Date night with Annie

Friday night, Annie and I headed out together, without Rebecca and Everett.

This NEVER happens. I think I’ve probably been alone with Everett more often than I have been alone with Annie, which is crazy because she’s been around for two years more. But here we were. Everett was sick, and one of my best friends from when we lived in Germany was driving through DC with his family, so I wanted to see them. Then, in a happy coincidence, my Aunt Katrina and some of her kids, my cousins, were also in DC. We decided to do dinner with my friend and his family, and then dessert with our relatives.

Annie and I took the metro down to DC, which I think she really enjoyed. It’s a train, and kids don’t take trains much, so she thought it was very fun. She also thought it was crazy that we ended up underground, even after the train started above ground when we got on.

I honestly think my favorite part of the night was walking around DC with Annie. I was walking, but she does a little bit of a jog to keep up with me. I asked her if I should slow down, and she was like: “No, I’m good.” She held my hand while we were walking around most of the night, asked questions like where the metro was relative to where we were, and even asked if I knew where we were going when I had to turn around. For the record, I DID know where we were going, I had just missed the road onto which we were supposed to turn! She was wearing a cute blue dress over pink tights, with a pick coat over it all and a pick flower in her hair. She was totally fun to take around DC with me, and I liked all the smiles she got from people as we walked around. It always makes me think I’m doing okay as a parent if we get those.

Dinner was really tasty. We went to a restaurant called District Taco, which I had heard was good, but had never been before. It turned out really well! The tacos seemed legit, and they had fish tacos, which I always like. Annie got a quesadilla with chips and a drink, and she ate the ENTIRE thing, another fabulous miracle. She was really happy to play with the kids who came to dinner with us, and even had brought a purse with princess dolls that were perfect for playing at the table while I talked to the parents. I was really happy to see Brandon, because it feels like we see each other one every couple years or so. I guess this will probably check the box for us ;-)

Then, when we went to dessert, Annie was very excited to see her cousins (once removed). What’s crazy is that she remembers playing with Lily, the youngest cousin, from when Annie was maybe two? Lily is twelve now, so she’s definitely a little too old to regularly play with dolls, but she was really happy to play with Annie. And once again, I had a nice conversation with the older kids and their mom. Annie was a great date to have along, and I think she liked being a big kid that gets to spend time with the adults. Plus, there was great conversation and food for me.

When I got home and told Rebecca how nice it all was, she said that I should be better about taking Annie out on dates. And Friday was certainly an indicator that Annie and I could have great times!