The Cincinnati Zoo has Lots of Animals! And Other Adventures!

Two weekends ago I got to see tons of animals at the Cincinnati Zoo! This was my second trip to the zoo and I'm still amazed at all the different animals! Monkeys! Manatees! Elephants! And did I mention monkeys?!! (Monkeys are awesome, by the way)

It was kind of hot that day, but mommy made me wear a hat to help keep me cool, even though I generally dislike hats, as evidenced by my sourpuss face at the top.

I even got to go to a special section called the Petting Zoo. Mommy took me in so I could get real close and personal with all of these goats! They were pretty cool! Everyone kept feeding them food. I think they eat even more than I do at dinner! Mommy wondered if they rotate goats from day to day so that the goats don't get too fat. Hmmm... interesting thoughts, mommy. Interesting thoughts. I think you would make a great Zoo Person!

Anyway, this past weekend we went to visit Uncle Tophy and Aunt Alyssa to see Uncle Tophy's new apartment in Indianapolis. It's really nice! It's much, much bigger than Uncle Tophy's last place. Daddy drove a Uhaul to deliver a couch and a love seat to his new place. Once they brought them in, however, I thought something was missing... Uncle Tophy's yellow couch! It was in the trailor that Papi Bob brought from Peoria, and I had thought that Uncle Tophy got rid of it. Thank goodness he didn't! It smells like Augie Doggie! So much so that it makes the entire room smell like Augie Doggie! It's a wonderful smell!

On our way home to Cincinnati, we saw two lost dogs on the side of the highway. They made mommy and daddy really worried because they might get hurt. So they stopped on the side of the road and helped the doggies out. The big black lab was a very sweet natured girl! She was very thankful and jumped in the car right away. The other doggie was very scared and ran away back into the woods. Mommy called the Indiana State Police to alert them of a runaway doggie. Luckily, as we found out later, that doggie ran back to his owner.

The very sweet black lab, on the other hand, stayed the night with us! We took her to a veterinarian to make sure that she was okay, and she was! (She had a few ticks, but nothing bad) Luckily the doggie had a tag for her own veterinarian. Mommy called, left a message, and the veterinarian called back the next day to let us know who the doggie's owner was. His name was Earl and he was worried sick about losing his doggie. We took the doggie back to Earl and he was very grateful. It turns out that the other doggie -- the one who was scared and ran away -- was his, too, so it all worked out in the end!

What a week I've had! More adventures to come as I'm turning One Year Old VERY soon! Can you believe that?! It's exciting!

Make sure you get your birthday presents for me purchased soon, because I'm pretty darn cute and I deserve it. Just kidding, folks. I don't need any presents; I just need your presence. And maybe some cold hard cash. That never hurt anyone! I hope to see everyone soon!

-WDJ

My Trip to Indianapolis

I'm in great mood this weekend! I got to see my best girlfriend Ramona! I haven't seen her in over three months! For a baby like yours truly, that's like 3 lifetimes. But even though it seems like forever, the absence has only made my heart grown fonder, just like the great writer David Jacob said (I thought it was Shakespeare, but my daddy corrected me).

I also got to meet a really cool and happening kid named Louis, who is mommy's friends Lizzie and Tony's little boy! He's one of those kids that likes to sit around and chill, which is awesome! I mean, Louis has so much growing up and developing to do compared to Ramona and me. He's ONLY six months, and we are way more sophisticated and advanced at 10 months (and I'm the coolest since I'm the oldest at 10.75 months!).

So anyway, we had a lot of fun with our play date on Saturday. Louis had to go home early since he was sleepy and I guess his parents don't live with Ramona. Weird. Then on Sunday, Ramona and I got to go to the Indiana State Fair! We wanted to go by ourselves, but then Ramona's daddy Aaron said, "Not until you start contributing to your 401k without your parents' help." I told Mr. Aaron that I think I can start doing it by Tuesday, but then we would be back in Cincinnati so I reluctantly let Mr. Aaron and Ms. Lynn come along with mommy and daddy. Sheesh.

Anyway, we saw cows, elephants, lumberjacks, tractors, farmhouses, and a sculpture made of cheese! (No joke, it was a sculpture made of cheese, and it was everything I ever hoped a sculpture of cheese would be). Many of the farm stables smelled like what I do in my diaper. Dad said that we should cut the sculpture of cheese. He then started giggling uncontrollably. I think he was making a flatulence joke. Lame. Grow up, dad.

Overall I had a super fun weekend. I saw my best girlfriend in the world Ramona and I made a cool new friend in Louis. Great times!

-WDJ

My First Vay-Cay!

I got to spend my first vacation with my Mom's family in Marathon, Florida. This place is in the middle of the Keys, but for some reason they are just islands. Weird! We stayed at this huge house! It was like a mansion! We had three floors all to ourselves along with a Kick-Butt Pool!

I had tons of fun! I got to spend a lot of time doing this thing called Swimming. I've done it before, but not like on vacation. Every day we went to our pool and I got to show off my huge muscles! I had to start charging people who wanted to see my Gun Show! I loved it when Mommy would twirl me around in the water. I had my own little floating device so I could cruise around in the pool. Dad thought that the floaty was a little too girly, but I didn't care! I don't get the difference between "girl" and "boy" stuff. If it's fun, I like it!

I got to hang out with my Cool Cousin Skylee all throughout Vay-Cay (as my Mommy's family calls it). She gave me lots of Free Hugs and Kisses. We got to celebrate Aunt Sara and Aunt Alyssa's birthdays, too. Both of them are like, Super Ancient. Like in their Twenties or something Really Old.

During Vay-Cay, I learned a ton of new things. I guess I needed to get away from my stressful existence in Cincinnati to acquire all my new knowledge. The first and most exciting thing that I learned was crawling! Finally! I thought I would just roll around forever! I haven't crawled too far yet, but I can still crawl quite a few feet. You know, I need to take Baby Steps. Walk before you Run. Or in this case, Crawl before I can Crawwwwwllll. At one point, I was tossing a ball away from me and then crawling to go after it. That was pretty cool! Also, if you notice from the picture below, I twist my tongue around when I'm concentrating Really Hard, just like my Pop-o can!

Another thing that I learned was Pointing. I liked Pointing at Papi and other people. I also learned how to Scrunch My Face. Sometimes I Point at someone and then Scrunch my Face. I think it must be a stinky odor that I smell, even though no one else can possibly be any stinkier than what I can produce. I'm also saying stuff like "Tickle tickle tickle," "ma ma ma," but I still focus mostly only saying "da da da da," because, you know, Dad Rocks!

Another cool thing that I did was fly in a plane! I was very good on the plane, with very few Cranky Moments. But that was because I was tired/hungry, so nothing new. I loved flying because I saw lots of ladies on the plane! I love flirting with them and smiling at them. When they smile and wave back, I get really shy and hide my head. I guess that makes them like me more! I am becoming more of a Mommy's Boy on this trip, raising my hands up in the air whenever mom is in the vicinity. Even though I say "da da da da" more, I really am more of a Mommy's Boy. Sorry Dad! (you still rock, though).

I also got to spend a whole day with my Mimi and Papi while everyone else went to Key West. I had a great time with them! I even got to put a bucket on my head like a hat! I loved it! My Mimi and Papi are a lot of fun!

Overall I had a great vacation. I got to see a lot of spectacular sunsets like this one:

But I'm super tired today. I think I'm going to take about a 3-hour-and-27-minute nap now. Good night everyone!

-WDJ

Adventures in Chicagoland

Hi everybody! I'd like to tell you about my awesome adventure that I had last week! We drove what seemed like a bajillion hours to this place called Chicagoland. We stayed at this nifty place called a Condo for two days. It was very nice! We stayed on the Ninth Floor and had a great view of Chicagoland.

Mommy had to go to these things called Meetings for her job, so Dad and I were prepared to go both crazy AND nuts while Mommy was away. Well, I got so excited that I fell asleep by 9:00 a.m. on our first day.

That's okay! I woke up in time for some major fun Play Time on our Condo Floor. I love this new mode of transportation that I discovered called Rolling Around. Dad says that I'm ThisClose to crawling, but as soon as I'm about to crawl, I decide to do the Rolling Around. You know, that's how I roll. Mommy and Daddy are also getting quite impatient with this thing they call Teeth. Mr. Doctor told me that I was supposed to get this Teeth thing by Six Months. Welp, it's over Nine (9!) months now, and no Teeth to be seen. They're supposedly right below the surface, and Mommy can feel them, but the Teeth must be really shy and bashful, unlike yours truly. I also have a new thing that I say! I like to say, "Uh oh!" And shake my head "no" a lot. Mom says it's because of Dad. I'm just emulating what Mommy does when Daddy's around.

Anyhoo, once Mommy got back from the stinky Meeting, we all went to a Park close by. Mommy thought I would like to swing in the Swings. Pshyeah, right, whatever. I'm waaaay too cool for swings. That's for like, Six Month Olds.

On Friday, after another one of Mommy's stinky Meetings, we finally got to visit my Auntie Beka and Uncie Wes! They are definitely two Kool Kats. They're rad, man. Speaking of Kool Kats, I got to meet their cat Charlie! Apparently, Charlie is not a Puggle, but I still thought he was super sweet anyway. Charlie came within two feet of me to sniff me. I thought that was pretty cool of him, so I smiled and clapped. I was impressed by his affability.

Mommy, Daddy, Auntie Beka, and I all went to the Zoo on Friday. It was a Boat Load of Fun! It's too bad that Uncie Wes couldn't come because he had to do this thing called Work. Bleh! I hope I never have to do that! Anyway, we got to see lots of Animals, Animals, Animals! From places near and far! We saw Lions, Tigers, and Bears, but not Oh My (they seem to have left that one out). I enjoyed all the Animals that I saw. Each one seemed to be a Star (Dad says that if you don't get the reference... then your sanity will be preserved... it's this toy that I have...). I also got to ride a Lion with Auntie Beka! I wasn't scared at all! Do you see how brave I was!

On Saturday I got to go in the Pool, but I didn't like it too much since it was so Cold. That's okay! I got to Chillax in the shade by the pool with Mommy, Daddy, and Uncie Wes. Auntie Beka had to go to a Baby Shower, which I thought was weird because I take baths myself. To each his own, I guess.

So I had a fantastic time in Chicagoland! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone next weekend in Peorialand! You will get to see how big I've gotten! Even random people stop my parents to tell them how big I am. That's okay! That means there's just more of me to love!

Peace out, Homeys!

-WDJ

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM. Literally, Will screams for it.

MMMMMMMM..... More Ice Cream Please!


Mr. Will has had his first taste of ice cream thanks to a hot Cincinnati night and the west-side fixture, Gold Top Dairy Bar. We didn't intend to share but someone has quick "go go gadget" arms and kept swiping at mom's icecream. So she shared a bite... then another... then another... and wouldn't you know a certain little boy kept crying every time it was mom's turn for a bite!

Who me? I didn't hog mommy's ice cream!



Who could say no to this face?

I think it's safe to say he likes it. :)

I'm 8 months!

So I'm sure you've been asking -- Will is 8 months now. What cool and interesting things has he been up to? Well...


1. He got a haircut! Mommy did it at home and it was 95% successful. There is one patch where we got a little squirmy and it is too short. But all in all, not too bad for a first time!

(Before -- wild man)

(After -- Joey Votto, look out! You're
not the only hearthrob in Cincy now!)

*Note the presence of Mr. Will's favorite admirerer in the corner of the pic. She's always watching him... like a stalker.


2. Mr. Will has half a tooth on the bottom. It's there... but just barely.

3. He really likes standing and has been trying to pull himself up.

4. We tried out a sippy cup and he liked it.

5. We will soon have a walker so he can "go mobile." Look out!

We are finally looking forward to some sunny spring weather this weekend! And we get to celebrate Aunt Jo's birthday, yippee! Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Love, Mr. Will

A True Johnson...

What is this?????

Hey... this is pretty good!

I must have Johnson DNA in me -- because I love dill pickles!!
Yum!!!
I love them almost as much as I love slobbering on my shirt. I can't wait to eat some dill pickles with my Aunts Beka and Sara on vacation!


But I do NOT like cottage cheese.
If you feed that to me, I will spit it in your face -- for real. (See evidence above.)


Other exciting news from 3217 Deborah -- my mommy & daddy gave me my own remote.

(I guess daddy doesn't like to share??)

Being so awesome, makes me tired. :)