Levi: 8 weeks

Likes: his fuzzy gray blanket (especially against his face), his wubbanub, staring at lights in the ceiling, flying on airplanes (lulls him right to sleep! He only made a single peep on each flight to and from Chicago. Thank goodness!), standing on my lap and holding his head up like a big boy, being held & snuggled like the sweet baby he is.

 

Dislikes: eating and sleeping with a stuffy nose, being in his carseat when it is not moving, getting shots! 

Quirks & Habits: He is quite the smiley boy these days. However he tends to look past me and smile at the wall! Still ridiculously cute. 

He is still a spitter upper. He doesn't spit up after every feeding. Mostly at night...all over my bed! And without fail he spits up all over me immediately AFTER I shower and get dressed. And yet I rarely change into a new clean outfit. Its a good thing I don't get out of the house much.

 

Reasons why I am currently smitten with him: This one feels like a cop out but I promise it isn't! Every day I fall more in love with this boy as I watch his siblings love and adore him. It's the sweetest. Hannah multiple times a day tells me "I want to keep dis baby". (I'm glad she feels that way...because he's clearly here to stay!)  And holding Levi is the first thing Charlotte & Isaiah want to do in the morning as well as the last thing at night along with many times in between. One night Isaiah even came to bed early just to have extra time holding Levi. (Typically I hold Levi while reading the girls' bedtime stories, but that night Isaiah took that job.) Charlotte will even hold him while he is fussy if I REALLY need to get something done...like make dinner or clean up someone's potty accident! Its funny. During this pregnancy I was worrried that this fourth child would somehow off balance our family. And now 8 weeks in I can clearly see those worries were silly. Instead this fourth child has balanced our family. He makes us complete in ways I didn't even realize we weren't complete.

friends and stuff

I will be the first to admit that I am SO VERY EXCITED to say goodbye to winter for THREE YEARS!!! Its pretty much all I have been dreaming about since we opened that envelope last Friday. I spend far too much time studying the 10 day forecast for our future residence....because it is just so dang beautiful! I can barely wrap my mind around the idea of mid-seventies in mid March. What?!! That's craziness. Craziness I am excited to embrace. Mentally I have a list a mile long of things we will NOT be moving with us. Like snow pants and boots and mittens and really thick sweaters. Sleds. Shovels. Snow shoes. Just about a month ago I was uber frustrated with Isaiah for losing his snow pants. Now? Who cares! See ya later snow pants. It was nice knowing you. No need for those in Texas!

I can hardly wait to embrace life in Texas. Sunshine and warmth. Flip flops and swim suits. (Well admittedly my post partum body isn't quite ready for swim suits but mentally I am ready.) I have a theory that mothers of young children that live in warm climates are happier than us moms that have to endure winter. I am excited to test out this theory. I mean getting outside every day without bundling up like an eskimo?! That just sounds heavenly. 

However all this sunshine and warmth comes at a price. And that price is leaving all our family and friends. Taking our children and uprooting them yet again!  It isn't going to be easy. Saying goodbye never is. Even when we know it's what has to be done. In the long run it is the best thing for our family. 

See. The thing is these friends have been supporting us for a long time...

 

They've been cheering us on. And loving our kids like they are their own since each one was a baby. Friends like these don't come along every day. 

 

We've been blessed beyond measure by these friends. And while I'm excited for this next adventure I'm sad to be moving so far away from these friend. My people.  Friends that feel like family.

 

MATCH DAY!

Match Day was by far one of the most bizarre days of my life thus far. A day filled with many, many emotions. I could hardly sleep the night before. I was too excited (plus Levi was HUNGRY after all that traveling). Joe slept like a log per his usual. But then of course in the morning I couldn't get myself moving and out the door on time. (Sorry Joe.) 

We did however make it in time for the breakfast and opening remarks. However we could hardly make it across the room to get the breakfast because...THE BABY! Everyone wanted to see the baby. It's was as if they had never seen a baby before. In their defense med students don't get out much. Their world is a pretty small bubble. We did eventually eat. And fed the baby. 

The class president ended his speech with the Hunger Games' infamous line. "May the odds ever be in your favor."  And then we all started the slow (and eerily) somber "march" across the school to the ballroom where THE ENVELOPES would be handed out. It felt like we were marching to our death. 

And then began the longest half hour. Time draaaaaged. And the room was a buzz with nervous energy. Mine included. 150 students plus their families waited. Everyone chatted and snapped pictures. I did too. All around the room there were computer screens counting down the minutes until 11am. With fives minutes to go the envelopes were handed out. A little less talking. (If nervous energy could be contained and used we could have powered the entire school.)  But still many pictures snapped. 

Joe may or may not have tried to read his match location through the sealed envelope. It wasn't possible. And then just like that we were 10 seconds away and everyone was counting down. Because Joe was holding a very sleepy Levi, I was holding the envelope. And when it was time I slowly and carefully opened the envelope with Joe watching on. [Side note: I am not sure why I opened it so carefully. The crowd was cheering and I was still opening the envelope!]

Finally reading the words that Joe matched to Texas brought immediate tears to my eyes and rendered me absolutely speechless. (For the first time in my life!) In that moment I was immensely proud of my husband. Prouder than I have ever been. His dream was coming true. His hard work had paid off. It felt too good to be true. And he still didn't know! I'm not sure what he was thinking watching me cry. And I am shocked he didn't rip the letter out of my hand. Instead he allowed me to process the information and hand him the letter once I was ready. I had no words. He had to read it for himself. He was happy!

I am not sure why I was so shocked to read TEXAS on that paper. But I was. I mean I had a strong feeling that is what I was going to read. So much so that I had packed a "Don't Mess with Texas" romper for Levi. And yet...seeing it written definitively in ink was SHOCKING. To know without a doubt where we are moving. 

And then the fun began. Announcing our match to anyone and everyone that would listen. All of Joe's classmates reactions were the same. "Oooh! Texaaaaas???" As if we had just told them we were moving to the moon. No one knew if this was a good match or not because Joe had such a straight face and I was in shock! We were quick to explain that this was very good. Joe LOVES the residency program and is thrilled to train there. Not yo mention...no winter! No snow and cold. Beaches and sunshine! Um...yes please. 

During this entire process there was a camera man roaming around the rooming filming the chaos. My parents, Joe's parents and my sister (along with her family) were watching the live stream. And because of this live stream our families learned of our impending cross-country move as Joe placed his pin on the map on TEXAS. They watched in shock! Admittedly this wasn't how I planned to tell them. But in the end it might have been for the best. They had time to process this news on their own...because (for obvious reasons) not everyone thinks this move is great. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating cake and drinking champagne. There was a fancy shmancy lunch in which Joe was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Levi slept through it all. I took pictures. And was even MORE proud of my husband as the I learned he was voted into this society by his classmates because he is "a physician they would bring their family to for medical care". That speaks volumes. 

And then it was done. And we were exhausted. So we took a nap. And dreamed of sunshine and beaches. And the emergency department. The places we will spend the next three years. 

Naively four years ago I thought the biggest hurdle to becoming a doctor was getting into medical school. Ha! How wrong I was. There isn't just one hurdle. And getting into medical school does not guarantee one becomes a physician (as evidenced by the classmates that didn't make it to Match Day - either because they dropped out or didn't match). First there is two years of grueling class work. Then rotations. And boards exams...not once but twice! More Rotations. Rotations. And then audition rotations! Last but not least there is applying and interviewing for residency. Each and every step presents its own unique challenge. But eventually it happens. Each step is complete. Each hurdle crossed. Sometimes flying high above it and other times just barely...limping by. And for us Match Day was the light at the end of that long dark tunnel. It was the moment we knew each hurdle had passed. We had made it! In 74 days my husband will be an emergency medicine physician. An intern. And that is why we have declared Match Day THE BEST DAY OF MEDICAL SCHOOL. I'm so glad I didn't miss it. 

Texas

Looks like it will be a 1,000+ mile move!  We are SO excited!!! Goodbye cold and snow.  Hello sunshine and warmth!! 

TEXAS here we come! (Well in a couple months.) 

a single envelope

Levi and I are currently sitting in the airport waiting for our flight to Chicago. To join Joe for MATCH DAY. I am excited and nervous. Mostly excited. Excited to spend the weekend with my husband. Excited for the break one child will be. And of course excited to find out where will be moving! Where we will be living for the next three years. 

Nervous for the same reason. Tomorrow at 11am (ie noon eastern time) we will open an envelope to find out where we are moving. It's such a weird system. Joe has already signed a contract with a hospital commiting himself to work there as a resident. He signed the contract when he submitted his rank list. And yet we don't know where. At least not yet. Tomorrow we will know. 

To be perfectly honest I am not all that nervous about the location. Sure a move 20 miles across town would be A LOT easier than a move 2,000 miles across the country! But the location is actually a moot point. Because I know regardless of where we end up we will "bloom where planted". Because "home is where the heart is" and all that clichéd truth. I know these to be true from experience. In nearly 12 years of marriage we have moved 10 times. And every time we find our home. Because when we are together we are home. 

I don't actually know how I will react tomorrow when we open the envelope. Will I cry? Will I laugh? Maybe both?! Will the location fill me with joy and anticipation or dread? I don't know. But I do know I am ready. Or at least as ready as I'll ever be! 

And so is my flight companion!

Here we come Match 2015!!!