We haven’t given an update in a few days, as it’s been a pretty busy week. Zoe did really well with the trip home and adjusting to the time difference, but it took a few days for the three of us to get back in the swing of things here.

Elena seemed really happy to see Zoe on Tues., and she said she looked bigger (longer). She also noticed how big of an eater Zoe has become. (Zoe is eating more solids than she was just one week ago.) Elena also told a funny story when I came by that afternoon: she was feeding Zoe bananas when she stepped away from the high-chair to answer the door. Zoe, who is normally Ms. Smiles, showed her great displeasure by wailing and demanding more food – and Elena had to rush back over. I have to laugh that Zoe seems to be taking after her mom, who also gets super cranky when denied food.

In other news, Zoe has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. The bad news: she has to get more shots. The good news: she’ll also be weighed and measured, so I can report back on her progress here!

-M

PS- Grandpa Larry was discharged from the hospital yesterday. We’re all relieved to know he’s (slowly but surely) improving!

Well, we made it back from Madison – and I’m happy to report that my dad is getting a little better each day. (As is the case with most major surgeries, it will be awhile until he is completely back to normal – but the doctors seem pleased with his progress. He was sitting up and doing a bit of walking before we left yesterday morning.) It was difficult seeing him just after the surgery (in so much pain), but I’m so glad the three of us were able to be there – for him and my mom. I’m also glad we chose to fly in a few days before the surgery, because we managed to squeeze in a lot of fun before our days in the hospital. (It helped that it was nice and warm our first two days there. Our outside adventures reminded me that nothing can beat the Midwest in the summer!)

Q already posted a few pics, but I thought I’d put up a few of my other faves. (The cute blonde is Zoe’s cousin Tanner; the adorable dog is Aunt Sandy’s Coco.) I’m glad to have so many happy memories from a trip brought on by a not-so-happy event!

-M

As Michelle mentioned below, Larry had a pretty big day yesterday. We are all happy to see him sitting up today and talking up a storm. Below are some fun pictures of Zoe and Grandpa. I call it a full day of Zoe!

Playing with Grandpa Larry just after waking up:

Going down the slide after our afternoon walk:

Zoe relaxing on the porch on a hot Madison day:

Oh, is the camera there? I didn’t see it:

Time for bed…here Larry gets to play with his little doll:

Jon Q

As mentioned below, Zoe (and her parents) flew to Madison last Tues. Zoe spent a fun few days at her grandparents’ house: going down the slides (and celebrating her half-birthday) at the park, laughing at Coco’s bark, and playing with her cousin Tanner. (Wait until you see the videos!) Then yesterday, the not-so-fun part of our trip began: Grandpa Larry had heart surgery early in the morning, and we all spent the entire day at the hospital. The good news: the surgery (which had been planned for several months) went really well, and my dad is on his way to recovery. The bad news: The three of us are leaving tomorrow, and I know Zoe will really miss her grandpa. (Of course – I will too!!) We’re planning to come back later this summer, though, so that gives us all something to look forward to…

We have tons of videos and pics, and we’ll post later this weekend.

-M

As Michelle just wrote, today is Zoe’s one half birthday! I remember when it was my half birthday and my mom used to make me half cupcakes. Zoe is too little to have cupcakes this half birthday, but she isn’t too small to go play. Today, she got to go down her first slide at the park. Doesn’t she look like a pro?

Jon Q

Today Zoe hits another milestone: she turns a half-year old! This is really a great age; Zoe is always doing something to make us smile or laugh – and most of the time, she’s smiling or laughing herself!

Zoe likes passing time by grabbing for – and putting into her mouth – various objects (toys, books, really most anything). She is more aware of – and interested in – her toys than ever before; a current favorite is a bright green Lamaze dinosaur (which we’ve named Dinah). She loves listening to music and being sung to; sing the “Wheels on the Bus” verse about the wipers going “swish, swish, swish,” and she’ll likely shriek in delight. (Another shriek-inducer: when people make animal noises. My speciality is the pig, Q’s is the dog.) She also loves spending time bouncing in her Exersaucer (and munching on all the attached toys) and the Johnny Jumper.

Another of Zoe’s favorite things to do is eat! It took her only a few nights to catch on to the chewing/swallowing thing; she quickly grew fond of her rice cereal with bananas and (later) oat cereal, carrots and applesauce. As soon as she is placed in her little eating chair – the Bumbo – she usually flails around her arms and opens up her mouth very wide, in anticipation of the spoon. (And if you don’t feed her fast enough, she jams one of her fists in her mouth and starts slurping.)

After a relatively quiet couple of weeks, Zoe started talking a lot again. While she favored the “a-yee” and “a-goo” sounds in her 4th month, she has moved on to saying (almost spitting out) her b’s – and she especially likes chattering right after eating or when lying in her crib for a nap. Her new thing also is to laugh or squeal – for no apparent reason – when she’s lying down. It’s so much fun to listen to – and much better than the crying that she *could* be doing.

In terms of physical achievements, Zoe is able to sit up unassisted for small stretches of time. (It helps to have a toy right in front of her.) She has also gotten quite good at raising herself up on her arms when she’s lying on her stomach, and – unlike when she was very small – she doesn’t mind hanging out on her tummy. (She still prefers to sleep that way, despite our attempts to keep her on her back at night.) She started grabbing her knees a few weeks ago; more recently, she discovered her toes.

Zoe remains on a nice eating/sleeping schedule, and she usually greets her mom and dad with a smile around 6:30 or 7 in the morning. On occasion, she has put in a 12-hour night – although 10-11 hours is the nightly norm.

It’s hard to believe Zoe has been with us for six months now. It’s been quite an adventure, and we can’t wait to see what the next half-year brings!

-M

Back on Nov. 18, I blogged about a good friend of mine who was expecting a baby. She and her husband had been through a lot, and I was marveling over their optimism and strength – and anxiously awaiting the arrival of their little girl. Well, the wait is over! My dear friend Beth gave birth this morning to Sophia Marie. She’s about six months (almost to the day!) younger than Zoe (and, like Zoe, born with a full head of hair), and I’m confident they’ll be fast friends. Even more exciting: Sophia’s arrival gives Zoe yet another reason to visit Wisconsin!

-M

On Friday, eight of us (four moms, four babies) met for our weekly get-together. It was my time to host, so I cleared out the coffee table and threw down some blankets in our family room to create a little play-area. We spent the whole afternoon together, and us moms had a lot of fun catching up and watching our babies roll around (no crawlers yet!) and coo. At the end of the day, I headed to the kitchen to do a bit of clean-up while Zoe (see below) kept watch over the family room. I can’t think of a better way for the two of us to spend our Fridays.

In other news, tomorrow is the start of a busy week for Zoe. She gets on yet another airplane – this one heading to Madison, where she’ll spend five days. She’s especially excited to give a few of her trademark wet kisses to Grandpa Larry!

-M

Michelle, Zoe, and I made what seems like our weekly trip to Babies R Us yesterday to look for more things that Zoe doesn’t need. Well, yesterday they were having a book sale, buy and 2 and get 1 free, so of course we had to get her 3 more books. She got one Dr Seuss, one Sandra Boynton, and one called Miles the Crocodile, which included a “Cool Jazz CD inside which has sing-alongs, stories, and more!”

After playing the Jazz CD for Zoe while reading her the book, we all fell in love. She was dancing around and squealing, and both Michelle and I loved the Jazz arrangements. So, we went online and found out that this book was part of a collection called Baby Loves Jazz. Charlie Bird, Duck Ellington, Ella Elephant, Louis Lion, and Philly Joe Giraffe round out the collection. After listening to samples of the other five books, of course we bought them all! We also bought the audio CD called Baby Loves Jazz: Go Baby Go! by The Baby Loves Jazz Band (I know, she really doesn’t get enough stuff).

While Zoe only has one of these books and has only had it for about 12 hours now, we have played it several times already and I would highly recommend for kids any age. Below is a clip from the Baby Loves Jazz website, which is a video of one of the songs on the Go Baby Go audio CD (you can check out all of the videos here – http://www.babylovesjazz.info/video/). Beware, it is VERY addictive…

Jon Q

Some people think that a 5-month old has it really easy. Well, not every day is easy for our youngster!

Sometimes she is forced to lay around and play with her toys:

Then there are the days she must use one of her many playthings:

And worst is when she has to take a nap:

So, you see not all days are so rosey…

Jon Q

Zoe has finally decided to try some foods other than her rice cereal. In the past week, we have given her some oatmeal cereal and moved on to carrots! She seems to pretty much love anything you spoon to her but we learned that carrots can get a bit messy. Check out our very own carrot top…

Jon Q

A friend of mine with twins once told me that that babies hit an age where they constantly do things to make their parents laugh. I was reminded of this last night after putting Zoe to bed and hearing peculiar sounds coming from her room several minutes later. When I poked my head through the door, I saw that she was lying there, eyes wide open, laughing and squealing. I’m not sure what she was so happy about, or why she was still awake (she usually falls right asleep when put into bed at night), but it greatly amused me and Q.

Also yesterday, Elena reported to me that Zoe seemed very eager to share some cereal with Dash, one of the older babies at daycare. While Elena was spoon-feeding Dash, Zoe – who is fed only milk during the day – kept opening her mouth and trying to lunge towards his spoon. I couldn’t help but laugh at this image, also. Apparently we’ve got a hungry, happy baby on our hands!

-M

I realized that I hadn’t updated everyone on our Los Gatos Mother’s day trip. We thought it was appropriate to go there since that is where we took our last pre-Zoe vacation to.

First, Michelle got surprised with a Happy Mother’s Day song from the restaurant the night we got there (ok, so maybe they weren’t singing Happy Mother’s Day exactly…)

And it didn’t take long for Zoe to fit in. After her bath, she threw on the robe and just relaxed:

All in all, it was a very relaxing time and we can’t wait to go back.

Jon Q

As mentioned below, Zoe is a huge fan of her rice cereal. But the one thing she loves even more than her cereal is her hand. See what I mean??

-M

A dad-friend of ours recently told Q that when it comes to kids, things keep getting better and better. (If you think your kid is fun at 5+ months, just wait until she’s 8 or 12 months!) These words of wisdom were good to hear, but I have to admit being a bit skeptical (I still miss, after all, my 7-pound Zoe) – until last night. I was feeding rice cereal to Zoe, who kept making me laugh with her wide-open mouth and her I-want-more-food-NOW shakes, and it occurred to me that the joy I was experiencing was totally new. I couldn’t have had this experience with a 3- or 4-month old, and it made me realize then that Q and I have so many other new experiences (Zoe crawling, walking, talking, eating big-girl foods, etc.) to look forward to. I guess that’s one of the perks of parenthood, huh??

-M