Sunday, March 28, 2010

Palm Sunday

I love Holy Week! Other than Christmas time, this is definitely my most favorite time of the year and it is certainly my most favorite time of the liturgical year. I get so excited for the Triduum!

So, today was Palm Sunday and in celebration, I decided we should dress Isidora up in one of her new dresses! And, of course, we took a ridiculous amount of pictures of her today in her new dress. 60 to be exact. :O

Just a warning, there are a lot of pictures (12), and a video! Isidora did some pretty cute things today, including playing outside with Sofie and some fun play time with Daddy.

Izzie being silly with her lovey. Apparently she needed both hands for something, I have no idea what though!

I am going to smoosh your face with this lovey and my head, Daddy!

Here Daddy, have a lovey in your face!

Aww, I love my Daddy. And I have a mouth full of cereal bar.

I think I need a hug now.

And a cuddle.

Time to go outside at Nanny and Papa's house! Check out my new rain coat! (Well, we've had it for a couple of months, this is just the first time she has gotten to wear it.)

Daddy did some fancy camera work. And Isidora loves to play with her ears, which calls, "eye." (She also calls her eyes, "eye," and lights, "eye" as well.)

It was raining this morning, but the sky cleared up and it was really pretty outside in the late afternoon.

I just really liked this picture.

Playing with Sofie.

Friends.

And finally, Matt took this video of Isidora and I playing with Sofie outside. I didn't actually know he was taking a video, but it is fun to see what Isidora is like around Sofie, especially when we go outside to play! (I had to split it into 2 parts)




I love how she gets so excited when she sees Sofie playing. I also love how occasionally she plays with Sofie's tail. They didn't used to get along this well. Sofie didn't always like playing with Isidora, but since Sofie figured out that she can take food from Isidora, she has started to like Izzie a lot more. And Izzie pays attention to her, which Sofie likes. I also like how Isidora pats Sofie - it's like she is trying to get her to cough something up she pats so hard!

Anyway, I am sure that with all of the big masses coming up, we will take more pictures of all of her new dresses! Really, they aren't so much "new" as have just been given to us over the last several months or bought when they were on clearance and there weren't any in her size or they were the wrong season, etc. They are just being worn for the first time. Also, several different people bought Isidora an "Easter dress" - she has at least 4 now. Oh well.

PS: I am also very excited because we are going to look at houses tomorrow! Today made me realize the importance of having a yard (one without dog poop everywhere), since Isidora loves to spend time outside!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Last day of medical school

Yesterday was my last day of medical school.

I remember as I graduated from high school I told a good friend of mine that I was now half way done with school - 12 years left. I was sort of right. Really, I had 8 years of school and then residency - which is very different from school. I realized that it is fairly likely that I will never again be in a classroom the same way - daily lectures for months at a time, etc. I will, of course, be learning. I will probably be learning more than I ever have before, but it will be very different.

The last four years have been pretty crazy! I started medical school in August after I graduated from the University of Dallas. Our first year mostly consists of basic science - human anatomy, genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, microbiology. First year ended in mid May, and I stayed in Saint Louis to do research for the summer. We had about 10 weeks off, if I remember correctly.

Second year started again in August and was systems-based - neuro, cardio, respiratory, GI, renal, endocrine, and skin, bone and joint. We finished again in mid-May only to spend our time studying for the next several week for Step 1 - the hardest and most annoying test I have ever taken.

After that, it was time for third year. We always start the week after July 4th - and then we have 24 weeks of school in the fall and 24 weeks of school in the spring. We did rotations in internal medicine, ob/gyn, family medicine, pediatrics, surgery, neurology and psychiatry. I had so much fun. It was such hard work - many times working 60 - 80 hours per week, half of that while pregnant, the other half with a new baby. BUT, so worth it. The amount you learn is amazing.

Between third and fourth year, there are 2 weeks off, which we spent in the Northwest visiting family. At SLU, during your fourth year you are required to have 36 weeks of credits/schooling/work. This must include one sub-internship and one surgical sub-specialty rotation. To me, 36 weeks looked like a lot less than 48 weeks! However, a lot of people need to take time off during the winter to go on interviews and take Step 2 and such. Fortunately, I didn't have to go on a lot of interviews as I knew that I only wanted to be in 4 different cities and pediatrics isn't the most difficult thing in the world to get in to!

So, at the end of yesterday, my required 36 weeks of activities was completed, and here I am, finished with medical school. It has been a long road, but it has gone by so fast. Now, Matt and I get to stay at home together with Isidora and focus on getting ready for the next three years of our life - residency. In the next couple of months we have a lot to do!

Really, all we have to do is move - but I think that is enough!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

New words

Isidora has been working on a few new words lately and we figured out a couple more today.

New words: knee, elbow, this, watch, see (this may mean Izzie, we are not sure), toes, feet

She says a lot of them in this video:



She is learning so fast!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Being silly

Today was a pretty busy, but was also full of silliness. This morning, my mom (who is visiting from Portland) and my sister, Katee came over because we were going to go out shopping for Katee's dress for her wedding. Matt and I had received a package last night that had lots of bubble wrap in it so this morning Katee decided Isidora needed to jump on all of the left over bubble wrap!

What is this stuff Auntie Katee?

Wee!!!

Action shot!

Then later on this evening, Isidora found her snowman outfit that Auntie Becky bought for her last year when she was still itty bitty. Over the past several months she has occasionally rediscovered it and wanted it on - which is very funny. She decided that she wanted it on again today, but she is now way too big for it - it is only a 0-9 months outfit and she is almost 16 months! So we worked out a solution!

Check me out everybody! I'm a snowman!

We only put her head and arms in! It seemed to satisfy her!

This is from the first time we put the snowman outfit on her when she was one month old and was not very fond of it.

This is from October (11 months) when she first rediscovered the snowman outfit. We could still zip her all the way into it back then.

PS: if you are having trouble viewing the links, they are the videos I have up on Facebook which you can see from my profile.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The other lovey

Before Isidora was born as part of a baby shower present we received a couple of loveys that a family friend, Beth Skoultchi, made for us. Now, these weren't like the loveys that Isidora sleeps with (cloth diapers), but larger and made of a fun soft material that a lot of baby blankets are made of now. I recently rediscovered these loveys as they had been put away before she was born in a cubbie with a bunch of other blankets that she has. When I grabbed this one out, Isidora immediately grabbed it and started playing with it. She now treats it as one of her other loveys, or maybe more as a lovey-blanket hybrid.

Hanging out with Auntie Becky

Nom nom

Awww.

Being silly.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

New shoes

Yesterday, we went to the mall with Becky and Juanita. Macy's was having a big baby sale and I recently found a gift card we had from being in the Star Rewards program from our wedding. So, of course Isidora needed even more clothes than she already has! We ended up finding her a super cute dress and sweater from Carter's (which I LOVE), as well as a couple more summer outfits and a fall outfit.

While we at the mall, Becky wanted to stop in the Crocs store because one of her pairs of shoes recently broke somehow and she wanted to see if there was anything to do to fix it. Apparently while I was looking at some cheap sunglasses at a center kiosk, Juanita decided to buy Izzie some new Crocs, complete with jibbitz!

Pink Crocs with some jibbitz of animals that she knows - elephant, monkey, cow and sheep!

These are great! I can chew on them too!

Check out my new kicks Papa!

Actually, I entered the store to Isidora screaming because they were taking off one pair of Crocs that were too big to try on a pair of smaller ones. She had to have them at that point. Oh well.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Aunt Becky's Spring Break Beck-stravaganza!

Bree's youngest sister Becky was able to come visit St. Louis for about a week during her Spring Break. Becky doesn't get to see Isidora very often, so it has been a lot of fun to have her around. Also, having an extra person who enjoys paying attention to Izzie and is willing to go chasing after her is always a plus. We were able to do some fun stuff while she was here, including a visit to the zoo, seeing the City Museum, the Arch, Match day, and just hanging around.
Before you ask, yes, we did document her visit with pictures. What do you think we've been doing with our time, drawing sketches?



Izzie and Becky watching the hippos at the St. Louis Zoo. I think the Hippo enclosure might be one of the best parts of the whole zoo now.

Another place we went to was the City Museum, another cool site to see in St. Louis. It's basically an old building downtown that has been filled with crazy stuff. And by crazy stuff I mean fake caves, treehouses, airplanes, stone towers, architectural edifices and heavy machinery, etc. It's kind of weird and very very cool.

Izzie and Becky playing in the ball pit.

Funny face.

Write your own caption for this one.

Wheeeeeee!

There's that tower I mentioned. And you can see part of one of the airplanes in this picture. There are two.

Nooo don't throw me in the dungeon!


View on the balcony of the tower.

This place is like a Hieronymous Bosch painting or something.


Does this seem sinister to anyone else? Just kinda strolling along unwittingly towards a dark and mysterious fantasy land of doom? Luckily we all survived.

"Stole your cell phone? I don't know what you're talking about... yes, I do have lots of Steubenville people in my phonebook, what of it???"
Awwww.

Izzie's funny toy

A couple of weeks ago, Juanita bought several toys online for Isidora. She got her some really neat books, her meal set and some puzzles. Another toy that she picked up was this little creature:

This is a teether from Vulli, a french toy company. Isidora loves this toy. It is a rubber mushroom that also squeaks in a way that is very reminiscent of a dog toy. She loves her toy so much, she carries it all around Nanny and Papa's house with her.

At the front door looking outside.

What is this thing?

On the second floor trying to sneak into Uncle Ben or Aunt Katee's room!

On the third floor in my swing that Papa hung up for me! Squeak squeak!

Since Isidora still only has 6 teeth, and has 14 more to come, Juanita thought it would be good for her to have a more complicated teething apparatus. Turns out the pediatrician was right! She absolutely loves it and loves to chew on it too! Hopefully it will help when those molars come!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Match Day

Today was kind of a big deal. Without the kind of. I am pretty sure I haven't slept well for the last week or so in anticipation of today. And now it is over, and we know where we are going to be for the next 3 years!

Saint Louis Children's Hospital!

This was our number one choice and we are all pretty darn excited about matching here! It is a wonderful pediatric hospital and a wonderful program where people train to be great doctors. Granted, it is a lot more difficult than Cardinal Glennon would have been, but I think I am ready for a change. Another big factor was that I am seriously considering specializing, and Children's has almost every specialty out there available for fellowship.

Match day itself was a lot of fun. It is always great to see all of my class in one place like that. This year, it was held at the Redbird club at Busch stadium, which also happens to be where Matt's parents have their season tickets, so we knew the venue well! It was neat to see it all done up like that. Matt's parents and Katee and Becky were all able to make it down for match day, which was a real blessing. I was so glad to have all of them there. Matt and Isidora were there also, of course. The timing, unfortunately, was not optimal for Izzie, who did not get a morning nap and then was not able to fall asleep at the venue. But, she did a pretty good job regardless and got to spend some nice time with Auntie Becky while Matt and I ate lunch (which was pretty good!)

The match ceremony was also pretty neat. Starting at precisely 11 am, they started calling our names at random, one at a time. Each individual called brings up a dollar to put into a bag and receives their envelope with where they matched. They may then go and open it to find out where. The last person to get their envelope gets to keep the bag of money. There are about 170 people in my class. Unfortunately, I wasn't last. I was only like, 8th to last. So I waited while almost everyone in my class got their envelope (27 or 28 minutes!!!) until I was called. I guess it was worth it though :) I am glad it is over.

So, now that we are sure we are staying in Saint Louis, on to our next big adventure! Buying a house!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Bananas

Over the last few months, the number of words Isidora says has seemed to explode! Sometimes I feel like she is learning a new word every day (though I know that is not true!) Her new word of today was "bubble." While Isidora was taking a bath, I took some of the soap suds from her shampoo and put them into one of her little tea cups that she has. She decided that was pretty neat. It's amazing how long something like that can entertain a little one.

Anyway, another one of her more recent word additions was "banana," only it comes out "nana" when Izzie says it! Not only does Isidora say, "banana," she loves eating them! Here is a little video of Isidora eating and holding a banana:



My favorite thing is that she really likes to take "big girl bites" - aka she will eat a whole piece of the banana rather than taking little chunks out of it! I think this was the first time she actually held the banana to eat it. She did a pretty good job!

PS: Tomorrow is match day. I find out sometime after 11 am where we will be going for residency!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Playing with Daddy

Matt has always had many little games that he plays with Isidora, but since he has been staying at home with her full time, it seems that the number of games has multiplied exponentially. The best part of their games is that almost all of them involve Isidora being mean in some way to Matt. Well, I think it's funny at least.



Here is one of their newest games. You'll notice that she responds most reliably to Matt asking her to help him up. Also, at the end she says, "Die, Daddy." Silly girl.

In all seriousness, though, Isidora really does love her Daddy.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Match update

Today all applicants who entered the NRMP Match found out whether or not they matched so that tomorrow those that did not match may enter the scramble (when all the people who did not match attempt to find a program with an open slot).

I found out that I matched! Hurray! This means we will either be in Saint Louis, Houston or Portland for the next three years.

Now, all I have to do is wait until Thursday to find out where.

More to come on Thursday!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Izzie and the Dinosaurs

Since Bree had the afternoon off, we decided to take Isidora to the St. Louis Science Center. This is yet another place in town that I went to all the time as a kid. It started off in the round "volcano-looking" building at the southern edge of Forest Park, and then expanded into a much larger building across Oakland Avenue. There is even a bridge spanning Highway 40 (which is really Interstate 64) connecting the two buildings. The old building is now the Planetarium and has some really cool stuff from the space program, including a couple Mercury capsules (I think).
The museum itself has changed a lot over the years, with whole sections moved around and redone. Most of it was a little over Izzie's head, but some of it she found fun, especially the dinosaur exhibit which was going on.

Izzie watching cars go by on the highway through the plexiglass in the bridge.

Here we see her helping us demonstrate the structural integrity of arches.

T. Rex was pretty big.

Young T. Rex is still kinda big; Izzie is not impressed by Daddy's T. Rex impersonation.

Izzie eavesdropping.

This was kind of cool. One of the focuses of the exhibit is that recent discoveries indicate that a lot of dinosaurs had more bird-like characteristics than previously assumed. This is a comparison of how they used to believe Velociraptor looked (right) to how they now believe it looked (left).

O hi T Rex, g2g k thanx bye!!1

Izzie trying to share some of her snacks with Triceratops.

That's all for now. Obviously we will be coming back to the Science Center often. Did I mention that, as with many great attractions in Forest Park, admission is free? No, they're not paying me to say that, I'm just a dork.