Yesterday afternoon, Zoe came home and walked straight to her old room. “Baby Sister’s bed,” she said pointing to the crib and then looking up at me. “She’s not here yet.”

Zoe’s right: the baby isn’t here yet – but we don’t have much longer to wait. The baby’s arrival didn’t feel imminent until recently, when a bunch of things happened at once. I started my weekly antenatal testing (which I also began about a month before Zoe was born), we prepared the nursery, and the countown to my maternity leave suddenly hit the single digits. (After today, I have 7 days left in the office.) Oh, and I hit the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy – with the backaches, heartburn, etc. etc. (Some says I think to myself, ‘I have another month of this??’)

I haven’t focused as much on this pregnancy as the first, but thinking about the baby has become unavoidable at this point. And I love that the arrival of “Baby Sister” is on Zoe’s mind, too!

-M

Though we had lots of work to do this past weekend – and all three of us were feeling somewhat under the weather (cold? allergies? I’m not sure) – we couldn’t help but take advantage of the sunny, warm weather. Late Sunday, we set up a little pool in the backyard and watched as Zoe and her animal-friends splish-splashed around. A kid’s first time in the backyard kiddie pool is a pretty big milestone, I think, so we had to snap some pictures…

-M

As mentioned below, Zoe is officially moved into her new room. Since Dan, Jenny and Kim babysat on Sat. evening, last night was the first time Q and I put Zoe to bed in her new space and I admit to becoming a bit emotional. I was fine until I headed to bed myself and peeked through our bedroom window to the nursery – something I’ve done every night for more than two years – and found myself looking at an empty room. I couldn’t help but think of a much younger, smaller Zoe sleeping in her crib, and I was hit with the realization that I would never again see this happy, peaceful sight. (I know another baby will soon occupy the nursery, but it won’t be Zoe.) I’m not usually so sentimental, and it would be easy to blame the hormones – but I suspect the reality is that all parents feel an occasional pang of sadness as their children transition from babies to little girls and boys. As much as I love 2-year-old Zoe, I know she will never be a baby again – and I had to shed a few tears over that.

-M

Zoe and I hadn’t been to a Little Learner’s in awhile and got to Gorilla day yesterday! We had plenty of fun making masks, playing with friends, jumping around, and we even got to pet a hedgehog. All in all was a nice little Saturday morning.

Jon Q

Last month, we blogged about converting our computer/guest-room into a new room for Zoe. We painted and put up drapes a few weeks ago, and we spent most of today getting her closet organized and her new furniture (which finally arrived this week) into place. It was probably a silly day to do everything (it’s incredibly warm and summer-like here), but I think all of us are excited with the results. Zoe seems to love her new room – plus, with every change, we’re inching closer to Poppy’s arrival!

-M

When I got home earlier this week, Zoe came running to me exclaiming, “Daddy, Daddy, Cousin is here!” Cousin Kim had come all the way from South Carolina to visit us. Of course, she was napping at the time and Zoe just had to wake her up, so we quietly said hello. Moments later they were best friends reading her new Panda book on the couch…

Jon Q

Okay, so it seems that Zoe is *really* getting excited for the baby’s arrival. This morning right after she woke up, she started chattering to Q about how “little sister be coming” and how she was going to push her around in the stroller. I don’t think Q and I have been talking about the baby more than usual, so perhaps Zoe has noticed my ever-growing belly and just assumed that her sister is about to appear.

On a related note, Zoe suggested to Q last night that we name the new baby “Doggie,” which made me laugh. We don’t have a name picked out yet – but I don’t think Poppy would be too appreciative of Zoe’s suggestion!

-M

As we were driving home from Walnut Creek on Sun., I asked Q if he was excited for the baby. Before he had a chance to answer, Zoe piped up from the backseat. “MY baby!” she called out. “My baby sister!” I turned to look at her and laughed. “Are you excited for the baby, Zoe?” I asked her. “Yeh,” she responded with a big smile.

-M

I was really indecisive about what I wanted to do for Mother’s Day this year (thanks for your patience, Q!), but what we wound up doing was a perfect balance of family and girlie/mom fun. We started with a brunch (overlooking the ocean) in the city, then we visited the amusement park Fairyland in Oakland. (When I was little I visited a similar place, Storybook Gardens, in Wisconsin Dells – and I figured, correctly, that Fairyland would bring back some happy memories.) Our day was capped off with some time in sunny and warm Walnut Creek, where we strolled around and did two of my favorite things: shopping and snacking.

Here are some fun pics from the day.

-M

We’ll post more about our Mother’s Day festivities later but Zoe wanted to wish all the mother’s out there a happy Mother’s Day…

Jon Q

Zoe enjoys reading – but she likes it even more when she’s accompanied by friends. Last night she grabbed Panda so the two of them could read Dr. Suess books together; this morning, she lined up some chairs and gathered an even larger group for storytime. Here are some pics.

-M

When I dropped off Zoe at Elena’s yesterday, I looked around and saw only girl faces smiling at me. When I made a comment to Elena, she confirmed that her girl-to-boy ratio is pretty skewed towards girls right now; along with Zoe, she takes care of five girls and just one boy. I’m not sure how I haven’t noticed this before (come to think of it though, Zoe does primarily talk about her girlfriends there), but I suddenly became extra grateful for all the little guys in Zoe’s life. Without Zander, Miles, Cousin Tanner, etc., Zoe wouldn’t know how much fun boys are!

-M

It’s been awhile since we’ve shared never-before-posted pictures. Below are a few recent ones that haven’t made it on the site but are kind of fun… (And you’ll notice that Zoe’s wearing pink in every one!)

-M

Zoe has always liked the rain and watching people carry umbrellas – so we bought a baby umbrella for her (see below) this weekend. Ever since Zoe got her new “toy”, it’s all she’s wanted to play with and talk about. She proudly carries it around the house, cradles it in her arms when she’s in her carseat (just like she does her stuffed animals), and tells everyone – even dogs! – about it. (“Hi, doggie,” she said to one spotted in the parking lot of a store last night. “Look at my new ‘brella.” And when she briefly talked on the phone with my friend Angela the other day, the first thing she told her was that she had a new umbrella.) For the past two days, she’s even taken it into Elena’s – insisting that she show it off to her friends there.

I’m glad something as simple (and inexpensive) as a polka-dot umbrella can bring Zoe so much happiness!

-M

From a conversation about 30 minutes ago, on our way home from Elena’s.

M: “I missed you today, Zoe.”
Z: “Oh! Thank you, Mommy.”

My heart melted a little bit…

-M