Saturday, June 28, 2014

SUMMER! Week 1

Summer Day 1: Zoë and Chris' first and last Solstice Parade
 We went to the Fremont Solstice Parade on Saturday for Zoë's first exposure to a bunch of naked people on bikes.  We tried to teach her that pointing isn't polite but...well, she's a toddler.  Honestly, it wasn't that much fun for me and Chris, but Zoë enjoyed the parade and watching people.  There are some seriously rude people out there and I doubt we go to the parade again.  :(

Summer Day 2: Fun times in Enumclaw and Tacoma
 On Sunday we did double duty and went to both Baba and Dedo's house in Enumclaw and then to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner in Tacoma.  Zoë's absolute favorite thing in the world these days is chickens.  She LOVES to chase them and hunt for them and LOVES to talk about them.  We've discovered that we can snap her out of any funky mood just by asking her about chickens and making chicken noises.

Summer Day 3: Lunch date at Panera with mom.  Yay for grilled cheese!
 Zoë went with me to the dentist on Monday and was an excellent observer while they took impressions for a night guard for me.  :(  We went to Panera afterwards and she scarfed down a grilled cheese sandwich and sucked down milk.  The attention that this girl gets out in public is amazing.  She charms everyone around her and while she walked through the restaurant with her milk and cookie I swear she turned everybody's head.  LOVE her.

Summer Day 4: Chalk, Otter Pops, and kissing boys
 Tuesday we hung around at home.  One of Zoë's many suitors, Ethan, and his mom came over for a playdate.  The kiddos played, climbed stairs, ran around the back yard, and spent some time smooching after lunch.  It was absolutely adorable!  Zoë loves the new floor Chris built in her playhouse because now she can reach the window.  We also spent some time preparing for his arrival home with some chalk out front.  Ahhhhh, summer.

Summer Day 5: Took a fun field trip to the marina today with the daycare kiddos.
 On Tuesday we went with Lesley and the rest of the daycare kiddos down the Des Moines Creek Trail to the marina, which was daycare's first field trip.  Lesley is absolutely amazing, had a system set for everything (buddies, snacks, you name it) and made a scavenger hunt for the kids on paper bags so they could each collect and check items off the list (flower, rock, shell, mussel).  It took a good 45 minutes to walk the mile down to the beach, but we had a really good time and I know Zoë was really excited to see all of her friends.  I had to pull her kicking and screaming off the beach when it was time to go.

Summer Day 6: Indoor sandbox with Oskar and Scarlett.  Sand is great!
Thursday morning was spent with my friend Erin and her two kids Oskar and Scarlett at the Lil' Diggers Sandbox in Georgetown.  It's a great playdate.  They have two sand volleyball courts that they open up for kids a couple of days a week and there are lots of toys to play with.  Zoë had a great time once she got over how weird the sand felt to walk on.  She's more of a fan than her mom is of sand!

Summer Day 7: Found her bellybutton!
And finally, on Friday, which was also Chris' day off, we went to the Kids Quest Museum in Factoria (it's AWESOME), out to lunch at Red Robin, and then while the kiddo was napping in the backseat I ran into Costco and got essential items (snacks, hot dogs, and pet food) for the weekend.  In the evening, we finally got her to sit still long enough to examine her belly button, which was hilarious.  She had definitely never seen/played with it before and was fascinated (with mom and dad's belly buttons, too!).

Monday, June 16, 2014

Baby dolls and a Prelude to Summer

Outside in the backyard

Happy Father's Day to Chris!  I can honestly say that Zoë LOVES her Dad.  Her face lights up when he comes home from work and she loves watching for him in the front window.  He is patient and affectionate and watching the two of them together makes my heart swell. 

We have had a few really busy weekends now, and it was really nice to semi-relax today.  We did hit up Home Depot and Toys R Us for some tools (for dad) and a new baby doll for Zoë.  We've been meaning to get her a doll for a few months now based on what Lesley said she enjoyed playing with at daycare.  We were prompted to do it this weekend because she had taken to lovingly holding and feeding a plush doll that *kind of* looks like a real baby with one of her old bottles.  I can't believe it took us this long!  The minute we walked down the doll aisle at the store she was pointing and whining for one.  We handed one to her and it was pure love.  We also bought a set of bottles (because "the single bottle comes only with orange juice, and she needs milk", says Chris) and Zoë lovingly fed that baby in the car, at Home Depot, and in the car home.

Angela and I took our dad to the Rainiers game when she was in town for an early Father's Day celebration.

  
Playing with the fingerpuppets Teta brought
Zoë loves to talk to herself, sing, screech, and do all of the motions from "If You're Happy and You Know It" (she loves stomping and is only at about 50% with the 'hurray!').  She fusses if you don't feed her fast enough, can say "uuuuuh" (up) and "down".  She is in love with her buddy Joselyn and mimics her any chance she gets.  Only four more wake-ups until summer vacation!!!

Enjoying an empanada at the farmer's market (like mother like daughter)

Hanging out with Joselyn at the waterfront