December at Chez Wixsons

Hi,

It's been awhile since our last post. The Christmas rush hit soon after Thanksgiving along with many other tasks and adventures so we are just now digging out of the craziness. here is a little synopsis of what's been going on.

Mid-December brought the first of two family gatherings to celebrate Christmas - we went to Harriet's for a get together with Granpa and Nonnie, Fred, Liz & Charlie, Aunt Emmy and Uncle Jim, and Harriet and the boys. The meal was spectactular but the most fun was watching all the cousins play together. Several group pics were taken and can't wait to see how they came out.

Anastasia is really getting to be quite a little toddler. She is really steady on her feet now and can almost run if she is so motivated. Cathi has been busy keeping up with Anastasia, as has Bobby.

Recently Bobby took Anastasia to visit the National Aquarium. She discovered that glass is not permeable - while Bobby was waiting for friends in the foyer, Anastasia saw people walking around outside and tried to join them - but to her dismay she ran smack into a glass wall! Then there was the dolphin show - and she loved it - until the dolphins jumped out of the water! Ahh, the life of a toddler. Bobby stopped by Vaccaro's on the way home and bought Mommy a really yummy Napoleon - layers of mille feuilles pastry with chocolate cream in between! Vaccaro's distributor is less than a mile from the house but they don't sell from their warehouse (bummer!).

The second family gathering was to get Cathi's family together in Livingston, TX, where all the Dannenberg first cousins (Cathi's family and her Uncle Bill's family) got together and celebrated Christmas. There are three kids all 1 year to eighteen months and we got them together for the first time. What fun to see them at play and also to look for resemblances between the cousins. We had so much fun we put the present opening off till the last minute.

Another thing we've discovered is the joy of travelling with a toddler! Yikes! I don't know how people travel with two children - one was enough for me (Cathi) to travel with! Planes just weren't made for toddlers - if they were they would be devoid of seats and look more like the play areas at the mall. There was a study done somewhere regarding how toddlers to age four explore a playroom - and the most active are kids right about Anastasia's age. They visit every single toy in the nursery whereas an older child will pick a couple of toy areas. People complain about being stuck on runways - well - we sat on one for 1.5 hours on the way home from Christmas. Anastasia was screaming due to lack of a nap and an oncoming cold. I know everyone in that plane was thinking what were we doing to have such a screaming toddler on our hands. Once she napped, though (after about an hour of screeching), we had a different child. Even the flight attendant commented "she sure had a rough beginning but what a doll she is now..." All I can say is take lots of snacks and plenty of entertainment if you're going to fly with a little guy or gal under two.

Two more things to mention....we just completed day 1 of a new roof installation. We're getting a fake slate tile put on - and boy does it look great. Big change from the old asphalt roof we've had. The roof replacement is just in time - had some rotten boards in the front near our dormer.

Lastly, not to end on a sad note, but we have a great friend who is struggling with peritoneal cancer right now. Mary went into hospice just a few days before Christmas - so pray for Mary, Jason, Molly, Philip, and Michael Fox if you think of it.

Hope all is well and we will post more later - next time a shorter post.

The Wixsons

Shut the Door

Since Anastasia started walking, she has gotten a lot more interested in opening and closing doors and drawers.

Except this time Mommy shut the door on her. Literally. She got two fingers smushed into the door jamb!

Good news is it doesn't seem to have hurt her. But for all the other moms out there who have experienced this, I now have new sympathy and appreciation for what you went through. Needless to say the mother guilt I felt was tremendous, but after reassurance from our pediatrician, I am now still convinced Anastasia's fingers will not be permanently damaged. Whew!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

The Endless Cold

Seems like we always catch a cold in mid-November. Last year I caught one after A was born. This year we've got it early. A got it 3 weeks ago, then Bobby, and now me. A still has a runny nose after all that!

On a more positive note, this week is Anastasia's first birthday! We are looking forward to Grammy, Pappaw, and Aunt Dakin coming to visit us. Thanks to Antonia and Lubo for hostessing Aunt Dakin. We don't really have the room.

Most importantly, we will be baptizing our little girl this weekend in church and becoming members of Wallace Presbyterian, where we have been attending services for the past year. We are thankful to be members and to have a church home where they love our daughter so much!

Developments this week: A said Mama for the first time while looking directly at me. She also learned about the play button on the VCR and punches it regularly to start the Baby Einstein video. Finally, she has been opening and shutting the lid on her new toy chest, given by Nonnie and Gramps.

Catch you all later.

She's WALKING!!!!

Uh-oh. We have a walker on our hands. It's been about three weeks now since her first steps and with every day I can tell she is more and more confident.

She is truly a toddler right now with the little teeter tottering motion it takes for her to stay standing up. My is it cute to watch. Last week she added a 180 degree turn to her repertoire; this week it was carrying things - a basket full of alphabet letters, her teddy bear, books, her toolbox that Nonnie and Grandpa gave her. Unfortunately her method of putting things down is to drop them on the floor! Look out Toes!

Got her first shoes at Stride Rite in Wheaton Mall. They took a Polaroid of the trip and gave it to me. I was all emotional and teary-eyed (who knew that Polaroids were still around?!!!). White tennis shoes and they were scuffed up from day one. Smile! Onward Childhood.

We went to Bloomies

OK, I am not a fashion freak, but we got a last-minute call from friend Ruthie Zuba to go to the grand opening of Bloomingdale's new store in Chevy Chase, MD.

We met Ruthie and her son in the fine china section AFTER fighting our way into the parking garage, then cramming into the parking garage elevator, and managing to find the other elevator that takes you from the 1st floor level to the 3rd floor. It was unbelieveable how many people had turned out for this event, and many of them looked like fashion models.

In the process we ran into a coworker named Atlantic; from the Kennedy Center that I haven't seen since I left there in 1997. She now has a 22 month old and the little girl was very cute.

Anyway the people watching was the best part of the whole experience. Anastasia enjoyed looking at all the people and Ruthie found some eye shadow at the Clinique counter she liked. I saw several blouses and dresses in the $300 price range that I loved but would not wear to the park - we need a more casual look for strolling. BTW Fuschia paired with black is really IN this year.

JT and Anastasia aren't die hard shoppers yet - it was dinnertime and they prefer food to shopping.

I thought that Bloomingdale's has a fabulous new store. I certainly felt cool being there! We left our mark by spilling Cheerios on the floor in front of one of the makeup counters. Thanks to Ruthie for inviting us!

Ann Elise Took a Little Spill

Oops! had an accident today. Anastasia (aka Ann Elise) fell and busted a lip (I understand that in some areas of the country you say split a lip). Yes, there was blood. Suddenly remembered that ice cubes help with these things. She's fine after some Ibuprofen and a little Baby Orajel.

Today we visited Cathi's friend, Dawn, to pick up a bridesmaid's dress I'll be wearing in a month. Was amazed at how well she took to Dawn's dogs. They were three times as big as her and licking her hands, face, and anything else. She was smiling the whole time! The bridesmaid's dress is for Cathi's friend, Valerie.

Vacation is Almost Over!

Today is our last day of being home as a family and being on vacation. Sad.

We went to the New Jersey coast (Long Beach Island) last week, and I have uploaded some pictures for you. It was Anastasia's first time at the beach. It took awhile for her to get used to the sand and the waves. One thing she really loved was feeding the ducks.

Cathi

Feeding the Ducks

The Ocean

There Really Are Sharks in the Ocean

Welcome to Our Blog!

Cathi Wixson here on behalf of the Wixson family...

I've been wanting to find a way to get our family videos uploaded onto a Web page and am so excited that we're finally getting around to it. With friends and family in the country and abroad, it will be great to have a way to keep in touch which doesn't require mass reproduction of files, i.e., the way I've been doing it is to make a CD and mail it to family. I'll of course still have to do this for some family members but maybe dial-up will become obsolete in the next decade - who knows - and I will be glad for that day because as a friend said to me - "you'll never go back (to dial-up)." Unless you are a Slowsky (reference to Comcast ads).

I am really excited to share with you how Anastasia has grown over the past few months and look forward to sharing the joyous moments of babyhood with you as often as possible.

Anastasia Goes to the Zoo

Here is a recent video clip of our daughter at the zoo. The sounds you hear are not from the emu, they are from Anastasia.


Much love to all and may God bless you richly,

The Wixsons
(Bobby, Cathi, and Ann Elise)

PS NOTE to all. Bobby's name is spelled with a "y" on the end - mine is with an "i." Seemingly everyone gets this confused and we often end up seeing Bobbi and Cathi - hopefully now everyone will get it that it's BobbY and CathI. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!