Zoe went to take a nap at around 5:30pm and when we went to check on her at 6pm, she had a tiny case of the giggles… Check it out!

Jon Q

When I went and picked up Zoe from daycare the other day, Elena casually commented that Zoe was crawling. “She’s WHAT?” I said, feeling my heartbeat pick up pace and my blood pressure rise. Could it be true? Had Zoe been crawling during her days with Elena? Had Q and I missed out on a major milestone? After a few deep breaths and further probing of Elena, I realized that she was referring to Zoe’s scooting around and rolling – something we have seen much of (and something the books describe as “creeping”). She wasn’t referring, thank goodness, to the traditional crawl (up on the arms and knees), which we haven’t yet seen Zoe do. I felt sweet relief after talking with Elena… But just to be sure, when I got home I plunked Zoe on the floor, put a few toys out of arm’s reach and encouraged her to come to them. She came to them, all right, but in her own way: by rolling and stretching and slowly sliding her stomach across the floor. No crawling = a relieved mom!

I’m all for Zoe reaching milestones – I just want to be there when they happen!

-M

Taking a bath is no longer a new thing for Zoe – but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have fun with it. This morning she was particularly excited to try out some soapy, punk-inspired hairstyles and to munch on her little yellow whale. Check out how much fun she’s having below.

-M

This morning Zoe and I had a little time to play while Mommy took a quick nap. Here are a few cute pics from our time together…

Jon Q

It has been a few days, so I thought I would post some recent pictures of Zoe at play.

Jon Q

Lost in the “Dada” excitement was the fact that we had a fun, action-packed Sunday. Helping our friend Henry celebrate his 3rd birthday at a space-themed party, swinging on a hammock (the newest addition to our backyard), and posing for the camera on oversized chairs were just a few things on the itinerary.

-M

OK, I know she is too young to actually understand what she is saying, but after several months of saying Daddy to her she finally talked back! I guess my Father’s Day present came one week late.

This is the first video we have of her:

Here is one from before bed tonight:

Plenty more to come!

Jon Q

I feel like this past month – the 6-7 month period – has brought the most change in Zoe. She seems to do different things every day now, and it feels like she’s a much older girl than she was just 30 days ago.

Although she’s not crawling, Zoe is a real mover and shaker. (Actually, it’s more accurate to call her a roller and flipper.) Place her on her back on the floor and within a few minutes she’ll be on her stomach on the opposite end of the room. She moves by rolling and sort of scooting on her side; I’m not sure what you call this mode of transportation, but it’s pretty effective. (One of her most impressive accomplishments to date: rolling several feet to her box of toys, propping herself up with her arms, and plucking a toy off the pile.) Also effective: her way of obtaining far-away toys. She recently learned that if she rolls on her side and stretches, she can extend her arm far enough to reach a desire object. She does that a lot.

Zoe now knows how to prop herself up on her arms (a precursor to crawling, I think), and she most often does it when lying in her crib. A common sight around 6:30 each morning: Zoe’s head bobbing up and down as she plays with a musical toy attached to her crib. (She just recently learned to push the buttons, which prompt the music, on her own.)

Zoe is now able to sit up on her own (see below); fall-overs are pretty rare. Other developments: When placed on your lap, she will jump up and down (sometimes very intensely and often making herself look like a frog). She often lifts up her head when lying on her back – kind of like the beginning of a crunch exercise – in an effort to see what’s going on around her. And her grasp on things is incredibly strong. She actually started to slide a full, tall (heavy) glass of ice water across the table recently; luckily we stopped her before she drenched herself (or us).

Zoe still has an extremely healthy appetite; at this point, she’s dined on most of the biggie fruits and vegetables. She’s fond of almost everything except sweet potatoes and squash – but she doesn’t seem to mind when we sneak them in with other foods. Because of her love for food, she’s continuing to gain weight at a healthy clip; at her last visit she was just about 17 lbs.

Like most babies of this age, Zoe coos and babbles and giggles a lot. One recent night she started laughing for no apparent reason (I was just changing her into pajamas), which was fun to see. As Elena, her babysitter, often comments, “Zoe is always so happy!” And nothing makes me and Q happier that that’s the case!

-M

The other day, Michelle came running into the room and said, “You have got to come see this!” Thinking something was wrong, I went with her into Zoe’s room. We both looked down and Michelle said, “Isn’t she cute?” I said, “Nah, I’ve seen better…” What do you guys think?

Jon Q

I’ve been out of commission for the past few days, but I’m finally getting better. Being sick is *never* fun – and can be a bit depressing – but over the past few days, I found myself feeling particularly down about feeling so down. The reason: I missed Zoe. In an effort to prevent passing along a nasty stomach bug to her, I’ve really kept my distance. Aside from feeding her, I’ve had little contact with her since Sat. night (thank God for Q!) – and I found myself longing to hug her, kiss her, play with her, etc. I also really worried that she might think I was ignoring her – or, worse, that I had abandoned her! (Q assured me, though, that she didn’t. And the truth is she had so much fun with her dad, she probably barely noticed I wasn’t around her!)

It’s funny how thrown off you can feel by not being able to hug or kiss a loved one. Once I’m able to give Zoe a big squeeze – and spend more time with her – I’ll *really* be better!

-M

This past weekend we found someone selling a bunch of toys and games on Craigslist (for those who don’t know, Craigslist is a free online classified ads site where we both buy and sell just about everything we own). She gave us a great deal if we took it all, so Zoe now has even more toys. One of the fun things we bought is something called a Jumparoo. I think the video shows why they call it that…

Jon Q

Due to a most unfortunate illness (mine!), we had to cancel our Father’s Day plans yesterday. I was stuck in bed (I’m still there today) and Q wound up running errands with – and taking care of – Zoe all day. I would say “poor Q,” because I know he was looking forward to a fun family day. Yet, I have a sneaking suspicion that he didn’t mind the bonding time with Zoe. And I *know* she loved it. You should see how big she smiles whenever she hangs out with her dad!!

-M

We finally made our second trip to the zoo on Saturday and this time Zoe was actually up! Here is a photo journey of our day!

Zoe was having fun waiting for her zoo partners to arrive:

Karen and Henry arrive! Zoe has some quality time with Henry before we are off to the zoo:

We finally made it to the zoo:

Zoe gets to see bears up close at Grizzly Gulch:

Zoe remembers these guys from watching Happy Feet:

We always know when Zoe is ready to go:

Thanks Karen and Henry, we had a fun time! We can’t wait for trip number three.

Jon Q

I know Zoe feels lucky (and blessed) to have such a fun, loving dad. Below are a few of her favorite pictures; she asked me to post them as a Father’s Day tribute to her daddy!

-M

In honor of the upcoming Father’s Day, I thought I would share a few excerpts from a recent Wall Street Journal column on dads. It discusses some interesting research on the benefits of dad/child relationships.

“Fathers can have a distinct impact on children beyond that of mothers, and in many cases without regard to the fact that they often spend less time with their kids, researchers say. Specifically, dads’ early play and the way they talk to their toddlers are emerging as special “father functions” that have a particular and lasting effect…

Mothers and fathers stimulate children through the same psychological processes, researchers say. But mothers can only do so much; fathers have an additional impact, over and above that of mothers. Also, men have a tendency to behave differently with children. After defining good parenting for decades as what warm, nurturing mothers typically do, researchers now are also beginning to see how behaviors characteristic of fathers can shape children too.

Fathers tend to engage kids in more rough-and-tumble play, for example. Researchers say this can have a powerful positive impact on children, fostering curiosity and teaching them to regulate emotion and enjoy surprises…

A 2004 study by Catherine Tamis-LeMonda at New York University and others found a link between fathers’ warm, stimulating play with their 2-year-olds and better language and cognitive skills in the children a year later, independent of mothers’ behavior. The effect endures into adolescence. Dads who play with toddlers in stimulating and encouraging ways tend to have children with healthier relationships at age 16, surpassing mothers’ effect, says a 2002 study in the journal Social Development.”

Given how hands-on (and physical!) Q is with Zoe, I’d say she’s in good shape! Thanks for being such a great dad, Q!

-M