What really knocked me out was her cheap sunglasses

Josie's got a pair of sunglasses now. You can't really see them in these shots, but there are some pink rhinestones on the edges. Here she sports her new shades whilst dining out al fresco at one of Chicago's trendy Division Ave. eateries. Luckily, none of the lurking paparazzi spotted her.


In this shot, she looks a little like she's watching a 3-D movie.








In this one she's saying, "Do I know you? I didn't think so. Move along."







Or maybe she's doing her impersonation of Michael Chiklis playing Vic Mackey in "The Shield."

Getting into the (lobstah) jam(mies)

Josie is going on her first trip this weekend. Early Sunday morning we fly to Boston and then will drive up to stay with my mom in NH. To get her excited about the trip, we broke out her new lobstah jammies which were a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Simpson after their trip to Rhode Island. She's now big enough to wear them!




I like lobstah jammies.







Here Josie does her best impersonation of Napoleon. Or is it Ed Sullivan?







Look out, lobstahs! Here I come!








Lobstah footie.










Lobstah sleep.

Crib nap!!!

Maybe all I needed to do was write a long post about how Josie hated the crib, but I finally got her to go to sleep in there this afternoon (see the above photo documentation)! It probably helps that she didn't get to bed until close to midnight last night and only slept until around six and then skipped her morning nap. But, hey, whatever works.

PS Thanks, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dante and Solana for the cool numbers/colors/music worm which you can see hanging on the cribside. Josie loves it! And I keep getting the Purple Jazz song in my head : )

You won't sleep tonight!

Lately I've been remembering a chant from college camping trips to Beaver Island, Maine. It was a quiet little ditty (shouted at the top of one's lungs) and it went something like "You won't sleep tonight!" Repeated over and over, this was yelled at the next tent over or in the general direction of anyone trying to get some sleep before daybreak.

Sadly, this remembrance has not been stirred by the recent visit of my college pals. Instead, I have heard this echoing in my memory as a sort of undercurrent to Josie's wailing as she is laid into the crib. This is because for the last two weeks, on and off, she has decided that she hates the crib. Really, really HATES the crib. She'll conk out and sleep anywhere *but* the crib. The second her head hits the crib mattress she cries as if it is a bed of nails. Then we try to soothe her until she quiets down, gently eeeeeeease her back into the crib and...start the wailing/soothing cycle over again. Eventually, it's like I can almost hear Josie yelling "You won't sleep tonight," mocking my efforts to put her to bed so that I can go to bed.

We hope we can remedy this soon. The pediatrician (who we saw yesterday for her four month visit) says that we should be putting her to bed earlier and be working on a bedtime routine more diligently. We'll see...


Here she is sleeping off a night of crib-hating in our bed the next morning.







But how can you stay mad at a face like this? We'll figure this crib thing out yet.

xoxo Gossip Daddy

Go on...you're kidding!








That's shocking! I had no idea.








Thanks for chatting, Daddy.






PS This week's Gossip Daddy fashions were provided by Auntie Pammy.

College reunion

This week we had a whirlwind of guests...friends from library school with their two boys (alas, we didn't employ the camera during their visit) and friends from college. Nan and her family were visiting from Holland and Pam flew in from NH so we could all hang out. Here are a few pix from that visit:


Waiting for Ben and Edo.







Josie's adoring suitors.








Edo-rock.








Ben is jamming: "Ich love rock and roll!"








The lob-stah pops that Auntie Pammy brought were a huge hit.








We still look exactly the same as we did in college, don't you agree?

Nap time for babies (and cats)

Josie and Zeeb catch some zzz's:

In the Loop

We took Josie downtown today to pick up her birth certificate. Now she's official. Here she is looking a bit annoyed in front of the Daley Center.











Here's some pictures from lunch.





























All day I felt like a European tourist because of my choice of clothing. Ich habe ein wunderbaby!

Sassy summer outfits

Today Josie is sporting a Helen-me-down (thanks, Aunt Jenny!) that is suitable for the 90+ degree weather with high humidity we're expecting.

Here Josie indicates that she is not amused by the impromptu photo-session-in-the-swing, even though she is all decked out to go see Grandma and Grandpa Simpson in a cute sundress with matching bloomers and socks.

Josie and Zeeb

Josie is starting to notice Zeeb. She likes Zeeb.







Zeeb still likes to spend a lot of time in Josie's room, especially when the sun is streaming in. Here she contemplates her shadow cat doppleganger.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Josie shows off her patriotism (and her parents' political leanings) in her "I heart Obama" onesie. If she grows up to be a Republican, à la Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties, we can taunt her with this photo.

Tummy (and tongue) time

Josie shows some grim determination during tummy time:




A lighthearted moment afterwards:

SimpRoss, Inc. Hair Club for Babies

She's not only the president, she's also a client:



P.S. Yes, that's my hair hanging over Josie. We have yet to invest in a baby wig.
P.P. S. Doesn't she look just like Jack in that second photo?

Sun hat

Here's a shot of Josie in the park wearing her big pink sun hat.

Tire swing queen

Cousin Solana can tire swing all day long. She shows off her skillz over in the Humboldt Park playground.