in an octopus's garden, in the shade

well friends, we've had a nice relaxing holiday weekend in chi-town. everyone has been up past his and her bedtimes, and we've partied with some fine folks. to mark the end of our celebrations, we carted la pups up to the botanical gardens north of the city. eve had a WONDERFUL time, as these pictures happen to capture. she was particularly enthralled by the water and the ducks and enormous fish in said water. at one point, she tried very hard to push me in because she thought i needed to get closer to the ducks. 'mama, in!' she said, over and over again, while pushing her little hand against my arm. mind you, she was on my lap at the time, so if i had complied, do you think she would have been surprised by also ending up in the water? alas, we'll never know. next time. . .

this kid gets funnier and sweeter all the time. she said 'hi' to almost every person we passed. she wore her hat nicely for a full fifteen minutes. on the way home she said, 'i love you, home.' she also wore her big girl panties all day long with no problems--i mention this because you get a paparazzi peek of them in one of the pictures with ted on the bench. note: i've included a picture of tiny pups so that you can see the moment i was trying to recapture.

good times had by all.