The Obligatory "Food on the Face" Pics

YES!!! Rutabaga, Peas and Rice-mush!!!!!

 

And now some less triumphant ones:

Build it Up and Tear it Down

Will Rye blaze a path as an international demolition expert? Or, is this a subtle indication that she will become a minimalist painter, or a an architecture critic? Hard to say. Either way, its fun to try to get a tower built before she sees it.

Jazz at the Park

Every Sunday, the City of Denver hosts an afternoon of Jazz at City Park. Rhoda and I have been meeting a small group of the same friends there for several years now. We all pack picnics, lay out blankets, and spend the afternoon doing very little. This year, we've introduced Rye to this wonderful way of saying hello to another week (or goodbye to a weekend, depending on your perspective...you know, the whole "glass half empty or half full" deal). She's really taken to it. Honestly, what's not to take to? The weather has been almost without exception beautiful, the crowds have been friendly and lively, and the music has been entertaining. I've heard there may be some difficulty with funding. I hope City Park Jazz is around long enough for Rye to call it a fond memory.

This most recent Sunday (July 31), Rhoda's friend Jocelyn joined us. She was in town from Brooklyn to visit her parents.

Upwardly Mobile

Rye is mobile. Seriously mobile. That last video I posted was child's play (pun, unfortunately, intended). The house is (mostly) child-proof. And I'm exhausted...more than usual.

I am able to seriously envision a scenario in which this kid can crawl faster than I can run. It doesn't seem all that far-fetched as I sit here on the couch and type these words in the stillness of the post-bedtime evening.

She's so mobile that I can't get any good video. So here's a series of pictures (shot from the floor, while I was resting...er, um, getting a better perspective) that is not completely on topic. In this sequence, Rye foreshadows her plan to start walking before I've even figured out how to supervise her crawling.

This needs no introduction

I'm slowly morphing into one of those "it seems like yesterday..." people. Not that its a bad thing. It applies. As Rhoda and I were looking at pictures of Rye from her first few days with us last night after watching the Little Girl crawl across the room to get to a duck toy, I started thinking that yesterdays are great and all, but tomorrow could be really special.

Step One: Learn to Crawl

Step Two: Whatever You Want

Oh, and here's what she looked like "yesterday."

Through the Eyes of an Uncle

I am not going to say it's easy to be an uncle. But I will say that I witnessed the flawless execution of that responsibility and calling over the last few days. I know I loved to love my uncles when I was a kid and it looks like Rye's following that trend.

Let's all raise our sippy-cups to Uncle Ali...

Here's Rye through Ali's lens:

And now...Rye looks at Ali through Ali's lens.

Mom Days

I was able to take some days off this week to spend with Rye. Here are some highlights of our time together....