The match

So, it's match day today. You'd think that graduation would be the most exciting day for medical students--four years of torturous psychological beatings (many self-inflicted) culminating in the bestowal of the MD degree. Actually, for me, graduation is a distant second in importance to match day. Who cares if you're an MD if you haven't been trained to do any specialty? It's the residency training that makes all the difference. In today's world, the MD degree just gives you permission to start that training--a formality, if you will. Match day is the day that your dream of becoming a real practicing physician comes true. Since neurosurgery residency is seven years, I'm barely more than half way done with my training if I count med school and undergraduate studies--residency is the time I'll really mature as a physician. Match day is the day that I feel like all of my hard work, the hours of toil, the early mornings, the sleepless nights, the stress, the anger, the joy, the frustration, and the satisfaction of helping people culminates into the promise (in writing) of a neurosurgical training program putting their confidence in the fact that they think I'll make a good neurosurgeon. I think we'll match here in Colorado, which is my first choice. I'm confident that I'll get good training here. There are so many opportunities for excellent training at this program and I'm excited to take advantage of them. But, I've also been very fortunate to be invited to many of the best training programs around the country and if I don't match here, I know I'll be going somewhere where I will receive excellent training. I just feel blessed to have matched.

Our Laughing Girl

Our life has been full of insanity for the past several weeks. Whose life isn't?--That's what I'd like to know.

Thankfully, we have our Ella Joyce to keep reminding us of the important things...like laughing. Or, maybe it shoule be classified as controlled hysteria.

She's our wild girl. A bit like her mama.

December and January

Ella with her cousin James

Ella loves Abby...as you can see she's getting her riding form down--one hand on the saddle, one hand in the air behind her head.

Dusty was very pleased when she learned how to hold her own bottle...now they can eat at the same time.

So, it's been quite a time since we last posted. We've had a lot going on since the middle of December. Dusty finished interviews, Lauren went back to work, Ella doubled her birth weight, and McKenna (Lauren's sister) came to visit for a little while to help with the baby.

We're trying to figure out where we want to do residency. The Neurosurgery program at the University of Iowa paid for Dusty and I to fly to Iowa City and take a second look at the program. We really like the city, and the program is top-notch, so we'll probably try to go there. But, we also like the University of Michigan, the University of Florida, the University of Utah, and Dartmouth. We're trying to decide which one to rank first, because we think there's a high liklihood that we'll get our top choice.

We've appreciated having McKenna around to help with the baby--she's really been great to have around. I went back to work starting in late December and Dusty got a job as an adjunct professor teaching anatomy and physiology at the Community College of Denver. He's also tutoring, which means that he is nearly full-time--a huge blessing since we're hoping to buy a house wherever we go for residency--with the economic downturn, we have to come up with a relatively substantial down payment and Dusty's job will really help us to be able to make it work.

Ella is growing more than we could have ever imagined possible. There was a two week period where she was only awake about 5 hours a day--enough to drain two bottles and go back to sleep. In that time she grew out of her 0-3 month clothes and out of her three month clothes, and now is in 3-6 and 6 month clothes. She was right at 16 pounds at her appointment with the pediatrician last week. Here are some pictures...

Changing Her Mind

As some of you may recall (or have first-hand knowledge), once Ella reached 2 weeks, she decided there was little else in this world she loathed more than swaddling. Well, she has changed her mind and now really enjoys personifying an eggroll. (As a side-note, this flip-flopping does not bode well for her future decision-making ablility, or, I should say, inability--a trait which she has inherited from me. My darling Ella, I'm truly sorry).

Pre-swaddling sleep:

It really looks comfortable...

Post swaddling:

As you can see, Ella doesn't seem to mind the swaddling. She almost looks happy. I can tell you that her mom and dad are happy because she now sleeps for longer periods of time. Hooray!

We took some pictures of Ella in her Christmas dress this past Sunday. I love them all, so I'm rather proud of my editing skills. There are only five pictures here, not the 35 I took.

I LOVE this one. She started really getting in to the photo shoot, showing off her dress like a real professional.

By the end, she was tired. Being cute is SOOO exhausting.

Later that day we ultra-casual as it was about 60 degrees outside. This Colorado weather is CRAZY!

On Wednesday Ella and I drove up to Laramie to visit a very pregnant Megan and her husband Josh. We had such a great time helping them prepare for the arrival of baby George.

Look at Megan's tummy...I LOVE it! I have to say it makes me miss being pregnant. I really did love it for the most part. I love feeling so close to my child and feeling like I'm really doing what Heavenly Father intended.

Dusty Figured It Out!!!

So, Dusty figured out how to post video on the blog, so we thought we'd give it a whirl:

Here's a video of Lauren playing with our Ellita Bellita...

And here's a video of the baby impersonator that lives in our house...

Last Month in a Flash

So much for the "posting every two weeks" idea...It has now been a month. Sorry.

This past month has been really great. Dusty had interviews at Michigan, Baylor, Colorado, Florida, and Oregon Health Sciences University. Again, he loved a lot about each of these programs, so we're preparing for a very difficult choice.

Ella and I have been keeping busy running errands, taking naps, eating, cuddling, entertaining visitors, etc. Megan came down for an ultrasound, so she stayed for a few days while Dusty was at his Florida interview. We had a blast shopping for all of Baby George's necessities. It was so much fun to have her around. I LOVE having her and Josh so close. Two and a half hours really is nice.

Ella had a very eventful month. She took her first airplane ride! My cousin Sarah lives near Portland with her husband Nathan and her nine-month-old daughter Molly, so I arranged for all of us to go and visit for a weekend while Dusty interviewed at OHSU. Ella handled flying really well. She never fussed, even during take-offs or landings. We just made sure she was either nursing or taking a bottle during those times, and we never had a problem. I also have to say that learning how to do a wrap with a simple piece of cloth was VERY helpful. It is extremely easy to tie, and is so portable. Nathan and Sarah really rolled out the red carpet for us. We had a GREAT time with them. I loved seeing them so settled and happy. Their little Molly has to be one of the cutest kids. Ever. She is always in a great mood, and she smiles incessantly. We actually got to see her crawl for the first time, so that was exciting, too. Sarah, Nathan, and Molly, we love you guys. Thanks so much for having us!

When we returned from Oregon/Washington, we had two days home, then it was Thanksgiving. My family were all able to come to Denver for the weekend, which was fantastic and culminated with Ella's blessing. Dusty blessed her, and was assisted by Josh, my dad, my cousin Paul, Bishop Garth Jensen and his counselors Hardy Anderson and Joe Tippetts, and our friends Ryan Gunderson and Jim Earl. It was a lovely blessing. Dusty didn't even cry (which he claims was his main goal).

Ella was blessed in the same dress I was blessed in 26.5 years ago. I know it sounds like such a long time, but I know it is really just the blink of an eye. As Dusty and I reflected on the blessing and on our lives, we both felt really strongly that Ella has a very strong and good spirit. We also realized that, while she is our daughter here on earth, she really is our sister. Heavenly Father has entrusted us with one of His precious children to love, to teach, and to guide back to His presence. It is such an overwhelming and sacred responsibility. I think realizing this has made Dusty and me love her even more.

Today was Ella's two-month check-up. She is now 22 inches tall and weighs 11 pounds 12.5 ounces (25th and 70th percentile, respectively). I've been dreading this visit since before she was born...she received her first shots. She had five total, two in the left leg, and three in the right. I was amazed at how well she handled it. She cried, of course, when the nurses were sticking her, but as soon as her Papa and I held her, she calmed right down. I think the process was tougher on me! We've been giving her Tylenol, and she seems to be doing great. She was in a pretty cheerful mood all evening. Such a trooper!

Well, we love you all. I'll try to post sooner than January 2nd...

And the pictures:

Dusty found this fishtank in the dumpster ourside our apartment. He completely designed and made the aquascape, and I think it looks great! I was a little less than pleased about his bringing this huge thing (more than 30 gallons!) into our already-bursting-at-the-seams apartment, but I now really like it. And Ella LOVES it. She'll just stare at it for hours.

When Dusty was cleaning it out, he noticed there was something very small scurrying about...it was a baby fish! Apparently our platys think the tank is natural enough to have babies in, so we now have probably more than a dozen babies (in varying stages of growth) swimming around. They're very cute.

Here's a close-up of one of the babies...he's actually a big guy.

As you can see, Ella and Abby have a love-love relationship. Ella loves Abby and Abby loves Ella.

In fact, Abby loves Ella so much that it sometimes seems like Abby wishes she was Ella! We found her curled up in the bouncer yesterday. That thing has been around since before Ella, so we're not quite sure why this was the first time Abby used it...


Ella love Abby, but she REALLY loves her Papa. He walks around with her like this all the time, telling her about the world around her. Usually, she holds onto his index finger and "steers" him around.

Our Ella Bella loves to smile.

One of mom's third-grade students made this litle outfit for Ella. It was SO CUTE! She hand-stitched the whole thing. She even stitched Ella's name into it.



And this is why the wrap is so nice. On our last day in Washington, we wanted to go to Multnomah Falls, but we didn't have room for all of our luggage and a stroller...so I took the wrap. And Ella slept.


The falls are gorgeous. A little tidbit...parts of Twilight (which I just saw with my mom and sisters) were filmed here.


And the blessing. We took this picture after we got home from church, and Ella was totally starving and miserable. Dusty, if you'll notice, has an official Susan Kommen Breast Cancer Foundation tie on. He thought it appropriate to wear a pink tie to her blessing. I LOVE that! He is too cute!




Ella in her Mama's blessing dress, complete with bonnet, socks, and booties.

This dress is so cute!

Apparently it tastes good, too!

And Dusty thinks this picture is totally lame, but I LOVE the little shoes with the flowers.

Today we set up our Christmas decorations. Mama and Papa did most of the work while Ella supervised. She was, however, in charge of the angel.



She even put it on topof the tree! Well, not really, but this picture almost makes it believable.

And the finished product:

Travelogue: The Past Two Weeks in Review

Hi All--
It looks like it's time for us to update again...it's been two weeks. I have a feeling this will probably be the norm for us.

These past few weeks have been quite busy for all of us. On October 21st, at the tender age of three weeks and one day, Ella began her very first road trip! Dusty had residency interviews in Iowa City and Omaha, so we thought we'd tag along. I was more than a little nervous about the 13-hour drive with a newborn and a dog, but Dusty and I decided we'd give it a whirl, figuring it'd be an adventure at the very least. It went beautifully! We stopped every 3-4 hours to feed Ella and stretch our legs, etc, but the trip went rather quickly. Iowa City is BEAUTIFUL! The rolling hills and corn fields are certainly not the type of scenery we're used to, but they have their own kind of beauty and Dusty and I decided we'd love to live in Iowa. Omaha, however, was quite a bit less appealing, aesthetically speaking. It could be that I really only saw the industrial area and the downtown area, which was surprisingly scary considering it's only Nebraska...

This past Friday Dusty left for an interview in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We were sad that he had to miss Ella's first Halloween, but it was rather uneventful. Dusty really liked Ann Arbor and insists the area is at least as nice as Iowa City. Ella, Abby, and I were not able to go with him this time, so we'll have to take his word for it. : )

Ella has such a little personality already. She really is quite independent and particular. She wants to be held all the time, but only the certain way she's currently favoring. This is always a bit tricky because there doesn't seem to be a pattern to her holding demands. She HATES being swaddled. She also doesn't like any position that limits her ability to flail her little arms and legs around. Hey, I don't blame her. I know I hate it when someone pins my arms and legs to my sides and wraps me like an eggroll...

Lately, she's been skipping her naps. She wants to eat, be held for three hours, eat again, etc. This is making it quite difficult for me to get things done around the house. Thankfully, Dusty has been around quite a bit, so we take turns holding and accomplishing. When we finally are able to rock her to sleep, it's another challenge to put her down without her waking up and screaming for us ingrates to rescue her immediately. She's definitely got a mind of her own, but we wouldn't want it any other way.

Here is a selection of her most recent pictures. We're wondering what color her eyes are going to end up. As you'll see, sometimes they look dark blue, and other's they're brown...What do you think?

We like to call this Blue Steel. She learned it from Derick Zoolander himself.

We're not quite sure how she manages to sleep in this position night after night.

I know this is a bit blurry, but it's one of her best smile pictures. Here are the rest:

And on to Halloween:

This cute onesie was a present from one of Mama's co-workers.

The adorable socks are from Oma and Opa.

This is part of the halloween costume.

And here's the hat. She actually screamed nearly the entire time I was trying to take pictures, so I'm going to try to get her decked-out again. Hopefully, we can get some happy shots of our little bunny.

And these next two aren't really Halloween pictures, per se, but they do have a certain frightening motif.

Here, we see father and daughter snoozing happily...

Or so we thought. Little did we know that our sweet bundle of joy, our precious Ella, has also been secretly preparing for a role in

The Bride of Chucky.

Scary.