Happy birthday, dear Joss.

The terrible two's, eh?

It seems weird in that when she's not sick and holding on to us for dear life (and giving us kisses in an apparent decision to share her diseases), she's fiercely independent.

But when has that not been the case?

In honor of her turning two, I gathered up 18 photos representing the last twelve months of her life (because we only took three pictures for every two months) and put a little She & Him on top of it like so much butter and maple syrup on your favorite pancakes. Mmm, 'joy!

Baby Urban Outfitters Model?

Note the dispassionate, detached look, the post-ironic koala shirt and vintage sweater, the black skinny-pants and the sparkly shoes. I think we have a toddler hipster on our hands.

My question: if one is posing as a member of a group that is made up of self-aware poseurs, doesn't that automatically make one an authentic member of that group?

In other words, does Joss get a pass to subscribe to Paper and argue about hipster bands that are so new they don't even exist yet? PBR is out of the question, as is American Apparel, but PB&J and the Cool Kids are okay, right?

The Many Faces of Jocelyn Carrisa

Six months. Half a year. One glorious and sleep-deficient day after another.

On July 17th, 2007, at 11 pm Central Time in a hospital on the North Side of Chicago founded by a mysterious and secretive sect of powerful men, our daughter was birthed. The following is a snapshot (or several) really, of just our amazement at how cute she had been and has been, of how her little face (and big smile) and body is continually changing.

I'll stop talking now and let you dwell, or just enjoy Six Months in the Life of Jocelyn Carissa.

And after you've viewed that a million times, you can catch this pretender.



See? He doesn't change nearly as much nor is he anywhere near as cute. But blah, blah, blah, guess who gets all the attention and the Simpsons Movie spotlight?

Speaking of Lego's:

The end of a week and a half with my family. We were looking forward to these days for a good while. Because our baby is sooooo cute.

Witness:

Updates, updates, Read all about 'em!!

The baby picture sites (Flickr and Picasa) have finally been uploaded with pix of the family. Included are grandparents (including Grandpa and Granny Fronz), great-grandparents (both Grandmoozle Mary and 'Ita Rosa as well as a napper-snapper of Lo-lo Luis), uncles (The Uncle Jeff and the too-enthused Uncle Brian and Unkie Chunkie) and, finally, some decent ones of Momma with the baby. My big ol' crusty face (and bushel of curly hair) is there too.

For some strange reason, there's no auntie pix, at least not digitally.

There's also more head shots of the little one. Who, by the way, is still very healthy, even as she's been battling a bit of a head cold, heat rash and really, really stuffed nose.

The other, and much-related news is that we're going to transfer much of this baby-related stuff to a joint blogsite, name TBD. (EDIT: It's called The Family DYEgest. Get it? It's a pun - put together by mommy [I don't really do puns. So much]. Because we're overly concerned about what and how she eats.) Somewhat because I promised myself I wouldn't tell any poop-stories or jokes on this site. And I want to remain a man of integrity. EDITEDIT (I made a mistake in the link there. It's fixed now. Don't ask. Don't tell.)

On another, related note, congratulations to new members of the blogosphere, the Gotzi - or Gotzes, not sure which of the two. They just moved into Virginia (ironically, my brother and his expectant wife are just on the verge of relocating from VB, VA and the Navy. And not a moment too soon I might add. Of course, moving into Noo Joisey is a bit of into the frying pan, but still...) and have got the coolest/weirdest masthead for a blogspot I've seen. Their site is Thetwogotz.blogspot.com, with a current track of what their cat kills/eats/fiddles with, presumably.

More pix

Awe is more than emotion. It is a way of understanding insight into a meaning greater than ourselves. The beginning of awe is wonder, and the beginning of wisdom is awe... Man may forfeit his sense of the ineffable. To be alive is a commonplace, the sense of radical amazement is gone... Deprived of the ability to praise, modern man is forced to look for entertainment, entertainment is becoming compulsory.

Rabbi Abraham Heschel
Stanford University, 1963
from Pillar of Fire, Taylor Branch

As you may note, there are more pictures. And I took more liberties playing around with the images (you might see why I dropped out of art school [not to be confused with Art Ruch]).



Enjoy! She's a doll (if I do say so myself).

P.S. Over the Rhine is now streaming their entire new album at OvertheRhine.com. Go, listen, enjoy. If nothing else, it'll make for a great soundtrack while you view and read this blog.

Pictures, so many pictures...

I'll try out Flickr in a little while, but for now, Picasa should do, eh?


To get the album of Jocelyn during her first week, click here.

And if you prefer Flickr, click here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jossdye/)