Renn Fest, 2009

For four years (2006, 2007), Rory has celebrated the commence- ment of Autumn with the ceremonial turkey leg at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.
This year, she was big enough to perform her own "turkey toast" with Aunt Chelle and Aunt Jenny.
Rory had a blast with Aunts. Her Daddy was along for the ride as well, but her Mommy stayed home with Aven, who was getting over a cold.
Mommy was very upset that she didn't get to see Rory's first pony ride. She enjoyed a lap with Misty, the mystical white pony.
Princess Rory declared this year's Renaissance Festival the best year yet!

National Book Fest, 2009

We had never been to the National Book Festival before, but we will certainly be making it an annual tradition. For Rory, there were tons of hands-on activities that were designed to encourage reading. There were also appearances by some of Rory's cartoon friends, including Curious George. Rory insisted on waiting in a 15-minute line to get this hug from George.
Rory practiced spelling, she listened to stories, she designed her own book, and she ate museum food. (The festival was on the National Mall in the same space as the Fourth of July Folklife Festival.) But the highlight of the festival has to be ...
... a live appearance by Elmo! Rory insisted on sitting on her Daddy's shoulders so that she could get a better view, and she screamed like a Beatle's rock fan when he scream. Ahh, yet more glimpses of her teenage years.

Da Girls

Mommy and Da Girls.

Daddy asks his ladies to pose for the camera. Mommy smiles naturally. Aven thinks hard about what Daddy just said. Rory hams it up. Ah, my little women.

Daddy and Da Girls.

Both his girls were a little fatigued. Enough art, already! Daddy becomes the Super Sherpa. He wows the crowds.

When Kids Attack!

Rory and Aven did a little tag-teaming on Mommy this morning, pinning her to the ground for their nefearious purposes.
Aven thought the whole affair quite humorous.
Rory turned the tables on Mommy to force feed her a little of that Gerber goodness.
Rory laughed a malicious henchman laugh!

Rory and Her Peeps

Rory poses with some of the other kids who were born at Alexandria Hospital in the Summer of 2006. We enjoyed a reunion picnic this past weekend.
Rory dines with her friends from our "Wine & Cheese" group. They enjoy "juice & cheese whiz".
Rory and her friend Carly share driving responsibilities. This image gave me a flash forward to the day when Rory gets the keys to her car for real ... ya know, like, at 27.

Cause I'm free, free falling!

"One Nation, Under Golf"

A report on my children's development. At her four-month check-up, Aven measured two feet in length and weighed 12 pounds, 2 ounces, which is almost an identical set of stats as Rory had at the same age. Aven is turning into a pretty chill baby ... no more "gripe water" for this one. We get lots of smiles and coos and "happy squawks". Rory's intellectual development is pretty amazing. She comes home from school each day with a new suprise. Tonight, unprompted, she recited the Pledge of Allegiance (with only a few mistakes, including "one nation, under golf"). She can spell the names of everyone in her immediate family, as well as dog, cat, box, apple, sad, happy, and stop. She recognizes those words when she sees them in print. Rory can count to 50. And she is learning to tell jokes ("Last night, Mommy ate a .... car! Hee-hee!") ... albeit bad ones.

Aven's First Day at School

Our weekend at Wintergreen was Mommy's last hurrah before concluding her maternity leave. The next day, we all commuted into D.C. together. Mommy joined Daddy at work, and Aven joined Rory at school! Rory was very excited for her little sister, and she showed Aven the ropes on their first day at school together. Aven did a great job and is adjusting well. The jury is still out on whether Mommy will survive Aven's adventures in daycare. :)

Labor Day at Wintergreen

This Labor Day Weekend, the hills of central Virginia were alive with the sound of Rory.
Rory guided her family, Nonna, and Pops through Virginia Wine Country and on towards Wintergreen, a mountaintop retreat.
Rory was kind enough to allow her Daddy and Pops to sample local wines. Pops was kind enough to allow the Wine Puppy to sample our picnic lunch.
Mommy and her girls enjoy a nice moment outside Lindsen Winery, our favorite in Virginia.
At Wintergreen, we enjoyed a nice family hike and the continuation of a tradition that Pops began many years ago with his girls ...
...the search for the elusive Lollipop Tree! Wouldn't you know it, Rory found a ripe one.
Who knew that Moon Bounces lived on the mountaintop?!
Here, Rory waves to her Daddy while simultaneously licking her lips at the thought of launching herself down the Moon Bounce slide.
Even Mommy got into the action!
Mommy and Rory lounge in the Moon Bounce swimming pool.
And talking about lounging, Rory and Aven did a lot of that. Here, a moment of sister bonding.
Here, Aven enjoys the best seat in the house ...
...while Rory enjoys the second-best seat in the house.
Rory relaxes.
Here, two dads trade stories of life raising two girls.

Mommy's Birthday

On Sunday, we celebrated Mommy's birthday with a family brunch. Rory was dressed for the occasion.
Mommy treated herself to a little morning cocktail at Jackson 20, a new spot in Alexandria.
Mmmmm. That hit the spot. Maybe everyday should start with a pink cocktail.
Rory was very pleased with her breakfast of ham and toast, until ...
... she was shocked by Uncle Allen's revelation that her ham came from a piggy!
Aven was pretty shocked herself, so much so that she took a nap in Daddy's arms. Nothing stands (or sleeps) between Daddy and his soup.
Our sleeping beauty ...
... did finally awake to enjoy the party, pictured here with Aunt Chelle.
"But the piggy tastes soooo good! Maybe I'll just take a little bite," thought Rory.
Later, Mommy glimpsed what life might soon be like when her two daughters play by themselves. Now that would be a great birthday gift indeed.

I am coming for you daddy

That's right Daddy ... I can't get you yet ... but I will be crawling before you know it.