Mama and I made a long sojourn to Minnesota last week to visit with family. We took lots of pictures, so I have a full photo montage to walk me through all the highlights! Here is a pic of my Campbell cousin chasing bubbles at the park:

And me exploring the park:

Some of me see-sawing with Papa Todd:

And one of the whole Murray family enjoying bubbles:

Me and Papa Todd playing on the cool boat:

and crow's nest:

and sliding:

Playing in the sandbox with Campbell and Auntie Manda:

And here is one of me and most of my second cousins at a family reunion (five of us will be two this year!):

Later, back at her home, Auntie Manda let me use her chapstick:

Campbell and me having fun with boxes:

Here's one of me stealing a kiss from Papa Todd when I got up REALLY early in the morning, and no one else did:

More about my trip later- I have a few more posts to make with my favorite pictures!

A budding artist

Water Time

When the weather gets hot, nothing is more fun than putting together a fancy outfit (bonus points if it is Elmo-themed) and playing with water and bubbles on the deck!

Tea Party: a guest post from Mama

Andy and I spent some time yesterday afternoon cleaning out our storage closet, and we found a few boxes labeled "Josie's Bunny Collection." Inside were, well, a lot of things, bunnies included, but we also found some old miniature tea sets I played with when I was little. Elsie grabbed the bunnies and other toys and had a grand old time, and Andy and I didn't think much more about the boxes. Until later that night, when Elsie grabbed my hand (saying "Mama come see me!") and dragged me into her room, where she had this set up (music and all!). Luckily, Andy followed close behind to see what Elsie had to show me, and he caught some of it on tape!

My friends the geese

Finding my shadow...

A few weeks ago Mama and I were walking across a parking lot, and guess what I found? My shadow! Just like Peter Pan! I waved and waved and had a great time making my shadow do all sorts of funny things. Now I look for my shadow every time I go outside!

Sophie Puppy!

I have a new friend. Her name is Sophie, and she is a very big white lab. She lives in a house that is on my way to the park, so I see Sophie almost every day. Here are some pictures Mama took of me and Sophie today.

My face when I see Sophie running out of the garage to play with me:



My face while Sophie and I are playing:



How sad I looked when the first raindrops fell and Sophie, who is terrified of storms, ran back inside:



But I didn't stay sad for very long- you can't keep a good climber down, even when Mama says "NO." I found this great wall to play on on our way home from the park, and was a very happy camper in no time!

Playing with Zoey

Mama and I took a trip to the Dreampark with my Zoey friend last week. We had a wonderful time. About 50% of it was spent sharing our snacks, 40% was spent swinging, and 10% was spent sliding together. What a fun way to spend a morning!

Here is a picture of Zoey and me at a Dreampark a little less than a year ago:



And here are some pictures of us last week:




We kinda look like big kids now, don't we? :)

Finger....er, Face Painting!

And a little pic of Elsie "hiding"!

Nico's 2nd Birthday Party

Elsie's Paraguayan boyfriend, Nico, had a 2nd Birthday Party last week, and Elsie had a blast. Her favorite part was Nico's 2-wk-old baby sister, Eliana (Ellie).

Elsie loves learning new words from Nico- "bambino", "ciao ciao", "agua"... she has even started sharing her new words with her 13-month old Mexican neighbor, Lucas!


We lined all the kiddos up on the couch for a picture- Dexter held his three-month-old sister, Ruby, but Nico didn't want to share the spotlight with his new baby sis. Elsie promptly volunteered to hold Ellie. Everyone was happy long enough to snap a few pictures- a small miracle.


Elsie enjoyed holding "Baby Wellie!" so much that her Mama, Katy, let Elsie have a little more time with her on the floor. Can you believe her beautiful dark skin and gorgeous curly hair? I think she has more at 2 weeks than Elsie has a 22 months!


Elsie loved Nico's toy car. She is already learning to eat "on the go"...a skill that will come in handy for this kid who never sits still!



Katy's in-laws put together this beautiful spread- Elsie was thrilled at the pretty bows on the table. The balloons gave the kids A LOT of entertainment, as they were just filled with enough helium to slowly "float" at any height you put them at.

Playing with "Dennis Puppy"

Our neighbors recently acquired an 8-week-old pup. Elsie is enamored. When they asked her what the puppy should be named, she promptly replied, "Dennis!" To my knowledge, she has never met anyone, nor have we ever talked about anyone, named Dennis. In the last few days, every time I ask what the pup's name should be, she continues to say "Dennis!". Hmmm....maybe she is a puppy whisperer?

When our neighbors had to take a trip out of town unexpectedly, they asked us to come over and play with the pup during the day. Elsie thought it was pretty much the best day ever.

I recorded a little video of them playing "catch" together- Elsie thought Dennis' puppy energy was hilarious. I especially like the end, where Elsie scolds Dennis for eating the Daffodil she had picked!

At the lamb farm, year 2!

Almost exactly a year to the day after Elsie's first trip to the lamb farm, we made the trek again. A few notable differences:

-we lacked the company of our dear friend, Hannah, who has since moved cross-country in pursuit of a job. Hannah, we miss you so much!
-at 9 months, Elsie loved all the animals and I had to hold her back from trying to get into their pens. At 21 months, Elsie was terrified of the bunnies sitting on volunteer's laps. She loved the calf, the turkeys, and especially the pigs, though, (she happily reached into the pen to scratch their ears).
-the 2011 weather was about 20 degrees, and even the barn was a little chilly. In 2012, it was a balmy 80 degrees, and Elsie wore shorts!
-last year's big attraction was the baby lambs- Elsie could have watched them play for hours. This year, she has happily entertained by running between the various pens for about 45 minutes, then spotted the owner's jungle gym through the open barn door and decided that she needed to go to the park. Right now!

Watching turkeys:


Note the volunteer holding the lamb off to the side- he WAS sitting on the hay bale. Then Elsie finished petting the lamb he was holding, and started pushing at his arm, saying, "Sorry, sorry!". He thought it was hilarious, and moved aside so that she could climb on the bale and jump!




Getting ready to pet the piglets:



Baby lambs- only a few hours and days old!:




A few comparison photos from 2011- Elsie sitting on a lamb fleece (she LOVED it!), and watching the lambs play. Note the height of the fence!

1 Puppy + 1 Mama-Made Easter Dress= Happiness