Precious summer days with my baby

It's 3:24 am in the morning and I'm at my new apartment in Madison, with Saya, sans le bf. H is currently in Chicago working while Saya is spending the week with me in Madison until classes starts this coming Monday. As excited as I am about starting medical school, I am a tad devastated that I will have to live apart from my baby.

Our New Chapter

It was a really difficult decision to make in the beginning. I never expected to matriculate at the UW medical school, nor considered it as an option in the first place until I realized that Madison was equidistant from Chicago as Urbana. So, with the advice of a fellow coworker, who happens to be a medical student and a former Madison dweller, I added UW to my list of schools later in the application cycle. To my surprise, I was granted an interview, which I almost did not attend had it not been for my nonacceptance decision at Loyola. When I attended the interview, I admit I was floored by the medical school. They had an amazing reputation in research, tons of global health opportunities, possibilities for academic medicine, top of the line technology, plenty of administrative support, and get this, basically one of the cheapest tuition, out-of-state residency included, without all the drawbacks of a public institution *cough* unlike one state medical school I applied to. BTW, that medical school was probably two-thirds more expensive to attend than UW. The drawbacks, however, were that 1) we had to do statewide rotations, 2) M2 year wasn't pass/fail and 3) H's salary is so much better in Chicago that if I did get accepted we'd have to live apart. As I mentioned, it was a really difficult decision to make. My gut told me to go with UW, and when they offered me a scholarship, it was much easier to stomach that decision. I knew that at some point we all had to make sacrifices and it was time for H to step up and let me pursue my dreams.

Precious Moments with My Onigiri

Well, enough about myself, let's get to the main point: my little rice ball. *sigh* She's laying on the floor mattress right next to me, sound asleep. I know it's kind of creepy but I can stare at this little girl sleeping forever. The calm expression on her face just melts my heart. There are moments like these that I wish could last forever. Like when she laid on my arms today while we took the metra bus to downtown, or whenever I feel her warmth as I hold her in my arms. Saya definitely takes after her father's warm body. For some unknown reason by body is always cool/cold. I always joke that I use H for his body, which is 100% true because I leech off of their heat during the wintertime. Of course, H being the offbeat person hat he is, always reply that he can live with that.  Haha...the many beauties of life...Things like these make me curse my mere mortality!

So I'm sitting here, trying to remember all the cool or unusual things that Saya has been doing/saying lately. My new apartment is located in a Eagle Heights, a large community housing for international students, employees and students with children or spouses, and lucky out-of-state students. Saya and I are in love with this place! We have a community center, a community garden, a daycare center, several swings and playgrounds right in our backyard, and plenty of places to ride our bikes. Did I also mention that Eagle Heights is right next to Lake Mendota? In Chicago, this type of real estate has all been swept up by developers and converted to condos that only the wealthy can afford. Why do I feel like the city of Madison cares more for its residents that Chicago? Anyhow, they call Eagle Heights the quintessential place for raising a family. Except what to do when half of your family is spending only weekends here? I think we can make this work. Focus on school during weekdays, family weekends. I can already imagine the countless picnics, bbqs, and outdoor excursions we'll have as a family.

Did I mention that Saya is extremely family-oriented? She's quite an artist now, with her nteenth number of drawing journals. About 90% of her drawings are of "family", with mommy, daddy, and Saya. (For some unknown reason mommy is always drawn bigger than daddy. @_@). Her drawings are becoming more detail-oriented. Yesterday, she drew ice cream, blue hight heels with pink flowers, and a bunch of other random stuff I can't remember  (gosh I need to start posting pics like my friend Rosa). Her two favorite character themes are My Little Pet Shop and My Little Pony. She goes berserk for LPS stuff! Her collection has grown pretty big, especially after our trip to Mexico. We found out that LPS toys were $1 cheaper there, so we grabbed as many different characters as we can for Saya. Those were our only souvenirs from Mexico. ^_^ She still hasn't opened all of them (about 10 altogether). As with most of Sayas birthday and christmas presents, she only gets to open a toy when she's good. I think that this practice gives her a better appreciation of things. There is this saying that "some things in life are worth waiting for" and I think that most things are more valuable to you just because you had to wait for it! This is especially true for kids, who doesn't have a defined sense of what is valuable and what is not. (I mean, my nephew has a Mustang hot wheels for Pete's sake and probably doesn't even remember having one since his dad moved it to the garage). I see the joy in Sayas face when I let her open a new toy after begging and pleading and being "good" for it. If I could just milk that joy from her christmas and birthday presents, why not right?

Anyhow, while we waiting for the bus stop today, Saya managed to entertain herself with her LPS toys and a bunch of leaves and fruits she found during our walk. She put together a delicious meal (ok, I need to get my shit together and posts these pics) of berries on a bed of leaves for her pig and some other pet. Although Saya can get glued to Youtube at times, there are moments throughout the day when she becomes really imaginative. For example, two days ago, I let her use a box for our floor lamps to make a mini diorama for her LPS toys. She's probably over that box now, but man was she ecstatic to receive a new "vessel" for her LPS toys! Also, whenever Saya watches a new video she would line up her LPS toys in front of the screen so that they can "enjoy" the show with her. I also discovered that she has a miniature metal frog that Grandpa (H's dad) bought for her from the "mall" (aka the thrift store). It is so tiny, about 1 cm in width and height. I am amazed at how well she keeps these tiny little things.

I am also amazed at how well Saya emulates her zodiac sign, which is the year of the rat (same as mine). Like a house mouse (because rats creep me out), she likes to collect tiny things, everything from miniature toys to scraps of paper that she cut out. She also eats like a mouse, nibbling on things here and there while never fully completing any meal. Perhaps I should start calling her my little house mouse. hhaha.

Ok, well my joint swelling is now gone thanks to the Tylenol pill I took almost 2 hours ago. I think I can go to sleep now!