the outer fringe

P & C's Wedding

2012-01-11T16:30:00.000-08:00

Just before the New Year we took a (way too) quick trip down to Baton Rouge for P & C's wedding. We had such a great time. Nearly the whole Grooms clan was there and we were able to see family that we haven't seen since our wedding!

We were even blessed to have 2 of our favorite cousins volunteer to babysit so I. and I could go to the rehearsal dinner and reception sans baby. Amazing. Doesn't she look so cute though? This is her serious face:

The happy couple looked amazing and the ceremony was beautiful. Welcome to the family C!

2011-12-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the Patch

2011-10-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch this past weekend. The past 2 years in NY we have gone "out east" on the island for a more rural experience. However, this year we had a 1.5 y/o and nap time considerations so we decided to go to a local patch. In typical NY fashion it was overcrowded and overpriced and more amusement park than I prefer in a pumpkin patch but we still had fun. Noe loved riding in the wagon and seeing all the people. Auntie T and Ninja came along for the day too!

It is finished....

2011-10-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

It is official. I've completed residency! I had a beautiful last call on Thursday night. Now I have a few weeks off to enjoy the fall, catch up on sleep and play with my sweet daughter before starting my "real" job. Life is good. Thanks for all the prayers these past 3 years. I made it!

Picture-Fest

2011-08-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

Wow. So many things have happened since my last post...Ian started his post-doc at NYU, I graduated residency (but am not finished until October...booo), we visited friends for July 4th, and went on a super vaca to Crested Butte CO with family and visited friends in Denver/Boulder while there. Meanwhile, the baby girl has grown into a little girl! She is still 95th % for height and 15th % for weight. At 15 months she's jabbering, taking steps, using a fork, no more paci/bottles, saying "hi" to everyone and everything and altogether just the sweetest girl ever. Here are some pictures!

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

Please say a few prayers for the safety of everyone in Irene's path.

Recent Events

2011-06-25T06:13:00.000-07:00

We have been busy lately! We had a great visit from Mimi and Papa. Noe just loves them to pieces....and so do we. A few pics of the three of them:

This is Noe doing her favorite activity. Bike riding. She is so fast!

Father's Day #2!

Photo Shoot:

Updates!

2011-05-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

We just finished up a week long visit from Grammy Webb. Noe is in love. They became best pals. Noe spent much of the visit firmly planted on Grammy's lap like this:

They had so much fun playing and snuggling!

Noe loves books! She will spend the longest time quietly turning pages and studying pictures. So cute.

Here she is looking through some menus:

So sweet.

First Birthday!

2011-05-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

A year ago we were doing this:

And Noemi looked so sweet and tiny:

Then on Friday my baby girl turned one year old. My dear Noe, you are a joy. I am so proud to be your mommy. I love you with all my heart.

Check out the birthday loot. Yes, that is a pink pony. Every girls dream.

Uncle Wayne and Noe's new wagon:

A special birthday cake:

She was a little apprehensive at first:

But soon got down to business:

Yummy!

One year and all smiles.

Happy Birthday Noemi Sue!

Masts in NYC

2011-05-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

We were lucky to catch a day in the city with our friends. It was our first time meeting each others baby girls! What fun!

11 Months

2011-05-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

Okay. Okay. I realize I'm very late in posting the 11 month updates. The baby girl has been growing fast. Over the past few weeks she mastered crawling (watch out), walking while holding hands, waving (wooing/charming strangers from afar), and perfected her use of "mama." I am so thankful everyday for this sweet girl. We are blessed. Please be warned....the following pictures are very cute...you may just explode if you look too long.

A Few Pictures of the Bird

2011-03-06T14:34:00.000-08:00

9 Months

2011-02-17T05:40:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay! We've been busy lately. Our good friends A&M visited us last weekend. Sadly I didn't take any pictures. But Noe LOVED having extra attention and it was great to see them.

The 9 month stats:

Height: 29 inches (<90th%)
Weight: 16lbs (10th %)

She continues to follow her genetic program :)

Teeth

2011-01-26T13:38:00.000-08:00

The little lady is on her way to having a mouth full of them. Can you see the 2 bottom ones and the one on top? The second top tooth is just below the surface.

Is there a doctor in the house?

2011-01-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

Actually now there are two. I am proud to announce that Mr. I is now Dr. I. He defended his PhD with flying colors this week. Noe and I are so proud. Congrats. Here is one of my favorite pictures of the new Dr. Isn't he handsome?

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

So much fun in one little girl....

2010-12-05T17:57:00.000-08:00

Noe is such a delight. Her newest tricks include blowing raspberries with lips or tongue, shaking her head back and forth (like "no"), sitting up with very little support, all sorts of new octaves in shrieks, pushing her highchair tray-top cover on the floor, wrestling with daddy and putting pretty much everything in her mouth. I can't believe we are coming up on 7th months. What a big girl!

6 Months Old!

2010-11-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

Goodness, it has been a while since I posted. We've been busy! I finished doing my time in NICU and survived. WooHoo! Both of Noe's grandmas came to visit. And my oh my is the little lady getting big. She is rolling and jabbering and eating grains and now veggies like a big girl. She is so much fun and such a delight.

Stats from her 6 month appointment:
Wt: 14lbs- ~ 25th %tile (mom was right on the money with her prediction about this)
Ht: 27.5 inches ~90th %tile
HC: don't remember exactly... but ~ 50%tile

A few pics from the last few weeks:

Update

2010-09-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my baby girl met one of her great grandmothers! I am so glad she came to visit us. We had so much fun playing and laughing.

On my post call day yesterday, Noe and I had a bit of a photo shoot. I just can't resist snapping way too many pictures of this little lady. I want to remember every detail! Look who is reaching and grabbing!

She has also figured out how to grab her feet. She now loves to grab the feet, lift up her hips and tip over on her side. She is on her way to rolling!

Check out these eyes!

And just for fun....

Her newborn hat doesn't fit anymore!

And yes, we still have a hedgehog....although he doesn't make the blog much anymore these days. He is still hogging around. Here he is after a bath. Relaxing. Tongue out. Hobbit feet up.

Getting Ready for a Bath

2010-09-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

My Life as a Peds Resident

2010-09-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

I just had to post the link to this video: ER: Child with a Fever
This is my life as a peds resident. It is amazing just how real the mothers statements are. I have heard them hundreds of times already. So hilarious.

4 Months Old

2010-09-02T13:29:00.000-07:00

Noemi is now 4 months old!

The Stats:
Weight: 11lbs 3oz
Length: 25 inches

Long and lean just like her parents!

Long time no post

2010-08-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry friends. I know it has been a while. It has been hard being away from Noe during the days (and then nights and then days again...ah, residency) but she is always smiling away when I get home. I'm pretty sure she doesn't forget me over the course of the day but I still ask Ian to show her pictures of me every now and then :)

The real test will be over the next 2 months. I'll be rotating in the nursery and NICU, taking care of other peoples babies. These rotations are notorious for being hard (looooonnnnggg hours, difficult cases, difficult nurses,etc). It's mostly the long hours that I'm dreading. Okay, I know I already work long hours, but these are even longer so the little time I am home while Noe is a wake now will be pretty much nonexistent in the next two months. I might just cry every day. Would I be a very bad mommy if I woke her up when I got home late? Yes. Send your prayers our way if you please :)

Here is Noe laughing at Ostrich:

Hiding in Daddy's shirt:

Checking out her hand (a favorite pass time) and holding a bird leg:

Talking to Mommy:

Being a beautiful baby girl!

3 Months Old!

2010-08-06T17:26:00.000-07:00

The baby girl is now 3 months old! She is so fun and learning new things so quickly.

She now smiles all the time, especially when looking at the stuffed bugs that hang over her crib and bouncy chair. She just smiles and coos. She LOVES the bugs.

Ian took the following pictures of Noe and me. I love the last one. She has a look that says, " I think my momma is a little crazy." She is correct about that :)

2010-07-29T05:03:00.000-07:00

Noe is growing fast! Check out a few of the latest pictures!

Making Muscles:

Trying on her new cupcake hat:

I can't figure out how to turn the next 2 pics but they are so cute I had to post them anyway :)

More visitors!

2010-07-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

Noe had a lot of new visitors over the last couple of weeks. Uncle Peter came to meet his niece and they got along just great!

Then Mimi and Papa came to meet Noe. She LOVES them.

Pictures by Corrie

2010-07-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

2 Months Old!

2010-07-04T12:05:00.000-07:00

Noemi turned 8 weeks this week!!

The stats:

8lbs 11oz

23.5 inches

Check out the thighs. She survived her first set of vaccines. Mom only cried a little.

Truth tellers....

2010-06-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today at mass (children's mass) the priest was giving his homily to the kiddos and asking questions to keep them involved.

He asked, "Does anyone know what an ox is?"

"It's like a rough cow."

A rough cow. Awesome. I love it.
I've never heard a better definition of an ox.

And that is why I love the kiddos. Truth tellers.

Belated Father's Day Pictures

2010-06-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

Noe loves her daddy and they had a great first father's day together.

Moments from our week---in pictures

2010-06-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went on a walk. I noticed Noe's bear-suit covered feet sticking out from under the blanket that was covering her car seat (the blanket was blocking the sun).

On thing I like about this area of Long Island is that the soil seems to be just right for making hydrangeas my favorite shade of blue. This was the color I choose for the hydrangeas in our wedding. Here is an example we passed on our walk:

A self portrait of me and Noe before nap time:

"Don't worry daddy, I've got it." Usually, daddy handles the sprayer at bath time but Noe decided to give it a try:

This is Noe trying to lick daddy's hand:

I've been pumping like crazy trying to get a sizable supply of milk for when I return to work. So far I've managed to fill-up an entire shelf in the freezer. We've been jokingly calling it the "trust fund." That is a lot of milk! No trouble with milk production for this mamma.

The last picture is of Noe in her "big girl pants." On of the nurses I work with picked these out for her. She looks so cute in them but she wasn't happy about getting her picture taken. Also, don't be deceived....her mid-section is actually quite small but her cloth diapers add bulk.

Summer of a Million Books

2010-06-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

As a pediatric resident I have had the opportunity to be in charge of and participate in Reach Out and Read for our program. The program provides brand new age appropriate books to under-served kids at well child exams. As docs we discuss the importance of reading with parents and their kiddos. It is a great program and now you have a chance to participate too!!

The campaign, called the "Summer of a Million Books," will kick off on Monday, June 21 (First Day of Summer) and end on Monday, September 6 (Labor Day). During that time, Reach Out and Read has set a goal of distributing more than one million books, through our 4,500 Programs nationwide.

You can donate a book or sponsor a child by visiting the Reach Out and Read site.

Donate to the virtual book drive by following this link:
www.reachoutandread.org/bookdrive/default.aspx?ref=summer2010

Or read more about the program here:
www.reachoutandread.org/summer/

See this page for info about reading and tips for reading to the kids in your life:
www.reachoutandread.org/parents/readingaloud/

Please pass this info along to anyone who you think would be interested!!
Thanks!

Crying in the Car

2010-06-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

No, not Noe. Me. Today I had to go in to the hospital for an NRP (neonatal resuscitation program) re-certification class. The class was from 9am-1pm. Only half a day. I held it together for most of the morning pretty well but about15 minutes before I walked out the door the tears started flowing.

Ian was very reassuring and supportive. I still cried as he ushered me toward the car and for the first 10 minutes of my drive. Don't get me wrong, I have complete confidence in my husband. I know that Noe will be completely content in his care. But mommy was having a very rough time being separated from her baby girl. This was the longest we've been apart since, well conception.

At this point it is hard for me to imagine being away from her for a whole day. And in resident land, a whole day often means 12, 24 or more hours at a time. I'm scheduled to start back at the beginning on July so until then I'm trying my hardest not to think about it. I would appreciate your prayers as that time approaches...I'm going to need them : )

Enough with sad mommy stories...time for more pictures of the cute-ness!

See, I told you, cute-ness! You wouldn't want to leave either!!!

Baptism

2010-06-05T16:29:00.000-07:00

Noemi was baptized today! She looked so cute in her gown (handmade by Mimi Grooms) and slept quietly the entire time. The ceremony was beautiful! Here are a few pictures of the special time:

Look Who Is 1 Month Old!

2010-06-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

Time with Daddy

2010-05-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

Like I said, Noe loves her Daddy. Here's a few pictures of the pair:

Noe even likes spending time with Daddy in his office. Here they are working on some mathy stuff. Apparently, she likes it better when he lays her next to him on the desk rather than behind him in the Pack-N-Play. She likes to be involved.

3 years ago today...

2010-05-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

3 years ago today I married my best friend and the most amazing man on the planet. Sorry ladies, there is only one Ian Grooms and he's taken. I adore him more and more everyday. Most recently I've had the joy of watching him become a father. Noe just loves her daddy and he is so sweet and gentle with her. An awesome husband and daddy.
Here is one of our engagement self portraits:

Our wedding was so wonderful. Nothing but happy memories.

And now 3 years later we have welcomed sweet little Noemi.

Happy Anniversary Ian. I love you.

Also Happy Anniversary to our pals Andrew and Mandy! We miss you tons!

Visitors

2010-05-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a baby to bring in the visitors! So far we've been blessed by visits from Grandma and Grandpa Webb and Auntie Emily. Noe loves getting to meet everyone and we have so appreciated the extra help around the house!

Noe loves bath time

2010-05-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Noe really seems to like being bathed. Especially the hair washing/rinsing part. I can't say I blame her on that part. When I go to get my hair cut I love the part when they wash and massage your head. Also we have this little bath recliner chair for her. She looks so cute laying in it! Here are a few pics of the bath time routine:

Garden 3.0

2010-05-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Since I was bed rested for so long and now am not supposed to be doing any "strenuous" work for a few weeks I was uncertain if I'd be able to get the garden in the ground before returning to work. But thanks to the gracious weeding work of my parents and planting work of my lovely sister-in-law we will have a garden this year! It looks so awesome. I am so grateful to have it. This year we are growing kale, beets, tomatoes, 3 kinds of hot peppers (for Mr. I, of course), basil and sorrel. Also on the deck we have oregano, thyme, sage, chamomile, and mint (all of which appeared from last years pots after the winter snow left us). I may still add some greens of some sort but we'll see. Yeah for the garden!

Big Day

2010-05-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a big day for Noe and me. Her umbilical stump fell off, revealing a cute little belly button:

And we went on our first walk. No big deal you say? Not so! I haven't been on a walk since before I went

on bed rest. It was awesome!

My First Mother's Day

2010-05-14T15:17:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late in posting about this....ah,well. This year was my first Mother's Day. Noe made her appearance just in time for the occasion. Really, we didn't do much. It was our first full day at home with her so we were in adjustment mode. But it was a great day. She makes me so happy with all her faces and cooing and such. Also, we were blessed to have Grandma and Grandpa Webb here to celebrate with us. Not a bad Mother's Day gift for my mom, eh? First grandchild. I think we did pretty good on that present :) I hope all the other mothers out there had a great day too. I'm so blessed to be part of your club.

A Noe Story: Like most babies she likes to try to wiggle out of her blanket swaddle. I've been trying for a while now with my patients to master the art of the secure swaddle. Sometimes I do better than others. The other day Noe started to fuss while she was napping so I went to check on her. This is what I found:

I guess I still need lots of practice. On the plus side she was perfectly content to chew her finger while she waited for me to get ready for mealtime. Can you stand how cute she is?

Week One Complete

2010-05-13T14:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, one week down already! I can hardly believe it. Noe is doing great. She is sleeping, eating and growing wonderfully. I have no complaints. We had her first doctors appointment today and she has regained her birth weight! It was a little strange for mommy to be on the "other side of the exam table" at the pediatricians office, but with a baby like Noe, its also easy to be the proud beaming mommy. Here are a few pics from her first week at home!

Noemi's Birthday

2010-05-13T14:13:00.001-07:00

Here it is. Our little girl's birth story. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did :)

A quick recap of the pregnancy:

Duration: 37.1 weeks

First movement felt: Around 16 weeks

# of times kicked in liver: too many to count, it was her favorite spot

Time on Bed Rest: 12 weeks (82 days)—but who was counting

Minimum cervical length prior to labor: 1.4 cm

# of contractions an hour while on bed rest: 3-4 at the beginning, 6-8 at the end

# of ultrasounds: too many to count

Average pulse while on terbultaline: 90bpm (seriously, try that for 12 weeks)

Total weight gain: 26lbs

Happiness Factor: Off the charts

Noemi’s birth story begins at 37 weeks when I was FINALLY allowed to go off the medications and bed rest that had been keeping me pregnant since 25 weeks when I was found to be contracting and in pre-term labor. (Actually, I credit a lot of prayer and divine intervention for most of that good fortune).

I stopped the meds about 10 am on Wednesday and had my weekly OB appointment that morning. At that point I was 1-2 cm dilated and completely effaced. It was anyone’s guess as to when I’d start into labor. Some women have been known to go on for several weeks without any action, others move along quickly. Throughout the day I noticed that my contractions were more noticeable but really just a tightening sensation, not painful at all. I wasn’t too excited since I’d been experiencing this sort of thing to varying degrees for the last 12 weeks. Ian and I went to Trader Joes (my first time in a grocery store in months) and for a short walk after dinner. I was on top of the world with this new freedom.

At around 9pm the contractions started to get more uncomfortable. They felt like menstrual cramps, but I’d heard of women having contractions like that for days so I didn’t get too eager about anything interesting happening. Ian and I talked for awhile during these contractions and eventually I told him to get to sleep and that I’d wake him if anything happened.

During the night I was able to doze in between contractions and really slept quite well. Ian was out like a light and oblivious to the continuing contractions. Then around 6:30-7 am I had my first very strong and painful contraction. After about 3 of those I decided that I didn’t need to be a hero and that I’d ask for an epidural when the time came (little did I know…). Around the same time I thought that my water broke, but it wasn’t a huge gush and I have no personal experience in this area so I wasn’t totally sure that it had really happened. Ian was waking up about this time and was discovering that things had changed quite a bit since he fell asleep. He immediately started timing contractions and doing his best to comfort and coach his very uncomfortable wife. At this point I told Ian to call the doctor. He said, “Let’s time one more to make sure.” I tried to be compliant with his wishes but when the contraction came less than 5 minutes later, I said “Call now.” He calmly told the doc that, “Heather thinks her water broke and would like to come in now.” The doc said okay and told us to stop by admitting on the way in. Yeah right.

Over the next few minutes Ian kept asking me if I wanted this shoe or that and that I should wait to get up until he loaded the car. I was not appreciative of his calm manner. On the way to the car, I felt like I wanted to push and began to realize that things had progressed faster than I imagined. I swear I could feel her head coming through. I think that Ian didn’t realize how far along I was. But then again, you always hear stories about women being in labor like this for hours or days…

The car ride is a bit of a blur but when we arrived at the hospital Ian got me a wheelchair and decided that he’d go for the valet service. Thanks, dear. Time of arrival at hospital: 8:00am. As I waited in the wheelchair in a state of panic, I looked for anyone to help push me through those doors. I’m pretty sure I even started saying, “Help me!” But can you believe it? Folks just continued to walk past without acknowledging me. I tried to push the chair with my feet but wasn’t able to make it very far. Thankfully Ian arrived quickly and did the rest.

SPECIAL NOTE: If you are ever at a hospital and see a pregnant women sitting in a wheelchair outside, asking for help, please just push her through the doors. At least she’ll be inside when the baby comes.

As we went through the lobby, I was screaming (Ian said my cries were a bit like the girl version of the sounds those “world strongest man” competition guys make) and told Ian that we would not be stopping at admitting. When the elevator arrived at the OB floor I told the secretary, “I need to come in now!” She opened the door and told Ian to go back down to admitting. As I rounded the corner, I saw my friend, OB resident and at that moment savior, and said, “Help me!” She sprung into action and within seconds I was in a birthing room being stripped of my clothing (normally, I am a modest person, but not at this instant), and otherwise prepared for the delivery. When she checked me my new favorite resident said, “Well, you’re completely dilated, Dr. Ketcham is on his way up.” Nurses were streaming into the room at this point and everything moved pretty fast. They called Ian back upstairs right away and by the time he made the elevator trip and walked into the room, the doc was having me push. We finished registering after the baby arrived.

I have no idea how many times I pushed and the next few minutes were a blur. Here are some parts of the conversation I do remember:

Ian: At home she said she wanted the epidural.

Doc: (Laughing, along with everyone else) Well, it’s too late for that.

Nurse: Okay, take a big breath and push for 10.

Me: I can’t take a big breath.

Ian: Okay, try 3 quick breaths then push.

Me to nurse: He didn’t even finish the video, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

The doctor pushed the heart rate monitor into my belly between a contraction.

Me: It hurts when you push there.

Doc: I’m just trying to check the heart rate.

Me (in my mind): I know but when you push there it makes me want to kick you.

Nurse: Try to hold behind your legs, and curl up when you push.

Me (in my mind): Seriously, I know we tell people that, but really I’m doing my best here.

Doc: Heather, you are really strong. We’ve got 5 people holding on to you.

Me (in my mind): I’m slightly encouraged by that, but I can’t really think about anything else right now.

Me: I can’t do this. (I said this many times, I think)

Docs: Yes, you can. She’s almost here. Just one more push.

Me (in my mind): I know we tell people that to encourage them but really I don’t believe you.

Mostly what I remember from the “pushing” phase is the pain. It really does hurt as bad as they say it does. Especially, the episiotomy cut. No local, thank you very much. However, I think it is like going through a trauma event, you sort of separate yourself from it to surviveJ. I’m just glad that it didn’t take very long for me.

Then, just when I thought she really might not come and it was all some big horrible joke, the doc pulls up this beautiful, wiggly, screaming baby. Time: 8:50am. Less than an hour since we’d arrived downstairs. She really did come out flailing wildly and in a hurry. The doc said, “I had a hard time holding on to her she was moving so much.” Then they put her up on my belly and wow, just gorgeous. 6lbs 7oz and 20 inches of beauty. I thought that I’d be a crying mess at this point but I think I was just in too much of a state of shock about how fast everything had happened that morning to cry. Ian held his little girl while the rest of the process wound down and we were on the post-partum floor by 11am. Phew. Quite the morning.

The doctor said afterward that maybe I should have not cut it so close. Thanks for the suggestion.

We are so thankful that everything went smoothly and now we have a beautiful, healthy little girl. We were blessed to have wonderful doctors and nurses and resident friends surrounding us and caring for us.

After a normal and uneventful 2 days at the hospital, we were sent home to being adjusting to life with our new little baby.

Noemi Sue Grooms

2010-05-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

I am blessed and proud to announce the birth of my little girl!
Noemi Sue Grooms
Born 5/6/10 at 8:50am
6lbs7oz
20 inches

We are home and doing great. Noemi is a wonderful baby and is treating us well. I can hardly stand how cute she is and think sometimes I might just explode from how much love is swirling around. I've posted a few pictures. Please keep checking back and I'll be posting the birth story, more pictures, etc.

Baby Shower

2010-05-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday some of my residency buddies held an awesome baby shower for us. It was so fun to see everyone. Here are a few pictures from the event:

There was even a beautiful cake (think "Cake Boss") with a perfectly sculpted sugar hedgehog on top. It is a lady hedgehog so we are going to see if Diggy takes an interest... My friends also put together a video of well wishes and baby advice from everyone (nurses, aids, attendings, residents) at work. We are completely blessed to have such great friends and support here!

36 Week Picture

2010-05-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm kind of standing in a way that really makes it stick out. But still. I've been asked if there is a basketball in my shirt. The little lady makes just a perfect little belly if you ask me :)

35 Weeks!!

2010-04-23T14:51:00.000-07:00

Today I've reached day 70 of bed rest! But more importantly we reached 35 weeks this week! The baby is doing great. She loves to move and is quite the night owl. Her most active time is when I am trying to sleep. Also she seems to love to try to position as much of her body as possible between my ribs and liver. Fun times. People keep saying that I'm not that big. I disagree. This is not what my body looks like. There is a giant moving bump sticking out of my abdomen. I think that who ever is growing the bump gets to decide if its big or not :) A few pictures of the bump.

Projects

2010-04-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

While on bed rest I've had to be creative to keep myself from going crazy. I taught myself to crochet (thank you youtube.com) last year but the life of a resident does not allow much time for such creative endeavors. But now I have plenty of time! Here are some of the things I've been making. A little blanket for my little girl with matching hat and mary janes, purple booties, an array of beanies, and a set of animal friends!

34 Weeks + Hair

2010-04-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

Today we are 34 weeks!! Almost there. At our weekly ultrasound today we saw that our little girl has hair! I've never seen that on an ultrasound before. The tech seemed to think it was pretty long too. To be honest I was surprised that she has hair. I was bald when I was born. Of course, she could loose it all before she arrives. Can't wait to meet her! Anyone else with hair on an ultrasound?

Announcing John Mark!

2010-04-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to announce the arrival of my first nephew! John Mark was born in the early hours of the morning of April 9th. This handsome boy weighed in at a whooping 9lbs 6oz and stretched out to a length of 22 inches! All I have to say is that my sister-in-law is amazing. That is a big boy and mama handled the labor like a pro. The family is doing well and hopeful will be on their way home very soon.
I can't wait to meet him! And I am beyond excited to be an Auntie!!

32 Weeks

2010-04-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

We made it to another big hurdle! 32 weeks! Also today is day 52 of bed rest! Just a little while longer....

Updates on the baby: She's so active (don't all moms say this?), constantly moving. But now that she's bigger its becoming uncomfortable sometimes. Based on the sono last week, she's weighing in at 4lbs 6oz. Upon hearing the figure Ian said, "well, she's half way there." The smallest of the Ian's siblings was 8lbs 11oz, the other 4 kids all over 9lbs. I'm hoping that she takes after Webb's and delivers at a more reasonable weight.

Check out this week's photo:

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter my friends. The recent blooming of the crocuses help remind me of the coming spring and the new life which awaits us. I pray you have a beautiful day!

Out with the Old, in with the Yaris

2010-03-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a sad day. We said goodbye to my Tercel. The car and I have many memories together. He was my first car in high school and served me (and later Ian) well through college and medical school and now half of residency. However, the baby's imminent arrival has prompted a change. The Tercel is not car seat friendly and its dependability was called into question last fall when it barely passed inspection. Still its hard to say goodbye to an old friend (and one that still gets 35 mpg!). Ian did all the footwork and now we are the proud owners of a 2008 Toyota Yaris. It is our first major pre-baby purchase! Here it is!

Book Suggestion List

2010-03-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

I've been collecting a list of book suggestions for my bed rest entertainment. I thought I might post the suggestions I've received so far.

From Mandy:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (make sure you have tissues handy...)
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Undercover by Beth Kephart
Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Obama recently read this!)
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Blackbringer by Laini Taylor
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

From Mary Jane:
AD Chronicles by Bodie Thoene

From Charlotte:
* Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
* Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (anything Barbara Kingsolver is good, in my opinion)
* In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
* Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin (since you are quickly approaching labor and birth, read part 2 before reading a lot of part 1)
* Birthing from Within by Pam England
* Taking back Childhood by Nancy Carlsson-Paige (Author is Matt Damon's mom. A good read, sometimes like a research paper, but good points about the world we live in, and strategies for child-raising)
*Schooled-I read this book for a book club, and it was a very pleasant surprise. Takes place in New York City. Makes you question private school education and tutoring, etc.

There is pretty much no way I'll make it through all these books before the baby but I think its a good list! Thanks for your suggestions!

30 Weeks

2010-03-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

We've made it to week 30! A big milestone. Us doctors start to feel a lot better once the babies make it past 30 weeks. Still she has got quite a bit of growing left to do and we're praying for full term. Since I wrote last I really feel like she has gotten much bigger. The official estimates are 3lbs and 17 inches. Her movements are much larger and visible from across the room. It's pretty wild having a little person living inside your body...making for many outer fringe moments.

27 Weeks

2010-02-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

*Disclaimer- I'm not really much of a "blogger" but my bed rest time has given me a little time to actually look at other blogs and see what it is that I "should" be including in my posts. I make no promises about continuing to make posts like this one but I thought I'd give it a try.*

The Mr. took the above picture to mark our 27th week. I don't really like the picture, cause you do get a good idea of what the bump is like, but after 3 tries, the Mr. decided he was done taking pictures.

I saw this list of questions on another blog and they seemed reasonable....

How far along? 27 weeks

Total weight gain: 14 lbs (don't hate)

Maternity clothes: Yes, but the pants are big still.

Sleep: I wake up every 3 or so hours to pee, but other than that pretty good. Just getting me ready for a hungry baby I guess.

Best moment this week: Laughing with the Mr. But that one tops the list most weeks :)

Movement: All the time. She is a crazy wiggler and kicker. It is so fun to watch my belly jump around while she "dances."

Gender: Its a girl!

Labor Signs: Thankfully, the contractions are now very infrequent. The "uterine irritability" still comes and goes. Bed rest is helping though.

Belly Button in or out?It's in when I'm laying down and flat when I stand up.

What I miss: I'm missing all my patients. I love my job and all this time away from the kiddos is tough. I also miss being the doctor. I think I'm better at that than being the patient.

Weekly Wisdom: I learned how to make an emergency water filter stick out of a desert plant, ashes, grass and a small piece of fabric. Thank you Man vs. Wild on Discovery Channel. Someday that little gem will come in handy.

Milestones: Our little lady hit the 2 lbs mark this week. She's really packing it on in there.

Quite the pair

2010-02-22T13:28:00.000-08:00

This morning the Mr. and I were had a funny conversation during which I think he correctly defined our roles in our marriage:

Unstoppable Force (me) and the Immovable Object (him)

A match made Above for sure :)

I couldn't be more blessed to call him my husband.

Here's a pic from our wedding nearly 3 years ago:

25 Weeks

2010-02-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

I've been very bad about blogging about baby stuff. I apologize to all of you who have been requesting baby bump pictures. This is us at 25 weeks (I'm 26 weeks now though...) Finally, looking pregnant. It's a self portrait so the quality is not great but you get the idea.

Another update....I've now been sentenced to bedrest for the duration of the pregnancy. Turns out that my residency schedule isn't great for my uterus. Briefly: I've been being followed for a "short cervix." On a weekly ultrasound check we found that my cervix had gotten significantly shorter. The OB put me on the monitor and low and behold I was contracting without my knowledge. I spent 5 days in the hospital getting meds adjusted to stop the contracting. Now I'm home spending quality time with the couch on a terbutaline pump (the side-effects are just super).

But little lady Grooms is doing well and that is the most important part. It is such a joy to watch her bump grow and feel her wiggling around. She hates it when I have to wear the contraction monitor and spends the whole time kicking away at it. Also, if Daddy is snuggling too close, she lets him have it. Wild.

Wintertime

2010-02-20T09:43:00.000-08:00

We've had 2 LARGE snows this winter. These are some pictures of the first. That's Ian behind the car digging me out for call early one Sunday morning. Below is the front door. Can you see the imprint of the door in the snow?
This is the back deck view. Yeah snow!! But no snow day for me that day. For the second large snow I did get sent home from clinic early which was fantastic! However, the next morning the snow had completely trapped me inside. I'm not allowed to shovel snow right now and Ian was out of town...so I wasn't sure how to get out. Thankfully, our wonderful landlord came to my rescue and brought a man with a snow plow truck! I was out in a jiffy!
Here is a picture I found on my camera. I guess Ian was impressed by this steam from his tea. I'm sure he can tell you all about the convection and fluid motion involved in creating this beautiful picture. I cannot. I do think its pretty though :)

2009-12-24T17:35:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We're pleased to give you all a glimpse of Baby Grooms. Best wishes in the New Year. Much Love, Ian and Heather

Friends

2009-11-08T12:07:00.000-08:00

My dear friends, Meg and Melody came to visit a few weekends ago. I had a blast with them. I had so much fun I forgot to take any pictures except these. We went for a walk on Robert Moses Beach and found that the waves had deposited thousands of jellies on the sand. The sun breaking through the cloudy made it look like glass covered the shore!

Camping on the island

2009-11-08T11:59:00.001-08:00

This fall we had the pleasure of spending a weekend camping with Ben, Robert and Corey on a little island off Cape Cod. Robert picked us up on the shore of Cape Cod and rowed us across to a "walk only" island. The first day was beautiful, warm and sunny. Corey and played on the shore while the men fished. Robert and Ben tried some stunt kite flying on a very windy last morning on the island.
Check out our new 6 man tent! Robert picked it out for us at an REI garage sale. Sweet deal!
Ian's jellyfish:
Ben and fish:
Corey and Heather:
The men venture into deeper water. They saw a little shark out there!
Robert and crab:
Ian:

Gardens and such

2009-09-13T13:54:00.001-07:00

Over the past week or so I've been contemplating terrariums. I like them and decided to make one. I found several videos on youtube.com very helpful in my planning. This is my first attempt but we have a large carboy in the garage that has me dreaming....
Also, at the request of MJ: A garden update. Overall the garden is going well this summer. The squash and zuchs gave us trouble again. We've had lots of veg but at some point the leaves go yellow and the whole plant dies. Here's one in the half yellow phase:
Our zinnas have gone crazy! Look how tall they are! And the birds and flying insects love them.

Maria and Sisto

2009-09-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

Last night we celebrated as our friends Maria and Sisto were married. It was a beautiful wedding and great party!

Digger's Birthday

2009-09-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

On September 7 Diggy celebrated his 1st birthday. We tried to get some photos to mark the occasion but Diggy cannot be bothered to hold still for photos. This is a side shot that at least shows you how big he has gotten!

Summer Hog

2009-08-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

We took Diggy out into the yard for a little adventure. We waited till dusk since he prefers the dark. I think he liked it. We put him under the marigolds and he really liked that but I don't have any pictures.

2009-08-23T16:11:00.000-07:00

I haven't been very good about posting pics of the garden this year and these are long over due (also I can't get this underline to go away...) Here's a long shot of the garden from earlier this summer. It really looks about the same but the plants are bigger, particularly the zinnias which have become giants.

The beets have done well this year and are delicious.

Ian picked out some pepper plants this year. Here he is enjoying our first yellow wax pepper. We have small red ones too.
The mint I planted last year came back as expected.
Basil.
Tomato plants.
Our new raised box with salad greens and sorrel. Yummy. Oh and marigolds too.
Also in the garden this year: squash, zucchini, kale, blueberries and one small strawberry plant that survived from last year. I haven't been a very good gardener this year....I've had a run of heavy months at the hospital so I'm afraid the harvest hasn't been what we'd hoped for. Still not too bad and it makes our yard look very pretty!

What's missing?

2009-08-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what's different about Ian? Look hard.

There, I made it easier. No sideburns! Can you believe it? I've never seen him without them. I doubt it is a permanent change but I'm happy to know what my husband looks like with no sideburns. Still devastatingly handsome.

Golden Earthworm Organic Farm

2009-07-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Ian and I took an afternoon trip out the east end of the island to visit The Golden Earthworm Organic Farm. They have a booth at our farmers market and supply us with delicious veggies all summer long. Its a beautiful farm. I spent some time picking lavender.

Here's Hattie, a very large pig.
A few goats.
This is Pan. He loved handfuls of clover.
Actually, the animals are really just farm pets. It's a fruit and veggie farm mostly. Check out their website: http://www.goldenearthworm.com/

Taryn's Flowers

2009-07-12T10:50:00.001-07:00

A seed gift from Tayrn now in bloom! Thanks!

Beard

2009-07-12T10:38:00.001-07:00

I posted previously about Ian's beard. Here's a shot of him with full growth. While I do think Ian wears the beard well, I am not a big fan of barbed-wire kisses.
Let the shaving begin!

Ian with a goatee:
A disgusting fu-man shu:
Even worse, a creepy mustache:
Very funny.
Much better.
And with a closer shave this morning, my husband is back to normal. Woohoo!

M&F

2009-06-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Mark and Fiona! Another happy couple enters the realm of matrimony. Welcome. We are so happy for you both!

Shots from our vacation

2009-06-09T11:44:00.001-07:00

Here's Ian's vacation beard....which is still there almost 2 weeks after vacation. He is trying out the new look. I'll have to post an updated picture later...

On vacation we went camping at Acadia National Park in Maine. It was so beautiful and relaxing. Here is a shot of the rocky shore:

Ian looking out from the top of "The beehive:"

A beautiful sunny day for a hike!
The park has many lakes with great hiking trails:
Ian and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on vacation. Here we are at the Jordan Pond House for a celebration lunch after (and before) a nice walk in the woods!
Ian in front of where we had lunch on the lawn:
All-in-all a super and much needed vacation at the end of a very busy intern year!

The Millers

2009-06-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

No trip to visit Robert and Corrie would be complete without a feeding of the various lizards and chameleons. We were not disappointed on our last visit. Check out the newest additions to their family. Here's the lady Miller chameleon:

And here is Herr Miller:

Spring in our yard

2009-05-17T16:26:00.000-07:00

Andrea and Sam

2009-05-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some long awaited pics from Andrea and Sam's wedding! We had a great time and are so happy for the newly weds. The pictures are a little out of order. Above you'll see the happy couple dancing at the reception. Below you'll see 2 happy couples!

Here's Andrea tearing up the dance floor bride-style!
College roommates together again!
A beautiful ceremony:
Signing on the line!

Colorado Vacation

2009-05-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

Several months ago we went on vacation to Colorado for a wonderful week away from Long Island. Sorry it took so long to make the post. Here are a few views from Lumpy Ridge:Here's Ian at a pond I can't remember the name of:

A big rock with a hole in it!
More on Lumpy Ridge:

A wonderful mountain cafe. Delicious!
Here's our cabin!

My Brother-In-Law.

2009-05-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to some pictures of Peter flying: (He's the one in the sun glasses.

http://picasaweb.google.com/petergrooms/Airfield94th?authkey=Gv1sRgCNKlraHi74b3lgE#

And in case you haven't heard...the Air Force has selected him for flight school! Congrats Peter, we miss you!

PS. My brother-in-law is the coolest.

My job is the best.

2009-05-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

Digs

2009-01-30T16:47:00.000-08:00

We've been having tons of fun with Digger. He's got a lot of personality for such a little hog!

Here's his first bath:

Drying off!Sleepy-time:

Christmas

2009-01-30T16:41:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I had 2 whole days in a row off! On Christmas Eve Ian and I took a trip into NYC and visited "The Cloisters" a museum, part of The Met and went to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas Tree. It was cold but a really fun day.

Under the tree:
By some pretty doors at the Cloisters:

Thanksgiving

2009-01-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year we stayed in New York. Actually, Heather was on call on T-day but Emily and Catherine were able to join us for the weekend too. After Heather finished up at the hospital we all headed up to Hartford to spend the weekend with Robert and Corrie. Here are some pictures from the festivities:
Ian and Robert battle it out to the end in Risk:

Pink wins!Zeus the chameleon:
Emily climbs:
Ian climbs:
Robert bolders the table:
Emily and Catherine:

Digger

2008-11-20T16:12:00.000-08:00

Here are a few long awaited pictures of the new addition to our family. He was my birthday present from Ian and his name is Digger: the salty sea hog who saved intern year. But usually we just call him Digger or Digs or Diggy or HogDog. We love him to pieces. Hope that you'll be able to meet him.
Here's Digs in burrow mode: Trying to look scary:
What a sweet little hog!
More to come!!

October 31st

2008-11-02T13:33:00.001-08:00

For Halloween the floor team all dressed up. The theme for the residents was "superheros." It was pretty fun and I think the kids enjoyed it too :)
Here's the floor residents, a few med students and some of our great nurses:
The super residents (and bat-intern):
Super! We look awesome.

Fall Activities

2008-11-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Catherine came to visit and we ventured out into the fall for some pumpkin picking. I have to admit that Long Island is beautiful in the fall. About a month ago the trees just exploded into fiery reds and oranges. I'll try to get a few pictures before its all over....
Here's Ian and Catherine at the pumpkin patch:

The carving....

Vacation

2008-11-02T13:12:00.000-08:00

In early October Ian and I left the island for a little vacation. First we went to Baltimore to visit our friend Fatima. She took us to a great coffee place and for quick tour of the Hopkins School of Public Health. Then we continued south to Williamsburg ,VA to visit Emily at William&Mary(Ian went there as well). We toured colonial Williamsburg and the college campus and just enjoyed some time with Emily. One day we found some boxes and look what happened:

Good times. Great Vacation.

Adam and Fatima's Wedding

2008-08-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

Several weekends ago Ian and I were able to attend Adam and Fatima's wedding. We were blessed by a two day (!) break from the NICU . The wedding was in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, on a goat farm. The goats grazed happily in near-by fields, the sun shown, friends were plentiful and the bride and groom were a happy couple. Here's A&F coming down the aisle: The ceremony and reception included parts from both the Christian and Muslim traditions as well as American and Afghan! Here's the beautiful seats and table prepared for the bride and groom during the reception:
Julie, stunning!
Chris, dashing as ever.
A&F in traditional Afghan wedding clothing enjoying some wedding cake!

The Garden- Part 3

2008-08-27T15:33:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been awhile since the last post. I just finished (ie: survived) 4 weeks in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) and I haven't been around much because of it. For those readers not in the medical world, the NICU is where the babies who are sick and/or premature go to get better or just to grow. The youngest baby during my time there was a 23 weeker, thats about 17 weeks early. Tiny babies. Pretty intense. Long hours. I learned tons. I'm on surgery this month. Interestingly, the hours are much better.

In the meantime, the garden has been going crazy. We are swimming in tomatoes. We've been eating them every night for dinner and we can't keep up! Here's the lot that I picked today:
Sadly, our squash and zuke plants were infected with some sort of fungus . I've tried to reclaim th plants from the fungus but I think my efforts were too little too late and I don't think we'll be growing any more squash or zukes this year. Here's me with one of our last zukes, he was a beast:
The basil has been doing very well and we just can't eat that much basil so I've tried my hand at drying it. It turned out pretty well and just tonight we chopped it all up and filled a whole spice jar! Here is the next batch I picked today to begin the drying:

And finally, amazingly we have our first green pepper growing! I'm not sure why (soil pH perhaps) but the pepper plants have been pathetic so far this summer. A couple of them just died right off the bat and the survivors have barely grown at all. So I was pretty convinced that we'd have not peppers this year. But then today look what I found! Hooray!

The Garden- Part 2

2008-07-20T06:45:00.001-07:00

Wow! I was just looking back at the pictures I posted of the garden earlier and I can't believe how much it has changed. I took the following pictures just a week ago the plants are much bigger already! We've harvested several yellow squash, zucchinis, salad, basil, handfuls of blueberries and this morning I picked the first of our beans! We have tons of green tomatoes on the vine and I hope they turn soon cause I do love tomatoes!
Beans, yellow squash, zucchinis:
Squash and zuke plants:Tomatoes:
Yellow squash!
Blueberries:
Strawberries....I planted too late so we are just now getting mini-strawberries...the plants will come back next year though!
Ian and a zuke:

Robert Moses Beach

2008-06-14T11:54:00.001-07:00

We finally got out to explore Robert Moses Beach. Its a national park that is really close to our house. I think it is the closest ocean beach to us, but there are closer bay beaches...
A funny story: We walked along the beach for quite a bit one evening and unknowingly walked into a "clothing optional" part of the beach (outside of the park). We were quite surprised. I didn't know we had those beaches in the US, but we won't be fooled again!

Here's Heather on a safe part of the beach!

The Garden

2008-06-14T11:40:00.001-07:00

I thought it might be fun to post pictures of the progress of our garden. The plants that I planted from seedlings seem to be doing pretty well and the seeds I planted a week ago are starting to peek through. Pretty exciting stuff if you ask me! Here are some shots from around the garden:

Brussel sprouts. Chamomile.
Ian working out the beginnings of our compost pile!

Tomato plants. One row of the green beans. I took this picture just yesterday and they are already quite a bit bigger!
Peppers, Beets, squash and zucchini:
Salad just starting. Look close!
Zucchini from underneath.

There are some plants I left out...perhaps they will be featured later!

Montauk

2008-06-10T14:04:00.001-07:00

The day before MaryJane left for Austin we had the pleasure of going out to Montauk Point on the far eastern edge of the island. We had a great time and it was nice to spend the day exploring our new surroundings.
A little geography....Long Island is long (130ish miles) and at the eastern end it splits into a northern fork and southern fork. Montauk is on the southern fork. While the western end(I'm still getting used to calling the New York City side the west!) is city, the eastern side is farms and vineyard and very pretty. I imagine we will spend much of our free time "out east." Montauk is out past the Hamptons area. Before moving here I had a vision of what "The Hamptons" looked like and I was pretty close. Large houses on big estates, expensive little cars roaming around, rich folks in their summer clothes...at least thats what I could see from the car, we didn't do much more than drive through. Still it was pretty!

At Montauk Point you can see the lighthouse and walk along the beach. We had a picnic on the beach.
Here's me and Ian at the lighthouse: MaryJane and Heather on the beach facing the Atlantic Ocean:
Ian and Heather with various nautical things behind us:
After this trip we can wait to get back and explore the north fork. We hear that its "much prettier" than the south fork!

The North Shore

2008-06-05T05:41:00.000-07:00

During our first week in NY we stayed with some family friends on the north shore of Long Island. We took a morning trip out to one of the beaches to have look around. Just beautiful.

The New Digs

2008-06-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new place! We have been blessed to find a great place and a great landlord. We looked at 6 places and this was the first and by far the best place. We are on the main floor and have a big kitchen, separate living room, bedroom, office, bathroom, patio, partial use of the basement and a huge yard! I've even planted a garden already. It's less than 5 miles from my main hospital and walking distance to the grocery, main street and the train station. To top it off, we have a great landlord who has invited us into his family. Seriously, we've already been to "Pasta Sunday Dinner," with all his family and friends. We hope that you can come visit soon!
Here's the front yard: The back patio:
The back yard:
The kitchen:
The living room pre-furniture:

Graduation!

2008-05-23T14:05:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe it but I've graduated from medical school! It was a great day. I actually really enjoyed the ceremony. It was so great to see all of my classmates walk across that stage and see the huge smiles as the hoods were placed over their heads. I was so proud of them. In medical school you get to know your classmates better than any other place I've been (whether you want to or not:)) and so it was sort of like watching your family graduate. Plus its just exciting to graduate from medical school!Ian and I after the ceremony.
The back-row crew: Bille, Joe, Mike, Heather, George and Andy
The Leydon's and Heather. Henry was a little un-happy at this moment!
The Wilson's and the Grooms.
A Hooded Dr. Grooms.

Baby Ian

2008-05-23T13:58:00.000-07:00

Ian and I had the pleasure of staying with the Waddington's while in Kirksville for graduation. Unfortunately, Erica was away at a conference but we had a great time seeing Mike and Ian. I can't believe how big he is. Last time we saw him at Christmas he was still in that eat, sleep, poop stage of baby-ness(still wonderful and cute) and was just starting to be more interactive. Now he's so fun and active and you can really start to see his personality coming out. Mike and Erica are great parents.

Good-bye Colorado

2008-05-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

On May 12th, Ian and I left Colorado on a long car trip that would take us through Missouri for graduation then on to Long Island. We are sad to leave such an amazing place and all of our friends. Colorado is after all where we began our life as husband and wife. Still we're excited to see new places and begin this new time of our life.
As I packed the house during the last few weeks I had lots of time to think about how I would miss this place and how much I would miss our great house. Certainly, we'd be down-sizing and up-pricing in NY. I took a picture to remember our first place together!

For G- Part 2

2008-05-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

Excellent G. Here is another pic but it probably gives it away. You were correct about the Discovery, thats why I tried for something a little harder. Kind of like anatomy lab tests, when then turned some part all upside down and inside out and then asked us to "identify this structure." See you in Kirksville.