Making Dinner

Lately, whenever we're cooking anything, Anastasia wants to be in the action. She likes to sit on the counter and help with anything she can help with, so, when I decided to make Shake n Bake pork, I figured this was a perfect opportunity for her to get involved. On the menu: pork, roasted garlic potatoes, and steamed broccoli with butter. A simple dinner with lots of opportunities for help from our little chef.

We started with the pork. Annie really liked shaking it up, and was happy to let Mommy move the meat to the pan.



Once the pork was prepped, we moved on to the potatoes, which were quartered and tossed with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a healthy dose of garlic. I cut the potatoes and had Annie add the salt, pepper, and garlic. Once all the ingredients were in the bowl, it was time to stir, stir, stir.



Finally, while the potatoes and pork cooked, it was time for the broccoli. Once again, I cut it into manageable pieces and had Annie transfer it to a bowl. She's not a big fan of vegetables, but she had fun doing her job.



I admit that I hoped that helping to cook the broccoli would make her more willing to try it, but in the end, she just told me that I could eat her trees. Well, we'll keep trying. In fact, tonight, not only did she eat the salad on her plate, she asked for more!

Life is a Song ... And a Dance

Lately, Anastasia has been singing to herself a lot, usually with a dance. She sings the Barney song, Happy Birthday, pretty much anything that she has heard at daycare or on the Backyardigans.

The other morning, we were getting ready to leave for the day, and she decided to start singing the pirate song (from one of her favorite episodes of Backyardigans.) For the lucky among you who haven't seen this episode a million and one times, the lyrics to the song are:

A pirate, a pirate, a pirate says Argh.
If you think we're noisy, you're right, we are
And they know your a pirate when they hear you say Argh.

Annie doesn't really know the middle line, but she loves the song.



And when she's not singing that song, she's singing something else. This morning, it was Ring Around the Rosey. She did this one several times before I started taping, so I was only able to get one go.



She's definitely taking in the music that she hears at school. Not sure if there's a career in music in her future, but it's clear that her early musical tendancies are continuing in full force.

What about that bus?

Since she could hold a book by herself, books have always been Annie's favorite toy. She knows most of her books very well, and is very particular about what story she reads whenever a story is called for.

Lately, she's been very interested in one book in particular. At a book fair at school, Annie picked out one titled the Seals on the Bus. It's kind of a funny play on the song, where all the bus parts are replaced by animals. So, the Seals on the bus go arp, arp, arp and the vipers on the bus saying hiss, hiss, hiss. At the end, the people on the bus cry "Help, Help, Help!"

The other day, Orlando caught her sitting in the dining room reading:



We don't get tired of seeing her love books in this way. I'm very excited to see how her love of books continues to develop.

Air and Space with Friends

We made a date with a couple of friends to go to the Air and Space musuem for a little while today. We met Lily (with her parents Nancy and Jeremy) and Ava (with her mom Niki) there and got straight to the exhibits. Anastasia and Lily both enjoyed playing with the computers.



Then, they each took turns flying a plane. Anastasia was really excited to sit in the pilot's seat.



This was the first time that we've gone to a museum with a group of friends, and it was very fun to watch the three girls interacting with each other and having such fun together. They loved the space potty.



And they used great teamwork to fly the plane.



The three were also really good at taking care of one another as we walked from one exhibit to the next. They made a cute team walking through the halls holding hands.



Everywhere we went, the three girls were excited to look at all the exhibits. The parents for the most part had a great time standing back and watching the action.



After a lunch at McDonalds, it was time to head home for a nap. So, Annie decided to take a run on the Mall on the way to the car.



It was a great day, and one that I expect will be repeated again soon.

Sunday Fun-day

The weather has been getting better, but it's still too chilly to spend too much time outside, so on Sunday, we decided to take Anastasia to the National Building Museum for a little indoor play time. The museum has a great childrens room with a huge playhouse, blocks, coats and hats for dress-up and lots more. Anastasia, of course, headed straight for the puzzles.



After Annie had gotten her fill of playing in the Building Zone, it was time to go across the river. We decided to stop at Gravelly Point, the great park at the end of the airport runway. Anastasia was very excited to get to see the planes.



When we got home, it was time for Mommy to make a phone call to wish Grandma Pat a happy birthday. Anastasia was very excited to talk to Grandma, and when we woke up this morning, she wanted to sing Happy Birthday to Grandma.



Today, we're going to the Air and Space Museum with Lily.

Happy Valentines Day

Valentines day was a very busy day for Annie. We started with a party at her friend Lily's house. We were the first to arrive, and Annie and Lily got right down to the business of playing while the grown-ups chatted over some mimosas. In all, 8 kids were at the party, most of them Anastasia's age, which was fun to see.

Nancy, Lily's Mommy, had also set up a great craft project for the kids to do. Anastasia was pretty excited to get to play with stickers and googly-eyes.



After crafts, cupcakes, and lots of playing, it was time for a nap for both Mommy and Annie.

Next on the agenda for the day was high tea with Anastasia's favorite babysitters (and Mommy's good friends) Abby, Ann, and Nathalie.



This was Annie's first tea, and I'll admit, I was a little nervous about how she would behave. In the end, there was nothing for me to be worried about. She enjoyed her chocolate milk and a few of Mommy's cookies while the rest of us enjoyed finger sandwiches, tea and a glass of champagne.



It was a very nice afternoon. We rode the Metro home, which Annie thought was great fun, to a lovely dinner put together by Myney.



A fun end to a very busy day. Next up, the National Building Museum.

Starting the Day with a Song

Anastasia has been singing a lot lately. She loves Old McDonald and Itsy Bitsy Spider, and she constantly asks Orlando and me to sing "the Barney song", which both of us pretend not to know.

This morning, as we were getting ready to leave for school, I came into the living room to find her singing to herself. Of course, when I picked up the camera, she turned around, and serenaded me with one of her newest faves:



It was a good morning for both of us without a doubt.

Treats for Everyone

Anastasia learned very early on that if she ate a sufficient quantity for lunch or dinner, she can usually get a treat after she's done. The dogs earn treats less frequently, but not so infrequently that we don't get pictures.

A couple of weeks ago, we bought a big tub of cheese balls. When they were all gone, Orlando put the tub on the floor to see what the dogs would do.



Chase sniffed it a little, then stepped away and let Basil have at it. Sadly, Basil is not the smartest dog in the world, and he was a little over excited by the empty tub with all the cheese smells. The result was pretty funny.



Then, this weekend, the dogs treat time coincided with Anastasia's, which offered a unique photo opportunity. When Toute was alive, treats for the dogs were given with a little bit of caution. This was the first time we'd given the dogs a treat since Toute left us. We were pleasantly surprised by the way the dogs decided to eat their treats.



If she'd been allowed, I think Anastasia would have joined the dogs on the pillow to enjoy her treat, too.

Super Bowl-ing

Mark and Orlando's always hosts a party for the restaurant's staff on Super Bowl Sunday. Family and friends are invited, and this year Myney joined us also (though I managed to not get any pictures of her at the party.) Unfortunately, I forgot to take the real camera with us, so we've only got pics from my phone.

Orlando and Mark do most of the work for the party, serving simple food buffet style and offering beer and wine to everyone. The day was full of treats, with chips, grits cakes and even cupcakes that Anastasia helped make. In all, there were about 35 people there total, including Anastasia, also known as the life of the party.



Anastasia settled in right a way, with none of her usual shyness, and all of her charm. We found ourselves a comfortable corner, moving between the sofa, armchair and a couple of other chairs. We had a good view of the game, and relatively speaking, we were in the quiet corner.



Anastasia was very excited to watch football, and get to play in Daddy's restaurant. At one point, Kurt Warner threw an interception. Here was Annie's response to the play:



We decided to leave the party in the third quarter in the hopes that Anastasia wouldn't suffer too much on Monday. She managed to stay awake for the ride home, though barely, and got to bed just before 10:00. Orlando and I managed to get back downstairs just in time to see the winning touchdown and give a little cheer to the Pittsburgh side of the family. Yay, Steelers.