ZooBoo & Saying Goodbye

Lilah and I were planning on travelling back to Nebraska for a week to spend with family.  I had pre-arranged this vacation, but as it happened, my grandmother passed away a week prior and the week was also spent towards remembering the life of Gigi. Also, Ben was able to fly back for the funeral as well, which meant so much.   We were able to do some fun things with Lilah during the week, including Halloween at the Lincoln Children's Zoo!  My brother's girlfriend, Jen, is a photographer and got some awesome shots of our little tiger :)  It was a tough call who was more into trick-or-treating at the Zoo, Bopper or Lilah.  Bopper would insist at each stop for Snickers and was very much on a mission.  Lilah had more fun stopping to awe at people's costumes and pet some stuffed animals.  Overall: we had fun and she was darn cute!

Gramma, Bopper and Tiger on the train

I'm in love- too cute

Family Fall Pics- thanks, Jen!

My wonderful grandmother, Gigi, passed away suddenly after a head injury and her funeral was Nov 1st.  Gigi was a remarkable woman with pizazz, musical talents, an incredible mind, very loving, and a wealth of people who admired and loved her.  Her funeral was full of beautiful music and tributes to her life.  The stories of her life were wonderful to hear and hearing all the touching comments from people who knew her were so comforting.  Funerals are very hard, but seeing family from afar was a silver lining.  Hearing the stories told about my mom's cousins growing up was fabulous and Gigi would've laughed so much.  The extra time with family was a treasure. She will be so missed, but we are happy she's at peace and with her beloved "Jerry" now.

A beautiful Gigi in 2014

Alice Neal and Walter "Jerry" Gerard on their wedding day

An enhanced version of the handsome couple by Jen

The Doctor is In!

July 27th, 2014 marked a very important day for the Nelson's.  It meant one of us was finally done with residency and could in some ways return to a more normal life.  I couldn't tell you how happy I am to be done with residency but how much I will miss working with such wonderful colleagues. I truly discovered my inner self in the last 3 years and what will sustain me being a doctor for the next 50 years.  I made some wonderful friends, dealt with intense amounts of stress and fatigue, learned to manage complicated medical conditions, cared for some of the bravest children I will ever meet, balanced being a mom and wife, cried when a patients passed away, and learned how to appreciate the great job I have of caring for kids.  I also was blessed to have received an award for teaching, for which I felt very honored.

With no chance to get used to sleeping in, I started my new job as a Newborn Hospitalist two days later at a different institution. Since then, I've enjoyed working half as many hours and cramming for boards in all my new "free time,"  but it's made a huge difference in my happiness level and the amount of dishes stacked in our sink.  After boards, I hope to enjoy Lilah, reading books for fun and maybe even regain a hobby or two :)  But in the meantime, I'm super blessed to have an amazing husband, beautiful daughter and super supportive parents.  Love you all!

Diploma in hand

Celebration Dinner

The hallways I walked so many times

Celebrating as a family

My Residency Class from Indiana University/IUPUI

One of my mentors, Dr. Bobbi Byrne

The family who made the Teaching Award

Summer Fun

We had a fun (but super busy!) summer.  We went to the symphony, apple orchard, zoo, children's museum, swimming pool, and a few trips.  Needless to say, in the meantime, this little cutie has grown up too fast.  She now thinks it's hilarious to dance, stand on her head (we think this is a sign of intelligence) and make us laugh. 

Husker'ing at the Symphony

Feeding the ducks in our backyard- the Four Amigos

Bouncy Bridge at the zoo

Apple picking.  She's a natural.

Love this girl

Apples and pumpkins in one pic... Nailed it!

Showing off

Touchdown Jesus at Notre Dame game

The weather was charming with a 31 degree windshield

Graney Mania!

Children's Museum... just a little dinosaur spotting

Ladies, start your engines

We ride this about 5 times in a row every time we come

Trapped!

No words

Lilah showing the ducks how to hide under a blanket.  It might help, you never know.

Summer Days.

Standing on her head.  Talent :)

Swimming and looking fabulous!

Visiting the Sophia Holmes in Chicago

This was the best we could get of both of them

Husker Travels

Ready to Road Trip!

My beautiful cousin, Heidi Otto, got married on July 12th this year in Nebraska and I couldn't miss it for the world.  Heidi and I spent a lot of time together as kids and I just adore her.  Plus, getting to see my cousins/aunts/uncles/mini-cousins that I don't get to see often was a fantastic plus as well :)  Before I took Lilah back in July, I wanted her to appreciate a few Nebraska Lessons.

Corn:  We Like It.
      We had to teach Lilah about corn before going back to Nebraska. I tried to sign her up for detassling but it turns out she's not eligible.  So, we did a little corn cleaning in our kitchen instead.  Let me tell you how she did, pro.  She bit into an ear, she threw ears on the floor, she hoarded all of them.  She has got this down.  Ben and I are quite proud.  First Husker Lesson done.

Tough work carrying corn

Next Husker Lesson: We Road Trip.  We are Road Warriors.
      This was a bit harder.  Ben unfortunately had a tricky work schedule and was not able to travel back to Nebraska with Lilah and I.

Weddings:  We dance, we play and we shout a lot.
   Heidi's wedding (she's marrying an Auburn fan... hmmmm..... but luckily we have overlooked this and we LOVE Kyle!).  He is a true Southern gentleman.

The Lady Cousins

My Awesome Cousins and Brothers!

Meeting Other Huskers:  Important
    Lilah and her girl pack ran the floor along with meeting her cousins

Lilah and my god-daughter, Alexa

Needless to say: Grandparents were not missed on this trip!  We LOVED seeing both sets and getting to enjoy new boxes of toys at each!  Uncles, definitely did not skip them either... we uncled it up as well! Lilah even got to see her cousin Stella again!  Stella is almost 6 months now, Lilah is ready to play! Gramma especially was thrilled to take her to the zoo on a nice morning.  Highlights were feeding the camel, seeing the baby lemurs and riding the train! And of course, no trip to Lincoln is complete without a trip to EITHER Don & Millies or Amigos.  We chose the former... this time.

No one tackles cheese frenchees like this girl

One of the animals?

Gramma & Lilah