Zoe has been very excited all day. First she woke up to some Groundhog’s Day predictions, then she celebrated her Uncle’s birthday, and to cap it off she found out that two of her favorite football players made the Hall of Fame today – Art Monk and Darrell Green!

She can’t wait to make the trip to Canton to watch them get enshrined!

Jon Q

Uncle Dan is one of Zoe’s favorite people to hang out with, and Zoe is super excited about his birthday. She asked me to log on and make a post in his honor (some of her favorite pictures are below) and to tell him that she’s looking forward to a celebratory dinner tonight!

-M

With the Super Bowl and elections coming up, there is just one question on everyone’s mind…Jimmy or Phil?

The big debate in the Browdy household around this time of year isn’t who will win the Super Bowl or which candidate to vote for, but rather which groundhog we should listen to. Most years Punxsutawney Phil and Jimmy the Groundhog give the same prediction…BUT this year they differ! So, we can finally get to the bottom of who is this long debate:

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – Brace yourself for more wintry weather. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Saturday, leading the groundhog to forecast six more weeks of winter.

SUN PRAIRIE, Wi. – The big news is the Jimmy did NOT see his shadow and we will have an early spring!!!

Only time will tell!

Jon Q

I’ve come to realize since becoming a mom that little kids – especially toddlers – are a lot like dogs. Zoe, for example, follows simple commands, runs around and “pants” when she’s happy, and even often begs for food like a little dog would. And lately, she’s been getting super excited (think dog-at-the-door-wagging-his-tail excited) when she knows she’s going somewhere. This morning, as I was gathering my things to head out, Zoe actually grabbed from her room her coat (as well her purse and a robe – for good measure) and started walking towards the door. It’s the first time she’s done this (and I didn’t even have to say “bye-bye” like one might to a pet), and I just had to snap a few pictures.

-M

I recently told a friend about Zoe’s love for diaper wipes (or, more specifically, her love for pulling out wipes from their container), and she suggested that I get Zoe a box of Kleenex to play with. It sounded like a good idea, so I bought a box and handed it to her the other day. Without hesitation, Zoe pulled out one tissue from the box, and then another and then another – until the box was empty. Picking up 120 tissues was a real hassle (thankfully, Q helped!), but it was so worth the look on her face as she started pulling and flinging. I’m sure she was thrilled (and shocked!) that I wasn’t yelling for her to stop and that she could just keep pulling…

-M

The beginning:

The aftermath:

When I went into Zoe’s room to get her this morning (following a series of increasingly loud “Mommy!”s), she started clapping. Seriously – is there anything better than that??

-M

There’s a funny scene in the movie Airplane where the flight attendant can’t understand what two passengers are saying. “Oh stewardess,” called out another passenger, offering to translate. “I speak jive.” I’ve been reminded of this a lot lately, as Zoe has become increasingly vocal and increasingly difficult to understand. She strings together words to sound like real sentences, and she’s certainly trying to get some sort of point across; the only problem is we have no clue what she’s trying to say! I would love it if someone could interpret for us; does anyone out there speak “Zoe?”

-M

Our friend Jack turned one year old yesterday, so the three of us headed to a party downtown. Zoe played with some new kids and toys, and then the rain stopped long enough for us to spend some time on the playground. Check out the pics below.

-M

It was a cold, rainy morning, so Zoe and I met up with our friends at the warm, dry mall. After a quick snack (at the Nordstrom Cafe, naturally), the moms did some shopping and the kids did some running (literally!) around. Zoe seemed to enjoy herself, and her outfit really wowed her friends (who couldn’t believe she wasn’t wearing pink)!

-M

In all my recent excitement about the Packers (sniff, sniff), I forgot to mention that we taught Zoe the touchdown sign last weekend. I wasn’t sure she really got it – until tonight when (out of the blue) she threw her hands in the air. “Touchdown?” I asked her, and she raised her arms again. I guess she’s ready for next week’s Super Bowl!

-M

Another month full of changes. I hate being repetitive with my comments about Zoe’s toddlerdom – but I can’t help but mention that this past month proved once and for all that she is no longer a baby.

For one thing, Zoe is now a walker. She had been taking (literal) baby steps for weeks until she finally decided – just about two weeks ago – to give up crawling altogether. She was clumsy and slow at first, but she has become amazingly quick and balanced in a short period of time. She isn’t running, yet – but that’s probably not too far behind. (Yikes!)

The other big change involves her level of comprehension. She now understands – and even responds to in non-verbal ways – comments and commands. If we ask her if she’s hungry, she often starts heading for the kitchen. During bathtime, I ask her if she’s ready to get out of the tub, and she stands up and put her arms out. And a few days ago, I asked her to bring me a book so we could read, and she walked over with one. A few other fun examples:

-If you ask, “where’s your foot,” she’ll lift up her foot.

-If you ask, “where’s your dog,” she’ll go find (and then kiss) her stuffed white dog.

-If you sing, “if you’re happy and you know it…” she’ll clap her hands.

-If you say “jumpie, jumpie,” she’ll start bouncing up and down.

This might not sound that exciting to the average reader, but it all seems pretty groundbreaking to me. It feels as if all our talking and teaching this past year has paid off; she’s finally digesting and understanding – and letting us know that that’s the case.

Speaking of talking, Zoe still does a great deal of this. So far, she has a small vocubulary of “real” words – mommy (and mama), daddy (and dada), good, hi, uh-oh, dog, baby – and she often babbles in her own toddler-talk. She also knows two (important) baby signs: one for milk and the other for food, or hungry. For the latter, she puts a few fingers to her lips – and she always does it when we ask her if she wants to eat.

Like most kids her age, Zoe loves to grab and explore – everything. Her favorite things to play with are (still) cell phones, remote controls, socks and – strangely – wet washclothes. Needless to say, she is NOT happy when any of these objects are taken away from her.

In terms of day-to-day stuff, Zoe still eats (a lot) four times a day and sleeps for 11-12 hours at night. She hasn’t completely abandoned her morning nap, but she’s starting to… There are days when she just won’t sleep (and instead bounces up and down in her crib).

Zoe hasn’t been weighed in awhile, but my guess is that she’s around 25 lbs. A lot of the clothes she wears are size 18-24 month (vs. 12-18), so I know she’s a bit chunkier, er, bigger than the average 14-month-old. I’m a big fan of her round little belly – though that shouldn’t be a big surprise to anyone!

-M