What Makes You an Adult?

We've had a great last few weeks and of course they were busy! Mom and Dad (Jeff's parents) came up to visit. It was so great spending time with them and for them to get to see Jackson growing! We always wish they could stay longer!

Then Ginia came up to visit! We were super excited because we haven't seen her since November and Jackson has grown so much since then. Unfortunately we were all sick during her trip! Poor Auntie Ginia got a glimpse of what it is like to have a sick, teething eighth month old! Not the prettiest site sometimes! We were glad she got to visit those and it was nice just relaxing and hanging out.

While she was here we got to stay up late talking, just sister to sister. We talked a lot about life and what we want to do with our lives and how weird it is that I'm about to graduate college and she graduated about five years ago! It's funny that even though we were raised by the same parents, in the same circumstances, etc., we have turned out very different with very different hopes and dreams. It was fun sharing those with each other.

Then, today in my class we were talking about emerging adults, ages 21-25. This category has changed a lot since the 1970's.  Before the mid 70's emerging adults weren't really labeled as "emerging" adults. They were more of just adults. It hasn't been until recently that we've had to brand this age group. Studies have shown that "emerging adults" are less responsible than people of that age from different generations. So what happened between the 70's or 80's and now? What did our Baby Boomer parents do to us (no offense mom and dad !) to where we are now not as competent adults?

A lot of it I believe comes from the fact that our Baby Boomer parents raised us with the idea of we can give our children so much and our children can do anything they want to and be anything they want to be. Now that is a great attitude, but at the same time, has it enabled all of us "emerging adults" to become too dependent on our parents? In today's world, young adults, ages 20-15, are typically not thought of as "real" adults. So what makes you really an adult? If you're married, if you have a house, if you have kids, if you can afford your children's college tuition? The list could go on and on. All I know is that I'm married, I have a kid, I own a house and yet I still do not feel like a real adult. When does that change? When Jackson starts school? When our kids are teenagers? When I don't look like I'm still 13?

Maybe after I graduate college? That is just around the corner! I'm about to start my last semester of classes! Yay! It has been such a long road, but I am grateful that I'll be getting my degree and even more grateful that someday I can be an example to Jackson that if you put your mind to it, you can do it!

On another note, this week we had to give away Riley.  I miss her a lot, but know that she is in a good home with people that care about her. She'll always be my little smiley Riley!

She loved Jackson so much!

Busy busy!

I've been meaning to write on here for a while, but have been so busy!

Jeff is still working his 3am-11am shift, which honestly right now sucks. Because I'm still in school, I'm having a hard time adjusting mine and Jackson's schedule to Jeff's. So we practically never see each other. We just miss each other a lot and hope that things will get better when I finish school.

I am almost done with school! In less than 15 weeks I'll be finished with all my college classes and being a licensed Kindermusik educator! I am so excited to start teaching and even more excited to be done with college! Only 15 weeks, I can handle that right?

So when Jeff's not sleeping and I'm not at school, we love playing with Jackson! He's growing so quickly and we bet he'll be walking soon. He loves pulling himself up on everything! He has his bottom two teeth and loves to eat! He's recently started sleeping for 9-10 straight hours, but doesn't really like taking naps during the day.  He absolutely loves the dogs and loves music. Overall, he is a really happy baby!

             Except here:

             

The story behind these two pictures: I always shower when Jackson is sleeping or when Jeff can watch him, however this day he refused to nap so I brought him in the bathroom with me and put him and his toys in the Pac'n'Play. He hated it! I look out of the shower and see him half way up the side of it! It's hard to tell, but in the picture on the left, he's trying to climb out!

Making funny faces at Dad.

Grammy came for a visit!

My happy, hungry boy!

My mom was able to come visit us this last week! I am so glad she got to see Jackson. He loved spending time with her and next time she comes up, I'm sure he'll be running around. While she was here, we got to go to the temple and start doing work for our family history.  It was an amazing experience and such a wonderful time spent with my mom. I am grateful for the Plan of Salvation and that our family has the opportunity to be together forever. 

I am especially grateful that families can be together forever after the events of this week. One of my freshman roommates lost her little sister this week. Heidi was a beautiful 17 year old girl getting ready to graduate high school. I know that she will be deeply missed by many. Although I only spent time with her a few times, you couldn't help but love her and feel happy around her.  The whole Greenwood family has that affect on you! Please pray for this sweet family to be comforted. I find great joy in knowing that they will someday see their angel again. 

Sometimes it is hard as a mom not to worry. You worry for your child's safety, their future, their health, and so many other things.  Having a child totally changes you life and your way of thinking. You would give up anything, including yourself, to save your child. Heidi is a testimony to me to cherish your children everyday. I will never know what the Lord has planned for Jackson and He may decide that He needs Jackson more than I do. So, I will cherish every moment I get to spend with my sweet baby boy.

On another note, we have been participating in a family health challenge. This started out as just a fun competition, but since has become something Jeff and I have really devoted ourselves to.  I want to take care of my body and health, not only for me, but for Jackson and future children. I want to be around for a long time and I want to be an example for them. Part of this challenge has been to eat only 8g or less of sugar per snacks and meals.  This is way harder than you might think! No yogurt, cereal, sandwiches, etc.  At first I really struggled with this. I would say I can't eat sugar, I'm trying to win this competition, but after talking with my cousin I realized it's not a matter of I can't, but rather I am choosing to avoid it. I really loved this take on it; thanks Michelle! Now sugar is not as big of an issue. I don't crave it and almost always find that after I do eat something with a lot of sugar I don't feel satisfied. Our 2 month challenge ends tomorrow morning and although I'm pretty sure I won't win, I am really proud of myself. I have started eating much healthier, exercising more, and drinking more water. And I know that even though the challenge is ending, our new eating habits won't! I am also proud of the weight I've lost. I gained 40 pounds while I was pregnant and although I lost most of it, 2 months ago I was still 18 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. 7 months postpartum, I am now 7 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight! And I never expected to get back down completely because I am still breastfeeding. 

The next few months will be busy for our little family, but I am proud of all that we have accomplished in the last year.

Learning and Growing

The past month has been a good one for our family.

Jeff and I have been married for almost three years and sometimes we still feel like newlyweds.  I know three years isn't super long, but I feel like there is still so much Jeff and I are learning about each other! I know that we will continue to learn things about each other through our whole marriage.  We were talking the other night and feel like we've been through a lot in our marriage, more than most couples should have to go through in their first three years, but it has helped us grow stronger together.

One thing I've worked on our whole marriage is trying not to take offense.  Jeff is a very straightforward kind of guy and I'm not.  In one of my classes we talked about taking offense and I just loved what my teacher said.  We are most likely to take offense when others mistreat us.  I'm not saying Jeff treats me wrong, I mean mistreat as in things like someone cuts you off.  So how do you react when someone mistreats you? Be still, like the Savior.  The Savior never returned the offense, He suffered it.  It is better to suffer than take offense.  

 The last month we have both been trying to focus on each other more.  Since Jackson was born, it's been hard to get time together with just the two of us and we've seen the effects of it on our relationship.  So we've decided to try and do a weekly date night.  Thank goodness we have so many wonderful friends that are so willing to watch Jackson!

We had a wonderful time on our date last week! We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner (one of my favorites!) and it wasn't crowded so we enjoyed a nice quiet dinner.  We also went on a bookstore date.  This turned out to be a lot of fun! We had a series of books that we had to find and then share with each other:

1. Cooking Book: Recipe we thought would be fun to try together
2. Movie: (Barnes and Noble has the movie and music section) Movie neither of us has seen that we'd want to watch together
3. Children's Book: A book from our childhood that we loved.  Jeff chose Curious George and I chose The Tale of Babar.  I was so surprised Jeff had never heard of Babar! It was funny to read through it now and think how ridiculous that book was! We also bought Jackson a book while in the kid's section: Baby Beluga.  I loved that song growing up and it's been a personal joke between Jeff and I since we started dating.
4. Vacation Book: We each chose a book of a place we'd love to travel to.  I chose Indonesia; someday  I would love for Jeff and I to serve a mission there! And Jeff chose Alaska, which has inspired us to try and take a trip to Alaska this fall!

We had so much fun and thank you Jessica and Tyler for watching Jackson! I think they must have drugged him or something! ;) This whole week he's started sleeping between 9-12 hours through the night! It has been wonderful!

Jackson has been growing so much! In the last month and a half he's:

• Recognized his own name
• Started crawling
• Started eating solid foods: he loves avocado!
• Started pulling himself up on things: most mornings when I get him out of the crib he's standing there waiting for me!
• Crawls after the puppies
• Pulling stuff off shelves: he loves ripping and playing with paper.  he found an old calendar and phone book that he's littered our floor with. 
• Loves being tickled
• Loves playing peek-a-boo
• Learning cause and effect: The other day he dropped his binky in the toy box and stood up to get it out! I was super impressed!

Getting ready to eat his first solid food: sweet potatoes!

 He now sleeps with his butt in the air! I love it!

We just love watching him grow and discover new things!

Bonds That Make Us Free

So, since I've changed majors to graduate I have to take a capstone class that kind of sums up my college experience; this class is temporal welfare for families.  So far, I love this class! It is taught by a cute little old man that you just want to be your grandpa! He has so many wonderful stories and I can tell I am going to learn a lot from him.  Our assigned "textbook" is a book called Bonds That Make Us Free by C. Terry Warner.  So far I've only read the first two chapters, but I already highly recommend it! I'd like to share my insight with you that I've gained from just the first two chapters because they have been so impactful for me already.  I hope this post doesn't seem overly personal...

I've recently told Jeff that I feel like I've changed and not in a way that I like.  Maybe it's the sleep deprivation that I started experiencing before Jackson even came into this world.  But I am much more easily agitated with people (especially if I don't know you) and it's been harder for me to assume the best of people lately.  For instance if someone cuts me off, I used to think 'Maybe they have some sort of emergency like their wife is in labor,' but now I just get upset... I haven't been too fond of this change in me. I never really expected myself to fundamentally change like that, but I know that I can change my heart again to see the good in others and overcome this.

"Any inner space, no matter how large, will be filled by any agitation, no matter how small." Lately, I feel like I have been "wronged" by people. Someone took my parking spot, the person sitting next to me in class doesn't have as much homework as I do tonight, I'm already running late and I get stuck behind someone driving slower than the speed limit, Jackson scratching my face over and over, etc. It feels like once one bad feeling happens, your whole days spirals and your mind becomes consumed with thoughts like these.  And then you feel "stuck" in these feelings. We "experience other people or circumstances as having more power over our own happiness than we do." I'm hoping I'm not the only person whose felt this way before. But this book talks about how "honest self-understanding liberates us from our stuck emotions."  So if I'm honest with myself I know that it's no one else's fault that I'm upset, except my own.

So to make things right, I am going to stop "betraying" myself.  This book refers to self-betrayal as "when we do to another what we sense we should not do or don't do what we sense we should."  When I have a thought come into my head that I should do something (hold the door open for the person behind me) for someone else (ie: a prompting from the Spirit), I am just going to follow it. Why is that so hard in the first place? Because I have become self-absorbed and then start justifying why it was okay that I didn't follow that prompting.  So, this week I am going to try to really follow the promptings of the Spirit and try to see the good in those around me.  Sorry for the long post. Have a good week!

What a week!

A week ago, I started back to school after a much needed six month break. This was the first break I have had that's lasted more than 2 weeks since Jeff and I got married over 2 and half years ago! Although, I don't know if I can consider having a baby much of a break! Last Monday was very bittersweet. I was excited to go back to school so I can finish up my degree and to get back into a routine, but it was so hard leaving my sweet baby boy! And to make it even worse, we are both still sick! :( Being back at school wasn't as weird as I thought it would be. I was afraid I would feel so old considering that I'm now technically a super senior and I have a baby, but I haven't felt too awkward.

Monday was also another important day.  Six years ago on Monday, I was baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I cannot believe it has been that long! And yet I feel like it has been so much longer. I still laugh when people say how new I still am! Deciding to get baptized is truly the best decision I could have made in life because it has helped me to be happier than ever. Had I not gotten baptized, I probably would not be married to the best man in the world and the absolute love of my life. And had I not married the man of my dreams, I would not have my little Bubba J. I would also not be attending BYU where I have made some of y closest friends.  Finding God, has made me such a happier person and has helped me understand my purpose in life: to be a wife and mother.  He has helped me through so many trials and has helped me understand the divine gift that women can partake of: motherhood.  Knowing that my greatest callings in life will be being a wife and mother has helped me make a HUGE decision this week.

Ever since I was little, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. When I first got to college I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. After quite a few semesters of school I discovered that I didn't want to teach elementary school; my heart was in secondary! I changed majors and decided to become a Family and Consumer Science teacher for middle school and high school. A lot of people don't know what FACS is. It includes, cooking, sewing, child development, family finance, family relationships, teen living, interior design, and fashion strategies.  I absolutely love learning all these things and have seen how beneficial they are to have in school. Students love these subjects! I am a firm believer in continuing to have these vocational type of classes in public schools, but I could write an entire post on that alone. Now, my huge decision this week... I have decided not to continue down this path of getting my teaching credentials.

As I met with my academic counselor to sign off my student teaching application, I was telling her my concerns about being in school all of this next year and then student teaching with a baby and with a husband who already has a stressful job.  She gave me the option of graduating in June with my Bachelor's in Home and Family Living.  So that is what I decided will be best for my family. I am sad that I will not be getting my teaching credentials right now, but am so happier knowing that I will be able to focus more of my time and energy into being the wife and mother that my family needs me to be.

I am grateful for the power of prayer and for a supportive husband. Jeff has been nothing but supportive of me since we have been married and continues to support me in this decision.

On another note, Jackson started eating solids this week! We started him on rice cereal which he loves! And because of this he has been sleeping like a champ! I am so proud of my little guy. Hopefully he feels better soon! We also got a new range! I was so excited because for the last five months we haven't had a working oven and only a partially working stove! I am so excited to be able to cook anything I want again. :) We made yummy sweet potato rolls and pizza to break in the oven. We also tried a new recipe making pesto alfredo sauce using avocados. It was delicious.  If anyone wants recipes let me know!

New Year

This is a little late, but Happy New Year! December went by quickly and we are excited to start 2013!

After Jeff's graduation we celebrated Christmas! I had planned to do a daily countdown activity to get ready for Christmas, but with a baby and a husband who works long shifts, that really didn't end up working. I had really been looking forward to it though and had some good ideas planned. Maybe next year.  Jeff and I enjoyed a nice quiet Christmas together this year and the best present was Jeff got the day off at the last minute! Since we've been married, Jeff has always had to work on Christmas, so this was a really nice surprise.  We didn't do a whole lot because I was super sick and Jackson was getting sick. I just got the flu, but poor baby ended up getting croup! We're both still trying to feel 100% better. We did get to go see a movie though! Jeff and I have always gone and seen a movie on Christmas together and this year we saw Les Mis, of course! We both really enjoyed the movie!

Then New Years came and we didn't do anything because Bubba and I were still sick. haha I barely was even awake till midnight. I feel like so far in our marriage, Jeff and I have encountered quite a few trials, more than most couples that have been married for less than three years, so it was fun looking back on this year and realizing how good we've had it! Some of our highlights were Jeff starting his new job at the Prison and graduating from the Academy, I took a much needed break from school, we got our first niece and found out we get another niece or nephew this year, we bought a truck, we bought a house and last but definitely not least we had a baby!

In front of our new Tacoma!

Day we got keys to our new home!

Just a few hours old!

Having Jackson here the last 5 months has been nothing but a blessing.  He has definitely helped us grow the last year and it has been so fun watching him grow! He is developing quickly and I bet he will be crawling soon! It's fun to see his personality develop and seeing how he is a mix of me and Jeff.  Some of his new and favorite things are
-screaming: he has learned that he has vocal chords! He screams when he's happy, sad, mad, hungry, tired, etc.
-dogs: he loves Sadie and Riley! He'll watch them play forever and if Sadie comes up to his face he always tries to lick her nose. Yuck!
-Mommy bites: I guess these are his form of kisses, but he loves to bite or suck on my face. He only does this to me...
-sitting: he is still trying to master this, but he sits so well on his own now!
-escape game: we have a bouncer that Jackson has loved from day one, but because he can sit so well now, he always tries to get out of it! And he does a pretty good job at it! And no joke, as I finished writing this he flipped it over... Thankfully I pretty much caught him. Guess we'll put the bouncer in storage till next baby.

I'm 5 months old!

Loves the puppies! (I think this picture is super funny! It looks like Jackson is consoling Riley)

                                                              Ready to start crawling soon!

And I finally finished putting together Jackson's room (almost! I still have a few pictures and things to hang up). I had been begging Jeff to set up the crib since I was 6 months pregnant, but he was logical and said why bother if we're just going to move.  So I am ecstatic that his room is finally put together (now that he's 5 months old!) even though there is no floor. Once we moved I kept waiting to put his room together because I wanted to put the carpet down first, but we don't know when we're going to get around to that so I went ahead and did his room! :)

That dresser is mine from when I was a baby!

Graduation

First of all, I just have to say that I love a man in uniform! Especially my man. :) This past Friday, Jeff graduated from the Academy and we are all so proud of him.  He also received an award for achieving the highest degree of firearms proficiency! He has been working his butt off for the last 4 months studying for academic tests, getting into better shape, learning defensive tactics and more, all while being an awesome husband and father.  It has been fun and a little scary sometimes hearing Jeff's stories from work. Some days it was a little unnerving when he'd come home with bruises all over his arms, smelling gross from getting "slimed", or my least favorite was when his eyes were swollen and face red from getting maced.  But he also got to have fun shooting guns and stuff, which hopefully made up for some of the not so fun, boring days.  The actual graduation ceremony was great! They had some great speakers and it made me feel better about the people Jeff will be working with, or as they refer to them, his correctional family.  

It was also awesome because both of our parents were able to come up for his graduation. We had a great weekend with them and wish they could have stayed longer. Jeff's mom made us this cute erase board where you can write "I love you because..." notes for each other.  On it, she wrote, "Jeff and Kelly, I love you because you two graduated!"  I thought this was funny at first because I didn't graduate. I still have another year before I graduate... But this morning as I was thinking about it, in a way I feel like I did graduate; I graduated to a whole new level of being a wife.  Before the graduation, all of the officers' spouses were required to take a class about how life will now be different. It was really eye opening to see how things will probably change in Jeff's psyche and how it'll affect his outlook on life and even our marriage.   After this class I felt that I needed to step it up as a wife! I hope that as Jeff continues in this line of work, we can both find the balance we need to support each other.  I love Jeff so much and am so proud of what he has accomplished and I know Jackson is too. :)