Quack

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. Well the week long debate as to whether Anja was actually a duck or a chicken ended when a 1 1/2 year old little girl named Grace came up, pointed to Anja and said "Duck". Our daughter will unfortunately have trouble distinguishing fowl.

Yes, 5 month olds do go Trick-or-Treating in our neighborhood! As do dogs. Pip was not at all comfortable with this holiday. From the hat he had to wear, to the goblins and ghosts knocking on our door, he was ready for this particular night to end.

There's not much more to write...as might be expected, Anja was pretty nonchalant about the evening. We think the highlight for her was taking off the hot suit, scratchy hat and the boots we had to tape to her feet to keep on. We expect she will be much more enthusiastic next year.

Belle of the Ball

As we got dressed to attend what turned out to be a beautiful wedding this past weekend, we had to keep reminding Anja that she would not be the belle of this ball. That honor belonged to the bride, Terri. Well Anja decided she'd show us; she refused to smile for the camera. Anja's next opportunity will be in a couple of weeks when her Aunt Julie gets married.

Milestones

Well this posting is about new beginnings. This past weekend we celebrated Anja's baptism. It was an amazing weekend, as family and friends from Michigan, Texas, West Virginia, Baltimore and DC arrived to celebrate. It was a beautiful day- albeit a bit more like mid-August than early October. It was wonderful to see that Anja has so many people that truly love her.

Mark and I were a little worried about how the mass would proceed- could she make it for an hour without crying? We decided several weeks ago that Mark would be the one to hold her for the ceremony. I have no shame admitting that he has a calming touch that I don't seem to have- I won't go as far as to call him "golden hands" as he has named himself. But, there is something there. And sure enough, she was smiling the whole time. She was actually quite a ham in front of the camera- she clearly does not take after her mother - or maternal grandmother- with this trait!

The second milestone we are experiencing is that I am going back to work tomorrow. Given that there could be people from work looking at this blog I won't say much more than that. It will certainly be a transition. Fortunately, Mark is staying home with her for another 5 weeks before she has to go to daycare. Needless to say, Mark, Anja and Pip are very much looking forward to the coming weeks a bit more than I am.