MLK day

I’m trying to keep up with my goal to post twice a week, though one of those will probably be simply fluff (writings, music, videos, etc).

Heidi now has four teeth. None of us particularly enjoyed the acquisition process but at least it is finally over. Until next tooth. Huh. Anyway, last night she only woke up once so Mommy was extremely happy. We actually were worried for a short while with her top two teeth. The left one looked like it was black. We decided to wait and see before rushing her to a dentist. Over the following days the black faded to a blue then gradually turned into healthy pink gum tissue. I asked a fellow med student about it (his brother is a dentist) and he said that babies’ gums are frequently bruised during teething. I felt really bad for our little girl. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bruise that dark.

The three-day weekend was nice. I thought it was funny that up on campus instead of calling it Martin Luther King Day it was listed as Diversity Day.




Today in lab our professor played live coverage of the Obama inauguration in the background because he “knew that we’d all rather be home watching such a historic event.” Not so much.

As a med student our family gets free access to the local community pool. Lately we’ve been going two or three times per week. It gives the kids something fun to do that tires them both out. Plus it allows Mom and Dad to swim laps (we’re getting better!). Julie gets a big kick out of Jackson’s ‘gotta impress the girls’ drive. We’ve been doing a lot of exercises to help Jackson be comfortable in the water and lay a foundation for swimming. He’s pretty good about everything but really pushes himself when Mom is around. For example, one exercise is simply to have him jump into the water (where Mom or Dad waits to catch him). He’ll jump for Dad. But when Mom shows up he is suddenly sticking his chest out and ordering Dad to back up, “I jump farther than that, Dad!” He does the same thing with running, competing with other boys, etc. It makes Julie feel very flattered. She told me that boys used to do the whole compete/posture/impress thing a lot for her in high school but she thought that it had all ended. She keeps warning herself about what her little boy will probably be like in the future but for now she is really enjoying the attention.