Falsely Accused

I have been ranting about the horrible squirrels who ate all my flowers on the balcony...apparently, the squirrels were falsely accused:

He's fat from the 500 petunias he has eaten this summer.

I had no idea they were such good climbers...he climbed right up the balcony post to avoid the paparazzi.

"What do you mean I have to WAIT until the raccoon leaves before I can play on the balcony??"

"Mannnn...what good is a 110 pound dog if it can't scare away a raccoon?"

Jake Saves the Day

"Sighhh...I think I hear Ian coming."

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"SOB! Jake, Mommy doesn't UNDERSTAND!"

"I want to fly out the window and SHE WON'T LET ME!...Was that your ear? Sorry..."

"Am I kicking you in the head? Sorry...ANYWAY, Mommy doesn't let me be FREE!"

"Heeeeyyyyy...you're a really good step ladder, Jake! And a good listener! I feel better already!"

"I'm happy now, Mommy! Hugs from Jake always fix the problem!"

"Being allowed to sit on the windowsill and see the world doesn't hurt, either."

"Yeah, yeah...third floor, danger, blah, blah...whatever, Mommy!"

"Kathleen, you know I don't like to tell you how to parent your kid, but for goodness sake...invest in some window guards!"

Ian works his upper body

"Wow, did you see that, Jake?! The second I did this, Mommy started Googling 'window guards' on the internet! I wonder why."

"Mommy, do you know you have the camera set to 'nightshot' so these are going to come out black and white instead of color? No? Well, call it artistic and post it online...Grandma and Nana will still love it."

Random pictures from the weekend

"I'm ready to go! Mush, Jake! Mush!"

"Jeez, you are one lazy dog! We've only chased the ball 5,000 times. Let's go for 5,001!"

"I am high fashion."

"Mommy says I really work this outfit. I have no idea what that means, but I LOVE THESE BOOTS!!!!"

"Ahhhh...Sunday morning. Toast, Meet the Press, and then a walk to the coffee shop. I love Sundays."

Our Day at the Field

"WHOA!!! Daddy, check that OUT!"

"Gian t Elephants!!!! I LOVE ELEPHANTS!!!!"

"A DINOSAUR!!!!!"

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!"

"Neat! A Japanese taiko...that means "big drum" for those of you who aren't lucky enough to have parents who drag you to the Field Museum despite how tired and crabby you are..."

"Taiko! Taiko! Taiko!"

"Hey, I found another dinosaur! This one isn't quite as impressive as Sue, but I bet if I hug it, Mommy will want to buy me one from the gift shop."

"Hmmm...not as tall as Jake."

"Oh, that is fascinating, Mommy. You're brilliant, insightful and clever..."

"Although you are a little annoying with the camera...Daddy and I are doing important research here...stop interrupting to take pictures."

"What a fun day at the Field!"

"It's sunny! Let's go to the park!"

"What a pretty flower."

"Here you go, Mommy! Flower for you!"

"It's all gone! Can you believe that?! If I tear the heads off of all the flowers, they are all gone!"

"Don't worry! I'll find more!"

Ian's Window Seat

"Good morning, Mommy! No beach today...it's raining."

"I think I'll just hang out here and watch the world go by."

How We Spend Our Morning

"WAHOO! I finally managed to get Mommy and Daddy out of bed early enough to go to the beach before Daddy leaves for work!"

"ARE YOU CRAZY??? That water is COLD! I'm not putting my feet in there!"

"Huh...Jake seems to disagree with my assessment of the water temperature."

"If it's good enough for Jake, it's good enough for me!"

"No...it's still really cold."

"Wahooooo! I can see why Jake likes the water so much!"

"You know what else is fun? Sand. Let's play in the sand."

"Jake is all wet. If I put sand on his back, he will warm up. He'll love being covered in sand."

"THERE ARE ROCKS HERE!!! AWESOME!!!"

"Guys, Ian REALLY likes the beach. You should take him here EVERY MORNING."