I Need to see More Chinese Girls...

Kate loves gymnastics. She loves to watch it and she loves to do it.

She looks forward to going to her gymnastics class each week. Every Monday we remind her that she's going to go to Salto (name of her gym) and she jumps up and down. (Then reminds us that she needs to go to Krispy Kreme for doughnuts and chocolate milk afterward.)

Steve decided that if she likes gymnastics so much, he should look on the internet for video clips of some champions performing. Well, he hit the jackpot and Kate was in heaven. She loves watching the the videos and has now become rather choosy about who she watches. We found a few of the Chinese athletes and she now only wants to see the Chinese athletes perform. (Yes, she can tell the difference!)

We asked her if she wanted to see some American gymnasts and she replied, "No, just Chinese."

Steve then asked her, "Kate, don't you like American gymnasts?"
Her reply was simply, "No." (We have no clue where she got that.)

We switched to the male athletes (Chinese male) and as she watched them perform on the parallel bars she said, "Man no fall and go boom!"

I guess we know who she will be rooting for during the Beijing Olympics!

Since she is now watching gymnastics, she is now workng on variations on her forward roll...she now does the:
1) simple forward roll
2) the Nascar forward roll (from a dead run into the roll)
3) the Peter Rabbit forward roll (hopping into the roll)
4) the "look Momma no hands" forward roll (hands held out to the side) and
5) the spread eagle forward roll.

Hopefully if she decides to compete in floor exercises, she adds something else for variation!

We have decided that her small size may make gymnastics a natural sport for her. We ran out of pants for her this weekend, so we had to put her in a pair of her brother's size 18-24 month pants. They were about a 1/2 too short, but otherwise fit. She thought it was pretty funny that she could where Sam's pants.

Leaves=Fall

Daddy made a big pile of leaves in the back yard and took the kids out to play. Sam was fascinated by Kate's tricycle. He kept trying to get on it while she was busy doing something else.

Sam did not really want much to do with the leaves. He found them rather troubling and went back to playing with the trike.


Kate was thrilled with the leaves and had a great time launching off her little playhouse into the leaves. She loves to hear the crunching sound of the leaves under her feet.



She then dug her way into the middle of the pile to pose for more pictures. One of her favorite phrases is "Take picture!"


It may not be long and we'll be playing the snow instead of the leaves!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday to pick out a few pumpkins. Mommy had a picture in her head of what this would be like...Sam thumping on pumpkins and checking out the different textures found around the pumpkin patch...Kate thoughtfully perusing through the patch carefully selecting the perfect pumpkin for each member of the family.



And now for reality:

Sam thumping on pumpkins, pushing pumpkins over to see if they roll, dropping pumpkins, pushing pumpkins off displays to see if gravity works in pumpkin patches, and trying to climb on anything that looks like it could involve danger.


Kate running from ugly pumpkin to bruised pumpkin shouting "I want this...I need this one...this one Momma...LOOK Momma!" She then climbs on antique tractor and refuses to get off. Kate reports, "She needs to drive..." She then sprints to the few animals around the farm and announces she needs see llamas and goats! ...Sprints back to pumpkins and selects several more that she "needs"...


We then purchase the 4 pumpkins Momma chose and Kate sprints back to animals to see them again. Pumpkins get loaded into care and happy kids and mildly disillusioned Momma head back to house.


Kate hears Dad's car drive into drive way. Daddy walks in door and Kate announces, "I need to show Daddy my pumpkins!!"

Done With Studying....

The scores are in, the exam has been passed and the books can be put away!!!

No recertification exam for another 5 years. Yeah. I scored in the 98 percentile for those taking the exam and I am so thankful to God, to Steve who was so gracious during my preparation and to my Mom who helped watched the kids!

As Kate would say, "All done, git down."

Always Wear Your Helmet

Kate and Sam are now ready for biking with Mommy. I know it's late in the season, but I finally got my bike tuned up, got my conversion kit for our Chariot stroller and got the bike helmets. We had to order helmets since it's October, but the kids were very excitd about them. Since Kate has a rather petite head and Sam's head has it's own zipcode, they both wear the same size.

We could hardly pry Kate's helmet off of her tonight, so she had excellent head protection for playing, eating and getting reaady for bed. No concussions in our house tonight!

Kate Says the Funniest Things

Daddy: "Kate, what makes your brain synapses fire the way they do sometimes?"
Kate: "Fire engines."

Momma: "Kate who put you in charge?"
Kate: "Ahhh...Sammy."

Momma: "Kate, are you the director?"
Kate: "Ahhh...yeah."

Daddy: "Kate why did Adam and Eve have to leave the Garden of Eden?"
Kate: "They needed a time out!"

Bedtime Stories

Bedtime conversation overheard outside room...

Setting: Kate is wedged in toddler bed with all of Kate's animals. Daddy is tucking her in. They are reading stories and talking about her day.

Dad begins to read Kate Bible story. She currently insists on reading Adam & Eve's story every night.

Dad reads story, then then asks Kate a few questions.

Dad: "Kate, who made Adam and Eve?"
Kate: "God"

D: "Kate, what beautiful place did Adam & Eve live in?"
K: "China!"

Bedtime routine continues...Kate passes a bit of gas.
Dad suggests Kate should say something,

K: "scuse me, Daddy, I farking!"

Mommy snickers and runs downstairs.

Apple Picking Adventure...

Today was a crisp, fall day perfect for a trip to the orchard. So we packed up the kids and met our Forever a Family Adoption group from church the apple orchard. Kate and Sam were excited about going and shared a few moments of holding hands on the way to the orchard. Do you think they'll do this when they are 15 and 13??



We had a great time picking apples, riding on the hay wagon, and spending time with other families.





Kate had a wonderful time climbing the trees and helping to pick apples with Momma. She insisted on wearing her new "pretty purple dress and tights". Unfortunately, I need to take the waist of her leggings in, but she "needed" to wear them. As she was running through the orchard I heard her yell, "Uh-Oh! Pants fall and go boom!" ...we turned around to find her leggings around her ankles. Being one tough kid, she just kept running anyway...





Sam was all about trying every apple he could find (especially those on the ground) and trying to eat rocks.





Time spent with the kids beats listening to the Wisconsin Badgers get pasted by Penn State any day!

Too Much Information...

You know you've been reading too much about medicine when:

1) You have a headache after a stressful day at work, but you're worried that it is:
a) a brain tumor
b) optic neuritis
c) a big hemorrhagic stroke

Correct answer: Stress headached cured by a mocha


2) Your daughter has a cough and you think she has:
a) tuberculosis
b) pneumonia
c) pneumothorax

Correct answer: viral infection (i.e. the common cold-rhinovirus)


3) Your daughter is writhing in pain and telling you her "tummy hurks", you think:
a) she has acute E.coli infection
b) she has a kidney infection
c) she has an intestinal torsion

Correct answer: She is being potty trained and refused to pee for 9 hours and her bladder has a gallon of pee in it.


There's a saying in medicine, "When you hear hoof beats, think horses not zebras." I'm now going to take a dose of my own medicine and go back to thinking about bones and stay away from the general stuff.

Milwaukee's Lakefront Marathon

Today was Milwaukee's Lakefront Marathon. We packed up the kids and took them down to the Lake to cheer on the runners. Kate was so excited and she stood along the course clapping and yelling "Go Runners!!" We got to our spot just past the mile 25 marker before the leaders came through, so we had a few minutes for the kids to do sprints.




Kate also found a tree she wanted to climb and that kept her amused until the leaders came into view.


It was a perfect day to play along the lakefront, but very warm to run a marathon. So, while the times were slower due to the heat, it was great to see the athletes run by.

Here is the winning male runner at mile 25...


And here is the winning female at mile 25...Kate says "chicks rule"...


We congratulate all those who trained and finished the race set before them.

One Buff Boy

Here is Mr. Abs of Steel strutting his stuff around the house. He's inspiring you to go to the gym isn't he??

Who Will be the Next Iron Chef America?

Kate and Sam are really getting into "helping" in the kitchen. They love to play with pots and pans...and now seem to be interested in the stove. Look out Bobby Flay and Mario Batali...Kate & Sam are headed your way!

All Done Git Down...

When Kate is done with something or doesn't want to do something in the first place, she will frequently announce she that she is "all done, git down". Well, I am now "all done, git down" with my exam. I had trouble sleeping Wednesday night because my thoughts were racing...I was trying to remember treatment algorhythms, signs and symptoms, diseases, drug side effects, and methods for reading EKG strips, etc. I finally got up and ate graham crackers and watched some trauma show on Discovery Health Channel at 3:00 a.m. (Sadly, I didn't pick up any medical tibits from the show to use during the exam!)

Anyway, I ended up grinding my way through 5 hours of computer generated questions and when I walked out the door of the testing center I was so relieved that it was over. Just as I expected, tears of relief squeezed between my eyelids. Then it was off to the gym to burn off more of the stress, followed by a wonderful tall raspberry mocha from St. Arbucks :-)

I will try to stick by my resolution to avoid any medical reading for the next month unless it directly relates to my job. Other than that, you won't see me reading JAMA or the New England Journal of Medicine for a little while. I do love medicine, but it's a love-hate thing right now.

I am now soothing my synapses and numbing my neurons with a weekend of football.