4 more days in DC

I'll miss the toddler park and the zoo and sidewalks! It's so great to take Aedyn for a walk around the block; sidewalks, with a grassy area between the walks and street are ideal. I'll miss the international dinning options. We didn't see DC sites up close. We only had weekends together and we wanted to keep Aedyn's sleep schedule consistent. We want to bring the kids back in 7 or 8 years and do the tours when they can enjoy it. 

Eric has 2 finals this week and we will drive home right after his Friday morning test. We'll be glad to have our space, especially the deck and yard. I'll also have the other computer so I can post more pictures. 

missing you, too.

We love DC!

We are really enjoying staying in D.C. Eric is happy with the tropical medicine class and is doing well. His commute is longer than we had all hoped but he's getting lots of exercise. Aedyn and I go to the toddler park every morning and take a walk around the block every afternoon. The afternoon walk is sans stroller because Aedyn loves the freedom to explore. Sticks, bugs, rocks, the cracks in the sidewalk and the flower beds around our neighborhood have all been thoroughly explored, some tasted. We are living just behind the Washington National Cathedral in a truly lovely neighborhood. Highlights so far include great Indian food, a service at the cathedral, meeting up with great friends (Kevin, Evie and baby Elli along with Evie's parents and some GREAT pizza & Mark and Kate who hosted us for wine& cheese and kebabs on the grill.) We went to the zoo where all the animals were taking siesta and we drove around Capital Hill and looked from the car. We hope to see some of the Smithsonian this Saturday and eat some more international food. We've had Italian, Indian, Vietnamese, Mexican and plan on Brazilian, and Spanish. Aedyn LOVED the Indian buffet. Eric and I ate so much for lunch there that we couldn't eat the rest of the day. 

this post written by heidi

Washington, D.C.

We have been here in D.C. for two weeks now. Some of you were confused to hear about "D.C." since I had been talking about Maryland before arriving. Well, the course I take is held at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (or something that ends up being USUHS) in Bethesda, MD, across the street from the NIH. We are staying, however, in a basement apartment in D.C. For those who are familiar with the area, we are in Woodley Park. Heidi will get some pics up later. Where we are so much better than the hotel that I would have been in if we didn't find this.

I get up to run at 5 each a.m., am home and stretched out by the time A gets up at 6, make us all breakfast, and head out for my course at 7 a.m. for the 15 min walk to the metrorail, 15 min ride to the Medical Center stop,and 15 min walk to the USUHS bldg. Lectures from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m. (often with lab practicums in the afternoon), and then home just on time to see A before bed.

We have been able to eat good food and see some D.C. sites, but by far my favorite part has been seeing M and his girlfriend K, and seeing K, E, & their daughter E and their parents R & D. Thanks for visiting with us guys!

Three Weeks Later . . .

The tree was removed, a large check was written, and Eric put up new gutters. We had another pre-natal visit and heard the baby's heartbeat again (such a beautiful sound) and Eric wrapped up his first year of residency! 

Then we began a big roadtrip, 3000 miles with a 16 month-old ACTIVE boy. We visited Eric's family in the Zion area and met friends for lunch one day in Chicago. Then we drove on to western Iowa then to western Nebraska for Heidi's family reunion. We had a great time with all the family. Aedyn loved being with cousins and second cousins and grandparents. Eric and I needed to see everyone, too and we are really happy with the time we got to spend with all the family. The drive home took 3 long days but Aedyn did pretty well. Today he and I (Heidi) have nasty colds but having one's own bed helps. New we have 3 days to prepare for a month in D.C. Eric starts the military tropical medicine course next Monday in Bethesda. We're looking forward to seeing the capital. Pictures of our recent adventures will be up soon. Probably.

Tree House

We had a big storm Wednesday evening. Eric and I stood on the porch watching the clouds and ran inside to shut the windows again (the rain had let up for a while). While closing the windows, a big tree fell on the roof of the porch. Very dramatic. A tree company is coming today with a crane and bucket truck. The removal is tricky because our yard is a big hill. We don't think there's damage to the roof, just torn off rain gutters. We hope! The first picture is the view from our front door, the steps down to the street are block. The other two are from the street.

Aedyn Smiles

At the park, on the deck, in the backyard. He loves being outdoors.

Five Things Friday, Anniversary Edition

Yesterday, Eric and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. It seems like much longer. I mean that in the best way, being together is how we are supposed to be. We went to Cracker Barrel for supper. (Yea, not our usual type of restaurant but the closest Thai place is 45 miles away and the Indian restaurant opened later than we wanted to eat AND I was craving meat and potatoes.)

Five things I love about my husband:

1. He breaks into odd songs at random moments. For a while he sang the Smallville theme at the top of his voice and lately it's been Elmo's song recorded in one of Aedyn's toys.

2. He loves the earth. My husband has great pleasure in tending the garden and fruit trees and doing what we can to minimize our negative impact on the environment.

3. Eric adores being a papa. I always knew that the man I married had to love kids and love spending time with them. My husband is great at being a dad. 

4. He's diligent. Eric's many many years in school and now residency have been so demanding and once he started on the MD/PhD track, he's had very little control over how his time is spent. Yet he got married and raised foster kids and and a bio kid and spent time caring for other people (mostly me!) and he never complains about all that has to be done. I'm always in awe of this.

5. He's always 'for' me. When things were really hard in my career and through a really challenging pregnancy and during big decisions, Eric so good at supporting what's best for me. This is probably why we've never fought, we both want to save the other from loss. But, frankly, he's better at this than I am. AND I love him for it.