News!

Alright, for any of you that still follow this blog, we officially have some news. We are moving to Charlotte, NC! My fellowship is officially complete December 23rd and we will be moving the last week of January. I am so excited about my new job as an ATTENDING hematologist-oncologist at Levine Children's Hospital. Ari is still debating between jobs (because the offers are so good). We will be making our way to NC the weekend before Thanksgiving to find a new house. The kids are excited, I think. Claire has just made me promise that she gets a new pink room with a big girl bed. No problem! And Carter, well, he will be happy if everyone else is. We are all looking forward to our new adventure in the south.

Pumpkin Patch

So we went to our favorite pumpkin patch again this year: Berger Family Farm. It is such a great experience because in addition to having plenty of pumpkins and getting to take a hayride to go find the perfect one, there is food, rides, games, music, crafts, a puppet show, and pony rides. We always make it a full day affair. This year we were lucky to be joined by my dad.
We started with lunch, moved on to the games, and then Claire held a baby chicken. After that is was time for a pony ride. Claire really enjoyed riding the pony, they actually went faster than I thought they would. Carter was his usual mellow man self and just loved watching Claire run around. It was a perfect day for a hayride and pumpkin picking.

Graduation

So last month I graduated for THE LAST TIME! Well, sort of. I technically will be finishing my pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship through December 23, 2011 to make up for my two maternity leaves. However, the next six months really is just one day of clinic, two weeks of inpatient service, a couple of experiments in the lab, writing up my paper (and maybe a couple of case reports), and then voila! I will be an attending. Well, sort of. I am very fortunate to be funded by the St. Baldrick's Foundation for my research so I actually will be a super fellow of sorts from January 1-June 2012. THEN, I will finally be an attending. This is something Ari acheived 4 years ago, so I am looking forward to finally catching up.

Carter's First Baseball Game

Mom and John came into town to see part of the first Reds v. Cardinals series. Kristen also came, but just to visit as she is a turncoat Cubs fan. We still love her and hope that she will someday see the error of her ways.

Carter got into the spirit early, realizing that baseball games are both about the sport and yummy ballpark food. Don't worry, he certainly did not partake in any of the food, especially not the popcorn.
Eventually the excitement was too much and he took a little snooze in my arms. He might have also been a little bit bored since the game was certainly a pitching duel with the Cardinals eventually losing :(
Claire had a great time as well. She loves baseball and loves shouting, "Go Yadi!" She also had a great time dancing with Grammy between innings.

Blog Neglect

So for those of you still out there occasionally looking for updates on what we have been doing, I apologize. We have been doing, just not blogging. After we returned from Hawaii, things got back to full swing for me at work. Balancing my clinical responsibilities, lab work, and duties as chief fellow certainly had me hopin' then I would pick the kids up and things would get hectic until bedtime. Exhaustion took over, especially before Carter man started sleeping through the night, and it was all I could do to make it to the kids' bedtime so I could go to sleep right after.
Now Carter is SEVEN months old and sleeping through the night. He is an amazing baby. Yes, I know, I am his mother so of course I think he is amazing. However, everyone, that meets him: daycare teachers, other parents, and friends cannot believe what a mellow, cheerful little man he is. He truly only cries when he is exhausted and wants to be put to bed or if you are not feeding him fast enough. The rank of Carter's favorite things from top down is Claire, being tickled, then food. Mommy and daddy come in fifth or so place unless we are doing the tickling or the feeding. The only food that I have found so far that he doesn't like is avocado. For those of you that are keeping track, there are now 3 carnivores to 1 vegetarian in our house.
As for Claire, she is getting a bit more dramatic by the day. I had been expecting terrible two's but what we are getting is drama queen 2 and a 1/2s. Claire has a million different moods and corresponding faces and she can switch between them at a drop of a hat. Unfortunately happy or cuddly gives way to pouty and tearful at times. Most of the time she is easily redirected, but sometimes she has to sit on the stairs to think about being a good listener and following the rules. Regardless of the moodiness, she is a delightful and super smart girl. She can count to 14 and can sing her ABCs. She speaks in the most amazing sentences and understands a lot of complex and abstract concepts. The other day she said, "I have an idea! What if we dress up like princesses when we get home and then we can eat a treat." Maybe the other 2 year-olds I know are below par, but I haven't had to many of them tell me that they have an idea. Did I mention that she is potty trained?!
So in summary, we are busy, I am lazy when it comes to blogging, we have two awesome kids that are growing and developing and are the light of our lives.

Baby Beach

On of the big reasons we picked Kauai of all the Hawaiian islands is because of a beach in Poipu called "Baby Beach." It is naturally sheltered from the large ocean waves by an arch of volcanic rocks and the water is extremely shallow. You should see all the families that go there! I was so excited for Claire to see her first beach because playing in the sand box has always been one of her favorite activities. Grammy made it even more awesome by bringing her special molds to make cupcakes out of sand. What a perfect gift!
Claire also enjoyed floating with a noodle or be pulled on a boogie board in the ocean. She is getting so brave in the water, floating and kicking. Hopefully, she will be a water girl just like her mommy!
What about the Carter man? Well, he spent his time in his car seat or in someone's arms under a large umbrella. No need for that delicate skin to get any sun exposure. The warmth did make for good napping, though.

Hawaii

Our trip to Hawaii didn't quite get off on the right foot. Alaskan Airline's computer system failed and left us stranded in the San Diego airport for 2 1/2 hours. This in turn made us miss our connector to Kauai and added another whole flight to our trip: instead of going San Diego to Maui to Kauai, we went San Diego, Maui, Honolulu, then Kauai. Had it been just Ari and I, I think we would have had more of a sense of humor. However, when traveling with two kids, two years old and under, things get more complicated.
Thankfully we have two of the best kids ever. As you can see, Claire was content to eat her noodles out of a take out container during a layover in Honolulu and the Carter man was happy just relaxing on daddy's lap. The whole day was exasperating to me, but I was certainly thankful that the kids had no expectations and it was just another adventure for them.

San Diego, Part III

On our third and final day in San Diego the weather was a bit chilly and wet so we had to find something indoors to do in the morning. We decided on the Children's Museum. Wow was it disappointing! Clearly in a city with beautiful weather all year long, people don't require fun things to do with their kids inside. While it boasted three floors of fun, the highlights were a giant chalkboard and a bouncy tunnel. Good thing we had more exciting plans for the afternoon/evening.
After lunch at California Pizza Kitchen (which was also a little disappointing, we don't have one in Cinci so I was looking forward to it but they took my pizza off the menu), we headed to see Lynne, Matt, Joseph, and Michael. Lynne is an old friend of mine, we were sorority sisters. It was great to see her sons, Michael I had not yet met. He and Claire are the same age. The kids played great together and we ate homemade pizzas. Yum! It was so good to see our friends, we were sad to leave.

San Diego Part II

Day 2 of San Diego was spent at Sea World. It was a little bit chilly, especially in the penguin encounter, but we muscled through. Do you see Kevin the dolphin? Claire was all talk when she said she wanted to feed him so Ari, Marshan, and I did all the feeding and dolphin petting. We also fed sea lions, saw the sea lion show, visited the penguins, and saw Shamu. Shamu was clearly Claire's favorite. She loved raising her hands in the air to signal him to splash and clapped at all his tricks. We treated her to new jammies with Shamu on them, too! As you can see, the Carter man was enthralled with the day. Something about getting carried around in the Baby Bjorn makes him fall asleep instantly!

San Diego, Part I

Early in my pregnancy with Carter, we planned a family vacation to take place at the end of my 3 month maternity leave. Ever the optimist, I planned for a full-term delivery. Since I obviously was mistaken, the trip then turned into a leave right after I go back trip. Regardless, we were all excited to head out on a long two city tour of San Diego and then Poipu, Kauai. My plan was kind of genius, we would start in California where we could somewhat acclimate to a 3 time zone change, explore a city that I have never seen and is kid-friendly, catch up with some college friends, and best of all spend some quality time with Ari's parents. As you can imagine, I was a bit nervous (okay a wreck) about planning to travel with two kids two and under. I must have read a bizillion articles about it. I thought the first flight would be a breeze since we were flying at bedtime and straight to San Diego. Surprise number 1, our flight was changed unbeknown to us, to a 1 stop flight with a detour in Salt Lake City. Grrr. Regardless, the kids did great, mostly sleeping and we arrived safe and sound in San Diego.
The weather was a bit on the chilly side but sunny on the first day so we headed to the zoo. What an amazing zoo! We were there most of the day and probably missed half of it. I loved seeing the pandas (Claire perseverated on the fact that she saw one poop). There were also a ton of koalas and a two day-old giraffe.
All snuggled in his Baby Bjorn, Carter slept through most of it!

Back to Work

As you can imagine, the transition back to work has not been easy. The dichotomy between days filled with cuddling and feeding and more cuddling versus patient care, research deadlines, and administrative duties is huge. Luckily, my kids' smiles and hugs have healing powers so when I pick them up in the afternoon, the heaviness in my heart and the pain in my brain (it is trying to wake up from its hiatus) quickly is replaced with love.

It is also helpful that CCHMC has award winning daycare filled with the most loving people I have ever met. They truly love our kids there and it is obvious when they send us pictures and emails to let us know what they are up to. Look at Carter on his first buggy ride above. It put him right to sleep! The one below is my favorite, look at that happy guy! It absolutely makes my day when an email shows up in my inbox filled with these smiles.

Hopefully soon balancing my two roles will become a bit easier.

3 Months Already?!

Apparently I blinked and 3 months flew past me! I am extremely sad that my maternity leave has come to an end. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, however, this snuggly guy has me wrapped around his finger and the thought of being separated from him all day long is horrible. Just look how much he has grown! He is now over 10 pounds. For those of you who say, "Ha! I deliver 10 pound babies" please be impressed that he has gained nearly 6 pounds in 12 weeks. I think that is amazing!! Besides loving to eat, our little man enjoys cooing and looking in mirrors. He is already rolling front to back (usually out of anger), swatting at toys, lifting his head and turning it side to side, and smiling a lot (especially when he has just eaten and you tickle his cheek). We are all in love with him!

Growing Like a Weed

Just wanted to post some more pictures of the Carter man. He is certainly growing fast! These pictures are already a couple of weeks old. Our last weigh in from last week was 9 lbs 10 oz!! Do you realize that he is nearly half Claire's size already?! Our big man does love to eat and it shows!! Love those chubby cheeks and the rolls in his thighs. More soon...

Christmas 2010

Despite all the gifts that Claire received for her birthday, there was no shortage of gifts under the tree (of course not all for her)! We had a very blessed Christmas. We were so lucky to celebrate the day with our family of four and also with Grammy, Auntie Kristen, and Uncle Larry.
This Christmas was even more fun than last, because Claire was able to understand the concept of gifts and Santa Claus. She was so thankful for all that she received.
Look at that excitement (and the tutu)!

Christmas Cookies

On Christmas Eve, Grammy, Claire, and I made cookies for Santa. Claire was so excited to make something for Santa, especially because she got to put sprinkles on the cookies! What isn't better with sprinkles? Luckily we made enough so we could all taste the treats.
Cute pose of Grammy and Claire Bear. Oh look! It is baby Carter in the background!!

Claire's birthday

Continuing on my quest to catch up our blog, here are some pics from Claire's second birthday back early in December. Carter came home the day before so we were fortunate enough to celebrate all together. We were fortunate enough to also have extended family and friends in town.
Claire received EVERYTHING on her wish list and then some. She was clearly overjoyed by all the awesome gifts. She also really enjoyed the decorations (especially the balloons) and of course her pink cake.
Look at that face! I think with the homecoming of Carter, all the family in the house, and a whole lot of sugar, our poor girl was overwhelmed.

8 Weeks Old

Sorry there has been such a lag in the blog. I definitely was not prepared for being a mom of two! It is wonderful, but I just can't seem to find a spare moment. Carter has been growing like a weed. Our pediatrician is certainly impressed. He is already almost on the growth chart, not corrected for being 8 weeks early. Claire can't even claim that! He is a really sweet baby but unfortunately has some significant reflux which causes him to spit up often and get a little fussy if he is not upright after eating. We all love him, especially Claire who loves to tickle his tiny toes and touch his head very gently.

Playin' in the Snow!

Trying to catch up on the blogging so I will be brief. Last winter was not very snowing so we did not do a lot of playing in the snow. This year, however, we prepared early and got Claire all of the essentials (coat, boots, snow pants) so she could play outside when the snow finally came. It was a hit for the most part. The mittens are an issue, her hands are so small and they just don't stay on!