On Saturday the 5th, we headed over to the Lake Anne Farmers Market to pick up some fresh fruit and produce, and got to see the new art booth of Morgan Johnson Norwood. Jill’s friend Emily came to visit that day with her son and another friend. The next morning I made baked cinnamon French toast with strawberry-rhubarb sauce and the Norwoods joined us as well for breakfast and an impromptu playdate.
Saturday the 12th we had a very nice early Mother’s Day gathering today at our house as my sister was only in town for a day. Jill made a killer new dessert – a strawberry-rhubarb crumble. The actual Mother’s Day was relaxing and we all got naps. The next day I made fart noises for the first time that night for Nina. She laughed hysterically (proud father).
Saturday the 19th Nina went out on the floating dock again and tried Cheerios (not a hit unless you mean for their aerodynamic properties), and regular bottled water for the first time (and got it all down her front). Sunday we went out for dinner at Cheeburger Cheeburger for burgers and shakes (Nina brought her food). Monday it was Nina:1 Dog’s water dish:0 as she finally was crawling around the kitchen (made it up the two stairs out of the sunken living room), and got there a bit too fast for me. She also started pulling herself up to stand this week.
Saturday the 26th we headed over to Mad Fox for lunch with Jill’s Aunt Cathy, then Jill’s mom and her husband Dave arrived for a visit in the afternoon. We all picnicked at Wolf Trap with my dad and his girlfriend Patricia before Prairie Home Companion (Nina and I didn’t stay for the show). The next day we went out for lunch at Southside 815 in Old Town Alexandria for some fine Southern cuisine. Later that night Dave, Illa and I took the floating dock out on the lake and learned two important lessons: 1) Take raingear on the lake, 2) check the radar before I leave. Thunderstorms are scary out there. Memorial Day I grilled burgers and dogs for lunch with both grandmothers before someone had a meltdown.
Wednesday the 30th we enjoyed some BBQ ribs from Uncle Fred’s (at Smart Markets in Reston). Thursday the 31st Sue took some nice pictures of Nina at Meadowlark Gardens, then her and Dave watched Nina as Jill and I had a superb dinner at Mokomandy – superb small plates featuring Cajun and Korean cuisines. Nina got her two bottom teeth by the end of the month.
