Happy Birthday, George

Last Saturday, we celebrated President's Day with our "wine and cheese" friends. The hostess was a Georgetown historian with a penchant for Lincoln. Yeah, perfect.
Then, on Sunday, we watched Alexandria's President's Day parade, which was billed as the largest such event in the country ...

... yeah, Rory has seen better.
Rory, fashion forward as always, even in the rain and cold.

Uh, you could say Aven was a little tired after her day at the parade. She fell asleep in the car and then didn't wake up as I transferred her to the crib when we got home.

The Cuteness of Aven

Have I mentioned yet that Aven has a spunky attitude that cracks us up?

Okay, that spunky attitude can test us as well. Some of Aven's favorite word's are "mine" and "self" and "me" and "no" these days. "My glasses."

"No, Daddy, I will not clean up my mess. And I can outlast you old man while I just lie here and stare at you."

"But I do love you!" Aven loves to say "cheese" when I point the camera at her.

This little face cracked me up. "Are you still there Daddy? I thought I told you that I take my play time very seriously."

But perhaps the most vexing aspect of Aven's attitude is her refusal to say her own name. The kid has a huge vocabulary that includes the names of all her classmates, a dozen animals, three-word sentences, and Mommy's favorite meal ("Bouillabaisse with Chateauneuf du Pape"), but she has yet to say her own name!

The Cuteness of Rory

My mental image of Rory at this age will definitely include this gray jacket. Oh, yeah, and the dresses that she insisted on wearing every single day.
Rory allows herself to be kissed by the giraffe in the Museum of Natural History.

If Rory were an animal, I think she'd be a graceful gazelle ... with an extreme sense of humor.

On Sundays, we try to eat together as a family, and Rory has become expert at setting the dinner table.

Here, she takes a bow for her decorating prowess. Performances weekly. Tickets on sale now.

Disney on Ice

Rory and her classmates braved the D.C. metro to see "Disney On Ice" one fine day in February.

Rory and Maeve take a break to read the latest headlines from the Post.

Clutching her Smurfette lunch box, Rory points to the action on the ice.

Tinker Bell! Fireworks! Ice! Oh-My-Gosh-Daddy! Rory loves the show.

Disney, Animal Kingdom

On our second full day in Disney World, we headed to Animal Kingdom.

The highlight was a "safari" into the vast park land that is home to many African animals.

Aven was not as excited by the Safari bus as Rory was, until ...

... she spotted her first animal!

Can you blame her?.... I've never seen a cow with horns that big!

Later, we spotted tigers. Both those painted on the wall and those ...

... just a few feet away!

... And, of course, we saw animatronic tigers and lions during the Festival of the Lion King!

"Hot Dog"

Aven's vocabulary is expanding by the hour, but she has made a few funny associations, including her insistence that Mickey's name is "Hot Dog" given that he sings the "Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Digiddy Dog" song each morning on Playhouse Disney. Aven also calls airplanes "Up-Down-Sky", and she has taken to inserting "big" in front of many words ("Look, big giraffe!").

Disney, The Princesses

The highlight of our trip for Rory was getting to see all of the Disney princesses!

Here, Rory is graced with a kiss from Sleeping Beauty.

Cinderella traded beauty secrets with Rory ...

... and gave her a big hug of appreciation.

Belle was quite taken by Rory's dress (which featured ice cream cones) ...

... She explained that The Beast regularly eats six ice cream cones at a sitting. Rory admitted that she could only manage one cone at a time.

Mary Poppins encouraged Rory to enjoy her day in the park.

And Mickey and Minnie invited all of my girls to join them for a picture!

Disney, Magic Kingdom

On our first fully day in Disney World, our destination was the Magic Kingdom.
Rory was the first in line to ride the classic Dumbo the Flying Elephant.

Aven enjoyed the ride almost as much as Rory did. She especially liked the view of the castle in the background.

Mommy called it the "most fun our little family has ever had together"! We simply must recommend the "Unofficial Guide to WDW" as your guide to the Disney experience ...

... we had virtually no wait in lines during the first few hours of our day.

With the help of her Daddy, Rory was brave enough to try her first roller coaster, which she loved!





Rory also enjoyed the classic Country Bear Jamboree.

Aven was a trooper for our entire time in the park, although it helped to have a pack horse for assistance.

Aven was quite sanguine about the rides, drawing comfort from her Mommy's grip and her Daddy's camera.

Here, all three of my ladies prepare for their first 3D movie experience!

Fortunately, we had enough time to slow down, enjoy a few shows, and hydrate ourselves.

We also had enough time to take turns sending the parents onto Space Mountain. Here, Daddy poses for the camera on the ride ...

... this is Mommy after her solo adventure on the famous roller coaster.

And this is our daughters after a long day in the park!