Team Critter at Nick/Desha's Wedding in Philadelphia

Last weekend we got a temporary reprieve from the scalding cauldron of the St. Louis summer when we jetted to Philly for the wedding of Stanford friends, Nick Guydosh and Desha Girod. Ale got to see me in a penguin suit tuxedo, taste the refined local cuisine (i.e. Philly cheesesteaks), and tear up the dance floor for over four hours at the reception!

Thriving Alejandra

I still have every intention of bringing our Ale blog up-to-date with photos taken from last August until now, but in the meantime here are some fantastic shots of Ale taken by our friend Binh during our recent trip out to California... Notice the continued toe-crowding!

Ale has made enormous strides in potty-training, especially after observing her older cousins Mona and Heaven out in LA in June. She now ably self-regulates while at home during the day, knowing that for every tinkle and poop in the big potty that there is a graduated reward of jelly beans or chocolate and lots of positive feedback. Our little girls is growing up, completing 2.5 years on July 13!

Ale appears to be handling the heat and humidity of summertime St. Louis quite well. She especially enjoys romping in the mini water geyser at the Forest Park playground or the sprinkle jets at the Missouri Botanical Gardens...

Spring in St. Louis...

We are sorely lagging in updating the blog since moving from California to St. Louis in November! Team Critter has all sorts of novel adventures to report. For now, we are posting recent pictures of Alejandra (2 yr. 3.5 mo.) so you can see what a spunky and spirited young lady she is growing into, while the blog masters get their act together...


We are fortunate to have a "small park" behind our house that Ale frequents whenever we cannot make it to the "big park" a few blocks away at Forest Park. Here she demonstrates her smiley agility on the monkey bars...


Jeanette and Ale go to the St. Louis Science Center on a weekly basis, where Ale can load up on rocket fuel, size herself up with the residents, and build and knock down (her favorite part) a mock St. Louis Arch.

Ale sounds her barbaric yawp at the Grand Canyon

We stopped in for a visit to the Grand Canyon on our way east to St. Louis. Jeanette hadn't been here since a child and I was last here in 1995 on a 4-day backpacking trip with my dad. Here Ale squirms at Mather Point as we watch the sunset...

ZOO!!!

The Ducut clan spent the day at the LA Zoo...

Ale exchanges a few words with the giraffes...

Las tres primas after a hard day's work: Mona Lisa, Heaven, Alejandra...

Galivanting at Griffith Park

On a recent visit to Grandma and Grandpa Ducut in Los Angeles, we took Ale to nearby Griffith Park to enjoy the massive children's playground and vintage merry-go-round. Ale wasn't so sure about spinning around-up-and-down with loud maniacal music blaring, but she thought the play-ground was pretty sweetable...



A moment of calm fun with Grandma Ducut...



Seeing your daughter at play in the park makes the worries of finishing up a dissertation evaporate... Jeanette and I love watching her spriteful scampers.

Mumble stands guard while Ale snoozes

Ale loves the movie Happy Feet and her go-to stuffed animal is Mumble the penguin... Notice she still favors the touch-down snoozing position.

Sub-urban camping...

Ale and her posse camp out in the living room...

Grandma and Grandpa time...

My parents came up for my thesis defense and Alejandra entertained them with her giggles, melodies, and mirth.

Ale reads Grandma a story...

Watching Lincecum strike out 15 at a SF Giants game...

taking Grandma and Grandpa for a walk around the neighborhood...

Stanford meanderings

Ale offers solace and comfort to a forlorn Burgher of Calais...

with Grandma and Grandpa in front of Stanford Memorial Church

The instrumentatious series...

ukelele strumming

graduations

Big Daddy finally completed his PhD this summer, and Ale and Big Mama were there to accompany him. We're wrapping things up at Stanford and preparing for the migration to St. Louis later this Fall...

Telephonic phun

Thank you for calling Critters-R-Us... Can I help you?

Corn munching

Mmmmm... nothing like sweetable corn on the cob!

Ale stops to smell the flowers

prelude to a bike ride...

Big Mama equips Ale for a soon-to-be initiation to back-seat bicycle riding.

San Diego sojourns

We headed down to San Diego over July 4th weekend for the baptism of Dave and Christine Carta's son, Andrew. We had a fun time with good friends, family, fireworks, and an afternoon at La Jolla Shores...

The posse at La Jolla Shores...

Ale is quite impressed that Sam can trudge off with a bucket full of sand...

Splashing in the Pacific with Jennie.

Splashing in the wading pool with Grandma...

Generations and transitions

We don't get dressed up very often and I eschew wearing ties, so this is a rare photo, taken at my grandfather's funeral in Tulare. See earlier posts for photos of Ale with her great-grandfather. Funerals by their nature have sad overtones but this occasion was as much an opportunity to celebrate all of the wonders and joys of the 96 years of my grandfather's life. Though she will not remember meeting "Great Grandpa Joe", I look forward to telling Ale about him when she is older. On the wall behind us is a picture of my grandmother who passed away 3 years ago.

blogging

Ale checks her email, posts to her blog, and watches some clips from "A Bug's Life" on Youtube...

side-walk graffiti in the front yard

Ducuts do Redondo Beach

One of my favorite Ducut family traditions is Redondo Beach day... crabs, bagoong, and the beach. Here, Joey, Heaven, and Mona Lisa join in the fun...

las tres primas at the house before the jaunt to the coast...

team critter...

in search of crabs...

Wow, Grandma! That's a big crab! I think you need to share some with me...

our biker chick... in pink polka dots




a merry, merry, merry-go-round of cousins...

nothing like warm sand to wiggle your toes in!

Beach toddling through time...

Jeanette has long had a special relationship with the beach. On the left, she strolls along Redondo Beach in LA as a little lumpiacita of ~1.5 years old. On the right (and posted below), she beach-strolls on Kauai with Ale (16 months). Perhaps some day Ale will contribute a third-generation to this passage...

when washing dishes is fun!

Napali Coast, Kauai

For many years I had wanted to hike part of the rugged Napali Coast in the North Shore of Kauai. Ale convinced us that this trip was the time to do so. She climbed into her Beco saddle and off we went on an 8 mile warm, sunny, humid, and glorious hike out to Hanakapiai Beach and waterfalls...














Got back to the trailhead just in time to catch the sunset at Ke'e Beach...

Hawaii!!

We scampered off to Hawaii for a few days in May, where we met up with Grandma and Grandpa Sigala- Ale's first foray into the land of kalua pig, lau-lau, warm sandy beaches, Aloha spirits, and mingled memories of Big Daddy's high school years. We spent the first three days on Kauai and then two on Oahu.


Ale wiggles her toes in the warm agua of Waikiki, under the gaze of Diamond Head. Beach Baby, your toes are telling you we're not in California any more!

Saltpond beach on the south shore of Kauai...

Sunset pose with Grandma and Grandpa...

Strolling along Kekaha beach, south shore Kauai...

our little Hilo Hottie...

It was a treat to meet up with one of Paul's high school teachers, Rinda Fernandes, and her husband, Frank, for dinner in Honolulu.



Ale expresses her enjoyment of it all and how she hopes to return soon!