Kid pictures

Here's some updated pictures of Kate and Ethan. I just took them in for their 2 year and 4 month appointments respectively and they are growing great. Kate's in the 50% for weight (26.6 lbs) and 75% for heightChunker Ethan weighs 16.7 lbs and is 26 inches tall which puts him at 80% for weight and 97% for height. Way to go little dude! He has the chubbiest legs and the cutest little round face and I love every inch of him!Ethan's GQ pose

Best Buds

Kate is Two

Kate turned two a couple of weeks ago and we celebrated! First we had the Wrights over and cake for her actual birthday and then on Saturday had 4 of her friends over for an Elmo party. Here's some pictures from both of the events.

Kate blowing out her candles

Trying to show us she is two
The Elmo cupcakes Kate and I made. I was pretty proud of how they turned out!

Ready for the party
All the kids getting ready to eat. We put shirts over them to try and prevent sending them home with stained shirts. It worked pretty well!


Kate's friends eating the cupcakes:

And this is my favorite picture - totally captures this little boy's personality!

Sleeping Habits

I think one of them hardest things about parenting is sleeping. No, I'm not talking about sleep deprivation for the parents, as horrible as that is, but rather trying to get your kids to sleep. Kate has notoriously been the worst sleeper. As a baby she never napped longer than an hour. I just wanted to clock all the parents upside the head when they would tell me that their son/daughter had been sleeping for 3 hours and they needed to go wake him/her up so s/he wouldn't sleep to long. Gosh! If I had only had that problem with Kate! Prior to Kate's arrival I read several "sleep help" books that talked about putting your baby to bed when drowsy but awake. I tried so hard to do this with Kate and it never went anywhere. For a long time I had to feed her and rock her in order to get her to fall sleep.

Then came Ethan. For the most part he's AWESOME at going to sleep. I wrap him up, hold him close for a minute and then lay him down fully awake and the kid goes to sleep himself in no time flat, often without even crying. Amazing. After Kate I really didn't think kids like that existed! But, now I'm starting to realize that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. As much as Ethan is a doll to put to sleep at home, it makes it twice as hard to put him to sleep anywhere else. If I can't lie him down in a dark room by himself, he has the hardest time falling and staying asleep. This makes church, vacations, etc difficult. He doesn't want to be rocked to sleep like Kate did, he just wants to lie down by himself in the dark which can be a challenge when we're on the go. I guess I can now see why some new moms just hang out at home, it sure does make nap time a lot smoother for Ethan!

Giveaways

Love Tip Junkie - especially now that I am the Enrichment Leader in my ward! Check out the site for some fun givaways!

Great Finds!

I LOVE finding great deals. It's a trait I learned from my wonderful mother who was one of the most frugal people I knew growing up. I have gotten some SMOKIN' deals lately - trumped all by the Maclaren double stroller I picked up yesterday that I found on Craigslist. It took me 1 1/2 total hours in the car with Kate peeing her pants (we're potty training - a whole other post!), getting lost, and stopping to feed Ethan who was hungry. But it was totally worth it! I got a practically brand new Maclaren with all the accessories (headrests, wind/rain shield, leg warmers, and cup holder for......$75! It retails for over $400 new! I was totally stoked! Especially since we borrowed my friends Maclaren when I took the kids to SF and I loved it! It was great because it was narrow enough to fit through doors and it drove wonderfully. Since I came back and had to return the stroller I've been wanting at least a side-by-side stroller for Hershey Park, daily use, etc. But I never thought I would find a Maclaren for such a good deal. In fact, I was totally lucky because the guy selling it said I was the first of over 20 people who emailed him and he said he had someone lined up to come pick it up yesterday if I didn't show up. Whew! Good thing I made it! Anyway, here's a list of some of my favorite other deals I've gotten this year:

The Marclaren Double

Kate loves her camping chair set that I picked up at a garage sale for $8. It even comes with a foot rest/tableMy brand new, never opened Food Dehydrator I picked up at a garage sale for $6 (retails for over $40). I can't wait to do some dehydrating!Love, love, love my Cuisinart ice cream maker! It was also brand new, never opened that I got at a garage sale for $20 (retails $50 new). I have been an ice cream making fiend! I've done vanilla, strawberry, cinnamon (which was DELICIOUS!), toffee crunch, and peanut butter. Yum! I love trying new recipes.

I also love to buy/resell on Craigslist. I bought a $20 bassinet, used it for a few months with Ethan and resold it for $40. I also just sold a play kitchen that I bought for $8 for $10. I plan on selling my single jogger and umbrella stroller too (both which I got for free) on Craigslist now that I have a double jogger and the double umbrella. Sweet deals!

It's Official

We are finally ready to announce to the blogging world what residency TJ has finally decided on. I've been hesitant to post it due to the fact that TJ has changed his mind MANY times over the course of this year about what specialty he wants to pursue. Which is fine, it's what the third year of medical school is about - but it sure is stressful! First it was Ophtho, then Internal Medicine, then Ophto, then Derm, then Ophtho, then Family, then Ophtho, then OB/GYN. And there it stops. No going back to Ophthomology. In a year it will be Taylor Brueseke, MD on his way to start his OB/GYN residency! TJ absolutely and totally fell in love with his OB/GYN residency and has 100% decided that this is the field for him. (I should insert into here something about how TJ has always said that he would NEVER in a million years do OB/GYN - Psych yes, but OB/GYN no - and something about how I told him that I thought he would like it more than he thought he would.... but I will keep my mouth shut ;)

So, that means a total shift in TJ's application and lots of different things to think about like academic vs community programs, future fellowships, and location preference for residency. Since OB/GYN is less competetive than Ophtho we have a much wider range of options and more ability to match in a certain geographic location. We are both so excited for the last year of medical school and the residency application process that comes with it. In 9 months we will know where we will be going for the next 4 years of our lives. Can't wait! Here's to finally choosing OB/GYN!

Simple Note

I woke up this morning and this made my day (not to mention Kate's day)
I have such a wonderful husband who is a GREAT father. Thanks hon for all you do!