5 Months and Traveling the Globe

Finally, a 5 month baby post.  I am a bit behind so there will be a 6 month post coming soon from our trip to the US!  This has been a big month for Grace!  From sucking her toes to plane trips to meeting her family, we have captured a lot of memories on the camera.  Here is an overview of Grace's 5th month of life...

Grace still enjoys swimming.  She went under water this month and came up smiling- it was so cute! 

Month 5 has been a big month for travel.  Grace is racking up the air miles!

At the airport waiting for our flight to the South Island.  I don't know where we would be without our Ergobaby carrier- thanks mom!

First plane ride to Christchurch for some Navigator planning meetings- practice run for our big overseas trip.  

She flew like a champ!

Grace had her first trip to a NZ beach this month.  She didn't know what to think of the water, but there weren't any tears!

Grace is getting so close to rolling, which she hasn't really done since her first 2 months.  I'm excited for her to roll, though I know once she gets it down my job will become a lot more difficult!

Enjoying a little reading...

We spent the month of December in the US so Grace could meet her family.  We had a wonderful time!  I have A LOT of pictures to sort through from that trip, but I hope to get a post up soon.  Thanks for following our family as our little baby girl grows!

Grace in her bassinet on the plane as we attempt to keep her routine going.  She slept the whole 12 hour flight to the US, waking up just in time for landing!  She is starting out as a good little flyer- hope it lasts!

4 Months and Growing so Fast!

JUST 2 WEEKS OLD IN PICTURE ABOVE!

Grace is 4 months old and each month seems to fly by-  she has grown so much!  Below is a glimpse of the last month with our sweet baby!

We had a free photo session with a photographer this month.  We didn't really like how the pictures turned out, but we took a few of our own below.  Hoping to get some good professional pictures soon!

We even coordinated our outfits for the photo shoot- too bad we didn't like how they turned out!

My loves

I really like the following picture because it captures so much of Grace's bedtime routine.  We hang up her little fish mobile as she sucks on her hands and kicks her legs and we read her a story from "The Jesus Storybook Bible" (our favorite kids Bible by far).  Grace loves her routine and knows what to expect, and she goes to sleep really well at night.  Usually she falls asleep around 7 (give or take 30 minutes.  Andy gives her a bottle around 10pm (aka dream feed- basically she is still asleep while she takes this bottle), and she sleeps the rest of the night! I don't have to feed her again until 7am the next morning!  I think that she has become a really good sleeper. Since 2 months we have had several nights where she slept the whole way through, but it wasn't a regular thing.  She would often wake up around 3 or 4am and wouldn't be able to settle herself so I would have to get up and give her the pacifier, which sometimes would lead to me having to put it back in her mouth every hour or so- not fun!  We have worked hard to break this habit, and now at 4 months she is consistently able to settle herself back to sleep when she wakes up, and she is regularly sleeping through the night!  We still have her in our room but we plan to move her to her room this weekend- I'm really sad to see her go but I'm ready to not wake up when she stirs!  I think it is also time to move her out of her bassinet, though she does still fit because she is pretty petite!

Bedtime routine

Abby Wachter and Grace.  We love having the Wachter family here in NZ, and I am really thankful to have someone from back home alongside us as our little baby grows.  And the Wachter kids love Grace and Grace loves them!

Students in Navs have also had fun watching Grace grow, and have even done a little bit of babysitting for us.  We really want to do ministry in a way that people can know and be a part of our whole family!

Below is a picture of Grace on Halloween.  Everyone said it was very American of me to dress up my baby, but I couldn't resist.  And I'll be honest, I purely did it for my own enjoyment!  I decided about 2 hours before students were coming over that I really wanted some pictures of her in a costume on her first Halloween, and somehow I pulled this together.  I'll do a post soon featuring more of her in her costume and how I did it, but here is a taste until then!

Grace the Owl 

I adore this face- it is so her!

Another cool thing we got to do this month was take Grace to her first infant swimming lesson- for free! She really seemed to enjoy the water (though at times she was way more interested in getting her hands in her mouth- her new favorite hobby).  She didn't cry a bit and she even handled her face going in the water really well.  Maybe we will have a water baby, which would be great living in a place surrounded by the ocean!  After lessons she was in a daze and slept for about 2 1/2 hours!

Love that Andy captured her  little smile in this one!

Grace loves her Daddy so much, and he is so good with her!  I am so thankful for him!

 My friend Mindi made me some adorable dresses for Grace, including a few Aggie ones!  Gotta start influencing them while their young  ;)

That's a glimpse of 4 months!  It would be so awesome if all the family and friends that I love so much back in the States could be a part of our baby's daily life, but I'm thankful for all the ways to stay connected like this blog.  Thanks for following and getting to know our sweet little girl!    

She is 3 Months Already! (Warning: Lots of Pictures from this First Time Mommy)

So much time has passed and there is just too much to say!  Our life was changed forever on July 2nd at 9:31pm.  Grace Adeline Iversen entered the world at 7 lbs 1 oz and 19.7 in long and has brought us pure joy ever since!  Sure there have been some hard days- I had some major baby blues following an unplanned C-Section.  I feared the sleepless nights would never come to an end.  I've missed family and friends in the US and have longed for them to know and to cuddle our sweet baby.  And the list of challenges goes on, yet my life is truly more wonderful because of my little baby girl.  Andy told me that the first words that came out of my mouth when I first saw her were "she's so awesome!" and I am writing this post to introduce you to my awesome baby Grace!  I hope to follow this post with more frequent baby posts so family and friends can watch our little one grow, but for now here is a little picture summary of the past three months!

First moments together as a family.  Though her birth did not go as I had hoped, I am so blessed that the surgery went  well and I am so thankful for my amazing husband who was by my side the whole way through.

Grace's sweet little foot!  It is amazing how much she has grown!

I was so in love with her from the moment I first saw her!

First week home and we couldn't stop loving and kissing on her.  This is still the case 3 months later!

From the start Grace has made the most awesome faces!  She is so happy and so expressive!

It was a huge treat to have Mimi (Andy's mom) come visit us in Auckland when Grace was 4 weeks old!

Our hearts broke when Grace started making this face.  We also can't help chuckle at it as well because it is so cute!

Since day 3 Grace has loved baths!

We started using cloth diapers (nappies in NZ) around week 6 and we have loved them!

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All Blacks fans- because you have to follow Rugby in NZ!

More kisses, and more and more personality from Grace!

Love her!

Proud of how our beautiful girl is growing!

Me and my girl

Love her smiles!

That's all for now- more coming soon!

Baby Gender Reveal!

The news is out... we are having a baby GIRL!!!  Remember a few posts back when we had an ultrasound and hoped to find out the gender of the baby?  At the time our little one was being shy with her legs crossed, Well, a few weeks ago we had another opportunity because my midwife thought the baby was in a breech position so she scheduled another ultrasound.  We were able to find out first of all that the baby was in the correct position (I don't know if she flipped or if she was just so cramped in my short torso that it was hard to tell what position she was in) and secondly that she is a she!  I thankful that we had this second opportunity to find out the gender!

We are so excited, and to be honest we had a feeling that it was a girl all along!  Our prayers have changed a bit now that we know we are praying for our little girl.    It has also been a joy to talk to and about her, and to do a bit of girly shopping!  So no surprises here!  However, we will continue to keep the name a surprise...

Can't wait to meet her and introduce her to the world!

28 Weeks and Feeling Blessed!

Wow, 28 Weeks.  We are getting really close to the special day that we get to meet our little one!  Things feel a bit different for me since I entered the 3rd trimester.  I still feel pretty good most days and am not too uncomfortable (I was able to go on a 4 mile hike through the lovely Karangahake Gorge with new friends).  Also I am still sleeping great!  However, I have noticed a need for a nap more often as well as a bit more discomfort as I try to maneuver my body around.  I have also had a few days of mild back pain- not fun!  But overall I don't have much to complain about!

It is so fun to watch our baby move around in my belly!  We can literally see my belly jump when baby kicks, and we can feel hiccups and the baby rolling around here and there.  I have also had more of what I assume to be Braxton Hicks, especially after I have had a long walk.  I recently learned that these are really good as they are strengthening and toning my body for labor!  It is a blessing to be able to feel our baby move and to feel my body changing as it prepares for him or her to be born!

When we first moved to New Zealand a little over 3 months ago, our Navigator city supervisor sent out an email to the community of people that he knows asking if any one had extra "stuff" they didn't need to help us set up our new home. One woman in particular was really interested in helping us with baby items.  This woman has a child-care business, loves babies, and has the resources and know how to bless a young couple like us! 

Just a few weeks ago this woman took me shopping (I won't mention her name because she wouldn't want me to), and what a shopping trip it was!  I was humbled and so blessed by her as she proceeded to pick out lovely things for our new baby- it was like she was throwing me her own little baby shower!  I stood in the store jaw dropped as she insisted on buying different items she felt our new baby would need, one of these items being an electronic swing which Andy and I were really wanting! After this amazing and generous shopping trip, I thanked her a lot though I felt I didn't have the appropriate words to express my gratitude.  She told me that she felt God told her "this is your girl" and put me on her heart to bless as we prepare for a new baby without family nearby in this new culture.  I never could have imagined that God would provide for us so many wonderful things in this way through a woman who barely knows us.  To Him be the glory through this special provision!  

Below are a few more pics!

Andy and I hiking (aka tramping) in the Karangahake Gorge.  

Tramping through one of the many tunnels.

New Zealand's famous Silver Fern which looks silver on the bottom side of it.

Beautiful bassinet that my generous friend gave us! 

Adorable New Zealand merino sleep sacks from my unexpected shopping trip- I love these and can't wait to see our little baby in them!