Life With Karma

Life is moving fast...

2013-05-22T22:05:00.001-04:00

... and I have oh so little time to blog. But a couple of things:

(1) Our house is under contract. I'm nervous about the inspection and all the other steps along the way, so I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but at least something is happening. :)

(2) Nora's school photo. I wish she were smiling, but oh my gosh I love how prim and proper she's sitting. What a little lady! How I love this girl... (apologies for the dust on the scan. Why in the world don't they sell digital images instead of printed images? What is this, 1995?).

(3) Today as I left to go to work, Nora said "Mommy looks pretty!". I mean, how can my day start off any better?

(4) Kevin graduates tomorrow! Hopefully more about this later... I'm enjoying my last night as the only "Dr" in the house. :) I'm so proud of all his hard work.

(5) I have a new nephew! I can't wait to meet him. We've been working with Nora on his name and I think she's doing a good job though I'm not quite sure she gets what she is memorizing.

A visit home

2013-05-17T07:00:00.000-04:00

Being back home reminded me of the wonderful things we have to look forward to... namely, family! We saw my parents, my sister and her husband, and Kevin's cousins on this particular visit. Kevin's cousin has two little girls who are a few years older than Nora and she just idolizes them! Sadly I totally forgot to take any pictures of them, or of my sister and Nora. But here are some of Nora and her Nana and Papa, Dante the dog, and the three of us...

Dante was eating grass here or something. He and Nora are regular buddies! Nora could spend hours throwing him the ball. One morning she fed him his entire breakfast, piece by piece, by hand.

We've been trying to do Nora's hair up in pigtails more often or else it gets totally crazy. Actually, it gets pretty crazy even in pigtails. I don't think I'm adept at hairstyling...

My dad used to push on the swings and say "Over the top!" and we would squeal in delight because it felt like we really were about to go over the top. Now Nora gets to experience the same joy. :)

This would be an amazing picture except nothing was making Nora smile (even though her Nana was trying to tickle her). At least she's looking in the right direction!

The three of us- I keep looking at this and trying to figure out what Nora gets from me and what she gets from Kevin. She definitely looks a lot like Kevin! But, I can see aspects of her that resemble me too. I don't think she looks like either of our "mini me", though.

Tuesday Things

2013-05-14T07:00:00.000-04:00

1) We are doing pretty good on getting things ready for the move. Kevin scheduled the movers, and we're shipping the cars. We still need to box everything up (though we got about half of it done back in March when we had to send stuff to a storage unit for the house showings)- luckily Kevin is done with school so he can start working on it in the next week or two.

2) I interviewed while I was out in Colorado a couple of weekends ago- it went well and I think I'll be starting in July, though all the details are still getting worked out. Hopefully the transition goes okay and I have time to finish up all the current papers that I'm working on. I'm so grateful I've found something that fits within my interests- it's not an easy time to find a job!

3) A typical Nora conversation while walking home from the park: "I walk on the grass. Dirt! Trees! Up high! Hi doggy. Woof, woof! Rock! I go get it. Mommy, hold hands? Other hand! Yellow car. Watch out, Nora! Hey bird. Look, mommy. Bird!" and so on the whole time.

4) My work friends were so wonderfully kind to throw us a goodbye party this weekend. We really will miss everyone so much! I'm lucky to have been part of such a great community for the last four years.

5) One thing that is not going so well- selling our house. :( We've had a lot of showings, though they've slowed down considerably. We've had three people *almost* make offers, but so far it hasn't worked out. We'll probably have to lower the price soon... ugh. Cross your fingers for us that it sells soon!

6) I'm really excited about our new rental house in Colorado. There is a lot more closet and storage space, plus an extra bedroom than we have now. And our bathroom will have two sinks! I never want to live in a house with only one sink in the master bath again. It's also close to the rec center, pool, and parks. I honestly can't wait to move in!

The Best Adventure

2013-05-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

My second Mother's Day.

Let me go off on a tangent: I love traveling. I've often said how the three months sailing aboard Semester at Sea were some of the best of my life. I think one of the things that made it so special and so unique is that for those months, every day was a thrill ride. There were so many highs, and so many lows. I felt so alive, all the time. There were new sights, new smells, new foods, new people. There were experiences so breathtaking and heartbreaking that it made you grateful for every moment of existence. And being in the middle of the ocean not only gave time for reflection, but provided a perfect personification of the experience: the ocean could swell in fury, wind, and storm; and then hours later be the smoothest, glassy plane you could possibly imagine. Perfect peace.

Maintaining that feeling, of being alive and recognizing each blessed moment, is hard in the real world. I've occasionally gone months in the last decade where I'm lucky to have even one of those moments in the midst of the mundane. Travel always is one of the best ways to feel "in the moment" and so I've loved visiting new countries over the years when I can. But to get to the topic of this post- I think motherhood may be the closest I've come to that sensation on an every day basis.

In my experience of motherhood, there have been lows, and there have been highs. It's exhausting, but it's completely rewarding. Every day is an adventure.

Don't get me wrong- this post isn't to say that motherhood is valuable only in its ability to fix some kind of andrenaline rush, or to pretend that a large part of motherhood isn't comprised of slogging through hour after hour of banal moments, thinking oh-my-god-how-many-more-times-do-I-have-sing-twinkle-twinkle-little-star, or if-I-have-to-watch-this-Elmo-video-again-I-might-lose-it.

But rather it's to say, there are moments staring at this little being of mine when the same feeling of being completely connected to the earth and the universe overtakes me, as it did on that ship, watching the glass of the ocean reflect the predawn sky. I am so lucky to be on this journey with this little girl. This thing called motherhood, it is the most blessed gift of my life.

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mother, who is still my safe harbor; to my wonderful mother-in-law, who gave me my dearest husband to go on this journey with; and to all mothers, who would travel to the ends of the universe for their kids.

A Comparison: Maryland vs Colorado

2013-05-09T22:39:00.003-04:00

(click to enlarge). For others who have lived in both places... anything to add? Agree/disagree? :)

Medical Mondays: Being a "doctor's wife"

2013-05-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

There is a great group of spouses of doctors, whom I follow both on personal blogs and on a Facebook group. I don't talk all that much about medical school on here, largely because... I'm not sure how I feel being considered a "doctor's wife".... or being defined based on what my spouse does for a career.

On one hand, I'm supremely proud of Kevin and all he has accomplished. He's worked very hard and I certainly like to brag about him on occasion. :) I'm happy to be his wife and to support him on his path. And it's not an easy road. I think the general public underestimates how difficult and costly the medical path is for families. That's why I appreciate this group of women who are going through or have gone through this path of supporting your spouse through medical training and understand the connotations of "surgery rotation", "Step One", and "Match Day". It's simply nice to know other people are struggling but surviving too. And I'm so glad to be a part of that support group.

On the other hand, while I will indeed soon be a "doctor's wife", I have also been an "engineer's wife" and a "military wife" (or rather, girlfriend) in the past. Of course, the "military wives" deserve every ounce of respect and honor that comes with that label because they have to deal with their husbands being gone for months and years at a time, and always with the fear that something will physically harm their loved ones.

Who has ever heard the phrase "engineer's wife"? Exactly no one. That's because for whatever reason, if your husband has a regular 8-5 job, you still maintain your own identity in the eyes of everyone else. No one makes immediate assumptions about your financial status, career, intelligence, or abilities.

And that's why I struggle with this label that, while I'm proud to accept (and happy that there are resources for), I also feel has been hoisted upon me. How ridiculous would it be if, in talking about me and my husband, people were like "Well, he's a scientist's husband, so he hardly needs to worry about having his own career."

Don't get me wrong... I understand why the label exists. The medical path isn't easy for many years, but there is, presumably, a large payoff in the end. The same can't really be said for the military path, for example. The label might not be fair but it's there for a reason.

You can see I'm conflicted. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: In some of the medical spouse blogs I read, it's amazing to see the strong women who deal with the nitty gritty of every day life while their spouses are away for long hours at the hospital. There's the woman who works incredibly hard during tax season; another who just got her PhD; another who stays home with an adorable little girl; another who has a both a fascinating career and a great fashion sense. They are interesting people in their own right; they are so much more than what the label "doctor's wife" might tell you about them. And while we all have in common our significant other's career, that label tells you so very little about the actual differences that define us.

23 months, at Sherwood Gardens

2013-05-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

We've visited Sherwood Gardens in the spring for the past two years- there are lovely beds of beautiful tulips. The first year I was hugely pregnant, the second year Nora had an ear infection so we only got grumpy photos. This year, I was actually out of town- at my conference (it went well- but was exhausting). So Kevin took Nora to get some spring photos. She has crazy hair but they turned out cute! I thought these would be nice to go with her 23 month update!

I know I keep saying it but this age is so much fun. This whole year has been completely amazing. I can't believe it's been almost another year in my baby's life, it went so fast. I find toddlerhood in general a lot more fun and rewarding than babyhood.

Let's see, Nora this month. I don't know how it happened but my child is a chatterbox. I'm not sure where she gets it from because I'm not a big talker and neither is Kevin (perhaps this is the influence of childcare?). She is regularly speaking in 2-4 word sentences now. Favorite phrases this month include "I got it!", "Oh, man!", "Mommy hold hands?", "Nora do it" (she still largely speaks in 3rd person), "Karma, get down!", and "More hairbows?", "Watch out!". She repeats everything we say and you can tell she is carefully watching our mouths and trying to make her words sound the same.

One thing that has been super fun lately is her love of singing and her ability to pick up songs after a few tries. If you sing a song and then stop at the end of phrase, she's almost always able to fill in whatever word you leave blank. The cutest one so far might be "Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy. So here's my number, now..." and then if you wait a second she says "Call me maybe". Sometimes it sounds more like "Come on baby". Haha, too cute. I've tried a number of nursery songs and she can fill in so many of the words. She even is usually pretty on key! I think she has a really good memory in general (that definitely comes from Kevin)- her teachers were super impressed because she learned all the kids' and teachers' last names (she knows her full name now too!).

She has been much less into toys lately and more into pretend play. She really loves to do various things with her baby and stuffed animals, like buckle them into her high chair, give them diaper changes (which turns into me giving them diaper changes because she can't get the diaper on by herself), put them down for a nap, and put hairbows on them. And after basically a year of her refusing any kind of hair accessory, she suddenly wants to wear 12 of them at once (then she requests "mirror"- upon seeing herself, she declares, "Cute!", haha).

She's definitely in a phase of wanting to walk everywhere instead of riding in her stroller. She's usually reasonably good about holding my hand but there have been some tantrums caused when she refuses to hold hands and so she has to go into her stroller or be carried.

She still has some meals where she won't eat much and other meals where she eats insanely large portions. She pretty much loves all fruit, especially grapes. She is going through an anti-egg phase at the moment. She's a pretty good eater for a toddler though- she eats Thai food and other ethnic cuisines (as long as they aren't too spicy), and certain vegetables (she likes mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots, among others). She still probably has ~12oz whole milk per day.

She is such a sweet girl. She loves giving hugs and kisses to us, and snuggling up to read. She is very good at saying "thank-you" and pretty good at saying "please" when asking for something. She loves being the center of our attention, that is for sure- probably most of her tantrums come from me not being able to pay attention to her right that second. It's a hard habit to break because I want to spend my free time with her too (but I also need to occasionally cook dinner and pick up).

We haven't gotten too far on starting potty training but we do have a potty ring for the toilet and every couple of days Nora will request "Peepee on the potty?". Unfortunately, to her this generally just seems to be a time for her to hang out naked on the potty seat while we sing songs. She had never once gone in the potty after months of this, but just a couple of nights ago she peed for the first time! We got excited and clapped and praised her, and the smile on her face was SO huge. It was like, "Oh, this is what you guys have been wanting me to do on the potty all this time?" But, not sure she's going to remember how to do it again any time soon. :)

It's going to be a big couple months of change for Miss Nora- leaving the daycare she's gone to for two years and all the teachers she's grown to love, moving from her house, likely moving to a big girl bed and switching the carseat forward, and beginning to work on potty training. I hope the adjustment goes okay. I certainly worry it's a lot of change all at once, and she has no idea it's all happening very soon (the concept of "moving in a month" is a little too remote for someone only alive for 23 months). But I know she is going to be so excited to see her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins more often.

On a sidenote, I wanted to share this video- I saw this idea on some Montessori blog for helping toddlers learn how to put their coats on themselves. Well, it's almost summer now so I'm not sure how useful this will be, but you basically lay out the coat for them with the tags towards their tummies (it's easiest on the couch but now we just lay it on the floor). Then they just put their arms in the holes and swing it over their head! Nora picked this up within a day and it's a super easy way to help them get dressed themselves.

Thinking about Goodbyes

2013-04-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

We're moving in a month but I'm not sure I've actually accepted that we're moving. For one thing, life has pretty much stayed the same here, aside from the whole trying-to-sell-the-house chaos (don't ask how that is going. All we have to show for our efforts so far is that the people at our local grocery store are probably getting used to seeing us over there for dinner since that seems to be the most popular time for our house showings).

It feels like yesterday that we were hauling all our stuff out here, saying our goodbyes and wondering where life would lead us over the next four years of medical school. Wondering if it would be scary living in Baltimore (answer: no, not in our neighborhood); if we could find time to start a family (answer: yes; there's never a perfect time to have a baby); if we could survive the stress and long hours of separation that medical school brings (answer: yes, I think our relationship has grown stronger, but not without some ups and downs along the way). Honestly I've enjoyed living out here more than I thought I would. We've made some good friends, found fun activities, explored our city and neighborhood, tried new restaurants. I've learned so much in my career. I've been happy here. I'm so glad we chose this path four years ago.

But I feel like we've definitely changed. Living out here with just each other to depend on, we've been forced to grow up in a way we hadn't before. I look back at the person I was 4 years ago and though many things remain the same- my aspirations, my priorities, my beliefs- I'm still irrevocably different than that girl. Certainly the biggest change is motherhood, but I've changed in other ways too- professionally, and personally. Sometimes for the better- I feel more confident in my professional abilities, for one thing; but sometimes for the worse- I feel more serious and less lighthearted than I used to. And Kevin has changed too- I don't think you can go through the kind of intense training he has done for the last four years and not be changed in some way. And certainly in our parenthood journey, I've demanded more of him than I ever did in our early years of marriage (he has met the challenge every step of the way).

Now we move to a new chapter. In some ways I think things will be easier- we will have so many more friends and family close by. We won't have to use vacation time to go home for the holidays. We'll be closer to nature and outdoor activities that we enjoy. But Kevin's schedule is sure to be trying and isolating at times for both of us, even with family close. We will have to change and evolve again.

We moved here with one cat and one car, a new diploma for me, and a new career path for Kevin. We leave with two cats, two cars, our precious daughter, four years of employment under my belt, and a new diploma for Kevin. In another four years, who will we be?

Pierce's Park

2013-04-24T20:43:00.000-04:00

In our time in Baltimore, we have discovered a lot of fun kids' parks in the area. This one, Pierce's Park, is brand new and quite unusual. There are musical instruments to play, UFO-like objects to climb, and giant tube to climb in, and a reed tunnel. Nora thought it was great, so it's kid-approved!

The one downside of these silver hills is that they were pretty hot on a 65 degree day in April. In the summer they must burn like the surface of the sun!

We have loved living in the city these last 4 years. There's something about being a 10 minute walk to downtown that is really fun.

Kevin's chasing her on his hands and knees through the reed tunnel. What can I say, he's a dedicated dad. :)

And this was at another park closer to home, but I was amazed at how grown-up Nora looks in this photo. What happened to all the baby leg rolls?? WAAH!

Why yes, wearing two different mittens in 70 degree weather is perfectly normal.

Sunday Meditation

2013-04-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

I haven't done a Sunday poem in awhile. If you don't read Momastery, I highly recommend it. Her recent post on "How to Keep Our Babies Safe" was like warm milk to my soul. Recently Glennon posted this excerpt on her site and I love it so I thought I would post it here.

Excerpt from Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem..

Kindness

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,

all this must go so you know how desolate the landscape can be between the regions of kindness. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23309#sthash.XVVyJgAX.dpuf

all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

…..

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.

Thankful

2013-04-15T05:00:00.000-04:00

Thank you for the thoughtful comments on my last post. After I wrote about it, I was thinking... you know, though it is stressful, we are really SO very fortunate to have these opportunities. I think it's somewhat rare that two people get to successfully follow their dreams- and so far, with the support of family and friends, we have been able to. And I'm sure things will work out- eventually. So deep breath, Amy. The hardest part (Match) is over, now it's just details.

I meant to post some of these photos earlier, but forgot- pictures of all our wonderful visitors last month! Unfortunately my camera was totally acting wonky, or else I had a case of the shakes, because almost no pictures I took turned out. So here are the ones that are marginally decent.

First, Kevin's mom was out for Match Day- it was great to have her there to keep us me calm. :) We also took her to some of our usual haunts.

The following weekend, my mom and sister visited us. Here's what I mean about bad photos- we're outside, lots of light, and my photos were still turning out blurry! I'm not sure what setting I had on but it was bad. :( Still, Nora had lots of fun with Aunt ReeRee!

Kevin's been working on Nora's upper arm strength:

We went to the Baltimore aquarium too. It was nice for an indoor activity on a crappy weather day, but I got to say, the aquarium does NOT cater to toddlers at all. They don't let you take a stroller in, so I guess you're supposed to plan ahead a bring a back carrier or something. But it's a lot of walking for a one year old (or a lot of carrying for parents). So I was annoyed about that. Sad my camera wasn't working because Nora had the cutest little outfit on:

A picture of the girls:

The best picture I got all weekend was of the jellyfish! My favorite exhibit at the aquarium:

We know how expensive it is to fly out here to visit us, so we're so happy and grateful that our family members made the trek. It can sometimes feel a bit isolating out here in Baltimore and so it's great to have visitors. Thank you all!

Status quo

2013-04-10T22:53:00.001-04:00

I apologize for the quiet state of my blog this week. There is really not a lot to report, while at the same time I am under a lot of stress (I feel a bit like a bug stuck in sap). This is because:

1) We have had a *ton* of house showings- 18 in 3 weeks.... BUT no offers. Talked to the realtor today and he says he's mostly heard positive things about our house and probably we just haven't found the right buyer yet. To the people who complain about "the parking situation"? Yeah, maybe you should live, I don't know, NOT in Baltimore city??? We actually have a pretty good situation because we have a high school right next to us that allows us to park there on nights and weekends. The only time we have trouble with parking is on Ravens Game Days, and in that case, parking is awful pretty much everywhere. Sigh, rant over....

2) Speaking of 18 house showings, it is not particularly fun to keep a house show-ready (especially with a toddler). In some ways it's nice that we're all out of the house during the week. On the other hand, we have to have the place spic and span when we leave every day because they only have to give us an hour notice to come over. It's worse on the weekends though- the most popular time for showings is during nap time. Ugh! Nora goes to sleep fine in a stroller or carseat, but she does not sleep for very long.

3) If selling the house isn't enough to think about, the logistics of setting up moving vans and shipping two cars, while flying back with a toddler and two hairless cats, is enough to make you start pulling your hair out.

4) The whole finding another house to live in thing is stressing me out. Of course we have to be moving to one of the places in the country where the inventory is so low that places get snatched up right away. We're going out to Colorado in a few weeks to look but I'm not encouraged right now that we'll be able to find a decent place in two days time.

5) Figuring out my job. Can't go into details right now. Certain things look promising, but I'm not sure it will pan out. Trying to figure out what to finish up before I leave isn't fun either.

6) But most of all, I'm giving a 30-minute invited talk in a week and a half. In England. This would be awesome except that (a) I really don't have many results because I just started the analysis about a month ago and those that I do have aren't exactly exciting, and (b) the above #1-5 are totally wreaking havoc on my focus and motivation. So even though I'm in total crunch time to produce enough of anything to talk about for half an hour, I find myself daydreaming (daynightmaring?) about future plans. I'm excited about the trip and seeing some of my colleagues, but I'll be really glad to have this presentation done.

Thursday thoughts

2013-04-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

1) I'm really liking this Rose Petal Face Toner. I've been trying to get more of a regular beauty routine, but something that is super fast because I'm not much of a glamour girl. The toner I remember from high school smelled a lot like alcohol and dried my face out. This witch hazel toner? It smells lovely, and has vitamin E and aloe vera so it actually moisturizes your face. I use it as a makeup remover at the end of the day. And it's inexpensive. Love!

2) I've been obsessively checking for rental homes in Denver. I really like the Zillow app for finding rentals, and the Trulia app is actually pretty cool for looking at crime rates, school zones, nearby restaurants and grocery stores,and things like that. It's dumb that I'm looking right now though. I keep seeing places I like but there's no way they'll still be free a month or two from now (from what I can tell, rental homes in Denver go in a day or two if they're at all nice and/or priced well).

3) Speaking of apps, I'm kind of obsessed with Candy Crush and Hay Day right now. Ugh! Time wasters! Computer games always get me. Don't even get me started on something like Sims or Civilization or you might not see me for a few weeks (ok, months). And level 33 in Candy Crush is driving me crazy right now.

4) Nora turns 22 months old this week. Not much new to report except that (a) this girl is really into singing songs (ABC's, Thumbkin, Old MacDonald have been favorites lately- she's really pretty good at carrying a tune! She knows almost all the words to the alphabet song, even "next time won't you sing with me"); (b) the terrible two 'tude has started to appear big time, particularly if she hasn't gotten enough sleep- and oh boy, the mood swings! She can go from full blown throwing herself on the floor and screaming with rage, to laughing hysterically in about 30 seconds flat. The tantrums start to outweigh the laughing the more tired she is. She is a total joy when she's happy (and so snugly and affectionate!) but when cranky pants appears, watch out; (c) she weighs 29 lbs and eats more like a toddler every day- either stuffing herself with ridiculous quantities (she can out-eat me in pizza) or eating about two bites of something and declaring herself all done (this used to worry me but it generally doesn't seem to affect her sleep at all). Her favorite foods right now include berries, grapes, cheese, chicken, pizza, and mac and cheese. She still will try most things we give her. And (d) her words that used to sound baby-ish are sounding more correct- like "wawa" is now "water", "mo" is now "milk", "neigh" is now "horse", "oo-oo" is now "monkey". She learns new words every day, it's very astonishing to watch!

Another fireplace picture. I swear it's the only place in our house she stands still for a minute.

Easter follow-up & Trendy Tots

2013-04-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

Easter was fun this year! Last year it was way warmer out and we took Nora to Sherwood Gardens to see the tulips (though she was grumpy because of an ear infection- this year, she had another ear infection, though she was not grumpy). This year we tried out the neighborhood egg hunt!

It was organized very well. They don't make it too hard so it's best for little kids. They just lay the eggs out in the park but they have different "gates" for kids of different ages to go through, so Nora was with the Under Two's. This was great because it meant there weren't older kids trampling her or taking all the eggs.

See the eggs?

It's funny going through holidays with Nora now that she understands what we're saying. I mean, how exactly do you explain the Easter bunny? "There is this giant life-sized bunny that leaves you eggs and candy". I mean, why a bunny? Why not a giant chicken? I'm sure there is some explanation but I certainly don't know it. At any rate, she seemed to just accept the giant bunny and immediately wanted to "hop hop hop" all over the place.

She very quickly caught onto gathering the eggs, and then she was all business!

You can also see a video here of Kevin trying to maintain her less than a dozen egg count- haha.

They also had little games, snacks, and a visit from the Easter Bunny, who was somewhat terrifying (has there ever been an Easter Bunny costume that is not totally scary?). Though Nora was excited to see the Easter Bunny she would not look at us or the camera while she was on the Bunny's lap, so maybe she was trying to dissociate herself.... then again, I couldn't even get the Easter Bunny to look at me so it's not the best picture.

I have to throw in this picture we took when we got home because I love this little dress and her "cheese" face! She loves standing in that fireplace for some reason.

Speaking of cute outfits, I'm linking up with Trendy Tot Tuesday! I got this dress on ThredUp, which is a great site that offers good brands of clothes for less money. There are frequent "free shipping" or coupon days too. I've gotten several items of clothes which are just adorable, and they have always looked brand new when they arrive at my house. Also, I've gotten some comments about the pink crocs. They are actually not crocs, but a much cheaper brand that look identical (Eva Clogs). Unfortunately they seem to be out of stock right now. I hope they come back soon so I can order the next size up! The pink tights are from Old Navy, another personal favorite toddler shopping spot. Her little white sweater above is one of our many wonderful hand-me-downs from Kevin's cousin, who is a treasure trove of cute outfits.

Thanks to the hosts of this week's link-up, and to Kelly for reminding me to link!

Happy Easter!

2013-03-31T06:00:00.000-04:00

We had a lot of fun at the neighborhood Easter egg hunt yesterday. Today, we'll see how dyeing eggs goes. :) More about Easter soon....

Cupcakes!

2013-03-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

One of these past cold weekends, I thought it would be a fun activity to bake cupcakes with Nora. I wasn't sure if she was old enough, but we tried it out, and it was a lot of fun! I used a box mix and frosting, so nothing took too long.

I let her try some of the batter before I added the eggs. Perhaps that was a mistake because from that point on she kept trying to sneak some more. :) Like mother like daughter- the batter is always my favorite part of baking too.

This reminded me how new everything is to Nora. How exciting everything must be to a one year old! No wonder it's hard to have patience...

You put this yummy sugary dough into this warm machine and it comes out, completely transformed into little cakes.

And then you get to add something even more yummy- frosting! and sprinkles!

I'm so grateful to have a daughter. I'm so excited for all the fun activities we will have to share together. I love seeing the world through her eyes. It's these little moments that I will cherish forever.

Updates

2013-03-26T05:00:00.000-04:00

Things have been.... a bit crazy. We've put on house on the market and there have been a lot of showings but sadly so far, no offers in the first week. Hopefully soon! We do get some feedback and it seems like people think the price is fair and that the house shows well, but each person has something they don't like- the parking situation, the layout of the house, etc. Nothing we can do anything about.

The hardest part is of course on weekends- with a toddler it's quite a challenge not only keeping the house clean but also finding ways to entertain her for hours outside of the house (especially in the winter that just won't end- blah). Not to mention nap time basically didn't happen this weekend because she slept in her stroller as we were out visiting with my mom and sister, and stroller naps are never good. Sunday she had a 20 minute nap and that was it for the day! She was very cranky by dinner time. We have also been relying pretty heavily on Elmo DVDs while getting the house fixed up and cleaned. Is it bad when your 22 month old knows more characters on Sesame Street than you do?

I'm meanwhile trying to get ready for a conference coming in a few weeks in which I'm giving an invited talk. I'm feeling vastly unprepared right now so hopefully I'll feel better about it soon. That and trying to figure out my next career move is pretty stressful.

Kevin started his next to last rotation, though it's pretty much just a "preparation for residency" course so it doesn't seem too bad. Meanwhile he's been filling out paperwork for residency like a mad man, and doing our taxes- my hero. :) I despise having to do taxes.

Like I said above we've had some visitors around here too, which has been fun. Kevin's mom one weekend and then my mom and sister this past weekend. I'll try to post a couple of pictures soon but honestly I wasn't very good at remembering to take photos!

I thought I would include the photos from our last morning in Orlando- we went to Dr. Phillips Park. They have a splash pad (doesn't everywhere in Orlando?) for $1 in the summer. They also had this funky playground. It felt like rain all morning but we lucked out and managed to miss it mostly.

How does she look so grown up here? It was so fun to dress her in summer clothes for a weekend.

This thing spun around. It was very futuristic.

Ignore my crazy eyes here. I thought this was otherwise a cute photo.

Orlando Part III: Sea World

2013-03-20T22:23:00.000-04:00

Read about Part II: Gatorland, here.

I love this picture because Nora is making her "cheese" face.

We picked Monday to head to SeaWorld because I figured it would be quieter on a weekday. There were still plenty of people but it did seem a little calmer! We arrived right when it opened at 9am and Kevin was able to get immediately onto one of their popular roller coasters, Manta (you lie flat on your stomach- I was too worried I'd get motion sickness to go on. Back in the day I loved rollercoasters, but my motion sickness has gotten worse as I've gotten older). Nora and I headed over to pet the stingrays while he was gone.

After we joined up again, we went to see the dolphins. I was a bit torn on whether to feed them or not. It costs $7 for 3 fish (per person) which is a bit pricey, and you have to wait in this line. I ended up not doing it- we did get to see the dolphins pretty good from down below.

We went to the 10am Dolphin show (Blue Horizons). Kevin got us seats (you have to claim seats at least 20 minutes ahead of time) while I strolled Nora around. I was really worried Nora would be totally antsy during the show as her attention span is usually pretty short, but she was actually completely enthralled. She loved clapping with the audience and pointing at the birds and dolphins. She was actually sad when it was over and we told her we had to leave!

Eating a snack kept her entertained before the show. She's wearing her fish dress for the occasion!

After that show, we headed over to Turtle Trek. I was a little frustrated because we had these Quick Queue passes from the hotel that seemed to do absolutely nothing, but anyway it turned out okay because what I thought was going to be a 30 minute wait was actually only about 5 minutes. Turtle trek shows you sea turtles and manatees, and at the end there is this cool 360 degree 3D movie (I closed my eyes a couple of times when I started feeling sea sick).

After those activities it was lunch time. We planned lunch during one of Shamu's big shows (which we planned to see later) so it was totally empty in the restaurant. A note on food at SeaWorld: it is terrible. We had gotten these free "all day dining deals" included in our package so we wanted to eat lunch and dinner there but it was pretty gross. The barbeque at the Smokehouse was marginally better than the soggy sandwiches we had for lunch though.

Originally I had thought we might walk back to the hotel for Nora's lunch but as it turned out it just seemed easier to walk around for a bit until Nora fell asleep in the stroller. We saw the seal and shark exhibit and after that she passed out. Look at that little face! She slept pretty well for being out of her normal bed- almost an hour. Kevin and I enjoyed the warm weather and checking internet on our smart phones. :)

After nap, we went to the Clyde and Seamore show with the sea lions. There was also a very cute otter in this show. I don't think it was quite as good as the dolphin show but it was pretty funny at times, and the trainers took themselves a little less seriously. :)

Next we headed over to the Kids area- Shamu's Happy Harbor. I was a little disappointed because they didn't really have anything for little kids under like 42" tall. She wasn't even allowed to go on the carousel or train! But, we had brought her swimsuit to go on the splash pad. She liked it until a little boy sprayed her directly in the face with a hose, at which point she burst into tears. Poor dear.

The last exhibit was Wild Arctic, which is like polar bears and beluga whales. The belugas were really neat! Finally, it was time for the 5:30pm One World Shamu show. We had good timing because right around this time there was a torrential downpour, but the Shamu stadium seats are covered. The Shamu show was pretty good, though I think since they stopped letting the trainers go in the water it's maybe not as good as it used to be, plus at one point it seemed like the whales were refusing to do anything.

All in all, a successful day at SeaWorld! Nora was a pretty happy camper despite the long day and she liked looking at the animals and shows much more than I thought she would; and there was plenty for Kevin and I to be entertained with as well.

MATCH

2013-03-15T20:16:00.000-04:00

We are going to......

DENVER! They had a big ceremony and everyone got their envelopes and opened them at the same time. Kevin matched to our first choice in emergency medicine and we really couldn't be more happy! I know in my heart that this is the best place for us right now, with lots of family and friends around to support both me and Kevin over the next difficult four years. I am already getting sad though about leaving my job and my friends here. I really have a great job and I worry I will not find something that fits me quite so well. I'm not sure what this move will mean for me career-wise and that's pretty scary! But ultimately we knew we wanted to be back in Colorado eventually and with Kevin working crazy hours this is really the best time to be back home.

Congratulations to everyone else who matched today!

Here's a picture of us at the ceremony (Nora couldn't understand what all the fuss was about, though she did like the balloons):

Orlando Part II: Gatorland & Boma

2013-03-14T06:30:00.000-04:00

Read about our first day in Orlando here.

Our main attraction on the trip was SeaWorld, but I knew that would only take one day, so we needed something to entertain us another day. I read online that Gatorland was less crowded than other parks, and had some fun things for toddlers (a train, a splash pad, petting zoo, and a playground, plus I mean... gator wrestling! Of course!).

You can see pretty much all of Gatorland in 3-4 hours, which is great because then you can make it back to your hotel in time for nap time (we had to really work at keeping her awake on the car ride home but we made it and then she slept for 1.5 hours on our bed so it worked out well!).

Here's how you know I haven't seen the sun for 4+ months- I think I might have blinded the lady taking our picture:

I actually enjoyed Gatorland more than I thought I would. It's definitely kitschy, but these creatures are pretty fascinating to look at!

Apparently the gators aren't the thing you have to worry about though:

This was funny. Kevin found an old photo of himself when he went to Gatorland as a kid with his grandparents:

And here, ~25 years later, is his daughter with the same taxidermied alligator! LOL. Amazing!:

I thought about sending this to my mom to freak her out (she was worried about Nora getting too close to the alligators):

We did watch the show where they dangle chicken and try to get the gators to jump out of the water, but apparently since it's considered cold this time of year for the alligators they are feeling lazy and didn't want to jump.

It wasn't all gators though. They had a petting zoo with highly aggressive goats (not like those cute goats at the Baltimore Zoo!). We taught Nora how to lay her hand flat to give them a piece of food so she wouldn't get her fingers bitten off.

I couldn't resist a cheesy tourist photo opp:

And Kevin taught Nora some rock climbing skills on the playground:

We then grabbed some fried alligator nuggets (so they claimed) and watched the gator wrestling, which was fairly entertaining.

After Nora's nap back at the hotel, we got ready to head over to the world of Disney for dinner. First we stopped at the wishing well at our hotel- Nora loved throwing pennies in:

I had heard decent things about Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's basically African food buffet. A lot of people on TripAdvisor claim to love the food but I think Nora's face pretty much sums up our opinion:

However, the atmosphere was great- we wandered around the hotel after dinner and if I were a kid I think I would have peed in my pants with excitement if my hotel room looked out over giraffes and zebras. On the other hand, for what you pay to stay (and eat) there, you could almost afford to just go to Africa. :) Seriously, it was $80 for Kevin and us to eat here, with no liquor or tip added. The food is on par with any other buffet you've ever eaten at. Chewy meat, flavorless soup. Though the desserts really were quite tasty.

The hotel really is lovely:

Nora loved running around and seeing the animals, plants, etc:

All this excitement meant she easily fell asleep at night (she wasn't the only one). We took this AeroBed Inflatable Bed for Kids and it worked great! (though note it will take up most of your suitcase). Sort of boxed her in with the couch and the chair. I was worried she would climb off in the middle of the night but we really didn't have a problem with that. She didn't even seem to care if we left our lights on to read or watched TV.

Quick post to say....

2013-03-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

1) We matched!!! I'll try to write a longer post about what this whole process has been like, but it's late and I don't have time now. But basically they tell everyone today whether they matched at a program or not, and if you don't, you have to "scramble" into a spot, which is really terrifying. So I was super happy and relieved when Kevin called me to tell me he got the "Congrats!" email. This Friday we will find out where we are going, which is also scary. But for now I'm feeling blessed that we are in this position. Thinking of all of you out there going through Match this year as well!

2) Happy birthday to my Dad today! We love you Dad/Papa!

Orlando with a Toddler: Part I

2013-03-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

When I first started thinking about a vacation, I had a few requirements:
1) No time zone change (having to wake up at 5am with your wide-awake toddler can definitely put a damper on your relaxation)
2) Preferably a quick flight (less than 3 hours)
3) Warm enough to go swimming in February (or at least wear t-shirts/shorts)
4) Have activities that will easily entertain a child less than two years old

So those restrictions pretty much meant we were staying near the East Coast, somewhere in Florida or south of Florida. I did look into Bermuda, the Bahamas, Mexico, Miami, and Puerto Rico- I was most tempted by Puerto Rico (since I wouldn't have to worry about getting a passport for Nora) but the flight was going to be about 5 hours and that was not sounding too good, plus I wondered about activities to entertain Nora, though it's somewhere I certainly would love to visit in the future.

I was somewhat hesitant about Orlando only because of the whole Disney conundrum. Do we go, do we not go? I debated it even up until the week before our trip. I've been to Disney World twice before, once as a 5 or 6 year old and another time in middle school with a school group. I thought it was a blast, but I've never been a big Disney fanatic. It's somewhere I'd love to take our kids once when they are a little older (not only so they can remember but so that they are also big enough to go on most of the rides), and really do it all out. But Kevin and I agree, we are not people who would come back to Disney year after year for our family vacation, and we are also not really people who would spend that much money to take a 20-month old there either. Nothing wrong with it, just not our cup of tea.

So, if Disney was out, what other activities were available to do with a toddler in Orlando, that would also be entertaining to us?

I wanted a hotel with a good pool so at the very least we could enjoy swimming (we got lucky in this respect, as the average temperature in Orlando in February is ~70F, but it was 80+F the week we were there. If it had been much colder it would have been too cold to swim). I also read that SeaWorld was a pretty good choice for toddlers, so ultimately we chose to stay at the Renaissance Hotel at SeaWorld, which is literally across the street from SeaWorld so you can just walk over there (convenient if you want to go back to your hotel for naptime).

The hotel was fairly nice. We were glad we rented a car because there aren't many restaurants within walking distance (though parking was $16/day- which seems unnecessary). They had a really awesome splash pads for kids! When we first arrived, we immediately changed into our swimsuits and let Nora go to town. She had a great time!

The water was kind of cold, if you can tell from Kevin's expression! The water in the actual pool was much warmer. I bet this would feel amazing in the summer though. It wasn't too bad for February!

Next up: Gatorland and SeaWorld. But first a quick funny story. There are two parts: (1) I had been trying to get Nora excited about the alligators we were going to see the next day at Gatorland, so we had been talking about alligators and showing her how to make fake alligator jaws with her arms and clap them together ("Chomp! goes the alligator"). (2) This hotel had those glass elevators that look out into the center of the hotel, which is open. Nora really loved riding in them. So, anyway, apparently "alligator" and "elevator" are hard to distinguish to a one year old- because when we said, "Nora, it's time to ride the elevator!" she would run over to the elevator and go "yay, alligator! alligator!" and make the chomp motion. LOL.

p.s. It's Match week! Please cross your fingers, toes, etc that we get good news this week. I'm so scared/excited/stressed/relieved all at once that it's here!

Favorite Toddler Items 18-21 months

2013-03-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Nora got a ton of fun items for Christmas and I'm definitely not going to remember them all here (and some of them I'm not sure where to find, like the beautiful wooden ferris wheel or fun fishing set with wooden poles), but here are some of the items she's enjoyed:

1) B. Whacky Ball. Nora loves this toy (see video here). She likes putting the balls in the "right" spots, then hammering them into the holes. We've also found several other objects in there-apparently she thought it would be interesting to see what happened if you used a different object. It's a loud toy, but she is greatly entertained. Also, these Counting Bears are great to practice colors (though they are small, so may be a choking hazard).

2) The Best of Elmo DVD, Elmo Doll, and Elmo's Big Lift-And-look Book. Sensing a theme? There's something about this fuzzy red monster that is very endearing to a toddler.

3) Books: The Goodnight Train (I love this one!), Llama Llama Misses Mama (great for kids going to daycare/preschool), Blue Hat Green Hat , Snowmen at Christmas (we liked this one even more when we realized there are hidden objects on every page), Giraffes Can't Dance, Silly Sally (if you gave us this, leave a comment, because we have no idea who it's from!)

4) Kids Chair. I mentioned this in this post about reading, though Nora now finds it more useful as a place to jump off of, much to my chagrin (we have the light green with polka dot version).

5) Bath supplies, including a Bath Toy Net (this one sticks well and holds all her toys), Bath Color tablets (she really likes when the water is pink! with bubbles!!), and Munchkin Bath Letters and Numbers (they stick to the side of the bath- pretty cool!).

6) Puzzles. This Melissa and Doug Classic Peg Puzzle Bundle is great! I think her favorite is the number puzzle and she's really good at it. The fish puzzle has interchangeable pieces and it's intriguing to watch her do it because first she'll purposely put all the colors in the wrong place, then rearrange them all into the correct place next (not sure why? the minds of toddlers). The alphabet puzzle is the hardest and she often gets frustrated before she finishes, but I do think it's helped her a lot with her letters! It's amazing how many of them she can now find without any help. We also really like this Magnetic Fishing Game- Nora really enjoys it, and she now knows how to identify various sea creatures.

7) Step2 Push Around Car. I've mentioned this before as well, but it's been great to take her over to the park in this car instead of the stroller. She doesn't get so fussy and she's also not quite as sad to leave the park. It is loud over pavement, but it's a small price to pay. Also, all the other kids at the playground are totally jealous.

8) Rody Inflatable Hopping Horse. Nora mostly loves to put stickers on the horse and pet him, rather than ride him, but she's a fan!

Cloud dough (aka moon sand)

2013-03-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's amazing the things you'll come up with to keep your child entertained on cold winter days.

This day we used Nora's water table and made some cloud dough (I've also heard this called moon sand, but since I'm an atmospheric scientist, I prefer the cloud version).

Cloud dough is very easy to make. Just take some flour- we used about 4 cups- and add 1/2 cup oil. A lot of people recommend baby oil (especially the lavender scent so it smells nice) but I was worried Nora would try to eat it, so we used regular canola oil. Mix it very well. At first I wasn't too impressed, it just felt like flour, but the more mixed it gets, the better. It's about right when it can clump together when squeezed. It's very soft and feels like very soft white sand that's just a little wet.

Have I mentioned it's very messy? So much for keeping it over the plastic I put down on the floor...

It entertained Nora for quite awhile and then she got to take a bubble bath afterwards so it was like two good activities in one.

I think she liked this activity! Though it might be better as an outside activity during the summer- haha. Too much clean up for mom!

21 months

2013-03-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

My darling girl,

How is it that you are almost 2? This year has gone by so much faster than your first year. You are such a bright light in our lives. I have adored getting to know who you are as you begin to develop your personality and preferences.

You are sweet. You are a physically affectionate child which I just love. You love sitting in our laps, giving us kisses and hugs, saying I love you, taking care of your own stuffed animals, and trying very hard to pet the cats gently (sometimes excitement gets the best of you). You are always making sure that all your loved ones are accounted for- if I'm not there, you worry about me, or if daddy is gone, you worry about him until he comes back.

You are smart. You know your colors, you can now count to 10 quite well (though counting to three is more common; usually before you jump off of something), you somehow learned your shapes (I had no idea you knew these until I did an iPad app that asks you to pick out certain shapes and you got almost all of them, even hexagon- and you can draw a circle on request), and you even started singing the ABC song (you usually get to P- though this doesn't translate to actually identifying individual letters, you just have the song memorized, but you even sing in tune!). I think you are very bright.

You are friendly. On our recent trip, you made friends everywhere we went. You act very shy, hugging my leg at first, while you coyly smile and giggle with whoever is around you until pretty soon you've got them wrapped around your finger, playing games and singing songs and offering you various treats. At daycare, you run and give your teachers and classmates hugs when you arrive. I want to find a way to foster this characteristic, as I feel like I'm not a very friendly person especially when I first meet people, and I think it would make your life so much easier.

You have a sense of humor. You have been laughing so much lately and every time you get into those hysterical giggle fits, my heart feels like it will burst.

In short, we are so very proud that you are our daughter.

Love,
Mama and Dada

p.s. As a (boring) sidenote, here are your 21 month stats, for posterity: ~28 lbs, wearing size 5 diapers, 18-24M and 2T clothes, 11 teeth, shoe size ~6.5, recovering from a long-lasting ear infection like a trooper