Jersey Girls

We made it!! I am so sorry it has taken me so long to post, but we just got Internet and once you see our living conditions, you will understand the chaos. So far, our new home state is beautiful. I can see why they named it the "Garden State".. it is so lush and green with tons of ponds, streams and lakes. We are living with one car, and on the days I take Jarrett to work, I get to go over a really cute bridge on my way to Princeton.

Gorgeous right?!? Makes the trade from the ocean a little less painful.

Here are a few things we noticed about NJ:
1. East coasters go to the "shore" not the beach
2. You pay for a "Beach Badge" (a fee per person to go to the shore for the day from Memorial Day to Labor Day). Take advantage of all those free Cali beaches!!
3. On the Border is considered "good" Mexican food... yuck!
4. People don't refer to the freeways as "THE one-o-one" or "THE five". It is simply Route 33 or Highway 1.
5. The pools close after Labor Day.
6. Driving on Highway 1, there are no left turns or U turns. They have turn-out things called "Jug Handles" where you veer right, and wait at a light. It involves a lot of back-tracking.
7. Fun accent... they pronounce Jarrett's name like this: Jaaarrrr- rett. He was excited no one called him Jared. Hoping our girls don't pick up on it... too bad at least.
8. Bugs... there are a ton of mosquitoes, and all the other bugs just look bigger. Guess that is what comes with gorgeous plant life.
9. Nice... Most everyone we have come in contact with have been really nice, not what you expect with Philly and NYC so close.
10. Everyone smokes cigarettes.

There are a TON of things to do, and we are looking forward to checking out some of the fun festivals coming up: Italian Heritage, Cranberry, Apple and multiple Harvest and pumpkin festivals! Last weekend we went exploring and went to Lambertsville, 30 minutes west near the PA border.

Jersey Girls by location, California Girls at heart :) Nerd Alert: That's the Delaware River behind us, near where George Washington crossed during the Revolutionary War!!

We visited New Hope, where they had an adorable train that gives rides. We are totally coming back at Christmas for the Polar Express story time!

We are beginning the process of finding a home church, and my bible study starts up on Sept. 12th, which will help in making friends. We are super excited to be in the crazy, stressful process of buying a home, and can't wait to post pictures! Hopefully it will close around mid-October, and we will get to move in, out of our itty bitty townhouse.

Lulu in front of our rental. It's an end unit and has lots of light (when not blocked by boxes).

I have refused to put up an decorations. They did leave some cute cornice boxes, though.

Welcome to our storage closet... no wait, our dining room. LOL

I was thrilled withe the kitchen... granite and a DISHWASHER!! Whoo Hoo!

Master bedroom and Lulu's room. If anyone needs to cook up some pretend food at midnight, there is a play kitchen available.

Lulu's bed is surrounded by boxes.

Yep. Madison's crib is in the other room (yep only 2 rooms) and she is quite cozy.

We are really grateful for our rental, because our realtor helped us find a great deal and they are allowing us to rent month-to-month, which is really hard (and expensive) to find around here. Here is a sneak peak of our new place, which makes the waiting SO worth it...

11 Royal Oak, Lawrence NJ.... Our new home!!!

Jarrett has taken some really amazing pictures of Princeton, and I promised him I would do a posting. I was so jealous when he texted me one day that he was in Einstein's laboratory, and he ate lunch in Woodrow Wilson's house. The chapel is breath-taking, and there is a kids story time every Friday at the library on campus. We are officially Princetonians!

6 Months

Madison Grace, 6 Months

"Hey Mama! I didn't see you were there!"

Splish Splash... little ladies in the bath!

mmmmm... Peas!

Sweet Happy Girl

 

Wow!! Six months already?!? Our sweet baby girl has been growing, eating and her personality has been exploding! Here are her stats:

Weight: 14 lbs, 10 oz

Height: 25.5 inches

 

*Eating... We have begun giving Madison solids, introducing them in a veggie-fruit-veggie order. The first food we tried was green peas, and she loved them! Next we gave her pears, and she liked them pretty well with her oatmeal. Last week we did carrots, and she seemed to get a bit of a diaper rash (although heat cannot be ruled out since we were in Bakersfield). This week I introduced butternut squash (breaking with the fruit pattern..lol) and she seems to enjoy it, and no rashes yet ;)

*Sleeping... She sleeps in her crib in our room, but sleeping arrangements are pretty crazy right now because of our "cozy" townhouse... more on that later. Maddie got into the habit of sleeping with me while we were in transition, and loved the easy access to the milk buffet. Now that we are settled (sort of) I can forsee problems when we are nighttime weaning, because we are all in the same room and crying it out isn't going to be a great option. She has been taking 2 hour naps in the morning and the afternoon, and going to sleep around 7pm.

*Busy Bee... Madison enjoys watching everything around her, exploring things by grabbing or reaching and putting things into her mouth. She is very curious and coordinated, and will pass objects back and forth in her hands. Maddie gets frustrated by her lack of mobility, and wants to be entertained pretty much the entire time she is awake... I think sissy provides lots of that.

*Sitting... Maddie is offically an independent sitter, and is very proud! She loves to grab her feet, and pushes up while on her tummy. She rolls from tummy-to-back and tries so hard to scoot.

*Personality... Our youngest likes to make you work hard for a smile, and will critically look at you before making a judgement on whether or not she will be a fan. She hasn't reached the "stranger" phase yet, and likes to be tickled, bounced and silly faces. However, she does know Mama, and watches closely wherever she goes. She loves water and bathtime!

*Dada's Girl... Since reuniting with Jarrett, Maddie's been looking at him and saying, "DaDaDaDa". I think she tries to say "NaNaNaNa" for Mama... *wishful thinking*. Both of our girls love their Daddy!

*Appearence... Her light brown hair has been growing in, and is feathery. She has dark green eyes, and more of an olive skin tone, and we noticed a few dimples! Our baby girl has been fussy and drooling, and we think teeth are on the horizon, although none have surfaced.

Happy Half-Year Birthday to my Sweet Girl!! Love you Madison Grace!

Loaded Up....

 Last Wednesday evening we said goodbye to Malibu... here is our moving truck loaded down with all our earthly possessions and Jarrett's car. It was a huge relief to see it on the truck, moving towards our new future!

 Daddy and our little Malibu Girl... we sure are going to miss that view! I tried to get a family picture before we left, but just couldn't find the time.

This is what happened while I was packing boxes... she got a little artistic with the markers. Thank goodness it was washable :)
The girls and I have been homeless for the past seven days, living temporarily in Bakersfield with my family and getting stocked up on all the hugs and kisses the grandparents can squeeze in. We are going to miss you so much! We are looking forward to being reunited with Daddy on Saturday in our new home state!!

NC & 4th of July 2012

I am so behind blogging, so here are the photos from our fabulous trip to North Carolina and Kure Beach!! I am so mad because I didn't take very many pictures :( With all the moving hubbub (we got the job offer the night before we flew out, then flew from NC to NJ to house hunt) and working with the realtor to set up our visit to NJ the following week, we missed out on all the 'relaxation' part of the vacation. Plus, with a baby on my hip and sunscreen all over my hands, it was a challenge!

We got to be a part of our precious niece Amelia's baptism!

 After the baptism on Sunday we went over to our brother-in-law Peter's parents home for a lovely brunch. They made the most yummy breakfast casserole that I am dying to make here at home with bacon, eggs and cheese. Later that day we packed up the ginormous van that we rented to hold all of us... a total of six adults and five little people, plus luggage, strollers and other beach gear. Jarrett joked that we probably looked like a cult or something crazy like that piling in and out of that van...LOL. Thank goodness Carol (my mother-in-law) has a special license to drive one! It thundered, rained and lightening the entire four hour drive to Kure Beach, NC.

The view from our beach house deck... pretty sweet right?

 Now, the beach house we rented did have a great location and deck, but the inside was not great. It was pretty old, but it had four bedrooms and two baths which came in pretty handy with our crowd. It was able to accommodate five kids and it's share of sand, sunscreen, spilled red wine, drool and other gross stuff. Maybe it was ok that it wasn't that nice...lol. Here are a few (very few...sorry!) pics of our fun from that week:

After the kids went to bed, we got to enjoy Margaritas... courtesy of our in-house bartender, Uncle Peter!!

There were some catnaps...

It was Grandma heaven for Nonna, who got to have all her grand babies under one roof for a week. I think we wore her out!

Saluting on the fourth (not sure why, but it was unprompted...lol)

Happy Fourth of July!!

Madison Grace's 1st Fourth of July
5 months old

 Since the beach was literally in our backyard, we got to enjoy hours in the sand and surf. The Atlantic ocean is much warmer than the Pacific, and Jarrett and his sisters took a swim while me and Nonna chaperoned the kiddos. It was SO hot and SO humid... it was the week of the record breaking temperatures across the US. So glad we had air conditioning in our beach pad.

Maddie and Nonna watching the waves

Auntie Sarah and our sweet niece Amelia taking a snooze

Beach babes...LOL

Ameila's 1st Fourth of July
6 months

The "Big" kids... Nate (3yrs), Lindsay (2.5 yrs) and Katarina (2.5 yrs)

 The cousins had so much fun playing together...Lulu is still talking about her cousins and wanting them to come over and play. They got along pretty well, and only had a couple meltdowns, usually around bedtime or nap time :) We went on a few excursion, checking out nearby Wilmington, where we were thrilled to see where they taped Dawson's Creek (yep we are that nerdy), and Nonna took the kiddos to the aquarium. There was also a before bed walk into town for ice cream cones, and watching fireworks from our deck over the pier. We all took turns cooking one night and not surprisingly chose to eat Mexican food, including famous Reid Tacos. It was a fun-filled week filled with great conversations, games (J won Yahtzee), good eating and a pirate landlord. Cmon, let's make this an annual event. Love u guys!

Sweet Cousins

Eating smores on the 4th..So very American :)

Happy Birthday America!!

Five Months

Sweet Miss is FIVE months!!

A wobbly sitting-up pose...

Look Ma! Found my tooties!!

Tummy time!! (Still not a big fan)

Playtime with Daddy and Sister

Daddy's Baby Girl

Madison turned five months and her little personality has just exploded! She is just the sweetest little love, and enjoys falling asleep in people's arms, snuggling and watching her big sister.  Maddie has been busy this month... she's traveled to two states, discovered her feet, tried cereal and been sleeping 4 or 5 hour stretches!

Daddy fed me my first bite of cereal mixed with breast milk...

Going for the spoon...

Hmmm... not quite sure about it.

Stats:
Weight.... 15 lbs
Length.... Not sure, but is in 6 month clothes, and getting close to wearing 9 month footie jammies.

What she's been up to:
*Eating... Big Girl has been eating cereal in the mornings the past week! While we were in NC and NJ, she was grabbing for our food and imitating chewing, so when we got home we knew she would be ready to give solids a shot. We started her off with two tbsp of cereal mixed with breast milk. At first she was a little unsure, but by the end of the bowl, was loving it! She has been still exclusively breastfeeding, and when she is 6 months we will introduce her to veggies and fruits.
*Sleeping... With two weeks of traveling and co-sleeping, I was worried about her having problems going back to her crib. As soon as we got home, she was so glad to be in her own bed, she only woke up once! Well that ended pretty quickly, and on a good night, she goes to bed at 7pm, then I feed her before I go to sleep at 10pm. She will wake up around 3am, and go back to sleep until 6:30am. Since we have been home, she has been taking a 1.5-2 hr nap in the morning and afternoon, with a 45 minute cat-nap around 4ish.
*Vocal... Boy, this girl loves to talk. She just goes on and on, and just adores the sound of her own voice. She's been cooing and smiling, and listens very carefully when you talk to her.
*Hair & Eyes... Her eyes are still green-blue, and her hair has lightened up to a honey brown. It sticks straight up like her Daddy and Sister's hair at this age.
*Sittin' Pretty... Maddie can sit for a few seconds unassisted, and has been scooting everywhere on her back. The other day I was cooking dinner and noticed she moved off her exercise mat, across the room on our hard carpet.. pretty sure she had rug burns on her little head..LOL.
*Hand/Eye Coordination... We noticed her coordination has gotten better this week- she has been grabbing and pulling things to her mouth, and studying her hands for a while. We noticed that she favors her left hand, and has grabbed my hoop earring and a french fry (got it before she put it in her mouth)! Sometimes we will catch her chewing on her thumb. Perhaps she is pre-teething? I am sure a tooth will come in the week we are packing....lol.
*Favorites... Right now Madison loves bath time (and sucking on the wash rag), snuggling, when Daddy tickles her and watching her sister play. Lindsay can always distract her when she is upset, and will lay on the play mat and talk to her... I think it's the beginning of a sweet relationship. The other day Lulu got so upset before we went somewhere because she thought I was going to leave Madison all by herself. She said, "Mama, don't forget about Maddie. She goes too!!" Love them.

Eating breakfast with Sissy and Daddy

She was really into Sissy giving her a bite.. she opened  wide!!

Sweet reward... got to play with the spoon after eating her cereal

Love that sweet face!!

Farewell Malibu, Hello Princeton!!

We are thrilled to finally announce that Jarrett has accepted the position of Assistant Dean of Students at Princeton University!! It has been a whirlwind few weeks, and with being on vacation, house hunting and packing, all before Jarrett's start date of August 13, we are excited, tired, and a little scared all at the same time. God has been so good to our family, and through this entire process, it has been so clear how He has opened (and closed) doors in this great adventure.

We visited Princeton last year while we were in Philadelphia... little did we know :)

Learning to walk... and will be running in the courtyard next month!

Our experiences at Pepperdine have been wonderful, and it is really hard to leave our sweet friends, cozy apartment and who can forget that ocean view.  Some might think that we're crazy, but when this opportunity presented itself, we knew that it was meant to be. Jarrett was really never on an all out "job search," but we agreed that if a job had the right title at a great school, he would apply. I would check the online job boards, and would occasionally email an opening to him.  He was pretty selective about the jobs he chose to apply for, and last year he applied for one job at UNC Chapel Hill. He was offered the position, but at the last minute decided that it wasn't the right decision to move his newly pregnant wife and little girl across the country. This was news to me, because I totally thought it was the perfect job --- it was really hard for me to let it go (those who know me also know I am pretty stubborn!). We had to trust that God put the interpretation and fear into Jarrett's heart for a reason, and I had to trust (and submit willingly) that as the head of our house, Jarrett knew what was best for our family.

Then, earlier this summer, there were three dream jobs that came available at great universities. For two of the three jobs, Jarrett had an "in" where he actually knew people in the department, or his reference knew the hiring manager.  We were so excited when he got phone interviews with both in the same week! We thought, "Oh my gosh... this is what we we've been waiting for!" And then, we waited... and waited.... until the next week, as one right after the other he received the dreaded "No Thank You" email. It was hard to hear "No", especially when we thought it was a sure thing.  One of my favorite Jeremy Camp songs kept replaying in my head, "I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see." And not surprisingly, God has such an amazing way of comforting us.... the day after he found out he didn't get the jobs, Pepperdine offered J a promotion. We thought, "Praise God!" We were still disappointed about the other jobs, but had a sense of hope and peace knowing that God was with us.

We had all but forgotten about Princeton, especially since Jarrett didn't even know anyone there, and he thought if the other lower ranked universities didn't want him, then a # 1 ranked, Ivy League university surely wouldn't. You know the quote, "Want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans." Little did we know there was a completely different plan for us.

We had settled ourselves into enjoying another year at Pepperdine, and I signed Lindsay up for gymnastics and our Bible study. Jarrett got an email the following Tuesday evening, and to our surprise, it was from Princeton; and though it was pretty short, they wanted to set up a phone call for a "short chat at your earliest convenience." Well the next day, after an hour and a half phone call, he was scheduled for a face-to-face on Tuesday! Jarrett said he was nervous until the day of the interview, then a peace came over him. After a marathon day of interviewing at none other than Woody Woo's (what Princetonian's call Woodrow Wilson's campus home while serving as University President), Jarrett received a phone call on Friday night that would forever change our lives. On the other end of the line, the dean said "Welcome to Princeton!"

Since that email came in, we have been just blown away at God's perfect timing, and provision. As Christians we do not believe in coincidences, but in His ideal plan. Jarrett and I are so humbled, and completely grateful for all the blessings in our life. It is crystal clear to us, and I hope to you, that God uses our lives for His glory.... HE is the heart of our marriage, children, and careers. I wanted to share our story with you because it is a testimony for how BIG God is --- He opened doors and created a path that we couldn't have even dared to dream. First with Pepperdine, then with Princeton.  As we make this huge move across the country, away from family and the familiar, my heart is sad, yet excited too. My sense of purpose and walk with Jesus has grown here at Pepperdine, and more than anything, I know He has been preparing me to be the wife and mother that can make the transition possible to "Tigertown!"