Not long ago we posted a list of the words Zoe could say, and since she’s been talking up a storm lately, I thought it was a good time to post an updated one. I realize this is a bit geeky (no comments please, Dan!) but I also think it will be fun to compare what she can say now to her vocabulary in a few years – or even a few months!

The new words/phrases are in bold below.

-M

all done
all right!
arm
ashes (as part of Ring Around the Rosie song)
baby
ball
banana
bath
beep beep
belly button
book
bubbles
bye
ciao (Italian)
cheek
cheese
chin
daddy
dog
down
duck
ear
ee-i-ee-i-o (as part of Old McDonald song)
E-F-G (as part of alphabet song)
Elena
Elmo
fish
flower
good
green
hello
here you go
hi
knee
milk
mine
mommy (and mama)
night night
nino (Spanish)
no
nose
peek-a-boo
phone
pillow
please
Pop Pop
Shell (yes, my nickname)
shoe
spoon
strawberry
thank you
tent
the end
two
uh-oh
up
vroom
yellow
yum

I often snap pictures of Zoe when she’s just sitting around. The photos aren’t usually as good as her action shots, but I occasionally get some fun ones. I like the two below because the first shows her little Buddha-like belly and the second captures one of her funnier faces. As you’ll see, she’s not always smiling. (And she tends to reserve her scowling/pouting looks for her mom!)
-M

So down below I talked about our Sunday in Foster City. Remembering that we visited the same fair last year, I went to our June-07 photo file and pulled up a picture of Zoe from that day. (Look how small her arms are! And look at how thin her hair is!) Just a bit past six months, Zoe wasn’t walking, of course, or even crawling or creeping – and she spent the afternoon in her comfy stroller. (No running around or winning fish for her!)

Things have sure changed…

-M

One of the best things about daycare is the surprises. Zoe came home a few weeks ago and started saying “ashes, ashes,” for example; we soon realized it meant she wanted to play Ring Around the Rosie – something she learned at daycare. And this weekend, she pointed to the cover of a new book (a hand-me-down from our neighbor) and said “El-mo.” Q and I looked at each other in surprise – we didn’t even know she knew who Elmo was! I later found out – sure enough – she reads Elmo books at daycare.

When you spend so much time with someone (and think you know them in and out), it’s kind of fun to discover something new!

-M

Another weekend day, another fair: yesterday, the three of us met up with Uncle Dan and Jenny at the Foster City Arts and Wine Festival. Zoe didn’t get any wine, but she did get to play some games and walk away with an exciting prize. She was so excited by her big win of seven little goldfish that she couldn’t stop saying “fish” – which sounds more like like “ish” – when we got home. She even had trouble getting to bed last night; we placed the fish-tank on her dresser, and, when she was supposed to be sleeping, she kept pointing and waving to the fish. Needless to say, it was a fun day.

-M

The three of us braved the cool, gloomy weather and went to the Union Street Festival today. We walked around and ate and introduced Zoe to some new things, including the spinning swing ride and the bouncy house. This was the first time Zoe has gone on a ride by herself (though she cleared the 32-inch minimum marker, I, of course, was a little nervous), and we had to document it here.

-M

We recently bought the Wii Fit, and Q, in particular, has been having a lot of fun with it. But he’s not the only one. This morning, Zoe decided to give it a try – and, if the look on her face and the post-Wii claps are any indication, she loved it.

-M

As Zoe was splashing around in the pool the other day, I couldn’t help but think about how big she’s gotten. It could have been the full head of hair (when did she get so much??), the size-3T (!) swimming suit or a comment I overheard from another mom (“She’s not really a baby, she’s a little girl,” she said in response to her daughter’s “There’s a baby in the water!”) – but whatever it was, it almost felt like I was watching another little girl swim around. She’s growing so fast!

-M

Little kids, as I’ve observed here before, are a lot like animals. Q and I often feel like we have a puppy at home, since Zoe spends so much time yipping, jumping up and down, and (quite literally) panting when she’s excited or hungry. And the other day, I caught Zoe picking at her feet – very much like a little monkey would. I, of course, reached for the camera right away.

-M

Zoe decided she needed a little vacation this Memorial Day weekend, so she convinced us to head down to Santa Cruz. We were only there for about 24 hours, but we managed to get a lot in. As usual, Zoe thought it would be best to show you in pictures…

Jon Q

No one likes a nice hotel more then Zoe:

Couldn’t stop Zoe from getting on the Sea Dragons at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk:

A hike with Daddy first thing in the morning is always a good idea:

Couldn’t forget Mommy on our hike:

OK, enough walking already:

A must-have for any vacation is a stop at the playground:

“Thanks for catching me down the slide, Mommy”:

“I know it’s only 65 degrees outside but the pool is heated, Daddy”:

And to end the weekend, some roasted marshmellows at the Roaring Camp Railroad:

We met Uncle Dan for breakfast yesterday morning; then we took a little walk. Zoe was somewhat sleepy (as you can tell from her face below), but she still seemed to enjoy the bonding time with Dan. Other highlights: munching on pancakes (one of her favorite foods) and showing off her green rain-coat for the first time.

-M

It recently occured to me that Zoe is always holding on to something in our photos – and more often than not, that something is food. (I guess that means she’s always eating, huh?) I took a few pictures of her at the park yesterday morning and, sure enough, she’s munching away in most of them. Here, in one of my favorites, she’s enjoying not one, but two, snacks. (I also love that she’s using a little drum as a seat.)

-M

When I think about the 18-month mark, all I can think is “really?” As in: is it really possible that Zoe’s a year and a half? Has it really been that long? It is, and it has – so I guess I should just get used to it and keep typing…

The best way to summarize life with Zoe is to say that she keeps us on our toes. She’s always moving around (running, never walking), exploring things, climbing on things, pointing to things and asking for things (normally food). She’s very active, as most kids this age are (so I’ve learned) – and she’s not as content to just sit and read quietly as she used to be. (She still does it, but not quite as much as before.)

She continues to follow our simple commands, and I’m starting to think of her as a good little helper. (Free help!) If I ask her to take something to Q (or vice versa), she does; she puts dirty clothes in her hamper every night; and she gets out her socks, shoes and coat on almost a daily basis. I’ve noticed lately that she’s been putting things (toys, sippy cups, etc.) right back where she got them, and she’s starting to get the “clean up” concept. I’ve also caught her adjusting our bathroom rug a few times; like her mom, it seems she’s a fan of an orderly house!

Zoe is a big talker – adding new words to her vocabulary every day. (My favorite new word of hers is “please,” which comes out as “peas.”) She is very into repeating words back to us, and she now knows the names of a handful of body parts. (Chin, arm and thumb are the newest ones.) She also recently graduated to phrases; among her favorites: “all gone,” “the end,” “uh-oh,” “ding-dong” (in conjunction with squeezing someone’s nose), “here, mom,” and “all right!” The latter is always said with excitement – usually when diving into a favorite book or when handed a pair of pretty socks.

She still likes to sing – and also to dance. Her new favorite thing is to dance in circles to “Ring Around the Rosie,” and she’s usually quite insistent that everyone around her take her hand and join her in the dance. (It should come to no surprise that Q and I get worn out way before she does.)

As mentioned last month, Zoe often has “flares of independence” (or, as you might call them, temper tantrums). She does her fair share of foot stomping, wailing (and, when being changed, wiggling), and when she’s really upset, she actually shakes in anger. That usually happens in the kitchen, with something food-related.

Speaking of food, Zoe is completely able to feed herself – and she’s gotten a lot better (faster, less messy) at it. If you try to help her, she’s likely to grunt and push your hand away. No one messes with this girl’s food! (Hm… sound like her mom??) She also recently kicked the bottle habit and now drinks milk exclusively from a sippy-cup.

Lastly, Zoe is growing at a healthy clip. We learned at her 18-month appointment today that she weighs 29 pounds and is 33.75 inches tall. That makes her in the 90th percentile for weight and the 95th percentile for height. (She’s the height of a 3-year-old.) Our little “baby” is not so little anymore!

-M