Little Chefs

Mimi and Papa purchased the Cars collection from Williams Sonoma for the boys! We now have a cake pan for mini Cars cakes, Cars cookie cutters and those adorable aprons you see pictured above. The boys are so thrilled to have them and had lots of fun today making their first batch of Cars cookies! They are also very into helping and have adopted a new chore of emptying the dishwasher...fine with me! Thanks Mimi and Papa for the new, fun activities! It has been a great distraction from the almost constant attention Blair needs from Mommy :)

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Well, my parents have gone and the boys are off of school this entire week, which means I am diving in head first staying home with three kids. I have already been antsy for several days, and luckily was cleared by my OB this morning to do as I please. I have already been driving for a week and decided to return to work the week of August 8th seeing a couple of kids in the evening. I will resume my regular work schedule when Blair is three months old thanks to the majority of child care facilities not taking them until then (she can't start where Dane attends until SIX months...crazy). Anyway! I am thrilled to be back to my busy lifestyle and feel great. I am ready to hit the gym and the pavement...and Zumba in the privacy of my home, with all of the blinds closed, of course!

Introducing...Blair Elise Hollenbeck!

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Blair Elise Hollenbeck arrived on July 10th at 9:49am!

9lbs., 4oz. - 21 inches

We are all smitten with our sweet baby girl, and are doing well at home after an eventful hospital stay. Blair's big brothers seem to be adjusting well and love to talk about her and pat her on the head (with reminders to do it gently!). Thanks for all of your love, support and prayers during the pregnancy and her arrival. We are extra thankful to my parents for making the trip from Iowa to help out, and arriving just in time for me to walk out the door :) And also to all of the great friends here in Greenville who have already starting providing dinners, and who have been so caring and supportive. An early thank you to Matt's parents who will be making the trip from St. Louis in August to help out.

The Plan

Induction is scheduled for 6am next Tuesday, July 12th if baby decides not to arrive on her own before then. I saw the OB this morning and I am still progressing on my own, just not enough yet to be admitted. We continue to makes lots of plans doing various things around town. I am certainly not to going to sit around and wait, unless I could do so at a pool. Honestly, I am regretting take off of work since June 16th, and have already been daydreaming about going back to work...

Patiently Waiting...

This weekend I have...gone out to eat with the family multiple times, run lots of errands, washed all sheets and vacuumed all comforters and mattresses, cleaned and vacuumed the house, cleaned and organized the garage, dropped off items at Goodwill, worked on consignment tagging, played soccer with my boys (literally!) and spent time at the park playing. No baby yet and running out of things to clean and organize. Stay tuned...

Busy!

Since last Wednesday we have been super busy! I have a bucket list so to speak before baby arrives wanting to do fun things with the boys before their world changes quite a bit. Last Wednesday I took them to the zoo, they had school Tuesday and Thursday, & Friday I took them to see Cars 2 (by the way...terrible movie). Then, as a family we spent hours at a park Saturday morning playing and riding the tricycle. That night we attended the annual ortho resident picnic to welcome the new residents and had a great time hanging out, eating and watching the kids play. Yesterday, Sunday, we went to a very fun birthday party for the little boy of one of the outgoing residents who will be leaving soon to do fellowship in Salt Lake City. Now, we begin our week with more fun things planned and hopefully some news of progress at the OB on Thursday :) Just click on the Picasa link above (Blake), then click on slideshow to see all the pictures from our fun times...

Residency Roast 2011

The handsome M.D. and his large sidekick!


The ladies that hold it all together :)

As awful as I looked and felt this past Saturday night, it was still a very fun and exciting event! This was our third roast since Matt began the residency program, which means we are saying goodbye to people we are closer to each year. But, we also get to say hello to a new group! June is a busy month in the world of residency as the 5th years take their last calls and get ready to move, the new interns arrive and adjust to a new city, and we attend the roast and then the annual picnic is next weekend. Then...the residents all rotate "up" one year on July 1st. For Matt, this year is significant as he becomes a 4th year, a chief, and his responsibilities increase tremendously. He will also soon make the decision on fellowship (sub-specialty) and begin the interview process late fall/early winter of this year. We should know where we are headed for the 6th (yes, 6th!!) year sometime next spring. Cross your fingers it is somewhere exciting :) New Zealand has been mentioned, so you never know!

Extend your congrats to Matt for almost having another year of residency under his belt. As always, the hours and hard work he puts in is unimaginable and something most cannot relate to. His abilities as a physician and surgeon are amazing and continue to grow. We are so proud of him and can't wait to see what the final two years of residency bring....a baby girl hopefully soon :) and more visitors to see the beautiful place we are calling home for another two years.