she loved it!

Battle Wounds...

Marlee and I have started going to a mommy and me gymnastics class. It is on Saturdays and consists of the children running around the gym and exploring the equipment. Marlee really seems to be enjoying herself. Today they were closing the class with bubbles, and Marlee and a little boy collided head on. She's suffered her first battle wound, a busted lip. She was a trooper and cried just a little. It bled and bled and her little upper lip is swollen. The picture below shows her lip with a little OREO TLC to make things all better. Thankfully we don't have any important pictures or anything coming up.



Our second adventure today was a our first family trip to the zoo. We had so much fun! Marlee saw so many of her favorite animals. She saw a zebra up close and personal and said to me, "no, like mama". I asked her why because he was big and she said yes. She really liked watching the river otters swim around. She was by far the most fascinated with the tortoise and snake exhibits. She really liked looking at all the different snakes and even frogs. She's so brave that she pet a snake! YUCK! Chad and I could live without those things.










Time was running out, so we didn't make it to the petting zoo at Kid's Cove, but we promised Marlee that we would take her back when it cools off outside. We stopped at the gift shop on the way out. Marlee picked out a stuffed giraffe as a keepsake. She slept with it for nap time today.

This weekend in Knoxville is Boomsday on the river. We hope to take the kids to see one of the most beautiful fireworks displays I've ever seen. We'll have pictures to share next week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend and GO VOLS!!!!!!!