The pictures below never made it on the site, and I thought they were good ones to share. Zoe seems to do her best posing when she’s wearing white!

-M

Zoe got bit by a little stomach bug last night. (She’s not 100%, but she’s doing a lot better today.) It’s never fun when your kid is sick, but on the plus side, it usually leads to lots of snuggling and quiet moments. Here are Zoe and Q sharing one such moment.

-M

We took the Muni yesterday afternoon, and during our ride we struck up a conversation with a friendly four-year-old girl. She was standing next to Zoe (well, smooshed up against her actually; it was a packed train) and at one point looked up at me and said, “She’s cute.” She then asked all sorts of questions about Zoe, and the two of them played together for the next four or five stops. When the train reached West Portal, we said our good-byes to the girl, who proceeded to smile and wave at us as the train rolled out of the station and down the street. Tears sprang to my eyes as we waved back and watched the tiny face pressed up against the window; I couldn’t help but think of how sweet and innocent little kids are. This young girl will probably never see Zoe again, but she said good-bye as if they were lifelong friends – and it was just such a sweet gesture. She’s probably long since forgotten Zoe, but I don’t think I’ll forget her.

-M

Today, the three of us met friends downtown at the San Francisco Family Fest. (It was the perfect weather for this kind of thing: sunny and about 70 degrees.) Zoe did lots of running around and playing and also got to color, make crafts and rock-climb (probably her favorite thing). Other highlights: meeting a very tall man and dancing on-stage with the Alphabet Rockers! We’ll have to head back next year, for sure.

-M

Zoe has been doing a lot of singing lately, and her two favorite tunes are the Alphabet Song and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. The other day, while lounging around, she sang a bit of a hybrid – and I grabbed the camera. Check her out below.

-M

Like a lot of other kids, Zoe showed an early interest in laundry. Lately, though, she’s been expressing a fondness for the laundry basket; one of her favorite things to do is climb in the basket and pretend it’s a boat or train. (It’s become a good excuse for us to sing “Row, row, row the boat.”) Check her out in all her basket-glory below.

-M

For the past two mornings we’ve gotten a 4:45 AM wake-up call in the form of Zoe’s cries. I’m not sure what was bothering her (teeth? tummy? other?); I just know that she didn’t want to be in her crib, and she didn’t want to be alone. Yesterday the two of us were able to get a bit of sleep by lying together on the floor, but this morning was trickier. My rocking/bouncing/singing efforts weren’t initially successful, and I felt myself become increasingly stressed as her big eyes stayed wide open. (She’s never going to fall asleep! She’ll be so crabby today! I’m going have a terrible day because I’m so tired!) Eventually, though, Zoe’s eyes did close, and something occurred to me as I sat rocking in the dark: getting to hold your daughter, while listening to the (sweet) sounds of her breathing, is really not the worst thing in the world. I might be tired today, but at least I got some quiet, sweet moments out of it.

(But with that said, I do hope she sleeps well tonight!)

-M

It’s not often that Daddy gets to spend the day with Zoe all by himself, but yesterday was one of those days. Zoe and I had the day off for Columbus Day, but Mommy had to go into work. We spent the morning getting ready and having breakfast. Then Zoe hopped in the stroller and we went off to the “choo choo” (or the Muni). Zoe loves watching the Munis drive by and rarely gets to go on one. We took the L Muni to the end of the line and made our way to the zoo! Zoe ran around, watched grizzlies eat fish, monkeys get fed, giraffe’s snack on branches, and penguins swim around. The best part was that halfway through, her uncle Dan showed up since he also had the day off! Needless to say, Zoe was pretty worn out and slept for close to 3 hours (her normal nap is 1.5 hours). Afterwards, she ran around the house with Uncle Dan and waited for Mommy to come home.

I know she had a good time because today she woke up talking about monkeys, giraffes and penguins. She’s also been sticking out her tongue like the giraffe did. Check out the pictures below…

Jon Q

Waiting for the grizzlies to eat:

Look, they’re pink too!

That’s a big tongue:

Faster, faster…

Swan rides:

Getting a ride from Uncle Dan at the petting zoo:

Spider Girl:

Every morning when I was little, my mom would stand at our family-room window and wave to me and my sister as we headed off to school with my dad. I’ve been reminded of this a lot lately, since I’m now the one doing the waving. Q takes Zoe to Elena’s every Tuesday (my telecommute day), and I always wave down from our window as they zoom away. Zoe started waving back about a month ago (at first, she would just sort of stare up at me), and seeing her little hand and big smile is a really sweet way to start the morning.

-M

At 35 inches, Zoe is finally tall enough to go on those big bouncy slides – and she couldn’t pass up the chance to try one on Sat. Her dad decided to join her (of course), and I’m not sure which one of them had more fun!

-M

As mentioned earlier, we went to Half Moon Bay, about 25 miles south of the city, yesterday. We got a bit of a late start and it took a good amount of time to get there (let’s just say we weren’t the only people with pumpkins on the brain), but it was totally worth it. We did the same circuit as last year: 4-Cs Pumpkin Patch for picking out pumpkins, and Pastorino Farms and Lemo’s Farm for playing games and frolicking around. And like last year, we took tons of pics.

-M

One year ago this weekend, the three of us headed down to Half Moon Bay to pick out pumpkins. Because we’re big on tradition, and because it’s so nice and sunny outside, we’ve decided to make our way down there today. I’m sure I’ll be doing lots of reminiscing (look how small she was last year!), and I’m sure we’ll have lots of pics to post when we’re back.

-M

Now that Zoe’s a bit older, she often comes home from Elena’s with some sort of art project or craft. My all-time favorite (naturally) is the Mother’s Day present she once made, and I’m also quite fond of a hanging, fingerpainted star that now lives on our refrigerator. I may have a new favorite in something she made the other day, though: a colorful and sweet little crown. And even better than the piece of art itself: the fact that she’ll actually wear it. And pose as a little queen with it. See below.

-M

Skype is a great way to keep in touch with far-away friends and family, and Zoe often uses it to chat with both sets of grandparents. My mom likes taking snapshots when they’re online together, and I just had to share my favorites from two recent sessions. (Zoe makes some pretty funny pictures in a few of these.)

-M

The evidence is overwhelming. Zoe is almost three feet tall. She’s close to being able to carry on a (semi-)real conversation with people. We’ve started researching and touring preschools for her. And friends of mine with kids Zoe’s age are now expecting their second child.

What this all means: Zoe is no longer a baby. While this is a no-brainer for most everyone, especially those of you who have watched Zoe grow online, it’s more difficult for this blogger. I see her every day – how could she have gotten this big without me noticing?? How did she get that tall, where did she pick up all those words, and how did she learn to run that fast? Did it happen overnight?

I’m enjoying this age, and I’m excited about all the milestones ahead (real conversations! preschool!), but the sentimental mom in me will always miss the tiny, helpless (and dare I say somewhat funny-looking) person that we brought home from the hospital almost two years ago. And I suspect, despite all evidence to the contrary, I’ll always consider her my “baby.”

-M