Father's Day

I know that this is a bit late, but I started this post following Father's Day so that I could show off the portraits that my children drew of me. The picture above was drawn by Ambrey. If there is any doubt about who the picture is of, just check out the ears. The picture below was drawn by Alyssa. She is in the green dress, and I am the one with the big head floating above the ground.

On the back of her picture she wrote a poem to me, it goes like this:

Roses are red

Violets are blue,

Happy Fathers Day

I love you!

Alyssa's First Hit!

On Wednesday night, June 4th, Alyssa got her first hit (shown in the above picture). It came on the first pitch of her first at-bat. They call it softball here, but really it starts out as T-ball for the first month, and then they switch to coach pitch. The game started at 6:15, and did not end until after eight. Sorry about the quality of the picture, we forgot to take our camera with us so I had to use my phone.

ECMC and Softball

Every time that I get on here to write anything I feel as though I should apologize for not doing this more often, so the two or three of you who check this blog faithfully, I am sorry.

As was mentioned in the previous post, we returned to Buffalo from Utah on May 16th. On the 20th of May I began my clinical residency, which is technically suppose to last until December 21st of 2009, although I am hoping to be finished before then because it conflicts with the goal that we have set for our moving date, which is December 18th of 2009. The first two of approximately 85 weeks are over, and I must say it has been more difficult and intense than I expected. I started my residency at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), which is suppose to be one of the more difficult rotations that I will face. In general, the staff has been very patient with me, and I have learned a lot. The days are long and draining, but I am learning new things daily. The picture below is a prettier than real life shot of ECMC. It is located in a rundown neighborhood on Grider Street.
In other news, Alyssa is playing softball for the Amherst Lookouts. In today's game she batted 4-4 (off of a tee), with eight RBI's, two lead off singles, and two grand slams. Some might argue that her numbers were due to her last name (every kid bats each inning, in alphabetical order one inning and reverse alphabetical order the next, and when the last kid bats everyone on base gets to run home including the batter), but they look pretty good on paper. She also had no fielding errors, but that is probably because she did not go after the ball. Below is a picture of her and her team.
Those shown in the picture from left to right: (bottom row) player, player, player, player, (middle row) player, player, player, player, player, Alyssa Denise Vincent, (top row) assistant coach, coach, and assistant coach.

Delayed Perhaps, but not Forgotten

Okay, so I meant to post this more than three weeks ago, but I have been busy. We left for Utah the day after I started this post, which happens to be the same day that I posted everything else, and I just ran out of time. We had a great time back home in Utah, and returned here to Buffalo on the 16th. Thanks to all of you who helped us out while we were there, we are truly grateful for your kindness.

The first of the two videos in this post shows Alyssa's attempt at wrestling while Ambrey is enjoying a tea party with her mom.

This video is the footage of Anna's second attempt at rolling over.

Anna's First Roll

Anna is now able to roll over. The problem is she does not seem to enjoy spending much time on her stomach, and she is still unable to roll onto her back from her stomach.

Dog pile!
Kids are never too young to fake like they are sleeping when presented with something nasty to eat.

Anna's first roll

Smiles and Sickness

Two really pretty redheads
Ambrey and Alyssa caught Fifth Disease (erythema infectiosum) in April. It is a viral infection that results in a runny/stuffed nose, headache, and fever. When the child is no longer contagious, a rash appears all over their body that can stay for up to one month. The rash gives kids a "slapped cheek" look (bright red cheeks).
Game night with the Elders (shown above as Mr. X is Elder Smith from California).
Ambrey helping out by feeding Anna. What is great about this is that Anna lived through it.
For those who don't know/remember, this knit hat is part of a knit dress that was given to Alyssa when she was a baby. The dress doesn't fit Anna.

Future Hogwartz Student Found

Ambrey's new found joy: flying on Janna's legs
Our 49er princess
Anna Potter
Anna's new toy

Better Late Than Never

This is a picture of Alyssa and Ambrey in their Easter dresses, with Anna in her blessing dress.
Anna seems to enjoy Easter more than the other two do.
Sundays are great days for naps.
Anna and her lamb. For whatever reason she loves to grab its fur and bite it.