Lady Bug, Lady Bug, Where's My Coin?

There is probably some game or song out there called that...

...but if not, it seems rather appropriate for Anya's first Halloween. She went as a lady bug.


We found her costume at a "discount-thrift" store. Not only did the price match our budget, but we felt that she will only wear this "outfit" once in her life and therefore spending anything more than a few dollars wouldn't be smart financially. This brings up an interesting issue somewhat related to the previous sentence. How much should one spend on a wedding dress that the bride usually wears on only one day? Anyway, I digress...


Anya was adorable (as always) in her lady bug costume and was named "the cutest lady bug" by a person not even related to her. I guess I really am not biased in regards to her cuteness...

The young boys near her age showed up to check out her costume, but had a hard time seeing around their hoods... In fact, these two boys probably couldn't even see her without a hood, since they are both less than 2 months old! (However, they are just a couple ounces lighter than Anya...)


As for trick or treating, we planned our route well in advance... It went by the Kraybill's,


everyone in Alpharetta,


and the Bonners!

Happy Halloween!

Marta Moment #7

My Marta Mouse is dead. You read that correctly. My Marta Mouse is dead.

I always knew exactly where to find him. North Avenue Station, the southeast corner, typically three quarters up the set of stairs.

He was reliable. Much more than the Marta trains he lived (and died) with. I could count on seeing him at least once each week on the way to, or back from, school.

He grew from a small mouse to a slightly larger small mouse over the past several months while I've been attending Georgia Tech. I will miss him greatly but he is gone and I mourn my loss.

It appears he was playing too closely to the middle of the stairs during rush hour and an unsuspecting passenger prematurely ended his life with the aid of a large shoe. He never knew what hit him. He currently lies where is all ended... Stair number nine.

That's the problem. He is STILL on stair number nine. (Although a little flatter than usual...)

So, he's been there for a couple of days... Seeing the same dead mouse every day this week in the same position wasn't as enjoyable as seeing him scurry about the "less frequent" once per week. Surely there are janitors for the Marta stations, but perhaps they followed their French cousins and went on strike... After the fourth day, it warranted a picture. It's not every day that an American public institution gets away with having a dead mouse in a public place viewed by more than a 1000 people per day.

Anyway, I didn't have my camera but I did have my cell phone which takes abhorrently bad pictures. Still, his life's ending must be shown. (I had to take a picture of the picture on my cell phone to upload it. If you have a weak stomach and can actually make out the dead mouse in the following picture you may want to scroll over it...)

While I was taking this picture a lady gave me a smile. A weird smile. With a slight head nod. A smile (and accompanying head nod) you would give a small child when they find and come running to show you for the 40th time a rock they have found in a gravel yard... Anyway, somewhere out there is a blog telling an incorrect story about a sensitive (but disturbed) man taking pictures of leaves on the stairs in the Marta station. From her angle, she had no idea there was a mouse...

Anyway, a moment never to be forgotten but perhaps never cherished...

Yes, I will miss Marty greatly and yet I have a feeling I can move on... Yes, I can, since that's my train coming...

New Heights

Due to a recent purchase of ours, we've been able to do a little more exploring as a family, and Anya has gained a new perspective.



One of our hikes led us to the top of Kennesaw Mountain. I don't really know if this qualifies as a "mountain" since it was only about a mile to get to the top. However, for those history buffs out there, this is a historical site. The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was part of the Atlanta Campaign. It was a bloody battle, the Union lost about 3000 men, the Confederates about 1000 in a matter of about 2 weeks. The view from the top was quite impressive but I guess all that hiking and talk of the battle wore Anya right out.

De Pants

Anya is learning which of her clothes are crawling friendly. Dresses are problematic for obvious reasons. Also, if her pants aren't tight enough, she loses them.



And then there are the times she has somehow crawled into one pant leg.




And so she is sticking with the onesies!

White Fang

They've taken their time but at long last, Anya's first two teeth are coming in, months after her cousin David has been flashing his pearly whites on the hard Chicago polished floors...

She hasn't been taking the "new additions" too well. A couple of fevers and some nasal congestion have made some nights longer than even before. But hopefully the process will be over soon. For awhile. Only 18 more!

To help distract her, we go outside on long walks and picnics. Just recently she had an opportunity to see some Canadian "gooses." I'm sure they were on their way to Florida looking at the weather up there. I suppose I am heading that way too in a matter of speaking, with a couple of stops in Utah and Georgia... Still, it is pretty nice right here. I actually got some stares from various people walking to school as I was the only one wearing shorts. If it drops below 70 here, people pull out their parkas! I guess they don't know what they have...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you...Thank you very much!

Everywhere across my home and native land, people are gorging themselves on turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberries and anything else then can get their hands on - much like it has been recently around our house with little Anya. She has found great joy in her new abilities to crawl , role and move around in the x-y plane... (If you haven't seen her in action, check out the previous post!) With this increased daily energy expenditure, her food consumption has more than doubled - making it a "Canadian Thanksgiving feast" every day and for every meal! I can't remember the last time I ate an ENTIRE jar of sweet potatoes, but I know the last time Anya did...


Anya wanted to wish everyone a happy Canadian Thanksgiving! Until next time: "Bye!"

Anya in Action!

After many months of being content to be carried around, Anya decided to venture out on her own. Since then, she has been knocking over lamps, sticking her fingers in outlets, getting stuck under the coffee table, acting as a human vacuum cleaner, chasing her ball around and letting her mom have a break.

The following videos are mostly for Anya's biggest fans or the very bored :) (My apologies for those who may become motion sick after watching these, I need to work on being steady.)