Katie and Reuben's Blog

July 2007
Last year at this time we were in Taiwan while Reuben was doing acupuncture and I was enjoying Taiwanese culture and cuisine. That’s when we found out that I was pregnant with Ariana and when I started not enjoying the cuisine as much (because of morning sickness.) We had a wonderful time there and met some amazing people. When we got back, Reuben went back to his rotations and I went back to school. Fortunately, I was able to finish all my requirements for my masters in food science in the fall before the arrival of our daughter. Reuben also finished up all of his remaining classes for UCI medical school and was even able to do another elective in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R)- the speciality that he will be doing next year in residency. After he finished his requirements, he still had a lot of things going on- he was president of the PM&R interest group and organized meetings, he started his certification program for acupuncture, and he traveled all over the United States doing interviews. He was able to take a short break for Thanksgiving and to attend his sister’s wedding in Hawaii. During Christmas, we were able to spend time with both of our families, his in Los Angeles and mine in Pasco, Washington.
In February, we had some friends from Taiwan come and visit us. We took them to Disneyland for two days in a row. On the third day, I had Ariana at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. She was 7 lbs 1 oz and 19 ½ inches. Since then, she’s grown a lot and cute squeezable cheeks but still has a petite frame. This last week while sitting on her daddy’s lap, she learned how to scream; it’s still so cute and soft now- just watch out in the future! She loves to “talk” and make lots of cute but sometimes embarrassing sounds. Right now we enjoy this wonderful stage of smiles, laughs, and plenty of naps because soon she’s be mobile. Sometimes she surprises me how smart she is- she learned how to roll over from her back to her stomach yesterday and has already taken every chance since to practice. She’s a very mellow and observant baby and she means the world to us!
March 15 was a big day for Reuben. That day we found out that where we will spend the next 4 years. He “matched” here in Irvine for his first year (intern) in medicine and next year at this time we’ll be starting his residency in PM&R at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. This first year we will still be able to be here- Reuben will be working at UCI medical center and the VA for his internship year.