I mentioned that we went to California, right? This was our annual Get-the-hell-out-of-freezing-New-England-and-let-the-grandparents-drool-on-Josie pilgrimage and it went just fine, thank you. The airplane ride is a bit more challenging now that Josie is a toddler (i.e. I had to walk her up and down the aisles 37 times). And Jos got herself a little fever that freaked us out for a night. But overall, she had a ball and got to know her grandpa Ricci and grandma Babs much better, to the extent that one afternoon I wandered into their bedroom and saw all three of them napping together, a sight of such unutterable cuteitude that it just about made my heart explode.

    But the highlight for Jos was the chance to hang out with her cousins Daniel and Lorenzo, the aforementioned Wrecking Crew. These are the guys, you'll recall, who taught her to walk over the summer. They are two of the world's sweeter human beans and they spent a long time hanging out with Josie and getting her to make the sounds of various barnyard animals.

    Being the sicko I am, all I could think as I watched them cavort was: Man, in ten years Josie is going to be crushing so hard on these guys she won't know what to do with herself. But for now, let's just leave these three to their innocent pleasures, such as examining the lawn (and each other) for potential bug problems...

      Oh, and doing some fine dining, of course...

    And a little alphabet work, naturally...