Snow, The Sequel

So, as if one major snow storm wasn't enough, we now have the second major storm in just 5 days. This one is supposed to be significantly smaller than the last storm, only bringing 8-12 inches. We're now battle hardened to the point that 12 inches of snow seems like nothing. But it's also bringing with it heavy winds and blizzard like conditions. Right now, there are about 3 inches on the ground, and snow falling so hard that, at times, we can't see across the street.



For the third day in a row, there's no work and no school. So, today is movie day in the Hitzig household. On the docket, Ice Age 3, Tinkerbell, and "a princess movie". Maybe we'll make some brownies, too.

Edited at 5:44 to note that we've officially beaten the record for most snow in one season. Previous record year was 1898-99 with 54.4 inches. With at least two more storms now on the horizon, we're set to bury this record.

Mopping the floors

Anastasia helped me mop the floors this weekend. In fact, she wouldn't let me help her with much of it. She decided that it was her job and she needed to do it by herself.



She's a good cleaning helper, that's for sure.

Enjoying the View

Regardless of politics, the night of the State of the Union address is always one of my favorites. On that day, the Capital building is lighted very brightly to make it more visible for all of the TV cameras. My camera doesn't really have the flixibility to take a great photo of the view, but a short video gave me a decent shot out our window.



Myney loves that we can see the train tracks, but this is my favorite view from our house. We only get this view in the winter, once the trees start blooming, they block the dome from view. Still, for 5 months of the year, we have a beautiful view.

Snopocalypse, Snowmageddon or Blizzard of 2010

This winter has been much snowier than we've had in a long time. We've had 4 measurable snow falls in the last 6 weeks, and if Punxsutawney Phil is right, we've got another 6 weeks of winter weather ahead. This week's storm was major, nearly 30 hours of constant snowfall dropping more than 2 feet of snow. Not surprisingly, Annie was very eager to get out an play in it. Orlando was happy to oblige with a tow around the 'hood in the new wok bought just for this purpose.



After her ride down the street, she and Daddy attempted to build a snow man only to find that the snow was too dry. Then they decided to start trying to dig us out. Anastasia with a trowel, Orlando with a snow shovel. After about an hour, Annie decided that it was time for a hot chocolate break before heading back out.



All of this was early in the day, with more than 10 inches of snow still to fall. Once Orlando and Annie got cold, we settled in for a day of watching movies and the nonstop coverage of the weather on TV.



Then, Daddy painted Anastasia's fingernails.



When the snow finally ended, our patio was a wall of snow. The dogs have not yet managed to make it down the steps. Not surprising, since our final total was 26 inches.



Our little girl had a great time playing, and crashed hard, on my shoulder while we were deciding who was going to read her a story for bedtime.

4 in 5 Months

In the last 5 months Anastasia has had 4 urinary tract infections; August, November, December and January. It's very upsetting to know what's causing her to be sick and yet not be able to stop them from coming. So, when she got sick again this week, the doctor suggested that we should have another visit with the urologists. It's no fun to have a little one who's sick, but Annie is so resilient and happy that it doesn't seem to phase her.

What this means now is that we'll have to take her once again for the DMSA scan, which will confirm whether the infections have caused any damage to her kidneys. The down side is that we'll have to have her sedated for the test (it requires her to lie perfectly still for more than 20 minutes). This time, though, I'll take the good camera so that we can get a better quality video of the recovery. Here's what we got last time.

How do you spell ...

When we made the decision to put Anastasia into DC Public Schools' preschool program, I had reletively limited expectations. I expected that she would be well cared for in an environment that encouraged her natural curiousity. I expected that she would learn a few more stories and maybe a new nursery rhyme or two. What I did not expect was that by Christmas vacation, she would know all the letters of the alphabet, both capital and lowercase, and the sounds every letter makes. She's even begun sounding out words.

For a while now, Annie has been very interested in "doing her letters" on the computer. She likes to type her name and a few other simple words. She's really proud of knowing all nine letters of her name. We've even started working on a few other words.



She's even gotten pretty good at spelling other words, too. In her repertoire now: Daddy, Mommy, Momma, Dog, Cat. We're still working on Hitzig.

New Year in Texas

The day after Christmas, Orlando and I told Anastasia about the trip we'd planned to visit the family in Texas. Anastasia was super excited to get to ride on an airplane, and that she'd get to see her cousins when we got there. It's been more than a year since she and Ashley had been together, but she remembers all the fun they had together.

I decided early on that we woulnd't be paying any fees to check luggage, so we packed light and Annie was responsible for pulling her own suitcase. She did great!



I had packed a bag of tricks to keep her occupied on the plane, and we bought a special coloring book at the airport. The flight was late, so I was hoping that she would fall asleep, but no such luck. Still, she was very good. She colored, played, read, and surprisingly, she didn't play with the iPhone once!



When we finally landed, Auntie Sandi and Uncle Chris met us at the airport and drove us home, where they had more presents under the tree for Annie, Ashley and Quinn. So many stickers and coloring books, it was dizzying! Nevermind that it was well past bedtime, the kids stayed up playing and laughing. Next morning, Andrew came home a few days early, which was a surprise. We all returned to the Christmas tree to watch him open his gifts. I managed to get a couple of really good shots of the three kids on the sofa.



Also on the list of activities while we were there:

• Take the girls to see The Princess and the Frog
• Visit with Mrs. Easson and the Osbornes
• Play in the bath with Ashley
• Relax

Check, Check, Check and Check.

Anastasia felt it was necessary to add an unapproved item to the list: Get a urinary tract infection! After a visit to Ashley's doctor, and confirmation that something was definitely going on, we got her started on antibiotics to make sure it didn't get worse before our trip.

On the last night, I joined Mom and Dad at the Osborne's for the annual New Year's Eve party, complete with white elephant gift exchange. I managed to come away from the white elephant with a toilet seat that's been passed along for 17 years. Guess that means Annie and I have to go back to Texas for New Year's next year, too. If next year is anything like this year, I'm looking forward to it.