It's been a while

The holidays were very busy, and somehow that's bled into whole of January, and apparently half of February, too. So, the short version:

Christmas:
Our annual trip to the mall was a great success. Anastasia was very excited to ask for a veterinarian kit, a barbie doll and a unicorn. She stipulated that the unicorn should be a pretend one, since we don't have a place to keep a real one (dodged a bullet there, didn't ya Santa?).



Santa delivered (though Barbie landed at the wrong house and had to be delivered by our friend Rob), and the grown ups were all happy, too. Myney got everything she wished for, I was shocked by a new iPad, and Orlando got the thing he wished for most of all:



Several friends, including Mark and the aforementioned Rob, joined us for a dinner of roast suckling pig with lots of sides. The apple wouldn't stay in his mouth, but he made a pretty picture nevertheless. All in all, it was a lovely meal with almost no leftovers to enjoy the next day.



Winter Break:
Between us, Orlando and I were able to coordinate days off so Anastasia didn't go to camp at all during winter break this year. She was very excited to get to spend time with each of us. With Daddy, she got to go to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, where she saw Dorothy's ruby slippers, the Muppets (she calls it the Muppet Museum, after all), and the gowns of the first ladies.

When it was my turn, we did the puzzles and played the games that she got for Christmas, and enjoyed breakfast at a neighborhood restaurant. Don't you dip your bacon in jelly?



We also organized her closet, thanks to the Elfa sale at the Container Store. Anastasia was a super helper with the project, and she was really excited to get to put her things away. It's not easy to see in the picture, but the drawers are filled with stuffed animals.



New Years:
Orlando had to work on New Year's Eve (the hotel hosted one of the biggest NYE parties in the city, so he was busy until very late), so Myney, Anastasia and I joined our friends at a neighborhood Mexican restaurant for dinner. I was excited to eat homemade tamales, a shout out to my Texas roots, others ordered fish, fajitas and tacos. Anastasia fell asleep during dinner, but was a trooper until the grown ups were done.



Our dinner ended with complimentary shots of tequila. Thanks to Abby and Nathalie for taking the shots for Myney and me. It was a very fun night, even if I did have to carry 40 lbs of sleeping child up the stairs.

Super Bowl:
With no Super Bowl parties on our agenda, our weekend highlight was the Super Bowl Bar Crawl, an annual tradition for our friends the Martins and Larry (Miser) Davenport, capped off every year by a chug race between Miser and Laura.



We joined the party well into the evening, and kept it going beyond the last bar on the agenda for the evening. We ended up at Trusty's, a neighborhood joint with a short bus for a bar. Needless to say, our fun times ended in a cab ride home.



So, that pretty much gets us caught up to now. More coming soon.

Prima Ballerina?

After 13 weeks of lessons, last night was Anastasia's ballet class "recital". As a courtesy to the parents, this recital was really just a class that parents were invited to attend. We got to watch their warm up exercises before they presented the routine they've been working on for the last few months.




After the girls were all warmed up, we were treated to several iterations of the dance they've worked so hard on.

Things to look for in the video:

Anastasia's subtle repositioning
A stumble, but like a true star, she just moves through it
Graceful skipping



So, does she have a future as a prima ballerina? I think we'll keep up the lessons and revisit the questions.

Thanksgiving Portrait

I remember Grandma Sally curling my hair with strips of fabric torn from old rags. I told Anastasia about my memories of getting curly hair using old rags, and she thought it sounded like fun. But, since our weekends are often pretty busy, I really needed a long weekend to make it a possibility. So yesterday, with no chores and hours until we left for lunch, I pulled out an old flour sack cloth and cut some rags. Anastasia did a great job sitting still (Spongebob helped) for the 30 minutes it took me to roll her hair into this lovely little ragamuffin.



Three hours later, we were ready to take the rags out. Anastasia was pretty excited to see her hair curly. It didn't look like much, but it was pretty much what I remember my hair looking like when I was little.



After some brushing and twisting, and a healthy amount of hairspray, the curls were eventually tamed into a pretty style that I captured in a sweet impromptu portrait.



When Orlando saw the picture, he said this is what she should look like for her formal portrait next year (only without the crayons in front or the Wii balance board behind her.)

Princess Ariel

Our little girl wanted to be Ariel for Halloween this year. She was very excited to get dressed up, and wasn't even bothered when the weather was chilly and I made her wear a jacket underneath her costume.



We met up with a large group from the neighborhood and all went trick or treating together. This is the largest group we've ever trick or treated with. It was a ton of fun watching the whole group of kids make their way down the street.



After about an hour and a half, Anaastasia was excited to get to eat some of her haul, so home we went to dump her bucket full of candy on the dining room table.



She ate two pieces, then asked to go to bed. I'd say that qualifies as a successful evening.

Apples Anyone?

A couple weeks ago, we made our annual trip to Homestead Farms for apples. The farm is really fun and the crisp fall weather makes the workout not seem so rigorous.



This year, Orlando had to work, so my friend Nathalie joined in the fun and served as event photographer, helping us capture the fun.



We love the Cameo apples that we found on our first trip to the farm three years ago. Since they are among the last to ripen, I always try to schedule our trip for the middle-end of October. This year, the end of the season came early and I'm glad that our schedules worked out to ensure that we were able to pick on the last weekend apples were available.



Anastasia loves the process. It's wonderfully enjoyable for her because there is no question about what to pick. If you see an apple on a tree and you can reach it, go for it.



And if you can't reach it, you can always stand in the wheel barrow and stretch.



When our cart was full (we ended up with less than last year, but still brought home 40 lbs), we headed back up to the small animals. Pushing the empty cart out to the apples was easy. Pushing it back full and with Anastasia inside was a workout.



Still, it was such a beautiful day, we just took turns and sent Annie ahead to the haybales and tractor tires to play.



Anastasia loved petting the little cow and the baby goats. No surprise that she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.



Before we left, Anastasia posed for one more photo.



When we got home, Anastasia and I sorted and washed the apples, then cut up the bruised ones and made ourselves a delicious apple crisp. I couldn't ask for a better fall day.

Tiny Dancer

A few weeks ago, Anastasia started taking ballet lessons at the Joy of Motion dance studio near our house. Since she quit soccer after just 3 weeks, I was a little nervous about signing her up for a 13 week class without having a chance to try it out first. Fortunately, the studio was happy to let her take the first class without the full committment, just to gauge her interest.

One of the first things her teacher, Miss Josephine, taught the class was how to point toes and walk like a ballerina.



She was instantly hooked. Then Miss Josephine brought out the barre.



The class did some pretty stretching, where they learned about all the positions for hands and practiced pointing their toes.



When the class ended with skipping, the smile on Anastasia's face said it all.



Each Thursday she is very eager to get home and put on her leotard before heading out to dance class. Can't wait to see what the recital has to offer in December.

Peking Duck

We regularly visit an excellent Chinese restaurant in the suburbs, famous for its Peking Duck and Szechuan beef proper (I prefer to call it "beef candy".) At our dinner last night, Anastasia demonstrated the proper etiquette for preparing and eating Peking Duck.

First, carefully select a pancake. Gently apply some sauce to your pancake, spreading it thoroughly. (Notice the tongue out technique.)



Next, the duck ... don't forget the crispy skin.



Roll it up and eat.



Note, occasional drips of sauce may occur.