Last weekend we got to host some visitors from the cold and icy north: Kc from MI and Kim and Catie from Norway. For some reason, I only seem to have photographic evidence of Catie’s visit. I do recall trying to get pictures of the adults, but perhaps they snuck into my camera and did some deleting. Or perhaps I was using Kim’s camera. Either is possible because I do have memories of using Kim’s camera, and Kc is very devious when it comes to photos of herself.

While these lovely ladies were here, we had lots of yummy food…

Played with the critters…

Fed the bees…

And got concrete…

Kc had to leave on Sunday to get back to work. After we dropped her off at the airport, Kim, Catie, and I … went to the mall. It started out as a simple quest for a garlic peeler (they make those?) and ended up as an adventure in clearance shopping. Kim really knows how to shop the clearance stuff. I was in awe. I was also in awe of the crazyness of people. I saw at least four people take strollers onto escalators, and I think only one of those people took the baby out first. I was also approached by a kiosk lady who faked interest in Anya to try to get me to buy “stretch mark remover.” Uh lady? Look at me. Do you really think pregnancy-related stretch marks are a problem for me? Anya was definitely an attraction in her sling. Even one of the escalator-stroller mommies asked me about the sling. “WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?” In one store, a teenage boy with a few of his friends said, “When I have a kid, I’m getting me one of those!” And at a kid’s clothes store, I surprised the cashier when I turned towards her and she realized it wasn’t me making those weird goobly sounds, “OH! There’s a PERSON in there!” I love that sling. I also loved shopping with the gals even though the Disney store doesn’t sell the glittery green shoes in my size. (When I asked the sales guy why not, he replied, “Honey, they don’t sell them in my size either!)

On Monday, we decided to go to town to hit the thrift store and get lunch. Too bad the thrift store is closed on Monday. I thought perhaps we could try Ray’s for lunch. Ray’s is this place that looks like a biker bar…big sprawling gray building with a rock facade painted on the front. It was voted best burger in Floyd, and it’s always packed on Friday nights when we drive by. It really does appear to be a family joint. Why oh why does it look like that, though? It needs a makeover I think. The locals would probably boo at me for the idea, but really…that place looks scary. Anyhow, Ray’s is also closed on Monday. We ended up at the Blue Ridge Diner…a place I have not yet been. The food was okay…typical diner food. After we ate, we visited the General Store and oogled cast iron cookware, and Catie instructed a fellow about how they speak Norwegian in Norway. Next we decided to visit one of the galleries, but it was…yes…closed on Monday. Instead we went into what appeared to be a little antique shop but was really a huge shop. Kim was on a mission to find a few things, and so we looked through the entire store. I guess two women with little kids raised the proprietor’s shoplifting antenna because we were followed most of the time we were there. The day still seemed young when we said farewell to our watcher, and I went back to the car to change and feed Anya. Kim and Catie went on to visit some other stores. Turns out things close in town around 5:00 on Mondays, though, so we headed home.

Tuesday morning, the gals packed up in a hurry and ran away because I thought Anya had pink eye (and they were planning to leave then, anyhow). It had appeared at daycare about a week ago, so when Anya woke up with goopy eyes I figured she had it. I’m not sure if she did, but she did get a fever and had a sad day. I think she is finally teething.

In conclusion, Kim and her family need to move to the States, and Kc needs to make my mom cinnamon rolls.

Cabol thought these would make a good movie:

<a href="/weblog/uploads/BabyHead.mp4" title="BabyHead.mp4" target="_blank"> BabyHead.mp4 </a>

Anya hit a milestone. BOOM. She’s been sleeping tons and not eating so much lately. I think she was preparing for today when she would decide sitting was hip and trendy. She can sit for a decent amount of time…like maybe 30 seconds. Then she decides she wants to look at something in a different direction than she’s facing, and she topples over in that direction. She’s like a weeble…except she does fall down.

Happy half birthday, Baby! I would have made you a cake, but formula doesn’t hold its shape too well. Here’s what you’ve been up to. You have…

+ Perfected puking. Thanks, plague!
+ Increased your rolling speed and ability. You still don’t roll much from your back to your tummy, but why would you? You hate being on your tummy!
+ Gotten a case of the grabbies. I’m going to have to strap your hands down whenever we go to the store because you want to pull everything off the shelves. You are also reaching out to try and get your toys, but you can’t quite figure out how to move where you want to go.
+ Tasted cucumber, carrot, and apple. You also ate a wee tiny bit of banana and of oatmeal. None of these things seem to impress you.
+ Learned how to sit on your own for a few seconds before wobbling over.
+ Developed a reading habit. Your current favorites are Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, and Just So Stories. You seem to really like it when I use different voices, and you really like it when I let you chew on the books.
+ Discovered laughing.

Now that Anya is such a big girl, we decided it was time for her to have her own room. While my parents were here, we worked on fixing the new room. It mostly needed painting, but there was some assembly required. She hasn’t moved her stuff in yet, but it’s obvious she loves it already!