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

San Francisco is rarely warm in the summer (fall is our summer – weird, I know), but apparently someone forgot to tell that to Mother Nature today. We were rewarded with warm, summery weather, and Zoe and I made the most of it by hanging in the park and leisurely walking through Noe Valley with friends. Zoe also experienced two firsts: she tried out her new, pink (of course) butterfly chair and also went swinging. Both things were big hits, I think!

-M

Zoe (and her parents) loves babysitting night. Once every other week or so, Uncle Dan and Jenny come over to babysit. Zoe informed me that she had lots of fun on Wednesday night when they last came over. She also wanted me to give a big thanks! Check out how much fun she was having below…

Jon Q

If you look at the video from June 11, you would never guess that Zoe was feeling under the weather that day. She was actually pretty sick (ear infection and bronchial infection) – but that didn’t stop her from jumping around (as in the video) and playing. Zoe showed us that she had no intention of letting a little pain get her down; when she wasn’t sleeping, it was business (or play) as usual. When Zoe started to cry from discomfort, my first instinct was to hold her close to me, but – much to my dismay – that’s not what she really wanted. She only stopped crying when we put her in her ExerSaucer or handed her a toy or did something silly with her… I guess she wanted to be distracted from – not reminded of – her pain.

I was disappointed that I couldn’t baby her as much as I would have liked, but how can I really complain? The girl doesn’t let much get her down!

-M

Do I LOOK sick??

One of my favorite things when I was little was ice-cream cone cupcakes – yes, actual cupcakes baked in wafer cones. Kids often brought them to class as a treat on their birthdays, and I thought they were the coolest thing in the world. Years later, whenever I mentioned these sweet treats to people, I received blank stares in return. No one knew what I was talking about, so I finally figured they were just a Midwestern (or even Madison) thing. So imagine my happiness/surprise tonight when I opened up a magazine and saw a recipe for the cupcakes staring up at me. They exist! I’m not crazy! And… I can’t wait to make them for Zoe!

I’m feeling nostalgic for other things beside cupcakes tonight. This very same magazine asked readers to discuss their favorite summer memories, and I couldn’t help but think about mine. I found myself with a slight lump in my throat as I remembered all those hot, sticky summers in Wisconsin – eating pizza and orange Slice after a dip in our pool, boating and playing rounds of Liar’s Dice at my relatives’ lake-house, celebrating 4th of July on our backporch and (later) Elver Park. Q has memories of his own, I know – and I’m sure he’s excited as I am to share them with Zoe someday.

See, now that I’m a parent, all this childhood stuff takes on new meaning. My memories reinforce how amazing (and care-free) childhood can be, and they propel me to make Zoe’s childhood special and as full of adventure, fun and love as mine was. They also remind me of how much we – and Zoe! – have to look forward to. I’m just so excited to create memories for/with her… and I think the cupcakes are a good place to start.

-M

When I was pregnant, I used to fret that Q and I would have no time to relax or just hang out once the baby was born. (Gone would be the lazy Sundays; the weeknights with nothing to do but eat take-out and watch good TV, I figured.) The truth is that life with a baby leaves you with a lot less idle time, but it’s not as difficult to carve out a few moments of relaxation as I thought it would be – especially when the baby is older and the family has a nice little routine! Most nights Zoe is fed and in bed by 8 PM – leaving Q and I with a few hours to eat, chat about each other’s days, watch mindless TV (lately: baseball) and just relax together before heading to bed. (We do mix things up, too – by going to movies or baseball games or dinner with friends. Last Wed. night, I joined a girlfriend for dinner out; it, and the accompanying cocktail, were a fabulous change of pace!) And this past weekend, we were rewarded with a lazy Sunday, family-style. Q and I took turns taking care of Zoe (who was feeling under the weather – the only low-point of the weekend) in the morning, and the three of us spent the rest of the day lounging around and doing our own thing. How nice to be reminded that not everything has to change when you have a baby!

-M

Zoe is 200 days old today! And as is customary, here is her picture next to Lou Seal:

For comparison, here is her first picture from 11.27.06:

I thought I would also show you the video of the moment. She was quite excited to have her picture taken!

Jon Q

Zoe got her first taste of swimming today! She visited her friends Giselle, Jon, Lila, and Elena up in San Rafael, where it was a nice 86 degrees.

When she first got in the water, she wasn’t very pleased:

But after she got the hang of things, she really had lots of fun:

And as we all know, the most fun is sitting around afterwards with friends:

All in all it was a very fun day and she cannot wait to go back. Thanks, guys!

Jon Q

Zoe certainly knows how to have fun these days (I don’t know where she gets it from)…

Here she is having fun playing with her toys:

Here she is having fun playing around with Mommy:

Here she is having fun in the sun in her new pink ride:

Jon Q