A Visit to Utah

In September and early October, Madeleine and I went to Utah for a “visit.” Let’s just say it was a very extended visit: fun for Madeleine, boring for Marc, and stressful/relaxing for me. Marc stayed in Philly and occupied himself with a busy sub-I rotation at Fox Chase Cancer Center, at which he had a really great experience and apparently won the hearts of the nurses by his excellent clinical and personal skills. I studied for and completed two (out of four) of my PhD comprehensive exams, both take-home 20 (I wrote 30) page essays, 10 days each. So, it was stressful and productive for me, but I also enjoyed no cooking, no cleaning, few diaper changes, and time to hang out with family, friends, and attend my mission reunion (details of the latter two to be posted later).

During the almost-month that we were gone, Madeleine GREW UP! In the days between her 15th and 16th months of life she went from barely being confident enough to toddle a few steps to sprinting and running!

While in Utah, Madeleine rode her ‘pet’ dragon, picked lots of vegetables from GG & PP’s garden, started becoming ‘motherly’ to her dolls and toys by diapering and dressing and rocking them, played in the sink any chance she got, and delighted herself with the puppies, Chewy and Kodiak. She watched Disney movies for the first time, ate corn on the cob, let us know that she loves eating raw green onions (scallions) by the fistful, played in the big backyards, went for bike rides and walks, played piano and enjoyed a new swing under the porch. She also spent lots of time melting the hearts of Grandma and Grandpa and Gong Gong and Paw Paw.












We really enjoyed the beautiful weather, amazing scenery, comforts of established and beautiful homes and yards, and the love and care of family in Utah! Thank you!