Monday, November 16, 2009
Tooth!
We found Peter's first tooth today. It finally poked through the gums. Of course now he seems more fussy. The girls are very excited and join in the congrats we lavish on the little guy.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Back on blog
Life here's going well. Work is going well--I just am finishing up an elective month in neuro-pathology and next month have an elective in headache/pain. So, elective months are easier so stress level low. Being the chief is getting hard at times, yelling at the troops to do things. They don't like being told things.
Katie is about to kill the girls some days. Even though Rose turned 3 yesterday and we cut her some slack, she was still not acting good enough. Katie almost cancelled the birthday. But when she's acting good she's doing great. For some reason her favorite color is purple (I hope she outgrows that!) and is learning things with Katie. She, Katie and Peter go to "little church" on Tuesdays when Mary Ann is in school and I hear she does great there.
Mary Ann is doing great. Sometimes I don't believe Katie about what Mary Ann is doing. Supposedly the teacher can read a sentence out loud and Mary Ann can write it. She has done a project about mammals and wrote 6 things that mammals do/have, and even now can still recite them (which she often does). She's reading short words fairly well. I really can't believe it. We're worried that when she goes to Kindergarten next year she'll just be bored the whole time.
Peter is also doing well. He's rolling over and making cute sounds. He keeps growing. We (ok, actually Katie) started putting him in the bounce-a-roo and now his feet hit the ground and he likes to bounce. He used to sleep from ~9pm to 5am, but now wakes up at midnight. So, while that is still great compared to most kids, it's definitely not letting Katie get as much sleep as she was getting.
I recently went to San Diego for a conference which was great, except being alone really sucked. Katie took the kids to Dayton and I hear they had a great time. It's fun that our kids all play together so well. I hope we can all end up closer together in the future.
We also just went to the Wisconsin Dells last weekend for another conference. Mitzi went too and really was indispensible in helping us watch the kids at the water park, especially when I was in conference.
We're thinking about renovating our upstairs bathroom. The shower stall got another crack in it so we want to just pull out the shower. We want to convert the tub (which has no shower) to a regular shower/tub. We'd like to replace the tub. We will tear down the wall between teh sink and the current shower stall and convert the sink to a 2-basin sink by elongating it into the shower stall space. We've had one guy come look at it and don't have his bid, but some lady today came and gave us a $8000-$15,000 rough bid. Wow...how in the world can it be that much, and how can her estimate be so wide? If it will really cost that much...uh, anybody want to come up and help me renovate a bathroom? Really, if it costs that much I'll just rip out the shower stall myself, install one of those attachable shower heads to the current tub, and just rip out part of the wall and just get someone to install the new sink and cabinets. Crazy.
We've got some pics of my San Diego trip up, we'll get more up soon including Rose's birthday party. Don't forget to check out the youtube videos--we post videos there every so often.
Katie is about to kill the girls some days. Even though Rose turned 3 yesterday and we cut her some slack, she was still not acting good enough. Katie almost cancelled the birthday. But when she's acting good she's doing great. For some reason her favorite color is purple (I hope she outgrows that!) and is learning things with Katie. She, Katie and Peter go to "little church" on Tuesdays when Mary Ann is in school and I hear she does great there.
Mary Ann is doing great. Sometimes I don't believe Katie about what Mary Ann is doing. Supposedly the teacher can read a sentence out loud and Mary Ann can write it. She has done a project about mammals and wrote 6 things that mammals do/have, and even now can still recite them (which she often does). She's reading short words fairly well. I really can't believe it. We're worried that when she goes to Kindergarten next year she'll just be bored the whole time.
Peter is also doing well. He's rolling over and making cute sounds. He keeps growing. We (ok, actually Katie) started putting him in the bounce-a-roo and now his feet hit the ground and he likes to bounce. He used to sleep from ~9pm to 5am, but now wakes up at midnight. So, while that is still great compared to most kids, it's definitely not letting Katie get as much sleep as she was getting.
I recently went to San Diego for a conference which was great, except being alone really sucked. Katie took the kids to Dayton and I hear they had a great time. It's fun that our kids all play together so well. I hope we can all end up closer together in the future.
We also just went to the Wisconsin Dells last weekend for another conference. Mitzi went too and really was indispensible in helping us watch the kids at the water park, especially when I was in conference.
We're thinking about renovating our upstairs bathroom. The shower stall got another crack in it so we want to just pull out the shower. We want to convert the tub (which has no shower) to a regular shower/tub. We'd like to replace the tub. We will tear down the wall between teh sink and the current shower stall and convert the sink to a 2-basin sink by elongating it into the shower stall space. We've had one guy come look at it and don't have his bid, but some lady today came and gave us a $8000-$15,000 rough bid. Wow...how in the world can it be that much, and how can her estimate be so wide? If it will really cost that much...uh, anybody want to come up and help me renovate a bathroom? Really, if it costs that much I'll just rip out the shower stall myself, install one of those attachable shower heads to the current tub, and just rip out part of the wall and just get someone to install the new sink and cabinets. Crazy.
We've got some pics of my San Diego trip up, we'll get more up soon including Rose's birthday party. Don't forget to check out the youtube videos--we post videos there every so often.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
July time
It's still great having Peter around. He's looking older and wiser every day--must be the constant torture from his sisters. He's doing all the baby things great. He might be in a growth spurt since he wants to eat all...the...time. Not that we don't want him to grow, but Katie could use a little more rest.
Mary Ann went to her first day of school today. She started at a Montessori preschool today. She's been really excited about it for several weeks. She really enjoyed it today, bringing home a sheet of practice letters: p, e and t. She does a pretty good job of writing.
Rose is loving being in an open-side crib at night. She seems to relish the freedom that Mary Ann has had for so long. It's tough to tell which kid is which now when one of them comes down the stairs at night. The hardest thing is trying to corral them at night so they don't just keep screaming and giggling and running around the whole upstairs.
We had a great holiday weekend. The Buschelmans came up Friday through Monday. We went boating, went to the Wollersheim winery, splash park, and farmer's market (well, everyone except me). The kids loved being around each other, even if Rose and Dominic took turns hitting each other. It was a lot of fun when the Beier's came over for supper on Saturday and we added yet another kid to the mix.
I'm working night float this month, so that means I'm at work all day Sunday through Monday morning, and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, 8pm-8am. If I get enough sleep it's great so I can play with the kids and get home-work done during the days, but if I need to sleep the kids aren't always happy that I'm home and not playing with them. I also moved into my new office with the new academic year--the chief resident gets his own office, but being a computer guy I wish the computer wasn't slower than any other computer in the hospital...
Mary Ann went to her first day of school today. She started at a Montessori preschool today. She's been really excited about it for several weeks. She really enjoyed it today, bringing home a sheet of practice letters: p, e and t. She does a pretty good job of writing.
Rose is loving being in an open-side crib at night. She seems to relish the freedom that Mary Ann has had for so long. It's tough to tell which kid is which now when one of them comes down the stairs at night. The hardest thing is trying to corral them at night so they don't just keep screaming and giggling and running around the whole upstairs.
We had a great holiday weekend. The Buschelmans came up Friday through Monday. We went boating, went to the Wollersheim winery, splash park, and farmer's market (well, everyone except me). The kids loved being around each other, even if Rose and Dominic took turns hitting each other. It was a lot of fun when the Beier's came over for supper on Saturday and we added yet another kid to the mix.
I'm working night float this month, so that means I'm at work all day Sunday through Monday morning, and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, 8pm-8am. If I get enough sleep it's great so I can play with the kids and get home-work done during the days, but if I need to sleep the kids aren't always happy that I'm home and not playing with them. I also moved into my new office with the new academic year--the chief resident gets his own office, but being a computer guy I wish the computer wasn't slower than any other computer in the hospital...
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Peter--still here!
We are thoroughly enjoying Peter. He is a great baby. He eats very well. He's sleeping very well through the days and nights. He's making good diapers. And...well, that's about all he's doing. He looks really cute.
The girls came back to much appreciation. It's great to have the whole family together. The girls dote on Peter all the time, even if he's sleeping. They like to rock him and poke him in the face. They also like to tell us when he's crying, even if we're holding him.
It's been pretty hot around here. We put out our inflatable pool and the girls love being in it. Katie and I've been working on the garden and yard and we're getting a pretty good looking yard. We harvested some lettuce on Monday and it tasted great. We also had home-grown radishes on it.
The girls came back to much appreciation. It's great to have the whole family together. The girls dote on Peter all the time, even if he's sleeping. They like to rock him and poke him in the face. They also like to tell us when he's crying, even if we're holding him.
It's been pretty hot around here. We put out our inflatable pool and the girls love being in it. Katie and I've been working on the garden and yard and we're getting a pretty good looking yard. We harvested some lettuce on Monday and it tasted great. We also had home-grown radishes on it.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Peter!
Well, we haven't posted for a while...but Peter is here!<
Born 5-29-09 at 11:55am. 8pounds, 2 ounces; 19 inches; head 35cm (hey, a neurologist really cares about head size!). Katie did another GREAT job. She never thinks so at the time, but I, the Ob doc and the nurses all said she did. Meriter once again was a great place to have a baby. Peter's sisters were very excited to see him and hold him. Katie's mom and sister Mitzi were both here and were a big help, taking care of the girls for the 2 days we were at the hospital.
On the Tuesday after Peter was born Katie's mom took the girls to Lawrence for a week. Then they went to my parents' house for a week. Every night we talk to them and they are always very eager to know how baby Peter is doing. Rose always asks if he is crying, and if we say "no," she always asks "why?!?!"
Katie and I have been taking advantage of time without girls. Also, I'm on vacation this week so we've all been able to spend good time together. We were able to go out for our anniversary (7 years!) to a nice place: Samba, where you get all you can eat meat!
We also were able to go see Star Trek in the movie theaters. We've been enjoying the animals visiting our bird feeder right outside our bay windows: golden finches, cardinals and squirrels. While we'd rather have birds, the squirrels sure are fun to watch. Plus, the animals make the sunflower seeds fall out, so we have sunflowers growing under the feeder. Today we went to the Wollersheim Winery. We took the tour and then did a wine tasting. Our favorite by far: The Ice Wine. It's picked when the grapes are frozen and is pretty expensive: $47 for half a bottle. It's now on both Katie's and my wish-lists for presents...also great was the Port wine...20% alcohol and all good.
Also today Peter had his 2 week check up. He initially had lost 10% of his weight, but now has made it back...and more! He is up to 8lb, 13 ounces. His height is up to 20.75 inches, and his head is 37.4cm (go brain!).
The girls come back Monday--my mom is driving them back up and will stay here for a week. We are working a lot on our garden, and will have more pictures up soon. Check all the pictures out and have a great day!
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| From Peter 5-29-09 |
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| From Peter 5-29-09 |
Katie and I have been taking advantage of time without girls. Also, I'm on vacation this week so we've all been able to spend good time together. We were able to go out for our anniversary (7 years!) to a nice place: Samba, where you get all you can eat meat!
 |
| From Peter 6-12-09 |
Also today Peter had his 2 week check up. He initially had lost 10% of his weight, but now has made it back...and more! He is up to 8lb, 13 ounces. His height is up to 20.75 inches, and his head is 37.4cm (go brain!).
The girls come back Monday--my mom is driving them back up and will stay here for a week. We are working a lot on our garden, and will have more pictures up soon. Check all the pictures out and have a great day!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Time flies when you're having fun...
Good grief! Where did May go? We are now at T-minus 2 days before our due date for Peter and I'm trying to jinx it by assuming that we'll go right up to that day. He seems pretty comfortable where he is right now.
May in Madison is a great month. All the things that we really like about living here get started again: The Farmer's Market, boating, being outside without jackets, gardening, etc. The weeks have been zipping by pretty quickly! We've had visits from Liesel and Eric and the boys and now Mitzi is here to help with the girls once Peter makes his appearance. I'm not sure if Mary Ann and Rose are aware of how imminent his birth is, but they are super excited. Rose especially, I just hope she makes the that Baby Peter inside Mommy's tummy will be the same Baby Peter outside Mommy's tummy.
Mary Ann's ballet class wrapped up with a special class featuring Snow White. Pictures are up on Picasa for that. Her swimming lessons are going great. She can do a pretty good version of the crawl all by herself for several feet! Rose continues to be very confident in the water too. Her favorite actitivities include jumping in from the side and bobbing up and down on the stairs going into the pool. Katie just enjoys the fact that the pool is heated to 90 degrees!
Rose's potty training has slid downhill, mainly due to her parents' haphazard approach. Lately we've been having her just wear panties and asking her repeatedly if she needs to go. This doesn't seem to be too effective, since most of the time we'll ask her and then 5 minutes later there's an accident to clean up, which Rose finds pretty funny, indicating a slight difference of opinion between her sense of humor and her parents'.
Robert has been home on vacation for the last week. It's been great to have him around for this (hopefully) last week of pregnancy, so Katie can rest a bit more in the afternoons especially. We've done a lot of work in the yard. Our compost pile has actually done what it was supposed to and decomposed, so it's been pretty exciting (at least for Katie) to add it to our gardens. We started seeds again this year in our bay window and for the first time ever we grew more seedlings than mold and actually have transplanted them outside. So far they have fended off the rabbits and squirrels, but it's still early days! We're giving pumpkins another shot, along with beans, snap peas, green peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, and carrots. We still have some flower seeds to plant, but that just might be a job for Nana and the girls next week!
We haven't gotten in much boating this season. It might be kind of a weak year for that. Katie's a bit too pregnant to enjoy the "bumpy" waters of Lake Mendota right now and we're pretty sure it'll be a bit before we feel comfortable taking Peter out. Which does not mean that visitors to sunny Madison will be out of luck. I'm sure that Robert will have a great time taking people out, as long as they agree to pull him a bit in the inner tube!
Happy Summer everyone!
May in Madison is a great month. All the things that we really like about living here get started again: The Farmer's Market, boating, being outside without jackets, gardening, etc. The weeks have been zipping by pretty quickly! We've had visits from Liesel and Eric and the boys and now Mitzi is here to help with the girls once Peter makes his appearance. I'm not sure if Mary Ann and Rose are aware of how imminent his birth is, but they are super excited. Rose especially, I just hope she makes the that Baby Peter inside Mommy's tummy will be the same Baby Peter outside Mommy's tummy.
Mary Ann's ballet class wrapped up with a special class featuring Snow White. Pictures are up on Picasa for that. Her swimming lessons are going great. She can do a pretty good version of the crawl all by herself for several feet! Rose continues to be very confident in the water too. Her favorite actitivities include jumping in from the side and bobbing up and down on the stairs going into the pool. Katie just enjoys the fact that the pool is heated to 90 degrees!
Rose's potty training has slid downhill, mainly due to her parents' haphazard approach. Lately we've been having her just wear panties and asking her repeatedly if she needs to go. This doesn't seem to be too effective, since most of the time we'll ask her and then 5 minutes later there's an accident to clean up, which Rose finds pretty funny, indicating a slight difference of opinion between her sense of humor and her parents'.
Robert has been home on vacation for the last week. It's been great to have him around for this (hopefully) last week of pregnancy, so Katie can rest a bit more in the afternoons especially. We've done a lot of work in the yard. Our compost pile has actually done what it was supposed to and decomposed, so it's been pretty exciting (at least for Katie) to add it to our gardens. We started seeds again this year in our bay window and for the first time ever we grew more seedlings than mold and actually have transplanted them outside. So far they have fended off the rabbits and squirrels, but it's still early days! We're giving pumpkins another shot, along with beans, snap peas, green peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, and carrots. We still have some flower seeds to plant, but that just might be a job for Nana and the girls next week!
We haven't gotten in much boating this season. It might be kind of a weak year for that. Katie's a bit too pregnant to enjoy the "bumpy" waters of Lake Mendota right now and we're pretty sure it'll be a bit before we feel comfortable taking Peter out. Which does not mean that visitors to sunny Madison will be out of luck. I'm sure that Robert will have a great time taking people out, as long as they agree to pull him a bit in the inner tube!
Happy Summer everyone!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
St Louis
We went to St Louis for my interview at Washington University. I'm applying for a fellowship position there, and they were nice enough to let me come talk to them. We all drove down Wednesday after work. We were welcomed by Rocky and Jane, Katie's aunt and uncle. On Thurday we went to the zoo. I hadn't been since I was in St Louis applying for neurology residency. The girls loved it--the petting zoo, the penguins, the big cats, and the elephants were all favorites. It was beautiful outside, much nicer than Madison. We even took a picnic lunch! We went to a Vietnamese restaurant and a Gelateria that night, walking to both from the St Louis Keel's house.
On Friday I went to my interviews which went well; Katie and the girls went to the Science Center where the kids had a blast. In the afternoon we all met up at the Botanical Gardens which had most of the flowers in their prime. They also have a kid's area where the kids can run around and get in the water. Check out Rocky's pictures for some of the fun. (we'll get our pics up soon!).
On Saturday I took the kids and Rocky to the Arch where we got to see Hannah at work. Katie, the kids and Jane went to to have a tour with Abby at the Earthways Center where they saw ways to make homes more "green" and good for the environment. We drove back to Madison after lunch. The trip wasn't too bad--especially since the girls had DVDs to watch in the van!
Coming this week: Robert works Mendota on Sunday, dinner with the Beier's on Monday, neurology resident retreat on Wednesday, and then I go to Kansas City Thursday to Sunday to interview at KU Med!
On Friday I went to my interviews which went well; Katie and the girls went to the Science Center where the kids had a blast. In the afternoon we all met up at the Botanical Gardens which had most of the flowers in their prime. They also have a kid's area where the kids can run around and get in the water. Check out Rocky's pictures for some of the fun. (we'll get our pics up soon!).
On Saturday I took the kids and Rocky to the Arch where we got to see Hannah at work. Katie, the kids and Jane went to to have a tour with Abby at the Earthways Center where they saw ways to make homes more "green" and good for the environment. We drove back to Madison after lunch. The trip wasn't too bad--especially since the girls had DVDs to watch in the van!
Coming this week: Robert works Mendota on Sunday, dinner with the Beier's on Monday, neurology resident retreat on Wednesday, and then I go to Kansas City Thursday to Sunday to interview at KU Med!
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