The Terribly Terrific Twos

Well, if we do this right, you'll be seeing less of me.  Or, at least Nolan.  For those keeping track, we're down to every six month updates. Slowly weaning.

This isn't our best picture (poor lighting, stuck inside, two-year-oldness), but I can confidently say that he's still stealing our hearts. Nolan was unsure why the elephant had to keep interrupting his hockey time. So, you got a bit of everything.  For parents out there, two-year-olds are no joke. He's stubborn strong-willed, and we're learning what makes him tick, but so fun to hang out with.  He's very proud of his speaking skills, and I'm censoring myself more and more.  For instance, if Nolan wants something and I don't have it (crackers, donuts, and giant fish stuffed animals to name a few), Nolan looks at me with his serious face and says "go buy it."

Our evenings are spent watching this video (how can you deny the phrase "more fweeze pweese"?) and organizing toys.  He also enjoys swimming in our jet tub without the jets, climbing through tunnels, picking out his own books, and dumping snacks that he vehemently refuses to eat in his chair.

Gosh, some nights I'm an emotional mess when I think about the picture below.

I want the weekends to last longer, and for time to stop all together.  We've reached that point where I no longer enjoy spending time with him just because he's my baby, but I truly find him fun to hang out with. He's silly, spunky, full of attitude, and has this bizarre sense of humor (who am I kidding, it's just like his daddy).

I have many goals and worries as a parent, but for now, I think I'll just focus on how to make him sit long enough for a diaper change and how to make sure he's not tackling his friends (his approach when someone steals his toys).  We've finally broken the pacifier during the day (still using it during naps/nighttime), but we're no closer to potty training or knowing the difference between colors... not even remotely.

Anyway, let's go back to medical school life, as we're getting lots of questions about it.  It's fairly up in the air right now, but I think that's probably because we've been in semi the same location going on 2.5 years, which is a record for us in this medical journey. So, it does seem fitting to ask "what's next?"

His residency is 5 years, and we're just about half way done. This year isn't the most fun.  Third year residents get all holidays, so this year we've spent most holidays at home.  I'm okay with that, and it hasn't been that bad.  Nolan isn't the best traveler, and I'm becoming more of a homebody than I have been in the past (our fireplace and new instant pot is getting lots of use). 

Sometime this coming year, Scott will spend a month in DC and will begin interviews for Fellowship (remember this post?)  I shudder at thinking about all of that, but I'll be eager to go to our next step.  Fellowship will be 1-2 years, and then we'll be done.  14-15 years post high school is normal to start your career, right?  As for locations, moving, etc. my answer is yes.  Yes, I'm still wondering all of that too. We're still 2.5 years away, but I know things will start flying once we get through this summer.  My new's year motto (along with my annual list of far too many goals) is to live for now.  I'm not going to keep waiting until we're finished, waiting until we are in a different place financially, waiting for a free weekend to get XYZ done, waiitng for summer, etc.  Why not do it now? Time will never be perfectly aligned. So, live for now. So far, I've made 8 days of that motto, and I'm enjoying it. 

Scott is reminding me that no one needs to read sappy posts and is instead laughing hysterically at trailers for the Batman Lego movie, so I think that's my cue to get off the computer.  Have a good week!