And the winner is...

Philadelphia! Yep, after all that heart ache and traveling to 14+ interviews, we got the great news last Thursday morning at 6:45am that Mr. F matched at his first choice for residency. We are thrilled and although we still plan to head back to VA after residency, I'm so proud of him for working so hard and earning a spot in a top notch residency program.

Now, since we know we'll be here for at least the next 4 yrs, possibly 5-6, we are seriously considering buying a place of our own!! After doing the math, we realized that paying rent would be almost the exact same as paying a mortgage on a 3 bedroom house in some of the more neighborhood-y areas of Philly. Holly cow, I'm busting at the seams with excitement! Just last week we didnt know where we'd be living and this week we're seriously investigating neighborhoods and taking recommendations for Realtors! So here is my question, anyone out there in the blog world have advice for first time home buyers? Anything you wish you knew? etc. And we are def having an inspection :)

And in other exciting news, Aidan is growing so fast and just this morning he started singing "Row row your boat" along with one of his toys. It was AMAZING! He just busted out with the whole first line of the song! On top of it, he takes bath time seriously as you can tell by the video below... :)

Catching up

The last few weeks have been great and I hope everyone had a restful and wonderful Chrismahannakwanzika and New Year celebration! We were down in VA for almost 3 weeks and while it was awesome having willing babysitters in the the grandparents, it was equally awesome to finally get back to our own home in Philly. Yes, thats right, I just said it was awesome to get back to Philly...

I'll spare you all the details of Christmas morning with the Little Man, but lets just say it was fun and I know its only going to get better. He has grown up so much in the last few weeks, its mind boggling. For instance, he now can point to his belly, head, teeth, ears, feet and nose when asked. He has also figured out how to climb on furniture and says about 15 words or parts of words. Screw "your baby can read," my baby is a genious at not even 14 mos! (ok, indulge my motherly bragging for a moment :)

Here are some pics and videos of the last few weeks.

In December we had Mr. F's annual fraternity Christmas party. What a blast!!



My childhood best friend also got married!



And finally, we had a great break at home!







Aidan got obsessed with a dancing Santa...

truant

I know I'm so behind, I dont even know where to start, but the truth is... I just havent been too motivated to post something new. Mr. F is traveling like crazy for his interviews and we're starting to get a clearer picture of where we might end up for residency, but wont know where officially until Jan. 15. We will be so happy when all of this traveling is over and we can actually spend some time together! For instance, Mr. F is enjoying Miami tonight and is staying pretty close to where we went on our Honeymoon. I wish so hard I could be there with him, we are dying to have a weekend away, just the two of us at a little b&b. Unfortunately, its not in the budget for the next 15 yrs, but at this point, we'd settle for a night on the couch. Hmmmph. Alright, enough bitching... I promise I'll be back with a little more spring in my step.

shameless plug

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This year we headed to Queens NY to visit with Mr. F's extended family (the same ones we saw for Easter back in the spring) and again had all the awesome Egyptian food you can imagine, I didn't even have room for a single piece of turkey! We traveled on Thursday morning and back on Friday afternoon and managed to avoid some of the horrid traffic. However, the best part of the entire weekend was finally getting some down time in our apartment together, alone. We've been traveling and apart for about 2 weeks and are getting ready to be apart for another week starting tomorrow so getting to our place and just relaxing with some hot tea and a movie was far and away the thing I was most thankful for this year.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and all of the leftovers (I cant even tell you how long we ate turducken last year), my friend Anne is starting culinary school in Jan. She's awesome, lots of fun, and in a scholarship competition. Check out her creative way to deal with Thanksgiving leftovers and then rate her video. The winner of the contest gets some scholarship money!

let him eat cake!

The video and pictures pretty much speak for themselves :)

a year ago tonight...

This has been the FASTEST year of my life and yet I can remember almost every little detail of what I was doing right now one year ago... waddling down the street to the hospital to get induced!

It was a pretty great day, I spent it writing a paper while sitting in Anthony's super comfy la-z-y boy chair, laptop propped on my belly and dealing with some mild contractions. Anthony got home from the hospital (from work, not cause he was a patient), he made me a delicious dinner and we grabbed our bags and looked at each other in giddy excitement as we left our apartment knowing the next time we'd be coming home with our beautiful baby.

Can you tell I've been reminiscing? One thing I dont miss?... being the size of a house :) If you're feeling like a stroll through memory lane, click here.

Tomorrow is the Little Man's birthday (and party), so stay tuned for pictures of Aidan covered in chocolate frosting!

An open letter to Miley Cyrus

Dear Miley Cyrus,

I HATE to admit it, but I broke down and bought your song Party in the USA on itunes. I am embarrassed, but its a damn good song to play when I'm the elliptical.

But that's where it ends. You are 16 yrs old and are totally inappropriate. You're "moving your hips like yeah" and you are too young to even be thinking about "yeah." I'm pretty sure Christmas just came early for some pedophiles. UGHHH. Thankfully I am a woman in my mid 20's and am quite confident you cant be a bad influence on me. I have a child. You figure it out. However, I am concerned for your legion of 9-15 yr old fans. If I had a daughter, you can damn well be sure she wouldnt be allowed to listen to your music or watch your videos. You are 16. Act like it.

Additionally, you "pulled up to the club in a taxi cab" and didnt "get the memo" that everyone there would be wearing stillettos?! Um, last I checked you are 16 and the drinking age is 21. Most clubs are 18 to party, 21 to drink. You fall into neither catagory. What on God's green earth are you doing going to a club?

Finally, I hope your parents find some glimmer of reality and figure out they are robbing you of a wholesome childhood. Girl, you only get those years once and the way you have been objectified leaves me concerned for your self esteem. What happens when you are the ripe old age of 23 and there is some younger tartlett teen star who has more sex appeal, as you are clearly washed up by this point. You know, gravity has a funny way of working too. Your boobs wont be so perky for ever. Just sayin... Your brain and your heart and your spirit are your true worth. Work on them.

So in conclusion, thank you for the annoyingly infectious song that helps me work off those baby pounds, but I wish you'd find whats left of your innocence and childhood and hold on tight. Your parents should be ashamed.

Sincerely,
A concerned mom in Philly.