The ZOO - Northwest Florida

On Tuesday we went to the zoo in Gulf Breeze:


Jessica's favorite part of the visit (besides the delight of watching the cows eat the Petting Zoo pellets we bought for a dollar a bag; that elicited great squeals of delight) was going up and down the stairs at the playground:


She was also delighted that she got to ride a horse and a zebra (though they weren't real ones):


We also took lots of animal pictures, which you can see here:

Zoo Pictures Slideshow

Blowing Bubbles, Feeding Seagulls, Building Sandcastles

We're currently on our annual post-Christmas trip to Pensacola; this is the eighth time Chris and Anna have made the trip, and the second time for Jessica. Yesterday we stopped for a while at a rest area just past Auburn, Alabama, where Jessica and Mommy played with bubbles:

(That expression, by the way, is what you get when you ask a two-year-old to smile for the camera.)

Today we went down to the beach so Jessica and Mommy could feed the seagulls:


and build sandcastles:


Tomorrow we'll be going to the zoo in Gulf Breeze!

Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care

"...We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices..."

This afternoon we went to Rockdale Medical Center, the hospital where Jessica was born, to deliver a gift of five preemie outfits to the NICU. In the box we included prints of the following photographs, along with this description:

Jessica at the beginning of her six-day stay in the NICU, January 2007, and again at twenty-one months, November 2008

"...I am sure I have always thought of Christmas-time, when it has come round--apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that--as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys..."

We are forever grateful to the nurses in the Rockdale NICU for the care they gave Jessica during those difficult first days. We pray that all babies who must spend time there fare as well as she has, and that their parents have cause to feel the same gratitude we feel.

"God bless us every one!" said Tiny Tim, the last of all.

He sat very close to his father's side, upon his little stool. Bob held his withered little hand in his, as if he loved the child, and wished to keep him by his side, and dreaded that he might be taken from him.

God bless us every one, indeed.

Madison Heritage Holiday Tour of Homes

On Saturday, December 6th (which is also St. Nicholas Day), Jessica and Mommy and Daddy and Granny and Pa went to Madison, Georgia, for the 2008 Heritage Holiday Tour of Homes. In this picture, Jessica walks the sidewalks of Madison, holding hands with Granny and Pa:

(Chris and Anna lived in Madison for two years while Chris was in graduate school earning his MFA and starting his teaching career, but they moved to Loganville when Anna was only about four months pregnant with Jessica.)

Here's a recent picture of Jessica and Mommy having supper on one of the first nights of Advent:

Recent Pictures

A couple of weeks ago we all went to Granny and Pa's house (that is, Chris's parents' house) for Pa's birthday celebration. Here's a picture of Jessica and Pa sitting in front of the fireplace:


Here, Piglet and Pooh have a discussion atop Jessica's favorite toy at Granny and Pa's house, the Fisher Price Little People castle:

(I believe they're doing a scene from Hamlet; Pooh is telling Piglet about Hamlet's father's ghost)

Eeyore is a friendly sentry on the castle:

Here Jessica and her mother dig in to the Thanksgiving Feast at Jessica's preschool:


Here are a couple of portraits taken just yesterday morning:

Squealing

Jessica and Squeaky

Jessica and her dragon friend Squeaky enjoy watching Sesame Street video clips on Daddy's computer. Here they are watching a clip of Guy Smiley hosting The Addition Game:

Hobbies

Jessica has a number of hobbies she enjoys participating in, and here are some pictures of a few of them. First, building with her blocks:


Painting with her watercolors:


And taking a nap on the sofa:


(The last is actually her least favorite activity, but when she gets tired enough she gives in and does it anyway.)

Itsy!

Here are Jessica and Dolly performing "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider":


P.S. Happy Birthday, Granny!

Ride the Lion

Saturday morning we all went to Zoo Atlanta (the sixth or seventh time Jessica has been to the zoo in her short life). Here's Jessica riding one of the lion statues:

Noah and Mrs. Noah

Here Jessica is playing with Noah and Mrs. Noah from her Fisher Price Little People Noah's Ark set:

Vines Gardens

This Sunday morning we went to Vines Gardens before church:

Snack Time with Giraffe

Today Jessica wanted to share her crackers with Giraffe:


Of course, he needed some milk to wash them down with:


She even offered her camera-wielding Daddy a goldfish:

Portraits

Here are some recent pictures of Jessica. First, looking thoughtfully out the window at Granny's house:

Next, smiling while playing with Mommy at home:


Finally, laughing while playing with Tessie at home (her tail tickles!):

Jessica Reads

Jessica reads a lot. Here she is reading one of her Sesame Street books:

Jessica and Luna

Jessica's New Ball

Callaway Gardens

On Friday, Anna had the day off of work, so we all took a trip down to Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Here are a few pictures from our visit:


Jessica learned about birds of prey while we were there:


She also learned about butterflies at the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center. Don't bother looking too close here; the butterfly they're looking out isn't in the picture--but one did land on Jessica's hand a little later:


Mommy and Jessica investigated flowers on the Rhododendron Trail:


We all enjoyed walking along the trails:


Jessica slept through our visit to the John A. Sibley Horticultural Center, so she is not pictured here:

Gymboree

Jessica has a Gymboree membership, and loves to go put in a mean work out. Here are some pictures of her recent visit during their "free play" time.

First, Jessica likes to go pick out a friend from the basket of hand puppets. Here she shows off Lion:


Here she is running with Monkey (who has a twin brother who lives at our house):


Jessica loves to crawl through the various tunnels at Gymboree (note Lion and Puppy making the trip with her):


Here are a couple of pictures of Jessica running towards some source of excitement; in the second she is holding Puppy, who is second only to Kitty (somehow not captured in any of these pictures) as her favorite Gymboree friend:

(This picture looks like she's been bowling with a giant red ball, that that's not the case.)

And Now We Are Fourteen (Months)

Today, Jessica is exactly fourteen months old! In honor of this occasion here are a few recent pictures:

Here's Jessica riding her exact replica of the 1964 Honda SuperHawk CB77 that Robert Pirsig rode in the journeys described in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:



Here she is smiling a few days after Christmas:


Here's Jessica practicing her keyboard skills, playing either a Thelonius Monk tune or "Three Blind Mice":


Here she is at her First Birthday party, two months ago:

(We really meant to do a post for that occasion, but never got around to it.)

and having cake on that same day:


And finally, a picture of her just this afternoon preparing to settle down on her little sofa to read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:

(Actually, the book she has is, appropriately enough, The Toddler's Busy Book by Trish Kuffner)