Freddie's Back

Well, sort of... Freddie's clone followed Anna home from Barnes & Noble a while back. One of his first acts was to help make raspberry pancakes on a sunny, disorganized morning. Brilliantly, this return of the prodigal frog gives us the chance to continue chronicling the adventures of a certain stuffed frog.

Grandma's Visit, pt. 3

Sunday arrived, and we all moved a bit slower. After breakfast and puttering around the house in the morning, we ducked over to Can Can for the last part of Freddie's restaurant week. He particularly appreciated the cricket brioche.



For the adults who might visit this blog, you can also appreciate that Freddie enjoyed a small taste of beer. Good beer.



The rest of the day was spent wandering the VMFA. Freddie and Banana especially enjoyed the late nineteenth century works, and Freddie saw one very, very small frog in the Faberge exhibit. Sadly, no one thought to bring a camera to record the visit.

After a few hours there, though, it was good to get home and cool our heels a bit. One final walk with Reilly, and Freddie got to go to sleep for his last night at our house.

Grandma's Visit, pt. 2

Then it was off to get Daddy's hair cut at the Pine Street Barber Shop. That's where Freddie discovered he could hang with Elvis and the Duckie. (ed. note: there is something a little odd about having a frog, a duck, and a miniature Elvis watch you while you're getting your hair cut.)



It was a rainy day--not great for a Spring visit, but perfect for a frog--and we decided to go for some perfect rainy day food: pho. Even a small bowl is a little much for Banana, but Freddie stepped in to help her. He thought about helping Daddy too, but Daddy likes to add lots of chili to his pho.



After lunch, we took care of a few errands, including picking up crickets at the pet store. Freddie left the pet store very glad that he gets to spend so much time with so many different families, and that he doesn't have to be kept in a cage all the time. (ed. note: we're hoping this lesson doesn't result in another prison break for the Leapy, the tree frog.)



When we headed to CMoR afterwards, Banana wisely chose to leave Freddie in the car. Every kid would have tried to play with him.

Grandma's Visit, pt. 1

As we waited for Grandma's plane to arrive, Freddie helped set the table. He did a fine job matching the napkins and place mats.



The next morning, he played Princess Monopoly with Banana and Grandma. Most importantly, he made sure that Grandma didn't cheat. (heh, heh...)

Day 5 - at rest

Time to take it easy. Freddie stayed home to hang with Reilly today, keep the pooch company, and rest up for the big weekend with Banana's grandma.

Day 4 - the evening

Friends came over for a fun dinner of pasta, salad, and crickets. At one point, Banana decided to see if Freddie wanted to prepare for summer swimming with a mask and snorkel. It was a good look, but Freddie admitted he didn't need the protection when swimming.

Day 4 – A daytime trip with Daddy

Freddie began the day sitting with Banana, who woke up later than usual, while she ate her yogurt and granola. Once everyone got out the door, he rode up front with Daddy to the first stop of the day at the physical therapist's office.



He hopped right up on the counter and gave everyone a good laugh before heading into the office itself. He watched as the nice physical therapist worked on Daddy's shoulder and back. Then, as a special extra, Freddie got to lie down and get a massage. After all the weeks with the different families and washing machines, it was a nice treat.

at the office with daddy

While Banana was at school, Freddie came to school with Daddy. He was a remarkable help. When there were pictures to be taken, he volunteered.



Later, when we needed to edit some documents, he volunteered to help out. His appendages (feet?) weren't perfect for the mouse and keyboard, but we made a few adjustments, and Freddie flexed his design muscles.



Daddy said that the cutting table was a purely adult activity, but Freddie assured Daddy that he could handle the work. He took the X-acto in foot and trimmed out several parts of a calendar.



At the end of it all, Freddie found a few flies and had a perfect snack. It was a good day.

the first morning

Freddie woke up with Banana and Camille, ready to start the day. He'd been so tired the night before that he hadn't even noticed he was sharing a room with a tree frog for the next week. After a tasty breakfast of yogurt and granola, he hunkered down in the backpack to wait out the day until ballet.

Sadly no camera was available to record these events. We do, however, have an old picture of Leapy.



ed. note: Camille is Banana's new ballet dancer doll.

sushi with the frog

This originated over at Impolitic Eye, but I decided it would be fun to break out a whole new medium for our stuffed friend...

***********

For the next week, Banana and I are responsible for Freddie the Frog. It is our sworn duty to care well for the frog and show him an exciting week. And that week must be documented in a journal.


We decided to start Freddie's week off right. He went with us and two other families to Carytown Sushi for dinner. While the kids ate their edamame, age tofu, and sashimi, Freddie went to town with insect gyoza and grasshopper rolls. He also held his own with a couple glasses of unfiltered sake.

Even though it was already pushing nine o'clock on a school night, we decided to carry on the welcome party next door at Bev's Ice Cream. The kids put away Richmond's best ice cream, and Freddie shared Banana's mint chocolate chip.



Unfortunately, Bev's does not put food coloring in their ice cream which kept the ice cream from matching the frog.


***********

ed. note: Credit for the pictures goes to Amy N. whose kids were (and are often) part of the grand mayhem. I will not, however, add her last name, per a recent lesson I learned about full names on blogs.