Joshua Tree

For my first vacation week, we decided to visit some friends out in California. Part of that trip included some time in Joshua Tree. Here are a few pics!

twisted joshua trees, piled up boulders and dirt roads for miles...

 we stayed overnight at the funky mojave sands motel.
aside from the owners trying to sneak some extra charges on to our credit cards for having babies with us, it was a pretty cool spot.

super dad.

 check out the fancy carrier for little wilder. #gearjunkies

monica & monika...(& dylan)

cholla cactus garden

 never a dull moment with babies on board

Junker's scones

Today I attempted to make "Junker's scones." Dr. Junker is one of the ICU docs who I recently worked with on my ICU rotation. ICU was a difficult rotation for me, for many reasons. First, my patients were so sick. Fortunately the ICU is staffed with excellent nurses who watch their patients like hawks. But life is so fragile at that moment, and within an hour one can quickly turn from stable to dead without careful monitoring. As a new doctor, it's intimidating to be responsible for such critically ill people, especially when managing several at once. Some people live on ventilators with no chance of a functional recovery because their family members "believe in miracles" and other very young and sick people are "compassionately extubated" (the breathing tube is removed with the expectation that the patient will pass on his/her own) because their families recognize that there is no hope for functional recovery and any quality of life as the patient would have wanted - either way, its heart-wrenching stuff. As you might expect, those experiences forced me to think about what I would want for myself, or for Dylan if we were ever unfortunate enough to find ourselves in that situation. Some people are so concretely sure about this... I heard one doc say this week that once he could no longer watch and follow a Pats football game, that would be the time to "pull the plug." How do you define quality of life for yourself, at this point in your life? Dr. Junker said that his measure of life worth living would be whether he could come back to work and effectively do his job. Not that he's so dedicated to his job per say, but that this is his measure of function that would allow him a good quality of life. In addition to the mental exhaustion, it was also a physically demanding rotation with a difficult schedule and long hours...26 hour shifts and many sleepless nights. All the while I am still scrambling to find time to pump for Dylan! But if you are fortunate to be on weekend call with Dr. Junker, you get to try his homemade, incredible scones! He shares his recipe here. I had to order the ingredients for the cinnamon scones from King Arthur Flour - a nice company that re-sent me flour at no charge after the first package exploded on the way here. Anyways...they came out pretty good! (But not as good as the real deal). Next time I'll try the bacon cheddar ones!

Today I am 4 months old!

Not much more to say...4 months already! She's drooling like crazy, those teeth are on the way for sure. If you leave her on her belly she will roll to her back...and she can go the other way too! No more leaving her unattended on the sofa or changing table. And as you can see, she's growing up to be a girl of many expressions :) Lucky for us, she is mostly happy.

A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Today was a perfect late summer day in Shaw. One of the best perks of living in Shaw is all of the awesome restaurants nearby. This morning we started our day at Le Diplomate and left with our bellies full of delicious quiche!

But after spending the last year in Redding, we have also been missing the trees and greenery that DC is lacking. So we took a road trip out near Leesburg, VA. While touring around, we were excited to stumble on a polo grounds!  After getting our polo fix, we popped across the street to Greenhill vineyards, sat outside and tasted their wines with some new friends from polo. 

Then we returned home to grab dinner at one of our favorite spots, Dino's Grotto. Check out this recent NYT article about some of the cool spots in Shaw!

Another fine golden weekend

Last weekend I came off the ICU service and had two days to enjoy with all of my girls!  We decided to start the college tour and we picked Georgetown and UVA for our first two stops. Both incredible schools, with so many great things to offer students. We visited Georgetown on Saturday. During our tour the football team was warming up for the game and fans trickled in to the mid-campus stadium excited for game day. Definitely missed out on the fun of D1 sports during my undergrad experience (NYU)! Then Sunday we visited Charlottesville again, toured UVA, and ate a few more good C'ville meals. If you're looking for a good sandwich spot in town, check out Ivy Provisions.

I have been longing for the beach, so today we packed up the car and headed out to Rehoboth beach area. We walked along the boardwalk, then found a quiet section of beach to relax with Dylan. 

Finally, Dylan learned how to roll over this past week!  No more leaving her on the changing table...she's ready to move around on her own.  Go Dylan, go!

After this, there will be no weekend days off until my vacation week in mid-October. Wish me luck!

This happened yesterday...

Jill got her permit yesterday!!!! Look at how happy she is. Watch out CT!

Meanwhile Geeta and David are holding down the fort while I'm working away in the ICU. The last two call nights have been non-stop busy. One more to go before I move on to Emergency Med. Wish me luck!

A letter from the White House

This is the coolest thing - today Dylan got a letter from the Obamas, welcoming her to the world!! May you always dream big dreams, Dylan!

I have completed my first rotation block of residency! For the last month I have been working in the resident-run clinic, doing everything from routine OB visits to managing more complex gynecologic issues. Meanwhile, David and Geeta are holding down the fort. Dylan turned 10 weeks old last Tuesday...shes growing like a weed. Jill and Rachel are finishing their camps this week and will be reunited with their baby sis soon! 

More pics to follow...

My First "Golden"

This weekend was the first full weekend that I had off since starting residency...the so called "golden" weekend. One might think that it would be a perfect opportunity to sleep in and relax - but these cherished weekends don't come around all that often so we decided to take a road trip out to Charlottesville to visit Sheela and Erik! Auntie Sheela totally spoiled Dylan with a bunch of adorable new outfits and her favorite PJs in a new pattern! We tried to go to polo at King Family Vineyards again, but the match was cancelled after all the rain yesterday. That let us just relax in Charlottesville, play some tennis, eat lots of good food, and shop around at the outdoor mall. 

It was an excellent "golden."

8 weeks today!

Dylan is 8 weeks today! 

Daddy and Geeta (our wonderful nanny) are taking good care of Dylan while I'm working away at the hospital. 

We're finally starting to get into a routine here and we're loving watching Dylan grow. 

But we're missing Jill & Rachel who are enjoying their summers at camp

...stumbled on this great pic of all of us from Fire Island before they left for camp.

More to come soon...

Back to work

The time has come. Tomorrow the nanny starts and my vacation ends. It's hard to believe that Dylan is 6 weeks old already (tomorrow) and that I am beginning my career as an Obstetrician Gynecologist! The next few months will be exhausting as I settle in at the hospital while juggling nighttime feeds and family time outside of work...but I am so fortunate to have an amazingly supportive husband, a loving and experienced nanny, and a beautiful, healthy little girl - all of which make the transition much less daunting. 

Dylan had a check up with the pediatrician last week...she was just about 10lbs then (50th %ile for weight), 90th %ile for height and 80th %ile for head circumference. Check out how much she has grown over the past six weeks (pics are arranged from oldest --> most recent).

June 10, 1956

2016 has been an exciting year for our family. Not only did we welcome Dylan, but we were able to celebrate two important milestones last weekend - Poppy's 80th birthday!!...and Nane and Poppy's 60th wedding anniversary!!! Having only graced this planet for 34 years, the idea of being alive for 80 years and being married to someone for SIXTY years is something I just can't understand yet. Looking at old pictures of Nane and Poppy, I can only imagine what it's like to have seen so much change over the years...For those of you who don't know Nane and Poppy, they are pretty incredible people. They have created an amazing family that we're so proud to be a part of, and they continue to be super involved in all of our lives - keeping in touch with us by text, Instagram, Facebook, and via FaceTime! I would bet that not many people can say that their grandparents are fluent in modern day technology like ours are!! Anyways, we were so happy to be able to celebrate them with our family. Here are a few pics:

What a good looking family!

Ally had the awesome idea for all of us grandkids to take a photo with our families that together would spell out:
"Happy anniversary Nane and Poppy.
We love you very much.
Since June 10, 1956."

Below are our favorite outtakes (left and right) from our photo shoot.
The one in the middle was the one we used for the family photo.

We think the one on the left best represents us :D
What do you think??

2 weeks old already!

It's hard to believe that it has already been two weeks with Dylan on the outside! I have to say that I feel way more rested than I did in the third trimester of pregnancy, despite waking every 2-3 hours to feed and change Dylan every night. Dylan has already attended her first meet and greet with a DC politician, and socialized with the up and coming OBGYNs in this town. She attended a parade in Shaw, and went to brunch at the local favorite, Le Diplomat with her Auntie Sheela and Uncle Erik from C'ville. 

She's officially a DC gal now. 

At two weeks...

Our favorite thing to do together: snuggle

Our least favorite thing: the bath

In other news this week...we introduced the bottle to Dylan.  I have been pumping off some extra milk for when I go back to work, and the pediatrician advised us to introduce the bottle sooner than later because Dylan would be more likely to reject the bottle than the breast since she's been such a good breast feeder! Well, she had no problem with the bottle either. Must be because it gave her some special bonding time with Daddy.

Jill got a fantastic new haircut!  She's looking good and feeling good as she kicks off finals week!! Everyone send her good luck!

And last, but certainly not least, this important document arrived this week, marking the end of medical school and the official beginning of my career as a physician. No more tuition payments!!!  Hip, hip, hooray!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

Dylan is 6 days old

After Dylan's delivery, I quickly got back on my feet and Dylan impressed the pediatrician with how healthy she was, allowing us to finagle an early discharge! This let us hit the road down to DC on Thursday rather than Friday...ahead of the other memorial day weekend travelers.

With plenty of boxes left to unpack, we moved back in to our new home in DC for good this time, complete with Dylan. Grandma Chris drove Dylan and I, and David brought Jake down.  Jill, Rachel and our niece Ashley came after school on Friday by Amtrak and when they got in they went running around all the monuments at the mall in the dark (sounded like lots of fun!). 

Here are a few good pics from the weekend:

After we finished taking pictures for a top secret mission (more on that soon), we snapped a few family shots.  Here are some of the good ones!

We were sad to say bye to everyone on Monday...but we're looking forward to our fun summer adventures together ahead!

Visitors for Dylan

We are already back and settled in to our new home in DC! 

Before we left, so many people came to welcome Dylan.  

She is already SO loved. 

Auntie Stace and Auntie June (who by the way is managing Dylan no problem with a severely broken clavicle- ouch!)

Poppy and Gigi.  Dylan's middle name, Thea, is a nickname for Theodora...Gigi's name.

The Link gals managed to sneak in a visit before visiting hours ended!

And of course, Dylan's big sisters.  Those girls will be unstoppable!

Thanks to our other visitors who we didn't catch pictures of - its so nice to know that Dylan already has so many people looking out for her in this world!

She's here!!!!!

Miss Dylan Thea was born May 24, 2016.

7 lbs.  21" in length

She's perfect in every way!

Already face timing with Auntie Sheela

Proud Grandma

In love with her Daddy

Today she will have lots of visitors!  More pics to follow!

While we wait...a blanket for Dylan

While we all anxiously await Dylan's arrival, I have been trying to keep busy with things that don't cause my feet to swell.  Today I finished a blanket for Dylan!  I'm thinking that it will probably be a stroller blanket or a blanket for tummy time (when her fancy pink elephant one is not around).  It's really warm, and nice and thick.  This is the first time I ever did an i-cord (the green border) and I'm excited with how it came out!  Real knitters would surely be able to tell that a beginner made this blanket, but hopefully Dylan will love it anyways. 

If you happen to be a knitter, I used a free pattern from Purl Soho (here).  I didn't use all of their yarns because they are pretty pricey.  But their yarns are beautiful and now that I know what I'm doing, I might splurge on their yarns if I make another!

New Pond Farm

Rachel decided that for her mitzvah project she wanted to work with animals, which made volunteering at New Pond Farm an obvious first choice!  New Pond Farm is a 102-acre educational center and farm in Redding, CT.  Their mission is "to connect people with the land that enriches and sustains us all." There is also a dairy annex, where David was able to find some delicious chocolate milk to snack on while Rachel was working!  There are so many events happening there - from school field trips to astronomy lessons at the observatory, and at any time visitors can walk around and check out all the animals on the farm.  If you happen to be in Redding, CT, definitely check out their website (New Pond Farm) for upcoming events! 

Rachel volunteered in the learning center taking care of the reptiles and amphibians. Thatcher Taylor patiently trained Rachel in how to take care of the animals, and in no time she was totally comfortable taking care of them on her own.  She's a natural! 

We all fell in love with the animals.  Chester was immediately labeled as Grandma Chris' boyfriend.  Jill was smitten by Bazzle.  Blaze, Monica's favorite, was always calmest in Jill's hands! And David just loved Scales....NOT!!! He's terrified of snakes! You could find David at the dairy annex with his chocolate milk :D

We only wish that we could continue volunteering there.

Thank you New Pond Farm for the awesome experience!

Great work Rachel!!

Rachel's Rehearsal

Yesterday Rachel had a rehearsal for her bat mitzvah.  She got to practice reading at the podium into the microphone...and it was the first time we could hear her interpretation of what her Torah portion is about, the meaning of that to her, and how her mitzvah project (volunteering at New Pond Farm) relates to that.  Without giving too much away, she spoke about treating people kindly and equally and how she draws on her love for animals as an example of how she would like to show love in her relationships with people. It was really beautiful, and we're so proud of her!

Jill (left): cool as a clam since she's not the one reading in front of the congregation this time! #beentheredonethat

Ready to go!  Lets do this!!

I didn't want to reveal just how stunning Jill and Rachel look in their dresses before the big day...so stay tuned for more pics after the bat mitzvah this Saturday!