A Celebration

Today was the one year birthday of Kids on the Common Pediatrics.  And to celebrate one year of having owned her own practice the girls beloved doctor and her fabulous office staff held a little celebration to mark this very special occasion.  I told the girls about it over breakfast this morning and they decided to make cards to bring to Dr. Rugo and also asked that we get some flowers too.  The girls spent quite awhile this morning hard at work on their celebratory creations and were so excited when it was finally time to bring them to the party. 









And while we've only been one of Dr. Rugo's families for about four months now in that time we have truly felt so welcome, so at home and part of such a very special community. From the moment that we met her and her staff we knew that this was the practice for us.  There is something very unique about Dr. Rugo and her team.  The vibe when you walk in there is one of peace, love, joy, and a total belief in the children and families that they work with.  It is a partnership between this office and each family.  It is a truly beautiful thing.

Any doctor who gushes over each of her patients as if they were her only ones is a special person indeed.  

Any doctor who genuinely "oohs" and "ahhs" over a picture a child has lovingly made for her is a special person indeed. 

Any doctor who takes into consideration the whole child (and not just the medical portion) is a truly special person indeed.  

And any doctor who takes time out of her day to celebrate with her staff and families a milestone such as this is a special person indeed. 

And, as if the girls were not already over the moon to be there this afternoon there was face painting and temorary tatoos as well.  How cool is that?!

Happy first birthday, Kids on the Common! We look forward to many more wonderful celebrations together for years to come!



Happy Last Day, Daddy!

Friday was the end of an era.  It was David's last day working for the company that he had been with since right before we got married.  He was there for ten years, and in that time he served first as a staff therapist, follwed by a stint at the Director of Rehab to then return to working as a Physical Therapist once again. In his time there he has seen people come and go, patients pass and the building go through a total renovation.  We walked through the Land of Inferility while he was there.  He was a graduate student while he was there.  I birthed two babes while he was there.  So much has gone on in the (almost) ten years that we have been married and in the ten years that he worked there.  And now, after what, in the grand scheme of things was a relatively short job search, he will be getting ready a week from today to begin a new job full of new challenges and new adventures. 

The girls and I had been planning a celebration for him for about two weeks now.  Emma asked that we have streamers.  Grace said we needed a cake.  I decided that a banner was in order.  So on Friday, we got to work.  We decided to make our first "not from a box" cake. I had been wanting to ditch boxed cake mixes for awhile now, and it seemed like now was as good a time as any to do so.  A fitting way to celebrate the end of this era and the beginning of a next one, if you will.  We got out the Flour bakery cookbook and quickly agreed on the cake you see above (recipe found here).  While the cake was baking we got to work on the banner and streamers.  And as the cake was cooling we made the super yummy ganache (and licked the bowl clean, of course). Finally, he arrived home.  The girls hid inside the Flower Shop and jumped up and said "surprise!" as soon as he walked in.  He was super surprised by the celebration and very excited to see all we had done!  It truly was the perfect way to end this chapter and begin the next one!