Monday, September 30, 2013

Wake Forest Graduation!

Amid a perfect fall evening in Charlotte, we celebrated Mat's graduation from Wake Forest's MBA program.  Two years of hard work and dedication were commemorated with a ceremony at the Mint Museum uptown.  

Walking the stage to accept his diploma and receiving a distinguished academic achievement award were highlights of the celebration. 


Speakers commended the graduating class for being an accomplished group of working professionals. It was truly remarkable to hear the life events collected by Mat and his classmates.  11 babies were born during the program, marathons run, loved ones deployed to Iraq, new jobs etc.  How different our lives looked 2 years ago when Mat embarked on this journey!
To my dear husband, our dreams are your dreams. The theme of your key note speaker perfectly reflected my sentiments on the celebration of such a milestone accomplishment in your life. I watched you dedicate yourself tirelessly to your MBA program and couldn’t be more in awe of your ability to juggle work, school, travel and a new baby.  
 
Education is a launchpad for meeting goals and reaching for your dreams and we hope that this program will allow you to do both.  

Monday, September 23, 2013

Family Photos

Leah Renee photographed our family while up in Northern Michigan and we couldn't be more thrilled with the images she captured.




Our Little Fishy

Our little fishy started swim lessons at the local pool this past weekend.  We had a blast in the water learning new skills and playing games with the other little fishes. 

Friday, September 6, 2013

Pure Michigan 2013

Click here to see more of our adventures in Northern Michigan 2013

Water Baby

This summer, it has become evident that we have a water lovin' baby.  On his first trip to Northern Michigan, James Robert took to a host of water activities:

toe dippin'


raft floatin'

sailin'


and joy ridin'

M22

James Robert took his inaugural trip to Norther Michigan this summer to visit the Leanderson clan.  It was the first time he met some of his Aunts, Uncles and cousins and it was a joy to see him join the generations family who treasure this special part of the country. 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Six Months

Weight: 20 lbs (putting him in the 90th percentile for weight...26.25" which is only the 31% for height!)

Health: Happy and healthy!

Sleep: Overnight sleeping continues to be consistent (yay!), however, this month was a transitional one for napping.  James Robert started taking 2 longer naps rather than 3-4 cat naps throughout the day.  This has been a game changer in terms of his happiness and energy levels during the day.  The boy loves a good nap!

Social:  This month, James Robert met many of this Leanderson family Aunts, Uncles and cousins for the first time which was very exciting!

Diet:  In addition to eating cereal once daily, we sampled a bit of banana and some avocado this month.  Both were met with hesitation on the first go around.

Clothes: Our boy grows out of clothes faster than I can buy them, it seems! We've gotten great mileage out of Baby Gap's 6-12 month onsies as they seem to fit the best as do their comfortable pants and shorts.  As for his john-johns, he is in 9 or 12 month sizes.

Baby Gear:  Some of our favorites from this month were:
1) This sunhat has been a summer must-have
2) While traveling we used the ocean white noise feature on this app and like it so much we now use it at home too
3) This raft is great for covering baby with shade while letting them enjoy the water
4) Baby gap has the most comfortable and best fitting active pants for our chunky monkey
5) Ditto on baby gap onsies
6) These chew beads are pretty enough that I get compliments on my necklace while they are also perfect for James Robert to play with to his hearts content
7) Dapple's surface cleaner smells wonderful and is perfectly natural
8) James Robert LOVES tags-- taggies mirror is a hit

Crying: I think James Robert saved up all of his crying this month for his first plane ride.  He cried almost the entire 1 hour and 15 minutes from Charlotte to Detroit.  But he still mostly greets new situations with a smile rather than tears.

Likes: Water time, singing the "Wheels on the Bus" song (over and over and over), blowing bubbles and making funning noises, playing the piano with Momma, facing out in the baby carrier and sleeping on his belly.

Milestones:  This month James Robert really mastered sitting up and started rolling over, both back and forth, and splashing purposefully in the pool.  He went on his first big trip and has many fun "firsts" in Northern Michigan.