It has been 1 year

So I cannot believe it has been 1 whole year since I have posted anything on here. A lot has happened. First off, I graduated with my Masters. Secondly, Andrew and I bought a house. And most importantly, I gave birth to Jackson. I guess I stopped posting right before I got pregnant. Funny how that works. I wish I had blogged during my pregnancy, but oh well. Next time :).

So Jackson was born on 6/24 at 10:50 a.m. weighing 7 lbs. 1 oz and was 20 inches. He has been growing great. His 2 week appointment he had gained all his weight back and was about 7 lbs 14 oz. At his 2 month appointment he weighed 11 lbs. 4 oz. and was 22.5 inches. He is in the 60's percentile for weight, 40's for head, and 50's for height (I cant remember the exact percentages.. I could look it up but I'm lazy!). He is a growing boy, that is for sure. Some characteristics of this little boy are

• He has blue/grey eyes, blonde hair, and dimples. One day I was looking at a Pampers box and realized that he looked very similar to the baby on the box. He's a looker, but maybe I'm biased. We think he is going to be a heartbreaker for sure.
• He is strong! Jackson rolled over at 3 days old and has been practically holding his head up since day 1. I always commented to Andrew that we never had a floppy head baby like I've seen before.
• He is very alert. Since he was born he was looking around at everything. He is still very observant of his surroundings.
• He is very active...always kicking kicking kicking. He never stops. In fact, he likes to kick me! He is going to be a very energetic and active child. Lord help me.
• He is very social. He loves new faces! He's always smiling at whoever will give him attention.
• He is happy. Although he cries (what baby doesn't), he is overall pretty happy. We have so many pictures of this boy smiling. I can't believe how early some of them were taken (we have one of him during his first week). He has been smiling consistently since 4 weeks and continues to do so daily. He also started laughing at 2 months 1 week. 
• He is determined. I will teach him something and he will focus on it intently. I love watching him learn because he will not stop until he gets it. He has objects on his playmat that he gets intently focused on (this toy monkey) and will not stop staring and fussing at it, but also playing with it at the same time. 
• He's a fast learner and has done things ahead of the curve. For example, rolling over, and also batting at objects.
• He's resilient. He had shots right after he was born and he didn't even cry.

Now that Jackson is 2 1/2 months he has already smiled, rolled over (from his front to back), laughed, held his head up, and grasped objects. He also has started to watch our every move. We can't get out of his sight! He recently started whining when we put him down. He loves to be held up against my shoulder so he is close and also can see whats going on. He loves to chew his hands and has also started to discover that he can put objects in his mouth. 

We are very excited for the next few months because we are really going to see him develop. We are excited for his next milestones: rolling over consistently and from back to front, sitting up, eating things other than breast milk, grabbing objects, playing with toys. I will try to make more of a conscious effort to update this so you all can keep up with his progress. Also, I'd like to have this on file for the future. I have already started making a baby book for him and have saved quite a lot of these details, but it is always best to have it somewhere else as well. Also, I have a very detailed account of his birth story which I may try to condense and post. I hand wrote it so it will take me some time before I'm able to have the time to write it out here. 

Until next time... Hopefully it will not be 1 year this time. Oh, and some pictures of the past year are posted below.

Jackson's 1st vacation- Lake Tahoe for the Weber Family Reunion. 1 1/2 months old.

2 weeks

1 day old!

Grateful for

This morning I was riding the metro with a blind man. I started thinking about life and how crazy it can be. How amazing is this blind man who takes the metro all by himself. He has been through so much and is still pressing forward. Sometimes we get lost in the problems we have, and fail to look at the bigger picture of it all. We are so blessed. I am truly grateful for my life, no matter how hard it might be sometimes... but there is always someone who has it worse, like this man. Even the simplest things are a struggle for him. I just appreciate and applaud people like this and wish that we could all be humbled to think of the amazing lives that we have. How lucky are we to just be alive, or living in America? I read this article this morning about a girl in China who had tweeted a dissenting comment about China and got put into a year long service at a labor camp. Honestly, we are lucky that we have freedom of speech. We are not forced into situations like the one this girl was subjected to. We are so lucky.. for everything we have. There are times when I think that I am less fortunate than others in my situation, but then I think about people like this... or women that are confined to their houses day in and day out and can't leave without a male accompanying them... or people in Africa who do not own a car and rely on public transportation to get them around. We are lucky for the smallest things that we don't even think about because it has become the norm for us.

I challenge you this Thanksgiving to thank those around you... and to think about all that you are grateful for. Here is what I am grateful for:

1. Reliable friends
2. A lawnmower
3. A hot shower
4. Grocery stores/convenience stores
5. Freedoms (freedom of religion, speech, press, etc)
6. The opportunity to attend the educational institution/program of my choice
7. A car
8. A paying job
9. Parks and nature
10. Historical sites
11. Loving in-laws and extended family
12. My trials
13. The friendship that me and Andrew have developed
14. A chapel and temples readily available to me


These are just a few of the things that I am grateful for, and off the top of my head. I'm sure if I took the time to think of more, I could. Living in Africa really changed my perspective on the simple things in life. Let's try not to be so consumed in out meetings and try to do more for people. Our lives should focus on service. When we serve our fellow beings, it is pleasing to us and to them. You can never go wrong with doing something for someone else. I have learned to live my life devoted to this philosophy. You should too.

Family

I have had some pretty hectic moments with my pretty hectic family. I am very grateful though that I grew up with siblings so close in age. As we've gotten older, we have developed such a strong bond between us that can never be broken. I love my sisters so so much and I don't know what I would do without them. Sometimes it is hard to accept the fact that we do not have the same brother that we grew up with... he is a very different person with complicated problems. I still love him with all my heart, but it is almost like he isn't even a part of the family anymore because he is never around. It pains me to see the stress it puts on my family.. esp my mother. All that aside, I am grateful that I had this family. Yes, there are many times I wish that I had the perfect family.. but I know that I am a stronger person and able to handle more hardships because of the family that I had... I look at Andrew's family who have minimal problems (at least not severe ones.. or maybe they just know how to handle them better than we do)... and I am grateful and so blessed that I have inherited them as my own family. It is like night and day, our two families.. but I love them both.

A lot has happened...

So it has been quite some time since I have updated my blog. I really should make this a more regular thing.. how come when I was living in Africa I had no problem keeping a blog? I guess we just get wrapped up in all the things we "need to do" that we don't seem to have time for blogs. At least, that's my excuse. Either way, I really want to get in a habit of doing it.

Well this year has been quite crazy for me. Let's see... in December 2009 I took my last college class. In January I technically graduated from college. Then January-May I went to live in Rwanda and work for NAR (it was my first trip out of the US too). In May I participated in my college graduation ceremony, had my birthday, applied for jobs for 3 months, attended a family reunion and visited my dad in Utah and Las Vegas... then finally got a job working for Bayer, then got married in August... went on a honeymoon to Jamaica... we moved to Alexandria from Fairfax in late August... that's it.

 That is a lot of life changes in one year. It has been a busy time, and I'm still looking to be more permanently settled in with a more permanent job and house situation. We are really stuck in Northern VA until Andrew gets his Associates degree in May... plus we have a lease in Alexandria til September 1st, 2011. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love how close we live to DC and how easy my commute is into the city. It's not that I would really prefer to live anywhere else in Northern VA. I love Alexandria. It is quiet and peaceful. However, I am kind of over the whole city living. I have been in Northern VA for 5 years now.. and I think it's time for a major change. For some reason, I think it might be the simpleness and southern hospitality, I am really attracted to North Carolina. My family would also be pretty close by... so would Andrew's. I think that we are going to seriously consider moving down there after we figure out our future. He still needs to finish up school and we both need to find good paying jobs down there. I am confident though that we would be better off surviving as a young married couple down there... prices in Northern VA are just too costly. We could own a nice house down there for $150,000. Up here we couldn't even get a townhouse for that price. Our rent is so high up here, and commuting costs are a pain... Don't get me wrong.. there are a lot of things I do like about this area... we have access to stores and free activities. There are tons of parks and outdoor activities. Because so much money is invested into this area, the government really takes care of the libraries, parks, etc. We are lucky to have such a flourishing environment in this area... while a lot of people are struggling, our area is doing fantastic. Either way, we want a more simple life, with a big yard, and less traffic.

My life is going good... but there are always things I am unhappy about. I really want to experience pure happiness. It is not something that I often feel. Especially as of late. I think with the economy and the difficulty of finding a permanent job in this environment.. it is easy to feel down and out. I know that a lot of times lately I have felt discouraged and under-appreciated because I got rejected for jobs. I finally got one, but I still believe that I have not yet reached my full potential in a beginning career. I know that everyone doesn't get what they want at first, but people kept telling me that that was not going to happen to me... but it did.. and sometimes that is hard to accept. I know it's not just only me.. I have met SO MANY PEOPLE in DC in my same position.. and it makes me realize that no matter what experience you've had, it doesn't really matter all that much as an entry-level professional.

Another thing.. I have some truly flaky friends. I really don't feel close to too many girls anymore... and some of the ones that are true friends, I don't see all the time. It has been so long since I've just had that best girl friend... I've gotten so used to telling Andrew and my sister (Aubrey) everything that I forgot how it feels to know there is always a girl there for you that you call all the time when you're venting or just need to tell them something exciting. I lost a lot of respect for people around the time that I got married. There were so many people that I considered my close friends that I expected to be participating in wedding events with me (bachlorette party, bridal shower, etc) and didn't even bother to call me to let me know that they weren't going to show up... I have a best friend Taima that is from Rwanda that went out of her way to have a wedding veil HAND MADE for me in Rwanda and found someone to send it with back to the US. Tell me that is not going out of her way to send me something for my wedding and make an effort because she loves me and considers me a good friend. Yet I had people who lived in the same city as me who didn't make an effort to call. I really can't believe it sometimes how self-centered people can be. I am so respectful and I treat my friends like gold.. I really do. I'm the first one to call someone on their birthday, or send a card if something is going wrong. I just don't get why people aren't all like that... I think it's just hard for me to understand sometimes because I am so driven by emotions and by feelings for my friends. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I mean honestly that's how I treat people... but a lot of the times I am disappointed and unimpressed with my friends. I think I am still searching for good people in my life and I have yet to find but a few. 

15 days til the wedding!

So I am getting married in just 15 days! It is really hard to believe that is that soon. We are really excited and stressed out at the same time.

Also, I'm still looking for a job, but have a few interviews soon, so hopefully I will have some good news soon. As for now I'm just trying to have some patience and put my faith in the fact that everything happens for a reason.

I've added a few engagement pictures. Enjoy.

2010 is my year

So it has been quite some time since I have updated this blog, but I figured it was time that I start. I have a lot running through my head and I need to have a way to write it down.

So I'll provide an update of my life soon... I'm not really in the mood to do it right now. But I just want to say that I have the best sisters ever, despite all their flaws. I don't know what I would do without them. I love them so much and I am grateful to have them.

That's all for now. More later.

I'm engaged!!

So it's been a few weeks since I have updated my blog... but I wanted to announce my engagement! I am so excited! I couldn't be happier that my eternal companion is Andrew Weber :)