A box, a bug, bars, and a Brit

The girls have any number of carefully chosen educational toys to harness their burgeoning brain cells, but none can compare to summiting a box in one's new feet pajamas. Both girls enjoyed their visit to see Missy and Hans and especially Siena, and no visit to an entomologist is complete without spending some quality time with a large South American beetle (or in this case a big plastic replica of same). Maggie isn't buying the cheesy grin that Mark adopted for this photo. The jail has yet to be built that can contain Bea, the international baby of mystery, although the gate barring her from the kitchen seems to be working just fine.

Ringing in the new

We rang in the new year with a group of Dave's college friends, adding our new additions to the joyful next-generation throng that converged on Turkey Hall for what has become a traditional in-gathering. Big George and Cathy, who has adopted Maggie and Bea as their nona, somehow manage to outdo themselves in hospitality with each new year. Thanks to them, the girls now have their first car, a situation that we were not expecting to face for another fifteen years at least. Despite being a bit under the weather with a cold -- fairly inevitable at this point in the holiday season -- Bea shows her enthusiasm for driving as does the slightly less under-the-weather Maggie (shown with Cathy). Maggie also took considerable delight in rocking chair rides. Turkey Hall is quite the magical place. The wintertime view contrasts with a similar view taken back in July. For one thing, the Shenandoah is now visible through the leafless trees, and the snow is quite a bit more visible than it was during the Virginia summer.

Dinner with friends

The holidays brought with them many firsts. Bea climbed to the top of the stairs, fortunately with her mother on her heels, underscoring why we installed gates and other babyproofing paraphernalia this past month. Maggie mastered the fine art of putting things into containers rather than just taking them out (hey, this is big stuff!). They dined at a restaurant on Christmas Eve, and they met their first parrot. More to the point, this last first allowed their parents to enjoy dinner at Jeff and Kristen's house where Zoe the African gray holds court. Look closely under the side table next to Kristen and you can see Zoe perambulating around the living room.