Montana does not stop. Ever. She is constantly in motion (so you can imagine the delight of a cross-country plane flight...), unless she is sleeping, which she only does with a fair bit of resistance. After all, every moment is a new opportunity to pull herself up on something, chew a corner of furniture, or pull a piece of fabric out of the laundry basket!

In California this past week for Lauren and John's wedding, Montana met her second cousin Gretchen for the first time and had her first photo shoot. This season's style: red gingham, featured on a backdrop of striped beach furniture.

She goes to childcare (aka "school") three days per week for six hours a day during the first week of September, which will probably be a mutual liberation of parents and child, although I predict some ambivalence on the part of myself and Michael. As for the two parents in this family unit, we are ensconced in pre-semester plannings, both conceptual and logistical; and are looking forward to some time in Vermont with good friends and good books in anticipation of the fray that September is sure to bring.