Afternoon at Jefferson Park

(Not so) Still-life with Tractor

1 year old

Almost 2 yrs old

 3.5 yrs old

Great Article: Good Night Moon, What Writers Can Learn

Loved this blog post from NYT.
Wish more parenting posts were like this...

Summing up Residency (Part I)

This was an evaluation of my work from my last official day of residency:

"Sara and I provided anesthesia for an open thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in a highly complex patient. She performed a thoracic epidural, lumbar drain, arterial line, central line, peripheral IV, intubation and placement of a bronchial blocker with subsequent one-lung ventilation, all with the skill expected of an independent practitioner.

In addition, the patient required vasopressors, massive blood and blood product transfusion, and treatment of a malignant tachy-arrhythmia during the case. Sara performed admirably throughout the entire case, demonstrated excellent communication skills, was able to provide timely and appropriate interventions to both treat and prevent physiological disturbances, and did all of this while providing excellent teaching to a visiting medical student.

She is ready to practice independently."

Boo-yah! 

Pic of the Day

Which baby is which?

A.

B.

A. Elsa, 12mo

B. Sam, 10mo

Sam: 3.5yrs

If you ask Sam how old he is, he will tell you, "I'm three and a haaalf." It took him awhile to embrace the "half." At first there was a lot of "No, I'm three!" It may not seem like a big deal, but I think the latter "half" has really been a remarkable development, all about embracing change and the dynamic nature of life, especially with a rapidly developing baby sister to adjust to. 

Sam's now sharing his room with Elsa and has accommodated well to planning ahead (retrieving jammies or jackets before Elsa's gone down for a nap). He's also pitching in quite a bit, cleaning up toys left out in the evening, whether he played with them or not. He's dressing on his own, using the potty on his own (only one toilet clogging thus far), and attempts brushing teeth on his own.

I had the occasion to observe him in his Montessory preschool a few days ago and he was very proud to show me his work building a Roman Arch (A what?), working with metal inlays ("In-sets, Mom!") and hand-washing (which involved lots of basins and perhaps too much water). He was calm, focused, and process-oriented. 

Most recent new terms/phrases overhead include: delicate, by-the-way, definitely, and what's-going-on?