Self-imposed Time Out

Zoe put herself in time out yesterday. Why you might ask? Because, according to her, she was mean and didn't want to talk to the San.ta ornament on the Christmas tree. She sat in the kitchen for her self-imposed time out and when she was finished she told "San.ta" she would talk to him now. LOL. Zoe is a hoot!!! She makes us laugh every day.

Our Little Shopper

***To my family and friends (if you're still out there): I'm sorry this blog is so grossly outdated. Life is busier than ever for some reason. Rather than catching up, I'm going to "keep up" and work on Zoe's old monthly posts as time permits. Now, on to the post...***

Zoe enjoys pushing things. Chairs, her stroller, doors, whatever. If it can be pushed, she's pushing it! We recently visited a grocery store that has small grocery carts to be pushed by its smallest of patrons. Zoe had a blast pushing her grocery cart. She had a few crashes along the way (which she acknowledged by saying "boom"), but there was no stopping her....until we got to the bread and candy aisle. Zoe does not eat candy, but she was determined to place three bags of chocolate in her cart. When we removed said bags from her cart, she politely picked them back up and returned them to her cart. LOL. I think a toy shopping cart of her own will be added to our toy "wish list" for Zoe. (We're trying to pace ourselves so our home doesn't become a mini toy store, but it's hard to do with so many cute toys on the market) Zoe also enjoyed pushing the cart against the shelves. Price tags were flying off left and right, but Zoe, being the sweet heart that she is, made sure to stop and pick up the debris she was leaving behind. As a friend aptly pointed out, pushing the cart against the shelves probably helped her keep her cart going straight; good point. Zoe's one smart cookie!

Zoe also enjoys riding in the shopping carts that have little cars attached to the front. She's so proud to "drive" the basket around the store. If the car has two steering wheels, she takes great pleasure if driving with both steering wheels. That's what I call talent!

Zoe returning her chocolates to her cart:

Zoe "driving" through the store:

Our Budding Artist?

Zoe started her first "art" class on June 14. The class is called Dri.bbles and Scri.bbles and is offered at the children's mus.eum. The program theme for the summer is "Carnival of Animals." Each class starts with a quick story time and ends with music and instruments. The toddlers are exploring different animal shapes using different art media. Unfortunately we had to miss week #3 because Zoe wasn't feeling well, but in the first two weeks we've used finger paints, regular paint using brushes (at the art easel), paint dotters and painting with toilet paper rolls (who knew?). Each week Zoe creates a new piece of art and is supposed to add something to her personal canvas. At the end of the eight week session, she will have a canvas that contains a sample of each art medium used. Although this is supposed to be Zoe's art class, it feels like Mommy and Daddy are taking art classes because we're doing more art work than Zoe. Go figure! (But Zoe is personally adding to her canvas (except for a few dots from Daddy during week #2), so it'll be fun to display her art in her future play room) This class is confirming that Zoe, at least up to this point, is a girly girl because she does not like getting paint on her hands. It's pretty funny.

After each art class, we spend time playing in the children's mus.eum. I was able to convince my dear friend, Julie, to enroll her daughter, Kendall, in Zoe's art class. It's so fun watching Kendall and Zoe explore and play together.

Our Budding Artist

(Zoe loves spending time at the easel)

Week 1 Masterpiece (plus Zoe working on her canvas)

Scribbling with the "dotters"...Zoe wouldn't "dot" the paper.

Distressed by the paint on her hands.
Relieved to be washing her hands.

Week 2 Masterpieces

Playtime at the children's mus.eum

Zoe and Kendall...notice that Kendall actually looks like she's been to art class...I love it!

Zoe enjoyed squeezing the cow's teats at the museum's little farm

Standing at the silly mirrors....look at those legs

Our Little Helper

Zoe loves helping Trevor and I do things around the house. Whether it be loading (or unloading) the dishwasher, putting clothes in the washer or dryer, or putting laundry away, Zoe is right there eager to help. I hope Zoe's this eager to help out when she's a teenager. Here's our sweet Zoe in action:

Is this what you need Mommy?

Helping Daddy load dishes

Putting away groceries

Helping put laundry...away?

Putting clothes in the dryer

Zoe's First....

....pigtail! After giving Zoe a bath recently, I was combing her hair and realized how long it's gotten on top. The hair on the sides and back are still trying to catch up. I thought it would be fun to see how a lone pigtail looked on Zoe. I think she looks darling. See for yourself:

When and Why Does it Change?

Zoe started solids last Sunday. As any mommy of an exclusively breastfed baby knows, when you add solids, the poop changes. Boy does it change! No longer is it a consistent color and virtually odorless. Every diaper change becomes a new adventure. What color will it be? How will it smell? Will she even have a dirty diaper today? So far I've managed to escape the really bad diapers, but Trevor told me about them. He says they are VERY different! It's amazing what a big change a little bit of rice cereal can make. Why is that? Anyway, this new development made me think about how much we change from infancy to adulthood. When and why do the following change:

- when and why do we lose that amazing limberness that babies have? I would give anything to be able to lay on my back and pull my toes into my mouth in one smooth and painless motion. Heck, I'd even take the pain if I could even do it at all.

- when and why does it become socially unacceptable to poot (or toot as others call it) in public? It's so cute when Zoe does it....right now. One day it won't be. In fact, it will be downright embarrassing.

- when and why do we lose that amazingly soft baby skin?

- when and why do we even care what people think about us? Ah, to be oblivious to the world around you....

- when and why do we lose that sweet baby scent? Even when you haven't had a bath in two days....

- when and why do we stop celebrating weight gain? I REALLY want to know the answer to this question! LOL.

- when and why is it unacceptable to suck on your fingers and drool? It looks so relaxing.

I'm sure other things will come to mind in time. To be a baby again....not a care in the world....

More Pictures of Zoe

Here are Zoe's hospital pictures. Isn't she a beauty?! I know, I know, I'm a little biased....

Here She Is....(and a quick update)

Motherhood is both amazing and humbling! Oh, and exhausting!!! Zoe is amazing and she really is a dream. Breastfeeding is looking up, but it was a challenge initially. Our biggest issue right now is that Zoe is so sleepy at the breast. As a result, I have to follow each feeding with 15 minutes of pumping and a supplemental feeding for Zoe to make sure she gets enough food in her tummy. This makes for a long process and only leaves me about an hour and a half to sleep before the next feeding. Short naps really make me irritable, thus I'm running on very little sleep. I know it will get better. Trevor has been AMAZING!!! There is no way I could do this without him. We're both so in love with Zoe. She is God's greatest gift to us!!!

Here are a few pictures of our angel (sorry about the varying picture sizes....I'm too tired to try to fix it or figure it out):

Zoe Alexis is Here!!!

She arrived at 9:41pm on 2/6/09. She weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs. 15 oz. and was 18 3/4 inches long. She's absolutely perfect! Pictures and birth story to follow in a few days. We're in love!!!