Wednesday the 1st I picked Jill and Nina up from Dulles. Nina learned “mine” when she was in Massachusetts. Now I feel like a seagull from “Finding Nemo” has landed in our house. I went out during Nina’s nap on Saturday to participate in Free Comic Book Day.
Tuesday the 7th I experienced that familiar mixture of excitement and dread of heading to Maryland for a concert on a rainy weeknight. But Rush was awesome (loved “The Body Electric”), the smoke burger afterwards at Alewife (while I waited for concert and Orioles traffic to clear) was delicious, but the dog pee at 2am was a pain (and I managed to wake Nina up). We also had a plumber out the next day as we forgot to turn the water off for the winter, and got a leak near the hose when I turned the faucet on for the first time (but Nina loves her sprinkler).
Friday the 10th Nina and I saw a mom give her two kids Swiffer pads and a challenge that whoever made theirs dirtiest was the winner. Still trying to decide if that’s a parenting win or parenting fail. Saturday we had a lovely time with the Norwoods for their youngest daughter’s birthday at Frying Pan Park. Nina is no longer afraid of any of the animals. Too bad she had the biggest pre nap meltdown in quite a while. Sunday we had my mom over for a Mother’s Day brunch (Nina’s a fan of sausage links and hash browns).
Tuesday the 14th Nina’s first multisyllabic word was applesauce. Which I then worked into “Gangnam Style” and “Call Me Maybe”. That Saturday morning she started saying “Why”, and I knew we were doomed. I took her to the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival in the pouring rain where she decorated a fish, which wasn’t half as important to her as meeting Wolf Trap’s mascot Wolfie (I had to drag her away three times). Later that night, it was weird being back at my high school for a band alumni concert – haven’t been back since my sister graduated. They were pretty good for only a few hours practice.
Wednesday the 22nd I headed into DC solo. Dinner at Burger, Tap & Shake (tasty burger and the chocolatiest shake I’ve ever had), then my second orchestra performance in a week, this time at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for Trey Anastasio with the NSO. We had no plans Memorial Day weekend, so we did a playdate on Sunday at our house (with burgers) with the Norwoods. The kids all ran around and ate heartily, then we went out for a spin on the lake.
Memorial Day we took Nina to Dinosaur Park (she loved it) and Carolina Brothers BBQ (meh). Friday the 31st I took Nina to the Herndon Festival and gave her her first Sno-cone (cherry) and her first sunburn. Or so I thought – turns out she flushes in heat (got Jill’s complexion). So no concerts, and she was much better by the time we got home.
