Back on the Blog, Baby

Ok, so two more months have gone by since my last post. What can I say? I'm all out of excuses. So I'm just going to jump in right in where I left off!

The biggest news is that our family grew over the summer! We now have a fifteen year old foster girl living with us. Her name is Tasha and we know her from church. She had some unfortunate things happen during the summer and she needed a place to stay. One event led to another, and Bobby and I decided to offer ourselves as foster parents. It's been quite a learning experience and a huge life adjustment, but things are going well and we enjoy having Tasha with us. She and Lillian get along great and I enjoy the extra company when Bobby is away for late study nights. Tasha turns 16 in a couple of weeks (November 19!), so if you have any good party ideas, let me know!

Lillian is just as adorable as ever. She started walking a few days before her first birthday in July. I'll never forget the first Sunday that she was walking. We had a Munch and Mingle (this is when everyone gets together in the cultural hall to chow down on food and talk) and I felt like a chicken with its head cut off trying to keep track of Lillian. It was a new experience to have to watch where she was going!! One dear little boy in my Primary class tried to help me out by "carrying" her across the room to me, but it turned out to me more of a head-lock drag that Lillian didn't like very much! He was just trying to help, bless his little heart.

Now Lillian is babbling away and trying to tell us everything she's thinking. With the exception of a few words, we still have no idea what she's saying. We're waiting for the "baby talk" edition of the Rosetta Stone to come out. :) Her favorite word is baby (which she signs and says all day long). She also says mommy, mama, bath, bubble, night night, Paul (our neighbor friend), ball, bye, hi, wow, uh-oh, and owie. She refuses to say daddy or dada, but she says Bobby very clearly, and when you ask her "Where's Bobby?" she always points at him (she does the same thing when you ask "Where's Daddy," but she just won't say daddy!!).

The big news in Lillian's life is that she's almost 20 pounds (we're working on one pound per month), and she has two molars coming in!! Bobby noticed them today, which explains the fever she's had the last two days.

Bobby is almost done this semester. He has an OB/GYN test on Monday, then the new semester on the endocrine system starts on Tuesday- nice of them to give him a break, eh?? As always, he's doing well but always stressed. Fortunately, he's been able to spend more time at home studying than he did last year. We just decided to apply for an OMM fellowship at PCOM that would take place between his third and fourth year of school, adding on an extra year. We're ready to be done with med school and move into residency, but the fellowship would be a great experience and it would pay for 2 of the 5 years' tuition (plus a stipend for one year); it would also make him more competitive for residency applications. We should know some time in January if he's accepted. Cross your fingers and say your prayers for us!

I'm trying to think about what's new and exciting in my life. As I was in Target today I realized that I'm capable of steering a fully loaded shopping cart with one arm while holding a squirming child in the other- I consider that an accomplishment. :) On a more serious note, the most exciting thing I've been a part of recently is Obama's election this week as 44th president of our country. I was hesitant to be hopeful for his election (for fear of disappointment), but as we watched the results come in on Tuesday night I felt more and more relief wash over me. For the first time in a long time I am very proud of my country and the decision that it has made. I'm excited for our future, but especially for Lillian's, because this historic election has taken place so early in her life and it will surely set the precedent for more historic elections (and events) to come.

And on that note, I'll end this long-winded post!