Oh yeah, and....

Sage laughed today for the first time. She is totally making up for the fact that she did not smile at all until after 8 weeks old, and then only quite sparingly for some time. This means we are now fully immersed in the legitimately *fun* baby phase (distinguished from the previous not-quite-as-fun phase primarily by the presence of chunky legs and the ability to smile up a storm).

Positively bursting with pride

I am very pleased to announce that Naomi pooped in a NYC public toilet today, just outside of the playground at 99th and 5th. This is HUGE. Public toilets were by far my biggest fear going into the whole toilet training experience with her, but she handled it just like a champ.

I couldn't possibly be prouder. :)

PS--For what it's worth, though, she did fall into the bowl. And her shorts fell off into the....unappetizing, um, water on the floor of the bathroom at one point. And Sage was a little mad about being woken up by the potty break. But as far as I can tell none of these things really bothered Naomi.

On Healthcare and Planning

Re: "A Nurse's View of Healthcare"....

The one thing I don't understand is this:

"My patient thought he had planned well for his health care needs. He just never thought he would wake up one day with a diagnosis of leukemia. But which of us does? "

Me!!! Am I alone in assuming that eventually I will have some sort of cancer? Maybe not tomorrow, but eventually. I'm not saying we shouldn't show compassion for this man, I guess I'm just saying....something is eventually going to kill us all, and very few of the things that kill us nowadays do it cheaply. It's a good idea to sign up for insurance before your late 60s, if at all possible.

UPDATE

Hello again. I thought I would attempt a summary of what we've been up to this past month here in Utah. Up until last Thursday, I was mostly studying for Step1 while my parents and sisters (and extended family at times) watched Naomi and Sage. Naomi went swimming in the backyard almost every day. She also went to the rodeo, two parades for the 24th of July (a major holiday in Utah, celebrating the arrival of the first pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley, for anyone not familiar), saw some fireworks, went to a soccer game, went up to the cabin, played with cousins, and went to Aspen Grove (sort of like camp, but for entire families) up by the back side of Timp. Some of these places I came too, some not.

We also helped put together/went to my 10 year high school reunion (we actually had a good turnout, and I ended up feeling MUCH less awkward than I expected...it was fun) and blessed Sage this past weekend (hence all the pictures of her in her blessing dress). Oh yeah, and I am officially declaring Naomi toilet-trained! Only one accident in the past three days....what a big kid. :)

Sage's Blessing

Aspen Grove

Naomi loved this place.

Five days from now....

I will be done.

DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hate the stress, but I have to admit, I've learned a lot by studying for Step1. For the first time in medical school so far, I actually feel like I maybe know a couple of things that are useful.

That said, I am going to be ecstatic when Thursday is over. Assuming I pass. :)