Anna Grows

It was another beautiful, unusually cool weekend in the Greater Washington weekend, so we packed up a picnic lunch and headed for the mountains to McIntosh fruit farm. It seems the cool, wet spring slowed down the fruits and vegetables, thus we were a few weeks early for the blackberries and tomatoes. We still had a great time as we loaded up the little red wagon with buckets and proceeded to pick peaches, some not quite ripe blackberries (Anna was having a good time - it must be the inate gathering gene), a few tomatoes, and some squash along with some beautiful flowers. The big treat was the homemade frozen blackberry yogurt that we had before we left. We rounded out the day with some quality time at the local pool followed by pizza on the Vienna Town Green where we watched a concert. A great end to a nice weekend!

Forget the tricycle! Anna has already upgraded her wheels. Thanks to her local surrogate grandparents - Anna & Charley -- Anna is now the proud owner of a Disney Princess bike. Charley & Anna brought it over Thursday night and little Anna has been riding all weekend. Mom and Dad are tired as our neighborhood is hilly and Anna will only pedal on the downhill portions of the sidewalk. Note that Anna & Charley brought it over Thursday NIGHT. In keeping with the unwritten rule of grandparenting, it is important that presents be given to the grandchild right before bedtime. The grandparents than leave at the key moment that bedtime is declared so as not to have to deal with the aftermath of separating the child from the present to go to bed (and Anna did want to take her new bike to bed with her). A big thanks to Anna and Charley for a generous gift! The next time little Anna goes to their house for a visit, we are bringing the bike along. It is only fair that they share in the ...

It is important to take a moment before this story and recall that this blog has two purposes. First, it serves as a way to keep family and friends -particularly those that live far away - updated on Anna. Second, it serves as baby book of sorts for Anna and her parents so that some key events in her early years are not forgotten. This entry is especially important for the second purpose. The Scene: It is Wednesday morning. Dad is making coffee and Mom is packing up for the day. Anna: Did you hear that? Mom/Dad: Here what? Anna: I think it was a duck. Dad: A duck. Where is the duck coming from? Anna: From my butt. There is a duck in my butt. Dad (laughing hysterically): A duck in your butt? Are you sure? Anna: Ooo...there it is again. Daddy - do you want to see my butt? Mom (also laughing hysterically): Umm...no and you shouldn't show your butt to other people. Mom and Dad have no idea where she came up with them and are only hopeful that the next time we are in a ...

Every time Anna, Theresa, and Joe visit Ohio, they can count on Uncle Rod to say the same thing: "I'm going to come out your way for a visit soon." Theresa is always quick to remind Uncle Rod that in the 11 years since she left Ohio, he has only come to visit twice: for Theresa and Joe's wedding and after Anna was born (both trips involved coming with Grandma and Grandpa). You can imagine the shock and awe that Theresa was in when Uncle Rod called and announced that he and his girlfriend Courtney were coming out for July 4th weekend. Uncle Rod at an art museum While this event in itself was unprecedented, there was more. Rod called two weeks in advance AND took a day off work (Rod usually only plans hours in advance at best and is only known to take days off work to attend the Mopar Nationals). The entire family is stunned by this development, which can only be attributable to the good influence of Courtney. Theresa remained disbelieving until July 2 when Rod showe...

It is wild here in Northern Virginia. In addition to chipmunks viciously attacking Mom's flowers, we found another plant predator: the deer. Actually, it was four deer (bucks to be precise). We are not sure what constitutes gang status in Northern Virginia, but we are pretty sure these bucks were part of a neighborhood gang responsible for the recent destruction of flowers and trampled lawns. We awoke on Saturday morning to find these gang members frolicking in our back yard. Just as Mom was ready to bolt out the backdoor in her pajamas to save her flowers, (there is some truth to the adage about girls turning into their mothers), the bucks jumped the fence and decided to take a stroll through the neighborhood to remind the neighbors of who really owns the land, despite the name on the property deeds. Anna informed Mom and Dad that "the deers are going home," to which Dad replied, "I think they are home." In addition to deer, the weekend included dinosaurs - si...

It was bound to happen. We had only hoped that it would be a few years from now. Anna got her first manicure. While we were holding out for Cousin Margaret to make good on her promise to take Anna to get her nails done, peer pressure and some older girls at Ms. Be's Daycare took hold. When Mom picked up Anna, she proudly displayed her purple nails, courtesy of Ms. Li (that would be Ms. Be's cousin). One by one, all the girls ran up to show off their purple nails. Anna informed her Mom that "boys don't wear nail polish," which I am sure was quite a relief to her friends Anthony and Thomas' fathers. While mom thought the whole activity was innocent enough, Dad was concerned that this could quickly domino to other things, like dating. For now, Anna is happy with her pretty purple nails, although Ms. Li will need to do a touch-up job on her thumb tomorrow.

After a weekend of construction projects with Theresa's Dad, Joe got to kick back and relax on Father's Day. The day started with a luxurious treat: sleeping in until 8:30! This was followed by a leisurely cup of coffee along with the newspaper (not much different from most mornings) and a nice breakfast. The day also included a trip to the playground for Anna, the playground for Dad (Home Depot to use some giftcards) and dinner at Pistone's Italian restaurant for what Joe has deemed "the best chicken parm I've ever had" (a very high compliment from a native New Yorker). Pistone's usually has a jazz jam session on Sunday nights; however, not for Father's Day. Anna was disappointed, but proceeded to provide the entertainment for everyone anyway by singing "You Are my Sunshine" over and over and over again - loudly. She was invited back by one of the regulars to sing with the band in about 12 years. Happy Father's Day to Joe!