I never thought I was a baby-talk type of person, but I’ve developed a post-Zoe habit of tacking on a “s” or “ers” to certain words – “nappers,” “yuckers,” etc. – when talking to Zoe. (Poor Q! I’m sure he gets a little tired of my toddlerese.) And ever since Zoe was quite small, I’ve always commented on her big “yawners.”

As we were getting ready for bed the other night, Zoe yawned and then – before I could even say anything – said with a smile, “Big yawners, Mommy!” It was the first time she’s said this, and she had a really proud look on her face. It was such a good (and satisfying) feeling to hear her repeat something I’ve been saying for months and months, and I couldn’t help but smile myself.

-M

Zoe may be a California girl – and accustomed to the mild Bay Area climate – but she has shown a fondness for attire better suited to the snow and cold. In the past few weeks, her mittens have emerged as a favorite thing to play with (she’s always grabbing them in the morning and insisting that I help put them on, despite the fact that her hands are perfectly warm), and she’s also a big fan of warm winter hats. She threw on one such hat last night, and I had to snap a picture.

-M

Zoe has reached the age where she’s constantly saying funny and entertaining things. I don’t always post about them, but I thought it would be fun to include a round-up of recent comments that have made me and Q smile, laugh and/or look at one another and ask, “did she really just say that?”

Me, after pointing out dogs’ tails in one of her books: “Where’s your tail, Zoe?”
Z: “No have tail!”

Me, handing Zoe her reheated milk: “Here you go.”
Z, after taking a sip: “Much better, Mommy.”

Me: “Do you want to do a puzzle, Zoe?”
Z: “No. I’m busy.”

Me, about to start my nightly ritual of singing “99 Bottles of Beer” to her: “Good night, Zoe.”
Z to the doll lying in bed next to her: “You lay here, Baby. Mommy’s going to sing ‘beer’ to us.”

Me, after arriving home from Elena’s with her: “There’s your panda, Zoe.”
Z, grabbing and hugging her stuffed panda: “Panda! I missed you!”

Me: “I like you.”
Z, smiling: “Thank you.”

-M

In a post below, Q’s mom commented how grown up Zoe looks. (“Where is Baby Zoe?” she asked.) I know how she feels! I often come across pictures of Zoe where I can’t help but think how old she looks; below is one such photo. Talk about looking like a (sniff, sniff) little girl!

-M

Early this morning, before Zoe headed to Elena’s and Q and I began our work days, the three of us snuggled together to watch the inauguration. (At times like this, the three-hour time difference between us and Washington really comes in handy.) I know she’s too young to remember it, but I thought it was important that Zoe at least get a glimpse of this historic day.

The fact that Zoe won’t remember a time in which every U.S. president looked exactly the same is remarkable to me. Though it still pains me that we haven’t had a woman in the White House (I was, after all, a Hillary supporter), I’m hopeful that this will also change during Zoe’s lifetime. And I love that now when Zoe and every other kid in the country is told, “Anyone can grow up to become president,” there’s actual proof!

-M

Given the cold spell that most of the country is experiencing, and the fact that Jan. usually means rain here, our recent, summer-like weather feels a bit surreal. Unusual or not, we wanted to take full advantage of the warm temperatures – and we decided to head down south on Sun. for a little weekend get away. Our first top was the historic Billy Jones Wildcat Railrod in Los Gatos, where Zoe rode a real steam engine, enjoyed a Merry-Go-Round ride, and stole her dad’s ice cream cone. Next stop: Santa Cruz, where Zoe visited the Museum of Natural History and hit the beach on Sun. afternoon, and swam and relaxed on Mon. morning. Zoe took a three(!)-hour nap while Q and I enjoyed the sights of Route 1 on the way home yesterday; it’s safe to say she had a fun, but exhausting, trip!

-M

Riding the horsies with Daddy:

“I love choo choo rides:”

“Mmmm…. Ice-cream.”

Riding the whale:

Enjoying the beach:

Posing with Daddy:

“This vacation thing is so tiring!”

Nine days ago, as mentioned below, a big group of us went to Golden Gate Fields to celebrate Q’s birthday. In honor of his day, we were able to meet and get our photo taken with the winning jockey from one of the races. We just got the “official” photo of the celebration in the mail, and I wanted to share!

-M

Zoe and I received three visits to the Little Learners at the San Francisco Zoo for our Hanukah present. It is a program for kids 1.5 to 4 years old that allows them to learn about animals. Our first visit was today and it was Peacock Day! We had a ton of fun and can’t wait for our next two visits. Thanks Mommy…

Jon Q

Making our own peacocks:

Learning about peacock eggs:

Getting to touch snakes:

Zoe’s two favorite zoo activities; watching penguins and eating fish:

Can’t leave the zoo without checking out Daddy and baby giraffe:

Zoe doesn’t always love having her photo taken, but she’s a big fan on being of the other side of the camera: she’s been snapping photos with our Canon for months now. She mainly stuck to (very funny) self-photos in the beginning, but as you’ll see below, she recently branched out to other subjects. Surprisingly, her photos aren’t bad!

-M

I was looking at pictures from the last few weeks and realized that we never posted this one of Safta and Zoe. It was Safta’s last night here, I think, and I love how snugly the two of them look!

-M

I just read something that made me want to cry (yeah, yeah, I know – I’m pregnant, lots of things make me want to cry – but this is really good), and I thought this was a good place to share it. It’s a piece from a so-called “mommy blogger” – one who is imagining how she’ll look back at motherhood 20 years from now. I totally get where this mom is coming from: I, too, sometimes want to sit or lie or just get a little break from Zoe (who, admittedly, isn’t even that clingy of a child but can still be demanding), but then I try to remind myself how lucky I am. Zoe won’t be two forever, after all, and I’ll probably really miss Zoe’s “huggies” and toddler demands twenty years from now. It’s a good thing to remember.

“If 55-year-old me could go back and be 35-year-old me again, I think that 55-year-old me would a) be really psyched to not have so many wrinkles, and b) do some things a little differently. For example: my son is 2 years old. He whines a lot, and he’s going through a super clingy phase. He always wants me to pick him up, he’ll only let me put him to bed, and I can’t escape his room without a minimum of 40 hugs before he’ll lie down in his crib. Now, this stuff drives me insane, especially when I’m starving and want to eat dinner and he’s yelling for me to come back into his room to give him his forty-seventh hug, or when I’m trying to talk on the phone to my editor and he’s crying and screaming, “Uppy, mommy, uppy,” at the top of his lungs. But then I think about 55-year-old me. Fifty-five year old me would probably kill for the chance to pick up her son (who, let’s not forget, is now 22), and have him wrap his arms around her neck and squeeze her so hard that she very nearly loses consciousness.”

-M

My good friend Eva comes from a huge family and has more than 20 nieces and nephews. The fact that she loves kids (and is really good with them) was evident on Sun., when she flew into town and hung out with me, Q and Zoe. Zoe, who is usually a bit shy at first around new people, took to Eva right away – letting her scoop her up just minutes after meeting her. (Eva lives in Milwaukee and hadn’t seen Zoe in almost two years.) Zoe had a little stomach bug that day and wasn’t completely herself, but she still managed to have fun with Eva – and it warmed my heart to see two of my favorite people together!

-M

To celebrate Q’s birthday, a big group of us went to Golden Gate Fields, a horse track in the East Bay. We spent the day eating, gambling, and watching the races – and Zoe was even able to get right up to the “horsies” on the track. (I think Uncle Dan got worn out from running around outside with her!) It was a fun way to spend a birthday, and I hope Q had as much fun as Zoe did!

-M

Zoe and her dad make quite the pair (they’re always playing around or snuggling, like below), and today they have something fun to celebrate. It’s Q’s birthday, and we hope he has a fun one! I’ll have a full report later…

-M

Both sets of grandpaprents recently commented on how much Zoe has changed in just a few short months. (Q’s parents had last seen her in Sept; mine in Oct.) A lot of the change has to do with talking: Zoe just does so much of it! She’s always chattering about something these days, and she now carries on full conversations and tells lengthy stories. A few nights ago, Zoe told Q all about what she had done on our two-week vacation: she chattered on about visiting Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sandy and Coco (in the cold), about hanging out with Pop Pop and Safta and about Pop Pop, who had gone home that morning, taking an airplane. She also talked about her plans for the next day: she would get dressed, Mommy would take her to Elena’s, she would go “ding-dong” at the door and then play with Elena, Molly (Elena’s helper), Tessa and Brianna.

It’s amazing to me how much she remembers and how well she’s able to communicate her thoughts. She’s becoming more and more like a (real) little person – and one who likes to talk a lot – each day!

-M