Kaya had her first and second plane flights this week on our trip to Durham.  She did great and essentially slept the whole time.  Both flights were packed with babies, however, and not everyone’s parents had a relaxing flight.  Note to self: Do not travel with a baby between 8 months and 2 years.

Officially a board certified internist!

This past weekend Channa came to visit from Durham and this was her first time in Boston.  And Laura came down from Vermont for her birthday (while her husband was in Vegas “rock climbing”).  We did lots of Boston favorites: Italian food and cannolis in the North End, oysters at the Union Oyster House (Kaya and I had clam chowder instead), shopping at the Pru and Quincy Market, and Zumba class (okay, maybe that’s not a Boston thing).  Kaya also enjoyed spending more time with Aunt Laura and reading bedtime stories with Channa.  Overall a great weekend, despite the dreary weather.

Kaya went to her first day of daycare today while I was at a fellowship interview and Tommy was at work.  She’s attending a home daycare with three other girls.  It seems like she had a great time – and the daycare provider was kind enough to send us picture updates throughout the day.  I’m not sure it’s kosher to post pictures of other people’s kids (is it?) but she sent us a really cute one of the other girls playing with Kaya.  Instead I’ll post the boring picture of Kaya on the floor after her lunchtime bottle.

Many thanks to the random girl who sold me a HUGE bin (see below) of perfectly-sized maternity clothes off Craigslist last winter – best $100 I ever spent.  I don’t know her name, but I’m pretty sure her initials are “JS” as this is written all over the tags to the clothing.  JS has a nice sense of style, and I’m actually sad to return to my less fashionable former wardrobe.  But I’m excited to fit into my skinny jeans and retire my maternity clothes to the back of the closet, which I did today.  Still have some room to go – now the goal is to fit comfortably in my skinny jeans and breathe at the same time.

The books on my bedside table have changed a bit in the last several months… at least the New England Journal of Medicine still has a presence.

Everyone’s favorite game is commenting on whether Kaya looks more like Tommy or more like me.  We got a hold of a few of our baby pictures and compared them to similar pictures of Kaya.  You be the judge!

Tommy at 2 months on the left, Kaya at 2 months on the right

Tracy as a baby on the left, Kaya on the right

Kaya has officially developed a “social smile,” and boy is it cute!
We love you too baby girl

Working at BIDMC gives me the wonderful ability to get tickets to Red Sox games for $5 each, and we typically go a few times each year.  Today Kaya came along and experienced the Fenway magic for the first time.  We had tickets high along the third base line, and somehow got the disability-friendly seats, so we had our own spacious section with real chairs and ample room for nursing and changing diapers.  Although the Sox have no hope of reaching the playoffs, we were lucky enough to see the Orioles play, who are deep into a bid for a playoff spot and potentially a division title.  The O’s fans were louder than the Red Sox fans often, and the Orioles pulled out the win in the 12th inning.  Kaya insisted on staying the whole game, as she isn’t allowed to watch TV at home and would otherwise never get to see the highlights.

I’ve recently decided to actually learn how to cook.  We’ve been eating a lot of crock pot meals and we’re slowly expanding our repertoire.  Today, I cut up some beef, carrots and potatoes and added a bunch of spices and put it all in the crock pot.  When we returned home 5 hours later, I realized that it is important to actually TURN ON the crock pot in order for your meal to happen.  So, I was tired and upset and Tommy says, “I know what will cheer you up.”  He led me into the other room and sat me down.  Twenty minutes later, he appeared with popovers!  I had never heard of a popover until I moved to Boston – for those of you that don’t know, it is a light, delicious egg pastry served at afternoon tea with homemade lemonade on a porch in the sun.  A popover is to a muffin like a crueller is to a donut.  Tommy’s popovers are as good as any I’ve ever had, including the famous popovers of Jordan Pond in Acadia National Park (where I was first introduced to popovers).  Perhaps I should forget to turn on the crock pot more often.