Spring has sprung

Enjoying some oatmeal.

At Zoë's last weight check a couple of weeks ago, she weighed 18 pounds 8 ounces and officially can be taken off formula.  We're finishing the cans we had already purchased (you would too if you had spent the amount of money a can of formula costs!), but generally we send one bottle to daycare with her and that's the only one she has all day.  On the weekends she doesn't have any.

Which means, she's a water and milk drinking fool.  Her eating habits, well, they vary.  We're struggling to get her to eat vegetables, though she'll suck them down out of those pureed vegetable packages.  Dinner is usually very short and she rarely eats much of anything.  I'm glad she's eating for Lesley at breakfast and lunch, maybe dinner time is just not her favorite meal.  We'll see.  I've learned enough by now to know that we should just give it a couple of weeks and she'll probably swing the other direction.

 I will eat my veggies out of this package.

Dr. Moore told us that he was going to call the Valley Children's Therapists to find out about the swallow study, but he'd recommend that we don't do one because she seems to be doing just fine with drinking without the thickener (she doesn't cough or sputter EVER any more).  She does have another therapy appointment at the beginning of April, so I guess we'll see what they say then.

Helping around the house.

She's learned a few new things that are super fun and hilarious.  She definitely knows how to shake her head 'no' now and uses it often.  Even when we say "Zoë..." when she's about to get into something she shouldn't be, she'll turn around and start shaking her head.  It's very hard to take her seriously and not crack a smile.

Spring is here!

It's also very difficult to take her seriously when she starts to throw a tantrum.  That's right, folks, we've got pouting leading to wailing, leading to back arching and rubber legs, and finally laying on the floor kicking.  It is HILARIOUS.  Now, I say this knowing that, 1) she hasn't done it in public yet and 2) she is still little enough to pick up and distract with another toy.  So, at least you know I'm not completely naive.  :)

She is thrilled with fruit snacks, they're her new favorite, and she'll practice walking for them forever.  She still won't walk much on her own, but she'll go back and forth between the two of us and her balance and distance is getting better and farther.  She will also just stand for real when she's busy doing something (playing with a fork, for instance, which is her new favorite very sharp toy).

Baba and Dedo took me to McDonald's.  Yum!

She can clap with regularity and make my day by laying a big, open mouthed smack on my lips when I say "gimme a kiss", which is, by far, my favorite thing ever.

With Baba at the Aquarium.

We are heading to Pullman this weekend for Chris' annual Crew Alumni weekend.  I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a Peanut Butter Frost and taking some fun pictures of Zoë in one of my favorite places in the world.  And, in just two and a half weeks we'll be heading to Albuquerque to visit Angela and Jed and get a good dose of sunshine.

Dedo teaching me about fish!

Will Walk for Fruit Snacks

Not much new to report here, a few fun milestones met (but still not the elusive 'first steps' milestone, argh!).  

Zoë took her first steps tonight!!!  We've been practicing for about the last month every other night or so after dinner, propping her up either against the couch or between the two of us and enticing her with a toy, or piece of paper, or a book.  Tonight was no different except I had a bag of her new favorite (as of this afternoon): fruit snacks.  And she started inching forward so I yelled for Chris in the kitchen to grab the video camera and he captured it.  Woo hoo!  We made sure to FaceTime our families so they could see her first steps, too, which was fun.

Practicing reading upside down so that her students can see the pictures while she reads.

Watching Dad leave the house.

Whew.  Well, everything else I was going to write about seems not as exciting now.  I feel like I took my first steps tonight, I'm exhausted and oh-so-excited for tomorrow!





In food news, Zoë has now had peanut butter (loves it!, licks it off whatever vehicle it's attached to).  She's been slowing down in the eating department, though, definitely showing that she prefers certain foods (pancakes, banana, yogurt is still on the good to go list) and refuses to eat a lot of vegetables, which is our daily challenge of finding what we can trick her into eating.  :)  She showed us today that she CAN hold her own bottle.  Sheesh, 13 months later...

She's a champ at chugging water and milk (LOVES both) from sippy cups she holds herself, and she has even mastered a straw.  It's sure made going out for a meal or even an afternoon of errands knowing we can just bring some snacks with us or order something at a restaurant that we're pretty sure she'll attempt to eat and drink at least.

And finally, she learned how to clap this weekend!  One of my favorite new tricks in addition to a vehement shaking of her head as if she really knows what it means.  She usually shakes it when we say "no, no" in our sing-song voice, but sometimes she does it when she doesn't want something to eat or when Fiona takes her toy.  It's pretty darn cute (until she learns how to say the word 'no' to accompany it, of course).

Lunch with Dad during mid-winter break.

I love string cheese!

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!

Happy Birthday Zoë Maxine!

Our little girl is one year old!  We are so happy to say she is happy, healthy, and growing like crazy.  We celebrated over the weekend with two parties (inspired by a co-worker of mine to have a separate kid and adult party, which worked out GREAT!).  The kid party was great fun with a lot of Zoë's friends from VMC baby group.  They enjoyed the newly remodeled playroom (decorating still to come) and Zoë didn't melt until the very end of the party when she drank her bottle and napped until the adult party began.

Two of Zoë's many boyfriends.

 She's got her one year doctor appointment next Monday, but we weighed her at home and she weighs 18 pounds and is 2 ft. 2 inches tall.  I'm sure the doctor scale will be much more accurate.  She's walking with a walker toy like a champ, loves it and gets frustrated when she runs into the wall or a piece of furniture because she doesn't know how to turn it around yet.  She's figured out how to play peek-a-boo by holding up napkins, blankets, or whatever she gets her hands on over her eyes and quickly yanking it away while we say "peek-a-boo!"

With special guest Teta!

She eats anything she can get her hands on (and anything Chris and I are currently attempting to eat).  Pancakes are a favorite, puffs, and oh boy, the cake.  She pretty much devoured it (and made the biggest mess ever) on Saturday which was all that I hoped for.

Good sharing

After bathtime.

We had several people tell us that Zoë's first birthday is actually a celebration of Chris and I surviving the first year as parents.  It's hard to remember what life was like before her, really.  I think we've done a pretty darn good job this year, tempering an emergency early birth, some feeding issues, and all of the typical first year parent anxiety.  Chris is patient, as always, even when Zoë wakes up in the middle of the night crying and doesn't go back to sleep right away or when I bring her into our bed (because I am NOT patient) and she ends up wanting to play and crawl all over the bed at two in the morning.  It is so fun to hear him talking and playing with her from a different room, to watch her smile when he walks in the door.  I've learned that the saying "the days are long but the years are short" is the truest thing anyone has said to me so far about parenting.  The days where Zoë would lie in my arms and sleep and eat all day are long gone and while they wore on me back then I miss then already.  I love every milestone she hits but then I mourn the ones that we have passed.  I have learned that it doesn't matter when she hits the milestone because even if she can't walk with the toy today, she'll be doing it by the time the weekend is over.  I love her smile, her giggle, her head peeking up over the crib when I walk in and she's already awake.  I love her squirming chubby belly on the changing table and her splashing in the tub.

And, now she's waking up from her nap, so I've got to go get my hands on my baby.  Oops, my toddler!

Oh, and here are some shameless pictures of all of her birthday decor.  :)

Monthly monkey pictures from the past year.

Yes, I superglued a tutu to her high chair.  :)

Food!  And a Pinterest inspired backdrop.

Zoë stats.

The Cricut is an amazing thing.

My TA made some incredible snowflakes that were hanging in various places.  I told her I would hang them up in my classroom after I was done with them at home.  :)

So long 2013, welcome 2014!

I'm not really sure how we'll beat 2013...really.  Facebook says that my biggest moments for 2013 include Zoë's birth (duh), the day she left the hospital, various milestones along the way, a new job for Chris at the Seattle Fire Department, starting the school year back at McKnight for me, Kappa Alpha Theta's Centennial reunion, and my dad's amazing Hero in the Classroom award from the Seahawks.  Yep, those were some amazing highlights, but there are many that Facebook missed.  It was a year of good health (after a near-death experience for two of our three family members ), job opportunities (two new ones for Chris--he starts at the Tacoma Fire Department on January 6th-- and going back "home" for Emily), family (several visits from Angela and then Jed joined her at Christmas), Connor's college graduation filled with more family, two major room remodels in our house (Zoë's bedroom and her newly remodeled playroom...fabulous pictures to follow once we have some decorating done) and one more painted room (Happy Anniversary to us!).  We went to Sunriver in August, survived the quick four day trip with the sickest baby we'd had to date (of course!), also survived Zoë's start at daycare and have enjoyed watching her thrive under the care of Lesley and surrounded by all of the kids there.

Sometimes in the midst of the hectic day-to-day it's hard to realize how very lucky we are as a family.  We are surrounded by people who love us, have a warm home to come home to, and a healthy and fantastically happy daughter who delights us with each new milestone.

Here's hoping that 2014 will come CLOSE to the joy we've experienced in 2013 and we're hoping the very same for you and your family!