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.