Welcome to our family's photo site! We hope you enjoy the pictures!
Hannah turned 4 this cinco de mayo! We had a small cinco de mayo and birthday celebration with good friends Eva, Andrea, Bob, and baby Isaak, and Anna complete with tacos, fajitas, margaritas, and a chocolate cake!!!
Then Sunday on Mother's day we had a joint swim birthday party with Mariano whose birthday was May 10. It was a BLAST and we hope everyone who came had a SPLASHING time!!! Thank you to all our friends for the wonderful gifts and sharing the day with us!
Pictures below in the birthday album!
We have created an alter-ego/alternative personality for Hannah.
HANNAH: (hiding behind her dollhouse) Say who is behind the house?
VALERIE: Who's behind the house?
TIM: I think it's Mildred.
HANNAH: I AM NOT MILDRED! I AM HANNAH! (yelling and getting upsetting)
VALERIE/TIM: Mildred, what are you doing?
HANNAH: I AM NOT MILDRED! I AM HANNAH.
Next day....
HANNAH: I am Mildred. Hannah is sleeping.
VALERIE: Mildred? Where's my Hannah.
HANNAH: Hannah is at school. Mildred is here.
VALERIE: I thought you didn't like Mildred.
HANNAH: Well, I like the name Mildred.
So there you go...we have given our child multiple personalities!
Hannah was accepted into Ancona (http://www.anconaschool.org), a private-Montessori school in Hyde Park. She really wants to attend since her dear friend Josie is also at Ancona. We are hoping things will work out for us financially to be able to send her there next year, but if all else fails donations online will gladly be accepted. =)
Yay!!! I have completed (well unofficially officially until May 29, 2009) my PhD!!! It is hard to believe and I am still struggling to let go of something that was a major part of my life for so long. The process has been long, hard, frustrating, often times the lonliest time of my life, but I am excited to move forward to the next step of my career/training.
Here's a recap of my PhD years... (and what lies ahead)
2003 - started in the lab after taking USMLE Step 1
2004 - we lost Tim's mom to breast cancer (my dissertation is dedicated, in part, in loving memory of her. She saw me start the journey and I know she was with me as I finished in Memphis last week).
2005 - we had Hannah, who is the absolute best result of this journey.
2007 - we moved to Chicago
2008 - I started back in medical school at the University of Chicago
2009 (March 19) - I SUCESSFULLY defended my PhD in Memphis among a group of friends and supporters; going back (again) to finish medical school
June 11, 2010 - graduate from Medical School then residency then fellowship....
We finally got around to getting a Chicago Public Library card Tuesday night. Hannah was excited to check out some books. We are able to check out only 5 things for the first month and then up to 30 after that. Anyway, Hannah was eager to read her books and indeed we finished ALL 5 before dinner! I went back today and got her 5 more books. Good thing the library is within wasy walking distance of our apartment. Looks like this will be our new hang out for a while. I am just glad Hannah enjoys books and being read to so for now I will make daily trips to the library to keep up my Hannah's love of books and reading!!
What an exciting day! Hannah told me she watched Barack Obama on tv at school today. She told me "Barack Obama is President now" and asked me "if the President was still President". We then watched Barack and Michelle dance their first dance, and Hannah was so excited! She said we must cheer him on whenever we see him. Again, regardless of your political views, you can no doubt deny the enormity of this historic event. I told Hannah that this is a historic event in her life and all our lives. Next would be a WOMAN president and that SHE could be President! (To which she said, no, that girl will - randomly pointing to someone on tv.) I am so proud of her for her energy, her eunthusiasm, and for knowing who the President of the United States of America is and where he lives now that he moved out of our neighborhood! (Yes, she knew that he now lives in the White House!)
"Mom you're so mean. Why do you have to be so mean? Don't you know it's mean when you leave to go to work instead of sleeping with me?" These are some of the things I hear from Hannah these days as I finish up my writing. I have been going back to the lab a lot of the night after dinner. Some nights she tells me to go work on my thesis, other nights she tells me I am too mean for leaving her!
"Huff and puff" "Book and look" All these rhyme!!! Hannah has been in the rhyming mood ever since we talked about words that rhyme b/c they sound the same. So now everytime she says words that rhyme she runs to me and tells me these words. And when we read Dr. Seuss, one of her favorite authors, she'll smile and giggle through the whole book when she hears rhyming words which as you know is every page!
Tim and I both got new cell phones and new numbers so please let us know if you do not have our new phone numbers and would like to have it. Send me an email valerie.jansen@gmail.com
Valerie is working on her dissertation manuscript. It has been a very slow and long process b/c we all know what a great procrastinator I am!!! It will be done. It has to be done. Stay tuned!
Email: valerie.jansen@gmail.com