Christmas Wonder

Christmas morning came again with waffles in the morning and lots of presents for all of us. Anastasia really liked playing Santa, distributing the gifts to everyone to open. She also loved opening her own.



Among the presents this year, an iPhone for Myney, a netbook computer for Orlando, a Kindle for me, and a Wii for the whole family. There were lots more, but we managed to not take pictures. Anastasia and I took a break from the action to make a couple playdoh hamburgers.



Once the gifts were opened, it was time to get started on dinner. Orlando came up with the idea of suckling pig for Christmas dinner several months ago. The hardest part was finding a farmer to get the pig from. He picked up the newly slaughtered piglet three days before Christmas and stuffed it with fruit and onions to begin brining. On Christmas day, Orlando trashed the stuffing, and prepped piggy for the oven. He fit, but barely. After a couple hours, he looked like this.



We invited a few friends over to join us for dinner, Mark and his brother Jeff, Abby, and everyone's favorite bartender, Mo. After oysters and cheese with wine, it was time to sit down and dig in. Fortunately for all of us, Mo has actually carved a suckling pig before, so he did the honors for us. Everyone loved the dinner. We expected to be eating leftovers from our 17 lb piggy for several days, but we picked the carcass very clean.



After dinner was cleaned up, it was time for the grown ups to hit the Wii for a little play time, after Anastasia showed us how it's done. She was surprisingly good at it!



We had a lovely, if long day. By the end of the evening, Orlando was in the mood to just soak it all in. Already contemplating what we're going to do next year to make it better. I can't wait.

Winter Wonderland

A record breaking storm hit DC this year, which of course excited Anastasia. It started snowing about 9:00 on Friday evening, and continued steadily for about 24 hours. When it was over, we had nearly 2 feet of snow.



I had planned to spend Saturday afternoon finishing my Christmas shopping. The snow changed my plans slightly, but a Metro ride across the river got me to the Mall. Unfortunately, an hour into my shopping trip, Orlando called to tell me that the storm had gotten so bad that metro was shutting down all the above ground tracks. With my shopping trip cut short, I hightailed it to the train station and managed to get on the last train that crossed the river. I went to Orlando's restaurant to avoid the cold walk home from Union Station. The snow was pretty, though.

When Orlando and I got home, it was clear that Anastasia was desperate to get out into the snow. A couple layers, two pairs of socks, plastic bags and rain boots on the feet and the heavy winter coat and she was ready to go. While Orlando quickly shoveled the front walk, Anastasia went on a long walk through our front yard. She made snow angels and really loved pretending she was a shovel.What really made her laugh, though, was jumping into the drift piles.



On Sunday, Orlando had to work, so it was up to Myney and me to clear the walk. There is one down side to living in a corner house. By 5:30, the federal government had announced a snow day for Monday, meaning I had a full day to rest my achy muscles and play with Annie in the snow.

Christmas Prep

The holidays are upon us. Last weekend we got our Christmas tree (actually 3 trees), which Anastasia and I decorated together while Daddy rested and watched football. Anastasia is getting very excited for the day Santa comes. We've got an Advent calendar that she's been opening one door on every day. She loves counting how many days are left until we get to number 25.



There are other preparations in the works, too. Lots of gifts to buy, which Anastasia has been helping with. Shopping with her is sometimes challenging, but it's also fun to talk about all the gifts we're giving to everyone on our lists. We've picked out gifts for her secret Santa classmate, something for Daddy and something for Myney. We've also gotten some nice things for her cousins, who we're going to visit right after Christmas.

The other day, we went to visit Santa Clause at the mall. We've been to see this Santa every year since Anastasia was born, and the last two years, she's been resistant to sitting on his lap. This year, she initially said she didn't want to sit on his lap. She only wanted to stand in front of him and tell him what she wanted. When it was our turn, I introduced her to Santa and she told him that she's a nice girl, not a naughty girl. He asked her what she wants him to bring her. Her list, in it's entirety is:

1 - A teeny star for the top of her Christmas tree
2 - A lot, a lot, a lot of stickers
3 - Yellow, red, orange, purple and blue cars

Then Santa convinced her to sit on his lap for a picture. Will have to edit to add the picture later, it seems to have been mislaid in all the hullaballoo.

Girls' Day Out

Last week, Anastasia's school had parent teacher conferences, which meant a day off for little girl. After Orlando and I had a visit with her teachers (all good news) it was time for a girls' day out in DC. Myney and I had planned a morning of visiting DC's traditional Christmas installations: the Museum of American History, the Botanical Gardens, the Capitol Christmas tree and Union Station. We bundled up for our walk on the cold morning. Annie was eager to get moving.



Our first stop was the Smithsonian Museum of American History. We had read about the exhibit they do every year titled "Holidays On Display" and were very excited to see what they had in store. I'll admit we were a little disappointed. We had the impression that the displays would include window displays from some famous department stores. It did not. But, not ones to let a little disappointment ruin our day, we set out across the mall.



On the way to the Botanical Gardens, we of course had to pass the carousel. Anastasia was the only one on the ride, so she got to pick what ever horse she wanted. Myney and I were both surprised when she picked the horse that had been primed to be repainted. She was very excited to ride on her "white horse". It was definitely white.



We got to the Botanical Gardens and were not disappointed with their holiday display. They do wonderful scale models (made entirely of plant materials) and train displays throughout the front portion of the gardens, with the highlight being a very fanciful display with lots of trains and fairy tale houses. Anastasia was disappointed that she couldn't play with the trains, but she loved the displays.





After a long walk through the gardens, we were off toward Union Station. We walked across the Capitol grounds and got to see the Capitol tree. Anastasia was most interested in running, and the Capitol grounds were a great place for that. Lots of room, lots of security, not a lot of people on a cold day.



Our final stop was Union Station, which every year has a wonderful train display put up by the Embassy of Norway. Again, Annie really wanted to play with the trains, so we didn't linger there long. Instead, we decided we all needed lunch (late, though it was.) At Thunder Grill in Union Station, Anastasia carefully examined her menu before deciding she was famished, and must have some chicken.



She dozed on the way home, but didn't really sleep. It was a long day, but we had a lot of fun exploring just some of the fun things to see at the Holidays in our wonderful city. There's something to be said for being a tourist in your own home town.

Giving Thanks

Since the days when Orlando worked at 701, it's been a tradition for us to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner there, so that O could join in at least a little of the fun. Now that he no longer works on Thanksgiving, we all get to enjoy the dinner together. Anastasia has really started to enjoy going out to dinner at "fancy restaurants", so we prepped her for the exciting dinner that we were going to have.

Upon arriving, she read "the book" and decided that she wanted fish for dinner. After ordering her Shirley Temple and Candis' coke, we were ready to settle in for a nice long meal.



Not surprisingly, Anastasia wasn't as patient as the adults, so while we were finishing entrees, she was entertaining herself with the iPhone.



Lots of food, a lovely wine, and some yummy desserts later, we decided that we should pay a visit to Uncle Mark, who had to work.



It's been a few weeks since we last saw Mark, so Anastasia was very excited. After a drink, we posed for a few pictures.



Thanks for the rabbit ears, Myney.



When we got home, it was time for Annie to head to bed. She was very, very sad when we told her that it was time for pajamas. So, Mommy and Daddy settled for putting pajama bottoms under her dress. Lots to be thankful for this year.

Visiting Auntie Nicole and Central Park

This weekend Anastasia and I took a trip up to New York for a short visit with Auntie Nicole and her new baby, Scarlett.



After the long drive up, Nicole was an excellent hostess, starting our visit with a cup of milk and a PB&J for Anastasia. Stasia then spread out on the floor to color while Nicole and I caught up in the kitchen.



We visited for a while, then Anastasia decided she really wanted to play outside, so we started a game of hide and seek in Nicole and Jonathan's back courtyard. Before long, it was getting dark but Stasia didn't care at all. She wanted to keep playing.



We weren't able to stay with Nicole, which worked out well for us because we were able to take advantage of a free room at a wonderfully elegant hotel off Central Park. After a bath, it was time to head to bed.



Though I've visited New York plenty, I've never been to Central Park, and I was amazed by how beautiful and big it is. Anastasia was really excited by all the dogs making their way through the park.



Our walk around the park led us to a playground that looked perfect for Anastasia, with a wooden bridge and tower.





She was having a blast on this, then we found the slide. This playground had a massive stone spiral slide that was amazing. Anastasia had a ball slipping, sliding and rolling down this slide for more than an hour.



The ultimate destination on Sunday was a wedding shower for a friend. No pictures of the party, but Annie had a good time, and slept for a good deal of the ride home. Another excellent road trip for the little one.

Tailgating at Home

The Maryland Terrapins have had a less than stellar season, but we still love going to the games and tailgating before them. However, when the weather for a recent home game was expected to be under 50 degrees with heavy rain, we, and our friends who tailgate with us, decided to forego the party in tents. Orlando and I offered to host everyone at our house (including several that don't normally come to the games) for a full day of football and fun, complete with all the food that we would have had at the tailgate. What we ended up with was a great party.



The kids found lots to keep them busy with Anastasia's toys, markers and crayons, and movies upstairs. There was a lot of collaborative play, and a bit of jumping on the bed, but no fighting and no one got hurt.



For part of the party, there were two games being monitored, so we set up a small Penn State viewing section in the kitchen. They were closer to the food, anyway, so no one seemed to mind the size of the TV.



A very long day (first guests arrived at 11:30 and we went to bed about 11:00), but it was a lot of fun.

Sick Again

Once again, Annie is feeling under the weather. She turned from a happy go lucky girl last night to a feverish mess in about 20 minutes. We suspect another urinary tract infection, so this morning Orlando took her to the Dr. who gave her yet another round of antibiotics (white medicine to Anastasia).

With a dose of Tylenol doing it's work, she's a pretty happy girl. But, when it starts to wear off, she looks more miserable.



I took her temp after this picture, and got 101.9, so it was clearly time for another dose of what Annie calls her "pink medicine". She's been a bit opposed to medicine in general this time, so I managed to convince her that we would only play her new Memory game after she drank it all. That perked her up.



Sadly, this trick did not work for either the antibiotics or the dose of Tylenol she had to have before going to bed. Tomorrow, we may try a pill ground up in apple sauce instead.

A Kiss Will Make It Better

On Sunday, Anastasia was helping me to build a new dresser when I accidentally bonked my head. Her response was to drop everything and come give me a long hug. Then she asked where it hurt, kissed the top of my head, and said, "I love you, Mommy. You feel better now?"

I did.

Minnie Mouse the Social Butterfly

This was the busiest Halloween yet for Anastasia. There was a fall festival at school all week, including a haunted house and costume party, pumpkin patch in the cafeteria and a goody bag filled with yummy treats.

Then, on Friday, after a day at home with Daddy (school was closed for teacher inservice), Myney, Annie and I went to Hilloween at Eastern Market with friends Abby, Ann, and Nathalie. Hilloween is a festival type block party put on by the merchants of Eastern Market. Usually it takes place on Halloween, but the change in date this year meant that it was very crowded. Still, Anastasia had a lot of fun.



There was a hay ride, a small carousel, free balloons and a moon bounce for the kids. Anastasia was very excited to ride the carousel and the hay ride, so that's what we waited in line for.



Halloween arrived on Saturday with a costume party at the playground sponsored by our neighborhood association. There were lots of cute kids there, and it was our chance to play with all our friends in the neighborhood. I forgot my camera, so I'm beholden for to neighbors for pics, but you'll see them when I get them.

After a nap and a quick wash of the costume, Trick or Treating began. Little girl's stamina is only good for a couple blocks, so it we took just a short walk around the neighborhood to fill her bucket.



A pretty good haul for a little girl.

Picking Apples

It's fall, and that means apples and pumpkins. There are lots of farms in the area where you can take a hay ride and pick a pumpkin. The one we picked, Homestead Farm in Maryland, has some pretty large apple orchards, which yeild apples from September through the end of October, and several pumpkin patches. They also have a few sheep, some goats, pigs and a super cute young steer.

Anastasia was very excited about going to the farm. She was even more excited when she spied the barns and chicken coops. So, before heading to the apple orchard, we made a trip around the animal enclosures.



Then it was time to head over to the trees for some fruit. The farm has 12 varieties of apple, but only three are still on the trees now: Cameo, Pink Lady, and Braeburn. First up was Cameo, and we all fell in love with it, sweet, crisp, and very large.



Anastasia really liked pulling the apples off the trees, and helping daddy pull the wheel barrow. We walked around the orchard picking the apples that were ripe, trying all the varieties that were still on trees, and overall enjoying the cool morning. Stasia also enjoyed riding in the wheel barrow.





Once we had two large baskets of apples, we headed to the pumpkin patch. There were several different varieties of pumpkin and squash growing in the one field, so we had lots to choose from. Big and small, blue, orange and green, even some that looked like giant tomatoes. Back up by the farm house, Anastasia wondered why there were so many pumpkins that weren't in the field.



Anastasia was very intent on taking the hayride, so when our wheel barrow was full, we headed back up to the farm to climb onto the tractor. This was Myney's favorite part of the trip.





When we got back from the ride, it was time to load up the car and head home. Predictably, Annie fell asleep within 5 minutes of leaving the farm.

A Stroll Through the Gardens and Down Memory Lane

Near when Orlando and Myney grew up is Ladew Gardens, an estate on more than 20 acres with beautiful topiary gardens. Myney and Orlando hadn't been to the estate for quite some time, and Myney had never been in the Manor House on the estate before, so when we won 4 tickets in a silent auction earlier this year, it was just a matter of time before we'd get back up to their old stomping grounds. We started by driving through the neighborhood that now sits on the farm where Myney grew up. Seems the old house is still there, still owned by the family that Myney's parents sold it to. Somehow, the neighborhood isn't nearly as pretty as the fields would have been. Then, it was on to the gardens.



Apparently, Harvey Ladew was very fond of English formal gardens, and brought back the art of topiary with him when he purchased the acerage in the 1930s. He was also an avid fox hunter, so it's not suprising that the first thing you see when you come on to the estate is a hunt scene with a fox being chased by 5 hounds and riders on horseback, all done in shrubbery. Anastasia loved the dogs and counted them several times.



After taking the house tour, not overly exciting, but it did include a beautiful library room, we started our walk of the grounds. We stuck to the formal gardens, which made seeing Annie as she ran across the fields a lot easier. I think her favorite part of the gardens were all the water features, but it also could have been the Yellow Garden.





When we'd finished walking around the gardens (Anastasia could have run around the grounds all day, but the rest of us were ready for something else), we decided to take a drive around Orlando's old stomping grounds. We drove by the house he grew up in and to both Myney and Orlando's surprise, much of the landscaping was bigger, but otherwise unchanged. Then it was on to Orlando's highschool for a quick look to see if they'd expanded it at all in the 20 years since Orlando went there. They haven't.

After the tour, someone mentioned dropping in to see the Parkers, family friends who still live in the area. After a little debate, we decided to stop by for a few minutes just to say hi. Dowel, who's real name is Robert, is most well known for publishing "The Wine Advocate" and Pat, his wife works with him on the magazine and is an avid gardener. We were welcomed warmly, with a glass of champagne and given a brief tour of their property, though I forgot the camera, so you'll just have to trust me, it was lovely. A wonderful end to the day.

I Pledge Allegiance

Anastasia is learning a lot at school. She's come home with lots of new jems, including Hickory Dickory Dock, which Orlando and I don't remember ever having recited to her before. The other day, when they were walking home Anastasia pointed out an American flag and told Orlando that when you see the flag you put your hand on your heart. He asked what you do next and she surprised him again.

So, over the weekend, we got out the little flag so she could show off. Then, at the end of Sunday, I asked her what her favorite part of the weekend was, and she showed off one more time.



Every day, we get more evidence of all that she's learning at her new school.

My Favorite Part of School

Almost every day, I ask Anastasia about her favorite part of the day. Sometimes the answer comes from a story that was read during school, other days, it's playing with her friends on the playground. The other day, she gave such a fun answer that I had to get it on video.

Sedation and Recovery

Anastasia has a history of urinary tract infections, which means that she occasionally has to undergo some tests to make sure that there isn't more to be concerned about. Today's test was a scan of her kidneys which looks for scarring or areas that aren't functioning properly. Once she'd gotten the dye injected, we were back to the waiting room to wait for it to make it's way to her kidneys.



The scan took approximately 30 minutes, and she had to be perfectly still for the whole time, so she needed sedation. The staff and Children's were great with her and helped her to take it easy with stickers, bubbles and even a Dora video.



Once she was asleep, the waiting began. About 2 hours later, she woke up. The nurses said she had to eat a whole Popsicle before they would remove her IV, so we got down to trying to encourage her to do that, but she was still feeling the effects of the sedation. The result was pretty humorous. The sound isn't great, but turn the volume up, it's worth it.



A few minutes later, Anastasia began directing Orlando and me in the singing of Hickory Dickory Dock. Once again, thankful for the new iPhone, we captured a quick video of the funniness.



After a visit to the urologist to confirm that the test results were the same as last year, it was time to eat some lunch, visit with uncle Mark and head home for a very relaxing afternoon.