The Sisson's Jubilee

a lovely afternoon

2011-10-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

sidewalk chalk and a rainy afternoon make for 2 very happy ladies.

ready to make a beautiful sidewalk masterpiece

or maybe just a masterpiece on my leg instead

she thought that was pretty clever.

oh how i do love this beautiful jubilee.

The peas please...

2011-10-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Oh, the blessed peas. Every baby eats them, because they have no idea that there are far superior foods in the world that they have yet to experience. But they eat them all the same. So here's our documentation of this first tasting.

The before...

Everett can barely wait for the peas. He's resorting to the bib.

Said peas...

Hudson's first bite

"What in the world is that stuff?!"

In true Hudson fashion, he made a face like he didn't like it, but I couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough. My precious hungry boy.

And Everett's thoughts on the matter...

One day, the boys may look back on these pictures and wonder why I would torture them with such unseasoned, bland grossness. I'll tell them it was all in the name of good health :)

As always, it all worked out in the end. Full bellies, happy babies.

You may be wondering, what was Jubilee doing during all this time. Oh, you know, just trying on every pair of shoes in the house. She finally settled on my new leopard loafers. She's stylish.

our instagram life. part 2

2011-09-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

2 babies & a little lady

"jubilee" - noun. joy and celebration

"wombmates":: everett & husdon

tummy time. everett 3 mo

on our way to LA for jubilee's birthday. 7/2011

sibling pep talk. "it's ok, baby." jubilee:hudson

texting.

3 cheers for bedtime!!!

not a care in the world. hudson. 3mo

bumbo time. hudson:everett

jubilee's reading glasses. she believes they're necessary to read. she's only slightly dramatic.

"don't mess with us..."

"nah, guys. just kidding. we really do like you." hudson:everett

"how you doin?" everett. 4 mo

football bonding time. everett:hudson. 4 mo

little bear. hudson. 5mo

true beauty.

our life in pictures. the instagram edition.

2011-09-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

real life

easter egg hunt. 2011.

everett fielding. april 28, 2011.

hudson william. april 28, 2011

brothers. hudson::everett

jubilee, the big sister.

beautiful jubilee. may 2011. 22 months.

daddy and his baby girl.

sibling love.

hudson. may 2011. 1 month

everett. may 2011. 1 month

jubilee even shares her blanket with her brothers.

worship.

to be continued...

Reading with PawPaw

2011-03-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Jubilee loves to sit in her basket of stuffed animals and read her books and she loves her PawPaw.

It was the perfect combination :)

Playing in the yard

2011-03-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

We're loving our new backyard!! It may be small, but after living in an apartment, we have an appreciation for any outdoor space.

On this particular day, Tommy was mowing the grass and, as always, Jubilee wanted to be right next to her Daddy.

I just love this girl!!

Accidental photo, but I kinda love it...

Tommy decided it would be a good idea to surprise Jubilee by turning on the sprinkler...

Um...I don't really think she liked it as much as he'd hoped...

Maybe she'll appreciate it if her Daddy runs with her...

SUCCESS!!!

Love my little outdoor Jubilee!

Snow Day!!!

2011-02-01T15:04:00.000-08:00

It's 18 degrees with a wind chill of -1 outside!! But we had to get a few pictures in the beautiful snow...

"What's a Snow Day?"

Getting excited...

SUPER excited...

"Let me at it"...

"I love this stuff!!!"

We had fun for those few minutes, but it was COLD!!

So this is what most of the day really looked like...

Hope you had a great one!!

TWIN BOYS!!!!!

2011-01-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a not-so-little-known fact...I'm pregnant!

Here's a littler-known fact...We're having 2 babies!!

An even littler-known fact...they're BOTH BOYS!!!

And the least-known fact...THEY HAVE NAMES!!! Pretty great names actually:)

Hudson William & Everett Fielding

I'm pretty excited about finally having names for the boys. It always makes them seem more real when you can call them by their names.

It took us a while to finalize the names because (1) We were NOT expecting to have 2 boys and (2) picking boys names is a tricky game. We want them to be unique enough so he doesn't have 5 other kids in his class with the same name. At the same time, I feel like you can't go too far into the "so different it might be weird" territory with boys as much as you can with girls. And most importantly, we want them to have powerful meanings. Add these together and this is no small task, my friends.

We wanted to use the middle names as a way to give honor to our fathers. So one of the boys will have Tommy's dad's middle name, Fielding, and the other will have my dad's middle name, William.

There were several amazing names in the running for first names, but we finally agreed on these names based on their meanings...

Hudson- Bright in mind & spirit; Brave

William-Warrior or Guardian

Everett- Trusted Advisor

Fielding- Of his field

I can barely wait for them to get here and see how much their names fit their personalities! So fun!!!

Milestones...the important ones.

2010-11-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

Tis the season for hitting new milestones!! The other day, Jubilee took her first steps!!!! YAY!!! We even have it on video! (But you know I have no idea how to post that on here, so unfortunately you'll just have to take my word on it :) )

In case you're thinking, "wait, isn't she like 16 months old?", the answer is Yes, she is. Tomorrow to be exact. But Ole Jubilee loves to take her time in doing new things, and we're learning to be ok with that:)

While I am over the moon excited by the fact that this little girl could be running around here any minute, there is something else that makes me even more excited... The exciting fact is that my little girl LOVES to sing!

Jubilee hangs out in the KidzBlast room with Tommy while the kids are rehearsing for worship. You have to keep an eye on her, because the second you set her down, she dashes to the stage and snatches the nearest free microphone. Here's your proof...

I won't lie. This picture makes my heart leap a little. Although, I'll be ok with anything she decides to do...well..almost anything:)

I'll leave you with the story of my favorite singing Jubilee moment (so far). I lead worship for a gathering of young adults at our church called The Well. A few months back while we were rehearsing, Jubilee crawled up to the "stage" area, sat in between myself and the guitarist, turned and faced where the crowd would be and started singing at the top of her lungs. She even would look from left to right like she was making eye contact with people. So funny. My favorite part of it all was the way she just did it with such confidence. It's like she was thinking "What, isn't this what you're supposed to do?" I love it!!!

I've had a revelation...

2010-11-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

And here it is...

I've been delaying working on this blog for MONTHS now, because I keep feeling this self-inflicted pressure to catch up on the time I've missed. But, let's be real, probably not going to happen.

So I've decided to pick it up from today and we shall see how it goes.

In current news, I just went this week to pick out Jubilee's one year pictures. (And yes, that was over 3 months ago, but hey, at least I'm finally ordering them :) ) They are so stinking precious that I can barely contain myself. Here's a little preview.

There is pure sweetness just oozing out of this picture. Cannot wait to see the rest!!

Here's hoping you have an ah-mazing day and maybe you'll here from me soon...but no pressure :)

Meeting Uncle Ryan for the first time!!!!

2009-12-21T11:11:00.000-08:00

c.u.t.e.

2009-12-10T11:06:00.000-08:00

Check out my super cute outfit :)

Chillin out and watching some shows...

2009-12-02T22:53:00.000-08:00

Turkey Trot 2009. Thanksgiving morning.

2009-11-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

We were in Baton Rouge for Thanksgiving aka the holiday of gluttony and gratefulness. So to compensate for the inevitable overeating, our family has made it a tradition to run in the annual "Turkey Trot" run in downtown Baton Rouge.(ok. so maybe that's not actually the reason we do it, but it sure does make a lot of sense :) )

Jubilee and I were the cheerleaders for Tommy, Jeremy, "Handsome PawPaw", Emily and Devin as they ran the race.

Jubilee is her Daddy's second biggest fan :)

Here they are at the starting line, looking excited about life...

Jubilee and I patiently waited to see who would be the first one of our crew to make it to the finish line.

And the winner is...TOMMY!!! Leaping toward the finish line.

Here's our crew, post run... Looking good and enjoying some good old fashion endorphins.

Working on "Tummy Time"

2009-11-15T21:57:00.000-08:00

Perseverance was the name of this game.

Watch the progression.

Check out those blue eyes!!

And we can't forget about the glorious mullet...

a.dor.a.ble.

2009-11-15T21:40:00.000-08:00

We're back!!! And we have a lot of catching up to do. Let's just start off with some adorable pictures of Jubilee in her special "church dress"

Jubilee, the reader...

2009-11-04T18:24:00.000-08:00

That's right! Our child is a genius!!! But what mother doesn't think her child is a genius?! But seriously, this is precious. I was reading to Jubilee and had to walk away for a minute. So I placed the book in her lap and when I returned this is what I found...

I mean, it looks like she's reading to me, and you can't convince me otherwise:)

Look at that sense of accomplishment!

In other news,over the past couple of days Jubilee has been "talking" up a storm. I think we have a little social butterfly in the making:)

Sunday afternoons with Daddy...

2009-11-04T18:07:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoons are some of the best times at the Sisson home! Tommy's schedule changes from week to week, but he always has Sundays off. It's such a blessing! Jubilee and I love it when he's home!

Here are some cute pictures of "Daddy and Jubilee time" this past Sunday...

It's a little blurry, but she looked so adorable in her dress:)

Halloween...

2009-11-04T17:52:00.000-08:00

On Halloween night our little family hung out with some friends at the Sommers' house. We had hamburgers and played cards and it was so much fun!! We love our amazing friends:)

I love this picture! Yep, she's eating her tutu:)

Jubilee is trying hard to sit up in the Bumbo while Will plays with his fun toys:)

Bumbo time...

2009-11-04T17:41:00.000-08:00

In addition to working on "Tummy Time", on Friday I decided to see if Jubilee would like to sit up like a big girl in her Bumbo seat. She did such a great job!! I can't believe how big and strong she's getting...

On Saturday morning, I decided to try it again only this time pointing her towards the TV. I had in the Hillsong DVD and she loved it!!!

Blowout...

2009-10-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

This may seem like everyday stuff to you seasoned professionals out there, but this kind of stuff really grosses me out. Beware, this picture is not for the weak-stomached...

Yes...that is what you think it is! And somehow it got in her hair too!! Needless to say, Jubilee received a prompt sink bath after this encounter. Ah, sometimes you just have to laugh about this stuff. I just had to post it, because one day I'll want to remember these moments.

Update on the outdoors...

2009-10-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Jubilee is beginning to love the outdoors more and more! Tommy and I took her for a stroll on the trail at Bear Creek Park. She just stared into the sky and then fell asleep. Tommy is officially a happy man!

Jubilee's first pair of jeans...

2009-10-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

My friend Shannon bought Jubilee her first pair of jeans. In general, I think girls look the absolute cutest in dresses...especially in the mud:) However, as with most rules, there are exceptions. But let's face it, this precious girl would look cute in just about anything.

This picture makes my heart flutter every time I see it:) Is that not THE most beautiful thing you've ever seen?! I love my joyful Jubilee!!!

Thanks Shannon! Jubilee loves her outfit!

Sunday afternoon...

2009-10-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Jubilee is beginning to "talk" to me and Tommy. We love to just sit on the floor with her and talk to her. This Sunday afternoon, we spent almost an hour just sitting with her on the floor while she entertained us. Here's a sweet picture of her still dressed in her Sunday best...

Tommy's Birthday and a swing...

2009-10-21T14:25:00.000-07:00

For Tommy's Birthday he wanted to take us to the Botanical Gardens in Fort Worth. He loves the outdoors and he was hoping that Jubilee would love them too. In the beginning, she was not the biggest fan...

So we strolled a little further. But still...

After about 10 minutes of intense disapproval, she finally began to warm up to her surroundings...

Tommy and his baby girl...

Our friends Patrick and Kelli are letting us borrow Baby Will's swing now that he's grown out of it. It has been such a blessing!! Jubilee absolutely loves watchihng the mobile and taking her afternoon naps in the swing.

She tries to talk to the lambs...

I love this little girl!

The Second Month...

2009-09-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Jubilee is very alert! She's what we call an "active baby".

At one month, Jubilee started sleeping in her own room in her crib. She loves it...most of the time. She is an amazing sleeper! She's already sleeping through the night at 7 weeks! PRAISE THE LORD!!

Jubilee also had her very first "play date" this month with Baby Eisley...and by "play date" of course I mean that Jubilee slept the whole time while Eisley played and Hayley, Tori and I (the mom's) hung out :) But it was lots of fun! I'm so excited about Jubilee's sweet friends!

These pictures make me laugh because Eisley is just smiling away and posing while Jubilee is sticking her tongue out and kicking poor Eisley. Oh well...posing will be a lesson for another day:)

Jubilee's First Adventures...

2009-09-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

Daddy gave Jubilee her first bath at home...

Day 4...

We went for our first check up with Jubilee's doctor, Dr. Garza at 4 days old.

When Jubilee left the hospital, she weighed 7lb 6oz. By her apt, she was already beginning to gain weight. She's a great eater!

She's also a great sleeper! These are a few of Jubilee at 1 week...

I managed to get some sleep too...

This is my favorite little girl in the world...

Jubilee's First Days...

2009-09-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

We had our famillies come into town the night before she was born, so Jubilee had A LOT of visitors. Here are just a few...

Gran and Aunt Grace

Papaw and Aunt Kathryn

PawPaw

Uncle Jeremy

Ya Ya and Aunt Emily

On Saturday, August 1 Jubilee came home from the hospital...

From the beginning...

2009-09-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

My due date was July 28, but Jubilee did not seem to be in any kind of hurry to come out, so we scheduled an induction for Thursday, July 30. My doctor, the amazing Dr. Flowers, had us come in on Wednesday night to stay overnight to get me ready for the induction bright and early the next morning. Checking in that night was absolutely THE strangest and most surreal moment of my life. My body didn't feel any different than it had every other day for the past few weeks, so it was difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that I was about to have a BABY! It's still completely crazy to think about!

Tommy and I did not sleep well that night...me, for the obvious reasons on top of the fact that the nurses come in constantly during the night to poke you with things...and Tommy couldn't sleep because our room was FREEZING and he was sleeping on some kind of couch/chair bed...interesting. So, we watched Sweet Home Alabama...twice.

Once the induction process started, I was having regular contractions but for some reason was still only dialated at 1 cm. I had always planned on getting an epidural, but they wanted to wait until I had made more progress to give it to me. Since I told the doctors I wanted to be on the "minimum pain plan", they gave me this crazy-strong pain medication until I could get the epidural. That drug knocked me out!!! I slept all morning and would only wake up to breathe through the contractions and then fall right back asleep. When my doctor or nurses would come in to talk to me, I would hear them, but I literally could not form complete sentences, so I just stared back at them mumbling incoherently. Later on, my doctor told me that I was a "lightweight" and a "funny drunk". HAHAHA.

The good thing about this drug is that it must have made my body relax, because in an hour and a half I went from 1cm to 5cm. So it was finally time for the epidural. At first, the epidural only worked on one side of my body. In case you were wondering, this was my biggest fear before going into the hospital!! Luckily, I was too drugged up to get worried:) After a few minutes of problem solving, they decided to give it to me again. This time it worked...THANK THE LORD! An hour later, I had dialated to 10cm and after about 30 minutes of pushing at 1:53 pm Jubilee was here!

The Sisson Family...

New posts on the way...

2009-09-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

Today our sweet Jubilee turns 6 weeks old! It really does go by so quickly! As you can imagine, we've been in the midst of major transition. This would explain my extreme lack of recent posts. To my eager onlookers, fear not...new posts filled with stories, updates, and pictures are in the very near future. Until then...

Meet Sweet Baby Jubilee...

2009-09-10T17:46:00.001-07:00

Jubilee Elisabeth Sisson
July 30, 2009
7 lbs 11 oz
21 in

More photos of us...

2009-07-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

The Original Jubilee...

2009-07-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

One of the first questions people ask us when we tell them Jubilee's name is "Where did you come up with that?" As much as I would love to take credit for it, I did not come up with the name Jubilee on my own. Jubilee was my roommate at Christ for the Nations. The first day she moved into our room, I asked her what her name meant and she told me "Joy and Celebration and the year of the Lord's complete favor and provision." As soon as she told me that, I knew I wanted that to be the name of my first daughter. I mean, you can't go wrong with any of that!

On top of the cool meaning, Jubilee the roommate is probably one of the coolest people I've ever known, because of her love of the Lord and her unique ability to bring life and energy into any room or situation. She was a dear friend to me in the very chaotic season of transition right before I got married, graduated and decided to move to Keller for good. So, while she's not the primary reason for naming our daughter Jubilee, we definitely wouldn't be sad if our daughter turned out a little bit like her.

"These are a few of my favorite things..."

2009-06-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal....I LOVE MAKING LISTS!!! I've searched long and hard for a good explanation as to the origin of this obsession, but at the end of the day, it just makes me happy. So, if you're reading this blog, which you are, I'm only left to assume that you care about a list of my favorite things in life. So I appreciate that about you:)

To avoid cliches, lets just go ahead and assume that my true favorite things involve every attribute of God, and most everything about Tommy and the rest of my friends and family. If you're expecting some deep revelation from the following list, you'll have to wait for another entry. This list is purely surface, but be not deceived...the following things bring true joy to my everyday life!

Okay, enough with the build up...here it is, in no particular order:

Baby names... You may think that this is a recent obsession, but it's not. I've loved picking out names since I was a kid. The meaning of a name is so powerful and at any given moment, I have a list of about 20 names swirling through my head that I adore...Just ask me:)
Anthropologie...I'm pretty sure I could live in that store. All the colors, the smells, the happy people, the amazing clothes and accessories. I basically want my life to be an anthropologie catalog.
People watching...I love meeting new people and hearing their stories, but if I'm at a party with a lot of people I don't know, I become paralyzed by my need to "people watch". I literally shut down, because I am so interested in how other people are interacting with one another, what they are wearing, who they came with, and so on...I have to intentionally start talking and stop staring:) Does that make me a weirdo? hahaha
Movies...Going to the movie theater is one of my all time favorite things to do. I'll even go home after the movie and put on a DVD. I think this has a lot to do with my people watching issue. I love a movie with great character development and tons of plot twists, which brings me to my next fav...
LOST...I mean, really. If you're a fan, you know why this made the list.

Okay, being as this is a new blog, I don't want to overload you with information, so I'll continue the list at another time. In case you're wondering at this point "What is the goal of this blog?", eventually, this will be the main place for fam and friends to get updates on the life of Jubilee and Tommy and I. It's also just a little glimpse into our lives and minds. So if you're into that sort of thing,stay tuned...

This is me in 60 years...

2009-06-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture from one of my favorite blogs, The Sartorialist. I can only aspire to be this precious one day. The hair, the beautiful blue dress, the sharp trench, and of course the frou frou dog. And now you know...

Just a little bit of us being us...

2009-06-26T18:08:00.000-07:00