Jo vs. the Kitties

Jo-jo got lots and lots of lessons in being kind to animals during our vacation. He got to meet and play with (read: torment) lots of extremely patient and well-behaved kitties belonging to various family members (who I hope will still speak to us).

Here he is making friends with the friendliest of the lot, one belonging to my cousin Emily.


I suspect the cat had never met a small person before, and didn't know what to expect.

The other cat was wise, though, and kept out of sight, only viewing the small intruder through safety glass.
(Their names escape me now, but they were really cool African names. Sorry, only so much room in the gray matter!)


Then we visited my brother's place, and set him loose on their cats. They're the ones who just had the baby boy, so I told them this will be a good experience for their cats, to know what to expect. :) Isis was amazingly long-suffering.

Hm, what does this thing do?

Simply Fascinating!

Mmm-wah! I love kitties!

Hey, how come the kitty doesn't like my hugses?

Bastet wasn't having any. She spent our entire visit on top of the fridge. Most of the time she was actually squished under the cupboards.

Joseph pretty much left this kitty alone. (WHY would anyone put this at the end of a dark hallway? I'd give myself a heart attack every time I walked down it at night!)

Finally, this is my parents' cat, Mau.

Mau is actually Egyptian for "cat," in addition to being the sound she makes. Mau is a very polite, unobtrusive kitty. The last time we were here, she spend the entire time hiding in my parent's bedroom, and nearly starved herself rather than come out to the kitchen where all the PEOPLE were. This visit, however, she consented to acknowledge our existence, and even allowed us the privilege of offering her an occasional scritch. (I found her happy spot at the base of her tail.) She figured Joseph out pretty quick -- she learned that she could keep a couple steps ahead of him without too much effort, and so the two of them would slowly follow each other around in figure eights around the coffee table and entry way, Joseph chortling the whole time. I wish I'd thought to take a video! It was pretty funny to watch.

When Mau tired of leading Jo-jo on a merry dance, she would retreat to her safe place on my parents' bed, above -- she figured out that even if he walked all around the bed, he couldn't reach the middle of it. So she would plant herself right in the very middle of it and watch him from under one half-closed eye. Jo didn't like that too well. :)

He just loves animals -- our gerbils, relatives' cats, neighborhood dogs -- I'm hoping we'll be able to continue keeping pets throughout our kids' childhoods. NO dogs until the kids are able to help take care of it though -- I've got enough babies to watch over right now! :)

Note to new parents of boys

When your sweet baby boy goes off to a room to play by himself,

and you hear him making happy banging noises,

and then all of a sudden it gets quiet,

very quiet,

SUSPICIOUSLY quiet,



Go Check On Him.


Run, don't walk.

...and bring your camera, just in case.

An Heir to the Throne is Born

Congrats to Joe & Rie! Damien is just beautiful! (and of course I'm perfectly objective in my opinion, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that this is my baby brother's first baby and the first nephew on my side) :)

The CA trip, Part III

Havin' Fun in the California Sun

I know, I know, there are lots of posts about our trip to CA, but we WERE there for 2 weeks. I could have put them all into one looooooooong post but I'm not that cruel.

The weather while we were in CA was gorgeous. Of course. The kids made the most of it. Their hair is all bleached blond now -- even Katie's -- and Miriam's skin is almost as bronzed as Katie's.

The day we arrived, the grandparents immediately put the girls to work. :) Sigh, I miss the backyard... The lawn made a perfect kickball field, and the patio was great for riding bikes, complete with roads and traffic signs drawn in chalk, and a freeway (which just went in circles around the clothesline).

A Katie-fairy and my Dad's classic work of art, the Puudlie.

We used to do this when we were kids.

Katie contemplating whether to jump in again or not. Once the sun starts to go down, it cools off noticeably. Ah, the delights of the onshore breeze!

I'll go in when I'm good and ready, thankyouverymuch.


Miriam was braver (and had more body fat).

And of course, what California vacation is complete without a trip (or three) to...

the beach? Yay! This year the kids, big and small, all loved it.



Look at Katie just conquer those waves! :)


Joseph was a little freaked out by all that noisy, fast water. But after he got used to them we had to hold him back from trying to drown himself. In this picture he's saying, "Wheeeeee!"

The first time we went with Dave and Katie. My poor sister in law -- it was her first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean, and boy did she get to go swimming! The waves were extra big and harsh that day, and then we got caught in a riptide. I think she's had enough Pacific Ocean to last her for quite a while. ;) But until that point, Dave and I were living it up -- I'll take swimming in the ocean over the pool any day. It's more... well, eventful!

Our last beach day was slightly overcast (and therefore chilly) so inspired by an abandoned masterpiece, we spent a lot of time building a mega sand castle, complete with drip-towers, seaweed fortifications, a moat, and drainage channels.

[Water] in the hole!!! (The wall's drainage tunnel wasn't completed yet so Mr. Pickles took drastic measures to protect the battlements.)

Lookyme! My helping!

Additionally, what trip to California is complete without a trip to Disneyland? Well, any trip, as far as we are concerned -- we don't do Disneyland (yet). But this time we met some friends for lunch at Downtown Disney, which is just a glorified shopping & restaurant district.

The Disney Store there was about as long as a city block, so we had to spend some time marveling at the myriad ways the Mouse will cheerfully part you from your money. We took the requisite "taking pictures in funny hats" poses.

Hat not really necessary -- we already know she's a princess.

You can't see it in the picture, but Katie's tiara was blinking.


This is my favorite. I think he allowed the ears to remain on his head for about .0039 seconds.


We spent the 4th of July at my brother Joe's place -- Rie & I went baby shopping, and then we all went swimming in their pool. We drove back to the parents for the requisite 4th of July barbecue. We didn't go anywhere in particular for fireworks -- after the kids were asleep Mr. Pickles & I just walked down to the corner and looked out over the L.A. basin. It was like watching fiery flowers bloom everywhere you set your eye. It was just awesome.

Mommy's little sparkler

We got to catch up with lots of old friends whom we hadn't seen in ages. Even though we were there for so long, I still wasn't able to see everyone I was hoping to -- particularly my old piano teacher. I owe her so much. Our days were just so packed that every once in a while I couldn't muster the energy to do any planning. I regret that now. Hopefully, next trip.

The CA trip, Part II

The Shower


The day after the wedding, we had a family post-wedding-get-together/baby shower for Joe and Rie. Most of the family came, plus many family friends who stand out in my childhood memories. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take many pictures, because as luck would have it, Mom threw out her knee the day after we arrived and wasn't able to walk unassisted for several days, so my SIL & I had to run the show (not without many suggestions from the Queen Enthroned, of course). ;)

Katie & Dave had a couple centerpieces foisted on them as they were leaving the reception the previous night, so they brought them for table decorations at the shower. (They smelled like rosemary -- mmm!)

the three Katies!


Two baby bellies, waiting to meet each other! (Sara on the left is my cousin's wife, due one month after Rie.) (Peter, the escaping toddler from the previous post, is her cutie-patootie little boy.)

Damien really put on a show at times! Miriam can't wait to meet her new cousin. Hopefully some of us will be able to go out for the baptism.

One of the neatest things about this day, I thought, was that after all the other guests had left, all the siblings and their spouses remained at the parents' house for a long time into the night. I guess we must all like each other or something!

We played the piano for each other, we sat around and we talked -- it was great just being together. One of my love languages is quality time, so this spoke a lot to me. Poor Katie though -- Rie and I were comparing pregnancy and labor notes, going back and forth, while she had to sit and listen to us! Someday, Katie, you too will understand this all-consuming passion. :)


It was nice to have everyone together at the shower, even though I didn't really get to chat with as many people as I had hoped. Next family get-together!

The CA trip, Part I

The Wedding

This was the main reason why we traveled out to California this summer:
to see my cousin Timi get hitched! Timi is the daughter of my Uncle Ranger Dave (to distinguish him from the other Uncle Dave when we were kids), who is in fact a park ranger in California. I still remember the campfire songs he taught us when we'd go camping, particularly Old Lady Leary's song.

N-E-way, they make a good-looking group, don't they? Timi and her Nick looked SO happy. The wedding was just beautiful and the sermon was awesome. It's so heartening being able to attend weddings of family that you just KNOW are getting off to a good start.

Speaking of good looking... (alternately titled: like father, like daughter)


two handsome cuties

At one point while we were waiting at the reception for things to get going, Miriam came up to me, somewhat put out by the fact that the bride wasn't talking to her (by which I understood that she wasn't receiving her undivided attention). I told her to go up to Aunt Timi and tell her something nice ("Oh, Aunt Timi, I just LOVE your dress!") and then ask her a question, and that would GUARANTEE that she would get a response.

I guess it worked. (Just love the back of Timi's dress here.)


Babies, especially male babies, especially male babies by the name of Joseph, do not understand that you have to wait for the caterers to be ready before you can eat.

The food was awesome! It was funny -- this was SUCH a California reception! The meal served was tostadas with a variety of fillings, and margaritas to drink. The centerpieces had some California wild flora inserted here and there (including purple thistles!). And, of course,

a giant redwood ice sculpture (in honor of Uncle Ranger Dave).


The next generation of Uncle Daves, hitting the dance floor with his lovely bride. (There, Katie, proof that your husband DOES dance!)


His partners seem to enjoy it. :)

btw Miriam is wearing a dress that I wore at her age! Doesn't it just scream 80's?

Miriam has this thing about being in the middle of things. I couldn't get her attention to get her to move! I hope Timi & Nick don't mind having their niece in every one of their cake shots...

I love family weddings. It's great to have a mini-reunion and catch up with all the cousins. We were always a tight bunch, thanks to Nana, who made sure we grew up getting to know each other. (She would invite us over to her house in 2s and 3s during the summer.)

Two cousins are missing here -- but only b/c they had to attend other weddings the same day! June IS the month of brides...

Finally, the classic great-grandma-with-screaming-baby-and-escaping-toddler shot. :)

What a great family to belong to! I always look forward to getting together with my family, and am always sad when everyone has to split and go their separate ways.

California, here I come

right back where I started from.

Where bowers of flowers

bloom in the sun;

Each morning at dawning,

birdies sing an' ev'rything.

A sunkist miss said, "Don't be late,"

that's why I can hardly wait;

Open up that Golden Gate,

California, here I come!