this one's for Josepha

Here we are with our little eyes open.

Look it's John Bertolini's grumpy face!

She is here!

welcome little Ronia Francesca Hatke.

Born at home 2:17 a.m. Feb. 24 7 lbs even. Another beautiful little girl!

We are all so busy. . . . .

A last hurrah

My friend Marina recently had her fifth and called her last big prenatal outing her last hurrah. I decided yesterday that in spite of my large girth and looming due date (one week) I really wanted to accompany my husband to his very first book signing in Washington DC, and bring our daughters along with us. So yesterday we had our last hurrah. It couldn't have been better.

I met up with a dear old childhood friend of mine (wondrous pilgrim) who lives in the city and the day was sunny and in the upper sixties. The folks at the bookstore (Politics and Prose) were very kind and so helpful and down in their lowere level is the best kept secret in coffee in d.c. I haven't had such a good lattè since the leaving Italy. And the pastry were worthy of the coffee too, to put it mildly.

It was such a joy to see Ben give his talk on comics to a group of school age children and while he signed copies of his book the girls and I perused the children's section and bought a book or two of our own. After the booksigning we parted ways with my friend and we headed to Chinatown for dumplings. Zita (who is gluten intolerant ) and I went to a food truck (wow. . . . foodtrucks. . . . .) and ate our food on the steps of the portrait museum, watching the washingtonians enjoying the fine weather on their lunch breaks and Ben and the others went for dumplings. Afterward we visited the museum and headed home on the metro.

One cannot put a price tag on a days outing in February with the sunshine and birdsong of April. Oh. . . . and the vienna metro sure has a lot of buskers now. Whenever we give them money I laugh and think about how all the starving artists are just passing the same money around to one another.

Per gravagna e per fede

Ecco. Devo scrivere in Italiano.

Fede,

Arrivera il bambino (a?) nel principio da Marzo. Speddiamo che tutto andava bene! Adesso mi sento grandissima! Le bimbe s hanno molto entusiasmo. La Angelica e la Zita volanno un fratellino ma la Giulia vole una sorellina.

Habbiamo preso un altro gatto anche noi!! In nostro e chiamato "Nicco" perche la Angelica recorda un gatto similare che Giuseppe ha dato lo stesso nome! Forse "Gustavo" e proprio un bel nome per un micio. Angelica ancora piace le luchertole e adesso anche le dinosaure. (? questo parola in Italiano non sonno sicuro. . . . )

Speddiamo che torniamo questo estate. Fa un preghiera a San Barttolomeo e San Rocco. . . . . .

Ci manca tantissimo!!!

Anche grazie a la Lina per la bellisima lettera che ha mandato per Natale!


Baci a Gravagna,

Anna