Not alot to say...

Well, there isn't really a whole lot going on around here now that Konner's birthday has come and gone.  I wanted to write anyway just to stay in the habit!  Konner had his 1 year appointment yesterday and things went well.  He is right on track developmentally and physically!  He still isn't walking but I recently learned that the actual expected age for walking is 14 months!!  Only about 10% of babies walk by their first birthdays!  Poor baby had to get 4 shots and a finger prick for an iron level test.  He screamed of course but was much happier when they gave him a sticker to wear (or eat in his case!)  The finger prick went a lot better! He didn't cry at all! He was a little upset about the band-aid they put on his finger though!  He kept trying to chew it off! And in the end he didn't get it off but he did get blood all over his face!  Since every time he would squeeze it, it would bleed more.  It took atleast 40 minutes before it finally quit bleeding.  I got my flu shot too....so today we are feeling a little blah!  We are watching Peter Pan which I think will be followed by "Booty and the Beast".  I am looking forward to a nice quiet night at home! We are going to relax, watch Disney movies and I will probably order pizza so I don't have to cook either! Should be a good night! The only thing that would make it better would be if Kyle was here with us! :-(  Well tomorrow is Friday and then we will have all weekend to hang out! I think we are going to go to the zoo if it doesn't rain.  However it hasn't quit raining for several weeks now so if it is raining I think bowling or ice skating! Ashlynn REALLY wants to go ice skating but I think we might save that for a birthday treat! Well, I think I have rambled on and on about nothing for long enough! Hope everyone is having a great week!  What do you all have planned for the weekend?

Thanks for reading this! Love you all!

Stephanie

Jungle Boogie!

On Saturday we had Koner's 1st bithday party!  It was a blast!  We had a jungle theme and a bouncy castle!  We ended up renting the bouncy castle from a friend at church who was kind enough to give us a discount AND let us keep the bouncer a second day for free!  Kyle and I are very tired and VERY sore but it was worth it!  The kids LOVED it!  Ashlynn suggested that we should buy one just to have all the time!  I took 150+ pics but here are just a few!

 Konner's cake! Not my best but still pretty darn awesome!

 Ashlynn showing off her mad baking skills!

 The birthday boy!

 My favorite!

Konner in the bouncy castle!! He loved to lay in the crack and bounce while the other kids jumped!

 Konner and his daddy!

 Konner and his mommy!

 Konner opening presents!

 He started to get sleepy!

 Who needs to open the toys when you can just climb all over them?

 After a long battle, Konner finally gave in and fell asleep!

 Ashlynn jumping! (or falling in this case!)

 Konner playing with a balloon in the bouncy castle!

 Not the greatest pic of me but Konner looks cute!

 Kyle was jumping and bouncing them! They were loving it as you can see!

 Konner checking out what was going on outside the bouncy castle!

Konner just hanging out!

The party turned out great!  Konner loved seeing all his friends and the balloons! The balloons were his FAVORITE!! We tied them to toys on the ground for him and he played with them for hours!  Then we blew some up and put them in the bouncy castle and it was really windy outside so they were flying around everywhere!  All the kids thought it was awesome!  Until they popped!  The netting was a little rough so when the balloons would rub against it they would pop!  By the end of the day they had all popped but the kids were still having fun!

Due to Konner's unexpected melt down and need for a second nap he didn't get to eat his cake! So we saved the piece with the candle on it so we can sing to him and let him eat it tomorrow on his actual birthday!  I will be sure to take pics and post them!  I have TONS more pics but facebook's photo uploader is being whacky right now and won't load them all! But when I get them uploaded I will post the link so you can see them all!

Thanks for reading this! Love you all!

Stephanie

exploding casserole dishes!

Holy exploding casserole dishes Batman!

So this evening the kids I were playing "store" in the dining room with cans and stuff when we decided that we were hungry!  After looking around we quickly decided that Mac and Cheese it would be.  I filled the pan with water, set it on the stove, flipped the burner to High and we went back to playing.  After about two minutes Suzzy Q decided she needed to go out!  So we got the dog and headed out.  After about 2 minutes I hear a sound like glass shattering from inside!  I quickly rounded up the dog and kids and went to investigate.  WELL, aparently when I turned the burned on I turned on the wrong burner.  Ordanarily this would have not been a problem except today, the wrong burner had my glass casserole dish from lunch setting on it.  THE DISH EXPLODED!!!  Glass was a good 6 feet away!   It flew EVERYWHERE!  So, incase you were interested in what happens when you overheat an empty dish here are some pictures:

 All that is left of my only glass dish!

Well after sweeping several times, vacuuming and mopping I am still not sure that I have gotten all the glass!  Since we will have lots of little ones running around tomorrow I am sure I will sweep a couple more times and mop as well! 

I have said many prayers of thanks that we left the kitchen when we did...I can only imagine what would have happened had we not left! We were sitting literally 2 feet away before we left!  God was definetely looking out for us today!

SSSOOOO...every story worth hearing has a moral so here is the moral of this story...

NEVER LEAVE DIRTY DISHES SITTING ON THE STOVE!!

Lesson learned!

Thanks for reading! Love you all!

Stephanie

WIC, Santa and birthday cakes!

Just a picture I took that I like!

So today has been pretty busy! Had to go to WIC and the BX/commissary for last minute party shopping! Things went well at WIC. Both kids were weighed and measured. Konner weighs 25 lbs. 10 ozs. (90%) and was 29.38 inches (60%). Ashlynn weighed 35 lbs. 4 ozs. (75%) and was 40 inches tall (75%). Ashlynn has only gained 2 ozs. since the last appt. 3 months ago so they suggested putting her back on whole milk. After a phone call to the pediatrician I have decided not to do that. She has a very healthy appetite and eats constantly! She isn't picky but she does have her favorites! If the saying "You are what you eat" were true, Ashlynn would be entirely made of chocolate milk,yogurt,cheese and hot dogs! She will eat anything I give her and usually eats all her meals but it is impossible to keep her out of the fridge! And 99% of the time she is getting one of the items listed above! She is a very active child though so she has no problem burning off all that she eats!

Then we went to the BX for some last minute party stuff (cake toppers and serving bowls) and ended up spending $200 on Christmas/Ashlynn's birthday! Kyle and I both can't help it! We LOVE being Santa!!! I thought at first it wouldn't be any fun because Santa wouldn't bring us anything but we were wrong! We LOVE it! I love thinking about how exciting it will be on Christmas to see the kids open their presents from Santa and being SUPER happy about it! And knowing that Kyle and I are responsible for it!! It is very EXCITING!

Anyway, I think we have everything for the party and am very excited to make Konner's cake tomorrow! I have a very good idea of what I want it to look like in my head, so hopefully it will turn out! I will be sure to post pics!! I have started somewhat of a tradition of decorating cakes for every one's birthday's and I have really started to enjoy it! I think that I am going to start making a special cake for each kid on their birthday and putting pics in of them in their baby books. My cakes aren't professional quality but I do seem to have a knack for it and really enjoy coming up with new ideas!

Well, I have tons of work to do around the house to prepare for the party tomorrow! I am so excited! I may hang up the decorations tonight just to save the trouble of having to do it tomorrow! Then tomorrow all I will have to do it wait for the bouncy castle guy to deliver (between 9-11) , make the cake ( I may make it tonight and frost it tomorrow), make the fruit and veggie trays and pick up the balloons and ice at 1. Then it's PARTY time!! Can you tell I am a little excited??? If you think that I am excited, you should see how EXCITED Ashlynn is! She hasn't stopped talking about it for days! It is kinda cute!! I think she is just excited about the bouncy castle and the cake! She did pick out a cute little tape measure toy that teaches counting at the BX today to give to Konner as her present!

Thanks for reading, Love you all!

Stephanie

"Every one of you was endowed by your Father in Heaven with a tremendous capacity to do good in the world. Train your minds and your hands that you may be equipped to serve well in the society of which you are a part. Cultivate the art of being kind, of being thoughtful, of being helpful. Refine within you the quality of mercy which comes as a part of the divine attribute you have inherited."
-Pres. Gordan B. Hinkley

The cutest, sweetest, stinkiest, noisiest puppy ever!

Meet Suzzy Q!

Currently we are dog sitting for a friend while he is TDY. (He is single and his previous dog sitters have moved) She is a 9 year old lab/collie mix. Normally she has long curly hair but her daddy shaved her so she wouldn't shed all over our house! (Too bad he didn't know we have a $600 pet hair vacuum!) She is super sweet and laid back. She loves to snuggle on the couch with us pretty much lays around most of the day. She is GREAT with kids, never been aggressive in any way and LOVES to play fetch with Ashlynn.

However,

SHE IS STINKY!! I don't think I have EVER met a dog this gassy! She can run us out of the room! It is horrible!!! She has even woken me up at night! It is bad!!! I am not sure if she is always gassy or if it just the food that the kids give her (we stop them whenever possible but she has had her fair share of hot dogs and goldfish crackers since she has been here!).

PLUS,

She snores!!! Very loudly!! Louder than Kyle! Which I didn't even think that was possible! Over the years I have gotten used to Kyle's snoring and it doesn't bother me anymore as long as I am asleep before he starts sawing logs! But Suzzy! Man she is loud!

We have loved having Suzzy Q so far! We got her on Saturday the 2nd and her daddy was supposed to be home on the 9th and here it is the 14th and still no sign of his return! As much as we love having her with us (Especially Ashlynn) I am worried that the longer we have her the harder it is going to be for Ashlynn to let go when it is time for her to go home! I talk to her everyday about how we "borrowed" Suzzy from her dad but he will be back to get her one day. She seems okay with it but I guess we will wait and see when it is time for her to go!

Photography

Okay, so as some of you may know, I recently have taken up photography as a hobby! I LOVE IT!! I am by no means anywhere near a professional but I do get a few good shots here and there! Ashlynn loves to take pictures with me! She follows me around with her little camera taking pictures of everything that I do! It has become a good bonding time for us! I am learning how to use Photoshop CS5 right now, I am not very good at it but I am enjoying learning how to use it! So like I said, I am not a pro but here are a few of my favorites! I could probably post a MILLION picks so I will try to limit it!

So serious...
She REFUSED to look at the camera!

One of my favorites!

At the park!

Konner's dirty butt at the park!

Ashlynn pretending to be mommy!

Okay, so I have posted TWO days in a row!! That is a new record for me! Hehehe! I will try to be back tomorrow! Maybe I can actually get in the habit this time! Thanks for taking time to read this! We love you all!

Stephanie

Dedicated this time!

Ashlynn showing off her Pearly whites after a trip to the dentist!




Okay, So I have been saying that I was going to start a blog so the family and wonderful friends that we have made that are no longer living near us could keep up with The Lee's! Well, I have decided that it was time! So many things have happened and are going on in our life that I have decided to start blogging and STICK with it!



Konner will be 1 on Tuesday and I have VERY mixed feelings about it! I am excited for the party and I LOVE watching him grow and learn everyday but at the same time I want my little baby pumpkin back! It has been a great year for Konner! He has flown through all the usual things and health wise has been doing great! His heart seems to be perfect after a very scary start. He will have one more follow up with a pediatric cardiologist and an EKG just to be positive that everything is where it should be. For those of you that don't know, Konner was born with thick heart walls and an overall enlarged heart. We would told that it would take 2 years to outgrow (best case scenario) and if it didn't fix itself then there would be a need for surgery. He had two ultrasounds in the NICU, one the day he was born and 1 after 2 weeks, right before he came home. After several priesthood blessings, he went in at 3 months to meet with the specialist for another ultrasound and EKG. Well, everything was PERFECT!!! The cardiologist said that it looked like nothing was EVER wrong with it! God is great! After that he has been GREAT! He had some wheezing when he was 6 months which was diagnosed as mild asthma but after a second and third opinion it was probably just a severe chest cold and he will be re-evaluated at 18 months to see if asthma is even a possibility. We have been praying and have heard NO wheezing since then! On a happier note, he has been trying to walk alot lately! He hasnt taken any unassisted steps but he can balance and stand up for about a minute on his own and he LOVES to push stuff around! So hopefully anyday now he will take off! Then maybe he can keep up with his sister! He is babbling alot and says Baba and Mama and Ann (Ashlynn). If he can't see her, he will crawl around looking for her calling out "Ann"! It is very cute! He loves his big sister and no one can make him laugh the way she can! Saturday we will be having a birthday party at our house! I wanted Jungle themed but could only find madagascar stuff! So that is what we went with! We are going to have snack party foods, cake, ice cream and a moon bounce! We have always wanted to get one for Ashlynn's birthday but it is always too cold! Should be fun and I promise to post an update and pictures afterwards!



Ashlynn is doing great! She is so smart and so curious! She amazes me EVERYDAY with the things that she knows! She brings out the kids in me! She makes me start to enjoy the small things in life! (Like pulling weeds in the yard! would have HATED to do it alone but with her it was a blast!) She is SOOOOO smart! She can write A-S-H-L-N-N...we haven't quite mastered the Y yet...it is more of a g! But she tries hard and she LOVES it! She knows all her colors and shapes! She can recognize every letter of the ABC's if I show them to her and can spell her name, CAT,TOY (thanks to toy story!) BOY,BALL , MOM and DAD! She is very artistic as well! She loves to color, paint and do craft projects! Guess she got that from me! She also loves going to church and having scripture study with mommy. She has learned just about all the main stories from the old testament. She also loves to say her prayers! Sometimes the things she prays for are so cute! She also inspires me to remember to be thankful for the little things, like our couch and pizza! Things that I take for granted everyday! She loves to tell me how much she loves Jesus and can't wait to teach Konner about him! She is growing up fast! It is hard for me to believe that she will be 4 in just a few months! She went to the Dr. last week and weight 39.8 lbs and was 3'11" tall! She is wearing 4T-5 clothing and a size 11 shoe! (guess she got that from me too!) She went to the dentist today and had PERFECT teeth! No cavities or soft spots at all! She did very well with sitting still and holding her mouth open! I was very proud of her! She also got 2 halloween stickers and the first thing she did when Kyle picked it up was share one her stickers with her brother (she stuck it to his forhead, but hey, she was sharing right?) She is very excited for Konner's birthday party! She has had a blast helping me plan all the details! And then Halloween, She can't wait for "holiday!" (I told her she had to stop watching british cartoons!) She is going to be Jessie, the cowgirl from "Toy Story" and Konner is going to be Woody! I am borrowing a wagon from my neighbor to take pictures tomorrow! Promise to post them!
*funny Story*
Today Ashlynn and I were talking about Heavenly Father and how he knows what is in our hearts. So Ashlynn looks at me a little confused and says "How does he see in our heart? Are there windows?"

Kyle and I are doing well! Just trying to get ready for our move to Germany in April! There is SOOOOO much paperwork it is crazy! I don't remember all this when we moved here but we have another family member now so that is just more paperwork! Kyle is super excited to go to Germany and learn a new job! We are all excited actually! I don't think Ashlynn really understands that we are leaving but she talks about it alot and is excited to go to a new "Jesus school" (what she calls sunday school) and make new friends!
Well, there is lots of housework calling my name so goodbye for now but I PROMISE I will be back soon!
Stephanie