Day 2: Room For Improvement

Google searches that brought people to my blog in the last 12 hours.

3 searches for "how should i study for the texas bar exam essays the night before" This is soooo not the place to look for this kind of advice. It's 9:45 and I wish someone would tell me what to do. Should I memorize 6 subjects so that I can have a few really good essays? Should I try to brush up on all 12 so that I don't panic when I open a test booklet and realize I HAVE NOTHING IN MY BRAIN TO FILL THE EMPTY SCREEN OF DOOM. I'm really not sure. I know that I nearly fell asleep during the MBE, so getting more than 5.5 hours tonight would be a good thing.

2 for "lowest passing mbe score in texas bar" I don't know, but it's hopefully around a 27 because that's how many questions I was certain I got write in the first set of 100. Yes, 27 - you know, about the number you should get right if you just bubble in "C" for every single answer.

And 1 each for "how many days is the texas bar exam" It's 3 days and it sucks to see all your friends' relieved and happy facebook messages when you still have a day of essays ahead of you.

"how essays are graded on texas bar exam" I don't know, I'm hoping to wow them with one or two fancy legal phrases per essay - I want the person to think, whoah, she used Latin, she must REALLY know her law. Five gold stars for her! If that doesn't work hopefully they'll just close their eyes and pick a bunch to pass - I'd have as good of a shot that way.

and "ran out of time on mbe bar exam" That's unfortunate, but it's probably better than doing what I did, which is to flip to the back of the book to check my answers - twice - only to realize that, oh yeah, THIS IS THE ACTUAL EXAM.

Oh, and just to put a little candle on top of my bar exam experience so far, I got a freaking speeding ticket - my first one - after pulling out of the parking lot by the convention center. I was going 42, a perfectly reasonable speed for a three lane road that is a feeder to a major highway, and honestly thought something was wrong with my car when the cop pulled me over. Turns out the speed limit is 30. 30! The same speed as a residential street with children and dogs and other torts waiting to happen - none of these things were near this wide, open, highway-like road. And I didn't have my registration or insurance card because they're all in a purse in Austin waiting to go the DMV to get my Texas Driver's License, so I got TWO tickets.

So yeah, the day went super well. I think I probably got enough questions right to pass, but it feels like it'll come down to lucky guesses, and that sucks. When the utility and worth of your hard earned (and freaking expensive) law degree hang on the balance of a single test, it shouldn't be written in a way that makes you guess when you know the principle of law they're testing. I studied a lot, less than many, but still a lot and I'm frustrated that I don't feel like it did me much good.

So now time to push through for the final day of essays and waking up at 5:30 AM trying to remember something legal. I spent 10 minutes trying unsuccessfully to memorize the formula for claims of economic contribution in community property and ended up in a day dream where I read the list of people who passed the Bar and my name was one it - I came back to reality with tears of joy in my eyes. If that isn't what happens on November 7th, I think I'm going to go to medical school. I'm barely kidding.

Frigid Days, Frantic Nights

So, Day 1 is over. The experience was awful, though the test was okay. Our room was frigid - not chilly, not cold - absolutely shaking, teeth chattering, toes turning puple frigid. Tomorrow I will be wearing my ski outfit with (fake) fur lined parka- which means they'll probably overadjust the temperature to a balmy 85 degrees. My teeth really were chattering uncontrollably for the last hour and it made it VERY hard to remember all the civil procedure terms I crammed into my head around midnight last night. The laptop software was also having trouble and there was only 1 software rep for about 500 people, and the people with non-faulty laptops were apparently unable to read simple directions, so we got out almost 2 hours later than I'd planned. I hadn't eaten breakfast so I was starving and drove at the speed of light to meet my mom for lunch at Olive Garden. I didn't even turn on my A/C for the 45 minute drive in 100 degree weather - I was that frozen. But I think the MPT went fine and I probably did decent enough on the procedure and evidence portion not to hurt myself going into tomorrow and Thursday. Thank goodness for my ability to go without sleep - at least 6 of the 20 answers I wrote down in the civ pro section were nuggets of knowledge I picked up during my civ pro study session late last night. I can partially thank Landon for this ability to function well on less than 6 hours of sleep.

I spent my afternoon thawing out, taking the dogs on another long walk to the lake, and sitting at the kitchen table with my books, telling my mom all about how I REALLY NEEDED TO GO STUDY but not doing it. I just took a con law practice test from the magical released questions that are supposed to be easier and only got 50% right- and that was after I reviewed, so that's unnerving to say the least. You really shouldn't cram for the Bar at the last minute, so everybody reading this, shake your head at me and promise yourself you will do things differently. I know starting early wouldn't have changed much for me and I can trust in my ability to recall large quantities of information memorized at the last minute, but it's a really crappy way to spend 3 days of your life. Plus I now have some actual fear that I will fail this damn thing, which may make you wonder - why is she writing a blog post right now instead of studying? That is an excellent question and the answer to it is probably right next the one explaining why I didn't start studying in June like every other smart person.

In other news, JP called with news of a new Landon trick - throwing both his hands up in the air with an absolutely delighted smile on his face. He thinks this whole vertical motion of the arms is amazing and hilarious and everyone should pause to admire his ability to get those hands way up there above his 90th percentile head. Apparently he'll even do it in the middle of crawling - crawl, crawl, crawl, stop, sit, hands up in the air - big giggles - back to crawling. Oh, how I miss the little monster. Two more days and I can burn the barbri books (or turn them in to get my deposit back, but that doesn't sound nearly as satisfying), relax with my boys, drink a small bottle of tequila, and waterski at the lake (probably best done before the drinking of the tequila). For now, it's back to evidence and con law and hopefully getting more than half of the questions right.

The Night Before

It's 10:20 and I'm starting to read the civil procedure outline for my Procedure and Evidence exam tomorrow. My morning involved another big family walk and a trip to my office to pack up all my books and outlines. I left for Houston at 12:30 with a suitcase, box of books, and a Rosie dog in the back; I decided to bring her along for moral support and to give JP a bit of a break for the four days I'm going to be gone. I got a little teary eyed when I hugged my boys goodbye - this will be the longest we've been separated since we were married or Landon was born. I'm going to miss waking up to Landon's full-bodied excitement at seeing me - alarm clocks just can't compare, and mine will be beeping at me at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

Once I arrived in Houston, I spent a little while chatting with my mom and meeting their new 14-week old black lab puppy, Shadow (adopted from the rescue organization where we got Tex and Rosie). Shadow adores Rosie and she displayed endless patience for his attempts at bravery and assertiveness, all of which involved mounting her sideways or grabbing a toy out of her mouth. We went on a long walk to the lake where Rosie showed off her swimming skills and Shadow romped in the tall grass- puppies are so funny, it's fun to have one around again. I kept forgetting the Bar was tomorrow- I just don't believe it's here.

Which is why it's 10:30 and I'm now starting Civil Procedure. I know you're supposed to take the night off before the Big Day, but I think that's only if you've actually looked at what you're going to be tested on. And besides, I'm not used to getting a lot of sleep and I think a full 8 hours would confuse my brain. I did pack up my giant ziploc bags for tomorrow (even my laptop must fit in one - luckily Hefty makes a 2.5 gallon variety) and write down directions for the hour-long drive to the test site. Tomorrow is a half day with the MPT and Procedure and Evidence. I'm meeting my mom for lunch and then sequestering myself somewhere quiet to review for the MBE on Wednesday.

More than anything - more than fear or nerves or tiredness - I just want this thing over with. Here goes nothing!

Doggie Update

Things are going well with our new furry family members. Thank you for all your advice and comments, I really appreciated them. We've also been in touch with the rescue organization and they reiterated much of what you wrote. There's still been a bit of growling every now and then, especially when they're playing outside, but never at us or Landon and never escalating, so I'd say that's going very well. The dogs love laying around our feet and following us around the house. They're extremely tolerant of Landon (as I type he just crawled over the middle of Rosie while she took a nap, but we are still working on teaching him the difference between petting and grabbing because it's not only the dog's responsibility to get along with the little master of the house). They're doing well with their commands; they've got sit and stay mastered and we practice them often - making sure they know we're the ones in charge. PetSmart told us they'd be perfect for the Intermediate class in August. The introduction of Lilly hasn't gone quite as smoothly but we're working on it. Last night and this morning we had several successful interactions with the dogs remaining in "sit-stay" on the floor while Lilly came down and walked the perimeter of the room eying them suspiciously. We're taking it slow with them, but I think once she learns to relax around them, they'll relax too (they were both fostered in homes with cats and did fine- though I'd imagine those cats were very used to having canine friends around). Luckily the house is big enough for each to have his own space.

We've settled on Tex and Rosie for the names and have been calling them so since yesterday morning. A lot of people seem concerned about confusing them, but as rescued dogs we have no idea what their original names were and their foster gave them their new names only recently. We wouldn't change Hope if she'd actually been Hope for 6 years, but it's only been a couple weeks. What's important is that these are the names we use and these are the names they'll have forever. They already respond to them, even individually, and are just generally thriving in the Lag Liv household. We go on two long walks a day, both dogs on their leashes, and Landon in his big wagon - we're quite the caravan on the sidewalk :)

I've basically stopped studying. That's not good, there's still topics I need to, you know, START, but I'm tired of leaving my house to go stare at outlines. So I'm "studying" at home, amidst the madness - I'm sure you can imagine how well that's going. I did pack for my drive to Houston tomorrow and packed Landon for his, JP, and the dogs journey to Houston on Thursday. They're going to meet me up at my parent's lake house for two days of relaxing, splashing, and watching Rosie jump in and out of the water. There will be minimal brain usage and lots of fun had by all. I can't freaking wait.

Traveling as a Pack

So it's 2:00 and I haven't started studying (ummm the Bar is how many days away?) but I SWEAR I'm going to soon. We just got back from a big family outing to PetSmart and the dogs did great (Landon did too, but now that his car seat is forward facing he's much more amenable to car rides). Hope/Rosie was perfect as a little girl gave her lots of pets and Jude/Tex was just very excited about the whole thing. There were about a million dogs there and they ignored them completely, other than a few introductory sniffs. At one point JP was holding Landon and I was holding both leashes and I realized the two dogs combined weigh more than I do. Luckily they're pretty good with the leash, but we're going to sign up for doggy training classes too. It was funny to be there as this entourage of five- I would have laughed a few years ago if you'd told me I'd be living in Suburbia, heading to PetSmart with my husband, 1-year-old, and 2 giant dogs.

We bought the dogs personalized tags, as per the rescue organization's requirements. Tex got a Longhorn tag that looks smashing against his black fur and Rosie has a pink heart that matches her polka dotted collar. I think the dogs are wearing them proudly. Then we went to FreeBirds for some delicious burritos (Chipotle tries but it cannot compare). The dogs sat with us at the table outside (it was very classic Austin) and Landon ate a whole cheese quesadilla! He's eating really well in general and is doing great with his cups and whole milk- I packed all the bottles away last week!

I've basically living my post-Bar life without my life actually being post-Bar. I loved being out with my guys today. As we were driving down the highway JP put his hand on my knee and said, "it's good to have you with us" and he really meant it. I've missed these little mundane things too. One of the hardest things about the Bar has been losing my weekends and evenings (basically all down time)- I took more down time than I probably should have, but always with that depressing feeling that I shouldn't be. I can't wait to regain my normal family life.

So yeah, Consumer Law... I need to get on that. (And Texas Real Property and Guardianship and Civil Procedure and the MPT and reviewing those six MBE topics...)

A House of Six

I would like to introduce our two newest family members.

This is Jude.

He's 3, very happy and easy going and just wants to be your friend.

This is Hope.

She's 6, very sweet, LOVES the water, and appears to be the dominant one of the two.

We're not yet settled on their new names. Right now we like Dillon and Dixie/Daisy or Tex and Rosie. Dillon is because we love Colorado and skiing and Dillon is the town where we stay whenever we go. Tex is rather obvious, but also because I had a pound puppy named Tex that I adored as a child and am still devastated that I left him behind in a hotel room in 6th grade (yes, he still traveled with me in 6th grade). Rosie would be for the Yellow Rose of Texas and her pretty reddish coloring. But if you have any ideas after seeing the pictures, let me know!

Landon adores them and gets a huge smile on his face every time they come up to him. Given that they outweigh him by 50 lbs. a piece, I thought he might be a little tentative, but nope, he loves their kisses and being right in the middle of the tail wagging action.

We went on a family walk to a nearby park at 6:50 this morning. At first we couldn't figure out why our neighborhood looked so deserted, but then we remembered it was Saturday and it wasn't even 7 AM and who in their right mind would be up right now if they didn't have to be? The dogs did great on their leashes and Landon kept turning around in his wagon to check on them. He even got a few kisses along the way.

We're a little bit concerned about Hope's aggressiveness when Jude tries to play with her or when they go after the same toy. They slept fine in our room last night and see to get along well in general, but every now and then there will be a growl and a lunge - no biting and no escalation (even without our intervention), but it's a little unnerving. It seems to happen most when Jude starts to play with her- she'll play along and then she'll decide she won't. They were both fostered in homes with young children and other rescued dogs, and they were recommended as the least aggressive, most kid/pet-friendly of the choices. For those of you who have multiple dogs, any thoughts? Is it the new house, new family, new doggie sibling situation all at the same time? Is she just trying to set her boundaries? They're great with Landon - he nearly gouged out Hope's eyeball this morning and she just sat there. We're in touch with the foster families and the organization, and we'll make a change if we feel we have to, I'm just curious as to other people's experiences.

And now, because I only studied TWO hours yesterday, I'm going to go learn a whole bunch of law. It's a little horrifying to realize that there are subjects that are tested on the Bar every year in their own essay that I have yet to look at. But our walk left me feeling quite energized - let's see how long that lasts as I slog through Consumer Law.

Can't Think. Brain Full.

Conversation in bed with JP last night at 11:00.

Me: I'm worried my brain is full.

JP: [in his half-asleep voice because he falls asleep FIVE SECONDS after assuming the prone position] What? I love you too.

Me: No! I'm serious, my brain is full.

JP: [still clinging to his half-asleepedness] You'll be fine... shhhhhh, night time.

Me: You're not listening! I can't learn things - anything! I read and re-read and turn the page and try to remember what I just read and I can't. Can't! No recall. I studied Oil & Gas for 6 hours today - 6! That's a lot for me! I was even focused, no food breaks or chatting with other attorneys, just studying! You know how hard that is for me to do! But all I know is that the East Texas Oil Field was discovered before 1960-something so some statute doesn't apply. I think it's the MIPA one, which I call "mippa" but it might be "mypa". I don't even know what it stands for. Something about M___ I____ Pooling Agreements. Or is it Pooling Act? What does the M stand for?

JP: Minerals?

Me: Oh my god, that wasn't even on my mental list of possibilities. I spent all day reading about Mineral leases and Mineral estates and Mineral interests and Mineral acts and What is a Mineral and I couldn't figure out that the "M" in MIPA probably stands for Mineral? ... I'm screwed.

JP, used to the fact that despite being exhausted I immediately get hyper when I lay down in bed, grabs me and drags me over into a cuddle, kisses the back of my head and says: Shhhh, I love you too.

[End scene as JP immediately enters unconsciousness and I lie awake for the next 2 hours freaking out that by the time I drive to Houston on Monday I will have gotten so little sleep I'm going to drive off the highway.]

The biggest stress in my life right now is how tired I am. Even though I insist that I am not freaked out about the Bar and don't think I'll fail (I really don't), I know it's part of the reason I lie awake at night. It's frustrating to feel relaxed during the day, plugging through my outlines, and then lie in bed realizing I'm wound up tighter than I've been in a long time. And when you don't fall asleep until 1 or 2 AM, it's very painful when your baby wakes up at 6.

My only regret so far with the studying is that I'm not going to be able to review any of the subjects. So my 1 day ("day" being loosely defined as 4-6 hours) of review per topic is just going to have to be enough. I'd like to squeeze in a quick review of the MBE topics I studied first, but I'm not sure when that'll happen given that I never learned any Civil/Criminal Procedure and Evidence so I'll be spending Monday on that. I probably should have started earlier than July 7th, but I know myself, and if I had, I'd be even more sick of it than I am now, and would probably take off the next few days entirely. I just can't get worked up about anything for very long, and given how little I studied for the other big tests in my life (maybe 30 minutes for the SAT and 2 weeks for the LSAT), my brain feels more than a little put out and is threatening a strike (last night's inability to remember the Mineral Interest Pooling Act being a warning shot).

So to give that overworked little cerebrum of my a break, and hold off the strike until after the Bar, I'm taking the afternoon and evening off to go adopt a dog or two. These are the three we're meeting at 6pm in New Braunfels with their foster parents and I can't wait! JP and Landon went to Petsmart yesterday and broke all our budget rules to bring home $100 worth of dog toys and treats. I know adopting a dog RIGHT NOW seems crazy, and it probably is, but I really think having 130 lbs. of furry love in our house will help me study. Or help my brain relax so I can get some sleep. Either way, it'll be good.

Another Day, Another Topic I Don't Quite Know

I'm sitting on my couch flipping between SYTYCD and Project Runway wondering why I'm not more concerned about the Bar (and also why that Suede guy keeps talking about himself in the 3rd person - stop that!). I don't know if it's because I don't really believe it's 6 days away or because I didn't attend the barbri class and don't interact with anyone taking the exam, but I just can't get worked up about it.

I started today with the best of intentions- I was up and dressed in my work clothes (oh yes, the khaki colored linen pants, but jazzed up with very cute red heels) by 8:30. But then I played with Landon until his morning nap, and then I thought I could work at home for a little bit, but just ended up procrastinating via the internet. Then I realized JP was taking a nap so I set out to bother him. Finally at 11:30, after Landon woke up from his nap, I headed to the office. I turned to commercial paper with a fresh notepad and new purple pen (a trip to the supply closet was my reward for getting a 92% on the contracts question set I did yesterday- those official released questions are SO MUCH easier than the crazy barbri created ones), but quickly realized there was no way I could learn it in one day. I tried to read the barbri outline, then tried CMR, but just couldn't get my head around who has presentment warranties and who has transfer warranties and who exactly is a holder in due course and why are there like 15 requirements for negotiability and why does it not matter that a drawer's name is forged but it does when the payee's name is forged?? So I did some mental calculations and realized Commercial Paper will only be 3% of my grade. I think this may be the topic I just throw - although I haven't gotten to Oil and Gas yet and from what I hear that cannot be mastered in one day and this whole "it's only 3% of my grade" rationalization only works if I use it sparingly. I'm doing Oil and Gas tomorrow, so if it's as bad as I hear, I may throw it and go back to Commercial Paper.

So right now I'm mainly concerned with why the above sentences aren't freaking me out. Can one day per topic possibly be enough? I'm not going to have time to go back over the MBE stuff I studied first, but I did a contracts set yesterday without looking at it since early July and only missed 3 of 36. But that could have been a fluke. I'm afraid to do other topics in case they shatter my potentially misplaced confidence. Also, I wish Texas posted actual student essay answers- the Examiners' comments are helpful, but they just talk about what people missed, not what is "enough" to be a decent answer (surely they know we're all shooting for mediocrity here). The barbri model answers are pretty detailed, but I'm hitting about 75% of the issues they mention, is that enough? Although, that's when I practice them right after reviewing the topic all day, I'm not sure how I'll do if I try a topic from a few days prior (I really should, I know, but I'm thinking confidence may be one of the few things I have going for me right now and I don't want to hurt it). I just tried to recall the equation for claims for economic contribution in community property and drew a blank - not a good sign.

I spoke with our attorney employment head while stealing a few more of their M&M's and she said that while no one in the Austin office has ever failed the Bar, it's happened in other offices and it's no big deal, you just take it again February. So it's good to know that even if I'm totally embarrassed and depressed, I will at least be able to continue paying our mortgage.

So I'll continue on my little path to Tuesday. There's other distracting things going on, but I think they have to wait to be blogged about. Landon's molars continue to be big bullies - it took him over an hour to fall asleep last night and whenever I went in to check on him he was laying flat on his mattress in a puddle of tears, both hands stuffed in his mouth- breaks your heart and makes the priority rules in Secured Transactions seem terribly unimportant. And bless anyone who is still reading this- it seems like all I talk about anymore is this stupid exam and Landon's teeth (which are also stupid). After last Fall I will never fail to appreciate the beauty of boring, but it doesn't exactly make for riveting reading!

Fatigue

Yesterday was an off day for me and the Bar Exam. I didn't get to the office until nearly 11 and then I left at 2:30. I just didn't feel like studying. I read and re-read the same CMR Estate Administration pages, not absorbing anything, until I called JP to tell him I was coming home. He took the opportunity to go swim (unlike me, who hasn't done a real practice since I quit 7 years ago, JP still swims almost every day) while I sat at our kitchen table, staring at my outlines once again. I felt tired. I realized that since about February I have been in constant study mode. Spring quarter kicked off with four classes, two substantial papers, three finals, and a baby who screamed all night with persistent ear infections. When the ear tube surgery fixed one of those problems on April 1st, I had to throw myself into the researching and writing of those papers, and then the second those were turned in I was so behind in my classes I was panicked about exams coming up in 10 days. Then JP got really sick, we packed up our Chicago apartment, drove across the country, moved into a new house, went back to Chicago for graduation, and returned home with me behind in my Bar studying. I haven't sat on the couch without knowing I should be doing something else in so many months. I think I'm good about enjoying my life in spite of a looming deadline- about pressing pause and soaking up my time with my family and friends, but yesterday it felt like too much for too long; I couldn't see the great moments of last spring and this summer through the veil of constant pressure. I know I've made all these choices that have made my life difficult, and I'd make them again, but yesterday afternoon I needed to wallow in self pity while Landon took his nap. I made chocolate mousse, ate it out of the bowl topped with mini chocolate chips (the mini ones always seem so cheerful), and filled in my new planner. Ah, the joys of crisp new pages waiting to be filled in with a pretty pen.

I want this Exam to be over so badly, and yet, if I took it today I would probably fail. I haven't yet studied Secured Transactions, Commercial Paper, Consumer Law, Trusts, Oil and Gas, or Texas Property - all topics which have their own essay every year. The Bar is a rite of passage every lawyer has to take and I get that, I just wish there had been a little bit of time between the start of it and the end of law school. Graduating June 13th hurt when bar review classes began the third week of May- I'm just tired. Landon's molars are not helping. He woke up less than an hour into his nap, screaming the screams of an outraged, tired toddler who doesn't understand why his mouth hurts and no one is making it better. He was absolutely unresponsive to all my usual soothing techniques, Hyland's teething tablets, and Tylenol. I decided throwing him in the pool with daddy had the best chance of calming him down, so I placed my screaming, kicking, arching baby on the carpeted floor of my closet, put on my suit, threw all his stuff in a bag, wrestled him into the car seat, and took off for the local pool. He didn't stop screaming until he saw his dad splashing in the water. I stripped him down on the pool deck, put on his snazzy swim diaper and suit, and handed him off to JP while I found a spot for our stuff that was now strewn on the deck. We spent a very fun 45 minutes splashing, swimming, and watching Landon crawl back and forth across the baby pool. I've always found water soothing and apparently Landon does too. I took the rest of yesterday off, even snuggling on the couch with JP to watch a movie and eat more chocolate mousse.

Today I'm back at it and ready to push through to the end. One week from now I will be sitting in a room taking the Procedure and Evidence exam. I have exactly enough time to spend one day on each essay topic I haven't studied yet, and then half a day Monday to go back over the MBE topics before I drive to Houston that night. Hopefully that will be enough- I think it will be. And then I'll have the month of August to relax and enjoy my boys, our soon-to-be adopted dog(s), and our new house. Just seven more days...

1 Year Check-Up

I never wrote about Landon's first year check-up last week. It was on his birthday, bright and early at 8:30 AM, and he was full of his usual doctor's office charm. We really like our new pediatrician. I'd sent an email out to the corporate section asking for recommendations (every attorney except one has young kids and most live in our area) and several recommended her. She's raised 3 kids of her own, has a very impressive resume, and is a great mix of practical, knowledgeable, and nice. Landon gave her lots of smiles and sideways glances and kept rubbing his belly for her (you know, in case she missed it). His new stats are:

Height: 30 inches (55%)
Weight: 24 lb. 6 oz (85%)
Head: 48 cm (90%)

So once again we have a medium sized, chubby baby, with a big head. We talked about the bottle and transitioning to a cup (goal by 15 months, but he's already done it except for his last feeding), his daycare (she said its a great one and her patients' parents really like it), his teething (molars can take a long time and if his earlier teeth were bad, these will be worse - awesome), and his talking (no worries that he still only babbles, he does it enthusiastically and with eye contact and some meaning).

He got 7 shots, which displeased him, but the nurse was quick and the second she was done I handed him his little dog and he gave it a big smile. Now he only needs 1 more for the whole next year! I know some people like to space them out, and I understand that approach, but I don't want every time he goes to the doctor to involve shots and I want to make our visits to the doctor as infrequent as possible this year.

So now that's recorded for posterity (and for me to write in his baby book whenever I get the chance - if it wasn't for this blog, I wouldn't remember when he did anything- the whole first year is a blur) I am REALLY going to go study now.