Glorious December!

December has been a very active month in the Repanshek family. On December 3rd, Sera turned five months old. She continues to dazzle us. She effortlessly rolls from back to front, but has difficulty returning to her back. This new skill has led to some panicked cries in the middle of the night when Sera wakes with her face down on the mattress and cannot move to her back (she has been sleeping through the night since she was two months old, so this has been an adjustment for both of us). Sera frequently coos and her favorite sounds are "Hey" followed by "Dadadadadada." She is very sociable, but observant and calm at day care. On some days, when all of the other babies are screaming, Sera quietly watches. I have received many "thank yous" from the day care teachers because they considered her demeanor to be so relaxed on stressful days. Sera is working on sitting up and often tries to do baby sit ups when she's laying prone. She will be starting on rice cereal later this week, after her high chair is delivered. She seems pretty happy and has started laughing pretty regularly. She loves the dogs, especially Fred and will smile at Fred from across the room. Fred seems quite taken with her as well, often licking Sera's face or trying to be Sera's lap dog. Sera now weighs a hefty 14 lbs (now officially bigger than Fred) and was 26 1/2 inches long and is eating well.

On the adoption front, the parental rights for Sera's biological father were terminated on December 11th. According to our attorney, there is only one hearing remaining and then Sera is legally adopted. She should officially be part of the family by the end of 2012! This obviously will be both a relief and a celebratory event for our family. It should also allow us to apply for the adoption tax credit, which expires on January 1, 2013.

As we await that wondrous event, feel free to ooh and ahh over some recent pictures.

Professionally, it has been a big month for me and Craig. On December 6th, I left the practice where I worked for the past five years. On December 10th, I opened my own solo/private practice. I have a logo for letterhead and everything!

The transition has not been easy. All of my mail was being returned and I did not receive contracts and other important documents. My computer stopped working on the day of the move. Craig managed to fix it, but the fix was short lived. Since I need to the computer for reports, notes, faxing, scanning, billing, and scheduling, I had to order a new computer (a large unexpected expense). I have been having NUMEROUS problems with scheduling some patients. I have standing appointments, which I hold available for a group. However, communication with the group has been lax and I have had people show up at my door and I was unaware that they were ever coming. As of now, I potentially have nine appointments next week that are unbeknownst to me. I will be doing my own billing at the new office, but cannot seem to bill for my Medicaid clients. I probably spent about five hours on the phone with Medicaid last week and they do not fully understand the problem. As of Friday, the problem still has not been fixed. My Medicare transition is slowed, as the company that processes the applications lost their contract a week after I sent my paperwork to them. My paperwork is tied up in their system. My new business bank account has been a hassle. Basically, the clerk entered my requested PIN incorrectly, so I could not activate my debit card to complete some business and it took a day and a half to fix. On Friday, my productivity dropped significantly after I learned of the school shooting in CT. After I received two text messages about the event, I found myself crying in the office. Since then, I have been haunted by several images I cannot shake from my head and I've been holding Sera extra tightly.

To make matters extra stressful, Sera contracted RSV from day care. She seems happy and is the cutest sick baby I've ever seen. She was coughing and sneezing and seemed short of breath at times, but continued smiling and cooing. I took her to the Pediatric Urgent Care clinic, who suggested that Sera remain home for one week, to avoid getting the other children sick. Meaning, I will be unable to work and as a business owner, that hurts the bottom line. Craig may work a split shift at work. It will be a long day for him, but will allow me to work a half a day while Sera is home sick.

Despite all of these headaches and hiccups, I am excited to be my own boss and I love my new office. Plus, it is nice to share an office with an awesome former co-worker.

Not to be ignored, Craig was offered a promotion at work. As of January 1, Craig will be a sales manager at the Acura dealership. He realizes that he has more hours and is nervous about his new responsibilities, but I think he will be happier in this new position.

To top off this exciting month, Craig's family will be coming for a Christmas visit on Saturday. It will be nice to celebrate Sera's first Christmas surrounded by loving family.