I have neglected my blog since the end of June, and I confess – I have missed it. The major highlights of this period of time have included:
- Experiencing Gabriel’s second birthday and watching him grow into his newly acquired “two year old” title. The language acquisition from week to week is astounding, and now he sings along (real time) with his music. The only thing he wanted for his birthday was “ice cream and cake.” He has also transitioned to the “big boy bed,” but still does have some difficulty remembering to stay in it. This will come. Overall, it’s a great age!
- Beginning my vascular neurology fellowship in July; so far it’s a very worthwhile experience. I know I’ve really made it because I have an office and a desk. I don’t mind the lack of air conditioning or sharing the office with two lovely other people – just having a place to keep my stuff rather than carting it back and forth to the hospital each day is extremely satisfying. I have clinic two half-days each week, which tends to spill over into other days as I return patient phone calls, complete paperwork, and follow up on studies. I have also already seen a lot of stroke cases and am developing in my subspecialty. I am pleased to have stayed on for the extra year of training.
- Growing a new baby! Our second child is due at the end of September, and we are becoming more eager to meet her (and more desperate to get our place organized in anticipation of her arrival).
- Traveling to SC for my brother, Tim’s, wedding. The weekend started at the beach; Gabriel had a blast in the waves and building sandcastles (or rather, just doing a lot of digging while we showed him how to fill the sand molds for castle construction). After a few days, I settled into my role as a pregnant bridesmaid, and we enjoyed a terrific experience as Gabriel gained an Aunt Channing and I got to see my brother truly happy.
- Enjoying a month-long visit from Evan’s sister, Catherine. She is in her fourth year of medical school in NYC and spent the month in Seattle doing a dermatology clinical rotation. It was wonderful to get to know her better (we’ve always been separated by significant geographic barriers), and for Gabriel to bond with his aunt. We indulged in many blackberry-heavy fruit salads after picking them by the buckets behind our building – what a great crop this summer for Seattle!
I’ have also been reading voraciously over the past six weeks or so and have fallen short in posting my usual reviews. Here are my reads with reviews of five words or less for each one:
- The House of Hope and Fear by: Audrey Young – great read; the Harborview experience!
- Exercising Through Your Pregnancy by: James Clapp, MD – ehhh, so-so.
- The Telephone Gambit by: Seth Shulmann – intriguing possibility!
- The Omnivore’s Dilemma by: Michael Pollan (still in process of reading) – excellent and infuriating