Ainsley has a birth
Despite the fact that she was born at 1 o'clock in the afternoon one time zone over yonder down the holler as they say, we decided to conform to tradition and celebrate Ainsley's entire calendar day birthday event anniversary thing. Ryan and I got up early and drove to the grocery store to buy her weird fruit and muffins for breakfast, to include an apple fritter that she called a "cow pie". So there's some Texas left in her after all.
Her parents arrived around 1pm, and after an appropriately Redskins-intensive gift-opening session, we drove up to Alexandria to a casual yet ritzy African-French-American restaurant called "Farrah Olivia". It was like the Inn at Little Washington without the tie. Five courses, reasonably priced, and with stunning presentation -- everyone's plates were works of art. I had chosen the place after reading about it in the Washington Post Magazine (while in Russia, of all places) and reading that the chef was from Cote d'Ivoire -- where my wife and her family had spent some time back in the 70s. I told the maitre'babe this and asked if it were at all possible, would the chef come out and meet them. He was nice enough to do so and let my mother-in-law practice her French. We ate outside, which I thought would be better for Ryan (and those around him), and despite the fact that it was on a relatively busy street and wasn't as unhumid as advertised, it was still a pleasant night for mid-summer in D.C.
Today, after a trip to the dump to get rid of what can be generously described as household debris, COL Foulds and I wrestled with cleaning up the back yard (finally -- after 3 months -- taking down the orange construction fence surrounding our project) while Ainsley and her mom prepped for an afternoon early 4th of July winesoaked burger cookout with the Boivins. A much lovelier day than yesterday, we were able to open up the sunroom doors and put people on the back deck while others ate in the sunroom for the first time. Poor Ryan's lost his baskEEtball bouncing area.
He's such a good kid. Friday I was lying on the floor in the office next to him while he showed me his books, and he looked over at my position, immediately got up and went to the chair, and brought me a pillow.
And proceeded to drop it on my face. "Peelo."
Tonight's bedtime struggle notwithstanding, he does know what that horizontal position is for. I made Ainsley a birthday card on the computer that had a picture of her on the front page. "Who's that?" I asked the boy on my lap. "Mommy." Because of the card's layout, I then tilted the picture 90 degrees.
"Ni-Night," Ryan said to Mommy.
Her parents arrived around 1pm, and after an appropriately Redskins-intensive gift-opening session, we drove up to Alexandria to a casual yet ritzy African-French-American restaurant called "Farrah Olivia". It was like the Inn at Little Washington without the tie. Five courses, reasonably priced, and with stunning presentation -- everyone's plates were works of art. I had chosen the place after reading about it in the Washington Post Magazine (while in Russia, of all places) and reading that the chef was from Cote d'Ivoire -- where my wife and her family had spent some time back in the 70s. I told the maitre'babe this and asked if it were at all possible, would the chef come out and meet them. He was nice enough to do so and let my mother-in-law practice her French. We ate outside, which I thought would be better for Ryan (and those around him), and despite the fact that it was on a relatively busy street and wasn't as unhumid as advertised, it was still a pleasant night for mid-summer in D.C.
Today, after a trip to the dump to get rid of what can be generously described as household debris, COL Foulds and I wrestled with cleaning up the back yard (finally -- after 3 months -- taking down the orange construction fence surrounding our project) while Ainsley and her mom prepped for an afternoon early 4th of July winesoaked burger cookout with the Boivins. A much lovelier day than yesterday, we were able to open up the sunroom doors and put people on the back deck while others ate in the sunroom for the first time. Poor Ryan's lost his baskEEtball bouncing area.
He's such a good kid. Friday I was lying on the floor in the office next to him while he showed me his books, and he looked over at my position, immediately got up and went to the chair, and brought me a pillow.
And proceeded to drop it on my face. "Peelo."
Tonight's bedtime struggle notwithstanding, he does know what that horizontal position is for. I made Ainsley a birthday card on the computer that had a picture of her on the front page. "Who's that?" I asked the boy on my lap. "Mommy." Because of the card's layout, I then tilted the picture 90 degrees.
"Ni-Night," Ryan said to Mommy.
posted by Dan at 10:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home