Madison Trip

Another somewhat delayed post (and I have a feeling this is a problem that's just going to get worse).

Amelie and I took a trip up to Madison, Wisconsin to visit my good friend Cabell and meet her baby AJ. This was basically immediately after Amelie discovered she could climb out of the crib, but she did really well except for one night. The plan was to help them unpack some, but shockingly we were not the most efficient move-in team.

Anyway, we hung out and did some fun stuff, like go to the butterfly conservatory.

Cabell looks lovely, but AJ looks just a tad disgruntled.

Amelie contemplating the butterflies from a respectful distance.

Baby AJ maintained a respectful distance, too.

Ooops! Going in! "Just look, don't touch," didn't seem to stick, but with minimal wrangling, she didn't manage to get within poking range of any butterflies.

She also really liked the stripy ones (zebra butterflies) and the koi and the frog (not pictured).

We hung out in the backyard. AJ also enjoyed the big back deck. 

And her toes.

While Amelie searched for pine cones.

And climbed.

And chatted on the cell phone, sporting her sushi skirt from Uncle Joe.

We went to the park.

Hello!

Cabell took some pictures, too. (Well, I suppose I took this one, but it was with Cabell's camera.) Everyone seems pretty skeptical of baby AJ's preferred method of swinging.

Amelie was a big fan of the cat tree, and also of running around in her underwear. My original thought was that at 26 pounds, she surely weighs less than the four cats that use the cat tree, but that logic doesn't hold up if she wants to climb on it while the cats are using it.

Amelie and AJ surveying one another from a respectful distance. I'm afraid that Amelie thought her new cousin Ben would be more like this six-month-old and less like a brand-new baby.

Here's the link to Cabell's Flickr photos from the trip.

Thanks again for being such great hosts!