Back in Canada
Letter from Lisa - August 1, 2000
Chris is into the last week of his Psychiatry rotation at Walter Reed Hospital and he is enjoying it quite a bit. He comes home with some very interesting and depressing stories though, especially when he is working on the inpatient ward. Chris is also busy acting as the Young Mens President while the actual president is away. He sure has fun with his boys. A couple weeks ago some of his favorite boys came and toilet papered our house and kept coming back to ring the doorbell several times. Naturally Chris decided to mess with them and went up on the balcony to throw dirt on them as they came back. Then he went outside and jumped the fence and came up behind them to scare them to death. Then they decided to go toilet paper one of the other leaders house, Chris’ idea. He is definitely part leader/part youth.
I am doing well. My recovery has been quick and easy. My only complaint is that I’m tired, but I expected that. I keep myself busy changing diapers, lots of them, feeding kids, doing puzzles, reading books, going for walks and going shopping. My biggest project right now is working on Ryan’s journal and starting one for Katie.
Ryan is getting adjusted to having Katie her. He is very sweet with her. He always wants to ‘Hold Daydee’ (that’s what he calls her), and especially when I’m feeding her. When I’m changing her pants, Ryan lays down right beside her and says “Ryo pants”. He definitely wants additional attention. Whenever Katie cries Ryan says, “Oh baby sad, don’t dye (cry) Daydee.” It is fun to watch him make this adjustment. He acts as if it is completely natural for us to have a baby. He is, however, definitely entering the terrible twos. He is quick to have a tantrum if things don’t go his way. Ryan loves to go outside for walks to the park, he loves his new double stroller, and loves his new Winnie the Pooh and Tigger movie. At dinner time, Ryan is becoming a little bit more of a picky eater. But he has provided us with an easy solution. We pick up a spoonful of food and merely ask him if it’s an airplane or train or boat or car. He then tells us what it is … we make the appropriate sound and he eats it right up. He thinks it’s great. We think it’s hilarious.
Katie is doing great. She’s almost four weeks old now. It’s amazing how fast time flies after she is born. She’s eating and sleeping well. She loves to be held and cuddled. She likes to have her hair washed and her pants changed. She also loves her double stroller, it puts her right to sleep. It’s been very nice because mommy loves to go shopping. It is so fun to have a newborn around the house again. She is such an angel. We just stare at her all the time.
We are excited about our trip to Washington. We leave on Friday night. Chris will be doing his Pediatric Rotation at Madigan Hospital in Tacoma Washington. The kids and I will go and several weeks with my family, then a week with Chris and then we’ll fly down to Utah for a week and then back up to my parents house for another few days. It’ll be a nice vacation and Ryan and Katie will love to get some more attention.
Lisa
Arriving in Washington State
Chris had a Pediatrics rotation in Tacoma, Washington and thoroughly enjoyed it. The kids and I went along as well and got to spend some great time with both of our families. On Friday night at 7:45 we got to the Baltimore Airport ready for our 8:30 flight to Seattle. As we were checking our luggage in they mentioned how the flight was full and sarcastically asked if we’d want to give up our seats. Chris and I considered it since we’d just be sleeping at the Seattle USO anyway. They gave us three free round trip tickets to anywhere in the US… no price limit. We were thrilled. We ended up getting a hotel room close to the airport since the Baltimore USO doesn’t have beds. Although disappointed, we thought it was worth it to pay $79 for a hotel room so that we could save up to $1,000 on flights. We got to our hotel room at about 10:00pm. My only frustration was trying to put Ryan to bed without his crib. He slept in between us in the KING sized bed. The next morning at 4:00am we woke up, got ready, ate a little from the ‘continental breakfast’ and shuttled back to the airport for our 6:30 am flight. We flew to St. Louis and had an hour layover. Then from St. Louis to Seattle we flew in FIRST CLASS. We got a fantastic hot breakfast, juice in real glasses, and huge seats. It was fun to ‘see how the other half lives’. When we arrived at 11:30 my parents and Brian were there to pick us up. We drove down to Ft. Lewis in Tacoma. We checked in and then went to check out Chris’ housing. A very small little two bedroom apartment with a shared bathroom. The ‘living room’ is tiny but has a microwave, little fridge and a TV/VCR. That’s nice. It’ll be perfect for Chris but I’m nervous for when we go spend time with him. For lunch we picnicked across the street at a park. Ryan just loved to be able to run around and Grandpa followed him everywhere. After lunch we went to the commissary, took the stuff back to the apartment and then headed up to Jim & Leann’s area first stopping at Old Navy and then Baskin Robbins. It was fun to chat with Jim & Leann and the kids. We went with them to their ward party luau. By the time we got home and got the kids bathed and in bed, Chris and I were exhausted!!
Canada
Sunday we went to church with Jim and Leann and then enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and a nice ham and potatoes Sunday dinner. At about 4:00 we packed up and took Chris back down to Ft. Lewis. It was sad to leave him.
Then we drove up to Canada. When we were almost home I got Ryan excited about ‘getting OUT’ and seeing AMY. He ran up to the house saying “Amy, Amy…” It was cute. It’s always fun to see the house after you haven’t been there for awhile. The living room is adorable now. I spent the first two weeks up in Canada. We did lots of sightseeing, going to the park, tole painting and visiting. It was fun to spend some time with my sister, Amy, and brother, Scott before they went back to college.
BC Day
Monday was BC day so everyone had the day off work. Mom, Dad, Amy, Brian, the ‘kids’ and I… (It’s so fun to say ‘kids’) …spent the afternoon at Granville Island. We walked up and down the streets, looking in shops and soaking in the fun atmosphere. Dad’s ‘childlike excitement’ came out as he enjoyed some neat canoe and boat builder shops. We walked along the water and saw all the ships and then went to the Market, got some fresh cherries and rolls and then enjoyed them out on the pier overlooking the Burrard Street Bridge.
Family Home Evening
Tonight we are going to a Bear Creek Park for Family Home Evening. It has a HUGE activity toddler section and a stream of water to play in. We will also go on the little train ride. Ryan will have a blast. It is so fun to watch him interact with my family. He knows all their names. Grandpa is ‘Dut-du’, Grandma is ‘Va-va’, Scott is ‘Cott’, Amy is Amy, Mike is Mike and Brian is ‘Bryo’ (when he remembers the B). They all have so much fun playing with him. My brother Scott is home for a week before he and Amy go back to school. It is fun that our trips home were able to be at the same time.
It’s my parents anniversary today. They’ve been married for 27 years.
Brian
Ryan had a great time with my youngest brother, Brian. They loved to play with each other. Brian still thinks it's so funny that he is an UNCLE at age 10. It’s wonderful to have Brian around. He is a great Ryan-sitter! They do lots of running around and giggling. I think it’s fun for Brian to have someone younger in the house to play with. He was talking to me today about the ‘woes’ of being the youngest child… he said he missed out on a lot of the memories we all have, like Shuswap Lake. But he also pointed out it was nice to have such a nice computer… a luxury I didn’t have growing up. I think Brian and I have a special bond. He loves to be around me, talk to me, and please me. It’s cute. We went to the park today and then later just he and I went to 7-11.
Scott
This week has really cruised by. Scott is home now. He is such a good guy… so easy going and mellow. It was fun to hear all about his EFY summer, watch him do the Britany Spears dance and hear his calm and witty sense of humor. He always makes me laugh. Scott and I went shopping together… he said it was fun to go shopping with a girl and kept asking my opinion of everything. It is so fun to watch him with Katie. As soon as he walked in the door he picked her up and held her for an hour on his lap while we all talked. She was as calm as anything. He takes her from me all the time and calls her ‘sweet girl’. Yesterday he said it made him want to have kids of his own. I hope he can find an awesome girl this year. He deserves one.
Mike
Mike is 15 now and definitely growing up. I no longer mistake him for Amy or Mom on the phone. His voice is deepening. Is that a word? Anyway, he’s such a good kid too. I’m so lucky to have such ‘on-the-ball’ siblings. It’s neat that we have such good relationships with one another. Definitely something I want for my own children.
Amy
It has been fun to do lots of talking with Amy. She and I have lots to talk about. It’s fun to hear her stories about Ricks, and different boys… including Josh, her end of the year relationship that kind of crashed during the summer. We’ll see what happens in the fall. She is getting excited to go back.
Amy’s scrapbooks are adorable. She’s been working on them a ton this summer trying to get ‘caught up’. It’s always fun to get ideas from each other.
I have had so much fun shopping with Amy and Mom. It’s really funny. Amy and I have a tendency to buy all the same stuff. Last summer we bought jeans and grey GAP sweatshirts that are the same. At Christmas time we had khaki GAP pants grey ¾ length sleeve shirts. Now we have khaki Thrifty capris that are the same. We have lots of ‘twinner’ pictures. Mom and I also bought the same red plaid shirt. Very cute.
Katie
Katie is turning into a baby that wants to be held. It is somewhat frustrating because there are a lot of things I want to do. She does sleep most of the morning though. That is nice. Right now she’s been asleep for 5 hours straight. She has a ‘fussy’ time from about 6:00pm to 11:00 pm. One of my Mom’s friends said, “Ya, it’s called the 4th trimester”. She is out of your body but you still have to constantly hold her”. It’s true.
Katie definitely takes after me when it comes to shopping. She doesn’t ever fuss when we’re shopping. She just sleeps. Katie has just barely begun smiling. Her first smile was when she was 5 ½ weeks. She was smiling to Mom and Amy and they called me and I came rushing in to catch the last part. It is, of course, adorable. She has smiled a couple times since then. Hopefully she’ll be able to smile to Daddy when he sees her tonight.
Chris
I can’t wait to pick up Chris. It’s been a long two weeks away from my husband. It makes me appreciate how great he is. I am so glad that he’s mine… he’s practically perfect! It’ll be fun to have him here for the weekend to spend time with my family.
Chris is loving Pediatrics. He is pretty sure it is what he wants to do. We’ll probably come out here again next year so that he is fresh in everyone’s minds when they pick for residency. He’s had quite a few really interesting patients. He has a complicated one … an 8 month old baby with a tracheotomy. Sad, huh? Chris has been able to write notes in his file and has gotten several compliments on different things that he’s done including a presentation to the residents and attending doctors on one of his patients.
Ryan
Ryan is changing all the time too. He now loves to sing “Old MacDonald had a Farm. EIEIO. Moo moo moo moo moo.” He just sings by himself. It’s so cute. He also loves to sing ‘Einsy Weinsy Spider’, ‘You are my Sunshine’, and the Winnie the Pooh song called ‘Up, Down’. But it has to be his idea. If you suggest a song, he’ll say NO, then you suggest a second song and all of a sudden he wants to sing the first one. Crazy kid. It’s fun to watch him speaking in three word sentences now. “Mommy hold ‘Daydee’”. (That’s what he calls her.) or “Orange drink please” (that’s orange juice) …and whenever we ask him where Daddy is he says, “Daddy at work.” He knows that one really well.
Fort Lewis Washington
Next we spent a week with Chris in Tacoma. We didn't have a car, but enjoyed walking to the park, and walking to meet Chris at the hospital for dinner at the cafeteria every night.