January Fly-by

Wow...it's the end of January already, how did that happen? We've had a busy month...at work, at home, with family & friends. Emerson turns 4 in ten days. Good God! My baby is all grown up. *sign, sob, sniff* We're having a little party at school on Friday for her birthday and are looking forward to some amazing birthday adventures this year.

I've been off my nausea meds for the past 4 days, and am feeling pretty good here at 24 weeks along. This pregnancy is flying by as well, and we'll have a bouncing baby boy here before we know it. He's doing lots of bouncing on my bladder these days, and Keith felt him move for the first time this morning (while I was sleeping!). He's an active little booger! We've pretty much decided on a name for him, and just like we did with Emerson, we'll keep it to ourselves until he arrives. We've got some things to do to prepare for another baby in the house, but I'm feeling very little stress about it (right now). We just found out on Friday that he'll be able to attend the same little in-home daycare that Emerson did, and we are so, so happy about that.

We've had a sort of crummy week with a sick little girl, heavy work schedules, 2 grandparents in the ICU and lots to do around the house. Em's on the mend, and both grandparents are now out of the hospital, thankfully. I finished my third (and final) week of Admissions at work, so now can focus on all the other things I need to get accomplished. I'm finally moving forward with a clinic position at Breast Cancer Survivor Clinic at Duke. Looking forward to my first days in clinic in early March. I'll do that intermittently when the NP needs clinic coverage, and as the program expands, will increase to a one day/week position, which is a requirement of being on faculty at the PA Program. I've been without a clinic assignment since the end of Sept 2010, so look forward to interacting with patients again.

We went to the Durham Museum of Life & Science on MLK Day, as we were all on vacation that day. Had lots of fun exploring, and I was able to snap some cool photos in the Butterfly House with my new telephoto camera lens. I got a new camera bag today to stow all my camera gear, and look forward to taking lots of photos over Em's birthday.

Wintertime fun!

We had some snow the day after Christmas...about 4-5 inches. We'd purchased a sled, boots and snow pants for Emerson on clearance last year in hopes of using it all this year. She was thrilled to break everything in! She giggled the entire time Keith pulled her on the sled. We all took turns with her on a big hill in the neighborhood. We made a tiny snowman on the deck, and our outside Kitty ate all the embellishments off of him (much to Em's dismay!). Overall, it's been a great vacation week around here!

A New Year: 2011

I took a look back at my New Year post from last year, and these were the things on my to-do list for 2010...

A few things I'd like to cross off my list this year:

--get pregnant/stay pregnant (check)

--run the Flying Pig 5K with Jen in early May (didn't do because of #1 above)

--paint what needs painted in the house and finish reorganizing rooms/furniture (check)

--focus on better diet, ie: try to drink more water, eat more fruits & veggies, etc (still trying, but doing better)

--transition Emmy into a big girl room, with a big girl bed (check)

--read more for fun (check...amazing what you can do when you stop bringing work home with you!)

So, again, I have some overall goals for 2011 that would be lovely to accomplish. We'll see what 2011 has in store for us!

--deliver a healthy baby boy in May, and help Em with the transition to big sister

--breastfeed for what seems a reasonable length of time, and not feel (too) guilty when I'm ready to be done

--join Weight Watchers post-pregnancy

--plan to enter a Turkey Trot in 2011, and run the whole thing

--continue to focus on maintaining a reasonable work/home balance

--take an online photography course to really learn how to use my camera

--dedicate time on a regular basis to nurture my relationship with Keith (this will become even more challenging come May)

Friends & loved ones, here's hoping for a wonderful 2011 for you!

Merry Christmas Memories

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

I would like a

1. My little pony

2. Candy necklace

3. Cinderella Barbie

Emerson

Christmas Cookie Baking with Grammy!

My Mom came down for a visit, and "the girls" had a cookie baking & decorating afternoon yesterday. We doubled the recipe, but forgot to double the flour. It was the cookie bake-a-thon that almost wasn't! Em had a ball with her Grammy.

From the mouth of a 3 yr old...

Upon spying a house with smoke coming out of the chimney, "Hey look, that house has a tailpipe!"

"When I grow up, I was to be a girl fireman!"

When asked if she was excited about finding out whether she would have a baby brother or sister (when I have my ultrasound in a few weeks), "Nope, I'll find out later."