Hay is for Horses...

I was having some fun. :) I was at Michael's (the craft store) and saw these cute foam hats...Of course I had to get it for Zoe. A dollar is not too much for my little sweet girl!

Yes, I know it's kinda dorky. Yes, I know it's kinda cheesy...but seriously, doesn't she look cute in this?? And, she even asked to have it on her head. Of course, as soon as we put it on, she wanted it off!!

Memorial Day Weekend..

So excited about something!
Playing the music on the Laugh and Learn Home is SOO cool!
Check out Zoe's first shiner...she met the edge of a truck at daycare. Poor thing! I was expecting a big black and blue, but it just scabbed over where the red is. You can kinda see it in her pj shots above.
So sad about the shiner!
"So, um, Dada, what's all this about? People can walk IN the middle of the road, play loud music, and it's OKAY????"
"What, Momma?? Only during a parade?? I don't get it.."
"Ohhhh, a flag!!"
"I'm not so sure about this big red truck, though..."
first time wearing her Red Sox hat this season...fits her much better now, doesn't it?? I had to resize it a LOT.

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes...

Not quite ALL of those things, but Zoe is learning her body!

Today, we went through different the different parts:

--Zoe where's your belly? (she lifts up her shirt and says "be-ey")
--Zoe where's your nose? (she puts her finger in her nose and smiles, sometimes giggles)
--Zoe where's your ear? (she puts her finger in her ear and says "eeeeaahh")
--Zoe where's your head? (pats the top of her head with a big smile)
--Zoe where's your mouth? (puts her finger IN her mouth)
--Zoe where's your tongue? (pulls on her tongue..hehe)

She also knows where some of these things are on MY body:

--Zoe where's Momma's head? (she reaches up to tap my head)
--Zoe where's Momma's ear? (for this one, she usually ends up giving Momma a "wet willy" Ew! And she says "Eeeeaaah)
--Zoe, where's Momma's nose? (thankfully she just taps the tip, and doesn't try to put her finger IN my nose!)
--Zoe, where's Momma's mouth? (finger IN my mouth)
--Zoe, where's Momma's tongue? (tries to grab my tongue, EW)

I asked her where her feet were today, and she couldn't figure out how to lift up her foot to show me, and she didn't want to bend over...I THINK she knows it. :)

What a smart cookie!

Pictures from the last few days..

Roasted garlic hummus and crackers...YUM!
Shoving them in!
Zoe finished the bowl. Dinner tonight had been frozen blueberries (weird child won't eat them fresh) and then roasted garlic hummus and crackers...she LOVED it. The only thing left was a lone blueberry that happened to fall to the floor. I'm sure if she had seen it, she'd have eaten it! My picky eater loves hummus. YAY for a good healthy protein!
Zoe was playing around in her chair...it was so hot we just stripped her down to her diaper. She likes to just pull her clothes up and over her head, trying to get it on her shoulders...it's fun to pretend to do a strip tease, I think. ;)
Extremely tired Zoe...wild hair and all. :)
Loving her horsie...if you'll notice, her rump isn't even ON the seat. She likes to walk with it between her legs. Nevermind the cock-eyed diaper. ;)
She loves walking around with that thing. For about a half hour, she was just moving around the kitchen like that. Of course, she'd get off, and immediately want to get back on. She hasn't figured out how, so until her Daddy came over and helped, she'd get VERY upset.
YOu can't see in the picture, but her pacifier is also in the mix. For about 5-10 minutes, she kept alternating between her milk sippy cup, water sippy cup, and pacifier.
This is how she likes to read. She hasn't figured out how to put the books BACK in the bin when she's done. Other things, yes, but not her books...I think she figures she'll miss an important part of the books!
This IS how you type on a keyboard, right??

Crazy girl...This is just a few of the comical moments with our beautiful girl!

Last Week's Happenings

Last week had lots of things going on...

Zoe had a GI appointment on Monday, and she got CLEARED! We have not been successful with getting her to try egg, but if we do, we have to just watch her and if something SHOULD happen, give the dr a call...otherwise, we're FREEEEEE!!!

Oh yeah, stats :)...22lbs 12.2oz, 30 3/8 inches long.

Tuesday, we had a pediatrician's appointment for her 15 month appointment. This thing was just not right from the start. First of all, they were doing construction and remodeling part of the waiting room...So, the "sick" waiting room was moved to the "well" waiting room, the "well" waiting room was moved to where the adolescents wait....IN THE HALLWAY. If that weren't bad enough, we waited there for an HOUR. It was Zoe and me, and all kinds of other parents and kids (most of who were a lot older than Zoe, and much more patient than Z), in the hallway. Because it was a hallway, there were people coming and going at all times. I couldn't just put her down because she'd walk all over the place. If I held her, she screamed, cried (I don't blame her, I wanted to do it too). I didn't wear a watch, and due to HOLDING her, I couldn't check the time on my cell phone...I had NO idea how long we were waiting until we got into the exam room. Had I known how long it was, I would have asked to reschedule. WHO makes a 15 month old wait an HOUR for an appointment??

I tried distracting her with toys, food, you name it. She just threw it on the floor. She was just not happy, and neither was I. You may be asking yourself "Why didn't she get the first appointment of the day?"...Impossible when the first appointment is at 8am, and I have to be at work at 7am. Remember that teachers can't just *go in late* or *leave early* on a whim. However, this will be the last of these regularly scheduled appointments that get done NOT on a day off for me.

I digress....after all that, she was NOT happy. She was tolerant of getting weighed, didn't like being on the table getting her length checked, and HATED having her head measured. She HATED being examined by the dr, wanted NOTHING to do with him, would have rather have left there in just her diaper when it was time to go...and then there were the shots. Thankfully the nurse was nice enough to let her be sitting up (as long as I held her arms though). I got her dressed as quickly as I could and was in the car at 5pm to leave (when the appointment started at 3:30). Ah well...fortunately this is NOT a normal thing at the drs office. How frustrating, all the same!

Oh yes, and I bet you want to know how she measured up THERE, as well?!? 22lbs 10oz, 31inches long, and 47cm around her head. Exact %iles are: between 25th-50th in weight, 50th-75th in height, and between the 75th-90th for her head circumference. The pediatrician was quite pleased with her numbers. :)

Tuesday, Zoe started up with a stuffy, runny nose, and by Wednesday it was a full blown mess. Of course, Thursday, I started feeling it, and by Thursday afternoon, knew I wouldn't be going to work. Friday, Noah started feeling it, and probably should have stayed home with me, but he was a trooper and went in. We're all surviving. Zoe's down to a crusty nose (lovely image, huh?), we have stuffed up noses and lovely coughs. Hopefully by Monday, we'll be feeling better and be able to salvage this long weekend!!

In GOOD news, Zoe has been doing great new things. She either says "here go" or "thank you" when she hands something to you. When you hand something to her, she usually says "thank you". She's learning new words every day, and even learned to say "boo" (we were watching the Yankees on tv earlier and they had a come from behind win, again). She's nodding her head "yes" when she is agreeing to something (although, we're not sure if she always knows what she's agreeing to just yet!!!). She now says "Hi kitty" when she sees Peanut and wants Peanut to respond. Zoe is getting MUCH better at using "hi" and "bye" appropriately. She says "go" when she wants Peanut to go away (um, not often, but *I* have tried to encourage it when Peanut decides to get territorial).

I'll have pictures to post soon!!

I keep forgetting to mention...

Zoe has a weird fascination with Bob. Not her Grampa, unfortunately, but with Bob's Furniture. She gets all happy and quiet. And, he doesn't even have to be part of the commercial. For his furniture ads, she's OBSESSED!!

Recent things..

Zoe likes the abc song and asks for it by saying "A C C". She likes to listen to us singing it when she's looking at her ABC's on the busy box (smart girl).

Zoe says "thank you" when she gets her "maw" (milk) and other things. What a polite Z we have!

Zoe gives lots and lots and lots of hugs to her mama and dada.

She's started nodding up and down when she says "yeah" for something.

Zoe is currently trying to get my flipflops on her socked feet (silly girl).

Zoe like to try to brush her own hair.

Zoe knows where there's a picture of her cousin Jacob is (the newborn announcement picture on the fridge is where she goes all the time when we ask her where he is!).

Zoe has been much more interactiv when playing. For example, she will throw a ball to us when we ask her to, come and get something when we ask her to, things like that.

Zoe can tell you that a "puppa" goes "fff", a duckie goes "caa caa" and also calls it "caa caa".

She has used the words horsie and feet recently.

She has tried to share her sippy cup and pretzels with the kitty. She has even been able to pet and hug the cat (with close supervision and a very distracted kitty).

I'm sure there's more. I'll update when I think of them.

And, I"ll have to post new pictures soon. There are a couple of cute ones.

Long post ahead!!

I know, I know...it's been a LONG time. I apologize. I have been working on portfolios at school and they just sucked the life out of me, and any time I had as well. But, those have been sent to the state, and I'm yours, I mean, I'm Zoe's, once again. :)

Zoe has been up to SO much in the last few weeks. Newish words? Sit, row (as in Row Row Row Your Boat), bear, puppy, and some more I can't think of right now. :) Oh, and I think "Mawwww" means milk. Not sure yet.

New skills?? She sings "Row Row Row Your Boat"...I'll have to get it on video. She'll yell "Row row row" and gets VERY excited and dances when you sing the real song. She comes to the high chair when you tell her it's time to eat, and waits (not always so patiently), and will go to the high chair when she's hungry. She gets fanatically hysterical over Wheel of Fortune (again, something I need to get on video for the boyfriends later!). Zoe hugs Noah and me almost whenever we ask her to...and when we don't ask her to. She loves to hug her stuffed animals, too.

She knows where her nose is, as well as her nostrils (yeah, you got that right)...can you guess where her finger goes when we ask her "Zoe, where's your nose?" Eww! :) She does know where my nose is, too!

Zoe lifts up her shirt when we ask her where her belly is. If she's not wearing a shirt, she'll just slap her belly. Very cute, but where does it go from here? Can you imagine?? hehe

What else? Zoe has officially dropped to ONE nap a day, and has for awhile now. She walks backwards, and finds it great fun. She enjoys using her walker more now than when she was learning to walk! She's really starting to like the pink horsie her Gramma and Grampa C got her awhile back.

Other favorite toys? Her lambie that she sleeps with, as well as her small pink teddy bear. She loves LOVES LOVES her turkey that Uncle Nick got her, as well as her teddy bear as big as her. Zoe's really starting to play with all the parts of her busy box, plays on her chair, and LOVES to read her books. She has found a particular favorite lately...her Elmo valentine's book. She knows where the baby is in the book and loves to read that page and hug it. Very cute! She loves her touch and feel books, and can tell us the kitties and puppies (and calls other animals kitties, too :) )

Zoe's new favorite place to play is in the chair in front of our bay window. If there are kids playing outside, or animals there, she likes to watch. She also likes to pull things out of the toy bin next to the chair, turn the light on and off by the pulley, and cuddle with us. :)

Zoe has started to run, and LOVES to play the "I'm gonna get you" game.

Foods? Zoe is able to eat ANYthing at this point. We're giving a trial of eggs, but she won't touch them!! I just have to keep trying. She's growing and getting big, and is currently in 12-18 month clothes...however, depending on the brand, she may have some things in 3-6, 6-9, or 6-12. Crazy sizes!!

Recent visits: Zoe had a *2* night overnight with Grandma B and Unka G so that Noah and I could have some fun at Mohegan. She's had a couple of visits with Auntie Darcy, Uncle Jeff, Auntie Jill, Uncle Jason, and Cousin Jacob. She's visited with Gramma and Grampa C and even visited her Gramma at her school! She was such a ham there, and even had the assistant principal on the floor on her hands and knees at one point :)

I think that's all, folks!! We'll have more pictures and more frequent updates. Promise! :)

Picture Overload

Noah here with a rare post. 617 new pictures have been added to the flickr photostream (link available to the right). Here are a few of my favorites: