Spinach Lover

And tonight, Zoë scarfed down some cooked spinach.  To be fair, Chris says even I would have probably eaten the spinach with as much butter as it was cooked in, but Zoë really seemed to enjoy it.  Chris made stuffed peppers for dinner and she really enjoyed that, too.  Tonight was the first time that it seemed like she ATE a meal to eat it, not just to play.  We love the sounds she makes while she eats, too.  It sounds like "num num num" and is pretty freakin' adorable.  I'll teach her later that generally these are not sounds we make constantly while we are eating.  ;)

We went to a playspace in the Supermall (excuse me, Outlet Collection) the other night and Zoë loved playing on the fun things there.  She particularly liked the train that went around a small track and was dressed the part, too, in her overalls.  I think she'll enjoy spaces like this even more when she can run around.

We're going to enjoy lots of time together over mid-winter break, and Chris had both today (President's Day) and Friday (regular every other Friday off) off.  We're going to go have lunch with him and see his new workplace on Wednesday, and then hit up trivia night while we're down in Tacoma.

No walking yet, but our record for standing is now 12+ seconds!  :)

No, Zoë! And other new developments.

Zoë knows now what the word "no" means, and she doesn't like it.  At all.  We've used it to let her know that standing in the tub is not ok, and when she starts eyeing cords, or the soles of our shoes get a little too close to her mouth.  She stops what she's doing, and then does the most adorable slow pout that erupts into dramatic tears.  It is hilarious and hard to keep a straight face.  We follow it up with a lot of reassurance that she's not in trouble, she just needs to not do it.  Ugh.  It both makes me laugh and makes me feel terrible.  It makes me feel a little bit better that she responds in the same way when Chris tells her no.  :)

Also, she's climbing EVERYTHING.  Today she mastered climbing the stairs (not going back down consistently, or safely, though).  She climbs people, pillows, the couch cushions, everything!  And she's busy.  Moving constantly, chasing Dad down the hallway, running away from anyone who will chase her.  Loving bath time again (we went through a period where it was a little touch and go).  She is eating like a champ and breakfast is probably her favorite meal.  I think bananas are now on the top of the favorite foods list.  Followed by anything we're eating (pretzels are a new addition).  She LOVES milk, too, which is great!  She's been practicing holding the cup by herself.  She can hold it, it's the tipping back that's a challenge, but she's definitely getting better.

We also have the record of seven seconds of standing on her own.  Just the last day or so she's gotten more bold with her trust falls, glancing at whomever is closest as if she's challenging us to a standing contest.  She still doesn't take any steps when Chris and I sit a few feet away from each other with her in between, but she'll just lunge towards someone with a big grin on her face.

Baby's first snowman!

 Zoë had her first experience with snow today, which she is still undecided about.  Sadly, it was almost naptime, so I think a lot of her displeasure came from the fact that she was tired.  We wish she was walking because that would really change her experience, too.  Next time!

What IS this stuff?

Dad's more pleased than Zoë is.

And, eating the twigs...scene.

Super Bowl Champs

Playing with new play food in the playroom.

Nothing much new in Zoë land, though we did go on Monday for her 12 month doctor's appointment.  She weighs 17 pounds 2 ounces (only the 3rd percentile, now) and is 27 inches tall.  We got the go-ahead to whittle down her formula intake and make sure she's eating 3 meals a day.  Which is scary!  What do you MEAN just feed her until she's full?!  Half of what she puts in her mouth she spits back out again!  How can I QUANTIFY what she's eating?  Ahhhhhhhhhh!  Dr. Moore basically told me to take a chill pill and that she'll be fine.  We're going to take her in again in about a month for a weight check.  She's going to start drinking SOME milk (1-2 ounces at a time).  She'll go in again for her swallow study in early March and hopefully won't have any more problems, otherwise they're going to need to do an endoscopy to find out what the heck is going on with her swallowing.

She's started doing what Chris refers to it as the "trust fall".  She lets go of the couch or our hands or whatever she's holding on to, hovers for a moment, and then falls down.  I think she's figured out that she doesn't have to crawl everywhere, but she can't quite figure out to move her legs to get to whatever she wants to get to unless she's cruising along the couch or holding onto her alligator walker.

Mom's little piano prodigy.

She was super sick last week with a fever over 100 for five days.  It was a rough week.  :(  She was really clingy and whiney and regressed quite a bit in the eating department.  I'm happy to report that I think she's getting back on track after watching her chow down on some pasta tonight at dinner (she loved the garlic bread, too, she must be our daughter).

Baby's first pigtails!

We had some family pictures taken of us this weekend, which I'm really excited about.  Zoë did very well and we already got sneak peak of a few of the pictures.  Our friend Karah is amazing and we're really glad she was willing to take pictures of us...even when it was cold and yucky out!
























And, of course, today we celebrated a great Super Bowl.  Go Hawks!

Eating a delicious Devil on Horseback appetizer.  It was a hit with Zoë.

Celebrating some touchdown or another.  Hard to tell, there was lots to celebrate!