Virginia

We made it! After leaving Lubbock on Monday morning we made it into our town in VA around 10pm on Wednesday. It has been a ridiculously long week and we are thrilled to finally be unpacking at our new house.

Here are R and S at the Bristol, VA rest stop just seconds after crossing the state line. She loves her Papa so much!


Here is a picture of S at our hotel, lounging on her blanket:


Also, there are two videos of S rolling from tummy to back in the video bar. She's practically a pro now!

More later...

Moving v2.0, and other things

I am ecstatic to announce that we are 100% packed! The 26' Penske is packed to capacity and we also filled a 4x8' UHaul trailer. It was tight, but we were able to fit everything. We will be leaving a house full of memories but otherwise empty of anything else.








We decided to spend today relaxing in Lubbock and finishing projects around the yard, and we are hitting the road early tomorrow morning. The drive will be approximately 1,602 miles and an estimated 24 hours of driving. Closing day on our new house is Wednesday so we will get into town just in time to officially become homeowners.

Amidst the craziness of moving we have managed to have a little bit of fun. On Wednesday S and I had a play date with my friend L and her daughter E. It was S's first play date with her first friend. They were really cute and even had matching hair bows. They were most interested in playing with each other's toys.








Here is a picture of S napping in Z's arms last week.




Yesterday I spent some time watching S at Z and Grampy's while R and Grampy were at our house packing up the trailer. I fed her a slice of pear through a mesh baby feeder and she LOVED it. Then we played on the bed for awhile and at that moment she was the happiest baby on the planet. I love her more and more each day.










I look forward to keeping our blog updated once we are in Virginia!

We're Moving!!!

We're picking up the moving truck in a few minutes and will spend the whole day loading the truck with boxes, furniture and motorcycles. My mom stayed in town after graduation to help us pack the house and she left for VA yesterday. I still have to pack S's nursery but the rest of the house is done! We are staying at Suzanne's house until Sunday morning when we will begin the long drive east.

Yesterday I turned 28 - which feels much more like my "late 20s" than did 27. At least when I was 27 I could pass for being in my "mid-20s". Ah, well, it's just semantics at this point and anyway Rob says that his 30s have been much better than his 20s. So much to look forward to!

Last night we had dinner with some dear friends. It was difficult to say goodbye to them but I know that we will keep in touch. Texas has been wonderful to us and I will miss this great state tremendously. S is a Texan by birth but she will now be leaving for Virginia... maybe someday we will be back.

I guess happiness was Lubbock Texas in my rear view mirror
But now happiness is Lubbock Texas growing nearer and dearer
And the vision is gettin' clearer in my dreams
And I think I finally know what it means...
-Mac Davis

Graduation 2009!

It has been a crazy week! My family flew in on the 13th from VA for our medical school graduation and we have been celebrating ever since. Friday the 14th was convocation where we were hooded, and Saturday the 15th was the commencement ceremony where we officially graduated, received our M.D. diplomas and became physicians. It has been an emotionally charged week for me as this event has been a long time coming. I remember being a college freshman in 1999 when I realized that I wanted to be a doctor. Fast-forward 10 years and I remember when I was pregnant with S thinking that she would be six months old when we graduated from school and it seemed like such a long ways away. Well, here we are and that time has come. Savannah has been such a trooper throughout all of the festivities and we have enjoyed this time with our families. It was so special to have my mother, father and sister H here to share this time with us. I wish M could have been here, but we kept her updated with pictures via email.

Here are some pictures of convocation, commencement, and the ensuing celebration.

Our happy family


After convocation on 5/15


With my parents!


The Lubbock wind was ridiculous


Our little graduate-in-training


Mmm... toes!


S and Mommy


Aunt H and S


R and I enjoying our class party the evening after convocation


Before commencement, 5/16


Our names being read at commencement... M.D.s!


S enjoying commencement with Z and H


Seeing my daughter for the first time after graduating


H and A


Dr. C, my Ob/Gyn who delivered S


Family!


Oma and Z with S after commencement


Mum and Pops


S wearing her party dress, sitting in her beautiful new chair


S wearing a Lamb Chop towel


R's mother, Uncle S, and father

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

S turns 6 months old today. I can hardly believe that she is halfway to her first birthday! It is amazing! She changes before our eyes every single day. She scooted for the first time yesterday, her language skills are taking off as she makes new noises every day, and we are realizing that she already knows a couple of words. "S", "doggie", and "moose" are words that she definitely recognizes (Papa likes to give her moose kisses and she laughs when we say "moose"). We no longer have to put a book under her feet when she's in the Jumperoo, and she is still our jumping bean who loves to bounce and bounce. Her hair is starting to grow out and I can put a little bow in her hair now. She's developed some stranger anxiety over the last two or three weeks as she needs Mama or Papa around to make sure new people around her are friends. Her palate is becoming more discriminating - she used to eat any food willingly, but these days she is less likely to enjoy her green beans or peas. No real surprise there. She loves any kind of fruit - banana, melon, apple, pear, mango, apricot, prunes - and loves certain vegetables, too - avocado (her favorite), sweet potato, carrot, tomato.

Here is her 6 month picture with Teddy, and a comparison month by month:


2 1/2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 months



She is sprouting up like a true wildflower! Her weight has stayed consistent - at two, four and six months she has been in the 70, 69, and 65th percentiles, respectively. Her height, however, keeps climbing. At two, four and six months she has been in the 67, 78 and 94th percentiles, respectively! I have a feeling that her height will slow down soon, considering that neither R nor I are tall, but we do have tall genes in the family so it will be interesting to see how she continues to grow.

Here are her growth curves. Grow, little one, grow. We love you S!

Weight
Birth 6lb 6oz (14%)
2 mo. 11lb 8oz (70%)
4 mo. 14lb 4oz (69%)
5 mo. 15lb 12oz (74%)
6 mo. 16lb 10oz (65%)


Length
Birth 19.25in (48%)
2 mo. 22.50in (67%)
4 mo. 24.00in (50%)
5 mo. 25.50in (78%)
6 mo. 27.00in (94%)

Thoughts on Becoming a Mother

This is a poem that I found a couple of years ago. It resonated with me then and it resonates with me now. On Mother's Day I felt it appropriate to reflect upon where I have been and to express how eternally grateful I am to be where I am now...

Edited to add, Happy Mother's Day to all mommies - to those with babies in their hearts, with babies in their bellies, and with babies in their arms.


Thoughts on Becoming a Mother

There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better.

I will be better not because of genetics or money or that I have read more books but because I have struggled and toiled for this child.

I have longed and waited.
I have cried and prayed.
I have endured and planned over and over again.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams.
I will notice everything about my child.
I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle every day for the rest of my life.

I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child, knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed her and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream. My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friends will not see.

Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain.

I know disillusionment as I have been betrayed by my own body. I have been tried by fire and hell many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

I have prevailed.
I have succeeded.
I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs.

I listen.

And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immense power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard. I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.

I have learned to appreciate life.

Yes I will be a wonderful mother.

- Author Unknown

Happy Mother's Day

I felt so honored and blessed to be able to celebrate Mother's Day for the first time in my life as a mother! It felt like a holiday to celebrate not just being a mother but also to celebrate our wonderful little family of three. R and S brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and then we went with Grampy and Z to a Mother's Day brunch which was absolutely delicious. There was everything from shrimp to prime rib to pecan pie. S enjoyed gumming a piece of honeydew melon for awhile and she also took a few sips of water out of my glass. She wanted to be a big girl at the table.

Happy Mother's Day to my amazing mother, as well as to my grandmother and mother-in-law, and all the other incredible mommies and mommies-to-be.

My husband and daughter with my beautiful flowers!


Family portrait


Z, S and me


Mother and daughter


Trying to get her to make eye contact with the camera


Papa and Pea!


My world


Exhausted from all the festivities

She swims

We took S over to Z's house for her first time swimming. Pink swimsuit? Check. Pink terry cover-up? Check. Pink flip-flops? Check. Pink sunglasses? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Pink wetsuit (to keep warm)? Check.

We were all ready!!!

As soon as I dipped her legs in the water she started paddling her legs instinctively. It was adorable. Then when her hands got wet she smacked the surface of the water with her hands and splashed and splashed and splashed. It was a lot of fun and she really enjoyed it!


First look at the pool...


Getting ready to dip my feet in the water...


Saying hi to Rudy! I love doggies.


Rockin' my glasses!


This is fun!


The water is so refreshing! And I am just too cute for words.


Relaxing with Grampy after swimming. Phew, that was exhausting!