Sweet Home Arizona

Our family is having quite the adventure this fall! We left Nashville at the end of September (Alice was exactly 2 months old on the day we left), knowing we wouldn't be back until February! 

Brian is in his 4th year of medical school and doing "away rotations." He applied for several programs and was accepted to do visiting rotations. So he is kind of like an exchange student for a month at a time. The purpose is to build relationships in programs different from your "home" school and hopefully show programs that you are interested in them to get an upper hand when it comes to interview invitations. His away rotations are U of Arizona Orthopedics Sept-Oct, U of Utah Orthopedics Oct-Nov, and Primary Care at a private clinic in Arizona Nov-Dec. The month of January is his time "off" to use for interviewing, and we will spend that time in Portland.

Packing was hard-- 4 months, 3 people, 4 climates! We knew it would probably be around 90 degrees in Arizona , probably snowing in Utah, and cold & wet in Oregon. Somehow, we managed to pack it all, including a pack-and-play crib, without paying for extra checked baggage! I know, pretty amazing, right?

 Alice finally got to meet the Arizona family. My mom flew to Nashville when she was 2 weeks old, but the rest of my family had only seen her on Skype. I can't believe my dad is a grandpa!

 Alice loves all the attention from Grandma and Great-Grandma "Me-ma."

Aunt Lila and Alice have the same fashion sense: Skinny Jeans and Stripes!

Alice looks adorable the pink Tu-Tu that Uncle Michael got her.

And she is very good at cheering for him at his basketball games! Michael is Alice's self-appointed body guard. He is very protective and is always checking on her.

 Alice is a great sleeper and has slept 8+ hours every night since coming to Arizona!

 Brian has had a crazy schedule, so we savor the few minutes he's home (and awake) by relaxing and watching BYU football together. Although, how "relaxing" that is depends on how well the Cougars are playing...

 It is so fun spending time with 4 generations of family.

 My Grandpa calls Alice his "Girlfriend." Her shirt says "All Hail the Queen." That's about right.

  

 Alice added her name to Grandma's family tree.

 And Great Grandpa rocked Alice in the rocking char that belonged to his Grandmother.

 She is such a happy girl first thing in the morning and I am absolutely in love with these morning smiles.

 

 3 months has felt like eternity and no time at all, all at once.

Red Robin Celebrations

Doesn't this guy look happy?

 

It could be because he's about to eat a Mud Pie...

or it could be because he's finally finished with his OB/GYN rotation...

or it could be because he is now officially a Vanderbilt 4th Year Medical Student!

Most likely, it's a combination of all the above and more.

 

We had fun celebrating Brian's accomplishment at our favorite place to eat. 

We also celebrated 36 weeks of baby

 

and 5 1/2 years of being married

 

 I think we're as crazy (and maybe as clueless?) as ever.

Here's to many more Red Robin trips celebrating many more adventures!

Midnight Snack

Brian gone on a night shift + Natalie no morning responsibilities = 

MonkeyBread ("skinny" recipe) at midnight.

 Pathetic? Maybe. But definitely quite yummy.

33 weeks

It's unmistakable, Little Girl is growing! 

This week she is apparently the size (4.5 lbs and 17 inches long) of a pineapple, which sounds really uncomfortable. At least this week's comparison is a fruit that I can visualize... last week was a jicama. What the heck? The point of this whole vegetable/fruit weekly comparison thing is to give me a visual that I can relate to since I can't actually see my baby. Using a jicama then, since I have never seen one, defeats the purpose. (But maybe I am just ignorant and everyone else in the world knows exactly what a jicama is.)

Things Little Girl is enjoying right now:

Rolling from one side of my abdomen to the other.

Sticking round hard parts of her body out on my right side (never my left).

Giving Brian "high fives" when he pokes her.

Experimenting with her athletic skills when I am trying to sleep.

Bumping against the inside of my lower ribs when I try to slouch. 

Sleeping (or at least, not bumping around) when I am on an elliptical machine. 

Things I am enjoying right now:

Going to the gym in the morning (and taking as long as I want! No rush to get to work!).

Reading books about natural childbirth (just finished "Ina May's Guide to Natural Childbirth" and "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Natural Childbirth." Currently reading "Your Best Birth." My definite favorite has been the Idiot's Guide).

Wearing T-shirts and yoga pants/pajamas every day.

Taking naps whenever I feel sleepy.

Getting together with friends (and having an AWESOME baby shower!-- maybe pictures will come later)

Cleaning our apartment.

Working on projects.

Quilting.

Here is my first finished project of the summer-- a quilt for Little Girl's room!

 I love the turquoise and pink and gray together! I just can't decide if I like the front or the back of the quilt better. It is a nice size (about 50x75") for the recliner chair that we have in her room.

This week I am determined to be extra productive, although Brian is on Labor & Delivery night shifts (6pm-7am) all week, so his sleep schedule may throw a wrench in my plans for productivity.

College Cup!

Vanderbilt Medical School takes "Student Wellness" very seriously. They have all sorts of programs to keep the students as well-rounded as possible while they are studying their brains out. One of these programs is the Advisory College. Before their first day of classes first year, they get "sorted" into one of 4 "colleges." (Harry Potter, anyone?) They are a part of this advisory college for all 4 years of medical school. There are 2 physicians who head the college and throughout the year they do all sorts of mentoring and connecting and general advising. It's great. But the BEST part is the annual COLLEGE CUP: An entire weekend of competitions between the colleges. There is a swim meet, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee tournaments, iron chef, trivia, water polo, and more. Each college does their best to scream louder than everyone else at all times and basically everyone acts like they are in high school. It's a blast. 

Brian's college is "Robinson" (and I even get to participate as a Robinson Raven, too) Basically, they are the equivalent of Slytherin in everyone else's eyes. In their own eyes, they are the equivalent of awesome. (I am holding the Dean of the medical school's head in this picture. Brian is to the right banging some sticks together)

Dr. Pilla, one of the physician advisors (an ex-rock star turned anesthesiologist. No, I'm serious.) even dressed up as Snape for opening ceremonies. (In this picture, Brian is the one holding Dean Rogers' head and I am on the left of him.)

I swam in the meet. 2nd place in Backstroke!

that is a temporary tatoo of a Robinson Raven on my shoulder haha!

We both played Ultimate Frisbee.

 Brian totally rocked as water polo goalie. Only 1 point scored on him in 2 games.

 ...and doesn't he look hot in that water polo cap? Smokin! :)

It was such a great weekend that really made both of us miss the times we were doing competitive organized sports. We had so much fun and Robinson DOMINATED. It's always a plus when your team is the best. :)

Brian's Beard Bio

Brian's medical school class had a "Beard Growing Contest" right before their final exam of 1st year. It lasted 3 weeks.

Here is Brian before the contest started:After week 1:
After week 2:
After week 3:
Hairy BEAST! EEEEeewww.
Apparently he named his beard Veeachislahv (since I nixed it as a potential name for our first-born). I guess he was rather attached.
He was a finalist (top 3) in the competition, but lost to a gorilla.

Then he shaved it off bit by bit.



And we're back to the sweet soft-faced Brian that we all know and love!

Things we do in Nashville

We go to country music concerts at the Grand Ole Opry.

This is how close we were! (Lil' Jimmy Dickens is on stage-- the cutest and oldest country singer I've ever seen/heard!)Rodney Atkins
(funny story, he kept trying to throw guitar picks to the girls clustered around the stage, but he couldn't get them past the stage, so then he'd try to kick them off the stage in the middle of singing. He looked like he was doing a weird dance)
Kerri Underwood

We attend crazy Medical School events like The Cadaver Ball (?!)
We experience the Nashville Symphony
We sit court-level at Vanderbilt Basketball Games
and more Vandy basketball gamesWe support the Nashville Predators Hockey team
(one of my favorite bilboards in Nashville says "HOCKEY TONK SMASHVILLE")

We have Fondue parties with friends (even those that move away and leave us! *cough*Haymores*coughcough*Davis'*cough)

Oh, and sometimes Brian does a little bit of studying and Natalie does a little bit of teaching.