We're moving on August 6th and 7th. We found an apartment in Evanston, a northern suburb of Chicago. We're going to load the truck on the 6th, then drive to Cheyenne on the 7th, Omaha on the 8th, and Evanston on the 9th. Our belongings will arrive on probably the 11th of 12th. Justin will leave for Napa on the 16th, return on the 20th, and has orientation on the 24th. School starts officially on the 30th. Somewhere in that time we'll move in. :)
We're ecstatic. And doing our best to think about going, not leaving. I've been trying to go through 1 room per day (difficult with a 9 month-old). When I got married I never really moved out, so I have stuff in every room. It's finally starting to feel like we're really moving. Justin is in Napa without us right now. I'm very sad about it since this time was going to be my last time to go. We just felt like it was a better idea for us to stay since Louise will be going on a 27 hour drive next week. We felt like that on top of a Napa trip would just plain be too much. Justin will be flying in the future.
I can't wait to start decorating. And exploring Chicago. And meeting new people. I'm just excited. :)
Friday, July 27, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
"Turn 180 degrees and step forward"
In 1968, Doug Tompkins, founder of The North Face, and Yvon Chouinard, a fellow outdoor enthusiast, attempted a climb of Patagonia's Corcovado Volcano. In 2010, fellow enthusiast Jeff Johnson attempted a recreation of the journey. When, at the end of his journey across continents, he had to stop and turn around with only 200 feet between him and the summit due to the unsafe condition of the rock face, some might think that he failed. However, a quote from Tompkins might more aptly describe his predicament and subsequent decision. Tompkins is quoted as saying, "People say you can't go back, but what happens if you get to the cliff and you take one step forward. Or you [can] turn 180 degrees and take one step forward. ...Which is progress?"
Claire and I have decided to take a step forward while at the same time turning 180 degrees. The semester before I became involved with the Certificate program in Napa, and now, throughout this program, I've had the thought, "Man, there need to be more pediatricians and psychiatrists that are developmentally informed on kids." Strange thought, I know. Welcome to the inner workings of my brain. Many of these times, I also thought how neat it would be to be one of these informed people myself. The thought never traveled far, however, due to the fact that I'd already completed 3 1/2 years of a Psychology Baccalaureate degree, which includes few, if any, of the prerequisites for medical school. Due to this fact, I never really considered either of these possibilities seriously. I've thought, though, that these are really the people on the front lines of child health, both physical and mental. I mean, nobody, when they're having problems with their child, takes them directly to an Occupational Therapist for sensory processing issues, or a developmental therapist to work on their relationship with the child. They set an appointment with Doc, or, if things are serious enough and behaviorally based, a psychiatrist.
When I heard the quote mentioned above, I seriously reconsidered my career decisions via the degree options open to me. I hadn't seriously considered anything medical, because I didn't want to go back and start over on a 4-year degree. I realized that, yes, I had gotten my BS degree (no jokes, please) in 4 years, but what did that matter, if, as a result of holding myself to that, I couldn't do all that I wanted to in terms of helping children and families? That's the position I found myself in.
So, as it stands now, here's the plan: provided that I get accepted for the Fall, Claire, Louise and I will be heading to Chicago for a two year Master's program in Child Development. Immediately after that, I'll need to jump back into undergrad classes, taking the chemistry, physics, and biology classes that I never took in college. As soon as I finish those prerequisites, we'll be applying to med school, goodness-only-knows where. For my residency, I'm looking into something referred to as "Triple-Boarding". It's a residency that takes place at only a few locations around the US, taking place over the course of five years, that culminates in the resident being qualified to sit for the board exams in pediatrics, psychiatry, and child psychiatry, all three. This prospect fills me with so much excitement and enthusiasm, I think I scare people with it. The idea of being trained and qualified to take into consideration the physical, mental, and relational state of children in prescribing treatment is absolutely astounding.
So, although this tacks about 10 years onto the totality of my schooling and training, I'm totally looking forward to it. Claire, like the incredible, supportive, indulgent, and loving woman that she is, is in it for the long haul with me.
That being said, here's to being able to turn 180 degrees and take a step forward.
Claire and I have decided to take a step forward while at the same time turning 180 degrees. The semester before I became involved with the Certificate program in Napa, and now, throughout this program, I've had the thought, "Man, there need to be more pediatricians and psychiatrists that are developmentally informed on kids." Strange thought, I know. Welcome to the inner workings of my brain. Many of these times, I also thought how neat it would be to be one of these informed people myself. The thought never traveled far, however, due to the fact that I'd already completed 3 1/2 years of a Psychology Baccalaureate degree, which includes few, if any, of the prerequisites for medical school. Due to this fact, I never really considered either of these possibilities seriously. I've thought, though, that these are really the people on the front lines of child health, both physical and mental. I mean, nobody, when they're having problems with their child, takes them directly to an Occupational Therapist for sensory processing issues, or a developmental therapist to work on their relationship with the child. They set an appointment with Doc, or, if things are serious enough and behaviorally based, a psychiatrist.
When I heard the quote mentioned above, I seriously reconsidered my career decisions via the degree options open to me. I hadn't seriously considered anything medical, because I didn't want to go back and start over on a 4-year degree. I realized that, yes, I had gotten my BS degree (no jokes, please) in 4 years, but what did that matter, if, as a result of holding myself to that, I couldn't do all that I wanted to in terms of helping children and families? That's the position I found myself in.
So, as it stands now, here's the plan: provided that I get accepted for the Fall, Claire, Louise and I will be heading to Chicago for a two year Master's program in Child Development. Immediately after that, I'll need to jump back into undergrad classes, taking the chemistry, physics, and biology classes that I never took in college. As soon as I finish those prerequisites, we'll be applying to med school, goodness-only-knows where. For my residency, I'm looking into something referred to as "Triple-Boarding". It's a residency that takes place at only a few locations around the US, taking place over the course of five years, that culminates in the resident being qualified to sit for the board exams in pediatrics, psychiatry, and child psychiatry, all three. This prospect fills me with so much excitement and enthusiasm, I think I scare people with it. The idea of being trained and qualified to take into consideration the physical, mental, and relational state of children in prescribing treatment is absolutely astounding.
So, although this tacks about 10 years onto the totality of my schooling and training, I'm totally looking forward to it. Claire, like the incredible, supportive, indulgent, and loving woman that she is, is in it for the long haul with me.
That being said, here's to being able to turn 180 degrees and take a step forward.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Our life as of late
Life is pretty busy as parents. Who knew. ;) But it's a wonderful busy.
I figured it was time for an update on Justin and I's (mine and Justin's?) lives.
We're currently (and for the past several months) playing the waiting game concerning our future. It's been maddening to not be able to make any plans. That will all blessedly come to an end in the next 6 days, one way or another. We'll find out if Justin has been accepted to the Erikson Institute of Child Development in Chicago or not. If so, we'll most likely be moving to Chicago in the next 6 weeks. If not, we'll likely be moving to Napa, California. The reason for the 'most likely' is because we have yet to decide if we'll go this year, or defer it for a year in order for Justin to finish up the Napa Fellowship. In the next 9 months he has 2 major projects that he has to complete for the Fellowship. He has 200 practicum hours and 200 hours of an applied project. If he goes to Erikson this fall, he'd have an incredibly rigorous (in the words of one of the professor) work load on top of the Fellowship. Although Justin has been known to take on seemingly insurmountable tasks, even he admitted that...that's kind of a lot. If he does that I'm gonna have to dust off the ole friend-making skills, because I don't think he'll surface from his books much.
Regardless of where we end up, I'm so excited to move. My parents have been so generous and selfless to let us stay with them for the past year, and we are infinitely grateful, but we are so ready to have our own space. I'm so excited to be able to use our own dishes and appliances again, decorate, have a messy house without feeling guilty, have Louise in her own room, get all of our stuff out of their house so we're not feeling guilty about taking up an entire room with boxes, not be afraid of waking anyone up if the baby cries at night, not feel guilty every time Louise spits up somewhere, put Louise down for naps without worrying about something waking her up, not feel guilty about taking over their house with our stuff, the list goes on (anyone that knows me knows I have an overactive guilt hormone releaser ;) ). As nice as it will be, I will miss living here immensely. I love having someone to talk to all the time or seek advice from, or someone to watch Louise while I run to the store. I love being so close to our families, and I regret that Louise and any future children we will have will grow up without being close to their cousins. At least for a while; we've both agreed that we want to come back here as soon as we can. We could be there as long as 8 or 9 years.
The thing I'm the most sad about is that my grandparents, who have lived next door or down the street my whole live, will very likely pass away while we're gone. My grandpa is 92 and finally slowing down and grandma is 87. I think they take partial credit for raising us since we live so close and my brother and I spent half of our childhood at their house anyway. I've been taking Louise over there almost every day for the past several months and it has been such a joy watching them get to know her and vice versa. She gets the silliest grin on her face the minute she sees either of them, I love it. I'm sure she won't remember the visits, but I've been taking lots of pictures of them so she'll at least have those.
The other day I reconnected with a college roommate whom I haven't spoken to in over 2 years (doesn't seem like a very long time, but it is). We both got married and moved out and didn't really communicate, but we were very close previous to that, so when we got together on Monday and again on Wednesday it was like we had never been apart. Justin and her husband had no trouble becoming fast friends, either. Justin and I haven't really spent time with friends for the last year or so since most of our friends either weren't married or weren't parents (that is quickly changing. :) ), and we've both been thinking lately that we need to. It was so refreshing to talk to a couple with so many of the same ideas. We'll be the first to admit that our parenting is a bit...unorthodox, and we were overjoyed to find that their parenting style is the same! Their little boy just turned a year, and Heather has another baby due in August. Louise and Paul had a wonderful time together, as well. They were so cute to watch; Paul would take her binky, look at it, and put it back in, and she would just watch him. She's at the creeping stage before actual crawling and he's just about to walk, so she was a little frustrated that she couldn't keep up with him, but I think it'll just give her motivation to 'get a move on.' :) We had dinner and talked until far too late, but both Justin and I felt so...refreshed is the only word I can think of...when we left. It was an excellent reminder for us of the need for friendship. No being hermits. Especially when we move.
Well, that's all I can think of that's been going on. Oh, the motorcycle doesn't work. We've given up on it. Anyone want to buy a fixer-uper? We'll only sell it to you if there's no chance that we'll ever see you again. I'll do Louise's 8 month post soon, with pictures. Good night, all.
I figured it was time for an update on Justin and I's (mine and Justin's?) lives.
We're currently (and for the past several months) playing the waiting game concerning our future. It's been maddening to not be able to make any plans. That will all blessedly come to an end in the next 6 days, one way or another. We'll find out if Justin has been accepted to the Erikson Institute of Child Development in Chicago or not. If so, we'll most likely be moving to Chicago in the next 6 weeks. If not, we'll likely be moving to Napa, California. The reason for the 'most likely' is because we have yet to decide if we'll go this year, or defer it for a year in order for Justin to finish up the Napa Fellowship. In the next 9 months he has 2 major projects that he has to complete for the Fellowship. He has 200 practicum hours and 200 hours of an applied project. If he goes to Erikson this fall, he'd have an incredibly rigorous (in the words of one of the professor) work load on top of the Fellowship. Although Justin has been known to take on seemingly insurmountable tasks, even he admitted that...that's kind of a lot. If he does that I'm gonna have to dust off the ole friend-making skills, because I don't think he'll surface from his books much.
Regardless of where we end up, I'm so excited to move. My parents have been so generous and selfless to let us stay with them for the past year, and we are infinitely grateful, but we are so ready to have our own space. I'm so excited to be able to use our own dishes and appliances again, decorate, have a messy house without feeling guilty, have Louise in her own room, get all of our stuff out of their house so we're not feeling guilty about taking up an entire room with boxes, not be afraid of waking anyone up if the baby cries at night, not feel guilty every time Louise spits up somewhere, put Louise down for naps without worrying about something waking her up, not feel guilty about taking over their house with our stuff, the list goes on (anyone that knows me knows I have an overactive guilt hormone releaser ;) ). As nice as it will be, I will miss living here immensely. I love having someone to talk to all the time or seek advice from, or someone to watch Louise while I run to the store. I love being so close to our families, and I regret that Louise and any future children we will have will grow up without being close to their cousins. At least for a while; we've both agreed that we want to come back here as soon as we can. We could be there as long as 8 or 9 years.
The thing I'm the most sad about is that my grandparents, who have lived next door or down the street my whole live, will very likely pass away while we're gone. My grandpa is 92 and finally slowing down and grandma is 87. I think they take partial credit for raising us since we live so close and my brother and I spent half of our childhood at their house anyway. I've been taking Louise over there almost every day for the past several months and it has been such a joy watching them get to know her and vice versa. She gets the silliest grin on her face the minute she sees either of them, I love it. I'm sure she won't remember the visits, but I've been taking lots of pictures of them so she'll at least have those.
The other day I reconnected with a college roommate whom I haven't spoken to in over 2 years (doesn't seem like a very long time, but it is). We both got married and moved out and didn't really communicate, but we were very close previous to that, so when we got together on Monday and again on Wednesday it was like we had never been apart. Justin and her husband had no trouble becoming fast friends, either. Justin and I haven't really spent time with friends for the last year or so since most of our friends either weren't married or weren't parents (that is quickly changing. :) ), and we've both been thinking lately that we need to. It was so refreshing to talk to a couple with so many of the same ideas. We'll be the first to admit that our parenting is a bit...unorthodox, and we were overjoyed to find that their parenting style is the same! Their little boy just turned a year, and Heather has another baby due in August. Louise and Paul had a wonderful time together, as well. They were so cute to watch; Paul would take her binky, look at it, and put it back in, and she would just watch him. She's at the creeping stage before actual crawling and he's just about to walk, so she was a little frustrated that she couldn't keep up with him, but I think it'll just give her motivation to 'get a move on.' :) We had dinner and talked until far too late, but both Justin and I felt so...refreshed is the only word I can think of...when we left. It was an excellent reminder for us of the need for friendship. No being hermits. Especially when we move. Well, that's all I can think of that's been going on. Oh, the motorcycle doesn't work. We've given up on it. Anyone want to buy a fixer-uper? We'll only sell it to you if there's no chance that we'll ever see you again. I'll do Louise's 8 month post soon, with pictures. Good night, all.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
7 Months
Louise has 3 bottom teeth! This is such a fun stage and we're loving every minute of it. We lost our camera for several weeks, so there's not many pictures.
Louise is:
-getting so close to crawling!
-saying bob bob bob bob, which I'm sure means mom mom mom mom... ;)
-loving solid food. I don't even know how much we go through...12 jars of baby food a day? Something like that. I have to make an entire batch of apples, bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, peaches, apricots, and whatever else I can get my hands on at least twice per week. She downs it!
-still in the 6th percentile for weight and 15th for height. That's ok. She's happy and healthy, just petite. :)
-loving going to Babylon Mills to go swimming with Mom and Dad. We've never heard her laugh so hard as when Justin goes under water and comes back up in front of her. Cutest thing ever.
-getting pretty clingy to Mom, but when it comes to play, nobody can compete with Daddy.
-very excited about going for walks.
-trying harder every day to talk with us. When we're talking to her she stares intently and "talks" to us in sweet little exclamations of joy.
-a very serious eater. Do not get between her and her food. Do not talk to her while she's eating. Do not hesitate with the spoon while she's eating. Do not try to distract her, unless you're Daddy dancing around the kitchen, in which case you're exempt from this rule. It's so funny, coming from such a tiny person.
-Mommy and Daddy's pride and joy.
We love her so much it hurts!
Louise is:
-getting so close to crawling!
-saying bob bob bob bob, which I'm sure means mom mom mom mom... ;)
-loving solid food. I don't even know how much we go through...12 jars of baby food a day? Something like that. I have to make an entire batch of apples, bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, peaches, apricots, and whatever else I can get my hands on at least twice per week. She downs it!
-still in the 6th percentile for weight and 15th for height. That's ok. She's happy and healthy, just petite. :)
-loving going to Babylon Mills to go swimming with Mom and Dad. We've never heard her laugh so hard as when Justin goes under water and comes back up in front of her. Cutest thing ever.
-getting pretty clingy to Mom, but when it comes to play, nobody can compete with Daddy.
-very excited about going for walks.
-trying harder every day to talk with us. When we're talking to her she stares intently and "talks" to us in sweet little exclamations of joy.
-a very serious eater. Do not get between her and her food. Do not talk to her while she's eating. Do not hesitate with the spoon while she's eating. Do not try to distract her, unless you're Daddy dancing around the kitchen, in which case you're exempt from this rule. It's so funny, coming from such a tiny person.
-Mommy and Daddy's pride and joy.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Sleep at last!
I made up a schedule for us to help with naps and feeding times (because I'm a little OCD and love schedules and lists). I combined The Sleep Lady's ideal 6 to 8 month-old sleep schedule and T. Berry Brazelton's ideal 6 to 8 month-old feeding schedule into one, along with a list of foods to introduce at this age. I've been trying to follow it since we got home from Napa and Louise has been doing so well! She's been taking longer naps, sleeping 12 hours at night (from 7 pm to 8 am) with only one awakening at 4:30 to eat, and is just so, so happy! I'm so, so happy, as well! ;) One of my favorite things is to go get her after her naps. She is absolutely overjoyed to see us. It's adorable.
Louise had her 6 month check-up yesterday, and is doing well. She's super tiny, though. She's in the 6% for weight, and 15% for height. But Danny wasn't concerned, so we're not either. Like Justin says, she's happy, healthy, and energetic and doesn't look skinny. She's just very petite. She got her mom's height and dad's build. Lucky girl!
It seems that everyone is pregnant or having babies these days! I'm so excited for them all. I just love babies and being a parent is the very best job ever. It's what humans were made for, it's the greatest joy known to man (and woman). I just wish that everyone could be learning what I'm learning from Justin through his classes and the fellowship! It's just so exciting! There are so many amazing things about infants and children being discovered (moms have known most of it for centuries, the men and scientists are slowly coming around to it ;) ). You all should read Justin's daddy blog, Diary of a Domestic Superman, and I'll get him to post more after school ends next week. He's certified to do NBO's (newborn behavioral observation) now, so if you have, or are having, a new baby and want to learn about their little personality and preferences, he'd love to assist you. They're incredible. He has to do a certain number by September, I think, so you'll be helping him out as well. 
Life is amazing. :)
Friday, April 13, 2012
Almost 6 Months
The last week has been really rough. Louise has always slept like a champ, but last Saturday she suddenly decided she wanted nothing to do with it. We used to just put her in her crib at 7 when she was awake and she'd adjust and be asleep in a matter of minutes. Her naps were the same way. Saturday night she just screamed and screamed. I was afraid it was her teeth, so I put Orajel on her gums and it didn't do anything. I fed her, changed her, wrapped her in a blanket, unwrapped her, I tried EVERYTHING. She finally fell asleep at 10, then was awake and crying from 2 to 4. Sunday, Easter, her naps were the same. The longest she slept was 25 minutes. Normally, she gets around 16 hours of sleep per day and from Saturday to Monday she got 10 or 11. I felt SO bad for her! She was exhausted and grumpy. On Monday Justin and I decided that it wasn't her teeth or anything, so it was time so do something about it. I had heard about The Sleep Lady from Rachel's blog and bought the book in preparation for this day, so we started The Shuffle on Monday night. Monday was pretty rough on all three of us. Justin and I had NEVER let her cry like that. It was so hard to sit right by her and not pick her up while she was crying. The first night was 45 minutes, the second was 30, the third 15, and last night and tonight there was NO crying. We're so proud of Louise. She is such a champ. You can tell she's relieved to be able to put herself to sleep, too. And she wakes up so happy. She still wakes up in the night, where she didn't before, but we're working on that, and getting better everyday. I'm so thankful for The Sleep Lady. I also made her a little mobile to hang over her crib to help her get to sleep. She has always slept on her stomach, but now she rolls over (another reason for her sleep troubles last week) and wakes up. The mobile has helped a ton. 
We started her on rice cereal a couple of weeks ago (which also could have added to her troubles). She quite likes it. From the very first time we gave it to her she has been so good at swallowing. We should have known she was ready because she's been reaching and trying to eat everything. And whenever I hold her and drink from my canteen she needs to try it, too. :)
Louise is getting so close to both sitting up and crawling (another sleep interruption). She can sit up on her own for almost a minute before falling over.
She kind of has the same expression in every picture, doesn't she? This is a very typical look for her.
Louise and Grandpa at Babylon Mills.
Louise was very excited about seeing her cousin Stockton.
She is such a happy girl and we are cherishing every minute with her. We love her SO stinkin much.
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