Six Months Old and Rice Cereal!

Elisabeth turned six months old the day after we returned from Florida, and we celebrated by offering her some tasty organic rice cereal for the first time! We are now on Day Five of solid food training and so far she hasn't really taken to it, but does enjoy spitting out her tongue (cereal included). Day Three of solid food training she was holding on to a spoon and actually stuck it in her mouth the correct way. She looks so cute sitting in her new high chair with her new bib!

Mom and Dad celebrated her six month birthday by visiting Sylas and Maddy's, a local ice cream parlor that makes homemade ice cream with flavors such as "Kansas Twister" and "Rock Chocolate Jayhawk". Yummy! Here Jason and Elisabeth celebrate with a waffle cone!

Our trip to Florida was quick but good, and it was interesting doing life with a baby in a dorm. If we go back for a summer in the future, I've taken lots of mental notes for how to "nest" with a young family in a dorm! It was fun to connect with the staff and students and see the program off to a great start. Elisabeth enjoyed wearing her sun hat, even in the dorm, and playing cards with some KU students.


May you have a wonderful and sunny summer!
Love,
The Rosses

Beach Baby!

We arrived in Jacksonville, FL last Tuesday after two flights that went great with Elisabeth. She seemed to enjoy herself and even made friends with a flight attendant who nicknamed her "Smiley". It was cute to see her stop the beverage service to make faces at Elisabeth!
This past week Jason has been busy helping launch the Summer Training Program and preparing for all the students to arrive. On Saturday around 35 Team Leaders arrived and then tomorrow around 140 more students will descend on Jacksonville! It's neat to see the dorm come alive with excitment.
Saturday morning we took a short family trip to the ocean for about 30 minutes and Elisabeth was the Belle of the Beach! Below are a few highlights of her first trip to the ocean. She's wearing a sundress and sunglasses her Grandpa Kester bought her and a sunhat that her Daddy bought her. She was so cute that she was even turning surfers' heads as they ran by!

First Mother's Day and Five Months Old!

Last Sunday, we celebrated Mother's Day for the first time with Elisabeth Anne and on the same day we celebrated her five month birthday! The three of us traveled to Wichita to spend the weekend with family, and it was an extra special trip as Elisabeth met her Great-Grandma Kester for the very first time (see picture below). What a blessing to have four generations from one family together at the same time!

Elisabeth continues to amaze us with her development and the way she's constantly learning. One of her new feats includes rolling all the way over, and over, and over...we have to lay down a "landing strip" for her as once she starts to roll she just keeps on going until she runs into something! It's quite the amusement! She gets lots of praise and seems quite happy to have the attention! She has also started to reach for and grab at things, which is so sweet to see her interact with us. We took a trip to campus to take pictures with the beautiful red tulips in bloom, and Elisabeth looked so sweet in her matching red outfit.

This weekend is KU graduation and Elisabeth attended her first graduation party yesterday of one our dear students. In the picture below she is at the party with the recent grad, Sally, wearing her "future Jayhawk" t-shirt. A few weeks ago we attended a wedding of one our former students and Elisabeth made it through the entire ceremony!

We can hardly believe another school year has come to an end. We will head to Jacksonville, FL on May 25th for two weeks to help get the summer training program up and running. Coming up next month: photos of Elisabeth on the beach!

Four months!

Elisabeth Anne turned four months on April 9 and had her check up yesterday afternoon. She did great! She weighs 13.8 pounds and is 24 inches long. She also had three shots, which makes mom a nervous wreck. She was a trooper and didn't have any bad reactions. Our doctor said she looks great, and for that, we are so thankful! We love her more and more everyday, and it's so amazing to have the opportunity to be her parents. I feel like I say that all the time, but I never want it to lose its awesomeness.

There are only a few more weeks left in the spring semester and then we are off to Florida to get the Jacksonville Summer Training Program off the ground and running. It will be Elisabeth's first time on an airplane, so if you have any magical suggestions for air travel with an infant, please let us know!

Happy spring!
Love, the Rosses

Happy Easter!

Elisabeth had a big first Easter last Sunday! She went to church all dressed up in her new Easter dress from her Kester grandparents, and she made it through the entire service! She really enjoys the singing in the beginning, which then calms her down and she will generally snooze off and on throughout the message. No offense, Pastor Bill...I promise Jason and I are paying attention!

After church she was just so excited about celebrating Jesus that she decided to roll over from her back to her tummy for the first time! We thought this was just great until the middle of the night when I found her rolled over onto her tummy asleep! Yep, our soon-to-be four month old will no longer sleep on her back. Of course, this freaked mom out, but the consensus in the medical community seems to be that once they have the strength to roll over it's generally safe for them to stomach sleep.

We had a fun day reading "My Very First Easter", "Bedtime Bunny" (complete with bunny finger puppet), and playing with her stuffed bunny and lambs.

Tomorrow is a big day: Four months old!

With love,
Jason, Kelley, and Elisabeth

Three months old and first trip to Texas!

Elisabeth has been a busy girl since our last posting! She's managed to turn three months old, travel to Missouri for two Navigator conferences, and travel to San Antonio for spring break with the "big kids". (That's what she calls the college students!) She has stayed in two hotels and seen her fair share of I-35 between Kansas and Texas.

Our trip to Maryville, MO at the end of February included a student leadership conference with students from around the region, and then a staff conference for regional staff. We learned later that this was the first conference where all staff entities within a region gathered together, rather than just the collegiate staff. We met a neat couple involved with the military ministry and it was great to learn from them. The International President for the Navigators, Mike Treneer, spoke to both students and staff, and this was a refreshing time for all.

Our spring break to San Antonio was just last week and we traveled with around 70 students from around the region to work at Habitat for Humanity. They worked for three full days and had the final day to attend Six Flags Fiesta Texas. We were able to see a few friends while we were there, and are quickly learning that her sleep schedule is top priority. We're currently working on establishing better sleeping habits for her, and it's difficult but necessary. As I watch our cat sleep nearly all day, I marvel at how it seems like every other animal has no trouble sleeping, but we humans have all kinds of issues with it!

Elisabeth and Dad hanging out with the "big kids" in Missouri during campus time:


Our hotel room in San Antonio after a massive Sam's run to organize lunches for the group for four days:


Family picture at Friedrich Park in San Antonio where Jason and Kelley got engaged March 23, 2007! What a joyous blessing to have our baby girl with us now three years later!

Spring Training

Every Spring we offer a five-week program for our new students called "Spring Training". Each week is hosted by a different family in the community, usually friends from our local church. As a family, they prepare a meal for our students and share a short testimony of their faith. As staff we then share on various topics over the course of the five weeks like: Who are the Navigators, what are our core values, etc. We also teach basic tools, such as "How to Have a Quiet Time" and time management. We've found this is a great way to build community and rapport, and at the same time help students understand more about what we're about.

This past Tuesday was our first night, and Elisabeth and I were able to attend for awhile before bedtime, which was fun for all of us. The family that hosted has a neat testimony of how God has given them a heart for Ethiopia. They've started an organization with an emphasis on adoption called Fields of Promise (www.fieldsofpromise.org). I felt so grateful that our young students have the opportunity to be influenced by such neat families!