Dakota sasses, Jack arrives, and we visit the 20th

I'll start today's post with a couple of photos from back in the US.

First, the shot at left is my brother's dog, Dakota. A friend of his is cutting up meat, and Dakota is a little bit ticked that she's not getting any. So ticked, in fact, that she's sticking her tongue out! Talk about a great shot -- this picture is awesome! I haven't met Dakota yet, but she sure seems to have a lot of personality. (Just wait until she meets Didge...)





Second, the big news from back in Michigan: our friends Joe and Kate had their baby! Jackson Edward Michael Weber joined the world on May 6, weighing in at 7 lbs 6 ounces. You can see the little guy to the right. Jack has got to be one of the cutest newborns I have ever seen! Normally, newborns look a little funny for a while, but he just looks darling. I can't wait to get back to Michigan to see this little guy (and take his mommy shopping!)

On a related note, I highly recommend checking out Joe's blog, Life Begins at 30. You can read a first-time father's observations on becoming a daddy, which are both hilarious and endearing. While you're at it, click on the ad on his page ... you'll help pay for diapers!

On a more mundane note, Colin, Rachel, and I checked out a park that we haven't been to before. Le Parc des Buttes Chaumont is in the 20th arrondissement, a bit of a haul from our apartment. But, it allows dogs if they are on leash, so we decided to check it out.

The shot to the left is a gazebo on top of a limestone bluff in the park. (You can see Colin and Didge in the middle.) Unfortunately, the whole thing is horribly vandalized, but it still makes for a nice view of the park itself. It's always disappointing to see graffiti in an otherwise gorgeous place -- you'd think that the "artists" would be satisfied with the metro, the trains, the sidewalks, and regular building walls in the city. I guess I'll just never understand why people feel the need to express themselves with cryptic names and words in public places.

The other shot is also in the park, looking at the lake that surrounds the hill that the gazebo is on. In a lot of ways, this park reminds me of Parc Montsouris in our neighborhood, except that it is a lot hillier! OK, that, and I have yet to see a naked man sunbathing in our neighborhood. (Ew!) No, I didn't get a picture of Mr. No Tan Lines. There are some things that are better left to the imagination. (At least you, my dear reader, can picture a much finer specimen on display than what we saw in reality.)

Tomorrow, I'm off to the Centre Georges Pompidou with Isabelle, and Saturday, Colin and I are going to Doug and Stephanie's for a party to celebrate Rachel's acceptance into Juilliard. And then ... the 'rentals arrive! That's right, folks, MoMom and MoDad will arrive on Tuesday. This can only mean one thing: May is almost half over! Man, that is mindblowing. Before I know it, I'll be on a plane back to Detroit! Where did the time go??