Pt. Defiance Zoo

Today we braved the traffic and the crowds to go to the Pt Defiance zoo in Tacoma. And while it didn't quite live up to the amazing memories I have of the whales, ET the walrus is always pretty fun, and the tiger has 2 new cubs that we got to see up close. Josie had a great time, pointing to all the animals and wanting to walk everywhere.

POD: Heidi's summer visit

Cowgirl

This morning I found some fun new cowboy boots for Josie at the consignment shop. Then we spent the afternoon down by Lake Washington at Magnuson park with a friend, Alexis. Lovely sunshine and a refreshing swim... ahh! Josie didn't like the water much but enjoyed throwing rocks and running around the grass. When we got home, she decided she wanted to try on her new boots with her swim top. Funny!


This morning I found some fun new cowboy boots for Josie at the consignment shop. Then we spent the afternoon down by Lake Washington at Magnuson park with a friend, Alexis. Lovely sunshine and a refreshing swim... ahh! Josie didn't like the water much but enjoyed throwing rocks and running around the grass. When we got home, she decided she wanted to try on her new boots with her swim top. Funny!

Daddy daughter moments

Josie's green room portraits

I used to take a million portraits of Josie. She would smile and look at the camera, and I had countless opportunities. Now, she is moving so fast and so interested in other things that I can barely get her to stand still and look at the camera for a fleeting moment, which is not long enough to get a good picture!
So, I imprisoned Josie in her crib, and for the few minutes that she would cooperate, got a few nice portraits. I love the expressions on her face!

Maria's Bridal Shower

This weekend we were down in Portland again for a wedding on Saturday, and Maria's bridal shower on Sunday. With collaboration from my mom and Heidi, we managed to decorate the house with tons of white balloons, tissue paper poofs and streamers, and make a boat load of good food to share. It was a really nice shower, and I think everyone had fun. We even had cupcakes from our neighborhood cupcake shop, Trophy. Yum!
Here is Josie, helping unwrap and one of Maria and her girlfriends out on the lawn.

Seattle summer

Around our house, summer means the baby runs around naked a lot. And I love it! According to my siblings and cousins, posting pictures of this cuteness could potentially be horrendously embarrassing for her in the future, so I promise if she protests, they will be removed. For now, enjoy!

Baby group birthday bash

Now that all the babies from our June 2009 midwifery cohort have turned one, we all got together to celebrate with a picnic and a little baby fun. Chef mama Mary made a delicious vegan cake and we set all the naked babies loose on it for some MESSY fun. Josie was 10x messier than the next messiest baby though, I think.

July update

Well, after a long time on the road and a lot of busy-ness, we are back home to the hot summer weather. Here is a shot of Josie helping unpack:

We spent last week Seaside with the Peterschmidt clan (my moms whole side of the family, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins galore) and had a great time. Josie was totally at ease with the crowd and went motoring around the big house from person to person. She really loved having the whole beach to walk walk walk walk walk on, but didn't want her feet touching the cold water!
Now that she is 13 months she is walking all over the place, and getting much faster. She has added some signs, including book, up, all done. She has started really being silly and enjoying humor, laughing her head off when we do something silly, too.
We are sailing right into the busy time of summer, with weekend weddings, road trips, Eric's 10th high school reunion and our move next month. Go go go!
Here is a link to my dad's Pbase gallery of our trip to Seaside: http://www.pbase.com/peterschmidt/seaside_2010