Somewhere in South Dakota

Jack keeps sending me random cell phone pix from his travels near the Black Hills. I think this is a giant ear of corn behind him. Whatever it is, it's much happier than Jack appears to be in this picture, although if you pretend the little turret in the background is a colorful cap on Jack's head, it adds a whimsical touch.

Josie thinks toast is funny

And she likes yogurt, too.

PS There's really only room for one maestro director in our household and I think we'd all agree that maestro is Jack, but he's away and I wanted to share this clip of Josie giggling and showing off some of her animal sounds. PPS I've had Josie wear the "I Love Daddy" bib so she doesn't forget Dadda while he's away (actually, it was the only clean one that was readily available, but it adds a nice touch, don't you think?)

Josie yoga

As many of you know, I'm a strong proponent of keeping babies limber. As such, I have Josie practicing a strict yoga regimen nightly.















Her downward dog is almost textbook perfect.

Poolside

I took Josie to the pool around the corner this afternoon. Here she is, freshly swim-diapered and suited up before we leave. You can't see them (or hear them), but she's wearing her squeaky sandals, too.









Josie's having a bit of a wardrobe malfunction in this shot, but it was too cute otherwise not to post.











Mmmm...post-swim cracker.













Reading the park brochure and drying off after a nice swim.

Ratta love

Josie is fondly squeezing Ratta, the stuffed animal rat I got for her from IKEA last weekend (to remind her of her Chicago roots). In this picture, Ratta, Josie and I are getting ready to head out to the grocery store earlier this afternoon.

Lunch bump

If you look closely, you can see the reddish bump on the left side of Josie's forehead. She took her first tumble down a stair (or two) yesterday morning. Jack is away for a few days and I have been trying to work from home...I got distracted and then heard a "whump." She was laughing at pictures of cats shortly thereafter, and you can see she looks pretty happy here with her lunch, but still...bad Mommy! I took this afternoon and this coming Monday all day as vacation time so as not to neglect my poor child again.

Back yard flowers

Here are some examples of the flowers growing in our back yard.












These purple flowers are all over Ann Arbor. Lucky for the bees.












Daisies.













Some kind of sunflower...not sure if it will be one of those huge ones with seeds, but it has grown quite a bit in the last month.

Josie wouldn't stand still long enough for a picture of her in the flowers, but at least you get a glimpse of our backyard nature.

Ann Arbor scene

The trash can isn't the nicest background image, but overall the picture illustrates a stereotypical Ann Arbor scene because Josie is wearing her Ann Arbor t-shirt and eating a challah roll (lately her favorite) on the side porch at Zingerman's deli. It's like she's working for the Ann Arbor tourism bureau.

Around the house

Here's a movie of Josie enjoying the new house- sitting on the porch, reading the paper, hanging out in back yard with a drink, and sharing a book with Zeeb. In the first scene, she's wearing her new squeeking shoes.

Back to Chicago

We went back to Chicago last week for the annual American Library Association conference. Here's some photos of Josie at the playground in the South Loop, sleeping through a performance by the Fiery Furnaces in Millennium park, and in Grant Park.

After-dinner playground trip!

Here are some pix taken earlier tonight at the playground around the corner from our house. Unfortunately the camera battery died before we got any pictures on the swing...oh, well...next time!









Getting ready to slide with Daddy.













Whee!













There are some old trucks and other toys sprinkled about the playground which Josie enjoys investigating.

Welcome to Ann Arbor!

Jack and Josie on our front steps earlier this evening.












The new abode (for now--we've got a year lease). Fingers crossed that our Chicago apartment sells quickly--the first showing went well and there are two more tomorrow!










Josie and her tennis ball.













Hanging out in the small rock garden out front.













A picture taken in our living room from last week or so.












Ready to go out!

Reading

Let's read!













Josie likes to point out the kitty cats in any book that she's reading.

Where's your tongue?

Josie enjoys showing us that she knows where her tongue is.












There it is.













Showing off the tongues in front of the house.













Blurrrrrrry tongue.













That was fun!

Scenes from the backyard

Joan and Chris and Benjamin and Biscuit were in Ann Arbor over the 4th of July weekend and came over to visit.
















The people we're renting the house from left us their lawn furniture. Josie likes to hang out in the grass nearby.
















Josie takes a break from walking around the table.












The chairs are comfortable enough for two.


















When Benjamin and Chris and Josie form a band someday, this can be their album cover.

Watermelon dress

Josie has a new watermelon dress, compliments of Grandma. She looks super-cute in it, as you can see.

















Yup, I guess I do look pretty darn cute in this dress.

Josie at the Farm

Over the 4th of July weekend, Josie visited nearby Domino's Petting Farm (the original barn was built in 1925 by the Zeebs, of Zeeb Road fame and Zeeb, our cat's, namesake!). The founder of Domino's Pizza had bought the property back in the 80's, but it is now a non-profit with no affiliation except for the retention of the name. Josie had a good time visiting the Farm with Jack and some of our friends and their kids who were in town for the weekend.


Hmmm...what's over here?














Oh, it's chickens!













I like chickens. They're nice.












Wait! I changed my mind about chickens...run for your life!

Josie in June

Sorry for the sporadic Josie-pic posting over the last few weeks...it has been a little hectic with the getting the condo ready to go on the market, the packing, the cleaning, the driving, the moving, the starting a new job, the unpacking and the getting ready to go to a conference, among other things! Here are a few pix from Nana's camera taken during her visit last month in Chicago before we moved.



Josie made sure to get as much swinging in as possible before we left Chicago.












We'll miss you, Smith Park!













Nana drove all the way to Chicago (via Toronto) to see Josie and to generously give us her car (she has a new Prius!). She and Josie had a regular afternoon nap routine going.










I've had some great meals in Chicago!