Longest blog entry ever....

Readers, forgive us, as it has been many moons since our last post. I just returned from the American Library Association conference in New Orleans and Redmond returned from the Technology Student Association conference in Dallas. Sadie stayed with my mother, and Dad and Debi were kind enough to come down to help with Sadie as well. It was our first trip away from Sadie, and we were both nervous about leaving her behind, but we all survived it. I'll spare you my tale of woe of being trapped in the Atlanta airport for hours on end and finally arriving home after 2 am sans luggage. I will tell you more about the state of affairs in the Big Easy, but that will have to wait for another blog entry. Right now, my hard drive is groaning under the weight of so many pictures, so I'll just jump in with some pictures of our visit to the NC Museum of Life and Science in Durham and our visit to the NC Zoological Park in Asheboro.

First, our visit to the NC Museum of Life and Science....

The butterfly house is lovely...





Sadie and I leaving the butterfly house... She kept waving her arms around trying to catch the butterflies...

These are some quirky looking frogs... or toads... I can't remember which are which. And I wanted to be a wildlife biologist?

A Carolina red wolf, who decided to look in every direction except towards the camera.


Now, on to the NC Zoological Park in Asheboro. This was our first trip with Sadie, other than to take her to Norfolk to visit the family. We hung out in the zoo all day and then introduced her to the swimming pool. She seems to be a water baby.

No, this isn't Redmond, Sadie and me. These are baboons....




These are the only red elephants in the world. Check out the soil behind them and do the math....


Sadie, chilling at the zoo...


Sadie drinks out of a water bottle for the first time...


Ostriches... As if I have to point that out....


A gorilla ignores us...


Some exotic wee deer, whose name escapes me. Species name, I mean. I have no idea what he/she goes by. Fred? Mathilda?


Some exotic eagle, looking all regal and iconic. Once again, the species name escapes me. I'm no help, eh?


A giraffe and a zebra. The giraffe serves as an indicator of relative size. How very considerate of him or her...



Sadie, through the rear view mirror.


Sadie gets ready for her first swim. Swimming diapers are definitely an odd species. I believe the pool was bereft of water when we took her out.


Don't ask... Redmond is so mischievous....


Grandpa holding Sadie...


Next week, we are heading to Vermont to visit family. We should also be doing a fair amount of sightseeing and will have more pictures when we return....

More boyfriends...

Last week, we were fortunate to see several of our friends. On Sunday, Chris and Karen and their son Milo came to visit and have dinner. Sadly, their sweet little girl Lucie couldn't make it, but Sadie and Milo had a chance to interact. Milo is between 9 and 10 months, I believe.

Chris...

Karen...



Sadie sticks out her tongue at Milo while Redmond and my mom look on....


Pay no attention to the women hiding behind the children... And stop being fresh, Sadie!


Awww....

No caption really needed here. Milo is quite brilliant with his Austin Powers tomfoolery...

Now on to our next visit. Unfortunately, most of our pictures did not come out. Our friends Rachel and Danny, and 14 month old son Henry, came for dinner on Wednesday. I guess they'll have to come back out and pose for more pictures...

Here is Danny with wee Henry and Sadie...

I know it LOOKS like Henry is grinding Sadie's head into the ottoman, but I swear, he's not really. There is Rachel behind Henry.


Henry just loves cats and dogs. There he is with our trusty Lab Obi-Wan. Obi was a rescue dog and we've had him since 2000. We had no children when we brought him home, but he's proven to be one of the gentlest, most patient dogs around kids I've seen. He's made the adjustment rather well.


And... it's Daddy's birthday! Here is Sadie helping Daddy blow out the candles on his birthday cake...


Grandma, Sadie and Obi...

Today, we visited the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham. Sadie saw her first bear, lemur and wolf, and enjoyed the butterfly house. And her grandfather Stanley is here this weekend. I'll have pictures of the outing up in a day or two. And Sadie has her first few teeth!

Sadie's first date...

Redmond took Sadie this week to meet our friends Dana and Finley's adorable baby Griffin. Ok, so it wasn't a date, unless a date consists of making wounded teradactyl sounds and flailing arms and legs in the air. Still, it was a good start!

They meet for the first time... eyes locked across a crowded porch. It's as if they are the only two babies in the world jammed in Bumbo chairs... And at this moment.. they are. Dana flanks the two young starcrossed infants on the left, and Redmond chaperones them on the right...


I don't know about this one, Mom. She looks pretty intense....


So, um... Why don't you tell me all about your toes now?


Sadie! Don't be so fresh... It's just the first date!


And they lived happily ever after....



Ha ha! So, I snuck another nekkid baby picture in. You can't have too many of those...