One of Zoe’s little friends recently started walking, which reminded me that we haven’t given an update on Zoe’s walking in awhile. Zoe has taken quite a different path (no pun intended) than her friend, who just got up one day, took a few steps forward, and then never looked back. Zoe first took a few steps on our bed, right around her birthday in late Nov.; from there, she would walk a few steps every couple of days. (She showed off her walking for our friend Fink during his early Dec. visit, for example.) When we were in Madison, she took her longest walk (about ten steps) to date – and this week, during Safta and PopPop’s visit, she has been on her feet (shuffling both sideways and straight ahead) constantly. She still likes to crawl – probably because she’s gotten so fast – but we can start seeing a real change in the walk-to-crawl ratio. I have a feeling crawling is going to feel like old-hat to Zoe one of these days, and she’ll soon use walking as her exclusive form of transportation. (For now, I think her hybrid way of getting around is super cute.) As always, we’ll keep you posted!

-M

Zoe is at that age where she reaches for and gets into *everything* – so things tend to disappear when she’s around. PopPop, who arrived from DC this morning, experienced this firsthand when Zoe snatched his glasses. She gave them back, of course, but it took a stern look and some persistence!

-M

Zoe has had lots of fun, family bonding time lately. After returning home from Madison, she got to spend the week hanging out with her Safta, and also Dan and Jenny. Things will be even more fun tomorrow, when her PopPop arrives for a quick weekend visit. For now, here are a few pics.

-M

“Yea – I love hanging out with family!”

“Hi, Uncle Dan.”

“Kissie, kissie!”

The other night – thanks to Safta, who babysat – Q and I had a New Year’s Eve date night. I asked Q that evening what he thought was the best thing about 2007, and his answer was simple: Zoe. I have to agree with him; watching Zoe grow from a baby into a little girl was incredibly special – and an incredible honor.

It’s 2008 now, so here’s to an even more incredible New Year – for Zoe and everyone else out there!

-M

PS. We’ll post more pictures soon. I promise!

It’s been a few days since we returned from Madison, and we’re all back in the swing of things here at home. Zoe wasn’t quite herself when we first got back, and a quick trip to the doctor on Thurs. revealed a minor ear infection. Thanks to medication, though, Zoe seems to be feeling much better now. She has also adjusted to her home time-zone, and she even slept in yesterday and today. (Isn’t it scary that waking at 7:40 is considering sleeping in??)

It’s a good thing Zoe is in tip-top shape, because her Safta just flew into town this morning. She’ll be here for the next week, so I’m sure we’ll have plenty of updates/pictures to post in the next few days.

-M

As mentioned here before, Zoe spends a good amount of time being flung and twirled around. Her dad’s the flinger and twirler, of course, and it recently occurred to me that he often treats her more like a toy than a little girl. Doesn’t she look a bit toy-like here??

-M

As promised, here are more pictures from our trip to see Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Sandy. Zoe had a lot of fun and can’t wait to go back. I think you can see why from the pictures below…

Jon Q

Just chillin’ at the airport –

Visiting with her favorite aunt at work –

Can’t get by without my morning coffee, paper, and Zoe –

Relaxing with Grandma and Grandpa –

Hide-and-seek time with her socks –

Reading Grandpa and Coco a book –

Kissies for everyone! –

Getting into the holiday spirit –

Zoe and the Fam (sounds like a rock band) –

It’s been several days since we last posted, but that’s because we’ve been busy hanging with family and traveling. (We got home last night.) We had a fun time in Madison, and Zoe got to spends lots of bonding time with her Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Sandy. Of course, we’re all pretty exhausted from the trip, and poor Zoe – now used to Central time – woke up at 4:30 this morning. Yikes!

We’ll be back to post more when we catch up on some sleep (yawn); for now, here is a picture of Zoe hanging out on her grandparents’ stairs. (Note: one of her favorite activities on the trip was climbing up the stairs. She moves pretty fast!)

-M

They say some things (wine, certain cheeses, etc.) get better with age – and that seems to be the case with Zoe. She is just so much fun these days: so active, curious and happy. She’s always zipping around, playing, laughing, getting into things… It’s hard to keep up with her at times, but the payoff is so worth it.

Zoe spends most of her time cruising around and exploring areas of the house. She loves pulling books (and other objects) off of shelves, unfolding laundry and other objects of clothing, and reaching for her biggest objects of affection: phones (cell and land-line) and remote controls. A few of her favorite things are off-limits – like pulling out her diaper wipes from their container, throwing toys in her Diaper Champ or pulling the lid off her wicker hamper. When she’s doing something she’s not supposed to, she usually looks at me for a second and waits for a response. Then, she usually does it anyway. And smiles. (sigh)

The majority of Zoe’s time is spent on her feet; she loves to stand, often sucking her thumb while doing so, for long periods of time. We know she knows *how* to walk (she frequently takes a few steps forward on her own) – it just doesn’t seem like she really *wants* to yet. I think for now she’s content getting to where she needs to go by crawling or walking while holding on to the furniture.

As mentioned above, Zoe is at a really fun, happy age. She recently started saying “hi,” which she now says all the time and to everyone, and she also often repeats words that we say to her. (The other day, for example, she said “thank you” back to us.) She’s constantly singing and clapping, and she tends to get very excited (with giggles and flailing arms, etc.) when one of us walks into the room. On the flip-side, she tends to get very sad (with big tears and wails, etc.) when one of us leaves. She never has a problem being dropped off at daycare in the morning (thank goodness!), but she does does exhibit classic signs of separation anxiety here at home.

The only other time we see Zoe’s less-than-pleasant side is when we take something (usually an item she shouldn’t be playing with) from her. It’s now common for her to cry, grunt or even shake in anger when that occurs. We have our little tricks to minimize the outbursts, but I do occasionally long for those days in which she barely noticed things around her!

As for physical stuff, Zoe is just under 24 lbs and 30 inches. She still eats a lot, and she’s grown a little pot-belly (which, of course, we love). She has only four teeth, though the doctor said two more top teeth on on her way. I kind of like her gumminess; it makes for cute, wet “kissies” (which, of course, we also love).

-M