Christmas- The Best time of the Year!

We have had the best month with Thanksgiving and Christmas! We seriously are so very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. It was such a busy time filled with parties, Christmas activities with the kids, early(really early) shopping trips with the girls, eating, did I mention shopping? Whew, it goes by so fast! We are very very lucky to have to have great people in our lives !

So, Christmas morning started really early for Addyson and Ethan. I am woken up by little voices downstairs by the tree, and when I turn to look at my clock I see that it is 2 a.m. Dave has to go and break the news to them that they need to go back to sleep because Christmas is not happening for at least another 5 hours. Of course, almost exactly 5 hours later they are awake and have sorted everyone's presents into seperate piles. They had already inspected their presents and were speculating what was what.

I was thrilled when Addyson asked Santa for a doll, because she has been asking for such grown-up stuff, I just want her to stay young and sweet. So, Santa delivered her B.F.C. ink doll named Addison and she was very excited!

She loves Littlest Pet Shop stuff these days!

Ethan did not know what he wanted, except for a Wii and a DS. I did not know what to get him. He was a little annoyed when he was opening up socks, underwear, and clothes. I thought it was pretty funny. Ask for cheaper presents, Ethan- ask for cheaper presents.

This Christmas was loads of fun with Paige! She was so excited and happy. She got lots of girlie stuff. She walked around with her dress up shoes, lip gloss, and bracelet and just kept brushing her hair with her new princess brush. Precious!

She is a princess!

We had a little bit of scavenger hunt for Addy and Ethan to find their big gift.

They found it!

Ethan didn't feel so bad about all those clothes when he saw the Wii. I think I was just as excited to play it as they were. I haven't been getting as much done around the house as I should these days because I keep getting distracted by Super Mario Bros.

Ethan lost his first tooth on Christmas Eve so he had both the tooth fairy and Santa visit him on the same night!

Christmas day was nice, we sat around and played with our new stuff and then my mom, step-dad, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew came over for dinner which was really yummy BTW. Another year gone and memories made. I can't wait for next year!

30th Birthday Suprise

This year was a big year for me, I really can't believe that I just turned 30 years old. I am no longer in my 20's, Ahhh! My super sweet husband did a great job of helping me enter my thirties with a bang! He joined forces with my mom, sister-in-law, and some of my good friends to plan a suprise party. I usually have the disadvantage of having my Birthday around Thanksgiving so usually most of my friends are out of town or have family in town and it usually ends up being a pretty low-key event so I expected no more than the usual dinner with my husband and dinner with my friends but WOW was I suprised!

The day started as a typical Saturday does, chores and more chores but a couple of my friends had invited me to go shopping with them later in the day before I was supposed to go out with Dave. After a few hours of sushi and shopping they dropped me off at my house, that is when it got a little fishy. Shaunna had to use the bathroom and apparently it was going to take a long time because everyone got out of the car and came in. Dave had everyone lined up along our stairs in the dark and when I opened the door I saw 31 of my favorite people yelling suprise!

Dave and a couple of helpers had prepared dinner for everyone complete with decorations. I was pretty impressed- he really thought about the details.

Just some of the coolest girls ever!

Dave got my favorite cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory yummy Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake!

After dinner and dessert everyone decided to play a hazardous game of spoons. Others decided to stand back and stay out of danger!

How many people can play a game of spoons? It got pretty crazy!

Thanks to my wonderful husband and friends for giving me a 30th Birthday to remember, with them I will never feel old.

Twilight girls night out!

Just in case you have been living under a rock, the sequel to Twilight was released last weekend and of course I had to be there. Why not make a girls night out of it right?!

It just so happened that it was about the time for our monthly supper club so Kari and Jessica hosted with picnic style dinner. We were supposed to eat our picnic at the Anna ball fields and play some kick ball but we got rained out.
After our dinner we headed to the theatre to stand in line for an hour and half. Normally, I would hate standing in line for that long but we had a blast.

My commentary on the movie: It was okay, I didn't love it :( Of course, I will still see the next one because I do love the books and honestly it is kind of fun to be a part of all of the hype.

Tigerthon 09'

Every year the elementary school does a fundraiser called The Tigerthon where the kids train to run laps for $$$. Every year it is sort of a big deal but this year just seemed to be an even bigger deal because now we had 2 little tigers to support. Ethan is pretty much excited about anything having to do with school so he naturally wanted Dad to be there. Dave was able to work from home most of the day and I am so grateful because what a day!

Addyson ran first and she did such a great job. In years past she did not care much about pushing herself but I think that maybe because her Dad was there to watch her this time she really ran hard. Five laps equal 1 mile and she got 8 so she did well!

Go Addy, Go Addy!

She loved showing off her sister. It is funny how much she acts like she can't stand her at home but when she gets around her friends, suddenly she is the best sister ever.

After Addyson ran we headed home for a short while and then we were back at the school for round 2 to watch Ethan.

I thought that Ethan would push himself hard for sure because he seems to be a lot more competitive than Addyson. He was so lax just walking most of time, chatting, maybe running a couple of yards here and there. He was just there to have a good time- there is nothing wrong with that I guess. He did a great job.

Refueling with his class.

That was an exhausting day for all of us!

Another Texas campout

Now that we have established that summer camping in Texas sucks we have started a new tradition of fall camping. Seriously, I am so glad that I have friends that love camping just as much as I do because when it comes to camping, the more the merrier! It just so happened that the weekend that we decided to go camping it got pretty cold so some people maybe didn't enjoy it as much as they could have but I have to say being a little cold sure beats sweating to death. We were able to enjoy the fire and hot cocoa which is pretty much the best part of camping anyway.

Dave decided to get himself a new hobby and bought himself a telescope. The kids thought is was very cool to see everything up so close.

He is still trying to figure out how to use that thing.

Camping breakfast- YUM!

I don't know how that kid gets as dirty as he does. There is a little bit of marshmallow mixed with some dirt and who knows what else on his face.

All of the kids lined up and ready for some adventures with "Adventure Dave".

Susan and Andrew were a new addition to our camping trips. They sort of had a rough night and I really hope that they don't decide that they hate camping because they were so fun to hang out by the fire with.

My mom gets the grandma of the year award for offering to take Tatum for the night so that we could enjoy ourselves more. It was a cold night so I am grateful that I didn't have to worry about her getting too cold.

One with nature

I really love fall in Texas. After enduring the dreadfully hot days of summer I am all about getting outside as much as possible. While Dave's mom and brother were visiting from Canada I decided to drag everyone outside for a Sunday stroll through some nature trails. I discovered some nature trails behind our community center that I never knew existed so I thought it would be something that the kids would enjoy, and they did.

Along the trails they had a "Meditation Grove" where we stopped and the kids used their Yoga skills. They became one with nature.

Ohmmmmmmmm

Even Dylan and Joyce gave it a whirl.

After our walk we went to one of our favorite spots and fed some ducks.

A lovely Sunday afternoon.

The SpookLEE crew

There are always good times to be had on Halloween and this year was no exception. Our Halloweens always start well before the 31st, with the YMCA, Halloween parties and other great community shindigs. By the time the actual day of Trick or Treating comes around I am about costumed out. I loved having Halloween on a Saturday this year but true to Lee family style these days, we were still pressed for time and running late everywhere we went. I made our new traditional Halloween dinner and we were off to our church parking lot for some trunk or treating before making our rounds around our neighborhood. As always the kids scored a lot of candy- good for them, bad for me!

Tatum's first Halloween- Our little Daisy!

Paige as a kitty cat- she kept her ears on about as long as it took me to take this picture.

I bet you will never guess what Ethan is........I was dreading the words that would come out of his mouth when I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween- I knew it was coming. Pikachu! And of course it is not a popular costume and cannot be found in stores so I had to search the internet for a costume. My options were a $40 costume from a specialty site or a $5 costume from E-bay. Hmmm can you guess which one I chose? Unfortunately, the costume I chose didn't come with a mask so I had to get creative and make his hat and paint his face. He loved it which is all that matters and all of his friends knew exactly who he was so I guess I didn't do too bad of a job.

Addyson wanted to be a vampire this year. As only Addyson would do, she lost 2 key components of her costume at a party the night before- her teeth and her collar. She tried to fix that by finding Ethan's Darth Vader cape from last year- good to go.

Ready, set, lets get some Candy!

Tatum is 12 weeks

I can't believe that Tatum is already 12 weeks old. The time has flown by, the girl is keeping me on my toes! She is high maintenance, and very fussy so I am struggling to keep my head above water with all of the other things that I need to be doing to take care of the other 3 and keep the house in some sort of order- I am not going to lie, it is rough. She does still have many moments of being peaceful, happy, and content and that is what makes it all well worth it. I am so in love with her and am trying to enjoy every little bit of her that I can. She is finally started to put on a little bit of weight, her cheeks are getting chubby and she is getting squishy squishy- I love it.

Anyway, here are a few pictures that my friend Justin took of her a few weeks ago. If you live in the DFW area and want to get family pictures or any kind of pictures done he is awesome. His website is whatimagination.com.

Tatum's blessing

We had the opportunity to have Tatum's blessing day the same weekend as Addyson's baptism which worked out really well for our family that was here. It was a busy weekend, to say the least! She was so beautiful in her blessing dress and didn't even cry during the blessing, which I am not sure I can say about any of the other kids.

We decided to just keep it family in the blessing circle. My 2 brothers and step-dad (not pictured) and Dave's brother and Dad participated in the ordinance.

Addyson in her babtism dress holding Tatum in her blessing dress- aren't they beautiful!

The proud parents.

We are so excited to see what this little one becomes and all of the blessings she will bring to our family and all those who she comes in contact with.

On the 20th of September we celebrated Addyson's 8th Birthday. It was a Sunday so we just kept it simple- sang Happy Birthday had some cake, which she helped decorate, with ice cream and opened presents.

We had a really tough time trying to figure out what to get her for her Birthday. When I asked her what she wanted the only thing she said was a Nintendo DS or a hamster. We were definitely not getting her a DS considering I bought her an MP3 player last year and it was lost in less than 2 months and I am not about to take care of a hamster. So, Dave and I decided that she needed a new bike because she had outgrown her Cinderella bike she got on her 4th Birthday. Luckily, she loved it and has since wanted to ride it all of the time.

We had Addyson's party a week later on the 26th. I was a little nervous planning a Birthday party with a bunch of girls right after having a baby, Birthday parties are a lot of work. I was thrilled when she told me that she wanted to keep it small and just have a few friends go to the movies to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and then come to the house for cake and ice cream. Wow, that sounded pretty easy! It of course didn't turn out quite as smooth as it sounded, it never does for me, but it still turned out great and she had a great time.

I just know a slumber party with a bunch of girls is in the near future for Birthday party requests and I am scared. These girls are loud and crazy, they sure know how to have a good time.

Addyson's baptism

Since Addy turned 8 years old, she had the choice to be baptized- and she did! She was so excited for the big day. She understood the important step that she was about to take and couldn't wait. She was baptized on Oct. 10th surrounded by lots of family and friends who love her very much. We were so happy that Dave's parents and little brother could fly from Canada and my brother and his family could come from Nashville as well as the family that live nearby could come to share the special day with her.

This being our first child to get baptized, I had no idea how much preparation needed to go into making it happen- what a busy day. Luckily we were able to get to the church just in time and I am glad that someone reminded me to take a picture of Addy and her Dad before entering the font.

Addy with Aunts, uncles, and cousins from my side of the family.

She looks so beautiful all dressed up in her white dress. We are so proud of her!

After the baptism we had a great dinner with family and friends and to top it off,

big fat cake- yummy!
Congratulations Addyson!

Addyson's Baptism

Addyson was baptized on October 10, 2009 and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Wendy made a video to celebrate the occasion and we showed it during the baptism.

Happy 8th Birthday Addyson

Addyson is 8 years old today! Has it really been 8 years since I gave birth to this crazy child of mine? I am so grateful for blogging because it gives me a great opportunity to document my kids childhood and our family history. Unfortunately Addyson and Ethan don't have as much documented about them when they were smaller so I wanted to take this opportunity to post some photos and stuff from when Addyson was small.

(2 weeks old)

Addyson was born September 20th, 2001 at 2:51 p.m in Portland Oregon. She weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz. and was 19 1/2" long. She has always been determined to do things her way and that was just how she chose to come into the world, right side up. She was breech and was delivered by C-section. She was beautiful and so perfect.

(7 months)
It is strange to think back what life was like when you only had 1 child. Our world revolved around her. We were so happy to have her and enjoyed every milestone she made.

(1 year)

Addyson has always had a big, big personality and is full of energy. She has been making us laugh from the very beginning. She has always been so affectionate and loving to her family and friends.

(2 years)
The experience with your first child, I think is the most memorable because it is like nothing you have ever experienced before. We had no clue what we were doing, we were just learning along the way. We didn't exactly "plan" to have Addyson. We kept feeling proptings that we should get pregnant, however we were in no position financially to have a baby- not to mention we had only been married a few months. We shrugged off the feelings and said we needed to wait a couple of years. Well, the Lord had other plans and we found out we were pregnant 5 months after we were married. Somehow things just worked out for us! I know she was supposed to be ours and although things may have been easier if we would have waited, I am so grateful that she blessed our lives and the lives of her future siblings.

She is a great big sister who has a lot of love for her brother and sisters. We love you so much Addyson and are excited to watch you grow into a beautiful young woman. This is a big Birthday because she will be baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know that she will be a great example to her siblings and to her friends.

Happy 8th Birthday!

Paige is potty trained!

Paige is a superstar! We have been encouraging her to go potty for a while now, and all she ever had to say was "NO", which she says to most things. I am not sure what happened but she suddenly had a desire to try and after about a week she was doing her thing on the toilet with very little effort from us. I have been spending a lot of time at home just lounging around taking care of the baby so it could not have been a more perfect time to let the girl just run loose in her undies- now I can't get her to put her clothes on to save my life! I am so excited to now only have 1 child in diapers. That is like an extra $30 back in my pocket every month....... oh, wait now that $ is going to Tatum's diapers(sigh). I can't believe how big she is getting:(