Trip to the Zoo!

So J and I took a quick spin through the zoo this cool, crisp early-October afternoon and had a lot of fun!

First, she got to see some Antelope (Ibixes, actually):



And then the Panda was out and _really_ close to the fence!



Then we stopped for a snack:



Before saying hello to the Pig on the way out:

Yesterday's adventures..

So yesterday the J-monster and I took a trip up to Wheaton Regional Park, about 30 minutes away up Georgia Avenue in Maryland.

It's a really big park - with a nice (gravel) trail that leads back to a little lake (Pine Lake) and then up a hill to Brookside Gardens - a separate, beautiful, set of gardens with a nice, paved, loop trail.

Here's a video of her in the grass under one of the pines by the lake:



After all of that walking we went to the playground area and she had a lot of fun watching the other kids!



Then back home, to play some more with the Puma, and my guitar:

Back Porchin'

After yesterday's tropical rains, Juliet and I decided to head out to the back porch this afternoon to enjoy the sun and the soft breeze! Now that all of the boxes have finally disappeared - we've got some room to move around out there.

Juliet is standing and crawling and even trying out a few tentative first steps...

Here are a few fun videos!

Standing and Skimming:



A short standing video (holding a bubble-blowing whistle version of Thomas the Train):



Fun with the basketball:



And fun with a box of paper:



And finally, helping Dad with dinner:

Stair Climbing!

The adventures are just beginning!

Here's a video of Juliet chasing Dozer up the stairs:

Great Midwestern Road Trip - Part 2: Saginaw

So after some time in Dayton we headed up I-75 to Saginaw (with a dinner stop in Toledo). Mid-Michigan is a truly lovely place, particularly in late summer, with cool breezes through the pine trees.

Karen's parent's house is on a nice stretch of land that leads back to the Tittabawassee River and we took a lot of nice walks back there.




Another highlight was our trip to the Saginaw Children's Zoo - a really nice collection of animals (including penguins! and monkeys!) in downtown Saginaw. They had a really fun train ride around the perimeter that Juliet thoroughly enjoyed and she seemed rather entertained by the various creatures (though she called some of them "cat").







And several miscellaneous shots of playing:






The complete set, in higher resolution, is available here.

Great Midwestern Road Trip - Part 1: Dayton!

So we left DC in the late afternoon on the last day of August and after a dinner stop in Morgantown WV, Juliet slept all the way to Dayton.

The weather was beautiful so we spread a blanket in the backyard and filled up an old washtub with water and played!



Then a little bit later Ben's cousins came over with their kids:



There was also a trip to Glen Helen in lovely Yellow Springs:



Followed by a trip to Young's Dairy for some fresh delicious ice cream and a chance for Juliet to meet the goats:



There was a park a short walk away and Juliet really loved the baby swing:



And, of course, lots of miscellaneous pictures:



And, finally, a video of Juliet helping Ben and his dad fix an innertube flat:


The complete set of photos is up here.

Back in DC

So we're back in DC, enjoying the lovely clear blue skies of early fall and putting some finishing touches on the new place (hanging pictures, thinking about doing some yard work, etc.)!

We had a lovely 2 1/2 weeks in Ohio and Michigan - and have lots of pictures (but not too many videos, alas) to share in a series of blog posts - but first, here are a few videos and a picture from the last few days here in DC.


And some videos -

Pushing down the pop-up toy!


Playing with Puma.


And eating (soy) ice cream with mommy!