Pumpkin Patch and Friends in Mystic

Hi Everyone,


Josie Dong Dong and Mommy had a special treat this week. We played hooky on Friday with Auntie Andrada and Ela. To make the day even more special we all made the trip to Mystic Aquarium and had a fun time looking at all the pretty fish, beluga whales, sea lions, and sting rays!

"Oh Boy! Auntie Andrada is just as happy to see me as I am to see her!"

"What kind of animals are these?"

"Lion Fish are toddlery cool!"

Ela was happy to pose with the Lion Fish.

"Ummm, if lions are the king of the jungle,

does that mean that Lion Fish are king of the Sea?"

"There is a shark in there! His name is Bruce."

You might be able to just make out the big leopard shark in the aquarium behind Josie Dong Dong. I took this picture just in time. Once she noticed the big shark there on the other side of the glass she yelled, "NOOOOOOO!" and took off running for me. Talk about missing a video moment!

"This looks like a nice place to sit."

We all enjoyed a nice lunch after viewing all the sites at the aquarium. It was a nice fall day and we were all comfortable sitting outside in the sun to eat.

"Are we going to the toy store?"

After lunching at the aquarium, Josie Dong Dong nestled down into her stroller for a nap and we decided to stroll around Mystic Village for a little while.

Ela was quick to make friends with this big hugable teddy bear.

"I luv you teddy bear!"

Then she was on to the candy shop for a rainbow lolly-pop.

"MMMMmmmm, this is yummy."

It was a wonderful day and both Josie Dong Dong and I were sad when it had to come to an end. We look forward to seeing Auntie Andrada and Ela again for another play date after the holiday season.

As promised, here are some picts from our trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend.

"I'm not sure where we are going.

We're moving and neither Mommy or Daddy is driving."

"What is a pumpkin?"


"I still don't get it."
"Hi pumpkin."

"Mommy is making a big deal about you, so I'm going to give you a hug."

"OK. Here we are in the pumpkin patch."

"This is funny. I don't know why. But, this IS funny."

"Oooo. Mommy has a pumpkin."

Back home, Josie found that we also bough some squash.

"At least they are not as scary as the lobsters we got over the summer."

"They are pretty weird looking."

We also bought an apple pie at the pumpkin patch. This was more of a purchase that Josie Dong Dong could understand.

"Mmmmm, This is reallllly yummy!"

"I'm going to scrape every last bite I can!"

Happy Autumn!

Apple pie kisses for everyone!

Tickle-Bug Dance

Hi All,

I am home with a cold and without my sunshiny little girl so that I can rest.

The link below shows a cute video clip that I hope brightens your day as much as it has mine.

Cutie-Pie Weekly ReCap

Hi Everyone,

I am continuing with my attempt to update the blog once a week. Yea, I know this is a holiday weekend and all-- but we have some projects to work on plus some fun stuff we want to do-- not that keeping ya'll updated isn't fun-- but, well, you know . . .

Last weekend I took Gabrielle and Josie with me to a party. The girls had some fun 'big sis'-'lil sis' time playing on the little hay wagon. They were very cute, but I had a hard time getting them to both look at me at the same time for the big Kodak moment.





















Most importantly, Josie and Gabrielle had a blast rolling around in the hay, giggling, and making silly faces at each other.

Josie had fun this night playing around before bedtime. She is especially interested in the cat, who isn't quite as intimidating as Phoebe, our Golden Retriever.

Josie is getting pretty good at identifying body parts-- especially those on the head. Much to our cat's dismay, Josie's current favorite is the eye.

"Look! It is the cat!"

"I am going to pet the Cat."

Josie soon became tired-out from all of the running around after the cat and pointing out her eye. She was happy to snuggle with Daddy for a few minutes before heading off to her beddie-bye basket.

The next morning, Josie had a nice treat of French Toast for breakfast. She was still pretty tired when she first started eating.

"I can't see what I'm eating."

"Mmmmm. This is pretty good."

"Oh YEA! Let's get some MORE Syrup!"

We did have a minor disappointment this week. Pictures were taken at Josie's Baby School and we went to extra lengths to have her ready for her first "school" pictures. The night before, I picked out a pretty outfit filled with fall colors. The morning of the pictures, Wim got up a little early so he and Josie would have time to stop by my office and I could fix her hair (Daddy isn't so good with the hair-- his fingers are too big for the little bands).

I am sure you know where this is heading.

Josie threw a fit at Baby School. She would not sit for the photographer and cried and cried.

So no Baby School Picture.

When we got home, I tried to take some pictures of Josie in her outfit. I thought it would be pretty to take some outside.

Josie thought differently as she kept far away from me and my camera.

"NO! I don't want my picture taken!"

Back inside the house I was able to get a few goofy shots of Josie Dong Dong, but nothing like what I was hoping to get.

Oh well. We'll have to try some other time.

Last night Wim and I took Josie out to eat and she enjoyed intelligent conversation with her Daddy about current affairs.

Even though the economy is falling apart and it is an election year, Josie was most interested in discussing last night's Red Sox game.

"The Rays are totally going to choke under this pressure!"

As we continue are fun-filled Holiday weekend, we will be heading to a pumpkin patch-- so stay tuned for more fun and games with Josie Dong Dong.

"I'm getting a pumpkin!"

New Friends

Hi Everyone,

As usual I have a ton of pictures to post and not enough time to them all or do justice to the few that I hope to post. It's been pretty busy this past week and Josie Dong Dong is the girl about town! -- with a 1st birthday party for Baby Emily and greeting Baby Grace recently home from China.

And-- without further ado-- here she is-- the Darling Baby Grace!

Mommy Michelle is still in zombie-mode from the flight back to the states from China, but Grace is happy as a lark (so is Mommy Michelle-- she's just tired from the late night crib parties).

Josie Dong Dong was very happy to finally meet Baby Grace Niu Niu and was quick to offer her some toys to play with.

"Hi. I'm baby Grace and I'm CUTE!"

"Hi Baby Grace, let's play mailbox."

It didn't take long for the girls to make friends and start tooling through Baby Grace's toys. Josie Dong Dong enjoyed showing Grace Niu Niu how to use some of her toys and Baby Grace thought Josie was pretty funny to watch!

"I like the mailbox toy a lot too!"

"This toy plays pretty music."

"This is fun! I like playing with Josie Dong Dong!"
"I like playing with Baby Grace Niu Niu!

The girl's had a blast with each other on their very first playdate and I am sure they will have more adventures together in the coming months. We'll definitely be seeing more and more of this cute little mug in the future.


We also had a very important 1st Birthday this past weekend-- Josie's cousin Emily turned one and we all helped her celebrate the occasion with presents, cakes and of course some balloons.

Josie Dong Dong is still cautious when we take her to a new place and especially if there are lots of people around. She still likes to stick close to Mommy. Luckily for Josie, she was quickly greeted by her favorite big cousin Abbie who brought her some . . .CHIPS! (what else??).


All of the kids were excited when Baby Emily opened her presents. Everyone wanted to help with the wrapping and with showing Baby Emily how to play with all her new loot!


The biggest question of the day turned out to be . . . .

How many adults DOES it take to assemble a baby toy?

We'll get back to you on that one.

Of course the next exciting party event was the cake! This was a big hit with the birthday girl!

"Oh Boy! Look at ME! I'm 1-Years Old!"

Hmmmm, I'm not sure that Baby Emily liked her cake all that much. What do you think?

"Ummmm, where did my cake go?"

Toward the end of the party, Josie Dong Dong finally settled-in enough to seek out a balloon for herself. She is still cautiously checking around each corner to see what is going on.

Josie had fun at the party, but there is nothing like returning to the safety of home after being to a new place.

"Ummm, that was fun, but we're staying home now-- right?"

Just when we thought she was all settled down-- Josie Dong Dong decided to surprise all of us by trying to streak around the house before bedtime.

This seems to be a new phenomena for Josie Dong Dong-- taking off her clothes! She keeps trying to do it-- everywhere!

"I think this shirt would be better as a hat."

"Maybe it should just be a flag I wave around."

Till next time, we'll be hanging out with Josie in her play area-- building-- well, we're not sure.