Zoe has had a few rough moments these past few weeks (I blame her illness and teething) but for the most part she’s a pretty happy baby. And, she has a lot of things to be happy about this week. Today the three of us are heading to Madison, where we’ll visit Grandma Vicki, Grandpa Larry and Aunt Sandy – along with oodles of friends and an adorable dog named Coco. I know Zoe is looking forward to the trip; now let’s just hope that she stays happy during our plane rides!

-M

And the milestones just keep on coming. It seems these days that Zoe does something new just about every day. The other day Zoe REALLY wanted her hat…so she stood up to get it! Check out the pics of her standing alone for the first time (with help from the bed, of course). Doesn’t she look proud of herself?

Jon Q

I think I’ve commented in the past that Q and I tend to interact with Zoe in different ways. While I’m most likely to read a book to Zoe or sing to her while she plays quietly with her toys, Q is prone to more physical activity. It’s not uncommon for Q to fling Zoe up and down, “fly” her through the sky, tickle her in dramatic fashion and/or turn her upside down, roller-coaster style. Although I often say (in my worried-mom voice), “Q, I’m not sure she likes that,” Zoe almost always contradicts me with her giggles and grins. The truth is that she *loves* doing all this dad-stuff, and the videos below (which Q calls the “Bouncing Zoe” and “Tickle Me Zoe” videos) are evidence. Also below is a sweet pic of Zoe-and-Dad time from this weekend.

-M

Now that Zoe is a pro at crawling, her next feat is sitting up on her own. For a while now she has been able to stay sitting up when we put her down. But now she is starting to place her own self up. Check out the pic below of her on her way up!

Jon Q

As Q mentioned below, Zoe appears to be feeling better – and the three of us have had a nice, mellow few days. Highlights include strolling in the neighborhood, hanging out with Zander, rolling around with toys, and doing lots and lots of crawling. Oh, and see that all-gum smile? It likely won’t be around for that much longer; we’re pretty sure – based on her mood and the number of times she crams her hand in her mouth each day – that Zoe is teething.

-M

At the beginning of the week, Zoe had to say goodbye to Safta and PopPop. She had such a fun time and is looking forward to seeing them in DC in September. Zoe also had a bit of a cold this week, but made her way through it without too many sleepless nights. Now, she is back playing again and good as new.

Jon Q

So, poor Zoe’s sniffles (mentioned below) turned into full-blown sickness over the weekend. She had a VERY rough Sat. night, barely sleeping at all, and she didn’t feel great on Sun. or Mon, either. The doctor suspected a bad cold or allergies… maybe even teething. (Unlike many babies Zoe’s age, she still has no teeth. Which is fine with me!!) It’s always hard seeing your baby sick, and I had also forgotten how hard it is to be up most of the night. As I asked Q yesterday, how did we ever do it when she was little? How did we get up so many times in the night and survive? I felt like a zombie on Sun., and this was after only one rough night!

Zoe seems to be doing better, which is the important thing – and she’s also been catching up on her sleep. See below for evidence.

-M

It’s been awhile since we’ve last posted; we’ve been busy running around. Some highlights of the past few days include shopping downtown with Safta and visiting Daddy at work for the first time, avoiding alligator-attack at the Disney store, picking up Pop Pop at the airport and being treated to a crab puppet show and a messy dinner, celebrating Pop Pop’s birthday in North Beach and then taking him on a leisurely, bundled-up stroll. Needless to say, Zoe has been really enjoying herself… (Too bad she has the sniffles today!)

-M

This is a big family month for Zoe. Two weeks from today she flies to Madison to visit Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Larry, and this week she gets to spend time with her Safta and Pop Pop. Safta arrived from DC with lots of hugs and kisses (see below), as well as a boat-sized bag full of clothes for Zoe. Zoe is thrilled to have her here – and excited to show off her new duds!

-M

One thing I’ve learned since becoming a parent is that there’s always some milestone to look forward to. Some milestones are especially big and exciting – like the baby’s first bite of food, first crawl across the floor, first step – while others are a little less dramatic (and perhaps only exciting to the parents). Like the baby’s first ride in the big-kid carseat.

Yes, Zoe made another big step this weekend – moving out of her baby (maximum: 22 lbs) carseat and into her brand new one (which she’ll sit in until she reaches, gulp, 40 lbs). She has a lot more room, she’s propped up high enough to (almost) see out the window, and she seems pretty comfortable. Of course, we had to take a picture to capture the big moment…

-M

Zoe and I had our friends Susan, Zander, Polly and Miles over today – and I think it’s safe to say that Zoe was very excited to see everyone. Especially Zander. When Susan plunked him on the floor, Zoe crawled over to Zander with a huge smile, then proceeded to paw and try to climb on top of him. (Check out her moves below.) I’ve never seen her this flirtatious or interested in a boy; might she be hoping for a love connection??

-M

One thing I’ve discovered since late Nov. is how good kids can make you feel. I never paid much attention to babies or little kids before then, but now my days are constantly brightened by little smiles and giggles. When I brought Zoe to Elena’s this morning, for example, I was greeted by two little girls screaming, “Zoe’s here, Zoe’s here!” They ran up in excitement to Zoe, who responded with her trademark open-mouth smile and leg kicks. How could that not make me smile? And then there was last night, when Zoe and I were playing with her washcloth puppets during bathtime – and Zoe couldn’t stop laughing. (This was the first time we’ve played with these puppets – one, a pink hippo; the other, a blue dog – and I’ve never seen her laugh this hard!) Even smaller moments are pretty great, too – like when Zoe recently posed in her little rapper-style baggy pants (see below). I feel lucky to have such a constant source of happiness in my life…

-M

Wow, we got to 10,000 hits in just over 9 months! That is over 1,100 hits a month or 37 visits a day. Keep on coming back and leaving those comments, we love to hear your thoughts!

Jon Q

So, we’re past the 10,000-view mark now. (See below.) My friend Dan (who lives in the Central time zone) was #10,001, and Q reports being #10,003 – but who was #10,000? 10,000 – are you out there? Hello? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

(Is no one claiming the prize? Zoe will be so disappointed!)

-M

On Sunday, Zoe got a visit from Jeanene, Glen, and Leah. They came over for Sunday brunch and Zoe got a treat; Leah was nice enough to share her dolls with Zoe and read to her. Zoe had a great time and can’t wait for them to come over again.

Jon Q

Leah reading to Zoe: