Muchos Munzes

Joshua's parents, sisters, and brother-in-law road tripped to see us...and to see Chicago...and to see Milwaukee. Here is Sydney with her Aunt Rachel enjoying a pre-nap book.

We went to Chicago and I regret to say that I didn't take any pictures. Most of the group went to a Cubs/Pirates game at Wrigley. Sydney, Joshua's Mom and I opted out and ended up catching some of the Chicago Air Show with our good friend John. Sydney also got to see baby Maeve but again...no pictures (sorry!). We did appreciate John, Maura and Maeve's hospitality - and we enjoyed some Chicago-style pizza. Here are Sydney and Joshua outside the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Here's the whole group less me (the photographer). You'll notice from the picture above to the picture below that the "wings" of the art museum are actually moving. This happens 3 times a day and is definitely worth checking out if you are in Milwaukee. (From left to right: Joshua, Sydney, Rachel, Joshua's Mom, Joshua's Dad, Rebecca, and Sayed.)

Here's Sydney with her grandparents and her daddy.

Sydney managed to draw her aunts' attention with her combination of mobility and curiosity.

Sydney getting a little help with the stairs.

There was a walkway/skybridge overlooking the art museum and some of the fountains. Joshua and Rebecca helped Sydney appreciate the view.

You can't see her right arm in the picture, but rest assured it is pointing at the fountain. She was a big fan of the moving water.

Sydney's first official major league baseball game was the Brewers vs. the Astros at Miller Park. Although this may seem somewhat random since Joshua is a Mets fan and I am a Red Sox fan, Miller Park is actually the most kid friendly ball park any of us had been to. We had "standing room only" tickets which suited Sydney fine because she was able to be wheeled around or walked around to entertain herself when she wasn't mesmerized by the spontaneous applause coming from the crowd.

Miller Park is famous for their sausage races. We actually caught one of the costumed sausages during the pre-game festivities.

We didn't have to worry about not seeing all of them...there are statues in the Kids Zone. Here is Sydney with two of the sausages.

I love that she is pointing at the one on the right in this next picture. I went to take another picture with her looking at the camera but changed my mind because other youngsters were eager for their photo ops with the sausages and I instantly realized that it wasn't going to get any better than the one I already took.

The sign above this giant glove says "Be the Ball."

We got a tip from a friend who lives in Wisconsin that the Brat Stop in between Milwaukee and Chicago would be a good pit stop and a good place to find local Wisconsin fare. We enjoyed the local flavor...and the brats! (Thanks, Kristi!)

Sydney's Grandma and Grandpa got her some fall clothes. She managed to model this one before everyone left since it was a fan favorite.

Chicago Interlude

Since we had a whopping 3 days in between our families' visits...we decided we needed to make good use of that time and planned a day trip to the north side of Chicago. We met up with Joshua's friend from high school, Brian and got to see a little of Evanston, Illinois (proud home of Northwestern University). I like this first photo because it looks like Brian and Sydney are both thinking "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

Brian helping Sydney explore the wonders of the revolving door.

Brian and Sydney getting ready to say goodbye.

One last shot of Joshua, Brian and Sydney. Sydney was a very good sport despite the long day (and the fact that she got her 15 month shots that morning!)

Full of Fauchers

My parents and my brother Tim visited us in Indiana. Tim became an expert at creating interesting structures with Sydney's blocks.

Leaning tower of...Sydney's blocks with my Dad looking on.

Sydney enjoyed deconstructing all of Tim's creations.

Here are Sydney and her Uncle Tim. Although she is still a little young to articulate it, I'm sure he will become known to her as "Star Uncle" the way he is with our other nieces and nephews.

Who said Red Sox and Yankees fans can't get along? Well, you'll note that Tim looks happier than Sydney. If you watched the Red Sox/Yankees series at Yankee Stadium a few weekends ago, you know why. I'm also happy to report that Sydney tried her best to replace Tim's hat with her own. I'm teaching her well.

Sydney has spunk.

What do you do with a child with spunk? Feed her lemons! Here are some photos from her first exposure to lemon. Photo 1: Hamming it up for the camera. (This is several pieces in...the good stuff didn't happen at first taste.)

Photo 2: Starting to realize this tastes a little different. This is...

Photo 3: sour!

Photo 4: Bleck.
Photo 5: Recovered from sour lemon - back to hamming it up for the camera. (Still eating bits of lemon. Even after the taste fully set in she was not deterred.)

Sydney enjoyed her new baby stroller. She paused to kiss her babies (on the feet!)

She also liked wheeling them around the kitchen and living room.

Sporting her "bam bam" do to manage the long locks.

I love this picture of Sydney and her Nana and Papa.

Daniel Boone National Forest

We got together with Peace Corps friends and did some hiking in Daniel Boone National Forest near Lexington, Kentucky. Here are Joshua and Sydney relaxing in the cabin.

Here I am with Lucy Claire, Sydney, and James Henry.

Joshua and Mike planning the route.

Taking in the sights at Red River Gorge.

Sydney and Joshua with Maureen in the background.

Sydney doing her Vanna White impression to show the rock formation above her...or maybe just saying "Hi."

Snack break for the munchkins.

Maddy G stretching out during the lunch break.

During the weekend, we had some fun with tie dye...here are the kiddos sporting the creations. (From left to right: Sydney, James Henry, Lucy Claire, and Madeline.)

We helped our friend Bo move to Michigan for his year-long internship. It also provided a nice excuse to take a trip to Lake Michigan. Here's a group shot at Bo's new apartment. Not only did we get Sydney to look at the camera (courtesy of the flashing red light), she is even pointing at the light.

Here's Sydney at Lake Michigan. She did make us promise to take her to the "real" beach next summer. Don't feel too sorry for her, she did make it to both coasts twice in her first year of life...and we live in Indiana.

Bo and Catherine at Saugatauk Dunes State Park.

We hiked down to the beach and Joshua carried Sydney and a giant watermelon. Not surprisingly, we were strongly encouraged to eat the entire watermelon before the hike back. The sun was warm and the watermelon was cold. Sydney loved the watermelon.

Can't you hear her saying "Mmmm" in this picture?

Catherine offered Sydney some watermelon and tried to discourage her from using her sandy hands to help her consume it (no small feat!)

I like this pictures because it's a good example of how as soon as you get the 1-year old to look up, inevitably one of the adults looks at the 1-year old instead of the camera.

Here's a nice family shot.

Good luck, Bo! We will miss you around here.

Signs & Sounds

We happened to have the video camera out the other night and took a few short videos of Sydney during different stages of her routine at night. In the first video, she is letting us know what the chicken says...the best part is at the end when she chucks it off the changing table, smiles, and then says "bye bye" which is what she says to everything she chucks off the changing table or out of her play yard. "Bye bye" has usurped "burp" as her favorite word. Not to worry, she still says "burp" enough that she will even fake a burp and say "burp" if we egg her on. Classic. The second video shows her playing with and then signing baby. The third video has me sticking the camera (with light!) in her face and asking her to show us features of her face. She willingly obliges.