Dad the Grad!

One of the reasons I was so eager for Luke to go ahead and make his appearance was so that I could see this handsome guy walk across a stage in a fancy cap and gown.  And I'm pleased to announce that I made it!  Just 3 days after Luke was born, Ben graduated from the MBA program.

This is what our family looked like about three weeks before Ben's orientation in August 2011.  Look how little those kids are!

And here we all are on the big day.  The kids and I and Mema and Papa watched the ceremony from the stands.  I'm still amazed that we made it through the 2.5 hour ceremony without any major issues.  The hardest thing for Jack seemed to be that he wanted to see his Daddy and was frustrated that Daddy was there but he couldn't be with him.

All of the graduate school grads sat on the floor of the Marriott Center, with the undergrads in the stands.  The MBAs all have a gold sash, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the MBA program at BYU.  Pretty cool that Ben was in the 50th graduating class, huh?

Coming across the stage and shaking hands with faculty:

The moment we've been waiting for.  We are officially DONE!

We met up outside, and Ben was appropriately greeted by doting kids, wife, and parents.

Jack photo bombed all of the family pictures.  Little stinker.

My favorite picture of the day:

Jack and Eliza were so excited to be reunited with their Dad that they wouldn't let go of him as we walked to the car.

They both wanted to hold his hand, but Eliza settled for holding on to the long sleeve extension on Ben's gown instead.

We walked back to our cars together and Ben and I put Luke's car seat into Ben's car and Mema and Papa took the big kids home.  Ben and I walked across campus to a reception for the MBA grads at the Tanner Building, turning in the cap and gown on the way.  It was nice to spend a little more time with friends, peers, and faculty before we all go our separate ways.

When we came home, Ben and his Dad grilled some delicious steak and Cleo made mashed potatoes and vegetables.  We stuffed ourselves with an awesome dinner, then we had pound cake with berries and whipped cream for dessert and Ben's parents and I gave him our presents.  Mine was a collection of pictures from our time at BYU plus sentiments from a variety of people - the kids and I, immediate family members, a few close friends, and the teacher who has become a wonderful mentor for Ben.  I had a good time putting it together and can't wait to have it professionally printed one day, hopefully soon.

Luke was a trooper throughout the graduation festivities.  He was content in the sling all afternoon, which was good, because I had no intention of taking such a little baby out and risking close encounters with other people's germs.  I did feel bad about not introducing him to our friends at the reception, but the only way I felt comfortable attending the graduation at all was if I kept him relatively isolated.  I felt surprisingly good all day, but I fully expected to be extra sore and tired the next day.  I was very blessed to only have a bit of soreness the following day, though.  I'm so glad we all decided to attend.  The anticipation made me a bit nervous, but everything worked out just fine.

I'm so proud of Ben for accomplishing this goal.  Attaining a graduate degree is something he's been wanting to do since we were first married, though we didn't know at the time that it would take the form of an MBA.  Ben worked hard at learning in his classes and gaining insight from mentors and extracurricular activities.  He got as much out of this experience as he could and tried to really prepare himself to take on the business roles he would like to have in the future.  I'm sure it will pay off soon!

There were definitely some challenges that came along with completing this program, but overall, we've mostly just felt blessed for the experiences we've had, the people we've met, and the things we've learned.  I feel like I've earned a Masters in Life Experience in the last 2 years and it's been interesting to see the form that education has taken.  I'm sure we'll better understand the experiences we've had here once we begin our next adventure.  In the meantime, I'm thankful for all that we've done and learned and all of the people who have had an impact on our lives during the MBA program.  It's kind of hard to believe that it's over.

Home with Luke

Sorry it's taken me a few days, but I'm finally ready to let you know this little guy's name.

He is officially Luke, a name I've had on my mind for several weeks, but which we were

able to finally settle on in the hospital when we saw that it means "light" or "bearer of light."

He seems to be a pretty calm baby and Ben in particular wanted to try to find a name to

reflect that.  Luke seems to work, then, don't you think?

Here's Luke all ready to go home from the hospital.  There are two more interesting facts about this picture, though.  First of all, all of our older children came home from the hospital in the same yellow pajama outfit.  I didn't move any baby stuff with me from Georgia, and I was sad to not have that outfit anymore.  (What was I thinking??)  I found another yellow outfit to bring Luke home in, but it was too small!  So we squeezed him into it for the trip home, but he will never wear it again, haha.

The other interesting fact is that we were able to get 90% of the baby things we needed for this guy for free from the MBA Spouse Association clothing & goods exchange or from friends who were getting rid of things.  The biggest missing piece of equipment was a car seat.  A few weeks before my due date, we still didn't have a car seat and we thought we would use Eliza's convertible seat as our infant seat and get her a toddler/booster convertible seat.  But then this infant carrier showed up on our doorstep.  Literally.  Brand new, in the box, no note or tag or anything.  So, thank you to our anonymous infant carrier donor.  We are so thankful to have this seat for our little bundle!

I'd brought a cute little blanket with us to the hospital, but didn't think about the fact that he would need it on our way home to protect him from the frigid spring weather here.  So Ben had already loaded our suitcase (with the blanket in it) in the car when we were ready to leave the hospital.  Luke got covered up with my FSU sweatshirt instead.  I guess it's never to early to show your Seminole spirit, though!

When Ben was holding Luke during scripture reading last night, all of the kids were fighting over who got to sit closest to them.  First Jack sat next to Ben, then when he got up, Cat took his spot, and when he tried to come back to his seat Cat didn't want to move, so he squeezed his way between Ben and Cat.  It was comical.  And so sweet.

Right after his first bath at home... he wasn't a fan.

Jack came out of bed to see what the fuss was all about during Luke's bath.

He was relieved when Luke stopped crying, and he liked his construction truck pajamas.

The girls spent some quality time with Luke before they left for Church this morning.

Overall, I'd say things are going well.  I'm feeling great, but I'm still making a conscious effort to take it easy (which doesn't come naturally to me).  It's been immensely helpful to have Ben's parents in town. Between them being here and Ben being available, I haven't had to do much besides take care of the baby.  It's been wonderful.

Luke is still a pretty calm and content baby.  His main goal in life seems to be to remain in physical contact with someone at all times.  As long as he's being held or is at least touching someone, he is perfectly happy.  So he gets lots of snuggles during the day and at night and nobody seems to mind too much.  He's eating well and fulfilling his diaper duties.  He likes his pacifier, but doesn't have to have it all of the time, which is great.  He's a skinny little guy with dark blue eyes and I love love love his old man hair.  It was particularly awesome after his bath, when its cleanness allowed it to stick out all over.  I think this picture from my last post shows it best:

Yep.  We'll keep him.

First Impressions

We've been eagerly anticipating this little guy's birth for over a week, and today was finally the day!  Mema and Papa are in town for Ben's graduation, and they have been good enough to take care of the older kids while Ben and I have been in the hospital.  I'm pretty sure the older kids have loved it!

I was induced this morning and after laboring for a few hours, the contractions were really intense and I wasn't dilated very much, so I decided to go ahead and get an epidural.  The epidural didn't kick in very well - it worked on just one side - but it did have the desirable effect of speeding up labor, so within 45 minutes of getting the epidural I was ready to push.  Yeah!  I was numb for a few hours after, but that's okay, because little man arrived quickly and safely and I was just glad to have it all over with.

He's been eating well and sleeping well and seems to be quite healthy and happy.  We are in love with him and all of his cuteness.  Now he just needs a name!

We're ready for you, baby.

All our bags are packed,

We're ready to go.

I'm standing here

And everyone knows

I hate to wake you up

And make you cry.

But the dawn is breaking, it's early morn.

The car is waiting to bring you home.

 Already we're so excited for you,

Our little guy.

So kiss me and smile for me.

Tell me that you'll come to me.

I'll hold you like I'll never let you go.

Cause we're ready for you, baby.

 

Got gifts and we'll have lots of fun.

Mom says it's time.

I'm telling you so.