Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Today Elena is ONE YEAR OLD!!! I can't believe it was a full year ago that she came into this world- it seems like it was only last week! This morning I reminded Adaryll that one year ago, at that moment, I was begging for an epidural. Funny that on Elias' birthday last year I had hernia surgery and on Elena's I am doing IV antibiotics. Hopefully next year's birthdays will be a little less eventful!

Elena woke up this morning to mommy, daddy, and brother singing Happy Birthday. We had breakfast and then let her open a couple presents from Grandad and Oma. After morning nap we had neighbor kids over to share her birthday cake (egg-free of course!) It was generously made by my dear friend Jennie, who called yesterday afternoon and asked "Do you want me to make her cake?" I jumped on that bus and answered "Yes Yes Yes!!" She had sent me an egg-free recipe a while back, but I obviously did not get it done this week! The cake she made is appropriately called a Texas sheet cake and it was DELICIOUS! Thanks Jennie!!

Elena liked the cake, but didn't go hog-wild or anything. She carefully dipped one finger in and licked it off. Then she would take a little pinch and put that in her mouth. Nevertheless, she got her face and tummy covered in chocolate.

All in all I think she had a good first birthday. I am sad that the whole first year is already gone, but excited at the same time to see what the next year will bring.

Not-So-Much a Spa Night

This past Monday I woke up with what I thought was a "plugged duct". I knew by my fever/flu-like feeling that it was actually mastitis by mid-afternoon, so I called my Ob/Gyn and got a prescription for an antibiotic. Things didn't get better by Wednesday and my doctor decided she needed to see me. I left the house saying "I will be back by 3:30 so we can all go to swim lessons" (it was the all-important diving board day!) My doctor discovered a golfball sized abscess and immediately admitted me to the hospital for IV antibiotics. I was feeling really discouraged at having to be away from Adaryll and the kids, so I asked her if she could just put in a line and send me home. She agreed that I could do the antibiotic through a PICC line at home after one night in the hospital if all went well.
So, I decided I should have a better perspective, trust that God was in control, and try to go with the flow. I told the nurses on my floor that I was going to take a nice shower before the PICC team came and that I was just going to pretend that I was having a night at the spa. Afterall, I have been home alone with 2 children for 11 days while my husband was in Europe, so I deserve a night at a spa, right?
My room had a super-comfy bed, a laptop computer to get on the internet, a flat screen TV, hardwood floors, etc. All the things you would expect to have at your spa! After a nice hot shower and some lovely heated blankets the nurses brought, I thought, "See, this isn't going to be that bad!". Then the PICC team showed up.
Putting in the PICC was not like anything I would ever hope to experience at a spa! They dug around in one arm for several minutes before moving on to see what my other arm looked like. I got super itchy when they started the vancomycin (it was running too fast). And then I was woken up about once an hour all night to take this medicine or that medicine or check my fever, etc. In the morning I finally said "This is NOT how they do it at a spa!"
We got homecare set up and I came home Thursday afternoon with all my IV bags, tubing, pump, etc. When Elias saw the line in my arm he said "Mommy- are you having another baby?" For the record, in case anyone sees me walking around carrying a bag pumping meds into my arm (AGAIN)- I am NOT pregnant! :) And, in case you were wondering, Clarian North is NOT a spa!

"Bombs Away" Swimming Lessons

Elias had completed his first set of swimming lessons! At the beginning of the session he was afraid to even put his mouth in the water to blow bubbles. Now he is putting his whole face under water and blowing bubbles! Here are a few pics of what he did each day.

On the last Wednesday lesson the kids got to jump off the diving board if they wanted to. I could not believe he did it!! He even remembered to hold his nose and excitedly told me that no water got in! I am posting a video of the big plunge today.

Daddy's Home!

Daddy finally came home to us after 11 long days away! He had such an amazing time- and he took some great pictures. I am posting some really pretty ones here.

The kids were both super-excited to see him, and I don't think I could have been more thrilled myself! We are glad our family is all under one roof again!

One of the highlights of the trip to Hungary was that Adaryll got to play a jazz concert with a guy from Pennsylvania (on piano) and a guy from Romania (on bass guitar). Everyone who went on the trip has mentioned to me how neat that night was. Jazz, we were all reminded, in an international language. I am posting a video in the next couple of days of that concert- it will be in the top right corner of this site. The picture is not very clear, but it is the music we all want to hear anyway....

Elias' First Sleepover

Elias had his first sleepover the night before Adaryll returned from Hungary. Jaren's Mommy, Lori, thought up the idea since Andy had to leave town overnight as well. So Lori, Jaren, and Jenna came over for what we called a "Camp Over". The boys slept in a "tent" that we made under Elias' loft bed and pretended that they were camping.

We had McD's for dinner and marshmellows and sparkling grape juice for desert! The boys went to bed around 8:15 wearing matching Superman PJ's. They talked and giggled for an hour and a half and then finally gave out. I think this is a night they will remember for a long time to come!

Sweet, Tender Moments

I just had the most sweet, tender moment with Elena. Her bathtime routine consists of a bath, pj's, nursing, and then rocking in her room for a couple of minutes with a couple of songs sung to her. Then off to her bed she goes to go to sleep. I usually just sing her the goodnight song that we made up for Elias when he was tiny (with her name of course!), but tonight I decided to sing her another song that I know Adaryll sings to her at bedtime alot. It is a praise song (Paul Balosche I think??) that goes "You have been so good to me. You have been so good to me. I came here broken- You made me whole- You have been so good, You have been so good, You have been so good to me." There is beautiful harmony, so the first time through I sang the melody and the second time I sang the harmony. The second time through, with her head on my chest, Elena began humming with me. My heart just about melted.

Cookie Dough

What has it been like having Daddy gone for the last several days? Well, let's just sat that my neighbor, Amy, brought over some homemade egg-free chocolate chip cookie dough. And that at the end of my day yesterday you could find me standing at the kitchen counter eating that cookie dough right out of the tupperware by the spoonful! Any questions???
Adaryll has called every day from Hungary and yesterday he made the statement that the trip was half over. Without any hesitation I blurted out "Thank God!"
Really though, he is having an awesome time and is learning so much from the sessions he is fascilitating. He is, for the most part, listening to evangelism teaching from people out of Ravi Zacharias' ministry. He is also going to hear some spiritual leadership sessions. It sounds like life changing stuff.
Meanwhile, back at the house... Elias begins swim lessons today. Aunt Jenny is helping with bedtime one night this week and Kirsten has offered to help another. Lori, Jaren and Jenna are coming over for a "camp-out" sleepover one night. I am sure Jennie M. and I will have our "lonely moms" dinner at least once this week (what we do when Cory and Adaryll are working in the evening). And Gina (whose husband is also is Hungary) also invited us for a playtime this week. Sooo, we are trying to stay busy and make the days go by.

Yesterday's Video

Not sure why, but it took until the middle of the night sometime for Youtube.com to finally link up with my blog and post the video I uploaded yesterday morning. Maybe millions of babies all over the world all did something adorable at the exact same moment and they were overloaded with uploads. Anyway, I took down the growl video (hope you got to see it before I took it down- it has been there for several weeks) in hopes that it would help get the new one linked faster. So, the new one is up now- enjoy!

Baby Girl Takes a Stand

Wow- she is growing up WAY too fast. Click the link under Jordan Family Videos to see what she did this morning. Before I know it she will be running up and down the stairs. I am mourning my sweet little infant baby with her gummy grin- where did it go? Although I don't miss the colic, the middle of the night feedings, the poop-up-the-back-blowout-diapers..... okay, so maybe I am embracing the stage we are in a little more than I thought. Still, sometimes I just want it all to slow down so I can enjoy these days with my baby girl a little longer...

Canopies, Chicken Flags, and Playtime Together

Kids say funny things, right? Well, last week after VBS, our neighbor Ian kept singing a song from the worship time they had. He sang "I'm not afraid... of canopies..." His mom, Jennie, and I kept insisting that those could not be the right words, but before long he, Kylee and Elias were all singing about canopies. Friday night all the parents got to go to a big service and carnival and we sang some of the songs the kids had learned. When the words came up- "I'm not afraid... How can I be?..." I almost started laughing because all I could sing was "canopy" by then!

Then yesterday Elias and Elena were playing in the playroom with Elias' Shake N Go Speedway. Elena is fascinated by the cars that "go" after being shaken and put on the ground. She likes to sit on the track and have them crash into her. Anyway, Elias shook up Lightning McQueen and he announced "The checkered flag in mine!" and took off racing. Later in the morning, Elias was racing through the house yelling "Yeah- the chicken flag is mine!" Once again, laughter for mom.

Here are some pictures of the two of them playing in the playroom yesterday- Elena was apparantly the "customer" at the "grocery store", and she must have been hungry because Elias "sold" her everything in the store!!

Shake Your Groove Thang...

Elena is as much into music as Elias ever was, and she particularly likes to get her groove on when she hears a good beat. You know- shake her little bootie.

This morning I was trying on her new swimsuit when she decided she needed to go to the playroom and play for a bit. She specifically wanted to see if it would make a good dancing suit. Apparently it did! I uploaded a video of her grooviness to youtube, and you should be able to click the video link at the top right of this blog to watch it...sorry it is sideways- I was able to rotate it in my Kodak software, but it uploaded sideways on the web. Anyone know how to fix that??? Just turn your head 90 degrees to the left and be entertained...

4- that's right- FOUR kids in a pool...

After VBS and naps on Thursday, the Jordan and Miller kids decided it was time for a swim in our front yard pool. Jennie and I have not yet braved the big neighborhood pool without any Daddies- with Daddies it is one on one defense, 4 adults and 4 kids. With just the Mommies it is some sort of zone defense and Mommies end up losing their minds. Sooooo, we all agreed that the front yard baby pool would be fun enough.

In the picture you have Elias, Kylee (who Elias asked to marry him last week- she said yes), Elena, and Ian (who announced this week that he would like to marry Elena- and we replied that 6 years would not seem like such a huge difference when he was 36 and she was 30). All that to say that there is a lot of love between these four kids. A lot of bickering, but also a lot of love!

You may also notice Elias trying to baptize himself. Baptism has been his topic of choice for about 2 or 3 months. He baptizes all his toys each night in the bath and talks about how he wants to get baptized- except that he does not want to put his face or ears underwater. :)

Elias' First Ever VBS!

Elias got to attend Vacation Bible School at a neighbor's church this past week. It was sort of our test to see if he (and, more truthfully, I) was ready to sign him up for preschool this fall. He was gone from 8:15-12:45 each day and came home bubbling over with excitement about what he had done, who he had met, songs he had sung, crafts he had made, etc. He had such a great time and it really was nice to have some "alone" time with Elena. Here are some pictures of him being picked up the first day...

What a Week!

I have not just been being lazy not posting- it has been a week of chaos and insanity. In the past few days we have seen a fever of 104.8, been to the pediatrician a couple of times, had both kids finish a round of antibiotics, had a garage sale and moved the "bargain" piano OUT, gutted the garage and organized it all after the garage sale, painted a bookshelf and redecorated our front "music" room, installed our new (thanks Himelicks!) programmable thermostat, and sent Elias every day to his very first VBS!

WHAT a week!!! I actually can't believe I am still standing- ok I am sitting and am not sure I could stand if I wanted to. Maybe not even if the house caught on fire, which I guess is okay because you are supposed to crawl under the smoke, right???

So, hopefully I will get rested up this weekend before Adaryll leaves to Hungary.

We are going to miss him tons, but he is so excited for this mission opportunity and the chance to meet and serve fellow ministers in Europe. While he is gone we plan to try to just stay busy to make the time go by quickly- I signed Elias up for swimming lessons through the Rec Center and a cooking class at the library. I think he will love both.

I finally got a couple of pics of Elena in her dedication dress (Mother's Day) I smocked for her a couple of months ago, so I am going to post them today.