Happy 3rd Birthday to Sean!!!

Right now I can't help but think how 3 years ago today, Jason and I were settled in at St. John's awaiting my induction the following morning. All night my hand ached from my IV and looking back I think how silly that was because the following day was excrutiating! September 12th, 2006 at approximately 9:20, my doctor broke my water and started the petocin drip. Not too long after, the contractions started - STRONG. She told me, don't try to be a hero, when you're ready, ask for your epidural. Around 11:00, I'd had enough of the piggy-backed contractions, so I ordered my epidural. Unfortunately, a few emergencies arose on the floor, so my epidural came about an hour later. I was terrified of the procedure, but done with the pain. The nurse who held my hands was very comforting & the epidural was a breeze. I was expecting total relief, but got numb legs below my contractions instead. They increased the numbing agent, hoping to alleviate my pain, but instead, my legs just became more numb. It was miserable. I felt the need to move my feet/legs, but couldn't and I was still feeling contractions. Around 4:00, the head anethisiologist (sp?) came in and did a spinal. Almost instant relief. I was able to relax. About 4:30, my "crew" (Daddy, Grandma, Puppa, Grandpa Jim, Grandpa Larry & Grandma Sue) left to get something to eat. Shortly after, my doctor came in, checked me & said, "we're ready to go!". I was EXHAUSTED!!! When Daddy and Grandma got in the room, the pushing started (I believe I started pushing on my own). It started at 5:21 and ended with a Sean at 7:51 pm. Our perfect baby was there. What an amazing blessing from God. How can we even try to make another kid because Sean is so perfect and how can you top perfection!?!?! Don't know why, but I'm super emotional this birthday. Good thing Sean & I have a deal though. He can turn 3 if he promises to continue to love, hug & cuddle me. :)

Back to School

After LOTS of harassment from the two most frequent readers (Grandpa Jim & Grandma), I'm posting. They really left me with no choice. ;)

Aug 10th - We went to downtown Ligoneer for toy shopping & lunch with Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry before they headed home. After that, we headed to the Living Treasures Animal Park & Log Cabin to meet Mrs. Cathy & Alex. We had a blast and the boys LOVED the animal park (even after 5 visits!). Aug 11th - Me, Sean, Cathy & Alex went to Idlewild. The forecast for bad weather must've kept people away because it was pretty much empty. We were the only ones on the Mr. Rogers trolley - that's never happened. The boys loved it there too. Aug 12th - Cathy & Alex headed back to Mountain Top and we made our way back home. We decided to stop at Kalarhari for the night, which was a GREAT idea. Our room was amazing, the outdoor water park was amazing & Sean got to feed giraffes & ride a camel. We could've easily stayed there a couple more days. Aug 13th - We came home!!! Dani was so excited to see us! We met Grandma, Puppa & Grandpa Jim at Ram's Horn where Aunt Mary works. Aug 14th - Sean started collecting smooshed pennies while on vacation, so we went to Great Lakes Crossing to get all the designs from Rain Forest Cafe & Big Bass Pro Shop. He now has 22 different pennies! Aug 15th - We met Rory, Aiden, Liam & Erica for bowling with SpongeBob. It was great, but a little late in the afternoon and Sean got loopy without his nap. Aug 16th - I taught large group Ignite and then we spent the rest of the day recooperating from vacation & getting ready to go back to reality. Aug 17th - We went to the Mach's to celebrate Evan's birthday. Evan let Sean help him blow out the candles. Such a sweet boy! Sean had a blast playing with Chase. Aug 18th - Happy Birthday Aunt Mary!! Aug 19th - I went to visit Caleb Reese Jury, born Aug 18th to Tim & Nichole. Made me miss holding a little baby... Aug 21st - We went to the zoo with Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry. Sean & Grandpa Larry were the train engineers that day. Grandpa Larry showed Sean the Artic Ring of Life and told him that he helped build it. Later that night, while out to dinner for Grandpa Nick's birthday, Sean told everyone that his Grandpa "built the zoo". ;) After dinner we went to Aunt Sally's for cake & ice cream. Aug 22nd - Happy 88th birthday to Grandpa Nick! We went to the Armada Fair with Grandma, Puppa, Uncle Mike, Max, Livie, Austin, Jackson, Aunt Mary & Scott. Sean loved petting the animals & even went on a giant slide with daddy. Brave boy... Aug 23rd - After church I went to the shower for Princess Ella & Sean went to the zoo with Grandpa Jim & daddy. That night, we went to Cathy's ice cream shop to see SpongeBob. Sean was pretty much the only kid there, so he danced & played with SpongeBob by himself for about an hour. The next couple days are a blur... Aug 27th - We went to Ram's Horn with Grandma because Aunt Mary was working. Aug 28th - We went to Waters, MI with our small group. Tim's uncle owns a beautiful house on the water. The weather could've been better for swimming, but it was a lot of fun. Sean LOVED playing with the kids ALL day & passing out from exhaustion at the end of it all. Aug 30th - We drove home from up north. I got home & got ready for Nancy & Munir's wedding; Daddy & Sean drove to the Brown's house to pick up "Mater" or daddy's "new" car. Sean loved playing with Kevin. Aug 31st - Dinner at Grandma Sue's & Grandpa Larry's. Bacon & jumping on the furniture. :) Sept 1st - Ella Ruth Wilson joined us at 2:43 am. Grandma & I went to visit her, Aunt Annette & Big Brother Connor at the hospital. Sept 2nd - We went to the park/splash zone & Burger King with Aiden, Liam & their mommy. That night we took a roast to Grandma & Puppa's for dinner. After dinner, me, Sean, daddy & Grandma walked up to Baskin Robbins & CVS. Sept 3rd - Sean's 3 year old preschool orientation. Wow - my baby's almost 3!!!!! After we met the teachers, dropped off the school supplies, checked out the room, etc. we went to Ram's Horn with Grandma to see Aunt Mary. After dinner, Sean & I met Grandpa Jim at Penney's so I could look for a dress. Grandpa Jim bought Sean a talking SpongeBob shirt. It's 2 sizes too big & long-sleeved, but Sean had to wear it to bed that night! Sept 4th - We went to Connor's to play & visit Ella. Then, we picked up Grandma & Puppa & went to the zoo to see the dinosaurs. No nap for the boys, so daddy was in for a treat that evening. I went to a wedding with Sue. Sean asked daddy to take him to Chuck E. Cheese, but he passed out on the way there. Daddy turned around & Sean woke up. Moral of the Story - Sean still requires a nap! Sept 5th - Daddy went up north with Uncle Marty to work on their cabin. Sean went to Grandma Sue's & Grandpa Larry's while I got some laundry done & the bathroom cleaned. After nap, we met Grandma at the Zielinski's for a BBQ. Sean desperately wanted to see Connor, so we went to their house & played for awhile. Sept 6th - We went to church & then to putt-putt. Sean saw the "animals" on the way home the night before & asked if we could go when they weren't sleeping. :) After nap, we went to Olgas for dinner & CVS. We cleaned out their stock on kid's flip-flops - 90% off!!! Sept 7th - Happy Labor Day! Sean went to the Maranatha picnic with Grandma Sue & Grandpa Larry. Daddy & I CLEANED & rearranged the house. When Sean got home he said, "hey, what did you do with all my toys?!?". Very observant. Grandpa Jim came over to visit at night. We popped popcorn & watched Dinosaur to end the long weekend. Sept 8th - Today was Sean's first day of preschool. He warned Jason & I that his worm may drop to the medium apple on the behavior chart because he sometimes tells his teachers no when it's time to pee or take a nap. He's too funny! He was so excited to see Connor there. He had no problem staying there without me. And, when I called at lunchtime to check on him, they said he was having a great day. He'll be 3 on Saturday...goes by too fast!