Put this baby in drive...

Our sweet little Kate is trying her darndest (is that really such a word?) to crawl. She can sit up on her own, she rolls like a pro and she has even pulled herself up onto things in order to stand up on her own, but the poor thing just cannot crawl in a forward direction. She can crawl backwards untill the cows come home, but she just can't seem to go forward and it is really (to put it bluntly) pissing her off! Keep your fingers crossed for the following persons and reasons: (1) Kate - so that she can finally get it in drive and out of reverse, (2) Max - so that he can finally have a partner in crime, and (3 and 4) Kate's parents - so that they can be prepared when this girl is officially mobile!

Hope all is well with all of you.

Making this mom gig easier one day at a time...

When Max was younger he was very afraid of the vacuum to the point where our home was just not getting vacuumed as much as it should. One Saturday Scott was vacuuming and Max was, of course, clinging to me for dear life. I decided enough was enough and started clapping my hands and yelling "Yeah, Daddy! Thank you for cleaning our house!" Pretty soon Max joined in and now every time anyone vacuums Max will cheer for them. Every now and then Kate joins in by clapping a little extra enthusiastically!

Scott and I also try to always give positive reinforcement to Max and Kate usually by saying "Good job!" Well, Mr. Max has picked up on this too! He will say "Good job, Mama!" or "Thank you, Mama!" all the time when I'm doing things. It sure does make this mom position a little easier to bear when you have your own personal cheerleader. Although, the other day, I was bending down to pick up Kate's binki from under the kitchen counter and when I stood up I hit my head on the underside of the counter to which Max began clapping and said, "Good job, Mama!" What a stinker!

I've been hit!

Rules of the game: Tell six things people might not know about me, then tag six of the pals I want to hear more about.

Well....

1. I am a wealth of useless knowledge. Now when I say useless, I mean useless. For example, I can name actors in movies and what the movie is about even if I've never seen the movie or I can usually tell at least what the make and most times the model of a car or truck is from far away. I know, I know, this will help cure world hunger!

2. I love cooking shows, cookbooks and recipes. The problem is that I always seem to cook the same things.

3. I love looking at homes, apartments, buildings, etc. I love real estate shows like House Hunters, Property Virgins and Hidden Potential. I even liked watching a show that came on in Las Vegas that was just of local housing listings. One could just say that I like real estate in general. Now the reason why: I'm nosey. I love to see how people have decorated, how you could possibly change the layout of the place, how you could decorate it by using what is available. I've thought about becoming a real estate agent just so that I could look at people's houses and no other reason why.

4. I never, EVER wanted to marry a doctor. I did not want to deal with medical school, residency, call schedules, malpractice insurance, etc. But I am so proud of my husband, I wouldn't change anything about our life (oh, except for student loans!).

5. For those of you who think I never shut up, I am actually pretty shy. If I am around people I know, well, let the talking begin! But going into new situations and meeting a lot of new people all at the same time are pretty intimidating for me.

6. I love, love, LOVE traveling and everything involved with it. I love riding in airplanes, airports, staying in hotels, seeing new places, eating in new restaurants, etc., etc.

TAG YOU'RE IT: Randee, Summer, Amy, Danielle, Natalie and Jen

We'll see you at the movies!

So I know that this is a little late to be current news, but a few weeks ago Mr. Max went to his first movie with his Grandma Janice and to say he LOVED IT would be an understatement. He went with his cousin Emma and Grandma to see Alvin and the Chipmunks for his Grandma's birthday and did not remove his eyes from the screen the entire time. He ate an entire hot dog, bag of popcorn and had a tasty beverage to wash it all down. I have wanted to take Max to the movies on a Mommy/Maxer date, but I was not sure how well he would do. So I was more than grateful that Grandma was brave enough for the inaugural try and since Max did so well Max and I went the following Saturday on a Mommy/Maxer date to go see a movie. I have a feeling, there are many more to come!

Adventures in parenting!

So remember how I told you that since moving back to Utah that it seems like we all were getting sick? Well last week Max and I (YES ME) had RSV, and now this week our little Kate has it too. I knew that Max was starting to get sick because he was not eating as much (because to be honest, the kid is a goat and would eat all day if I let him). Then he started coughing. If I didn't know any better, I would have though the kid had emphysema. One doctor's visit later and it was confirmed - RSV! We got all the way up to the very last day that Max was contagous when Kate started showing symptoms. At first the symptoms were exactly the same, but then she got this horribly raspy throat. The poor little thing sounds so sad when she cries and any sound that comes out of her throat sounds like she has been a chain smoker for the past ten years. And to make matters worse, we went to the doctor today and she has double ear infections and the post-nasal drip from her RSV is so bad (that is why she has the raspy voice) that for the last day and one half, she has not been able to keep any liquids down. My poor baby.

Oh, how I long for the springtime! If you notice, the first song on my jukebox is "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles because it is my absolute favorite Beatles song and I always have to play it on the first day that it really starts to warm up after winter. (Corny I know, but for all the ladies reading this blog that truly understand the winter blues, I advise you to do the same). There is nothing like walking outside with the warm sun on your skin. I can't wait for the weather to warm up and my kids to stop being sick because I feel so bad for them. Max is such a mover and a shaker that it is just killing him to have to stay in, especially since I've put us on quarantine so as to not get anyone else sick.

What we are all up to...

So since this blog is fairly new, I thought that I would bring you all up to speed as to what is going on in the world of Moulton.

SCOTT: The end is near! Scott is almost done with medical school! He graduates May 18, 2008, and we are both ready to be done with medical school and move into the next phase of his medical education. Scott has decided to go into Internal Medicine and sub specialize in Rhuematology. So we have a three year Internal Medicine Residency and a two year Rhuematology Fellowship left to go before he is practicing full time in Rheumatology. Scott spent a busy three months from November to January traveling across the country for Residency interviews. He was very fortunate to have several programs very interested in him so we were able to really look at all the criteria from the program itself as well as the area, cost of living, ease of family visiting, etc. to make sure that where ever we match to will be a good fit for our family. Scott will submit his finalized "Rank List" at the end of February and we will find out on March 18, 2008 as to which Residency he matched to. We could end up anywhere from the University of Connecticut to Loma Linda Medical Center. Scott has decided to rank (6) of the (19) programs that were interested in him because he feels they will be the best overall fit for our family. They are as follows: 1) University of Utah (SLC, Utah); 2) University of Nebraska (Omaha, Nebraska) ; 3) Loma Linda Medical Center (Loma Linda, California); 4) Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle, Washington); 5) University of Connecticut (Farmington, Connecticut); and 6) The Spokane Washington Internal Medicine Residency Program (Spokane, Washington). We know that where ever we end up will be exactly where our family needs to be for the next three to five years. We'll see!

PAIGE: All I have to say is a husband finishing medical school and beginning Residency, a possible cross country move, and two crazy kids. Need I say more? Yes? Okay. We're finally settling into our new apartment in Kaysville, Utah and I figure we will be completely settled just in time to pack up again and move in June or July to where ever we end up for Residency. Hopefully it won't be as hectic a move as our last from Henderson, Nevada to Kaysville. I have really enjoyed being so close to family; however, I have not enjoyed being so sick! Since moving back we all have had to readjust to cold winters and with that comes A LOT of colds! Oh well. While it may be cold, the snow is beautiful! And it's a good thing because we have had a lot of it. I don't, however, like scraping my windshield again. Those nice Nevada winters will be missed, but not the HOT summers.

MAX: I'm not sure if you've been paying attention or not, but Max has had some things going on at the local emergency department. He is a vivacious little guy who is growing up so much each and every day. He is quite the charmer and just loves getting out and seeing the sites. He is the sweetest, most polite little rough and tumble BOY you will ever meet. He loves trucks, cars, balls, bowling, Guitar Hero and spending time with EVERYONE! He loves his little sister very much and is always trying to make her laugh and take care of her. He is a very good big brother and a great son. He is talking more and more each day and it is really fun getting to know him. He definitely makes life interesting and worth it.

KATE: Oh, Miss Kate. She has very busy days consisting of eating, playing, sleeping, talking and just being loved and adored. It is a very hard job. Kate has been perfecting the skills of clapping her hands (she practices all the time) and she rolls every where. She is now trying to get up on her knees and we feel that in the next month or so she could be crawling. She loves her big brother and is always watching him. She loves to talk and laugh, but has one incredible poker face. I guess it comes natural since she was born in Las Vegas. Kate loves to talk so much that every time that you are rocking her to sleep, she mumbles herself to sleep and the only time you know that she is truly asleep is when she stops! It makes me smile almost every time (the times I'm not smiling is in the wee hours of the morning when I'm mumbling to myself "I wish we were both asleep right now, Kate!"). What a sweet baby girl! She is definately loved!

Adventures in the life and times of stitches. The saga continues...

So in the last post I let you all know that Mr. Max (due to a flying leap) sustained a forehead laceration this past Tuesday. The very next day (Wednesday), Max proceeded to pop all of his stitches, which resulted in the second ER physician suggesting that we glue the cut shut using Dermabond. If any of you know Maxer, you will know that he has a very expressive face. Not two minutes after the Dermabond set, Max was telling the ER doctor all about going to the movies with his Grandma and cousin Emma to see Alvin and the Chipmunks when, low and behold, the cut came apart! The doctor then decided to apply several layers of the Dermabond and then sent us on our way. THEN, on Friday night, (or should I say very early Saturday morning) I asked Scott to check on Max because I was worried about him. When Scott checked on him, not only did Max have a fever (he got my cold), but all the Dermabond had come off! Luckily the cut was still closed and we put a bandaid on it so that Max could go back to sleep. The next day Scott applied a Steri-strip to support the cut (that appears to be healing sans stitches and Dermabond) and we'll see how well it works! Keep your fingers crossed. If only insurance approved Toddler Botox so that Max's cut could heal already!