ready for my close-up (take two)

still cute, even with food all over my face. ;-)

our visit to hawthorne racetrack

we won free admission to harness racing in a radio contest.

i had fun reading the program and picking my favorites to win.

one horsey even stopped to pose for me!

a day at the races (video)

man, just my luck! i picked a losing horse...again!!!

michigan and illinois rizzos - last day

daddy set this shot up with the timer. we managed to get everyone except avi, my kitty, in it. i'm not looking, because the camera blinked and blinked and blinked. how was i to know when it would actually fire?
here i am with daddy and uncle mike.
here i am with four of the michigan rizzos - uncle mike, aunt trish, cousin meagan and pinky white (formerly named kitty). i have two older cousins, matt and TJ, who stayed home this trip, so i'll have to meet my boy cousins later.

ready for my close-up

build-a-bear

cousin meagan stuffed a bear and named her kitty.

i watched all the stuffing swirl around in a big machine.

can you tell which one is me?

children's museum on navy pier

dad and i stood behind a screen and "jewels" showered down around us.
then we stood behind another and butterflies landed on us.
(mommy cringed.)

in a different area of the museum, meagan made a "pizza" with assistance from her mommy, trish.
she and trish also rang up a total on the cash register.
i ate "ice cream" that managed not to melt on me.

rizzo cousin intro

this is my cousin meagan.

she lives in michigan and is visiting for the weekend.
she likes to play and shares really well.
i think she's really cute.
do you see the family resemblance?

last day with great great aunt iris

visit with aunt i to the art institute

yesterday i visited artie the lion at daddy's museum.

mommy, grandma and i went with my great great aunt iris, who is visiting from florida.

we saw seurat's "sunday in the park," but i wasn't terribly impressed.
all those dots - child's play!

i was more interested in mommy's camera.

lambs farm

today (7/7/08), i am 10 months old!

yesterday, mom, dad and i visited lambs farm in libertyville.

it's a community run for/by folks with developmental disabilities.

while there, i climbed my first tree!

okay, so daddy gave me a little help. i cannot tell a lie.
mommy and i posed with paul bunyan and babe the ox.

there was mini golf, a carousel and a choo choo.

mom and dad promise we can try those next time.

we did, however, visit the farmyard.
there were goats and sheep and turkeys and alpacas.
look, there's a turkey right there! (no, not that one - that's mommy.)an alpaca even leaned in for a kiss!
(i threatened to make a sweater out of him.)

look what i can do!

i can stand unassisted for brief spells.

i can also feed myself finger foods. (i waited nearly 10 months to try this and now realize what i was missing.)

hanging with the ladies

at the parade, i saw my neighbor pam (top) and her sister linda (bottom).

riverside independence day celebration

check out the neat-o clock tower in the background.

it reminds mommy and daddy of one of their favorite movies, "back to the future."

("save the clock tower, save the clock tower!")

look at this great seat i have, perched above the crowds to watch the parade go by.

dad and i watch kids on ponies. next year, maybe i'll ride!