Breach in the Monkey Barrier

Josie has been exhibiting a renewed interest in climbing the stairs. The base of our stairs, though, are so wide that we haven't found a gate that would work. We usually push the ottoman over and then prop a folding chair up behind it to create our own make-shift gate. However, the little monkey realized she could move it tonight. She is strong and determined! Oh, and yes, that is her stocking hat that she is wearing under her monkey blanket. The girl has her own ideas of what she wants to wear now.

Monkey Greets Matt

Josie's friend, Matt, came over today. While we were waiting for them to arrive, Jos wanted to put on her monkey blanket.




Matt wasn't too thrilled with seeing a large monkey waiting for him at the door. He actually stopped walking and clung to Louise. He felt much better once she took the blanket off.

Here they are working on taking turns.


We took Matt on his very first wagon ride. He loved it and will soon be getting his own wagon I think :-)


Josie thought Matt was the best slider she's ever seen. She would laugh after he slid down the slide and then clap-I didn't capture the clap on video though.


Here's a cute picture of Josie offering Matt some paper. I wish the picture showed more of the cute face Matt was making back at her.


We had a great time with Matt and Louise, but then we had to take a nap and then get some laundry done. This is how I carry Josie and the laundry up and down the two flights of stairs. She doesn't mind it at all. She also helps me put clothes in the dryer and then the clean clothes in the basket.

Honking the Train Horn

Josie was playing the other night and heard a train going by outside. She gets really excited when she hears them, so we thought we'd capture it on video.





We had some bouncy ball fun, too, after the train adventure.

Free Zoo Day

Today was one of the free zoo days and luckily I had it off work because of Veterans Day. Jenni and I took Josie this morning first thing when it opened. It was really busy at first, but then everyone spread out and it wasn't so bad. I decided to take Josie on her first carousal ride, too. She liked it, but was very distracted by the zebra next to our tiger. She thought we should switch seats halfway through which wasn't feasible.

Her favorite animals to watch this time were the harbor seals and the elephants. She tried to convince one of the more energetic seals to hold her but it didn't seem to want to. Every time it swam by she'd hold her arms out like she does when she wants someone to hold her. It was very cute. We also walked by the wolf exhibit right when they were testing the tornado sirens, so we heard quite a howl from the pack. That was a beautiful noise to hear in person.

It Doesn't Float

For those of you that get grossed out easily, you might want to stop reading this post. For the rest of you, here's a funny story about this morning. I gave Josie a bath in the big tub in our master bathroom today. I let her stay in and play while I got ready for work. She was having a great time and then as I'm putting my makeup on I hear a familiar noise...well, grunt. I think to myself, surely she isn't. From my vanity I can't see the water in the tub. I just see Josie from about the ribs up. So I walk over and she certainly is...pooping in the bathtub. I grab her out which makes her really mad because she wants to keep playing. I try to explain that the water is ucky and I call down for Jenni to come help. Jenni watched her while I cleaned things up. I had a friend tell me this would happen, but man it was actually pretty hilarious. I wish I had video of my face when I realized what I was going to have to clean up!

Fall Play Day

Josie was loving the nice weather today. She had fun playing in the piles of leaves before Tim raked them up. She is also working on her running skills.

Practicing running.


Playing in the leaves.




Driving around crazy dogs.


Eating a quick snack before going on a long walk with Mom


Hugging Mabel before the walk. Josie lays her head on people (or dogs in this case) and that counts like a hug even when she doesn't put her arms around you.


Later, she played soccer with her dad and Mabel.

Football Watching

Our friend, Jeremy Clarkson, come to town this weekend. He is a huge sports fan, especially when it comes to KU. On Saturday, we took him to Chopper's, which is the KU Alumni bar in Denver. Josie got to wear her KU sports gear and had a good time eating salad, pizza, and playing. She and I also had a nice walk around Cherry Creek to mix things up a bit. A girl can only watch so much football!

Relaxing while everyone gets ready for the game.


Playing with her chair at the bar.


Eating cucumbers.