Anna Grows

There was no white Christmas in Virginia this year, so we decided to seek one out. Conveniently, snow was forecast for New York. How convenient. The Christmas weekend kicked off for Anna with a little ice skating on Christmas Eve day with Mom while Dad secured the hot chocolate. Anna is getting better at skating, but still not quite comfortable enough to let go of Mom's hand. She has requested to wear her snow pants next time because "the ice is cold." Good observation. Ice Skating was followed by Christmas Eve mass at 6 PM, an event Mom secured tickets for earlier in the month. That's right - you need tickets for the 3:45 PM and 6 PM mass on Christmas Eve. The 3:45 mass is the most popular and was "sold out" by the time Mom got there (apparently you need to wait in line an hour in advance of the ticket hand out to ensure you get those tickets - something Mom was not willing to do). We are not sure exactly why 3:45 is so popular and we will probably never fi...

December 17 marked Anna's debut in the Christmas Play, The Littlest Christmas Tree . Anna played the role of a bunny, which accented her hopping ability. We are happy to report that she overcame her stage fright and hopped around the littlest christmas tree with three other bunnies. The two pre-school classes put on the production for the proud parents and grandparents (kudos to the teachers for orchestrating this with about 28 4-year olds). Anna was instructed to wear white pants and a white shirt for her costume. Theresa had to stop at several stores to find white pants (really - wear can you find white pants in December?). The production was a success. The kids were most excited about the cookies and punch following the show. The Christmas festivities continued on Saturday morning when the neighborhood hosted its annual "Breakfast with Santa." Santa paid a visit to all the neighborhood kids arriving on a fire truck and delivering presents (Anna got a book). Anna was no...

Sunday marked the annual family pilgrimmage to the U.S. Botanic Garden for the gorgeous holiday display. The highlight of trip is always the spectacular train display, which is great for all ages. This year Sue and Aidan joined us for the trip along with Pauletta, Wil, and Grayson. For those of you who know Pauletta, she is a woman of many interests. She is an avid photographer, history buff, and can rival the Griswalds for her Christmas celebrations. This is why it is SHOCKING that the U.S. Botanic Garden is the one place in Washington Pauletta has not been. While the kids had a great time, Pauletta may have enjoyed it the most and was well on her way to passing the 1,000 picture mark. The highlight of course was the train display. Anna and Aidan were particularly excited when the saw Thomas the Train go by and were waving to him. Aidan tried to grab him at one point until Theresa did a quick intervention (no one wants to be banned from the train exhibits in the future). Grayson enjo...

The holidays are here at last. What better way to kick off the season than with a Kohler Thanksgiving feast in the mountains of Western Maryland. Anna met up with her cousin Aidyn, grandparents and uncles at lovely Deep Creek Lake. The weekend was filled with lots of food (with a major emphasis on pork and cheese) and college football - at least for the adults. Anna and Aidyn had a great time playing together, especially with their trains. Grandma, as always, had a treasure trove of toys and games to keep the grandchildren entertained. The popular items for this trip included plastic flutes (something that EVERYONE got to enjoy), ball guns (Anna woke up her parents one morning with the line "I've got a gun"), and a beach ball which Anna & Aidyn enjoyed throwing over the loft railing. They had a great time playing together all weekend and were inseparable. The rental house was lovely, with gorgeous views of the mountains and lake. It also had a lot of stairs, which pro...

Once again, it was a beautiful fall weekend...perfect for Halloween! Anna decided that she wanted to be Cinderella this year. She had plenty of opportunities to wear her costume, thanks to a party at Ms. Be's, a party at pre-school, the neighborhood Halloween parade, and finally trick-or-treating. Thanks to the nice weather and the falling leaves, the first leaf raking of the season began. Anna was very excited about this and spent Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning running and jumping in leaf piles that her Dad raked. Anna also enjoyed carving the pumpkin with her Dad. After drawing several pictures of potential pumpkins that she wanted her Dad to carve, Joe finally convinced her that a more traditional pumpkin would work well. Anna helped draw the face and scoop out the insides while Joe carved the pumpkin. Anna learned many important lessons about being a princess this weekend. First, accessories are very important. Anna was very excited about her long white gloves and "...

Anna was quite excited to attend her friend Sarah's 4th birthday party on October 23. Sarah lives two houses down from Anna and the two of them are friends. Sarah had a ballerina birthday party - complete with a ballet lesson from her instructor, Miss Christine. All the girls wore their ballet clothes and received a tutu and "magic scarf" at the end of the party. Anna has been dancing ever since the party. Thanks to Sarah and her Mom for a great time.

Saturday was a busy day for Anna, thanks to her Washington Grandparents. While Mom & Dad attended the baptism of baby Maria, Anna and Charley took little Anna for a day of entertainment, complete with lots of grandparent spoiling. They had lunch at Mc Donald's. They went to the playground. They went to the bookstore. They played soccer in the basement. All involved were exhausted at the end of the day. Mom and Dad were able to enjoy a semi-date, thanks to the lovely post-baptism dinner hosted by John & Mary. A big thanks to Anna and Charley for entertaining little Anna. Congratulations to John and Mary on the addition of baby Maria.