Safta (“Shasha” to Zoe) is here for a quick weekend visit, and Zoe has been eating up all the extra attention and affection. Here are a few fun pictures from their time together this afternoon.

-M

Zoe’s had some restless nights lately, which means that Q and I have had some bleary-eyed days. I don’t deal well with sleep deprivation (how did I ever have a newborn??), and I’ve said to Q more times this week than I’d like to admit, “I’m tired! I can’t do this anymore.” By this, I guess I mean parenting – because the mom thing can, at times, feel pretty overwhelming. But then, right after I complain to Q (and am about to further sink into a pit of dispair and exhaustion), Zoe does something so sweet/funny/endearing that I feel energized again. And I’m reminded: that’s why we do this.

-M

When I was little, my dad would sometimes call me a “bigger girl.” (“Bigger than what?” I would always ask him, and he would just laugh.) I’ve thought about this nickname a lot lately, and especially yesterday when I was reminded of just how big our little girl is getting! We (finally) put up Zoe’s growth chart, and her first official measurement came in at just under 34 inches.

Bigger girl, indeed!

-M

Visiting the aquarium wasn’t our only activity this past weekend: we also did lots of eating, hiking, swimming and sunbathing. Some of the best pictures are below; my favorite is the last one. (Check out that pose!)

-M

Well, Zoe’s second trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium didn’t disappoint! Though her mom was somewhat sluggish (let’s just say that Zoe had a rough night on Sat.), Zoe had enough energy for all of us. She spent most of her time running around, pointing at (and touching) various fish and penguins, and playing and splashing around in the designated kids rooms. She was less excited about the dark rooms, like the one that houses the very cool Jellies: Living Art exhibit – but the jellies were by far my favorite part!

Here are a few highlights.

-M