The Lee Family

Emerson and Melody

2010-12-30T07:32:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged for a while, in case you didn't notice. A lot has happened. Our cute little Emerson was born on Sept 28 in Payson. He is such a sweet little baby... much calmer than Melody. We love having him in our family.

In October Melody turned two. That was the next big event in our family. Mel is such a ball of energy and talks non-stop. She loves to sing her ABCs and watch the Wonder Pets. If she could choose, she would eat cheese for every meal. She is really into copying everything we say, so Jam and I have to be very careful about what comes out of our mouths. She is a helpful big sister and loves her baby brother. She likes to tickle him and say "Gu", and occasionally feeds him with the bottle.

Emerson's blessing day

What a mess!

The Manager

Mel's 2nd Birthday

Helpful sister

Grandma and Emers

Fun with Family

2010-08-16T06:11:00.000-07:00

Me and my cute mom!

My parents were in town this past week and we really enjoyed their visit. On Saturday they participated in the Salem Fun Run with us, a 5k run that takes place in August each year, and we all had a great time. I have been lucky with this pregnancy as well as my last one in that I am able to run the entire nine months. I came in second place in my age division with a time of 22 minutes. Jameson did an amazing job and came in second in his division with a time of 25 minutes. The amazing part is that he has gone running only once this year and still managed to get that time without really trying. My dad got 7th in his division, finishing in 31 minutes, and my mom placed 10th in her age group. My parents especially enjoyed the cool morning air, which is something they don't experience in Houston.

Me, Mel, and Jam holding our silver medal

My sister's fifth child, Kate Marie Morgan, was blessed Sunday. We drove up to Salt Lake for the blessing, which was at my sister's home. It was fun to be with family and hang out with my parents one last time before they go back to Houston.

Julia (my sister's oldest girl), Mel, and my sis holding her youngest girl, Kate Marie.

Grandpa Hanks (my dad) and Melody

Jam

Grandma Joyce, Barbara(my mom), Elasha and Kate (my sis and her baby), and me.

2010-06-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Stephanie gave me a surprise fathers-day present. A camping trip. We went with Jess and Mike. And where did we go? Up to Sheep Creek. Say it right... throw that Spanish Fork accent onto it. As fun as it is and was to say, it was even more fun being up there. None of us had ever been there before so we just headed that way, turned off on a dirt road, and beauty, a campsite on top of the world. We didn't see anybody else the whole time we were up there(grazing cows don't count). A few things to note: Melody had a blast. She even went to bed early in her pack and play while we stayed up around the fire. I took a picture of our car that looks straight out of a magazine(unintentionally). Weather was perfect. Company was great. Using the bathroom in nature is kind of wild. (Note to self) For the millionth time, hot dogs cooked over a fire using a stick always turn out crappy. All in all it was a perfect weekend and a wonderful fathers day gift. Check out the polaroids.... Thanks Steph for a great camp out.

Melody in the morning.

2010-06-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

This is Melody before she gets her hair and makeup done for the day.

The big news is here!!!

2010-05-18T08:36:00.000-07:00

So here is the big news.........we just found out yesterday that we are expecting a BOY!! During the ultrasound when we got to the money shot, the doctor said "we will measure a lot of things today, but this is one thing we won't, but don't worry mom, he looks well endowed" He was so funny. Now for the challenge of getting Melody to understand that she'll be a big sister soon. Oh ya, he calculated the due date to be september 22.

2010-05-17T06:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we drove the Alpine loop. At the top there is a turn-off that we stopped at and walked around. It was the nicest day of the year so far... 70 degrees and sunny. Melody experienced her first hike without one of us carrying her. She ran the whole time! The view was beautiful. Here are some pics.

Going for #2

2010-05-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

So yeah, I am 18 weeks pregnant. It sure is harder to be pregnant when you already have a kid because you can't always rest when you want to. It has been a good pregnancy so far, though. I try to tell Melody there is a baby in my belly but that is a concept she just can't grasp. I am definitely showing much earlier than I did with my first pregnancy, but I hear that happens to people. We find out the sex in a few weeks, and my bet is its a boy... mostly because I had a dream about having a boy, but other than that I haven't had any intuitive feelings about it. I used to think I wanted lots of kids, but man, this whole child bearing/raising thing is tough. I'm glad they've been coming just one at a time :)

Melody

2010-04-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

These are some snap shots we took of Mel while she was sitting on the counter while Stephanie was making dinner. First she fished for gold fish. When that got old she saw a glass of water and had to have a drink. Of course a glass of water can be used for more than just drinking. Everyday Melody is doing something new and cute. It's hard to watch her grow up so fast. I wish I could put time on hold and enjoy this time a little longer. I know that tomorrow she will be even cuter, but that will be one day closer to growing up.

She is like her Daddy in one way for sure (not sure if thats a good thing or not). She likes a good show or two. (NETFLIX online is pretty good to both of us) Her favorite right now hands down is Barney. Every five minutes throughout the whole day she looks at me or Steph and says " I du Uuuu" Which is her way of starting the song I Love You that plays at the end of Barney. She will keep repeating it if we don't sing the song for her. She has me wrapped around her finger for sure because I sing it to her about 50 times a night.

2010-03-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

These pictures are types of HDR (high dynamic resolution) that I have taken here around the house. You take three pictures of the same scene, one over exposed, one under, and one normal. You then put them together and you get all of the white highlights, dark shadows, and normal in the middle tones and colors. A digital camera can't pickup the same range of contrasting shades as the natural eye, so they invented this. If you want to make them more 3D and artsy then you can auto tone the HDR to get these effects. If you like messing around with cameras, then you should try this. I used a free version of photomatix (thus their name on the photos) but its free and takes literally two minutes.

Football pics

2010-03-21T14:22:00.001-07:00

http://picasaweb.google.com/114521928246868604845

Long time no blog

2010-02-26T17:41:00.000-08:00

FYI..........Sorry to the three people that might check on our blog from time to time. We have not been able to publish pictures using our macbook because of a filter problem. Well it has been solved and so now we are gonna catch you up on our lives.

POND TOWN

2010-02-26T17:32:00.000-08:00

We went out with Sinikka about a month ago to take some family pictures. She is going to touch up some of the nice ones. But here are a few extras that we have on our computer.
It was COLD!!

CUTE CUTE CUTE (even with a runny nose)

Melody's 1st Birthday

2009-10-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Mel's first birthday! We kept it pretty casual and had some family and friends over for cake and ice cream. Melody had absolutely no idea what was going on, of course, but she definitely enjoyed getting new toys. Jameson and I can't believe a year has already gone by.

This video shows that Mel was not very interested in her cake.

She got a little bus to ride around on and loves it

I had fun putting up pink party decorations

Summer Recap

2009-09-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

I didn't do much blogging this summer, so I thought I'd share some of the fun things we did.

Melody experienced the zoo for the
first time and really enjoyed it.

Melody also enjoyed playing with her toys, and learning to walk.

Baby blessing for my brother's baby boy, Aaron.

Mel and I had season passes to Seven Peaks.

She is quite the water-baby!

Jameson and I spent a week in California with his sister Jessica and her husband Mike. We went to Disney Land, hung out a the beach, stayed in nice hotels, and had a great time!

Me and Jam at the Santa Monica Pier

Mike, Jess, and I at Disney Land.
It was my first time so I was excited!

We took Melody on her first boat ride on Utah Lake.

Jameson participated in an army recruiting camp called LTC.
He ended up coming home early because
he decided the army wasn't for him.

Well, that was a quick recap of our summer activities. Man, summer sure flew by.

Marathon Complete!!

2009-08-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Aug 22, I woke up around 4:00 AM to prepare for the Park City Marathon I had trained for all summer. I was really excited but also nervous that something would go wrong... hurt my foot, pull a muscle, roll an ankle, have no energy, have a sick stomach the whole time...

I picked up my neighbor, Janene, and my sis-in-law, Jessica, and we drove up to Park city, giving each other tips and advice about running marathons, but secretly hoping we'd all do better than the other. Actually, I know for myself that I didn't care who I beat as long as I kept an 8 minute mile pace, which would bring me to the finish line at around a 3 hr 30 min time.

For the first several miles, Janene and I were the first two girls in the lead, running at a 7.25 minute per mile pace. Eventually I told Janene that I would need to slow down in order to make it to the finish line because running 7 minute miles for 26 miles was too much for me. I also noticed a slight pain in my right foot, but tried to ignore it. Around mile 9 the pain had worsened and was starting to shoot up the inside of my right leg. I realized that it wasn't a muscle pain, but a bone pain. I didn't stop running, though, because I told myself I was going to finish no matter what. At mile 13, my two biggest cheer leaders, Jameson and Melody, were waiting for me to cheer me on.

I stopped and told Jameson

about my pain, and he grabbed a different pair of running shoes out of the car for me to put on. I purchased this second pair of shoes during my training, but they ended up giving me lots of blisters on my long runs, so I decided to use my old shoes for the marathon, even though they were falling apart. Well, at this point I felt like I would rather have blisters than continue wearing the shoes that were causing a stress fracture.

Well, I eventually made it to the end, with pains shooting from my right foot and leg, but not too terrible to keep me from finishing. I crossed the finish line with a time of 3 hrs 50 min... not as fast as my goal, but considering the pain I was in, I gladly accepted the results.

Didn't quite reach my goal...oh well!

The Park City Marathon is extremely difficult, with TONS of steep hills and gravel roads. One experienced marathoner said this was the hardest one she had ever run. That made me feel better!

My plan is to run the Provo marathon next summer. I will make sure to get good shoes that work well for my feet, and hopefully I will reach my goal. For now, I am going to take a little break from running until my foot heals, and then I'll

be back on the roads again!

Me and my super fans, Jam and Mel

Jess and I are so glad to be done!

Jess, Janene, and me

What a cute cheerleader!

Steph's Marathon Training

2009-06-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been training for the Park City marathon for about 6 weeks, and I'm happy to say I ran a 17-miler yesterday! Last month I got really sick with the flu and couldn't run for about two weeks. For those of you who run, you know how quickly you can get out of shape when you don't run for a while. I was really worried that I wasn't going to be able to make up for the lost time. The first run I did after I was sick was a four-miler and I could hardly breathe. I was extremely discouraged but kept on running everyday to try to build back up. Well, I guess a miracle occurred somewhere in there because now I'm back on track with the training and feeling good! Park City, here I come!

The Latest

2009-05-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

Well, we finally moved to the storage facility where I work part-time. I started working here in December of 2008 in exchange for free rent and utilities. We were living in a condo temporarily while waiting for our apartment to be built on the storage facility site. We moved in a couple weeks ago and love living here. I love that I can walk out my front door, take a few steps, and walk into the office where I work. If Melody is taking a nap when my shift starts, I just leave her in her bed and take the baby monitor with me. The job is set up for stay-at-home moms, so it works perfectly for us.

Melody's first two teeth finally broke through! We knew they were coming because she was constantly chewing on things, drooling, and crying more than usual. She is at such a cute age. She loves to sit in front of mirrors and talk and play with her reflection. She also loves music and enjoys pounding on the piano keys and hearing the sounds that come from it. Jam likes to play the penny whistle for her because the high pitched notes make her smile. She likes to say "da da da da", but I'm trying to get her to

say "ma ma ma ma"... I guess it's a pride thing. She is a constant mover and I almost think she will start running before she crawls or walks!

Jam and I both had our birthdays in

April. Jam turned 25 and I turned 26. Instead of buying each other presents, we decided to start saving for a cruise. We'd love to get ideas from those of you who have been on cruises, as we're not sure where we want to go. On my birthday, I asked Jam if we could go rollerblading on the Provo river trail, since we live right by it now. We put Mel in the jogging stroller and set off. About five minutes into it, the wheels on my right roller blade snapped off the boot part, then literally one minute later, the left one did the same thing. After I stood there in absolute shock, the boots of both roller blades just crumbled into several pieces!! Jam and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. How random is that? Both blades breaking at the same time. Yeah, they were pretty old, so I should have known it was going to happen soon.

Spring Break

2009-03-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the Hanksville area of Utah to camp and go hiking. We went with Jameson's entire family. It turned out to be a lot of fun. Some stayed in a motel in Hanksville, and the rest of us camped by a little river outside of the town. Our first hike was in Goblin Valley. That was my first time to go and I thought the "goblin-like" boulders were amazing. Melody hiked with us in a backpack that Jameson carried. That night, after we ate in a little diner, we went back to camp, built a fire, and made smores. It was all fun and games until we went to bed and heard the coyotes come out. Apparently, they came really close to our camp and killed some rabbits. I could not only hear the coyotes, but the squealing of the dying rabbits. At the time, I didn't realize what the squealing was, so I was SCARED! I woke up Jameson and asked him if coyotes attack people. He said, "Yes, they like to eat people sleeping in tents". I knew he was joking, but the sounds were so close that I had a hard time sleeping. Somehow, we all made it through the night alive!

The next day we hiked in Little Wild Horse Canyon, which is a slot canyon. That was a beautiful and fascinating hike. We ended up having to turn around before everyone else because Melody was crying the whole time. Later we learned she was suffering with a fever and ear infection... I would have cried too if my parents dragged me along on a hike while feeling like that.

First ER visit

2009-03-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

Being new parents has brought along a lot of firsts. First smile, first laugh, and sunday afternoon, the first ER trip. Melody had been sick with a fever for the last couple of days and we were able to control the fever with tylenol, but Sunday she couldn't hold down any food or medicine and so up went the fever and finally when it got to around 104, we took her to see a doctor. She ended up having an ear infection and possibly a cold. So our nurse( who was way nice) gave her a shot and some other medicine and we left 4 hours later with a happy baby.

Now the only cool part about this whole experience was who our nurse turned out to be. It was my old high school friend/girlfriend Becca. I hadn't seen her for ever and Stephanie had never met her, so it was fun for them to meet and for us to catch up. It was fun to say hi and see that she was happy and doing so well.

Running for a Cause

2009-03-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Melody and I participated in the Rex Lee Run, a run that is put on by the cancer center at BYU. Rex Lee was a president of BYU who died of cancer, so every year this event is put on in his honor. We dedicated the run to our uncle, Ryan Lee, who is currently fighting cancer, and also to our friend, Bobbie Jo, who recently died of cancer. I ran the 10k, and pushed Melody in the jogging stroller, which is something she has come to thoroughly enjoy. Jameson came to the race to cheer us on and take pictures. We also met up with a couple friends, Brent and Camellia.

I made a sign for my shirt that said," Running for Uncle Ryan Lee, Current Cancer Fighter. Running in loving memory of Bobbie Jo, who became a cancer victim at the young age of 32."

I also made a shirt for Melody that said the same thing.

I participated in the Rex Lee run several years ago, but at the time, it was just a race. Yesterday, it was more than a race. I felt the reality of how fragile life is, and gratitude for my own life and the health of my baby and husband. I felt hope for Uncle Ryan, and gratitude that he is still here on this earth. I felt awe at the courage put forth by Bobbie Jo, who, from what I heard and read, fought with all the strength she had until her passing. Lastly, I felt grateful for the people who dedicate so much time researching cancer and looking for a cure.

To Bobbie Jo's family, our prayers are with you.

To Uncle Ryan, keep fighting. We love you so much!

The spring bug

2009-03-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

So the other day me and Steph felt the spring bug and had to get out and go do something. It was a warm evening, so we decided to go hike up the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Its on the mountain straight up from 300 s in Provo. It was the first time we got to use the hiking backpack for Melody. It worked out great considering I picked it up from D.I. last fall. I guess you could say that that was a practice hike because we are going to be heading down to central utah to hike in some slot canyons and to see Goblin Valley during spring break with my family.

Hey everyone, the blogging drought is over!

2009-03-09T22:05:00.000-07:00

Me doing my favorite hobby!!!

Dear family and friends,

I am writing to inform you that I, Melody Kate Lee, will be assuming all blogging responsibilities for this the Jameson and Stephanie Lee family blog. I sincerely apologize for my parents laziness.

Thank you in advance for your understanding and support.

Melody Kate Lee

A Thanksgiving Must

2008-11-21T08:54:00.001-08:00

Last year for Thanksgiving, I was asked to take stuffing to our family dinner. I had only made the stove top kind before that, so I decided it was time to try something different. I found a recipe on the Food Network website called Good Old Country Stuffing by Paula Deen. It turned out to be the best stuffing I had ever tasted. Everyone else loved it as well. I am definitely making it again this year. Here's the recipe:

Good Old Country Stuffing by Paula Deen

Ingredients

2 loaves oven-dried white bread(recommended: Pepperidge Farm)
2 cups cooked white rice
1 sleeve crushed saltines
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
2 cups chopped celery
1 large onion, chopped
7 cups chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 stick butter, melted
Mushroom Giblet Gravy, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Crumble oven-dried bread into a large bowl. Add rice and saltines.

Cook sausage in a large skillet until it starts to brown. Add celery and onion and saute until transparent, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour over bread and rice mixture. Add stock and mix well. Add salt, pepper, sage, and poultry seasoning. Mix well. Add the beaten eggs and melted butter. Mix well. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the stuffing mixture for the Mushroom Giblet Gravy.

Pour stuffing into a greased pan and bake until cooked through and golden brown, about 45 minutes

Hair Cut and Hair Loss

2008-11-20T16:06:00.000-08:00

Melody and I have lost some of our hair...my loss was by choice and her loss was by fate. I think she now looks like her Grandpa Hanks (my dad), with the few lone strands on top and a lot on the sides and in the back. She is taking this loss very well, none-the-less, and still smiles everyday. What a great attitude!

Moving

2008-11-19T11:11:00.001-08:00

For those of you who don't know, we are moving next week. I wish I could say we are moving because Jameson is done with school and he found a great job somewhere, but that's not the case. We did find a great job, though. I will be working part-time as a storage facility manager in exchange for free rent and utilities. The storage facility is called Lakeside Storage and is located on Center Street in Provo right by the lake. We are sad we have to leave our ward, which we love, but we are really excited to save some money. It will be interesting to move and start new job with a baby.

Leaves falling into love

2008-11-16T21:53:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, Jameson told me he wanted to rake the leaves in our yard. I figured he would last for maybe five minutes and then get tired of it, but he ended up staying out there long enough to make this cute "I LOVE YOU" message out of the leaves. The heart is even made out of all red leaves...how sweet!

Jameson, the "Sewing Machine"

2008-11-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

So, who would have known that Jameson knows how to operate a sewing machine?! I'm glad that at least one of us has skills in that area. He is really good at picturing something in his mind, then figuring out how to put it together so that is turns out just how he imagined. Last week our sister-in-law told us about a good deal she found on those baby slings that are super popular right now. Someone was selling them at $25 for one, which was half the original price. I was excited she found such a good deal because I had been wanting one. When Jameson heard about it, he was in awe that a simple piece of material could cost that much, and insisted that we make one ourselves. So, we borrowed our sister-in law's for reference and Jameson made one just like it, with some help from his brother, Jared. Honestly, I was surprised it turned out so well. Now I have my sling and the satisfaction that we saved some money.

Our Little Bee

2008-11-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

For Melody's first Halloween, we dressed her up as a bee. The costume was given to us by a good friend of mine from Houston. I hadn't even thought about getting a costume for her, so when this was given to us I was really excited. She looked so adorable in it.

At home with Melody

2008-10-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

The first couple of weeks with baby Melody have been both fun and tiring. We knew parenthood would be tiring because everyone said so, but we had no idea what that really meant until now. We have had some long, sleepless nights, but we're surviving!

Melody is a good eater. At her two-week appointment she weighed in at 7lbs 12oz, which is seven ounces more than her birth weight. My mom came into town for a week to help out, and we sure loved it! She made tons of food and stored it in the freezer for us, and helped me in the late hours of the night. Her support was awesome, and it made the transition into parenthood much easier. We have also had lots of help from family and friends, which we are so grateful for.

Melody is "coming to life", as Jameson says, because she is becoming more alert. Her favorite thing to do is stare at the walls in the living room because she can see the contrast of the white walls and the pictures on them. She also loves to be held and cuddled. Besides being the cutest baby ever born, she is also very good natured and quite calm. She is such a little miracle and we are so excited to have her in our family.

ITS A BABY!!!

2008-10-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

She is here!!!! Five days late but better late than never. Steph gave birth to Melody Kate Lee yesterday at 6:27pm. She weighed in at a healthy 7lbs 5oz and measured 20 in. long.

Monday evening Stephanie starting having strong contractions about 4 minutes apart so the Doc said to go to the hospital. We went to Mountain View in Payson and after a couple of hours there they sent us home because the contractions slowed down. So, instead of going back to provo we went to Salem and stayed at my parents. I had a great nights sleep getting to bed at 1:30 and getting up at 7:30. Stephanie on the other hand didn't sleep a wink. She had contractions every eight minutes throughout the whole night. In the morning we decided to call up the Doc (Dr. Takasaki) and he had us go into the clinic and from there he sent us to the hospital again. Well, the pain was strong and so up until the epidural, steph wasn't having a whole ton of fun. She was having 3 and 4 minute long contractions. But after getting the epidural, she didn't feel anything else throughout the rest of labor. Doctor Takasaki was great. He came over on his lunch break and broke steph's water. Then at 6:00pm he came back and just like that, 27 minutes later we had our baby! As far as we know everything is well with Stephanie and Melody. They are both just happy to get some R&R.

We are so excited to be parents and we feel so blessed to have Melody. A big thanks to everyone for their support and excitement. We are so grateful to have such great family and friends.

All Sorts of Pink

2008-09-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

My baby shower was yesterday, and I have to say that I had no idea how artistic my friends are! We played a game where everyone was given a paper plate and a pen, and they had to put the plate on top of their heads and draw a picture of a baby. I had to pick the one that I liked the best so I chose one that slightly resembled Humpty Dumpty...although I hope that's not what my baby really looks like. I'm so glad I'm having a girl because I got some of the cutest girly presents, and I can't WAIT to dress her up in all the bows and adorable clothes. I also got some good "practical" baby stuff that I desperately need because I didn't have any of it before the shower. Camellia Rowland hosted the shower at her house and did a great job organizing everything. It turned out to be a lot of fun and I want to thank everyone who came and celebrated. Only a few weeks left before the BIG DAY! Woo-hoo!

Two years in and already a HEART ATTACK

2008-09-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

TWO YEARS!!!! Wow
Me and Jam had our two year anniversary last week and to surprise him, I went to his work and heart attacked his motorcycle. Since a motorcycle isn't very big, I was able to cover the whole thing in hearts. To prove his love back to me, jam rode around with them on for a couple of days until they started falling off. As a belated celebration, we spent the weekend in Park City at Kevin and Nancy's Condo. That was probably our last vacation as a couple without kids. I am officially four weeks from my due date "AND I CANT WAIT!". This getting a big belly and being beat up from the inside can be painful at times:) But truly we are so excited to start this journey into parenthood.

2008-08-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

Oh baby look at us, we're blogging!! We just had to say that as I am sure everyone does as they post their first blog. Its wonderful to know that we are so important to you. With great appreciation for you, we dedicate ourselves to post and share only the most cherished and important happenings from our lives.