Blessings

I am constantly reminded how petty my problems are.

I worry about my meeting tomorrow with one of our partners who we want to "break up" with. I should not be worried as my Associate Director, Director, and Executive Director will be attending... so really all I have to do is sit there and smile pretty.

I worry that my kitties are sad that they are no longer in our home. Really they probably are enjoying their new home much more as they get lots of pets and get played with every day.

I worry that I haven't had time to paint my nails over the weekend. I mean honestly, how will I get through the business day with chipping nails? Especially since I wear clear polish on my fingernails anyways?

I worry about going to JiffyLube after work to get my engine belt looked at. It's been making this strange squealing noise ever since I had it replaced in June. I'm not worried about them actually checking it out... I'm worried that I'll then be stuck in 5 o'clock traffic... which in Lynchburg means 10-15 minutes longer of a commute than my normal 12 minutes commute. Oh dear, a whole 27 minutes from work to home? It cannot be!

I worry that every day I drive onto campus in the morning there appears to be less and less parking to accomodate the construction. Yet, we have a larger resident student body than previously and we keep hiring more and more staff. There already was a large shortage of parking.

Those are just a glimpse of my worries... but all are around the same level. Pretty low key.

I am reminded how petty these are because:

1) I have heard of three accidents recently where children have been hit by cars in the area. One was killed and the other two are in serious condition. One of them is the grandson of the administrative assistance of my office. She is amazing and it has been incredible watching God work miracles in her grandson. He is slowly healing and my entire office (and the LU body) continues to pray for further recovery.

2) My Associate Director's (and friend) grandmas passed away last month within a week of each other. Yesterday her husband's grandma passed away also. I cannot imagine. I have a special relationship with each of my three living grandparents. Matt's grandparents are also amazing, special, and loving people. I would not hold up well if they passed within a month of each other.

3) My brother-in-law is currently serving in Afghanistan. He has been keeping us updated on the happenings in his immediate area. It's not good. At all. And the majority of the American population don't realize how real the war still is.  It's hard to think straight with him over there in the thick of it all. His family and ours has become an Army family. He is a Captain in the Army and his little brother is training to enter Special Forces. Matt is scheduled to leave for Basic Training on January 22. He will then enter Officer Candidate School. Three men in the service during war time. Deep breath.



Plus, I have such an amazing little family. I have a wonderful husband who constantly reaffirms me (except when he doesn't! ... which is a semi-joke between the two of us). I have a perfect baby who never ceases to brighten my day (or night- as he insists on sleeping with Mommy as opposed to his own bed!). Said baby is 20 weeks old today! Post coming this evening on that. Normally I take his weekly picture in the morning before work since he's super smiley in the mornings. But... he decided to sleep in! When I woke up I fed him and he slept through the whole thing (imagine being able to eat while sleeping? How glorious that must be!), I changed his diaper while he slept, and passed him off to Daddy while he slept! Good baby!

Grammie and GrandPops Visit

This past weekend (June 2-4) my in-laws came to visit. They are moving Jamie and Waverly out to California to live with them while Josh is deployed. They flew here for a couple days then drove to Tennessee to pack Jamie up.

Jackson was SO excited to see his grandparents. It is  very sad that he doesn't live near either sets of grandparents. But we will be sure to skype lots and try to make as many visits as possible. He had lots of smiles and coos for Grammie and GrandPops. It was fun to show them all the stuff he's been learning since he saw them last. He's gotten much bigger and they loved his chubby cheeks and thunder thighs!

Nothing better than a happy baby and happy grandparents! 

They arrived Saturday evening and we grabbed some dinner. Sunday they met us for church and Jackson slept the whole time in my Moby. We went for a long walk at the park on Sunday. It was perfect weather for a 4 mile walk! 

Monday afternoon Matt and Pops went shooting. They tested out Matt's HK, which his parents are considering purchasing. While they were gone Jack took a nap on Grammie while I finished my work for the day. It's been such a blessing being able to work from home. One more week of that happiness and then back to the office. Sigh. 

When the boys got back Jack entertained everyone for awhile. Babies never get old when they are loved! His smiles, babbles, and laughs can keep us content for hours on end! 

We went to Neighbor's Place for dinner to celebrate Matt and my 4 year anniversary (which was only a few days later). Jackson behaved very well throughout the meal and got some more snuggles in. 

He loves his Grammie and GrandPops and cannot wait to go visit them (and hopefully Aunt Jamie, cousin Waverly, and Uncle Mark) out in California! We're hoping that sometime this fall we might be able to take a little family vacation out there. 

And Jackson sent off Grammie with a big smile. We were all sad to see them go, but it was such a wonderful couple of days. 

Michigan Overview

 My blog is acting up so these pictures are out of order and it won't let me move the first picture and insert text above it. So we'll improvise. Above is Matt's family at PF Changs while all in Michigan. Josh is the only family member not present as he was not on leave from his responsibilities as a Captain in the Army. I have been blessed with such an amazing set of in-laws. I hear horror stories from many of my friends about their in-laws. I am so thankful I am part of this family. How fun that we could all be together (which is rare since we're spread between California, Tennessee, Michigan, and Virginia), especially with the two newest members of the Iveson family: Waverly Victoria and Jackson Matthew.

It was so much fun being about to go to Michigan for two weeks! We got to introduce Jackson to many of our family members and friends. We normally go to Michigan for one week in the year to see family and friends. Since Matt isn't working now and I'm on maternity leave we were able to spend two weeks this time! If it weren't for the cats we'd probably have gone for much longer. But it was a nice trip and I was honestly ready to be "home" again at the end of it.

Jackson was able to meet his five cousins on the Bonnell side of the family. Below all the cousins are looking at their new little friend. Ethan is holding Jackson and he will be 11 in July. Noah is next to him in the red and grey shirt, he will be 10 in July. Calvin is the blonde boy on top, he will be 8 in July. Livy is at the very top and is 7. Brookie is on the front left and is no longer the baby of the family as she will be 3 in August. All the kids were so excited to meet Jackson. They did great with him!

My mom has done annual Mother's Day pictures of the family since my eldest sister was born. She has a book with each year's picture in it. Ever since Matt and I were married she has put a group picture of the family plus a picture of Matt and I since we were in Virginia. This year we missed Mother's Day by two weeks, but since the entire family was together we took a group shot that will be used for this year in the book. All the other kids did amazing with the cameras! Normally it's super difficult to get a picture where everyone is looking, let alone smiling. This year the kids paid good attention to directions and smiled pretty for the camera.

I was so happy that I was able to introduce Jackson to my grandparents. My grandparents are very special to me. They have always been a huge part of my life. At my elementary and high school we had Grandparents Day every year. My senior year my sisters and I presented an award to them for their 20-some years of Grandparents' Days attended. Even though they lived over four hours away, they made sure never to miss a Grandparents Day for any of us! I was able to get some pictures of both of them holding Jackson and they just loved him. He is their 13th Great-Grandchild.

Jack did so much growing in the two weeks we were in Michigan! If you look at pictures from the beginning of the trip compared to the end of the trip you can tell he filled out more. He gained almost 2 pounds while we were there! What a good growing boy. While I am sad that he is fast growing up, I am relieved that he is bulking up since we had feeding issues when he was first born.

He started smiling more often and at more people while we were home. Everyone loved his little grins. Daddy said Jack has a "Han Solo" grin that goes up more to one side than the other. This is my favorite smiling picture we got, but there were a few choice ones to choose from.

We stayed with my parents while we visited. My parents have a very nice condo that has a little pond. There's a gravel path around the entire pond. Jackson and I went on a couple walks around the pond. Thankfully we have an all-terrain jogging stroller that was able to make it around the path. There were a few spots where the path had been washed out by the rain and a normal stroller would have had difficulties. Ours did great! Look at how beautiful the pond is.

On one side of the pond there were all these trees on either side of the path. Such a calm place to walk. I think Daddy and Mommy watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds while home though. The first time I went for a walk I thought, a serial killer could be hiding out behind the trees ready to prey on me as I innocently walk my newborn son around the pond... Yeah, probably too many late night episodes! We discovered Criminal Minds on this trip and now I wish our TV channels worked so we could continue watching it! Someday (hopefully in the next year) we're planning on getting a basic cable package.

Even though my in-laws have moved away from Grand Rapids, they were all in town for my brother-in-laws graduation from college. This trip was the first time Uncle Mark, GrandPops, and Grammie met Jackson. This picture is shortly after Grammie first met Jack. I love everyone's expressions.

It was so great to be able to spend time with both of our families. It was super nice while we were in college to be able to visit both families on breaks from school. I'm not gonna lie though. Now that my in-laws live in California it makes for some nice vacations out there! It'll be so fun to take Jack to Sea World, the zoo, and Disneyland someday!

We went out to eat to Trini's with Matt's family. I had never been but it is an Iveson favorite. This is Jack and I waiting for the rest of the clan to arrive. I bought three belts while in Michigan and this is my favorite. I had just begun learning about accessorizing when I found out I was pregnant. Now I plan to make good use of belts to accent outfits!

Uncle Mark is such a natural! Here he is with Jackson on one arm and Waverly on the other. He had been wanting nieces and nephews since Josh and Jamie got married. Both of his siblings obliged within five months of each other! I know that in the next year we're all hoping some little siblings will arrive for these first two, so Uncle Mark will run out of arms!

Matt's grandparents pointed out that Jackson is the first of their Great- Grandchildren to carry on the Iveson name! All the other Great-Grandchildren have different last names due to marriage. Well, when we knew that we had to get a picture of the four Iveson men generations! I think you can definitely see resemblances between Matt, his dad, and his grandpa. We'll see what Jackson grows up to look like. So far, the majority of people say he looks like his Daddy more than his Mommy. Maybe the Asian will increase as he grows?
 

On Saturday while we were home we all met at Matt's Aunt Sue's house to celebrate Mark's graduation. We took the opportunity to get a picture of Grandpa and Grandma with all the Great- Grandchildren. Titus and Ezra loved Jackson!

Our portion of the Ivesons then headed downtown to see Mark's actual graduation. There are all the GVSU grads: Class of 2012.

Mark is just past the podium on the right in this picture. We weren't quite prepared for him to talk across the stage so the pictures are a bit blurry.

I took an obnoxious amount of pictures but will leave just these highlights on the blog. I uploaded many more to facebook and have even more on my computer! I thought I took a lot of pictures of our cats when they were kittens! They got nothing on Jackson!

Jackson proved to be a good little traveler. The trip to Michigan usually takes around 12 hours to drive. When we went up it took 13.5 hours and when we came back home it took 13 hours. Not too bad! I sat int the backseat with Jackson most of the time (I drove for about 2 hours total) and was able to calm him most times when he fussed. He slept a lot and played some. We stopped every once in awhile when he needed a break from the car seat and filled up on gas during those stops, even if the tank wasn't too low.

All in all, it was an excellent trip! I wish we could move back to Michigan, but there aren't any active duty posts in Michigan so I doubt we'll be up there any time soon. Bummer. I do plan to continue visiting at least once a year though. Maybe if we live semi-close (12 hours or less) the kids and I will visit even if Matt can't. I loved seeing our families and friends. It makes me miss home so much more. This visit I met with some friends who are now engaged and expecting children! So much changes when you only return home once a year. It reminds me how much we've all grown up (I've been friends with these girls since elementary school!).

Baby is fussing. I got a whole post in though! :-)

Meeting Cousin Waverly

When Jackson was 13 days old he was able to meet his Uncle Josh, Aunt Jamie, and cousin Waverly! This was the first time Matt and I were able to meet our beautiful little niece. She was one week shy of 6 months when we met her. 

The Vandegriffs visited Lynchburg since Josh's parents and sister's family live here. Added bonus for us while we reside there as well. Not sure how much longer we'll all be in the area, but it's sure nice for now! 

Waverly loved baby Jack! She couldn't stop looking at him. All of her other cousins are female and older than her. 

Both mommies and the babies out to lunch at The Market at Main.

Our little families out to lunch. It's a little blurry since we had someone else take the picture and it was with my SIL DSLR and some people don't quite know how to operate those... but it's still a generally amazing photo! I have sure been blessed with my in-laws.

Babies chilling at lunch. Waverly is a bit more playful than Jack... but he'll get there someday! You can see his new friend, giraffe in his carseat! Matt and I both independently decided that his favorite diaper/onesie/ and toy were giraffe themed! Strange, since neither of us had any strong liking for giraffes beforehand. We saw this little toy giraffe at the store and knew we had to get it! We're hoping he becomes one of Jack's favorites. We'll wait and let Jack name him himself. 

The siblings with their kids at our house. Waverly looked so big compared to Jack! Love having little babies around! Cannot wait for full family get togethers! (the first of which will be this coming week! Everyone will be in Grand Rapids for Uncle Mark's graduation from college! Such a great weekend to come!)

Waverly loved her Uncle Matt. She was a little fussy after a very long day with lots of new faces, but when Uncle Matt held her she calmed right down. What a pretty girl! Seriously, Ivesons make the BEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL babies!

I kept trying to get a picture of Waverly's little smile. She was bouncing on her daddy and I snapped this one. She is such a Daddy's girl (in both appearance and personality!)!

She was so interested in her little baby cousin. Cannot wait for when they are a little bit older and can truly interact with each other. We're all hoping that next summer we can have a family vacation on Lake Michigan. So much fun with little toddlers running around! 

I am so thankful that Jack has a cousin close to his age. My sisters have kids who are ages almost 11, almost 10, almost 8, 7.5, and 2.5. One of my sisters may decide to add a fourth child to her family, but if not then my kids will continue to be the youngest. Thankfully, the other kids love having little cousins! But, I am super glad that on the Iveson side of the family Jack (and his future sibs) will have cousins closer to their ages. I was the youngest grandchild on both sides of my family and it wasn't super fun at family get togethers. 

We had a lovely weekend with family visiting. Cannot wait for my in-laws to get into town on Wednesday! Jack can't wait to meet his GrandPops and Grammie!

Meeting Grammy and Papa

When Jack was eleven days old he got to meet his Grammy and Papa. They were spring breaking with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Ryan in Tennessee. At the end of that trip they drove over to Virginia to meet their new grand-baby.

Grammy's first time holding baby Jack. She is fairly honest about babies (including her own grandchildren) and has stated that certain children are not cute infants (but will probably grow up to be cute toddlers etc). She said that Jack was a pretty perfect baby! He has a good shaped head, nice and long hair, and a wonderful complexion.

Papa waited patiently for a couple minutes then was ready for a turn with the baby. Grammy wasn't so eager to share. I love her expression in this picture!
Papa finally got his turn. I think my dad was made to be a Papa. He loves each of his grandchildren the same, but also uniquely to fit their personalities. Children love him because he treats them like people and not like "just kids". He is a wonderful father and an extra-wonderful grandfather. I am blessed to have him as the former and to have him as the former for my child.
While Grammy and Papa were here Jack went on his first outing! We went to Sweet Frog, of course. Jack enjoyed plenty of Sweet Frog (frozen yogurt) while he was in womb. I cannot wait to take him out for some FroYo once he's old enough. My favorite is vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries and white cake bits!
Our little family on our first outing. It was particularly chilly the weekend Grammy and Papa visited, even though it was in the 70's the day before they arrived! It dropped to the 40's the day they arrived. (side note: I'm wearing my Michigan Wolverine hoodie. I asked for one for Christmas one year and my mom got this one. I LOVE it. It fits perfectly and is so comfy and soft. Jack will be raised right as a Wolverine!)
The next day we ventured out to the Depot Grille. We go here every time my parents visit. My parents prefer to eat out rather than dining at home. We were a little hesitant to go out with a newborn, but we chose restaurants (we went to Milano's for dinner) that aren't as busy and ate earlier than the rush hours for both lunch and dinner. Unfortunately, the Depot Grille got rid of my favorite meal the Blue Ridge Chicken... but I was still able to find something plenty good to eat!
While Grammy and Papa were here Jack had a Dr. appt and the first visit with the lactation consultant. As a result, we started bottle feeding him breast milk during their trip. They were able to help feed him. Grammy had just fed him when he grasped her finger. Nothing better than a newborn hanging on to your finger!

Matt and I have been blessed by two amazing sets of parents. We will use their example in raising our children. I am so thankful for their support for our journey through parenthood and their neverending love for Jack. He will be one spoiled little grandbaby, well, he already is!

Grammy and Papa just stayed for the weekend since our little family will be going to Michigan for 2 weeks (the last week of April and the first week of May). We'll get plenty of time with family then. Maybe Mommy and Daddy can even have our first date without the baby during this time! We'll see, I'm not super anxious to leave my baby! But I'd feel better leaving him with Grammy and Papa rather than other sitters.