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

Zoe is super attached to her dad – a fact that was quite evident the other evening. Q headed to the backyard to do some grilling, and Zoe, who unhappily watched him walk out the door, was insistent that he come back. After a few sniffles and “dad-dee”s, she knocked on and pressed her face against the glass door to get his attention; lucky for her, she was rewarded with some kisses.

-M

As you’ve probably figured out, we take a lot of photos. It’s a necessary thing, really – because for every ten pictures there’s usually only one that we deem cute (or appropriate) enough for this blog. (Let’s just say that Zoe moves really fast and makes lots of funny faces.) A lot of photos, even relatively good ones, don’t ever make it to the site – and I thought it would be fun to reach into the archives and find a few recent ones to post. So, here are four from the past few weeks.

-M

You know how little kids are always showing you how to appreciate life – how to stop and smell the roses, so to speak? Well, Zoe is very much into smelling flowers, both figuratively and literally. The other day, during a morning stroll through Noe Valley, she couldn’t help but check out the merchandise at a little flower stand. Luckily, we had the camera close at hand.

-M

Zoe has shown an interest in gardening before, but she lost her focus a bit the other night. Instead of helping her dad pull some weeds, she decided to fling some mud around. Q thought it was pretty funny, but – since I’m the one who does laundry – I wasn’t nearly as amused. (Made for a cute video, though.)

-M

It was too nice yesterday to stay inside for long, so when Q was done with work, Zoe and I grabbed him and headed to the zoo. It was still pretty warm out – even Zoe got a little sweaty – but we all had fun running around and taking pictures. (And, after the day’s activities, Zoe slept very well last night!)

-M

San Francisco gets, if we’re lucky, about a half-dozen 85-degrees-or-warmer days each year. We’ve already gotten two — yesterday and today – and Zoe and I took advantage of this morning’s sun by hanging out at Golden Gate Park. The highlight for Zoe was chatting with her friend Zander; though she’s seen him weekly for the past year-plus, she’s never been quite so enthusiastic about saying “hi” to him. (And he was pretty excited about it, too!) Check them out below.

-M

I don’t do yoga, but Zoe (like other toddlers, I presume) seems to have an interest in it. Here she is last night, doing her best “downward dog.” Zia Angela, what do you think?

-M