No.

It's Abbi's stock answer to everything these days. She's talking lots more these days and seems to love the word "NO." If anybody has any good parenting books on strong-willed kids, send 'em our way. We have to stifle laughter often as Abigail demonstrates to her general orneriness. Don't get me wrong, she's absolutely delightful to be around and she keeps April and I in stitches, it's just that she's very wordy and free spirited...I have no idea where she gets it.
We're trying to figure out the best way to discipline her when "time out" loses it's efficacy. I tried my hand at spanking her the other night. I forget what she was doing, but I put her in my lap and spanked her (with her diaper on) as hard as I was comfortable doing (which wasn't very hard). She immediately stood up, did a little dance and laughed out loud all the while spanking herself. Needless to say, I didn't achieve the desired effect. It took lots of restraint to keep April and I from laughing out loud. We'll have to retool this discipline thing.
In other news, April wrapped up her residency on September 2nd. Becoming a stay at home mom (for the time being) has been a switch for her. The responsibilities on her plate have shifted. We have a lot more time together as a family now, which is only one of the great things about this year of fellowship training.


As for Fellowship activities, I continue with my month of ultrasound and dental work. All in all, I'm having a really great time. It's largely been comprised of GYN/OB/abdominal ultrasound, echocardiography, and dental extractions.

Again it's been a great month. The reason for so much ultrasound is that at many hospitals in developing countries, ultrasound machines exist- but few people know how to use them properly. Will I ever have the proficiency of a radiologist or full time ultrasound tech? Highly unlikely, but I am becoming much more familiar with the equipment and technique and I'll be able to pick up on most of the more common ailments that could be identified with ultrasound. The ultrasound techs here in Wichita have been very kind and patient with me as I blunder through the month (though I'm blundering much, much better now than at the beginning of the month). The dental training has been phenomenal, too. The dentists are really good teachers and give us lots of autonomy during our dental training. Pulling out bad teeth is strangely satisfying and I'm getting better at it all the time. Most importantly, I almost always get home to eat lunch with the girls.
Hopefully we'll be writing lots more as we had wireless Internet installed yesterday!