Happy 12th Birthday Jenna!

Jenna is 12!

Yikes!

That means she is 2/3 of the way to 18(adult).

How does this happen?

It seems like just yesterday that this beautiful 8lb 12oz sweet baby girl was born. I can remember every single moment of the very long...but worthwhile adventure. I had a C-Section after 26 hours of labor because she was being a touch stubborn and wasn't turning. A respiratory team was in the operating room because Jen had taken a little poopy (meconium) in the womb. They wanted to be able to suck it out before her first cry so she didn't inhale the "stuff" since it would block her airways. Well...Jen came out screamin' so the team worked on her and then she was off to the NICU. She was naughty in there because she was fully developed and had a set of lungs on her. The preemies didn't care for her too much because she was soooo loud. They kept her in a "sound proof" bubble so she didn't bother the other babies so much. I wasn't able to make too many trips over but Blake spent a lot of time with her. She was released from the NICU on Halloween and we came home shortly after.


Now this little girl is 12. I can't even begin to describe what a true gift she is! There are very few people with hearts as big as Jenna's. I'm so lucky to be her mom!

Jen celebrated her birthday for three days. I know...a little crazy (but tons of fun)! Saturday she had her "friend" party, Sunday was the "family" party, and Monday she had her "real" birthday.

Jen and Uncle Rich apparently have the same taste in clothing.

Lauryn inspecting Jen's lighting skills.

They're almost lit.

Uncle Rich always wraps with his signature tinfoil and writes his "greeting" with a Sharpie.

(I had to change the color because I couldn't get the red eye off Jen and it looked really creepy.)

Jen received moolah and gift cards that she wanted to keep secure. She taped them all inside one envelope so no one could get them. I wonder if she considered how hard it will be to get her loot out when she needs it?!

The secured package

This morning Jen opened her presents from us. She got an iPod touch and a pair of cozy jammies with a bunch of girly magazines. I had the camera ready this morning to capture her expressions and guess what? Yep...my batteries were dead again. Tonight after basketball practice and a bath, she put on those cozy jammies to read her new magazines. She wanted to listen to her new "toy" but it wasn't ready yet.

Happy Birthday Jenna Marie Essary!