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

Q’s parents left yesterday, and I’m sure the house seems very quiet to Zoe! She had a great time during their visit; highlights included visiting the zoo, learning the Hokey Pokey and snuggling with Pop Pop. Check out the pics below.

-M

We haven’t posted much these past few days because we’ve been busy doing lots of family stuff. Q promised some pictures, though, so I wanted to quickly post a few from Pop Pop’s first day here. He treated Zoe to some Chinese fried rice, and Zoe was a huge fan – of the rice, the unique utensils, and (of course) of Pop Pop!

-M

Zoe got a special treat this New Year’s as both Safta and Pop Pop came to visit her. We will be posting lots of pictures of soon, but in the meanwhile Zoe wanted to wish everyone a very happy New Year. 2009 is sure to be a eventful one for our family and Zoe can’t wait…

Jon Q