Happy Halloween morning everyone. To get the day started off, we thought we’d show you a bit more of Zoe’s first Halloween costume. So, without further delay, here are the many faces of Zoe Bunny…

Happy Bunny:

Kissing Bunny:

Startled Bunny:

Tired Bunny:

More pictures to come from tonight’s fun…

Jon Q

I sometimes suspect Zoe reads the baby-development guidelines in our parenting books – because lately, right on cue, she has been doing those things they say that 11- and 12-month-olds should be doing. Among those activities: throwing objects out of her crib (or PacknPlay), reaching out to hand an object to someone (and then insisting that he/she hand it back), getting into *everything* (wastepaper baskets are a favorite target) and being the one to hide her face during a game of Peek-a-boo. (She’s also always on the go, whether by hands-and-feet or by car, like below.) And then there are those activities that seem completely unique to her: like standing up and intentionally falling down on her butt (then laughing), and reaching out to hand an object to someone and then jerking her hand back with a laugh. (I have no idea who taught her that!)

Bottom line: she’s quite the expert at being a 11-month-old!

-M

…Halloween! If you don’t know already, we love our Halloween out here in San Francisco. We are just a few days out and are getting everything ready. Yesterday, we helped Zoe carve her first pumpkins (see below)! She can’t wait until Wednesday night when we have friends over, give out candy, and go trick-or-treating…

Jon Q

Zoe had a busy day today. She posed with some pumpkins, shopped with her parents (and helped them pick out some Halloween costumes) and then went to a friend’s 1st birthday party at the park. In honor of the upcoming holiday, she also sported a new shirt. Her dad, for one, loved it.

-M

OK, here is what Zoe looks like next to the blue ring now. She is just a wee bit bigger I’d say…

Jon Q

Today marks a fun anniversary: the very first post on this website was written one year ago! Q wrote the first post (one of his first is below) – and I followed up his remarks by expressing my fear over labor and complaining about the size of my feet. (As it turned out, labor wasn’t THAT scary – and my feet eventually went back to their normal size.)

This Oct. 26 is so different from the last one: “Sesame” is now known as Zoe, and – instead of a huge belly – I have a little, smiley baby crawling around. Q and I didn’t really knew what was in store for us, and I’ll be forever grateful that we used this blog to chronicle our pre-Zoe thoughts, hopes and fears. (And I hope someday Zoe enjoys perusing the site.)

Thanks to all you faithful readers (I assume we still have some!) for sticking around this past year.

-M

“Michelle is a full 36 weeks pregnant and we only have this week, week 38, week 39, and week 40 to go! Time for us to start buying all those last-minute items because Sesame could technically decide to come any day now. We are getting new energy-efficient windows put in the nursery and then the drapes go up. After that, I think she can come without much left to do. This is cruch-time, and we are all getting very excited…”

I’ve recently become a bit obsessed with a Discovery Health show called Jon and Kate Plus 8. It’s about a couple (younger than me and Q) with two sets of multiples – six-year-old twins and three-year-old sextuplets. I like watching the show on those days in which I feel particularly tired/overwhelmed/stressed; it reminds me that life could really be A LOT more tiring/overwhelming/stressful. Watching it also makes me feel oh, so grateful for my (one) little Zoe. As much as I love her, I don’t think I could handle SIX Zoes!!

-M

It’s so easy to lose baby items – they’re tiny, after all, and babies have a habit of crawling off and leaving things in the strangest places. Though I recognize that we’re going to lose a toy or sock here and there, it still drives me crazy when I can’t find something of Zoe’s – especially when it’s a favorite toy of hers. Sometime this summer, we actually lost one of Zoe’s faves – a blue stacking ring – and Q and I launched numerous hunts for it, to no avail. I finally gave up hope – assuming we wouldn’t find it until we moved out of this house, or Zoe was way too old for rings – but then tonight, Q (while actually searching for another lost toy) found it! The little ring was wedged up against some papers and binders near our computer, and the sight of it made my night. (Zoe’s, too!)

For fun, I’m posting a picture of the last time Zoe played with that ring, back in mid-June. Look how small she was! (And look how happy the rings make her!)

-M

Zoe has changed so much this month; I actually can’t think of another four-week period in which we’ve seen such development. She’s much more like a real person now; she has her own little personality, she talks all the time, and she is very animated when she tries to get a point across. She adopted what seems like her own little language this month, and she has also started saying some real words. She says “Daddy” and “Mama” all the time, and she uttered her first (non-parent) word – “good” – a few weeks ago. We hear that, along with “hi” and (what we think is) “yeah” a lot now.

Zoe also seems to have a more complex understanding of words and concepts. She understands “no” now – and, as reported here a few weeks ago, she routinely shakes her head when she hears that word (or starts to do something she knows she’s not supposed to). If you put out your arms, she’ll race over to you be picked up, and if you ask her to hand something to you, chances are good that she’ll do it.

Along the same lines, Zoe copies many of the things she sees and hears. Her dad often shrugs his shoulders and throws up his hands, for example, and Zoe has started to do the same. (Then she looks really confused when we clap or praise her.) This past weekend, I lifted Zoe up and said “wheee…” and she said the same thing immediately afterwards. (Obviously, we need to be really careful what we say around her now!)

In terms of physical developments, Zoe still races around all over the house, but she’s not content doing just this. She now often pounces (like a rabbit would) when she starts to move, and she routinely pulls herself up on furniture to bounce or grab things. (Babyproofing has been a real priority for us this month, needless to say.) One of her favorite things to do is to “climb” up the bars on our bed’s headboard, and, as mentioned in a recent post, she recently stood up on her own and even took a few steps. We know that walking can’t be too far away.

As for temperament, Zoe remains a happy baby overall (Elena, her babysitter, is always telling me she’s one of the easiest baby she cares for). Yet Zoe’s sassy side has flared quite a bit this past month – she’ll often throw little fits if she doesn’t want to be held or changed, for example. She also knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go after it – as was evident a few weeks ago when she was on her little rocking-horse. I was using the handles to bounce her, and when I took a little break, she grabbed my hands and put them right back on the handles. (“More, Mom!” was what she seemed to be telling me.) And if you don’t feed her fast enough, watch out! She’ll grunt and groan and scold you – and then pull the spoon towards her.

Zoe is becoming more like a little girl and less like a baby every day. Soon we’ll have a little toddler in our midst, and I can’t wait for the fun that comes along with that…

-M

Zoe got an early taste of Halloween when she attended a costume party at UCSF on Sat. The party was actually a reunion for those children who had spent time in the ICU, and Zoe got to see lots of other, now-healthy babies (including the little boy whose isolette was right across from hers). It was a real treat for us to be back at the hospital with a *healthy* Zoe (my only regret is that we didn’t see any of the wonderful nurses who cared for her) – and it was also a fun excuse to get her into her little bunny get-up. You’ll see more pictures in about 10 days, but here’s a sneak-peek of Zoe’s costume.

-M

I failed to mention it here, but last week Zoe stood on her own for the first time. She stayed up for one or two seconds, max, but she managed to stay standing a bit longer on subsequent tries. Then this morning, she did the next big thing: she stood up on our bed and took two steps forward (on her own!) before taking a face-dive into the pillows. Q and I looked at each other with very wide eyes and said, “wow!” We’re now coming to terms with the fact that Zoe might become a little walker very soon!

-M

Yesterday was a fun day for Zoe. First, some shopping:

Baby, got some new shoes:

Having fun on the way home:

Then, when she got home, she played with Grandpa:

and had some fun bubble time with Daddy:

Finally, she got a fun present from Grandma and Grandpa before calling it a night:

Sounds like a full day!

Jon Q

Elena got a break yesterday and today – because Zoe’s grandma and grandpa babysat while Q and I were at work. I hear that the three of them had a lot of fun playing with toys, exploring the neighborhood and swinging at the park. And I know Zoe is looking forward to more adventures this weekend…

-M

I came across an interesting tidbit today on BabyCenter.com (my baby bible). “At 10 months,” it read, “your baby’s personality is becoming more defined, and you can start to more accurately imagine what she will be like as she gets older by observing her actions and disposition in different situations.” If this is true, I guess we’re going to have a happy, independent little girl, who doesn’t like to cuddle or sit still but loves to run around – and eat a lot.

I could handle that!

-M

Zoe was excited to wake up and see Grandma and Grandpa this morning. She got to spend the whole day with them and go on two walks. She told me all about it when I got home…

Jon Q