Christmas 2007

Christmas Day was my first day off in about 3 weeks, so I was glad to have a low key Christmas. Ismael didn't know to expect presents under the tree, but once he realized they were there and that he could open them (he had tried to open the presents at the babysitters weeks before), he was super excited. After every couple of toys, especially this truck, we had to take a break, play a bit, then come back to open more. He was just a bit overwhelmed.

After a Christmas dinner of Kraft mac & cheese & a much needed nap, we spent the rest of the day playing with all of the new toys. Of course, everyday since then we have played with all of the new toys too.

Christmas Disneyland

Ismael & I visited Disneyland while decorated for Christmas....

Of course, the highlight for Ismael was meeting Mater & Lightning McQueen.

We saw Pooh, Eeyore & Tigger too!

Christmas tree

I was oh so lucky to be on call on Thanksgiving Day, but the day after Thanksgiving we were able to put up the Christmas tree. Ismael was super-excited, but I'm not sure if he's more excited about the popcorn or the lights... He loved turning on the lights everyday when we got home or first thing when he went downstairs. Now that we've taken everything down, turning on the lights is not as much fun anymore.

SeaWorld San Diego

In my opinion, SeaWorld tops the zoo & Legoland, but you definately shell out some bucks to visit. Above, we are with the Clidesdale horse & to the right is Shamu. We opted not to sit in the "soak zone" so as to enjoy the show & still stay dry.

Cousins visit from KS

The Ogres Quinn & Drew visited for a week in November. We went to Legoland in Carlsbad, CA. I think I had my expectations set a bit too high, since I came away a bit disappointed. We had fun, but Drew & Ismael were about an inch too short for many rides. There were quite a few rides for adults w/ kids, as seen in the pictures. Quinn even got a Drivers License after taking a few spins on the track.

Making cupcakes

Ismael loves to cook, & one of his new favorite foods is cupcakes. So, we made cupcakes for his babysitter & family... after we tried them out ourselves, of course. I now refer to muffin as cupcakes & he'll eat it up...even the fat free bran muffins- I mean cupcakes.

Grandma visits

Grandma Alexander came to visit for a week in October. Our plans had to be modified due the fires & not being able to spend too much time outdoors. The first day we went to Mexico & thankfully we escaped without getting a speeding ticket or getting ripped off.

Of course we also went to the San Diego zoo (you can't come to San Diego w/o going). Ismael loves seeing all of the animals, especially the bears.

Probably the highlight for Ismael was going to Disneyland for the first time ever (it was my first time too). It was all decked out for Halloween. His favorite thing was probably seeing Mickey & the parade. He wasn't a big fan of a lot of the rides, but he did enjoy the trains.

Ismael turns 2!!!

It's hard to believe, but Ismael turned 2 on October 24th. It just so happened that none of the interns were on call that day, so I invited everyone over for pizza & cake, so that Ismael could play with the other kids. Grandma Alexander was in town as well, so he had lots of fun.

Fires...

There were several fires close by to the north, south & west. Of course, as an intern, I don't ever have time to watch tv, so I didn't really know what was going on until I saw the smoke & it started to affect the hospital (we got a lot of evacuees from other hospitals that had to close). The day they started, I was on call at the hospital & was sitting outside to eat dinner. I could smell smoke & thought someone was barbecuing nearby, but was informed otherwise.

The first picture is taken from my bedroom balcony at the start of the fires. The smoke line was obvious that day. By the next morning, however, the smoke was everywhere, so you couldn't see any blue sky. Ismael & I had gone outside to play, but the smell of smoke & the ash falling like snow from the sky kept us indoors for the next week or so. Afterwards, I had to spray down the patio with water to get rid of the layer of ash.

This is taken about a block from my house. The smoke is arising about a mile from where they store the weapons on base at Camp Pendleton. Luckily, that's as close as it got. There were 2 fires on base, one of which closed down the I-5 (a major highway between LA & San Diego) & the other was near the back gate (where I go in & out of base).

This picture is about a week after they started. Most fires were out by this time & the skies were starting to clear.

Circs, poop & play

Not much exciting to tell... I've been busy the past 2 weeks taking care of the newborns at the hospital. I've determined that I have the ability to make babies poop and/or pee just by entering the room. How do I know this? Because 9 out of 10 times I will find a dirty diaper on exam, or they will be in the process of making it dirty as I open it up. My favorite of all though is when they pee on me while they're strapped down for circumsision. They're lucky I don't slip... Yes, my life is oh so exciting...

Ismael continues to do well, on the right he is jumping on my stomach (much safer than jumping on the bed or the countertops). He has learned his colors in English & Spanish as well as some of the letters & numbers. In 2 weeks he'll officially be in the terrible twos...

Already Driving & Reading

I don't know where he learned this from, but he's already driving & reading at the same time....

Accidents...a hectic Saturday

The day started out nice...we read books together, went downstairs to make breakfast....but Ismael, curious as he is, wanted to help make pancakes without asking first. So, he grabbed the bowl of flour mix off of the counter & oops!! The picture is actually after a quick attempt to clean him off, so it was worse than the picture shows. I changed his clothes & decided to bath him later, since we were going to a wedding in the afternoon. I decided to sit him on the countertop, as I often do, to have a better view of the cooking & relieve my arm from holding him while I cook. I turned around to get his sippy cup & as I turn back towards him, I see him going head first onto the cement tile floor. He ended up with about a 1.5 cm laceration of the forehead & a visit to the ER for "skin glue" (dermabond). So, he never got the bath he needed to remove all of the pancake mix, because he can't get the glue wet for 2 days. But, thankfully he was okay, & nothing more serious came of it. We now pull over a dining room chair for him to "help cook"...no more monkeys sitting on the counter.

Break-in, Earthquake & Visit

As you can see from the picture, Ismael is asking for someone to play with....besides Mom, that is. She can't keep up, especially post-call.

Ismael is super proud that he figured out how to blow bubbles (instead of sucking on the stick). Other Ismael novelties... he's talking & repeating a lot, still learning the alphabet & colors, jumping all over the place....

So here is a picture of the front door after someone tried to break in the morning of Aug 29th. They weren't successful, but they sure tried. They pried off all of the window screens as well. So, that was the end of leaving the front door open in the evening (it allowed a great breeze) while I'm upstairs putting Ismael to bed.
Sept 2nd I was on call at the hospital & while I was working in my office, I felt everything shake for a few seconds. I went into the hallway & people didn't seem to notice. I figured maybe it was just the marines training a bit too close, since I frequently hear the helicopters & gunfire throughout the day & night. I later learned, however, that it was an earthquake in Lake Elsinore (? about 30 miles NE of the hospital) of 4.7 on the Richter scale. So, I experienced my first CA earthquake.

The next weekend, Sept 6-9, Travis came to visit from AZ. Ismael had lots of fun playing with him, especially after he gave him a little matchbox car. We didn't really do much, but we did go to the beach & Trav actually braved the cold water. That weekend it had cooled down, so the water felt even colder than it already was. Since then we've only been in the mid-80s during the day & it gets in the 60s at night/early morning.

Next week I will be back on my 12+hr days. The worst part, I think, is the fact that I'm 2 hours behind everyone in KS, yet I still am at work before most of you even wake up. Yes, boo who, poor me, whatever. What this really means is that I won't likely be updating this for quite a while...we'll see.

Post call Thrift Store find...

On my post call days I'm off by about noon (25-31 hour shift), I go home & try to take care of "stuff", shower, & nap until 2:30pm. I then pick up Ismael from daycare & try to take advantage of the few extra hours with him. Usually we spend the afternoon outside, so Ismael can run, jump, & get tired (so he sleeps through the night!).


On my way home this day, I decided to stop by the Navy Thrift Store on base. I ended up buying this swing for $2 & 2 other toys in great shape for $.50 each!! Hey, like I said before, Ismael doesn't need any toys, but hey, what a deal!!



I'm not sure where he gets it, but Ismael still loves to clean. In the bathtub, he sprays water on the tub & wipes it with the wash cloth over and over. He likes to help load the dishwasher & vaccuum & clean the table tops. Here he is going to town with his vacuum.

Weekend Fun

Did I mention Ismael loves playing in the water? Yes, we only live 15 minutes from the beach, but quite frankly it's such a hassle trying to get everything together & go. Besides, Ismael doesn't care.

Here he is showing off his new haircut while he races through the house. The wood floors makes it easy to go fast & he's mastered all the turns already. He even pops a wheelie (?) on this car.

Here he is showing off his new haircut while he races through the house. The wood floors makes it easy to go fast & he's mastered all the turns already. He even pops a wheelie (?) on this car.

Tools & The Beach

Last Friday was one of my 4 days off this month (yes, I only get a total of 4 days off the whole month), so I took advantage & Ismael & I had a great time. He started off the day playing with his toolbelt. He's still too skinny to wear it, so he has to hold onto it to keep it from falling off. We also managed to play with play dough & not eat any, yeah!
After breakfast, we went to the beach for some fun in the sun. We're about a 15 minute drive from the Oceanside beach, but there's also a great beach on the base & then there's Carlsbad, about 5 minutes south. The water was still a bit cold, but doable. Ismael really just wanted to play in the sand & watch the helicopters overhead & birds flying around.
It definatley wore him out, & on the ride home he insisted on wearing his hat like this, so I couldn't resist another photo.