MedStud, Squishy and Mama

It's been a while since Ive written. So here are the cliff-notes (as a good friend of mine would say) of what's been going on:

• It's 2012! Which means our sweet little girl has a birthday coming up, her 1st birthday
• The MedStud is in block 3 of his 1st year in medical school.
• What's he learning? Gastrointestinal, Endocrine & Reproductive Medicine. 
• What's he learning this week?Metabolism: Storage, Retrieval, and Synthesis of Fats and Carbohydrates, Proteins and Complex Molecule. Wanna know more? Feel free to Wikipedia :)
• Mama has been working out and getting back into shape.
• We are working on baby #2 and LORD willing we can add to our quiver.
• We are also learning and researching about the adoption process in hopes of adopting in the next few years. 
• The MedStud has been doing Muay Thai. Not to be competitive or anything, simply to stay in shape and doing something he enjoys.
• Mama has been in purging mode and reorganizing. I guess the New Year can do that to you.  
• Squishy has been crawling for a couple of months now. Actually, let me restate that, she has been doing the army crawl. She know how to crawl on all fours but prefers being low to the ground. She weighed 16.8 lbs and was 26 inches tall at her 9 month appointment. She still has a tiny peanut head.
• Loves her sleep. 2 naps a day 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours and 10-12 hours at night 
• The girl smiles so much these days. There was a time when the MedStud and I thought she would never smile.
• Is still an excellent little eater. She is the healthiest eater ever! She loves avocado, mangoes, asparagus, strawberries, broccoli, couscous, blueberries, sweet potatoes etc.   
• Nurses 4x a day, the weaning process has begun.
• Is becoming very social. She gets so excited to see another baby or little kid and doesn’t mind being held by the older kids. With adults, well that’s a whole different story. Let’s just say she’s all Mom.
• She now has 2 teeth and has had 3 colds. The last cold threw us for a loop. She was sick for 2 weeks!!!! And then it took another 2 weeks to get her back on track. 
• She will not and cannot stop moving. Can’t wait till we can sit and cuddle her. I think Im gonna miss nursing cause that’s the longest and only time I can hold her without her needing to be in constant motion.
• She chows down at meal time. It's actually amazing how much the girl eats. It shocks people. She still has loved everything we have given her; well no Im lying. She doesnt dig the texture of beans, tofu or peas. She LOVES to feed herself and is really good at it. She chooses to eat her fruit before her veggies and then her grains.
• She is getting really good at playing on her own. Sometimes she prefers a little time by herself to crawl around and play with her toys.
• She can clap, blow into her flute and play 1 or 2 notes lol. She responds when we say arms up, she can wave, blow kisses and makes her own sounds for what a dog and cat sound like.
• She has been such a joy and delight for our family and friends! 
• The MedStud performed his 1st autopsy over the Winter break. It was pretty wild. 
• The MedStud has begun his preceptorship where he shadows a Dr. and meets with patients. He's shadowing in the ER which he loves cause of the pace and all the cases that come in. Some scary, some funny and some that really get you thinking about life and eternity.
• Mama is going to be volunteering at a pregnancy center mentoring young Moms. So excited for this opportunity.
• Wednesdays are still grandparent day and February we will be more consistent. 
• Sundays are our church and family day. 
• Events that are coming up: We have 2 weddings this year. My sis-in-law is getting married at the Santa Barbara Zoo (talk about COOL). And the MedStud is the officiant :) The 2nd wedding is one of our good friends and Im a bridesmaid. She's marrying her 7th grade sweetheart :) 

We are enjoying life, walking through it with the LORD and though times do get tough we trust that it is for our own growth and good. We may not be happy with everything that comes our way but we do consider it "pure joy."