Founding Fathers and Father's Day

being a busy mommy, im wrapping up two posts in one--our trip to washington dc and our 1st father's day.

david and i went on a weekend getaway to D.C. and left max with my parents. it was the first time i had left him for longer than 6 hours. D.C is three hours away from morgantown, so i felt comfortable with the distance. we stayed for 3 days/2 nights.

even though we really missed max, it was nice to get away just the two of us. it's something we hope to do more of even as max (and other kids) get older. the hardest part was the initial goodbye... but once we were on the highway, i only thought about him every other second (as opposed to every SINGLE second :)

D.C is an amazing city!! so beautiful and historic. we were so impressed with the city's layout and accessibility. We stayed by capitol hill and walked everywhere. we did most of the tourist stuff such as white house, museums, and monuments. WW2 memorial was my favorite, as I hadn't seen that yet. we also loved the museums. you could spend weeks discovering everything there is to offer.

every time we passed a kid in a stroller (which was a lot!) i'd remind david that i missed max. and one night at dinner, i think he was all we talked about. but other than that, we enjoyed our grown up time together. my parents were good about sending pictures and updates via text.

here is a pic of us near the white house.

the worst part of the trip was that i forgot my pump. i had to be creative and find other ways to take care of it... it was very national geographic... i'll leave it at that. but i didn't let it ruin the trip!

Father's Day:

For father's day David was on call. But he got off around 6 and max and i met him at a local Italian restaurant we'd been wanting to try. but they pulled a chic-fil-a on us and are apparently closed on sundays.

it was late, max was fussy, and david hadn't eaten all day, so we ended up at #1 Super China Buffet. Seriously. I felt bad that was our father's day meal, but david didn't mind. Why do guys get so excited about buffets??!

Max made daddy a stepping stone to put in our backyard. Max wanted to start a tradition and make one every year for daddy. He loved getting his feet all messy and was mesmerized by all the different color stones. Nonna was in town and helped. Here are some pics:

Mommy got daddy My Morning Jacket concert tickets. They are coming to Pittsburgh and WE.CAN'T.WAIT!

buh-bye intern year!!

these next few weeks will wrap up our first year here in morgantown. SO hard to believe! this year has been interesting to say the least for both me and for david, though in different ways for each of us.

when we first found out david matched in morgantown, i didn't even know where the city was! i had to mapquest it. tears came to my eyes as they scanned the computer screen, only to find a distance of over 6 hours from louisville. to me, it might as well have been china.

i knew morgantown was an option during the match process, but i never really let my mind go there. now not only was my mind going to morgantown, but so were my clothes, my furniture, and my UHaul. to say i was apprehensive about the move is a slight understatement. but i knew it was the best thing to do for our family. and david knew that too.

surprisingly, the adjustment to our new home was not nearly as difficult as i had imagined it to be. we quickly made friends, a routine, and a home away from "home". i thank God all the time for such a happy and easy transition... i'm giving him the credit, because i can't imagine another plausible explanation.

last night we attended a banquet in honor of the graduating residents. they are about to move on to exciting new jobs or fellowships. in speaking with some of their wives, they mention how "fast" the past few years have flown by. while it's hard to imagine, i know that will be us in the blink of an eye. (here is a pic from the event)

i won't speak for david, but for me, the notorious intern year was not as horrible as i pictured. this is not to take away from how extremely hard he has worked. over night calls, 30 + hour shifts, 80+ hour work weeks, studying, reading, etc. there were a lot of cold dinners waiting for him at home, and nights when me and max would already be in bed by the time he got home.

But at the same time, we were fortunate he could make it to many doctor appointments, that he had 2 weeks off when max was born and that he had the opportunity a handful of times for weekend trips or getaways. there were still nights when he made it home in time to lay on the couch with me, watch "The Office" and eat ice cream. it was not ALL work.

being in morgantown has, by default, increased our independence as a family. it has allowed us more quality time just the three of us than we might have experienced if we were in louisville or closer to family. for me, that has been the most positive aspect of our experience so far.

our families have also really helped in the past year by making such frequent visits. thankful to mom and dad, david's parents, john and laura, susan, julie, natalie and austin for all making the trip in the first year to see is. it has meant a lot!!

also the people we have met here have truly enhanced our experience. thankful to the other moms i've met that have provided me with support and to other residents and their significant others who are going through the same journey.

so here is to the first year down!! SO proud of david to see his hard, hard work paying off a little at a time. looking forward to his research year.....365 days with no overnight call!!! (ME LIKE!!!)