Things are busy but okay. Jake is walking and has been for a little over a month. So he now gets into EVERYTHING. He is a terror on 2 even more so than he was a terror on 4. Abby is a huge help with him and loves playing with him. They chase each other around and just laugh. It's really cute. Abby is loving school and doing well with it. And we are hanging in. Went and saw Santa. First time I remember Jake being so upset to be on someone's lap. So we've got one of those kids. Oh, and some Halloween pics to show how cute they were together. Abby wanted to be a witch, and she wanted Jake to be her toad. Toad costumes were scarce this year for some reason, so we settled with a Kermit the Frog costume. Getting Jake to hold still for a picture is like trying to glue an eel to the ceiling using orange juice. Go ahead and try, but you will look like an idiot while doing it and just frustrate both of you. He is busy.

Quick post for some videos - we are all doing well. Abby has started 2nd grade and is loving it so far. Jodi has accepted a job in interventional radiology and will be branching out a bit there. Residency is going well and keeping me busy and humble. And Jake is crazy. crawling, pulling up, trying to walk. He doesn't stop moving. http:// Abby's first day of school

A few videos to help catch everyone up.

We like this one - he doesn't laugh as much as we'd like, so it's special when he does.

This is from about a week ago - he's a little more stable now, but still faceplants it every now and then. And I'm a big jerk taking his toy away from him.

This is Jake eating strawberries - I think he likes them!

Quick update on us.  With a quick video.  Oklahoma is getting a bit hot - not too muggy yet, but definitely starting to heat up.  We can see why houses have garages here - not only to protect against the monster hail, but so that you don't have to let your car roast in the heat all day long, then get into it.  Still, the humidity's not bad, so I can't complain that much.

We're meeting new people and getting settled in - the ward we've been going to is full of people in our same position and has been very welcoming.  We hung out the other night with some other families who are in the anesthesia program here, and they are real nice.  We can't wait to get to know them and others better.
Jake is getting the crawling thing going a little better, still lacks some coordination, though.  And he's cutting a few bottom teeth, so that makes him much more pleasant.  We can't believe how quickly he's doing everything; especially considering that he was born a month early, and is not quite 6 months old yet.  It's a little scary.

Abby is having fun playing outside and making new friends.  We did make some friends in the ward and in the program here, and she likes their kids, too.  She keeps asking when she can hang out with her new friends.  It's a little different when all of your friends don't live just a few doors away :(  But she's adjusting well.

Jodi has had some interviews and some offers.  She will pretty much be able to pick where she wants to work, just needs to decide on what she's wanting to do more.  She is making nice with the other wives in our ward - it's fun to watch how people initially react to her, as outgoing as she is, but then to see how they are just naturally drawn to her.  She is so amazing with people.  I know I am lucky to have her.

I start orientation tomorrow.  So the vacation's over - back to work.  Except, this time, it really is work and I'll be getting paid for it.  Sweet!  We found out that of the 12 people in our class, 4 of us are LDS.  We have met two of them, and they are awesome.  The 4th has been elusive, but he can't hide forever.  It's pretty nuts that there are so many of us, but it'll be great.  We had a barbecue with the majority of the incoming interns today, as well as the outgoing interns so they could tell us what to expect.  I think it was supposed to make us feel better.  Not sure how well it worked, though - I'm still pretty nervous.  But I'll jump in with both feet and go full steam ahead.  Nervous, but really excited, too.

Abby and Jake enjoying a show

 He looks a little confused, but he usually is.

 Big noggin.

Here's a video of Jake figuring out how to crawl.  Enjoy.

Well, it's been a bit and a lot has happened. We arrived here in Oklahoma safe and sound about 3-4 weeks ago and are doing our best to settle in. Everyone keeps warning us about the heat here and how it gets so hot, yadda yadda yadda, but I have to say that it's really not all that bad so far - sure, there's been some days in the low to mid 90s, but this humidity is pretty weak sauce compared to what we had in Virginia. I can sit outside for a while in the shade and not even look like I just showered. Pretty great. If I can complain about one weather related phenomenon, it's the hail. A little over a week after we got here, we had a nice storm with some hail. I've seen Virginia hail. I've even seen pretty big Virginia hail. But I have never witnessed hail the size of baseballs before. It was crazy. It was like tiny little heaven-sent cannon balls that exploded on impact. The sound was kind of neat, until TGI Friday's roof started leaking. And it wasn't cool to watch it bounce off our cars knowing what would be the result. Luckily, there were no broken windows. But there are dozens, if not hundreds of little pock marks all over our cars. Jodi says it looks like the back side of the moon. I say it looks like a golf ball. Oh well. Our insurance will fix them up for us if we want to, but they look like everybody else's who doesn't have a garage.

Jake is growing every day. He fusses all the time unless he is being held. And he never stops moving. He prefers to stand on your lap rather than sit, want to roll around and scoot around on the carpet, and has started drooling worse than me at the dentist. He's still pretty dang cute, but is exhausting. He'll be crawling soon, and then it's all over.

 Abby is making friends in the neighborhood like only she can. She just walks right up and starts talking and playing. She gets that from Jodi - good thing. She still misses and talks about her Richmond friends, and misses our old setup. But she is adjusting and once school starts back up it will hopefully be good for her.

Jodi is getting her Oklahoma nursing license so she can start working again. She is such a good nurse and loves it, it has been hard for her to be away from it for so long. There is a lot of opportunity out here, we'll see where she lands.

 I'll start up in just under two weeks. Stay away from hospitals here if you value your life ;)

We're finding stuff to do out here, including parks and the zoo and some museums amidst getting settled and doing some house hunting. We've met a few other families that seem really cool that we can't wait to get to know better. But as much as we are liking it here so far, we still miss our Meadowbrook family back in Virginia. We wish we could have brought some of you with us. Once we get busy and get to know people better, it will get easier, we know that. But change can be a tough thing sometimes.
 

Well, it's been a bit - sorry for that. I know people have been asking for pics and photos. We've been a bit selfish, but who can blame us? Jake is growing well, but has a cold right now - we saw the doctor yesterday, and he has an ear infection. :( But he does weigh 9 lb 1 oz, so he's getting bigger. Yeah!

Some pics:

At one month:




At 2 months:



Now (2 1/2 months)





He's starting to get the smiling thing down.


Abby is turning into a beautiful young lady


Who is starting to lose her teeth (2 so far)


And some videos:





This one is not so much for the faint of heart:

Baby Jake

Jacob Matthew Rowlett

Born Dec 26 2011 1:45 pm
Weight: 6 lb 2 oz
Length: 18 inches


Dropped to 5 lb 1 oz

Is now 5 lb 8 oz and feeding well!


You can see the thrush in his mouth here - poor little guy.



So maybe he just needs to air it out some.