I came across an interesting passage on BabyCenter.com recently; it explained that kids (despite what some may think) are actually programmed to be helpful and cooperative. Researchers in 2006, read the piece, “discovered that toddlers as young as 18 months already have full-fledged qualities of altruism and cooperation. The way they demonstrated this was simple. A researcher would ‘struggle’ to hang up a towel with a clothespin or stack up a pile of books. When he dropped the clothespin or tipped the books over, the toddlers would race to pick up the clothespin and hand it back, or restack the books. But when the researcher made the same mistakes without struggling — that is, without looking like he needed help — the toddlers didn’t budge. They understood what it meant to be helpful.”

I couldn’t help but smile when I read this, as Zoe has exhibited helpful behavior for several months now. She routinely closes the refrigerator door for us, for example, and if a piece of laundry falls out of the washer on its way to the dryer she’ll bend down to pick it up for me. And the other morning, as we were leaving for Elena’s, Zoe said, “uh-oh!” and pointed from her perch in the backseat. She was, I quickly realized, alerting me to the fact that I’d forgotten to close the garage door. Thank you, Zoe!

-M

When I took out the camera the other day, Zoe surprised me by running up and saying, “cheese!” I wasn’t sure if I heard her correctly, but she continued to say it each time I took her picture – and Elena verified the next day that she taught the kids to say it. We now have lots of pictures of Zoe’s mouth in a cheese formation; here’s one of my faves.

-M

Zoe had a slight fever yesterday; since she didn’t have any other symptoms, we wondering if teething might be the culprit. (She’s still a little behind on getting her teeth, and it looks like her canines could pop through any day now.) We’ve blamed teething on all sorts of things (a fever, a runny nose, a bad mood, etc.) in the past, and I couldn’t help but be reminded today of a funny passage in a book (“Waiting for Birdy“) given to me by a friend:

“…Can we all agree that teething is a little overrated? I’m not saying that I wouldn’t find it very distracting and maybe even a little painful to have bicuspids poking up in my gums like arrowheads. I’m sure I would drool a lot, I’m sure I would complain. But teething seems to be the PMS of the parenting world – it is invoked to explain everything. Friends of mine used to bring their babies to our play group with 104-degree fevers and terrible consumptive coughs, and when I’d look alarmed, they’d just shake their heads: Teething. Of course. Teething or, you know, the bubonic plague. It also seems to account for all kinds of unsavory behavior. ‘Oh, is he teething?’ people used to ask sweetly when Ben was, say, going beserk in a parking lot. ‘Oh, no,’ I used to shake my head. ‘He’s just a bad baby.'”

-M

The Giants were playing the Brewers this weekend, so the three of us decided to catch a game. Zoe sported a new outfit, broke in a new Giants hat (after discovering that her “baby’s first cap” was, sigh, too small), “rode” a cable car, and hung out with a new friend. Oh, and I ate a brat. (It wasn’t nearly as good as the real thing, of course, but it was better than expected!) Here are a few pics from the day.

-M

Though they’ve been hanging out regularly since they were three months old, Zoe and her friends Miles and Zander don’t always interact with one another. Like a lot of kids their age (and younger), they tend to play around – not necessarily with – each other. Things started off that way yesterday morning, when Zoe and I met Polly and Miles for a (post-shopping) playdate – but then Miles climbed on the slide with Zoe and the two started playing together and laughing. Luckily, I had my camera with me.

-M

I’ve often wished that stores would open earlier in the morning. Parents of young kids are up at the crack of dawn, anyway, and those of us who love to shop would appreciate a place in which to roam around and spend some money in the early hours. (By the time stores finally open at 10 or 11, I’m usually low-energy – I’ve been up for hours!) Luckily, today I had a place to go nice and early. It was the first day of Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale, and Zoe (still in her pajamas) and I were buckled up in the car at 6:57 – and at the parking lot at 7:02. I don’t think Zoe enjoyed herself quite as much as I did (she didn’t find anything to buy), but I’m hoping this will become an annual tradition for us!

-M

For the past few weeks now, Zoe has been a lot more affectionate than normal. She doesn’t squirm away from hugs as much as she used to, and when you ask for a “kissie,” she’s happy to pucker her lips like a fish and deliver one to the cheek. I’m used to (and still loving) her lovey-dovey side, but I wasn’t expecting what happened this morning. I walked Zoe into Elena’s, said my hellos to everyone and then headed to the door. “Bye, Zoe!” I called out with a wave and watched as Zoe, who was already on the other side of the room, sprinted back towards me with her arms wide open. When I bent down, she threw her arms around me and gave me a huge kiss – her way of saying good-bye. Zoe always greets me like this in the afternoons, when I pick her up, but I’ve never gotten a good-bye hug before. And it, of course, made my entire day.

-M

Not long ago, I chronicled the difficulties of staging a photo shoot with a toddler. Getting our 600-day photo yesterday also proved challenging – and let’s just say it wasn’t Lou who kept the camera snapping!

First, Zoe didn’t want to put her legs down.

Then, she wouldn’t look at the camera.

Next, she insisted on “honking” Lou’s nose.

Then, she got a little sleepy.

After that, she decided to roll away…

And then, she was gone for good.

She may not be easy to get photos of, but she certainly is entertaining!

-M

Zoe is 600 days today and, per tradition, we snapped a picture of her with Lou Seal. Below is today’s picture, followed by her 500-day one (taken on April 6). She’s a few pounds heavier than she was in the spring, but the biggest change seems to be with her hair, which is longer and curlier. And perhaps she’s looking a little more girlie – ?!

-M

Speaking of quiet time, we had a lot of it this weekend. (It was the first weekend in ages in which we had nothing on the books, and we took full advantage.) Zoe didn’t seem to mind being mellow, and yesterday, she and “Baby” spent a good chunk of the morning just relaxing in our bed. I had to share the pictures here.

-M

Life with a toddler can be pretty exhausting – and it’s a good idea to sneak in little breaks if you can. Q recently captured one of these “breaks,” and what I love is how Zoe stayed by my side the whole time. She didn’t run off when I closed my eyes, but instead sat quietly and patiently flipped through her books. (My nap wasn’t terribly long, but it was good while it lasted!)

-M

It’s been several weeks since I’ve done it, so today I scanned the archives for some good, never-before-posted pictures. Here are four fun ones – all from the last month. (I’m particularly fond of the third one, which captures one of her favorite car-games: taking her shoes on and off.)
-M

And the winner is…drum-roll please…..Zia Angela! (See proof below.) Angela Gargano was the lucky viewer of 20,000 hits and as a reward her prize is in the mail. Let’s all congratulate the winner and hope she posts what her surprise is when she gets it!

Q

As mentioned below, it’s not every day that Zoe wears a dress – so I had to snap a picture yesterday to mark the occasion. Zoe’s hair is a little messy, but I love the smile on her face. And she looks pretty girlie, doesn’t she??

-M

It all started on October 26th when Zoe was just Sesame and we were only 30 days to her due date. Well, it took us about 10 months to get our first 10,000 hits and now just under 12 months later we are approaching another milestone – 20,000 hits! In honor of this feat, we are going to give a prize to our 20,000th visitor. If you come to the Zoe site and see the 20,000 marker at the bottom of the page, you win! Just send us a screen shot of the moment so we can post it and you will receive a surprise. Thanks for making Zoe’s site such a hit!

Jon Q