A Wedding Anniversary Celebration

Yesterday it was our 6th Wedding Anniversary.  [Wow.  I can't believe it has been this long already: it still feels like we got married only yesterday!]  Our friend Sean celebrated it with us, and took us out to a late lunch in Old Town Alexandria.  We went to the wonderful Union Street Public House, which is a yummy, cozy restaurant we love.

We had a great time, especially Abigail: she tried some of my Filet Mignon, and she simply loved it! In fact, she attempted to get some off my plate while I wasn't looking.  I also gave her a little piece of tomato, and she ate it, but was a little confused about the tiny leaf of lettuce: she spit it out. She got into everyone's plate, except for Sean's, which was out of her reach (but she was eyeing it). She was unhappy that she did not get to taste the oysters, but as much as I love to expose her to new foods, there are limits! As usual, Abigail made some friends: a nice pair sitting next to our table befriended the little bugger, and she showed off her ability to wave hello/goodbye, and talked with them several times.  It was funny how she pointed at everything and everyone, uttering who knows what.

We got stuck inside the restaurant longer than we anticipated due to a couple of decisively heavy showers, and while Sean and Christopher boldly and fearlessly confronted the elements to go get the car (which was not parked anywhere close-by), the older gentleman at the adjoining table came over to sit with Abigail and I. He played and talked with Abbie for a while, which I thought was very sweet.  She showed off her new teeth smiling big, and uttered a few, deep thoughts and he replied to her, so they kept it up.  A very kind waiter also came over and engaged the little chatter-box in another conversation.  Thankfully, he was not put off by Abbie's spilling some of my water on the table (she, by the way, thought that was hilarious). When the guys finally came back, we wanted to go around Old Town for a while, take Abbie to the pier to satisfy her intense love for water, but the only water she got to see was the splatter from the rain on the windshield of the Murano.  Even so, she was as happy as a clam.

This was one of the best Wedding Anniversaries ever: we not only celebrated with a dear friend before his final departure from Virginia (the one sad note of the day), but, especially, it was the first one we shared with our itty bitty Abbie. She, of course, had no idea how special the day was for us, nor that she made it even better with her smiles and bubbly personality. This truly was a day to remember: on a scale from one to ten, it was definitely an eleven.

Merrifield Gardens and Uncle Sean

Abbie had another terrific day: in the afternoon we went to Merrifield Gardens, where we walked around flowers, shrubberies and trees for a long time.  Abbie was mesmerized by the colors and textures of everything she saw.  She ate a Sage leaf and Stevia leaf (not at the same time, yuck) and picked a few more flowers for her little garden, including a Bouganvillea, which she was *really* excited about.  We had so much fun!  Abigail just loves the outdoors, which pleases me to no end, since I do too.  I am looking forward to more days in the sun.  

In the afternoon, her honorary Uncle Sean came over to visit.  It was so good to see him again, but of course there is a sad note since he is here getting everything set up for the move to Colorado: it makes it all so final... It seems so hard to believe that another chapter of life is ending.  So many people come and go, it's hard to say goodbye...  Abbie took an immediate liking to Sean, she voluntarily crawled over to him to check him out and be picked up by him. And of course, Sean was absolutely adorable with her -- he is really good with babies -- and got along famously with the little one.  They played, he helped her to get on her feet (which is sure to win immediate approval), talked to her, and she chirped away.  It had been a long time since she last saw him, so she definitely did not remember him.  How time flies!  I am really hoping that we will get another chance to spend some more time with Sean this week before he takes off for good.  And Abbie would love to see him again too, I know.