Moss Rock

After Christmas we got the chance to spend some time with my family in Birmingham. We spent a beautiful Alabama December afternoon out at Moss Rock, a preservation with great hiking trails, rocks, and a river. Lucas had a blast, as he always does when we let him wear his beloved boots. We also had a chance to get out or new camera we got for Christmas and to play with all the settings. We are still learning but got some good shots.

Love my baby sister

Fun with Opa

Fun with Oma too

Lucas loved this tree trunk bridge

Family shot (with my Oma Emmi!)

26 weeks

This last shot was taken in Huntsville a few days earlier. Little man watching his favorite Mickey Mouse in a big bed.

Our Baby GIRL!

Lucas is having a baby sister (he is however when you ask him naming her "Brother") ! We are so excited and Matt's coming to terms with the idea of a non-male dominated family. Let's be honest... she will have him wrapped around her little finger.

She looks healthy and perfect on ultrasound (yes, 4 chambers of the heart which her Daddy was very excited about). And so angelic in the picture below. We have a feeling that looks can be deceiving.

We can't wait to meet you little girl!

Halloween

Happy Halloween! We had a great one. Lucas picked out his own bat costume some time ago and has been so excited for the past few days. We went trick or treating at our friends' house where they close down the whole street for the festivities. We learned that what it takes to get candy is a "trick or treat", a flap of the wings, and a thank you and L got quite good at it very quickly when he realized he was getting candy. Well somewhat good at it. He was a little shy and often tried grabbing candy without getting out a "trick or treat" but at least he did always say thank you. We went with several of our good friends and their kiddos. What a cute crew (see the last pic). I still can't believe we got them all to sit on one couch at one time. Our bat getting ready! Insert scary bat noise here. The cat and the bat (and daddy was Matt). We're so funny… "Trick or Treat" We can't believe we suddenly have this many kids: Molly, Lucas, Anna, Ella, and Will.

Two Little Monkeys

We have some exciting news! In a few short months our blog will be needing a name change. Lucas is going to be a big brother in April. We are excited and of course scared to be dealing with two little rascals. I hear it's a whole new territory. Our little (now big) man doesn't quite understand of course but so far likes the idea of having a baby (we haven't told him about the sharing he will have to do in the future) and has named him/her "brothersister."

I've been feeling pretty miserable and the combination of having until recently had an aversion to my computer when I'm not having to stare at it at work and going to bed with Lucas at 7pm every night has kept me from blogging. So I apologize for the 2+ months of silence. We also had our pediatric board exam Monday in Memphis (for those of you not familiar with the world of medicine ... it's a full day of testing whether you are ready to be a full fledged "board certified pediatrician") so I'm hoping now that I am three days into my second trimester and have the fun of the test behind me maybe my life can take on some sense of normalcy again. Here's hoping!

The proud big brother to be trying on clothes for his duty as a ring bearer. Those pics to follow another day.

Be Back Soon

I know it's been forever and I just wanted to let those of you that are loyal readers know that we'll be back soon! It's been one of those months, I mean two months. Peds Boards are coming up in about two weeks, our basement flooded and we needed major plumbing repairs, work has been crazy, and amongst other things all of that has been keeping us busy. Don't give up on me. More updates and catching up soon!

Hard at work

Summer Catch-Up

It's been a busy summer with many events and many changes. After three years of call nights, sick babies, learning, laughing, and crying we have finally finished residency. Of course we are excited to have these years of training behind us but at the same time we now face many new challenges and will miss so many parts of the last three years. We will cherish the memories we have made and will miss our friends that are leaving Nashville behind. Luckily, like us, many of our friends are staying here in Nashville for fellowships or jobs but sadly not all of them. It's amazing how the past three years seem to have flown by but at the same time so much has happened in the past three years: we became parents, we learned how to be pediatricians, and we made it through the first years of homeownership. It's been an incredible three years and we thank everyone in their love and support to get us through it.

End of Residency Party

A more formal and more complete picture of our graduating class.

We had an especially hard time saying good-bye to our friends Kathleen and David who are moving on to NC for practice and fellowship. In there short years we have gotten to be very close to them and I think Lucas has seen them as his second set of parents. We'll miss our impromptu dinner and Cece's dates. And we're not sure when Lucas will stop asking about KK and David when we are headed to get ice cream. In April we also took a wonderful trip together to San Fran, Sonoma, and Napa and I have absolutely not gotten around to posting some of our great pictures. Here are a few:

An amazing tip from a friend: biking across Golden Gate. We had amazing views!

So many monkeys!

At the top of Lombard Avenue

We had a wonderful (but sad) breakfast at Copper Kettle with Kathleen, David, Emily, and Mercer right before the Barry's hit the road to NC.

With the heat of the summer, we also spent a lot of time grilling and getting together with our friends every opportunity we could get.

Content with the pink stroller. Pink is L's new favorite color.

Hug from Anna

Cuddles from the newest addition to our friend group: Molly

The girls: Kim, Emily, Steph, Molly, and Kathleen

The boys were off playing... of course.

More sweet Baby Molly

[Lucas: "Baby Molly little; don't touch Molly" - he had to learn fast that the first 2 month of life and toddler germs do not mix well ]

We also had a great visit with our friend Kim who came all the way from Australia. I'm so thankful that she still stops by to see us on her few weeks back in the States every year. We can't wait to plan our Australia trip even though that will probably have to wait until after Matt's fellowship. Second year in a row we took her to Star Bagel. We have a weakness who can blame us.

On one of the rainy Saturdays, we went to the Nashville Library. They have the cutest puppet shows. Luca loves them! This particular day we had lots of company to see “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” – based on the short story by Mark Twain.

I think we took up half the space in the room.

Lucas and Ella

Anna

And finally, rounded the corner the other day to see this traffic jam in our hallway:

Good thing we're not lacking in cars, trucks, and bikes around here

Birdy Quotes

You know you've been drinking too many Blue Moons when your toddler says:

"Mommy, I need orange in my milk"

Cheers!