Out goes 2009!

As this year comes to a close, I want to wrap up this portion of the blog which I started a year ago today. 2009 has been a very exciting year. Ella turned 3 on January 1st and our son, Luke was born on January 13th. I also defended my Ph.D in August ending a very long run in school. 2010 is going to be a big year for us. Lyle and I both are nervous about the future but we are looking so forward to all the wonderful times for our family ahead. So, here's to 2009, its been good but bring in 2010! We're ready!

Christmas 2009

Christmas was a little rushed this year since we weren't home but only three days in the month of December but we still had a great time. I realized though that I didn't get very many snapshots so...these will have to do.


Anyone need some really cute reindeer??



Ella opening presents on Christmas Eve.



Luke enjoying the excitement of his first Christmas.



He also hit a major milestone during the holiday season--drinking regular milk. Now for you people who follow strict rules, I know it is a bit early, he was only 11 1/2 months but mommy was really tired of hauling her pump all over the country. So, as a Christmas present to myself, I stopped!! Yippee! This is a picture of Luke drinking cow's milk for the first time out of his bottle--didn't phase him a bit! Phew!



We also enjoyed a nice surprise--a White Christmas! 3 inches of snow fell Christmas Eve night. It was beautiful! So not only did Ella and Luke have a blast opening presents from Santa but they also got to play in the snow a bit. It was so great!





A major theme of this Christmas--can you guess?



Luke's favorite Santa gift--a new remote control! Literally, the only present he actually plays with! Notice the stickers on the table--Ella thought it would be a good idea to decorate the house in Tinker Bell stickers. They are everywhere and I am still trying to figure out how to get those off!



Ella and I in our new Christmas robes--actually mine is a couple years old but Ella's is new and she was so excited that we both had ones with polka dots. I tell ya, that Santa is pretty smart!



Ella's new bed..she has slept on it since we got home.







As I was taking this picture, I realized something. This is a little emotional so bare with me. I took this picture and realized that my whole family, my whole life was in this little room. My husband in bed, Ella on her mat beside the bed and Luke in his little crib over in the corner and I thought to myself...although we are cramped in this little apartment and money is tight...these are wonderful times..times when we are the closest to our children. As the year comes to a close and we are facing a major change in 2010, I know that I will look back on these moments in this little place and wish I could go back.

Fun things the kids did while we were away

The kids had a great time at the grandparents while Lyle and I were gone. They did a ton of stuff. Starting with putting up Grandma and Papa's Christmas tree.





They also got a special visit from St. Nicholas who picked up the kids' Christmas lists that were left in their shoes outside. St. Nick brought them santa and snowman Christmas cups, shiny lip gloss, and lots of candy!



Ella got a little creative when she found out that Grandma didn't have any My Little Pony ponies--can you believe, how terrible! So, she made her one. Can you see it? The legs are made out of forks. I thought it was pretty crafty!



The kids even got to see a Christmas parade with their cousins Eliza, Sophia and Maya. It was very cold!!!









They also got to watch Eliza and Sophia's and Joshua's Christmas play. They were really funny. Joshua's play was titled "Christmas at the OK corral" and Joshua was Townsperson #12. He was very proud!!! Unfortunately, since we were out of town, Ella had to miss her Christmas program--I was sad but I don't think she really noticed.

The twins and Maya came down one day to spend the day playing. Luke and Maya became really good friends although Luke kept trying to pull up on Maya which always ended in her falling down. It was funny to watch.
Needless to say, Grandma was very tired after this day!!







Ella and Luke got to ride on all of Papa's tractors, check cows, stay up late and eat lots of Christmas cookies and candy. They didn't miss us a bit!

The Interview Trail

Around the middle of their 4th year, med students go on what is called the interview trail. They go literally around the country interviewing for residency programs. Lyle started on his and since I need a job too wherever he matches, I went along interviewing for post doctoral positions. This process took us on a three week tour of the southwest and was the reason for such a gap in blog posts.
We headed out late the Saturday after Thanksgiving (hoping the kids would sleep all the way) to my parents house in AR where we set up camp. The kids would stay with my parents while we traveled to different cities for interviews.




Our first stop was Memphis, TN. This is a picture of us before going to dinner with the residents and other applicants the night before the interview.



This is Lyle the morning of his first interview. I thought he looked great..very professional!
My interview was later that day at St. Jude Research Hospital. We both had really nice interviews.



We left Memphis on Tuesday and headed to St. Louis for Lyle's interview at Wash U. St. Louis is a great city and we have great friends there...could be a good place for us!

We got home from St. Louis on Sunday and were able to play with the kids for a couple days before heading to Nashville for interviews at Vanderbilt on Wednesday. Nashville was very cool. We stayed in the Marriot hotel at Vanderbilt which was close enough to the medical center for us to walk back and forth...although it was very cold and neither one of us had packed for cold weather!

On Saturday, we made the trip back to AR to see the kids (and give my parents some relief) until we left out again on Monday for Little Rock. Again we both had nice visits but the traveling and the stress of answering a million questions were starting to get to us. We were both tired. Only two interviews left to go!

On Wednesday, Lyle headed out for his Tulsa interview solo. I decided to stay with my mom and help out with the kids. Taking care of a 3 yr old and a 11 month old is hard for anyone. Then Friday morning (Dec. 18th), we packed up all the kids and headed back to Big D. Lyle had his Southwestern interview Friday night and all day Saturday. We were glad to be home...for a while...Christmas was right around the corner and we were due back in AR on the 23rd!

We don't find out until March 18th were Lyle will match and were we will be moving but all in all, it was an interesting process. We are looking forward to the next phase of our lives...Lyle-residency, me-post doc, Ella-kindergarten, Luke-pre-school. Should be fun!!

Finally a new post : Thanksgiving

Sorry it has been so long since our last post but we have a good reason which I will tell you about soon. First I wanted to post some pics from our Thanksgiving. We had a very nice Thanksgiving here in Dallas. We had a wonderful dinner with our Burdine family. It was nice to see Logan and Amber who came in from Boulder and Landry and Elizabeth along with the kids. We ate great food and had fun running at the park. Here in this pic the kids are enjoying delicious pumpkin cupcakes that Mims made just for them. Luke didn't get to participate this year but he will be ready next year!



Then for the big fun! The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we got a special treat. Landry got us tickets to the TCU football game. TCU had a great year going undefeated and earning a spot in the BCS Fiesta Bowl game in Arizona. Ella learned how to properly cheer for the Frogs which she did the rest of the weekend and got a fancy TCU tattoo on her face. Thanks to Elizabeth and Landry for the great tickets.

Tent Fun

Yes, some how we were able to put a tent up in our tiny apartment. The kids loved it and so did Mommy. They actually played together in it for a long time...well 15 minutes before trouble started but that is actually a long time.

My "talented" kids??!!

My kids are always making me laugh. Thought I would share.

I can finally wear my sweater, Grandma!!

About a year ago, Grandma made this cute sweater for Ella but at the time it was too big so we had to put it away until next winter. We pulled it out as soon as it started to get a little colder and to Ella's surprise..it fit!! We love it! Thanks, Grandma!!

Pink Donut Shop

Every once in awhile, I will treat Ella and Luke to donuts before school at the Pink Donut Shop--it is actually called Yummy Donuts but the outside of the shop is pink so it is known in our family as the pink donut shop. We also have a Brown donut shop which is Starbucks...they go there with their dad.
Ella loves to get the little girl donut with the pink dress. It is just something we do for no real reason at all but something I want to always remember so...it goes on the blog!

Sleepy Ella

Every morning, Ella comes into my bathroom looking very sleepy and Luke is always so excited to see her. When I ask her why she is so sleepy she says it is because Luke was making too much noise and she just didn't get enough sleep. I always tell her to jump in my bed and she can go back to sleep but that has yet to happen! "You can't sleep when the sun is up"...Ella's usual comment.

Happy Halloween from the Incredibles!

As you can see, we were the Incredibles this year (It was Lyle's idea so he has no one to blame but himself). It was so much fun. I think Luke enjoyed his first Halloween. He went with us as Ella trick or treated and just took it all in. It was very exciting. Ella was really into Halloween this year and into her Violet costume. She loved it--the wing was a little itchy though. She ran up to all the doors and said Trick or treat so loud with a quick Thank you right afterwards just like we practiced. She even was brave enough to get candy from the haunted house. Just like Ella said, "We have an INCREDIBLE family!!"
Special thanks to our friends Lindsay and Chris for an awesome Halloween party!

My little boy

Luke is 9 months now. He weighs 23 lbs. and 29 inches long. He has 6 teeth and is fully mobile. He crawls all over the house so fast I can barely keep up. He is able to pull himself up on everything (and get back down which was a little bit of a struggle at first!) and walks around and around the table. I have started giving him lots of figure foods including cheerios, bananas, grapes, tomatoes, and peas which are by far his favorite. He is such a sweet baby and gives me the biggest smiles. He is really starting to interact with Ella these days. She loves it when he follows her around the house. She thinks he is playing chase with her. It is funny to watch. They have even had a few fights. Luke is pretty strong and has snatched a few toys and a couple pretzels out of her hands which did not go well with her. I am beginning to see my future. They are great kids and I am so lucky!

Ella's first Dentist Appt!!

Ella had her first dentist appointment last week. She was so brave but was very concerned when the dentist told her the polish was mint flavored. YUCK! She has 10 teeth on the top and 10 teeth on the bottom. No sign of any cavities which is a relief given how much she likes candy! Good job, Ella. Mommy was so proud of you!!

The pumpkin fun continues!!

Now that we had the pumpkins we had to decorate them.

Luke's first attempt at finger painting his pumpkin...with help from his sister of course!



I think he enjoyed it :)



Ella worked hard to get all the seeds out. She really did a great job!



Happy Halloween from the Burdines!