prunes

One of Zoe's favorite baby foods is prunes. She also likes carrots. When Jen, Mike & Rowan were here the other day (see below), Mike held an oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie up to Rowan and asked him if he wanted some. Rowan just stared at it, his arms didn't even move. Mike did the same thing to Zoe. She, of course, grabbed the cookie with both hands, ripped it out of his hand and shoved it in her mouth. It took us both by surprise and a couple of seconds to get it away from her. It wasn't soon enough to keep melty chocolate from getting on her face, hands, dress, the carpet...

Summertime!

So we had two days of 90 degree weather and now it's back in the 80's. I know that warm weather doesn't mean we should assume that it's here to stay, it could be rainy and 60 next week, so we take advantage of the sunshine while it's here. Today we went to Babies R Us and bought a couple of necessities and then to the grocery store for some things I can put in Pete's lunchbox. Zoe was the usual ambassador of happiness. Even people with their own kids have to stop and look at mine.

New friend!

My new friend, Jen, came over with her husband, Michael, and their son Rowan. Rowan is the same size as Zoe, but about 6 weeks younger! They really seemed to like each other. Rowan has lots of crazy hair and beautiful, blue eyes.

No matter how small

Like Flanders just said on The Simpsons: "sweeter than cake made out of pie". The backside of this onesie says "A person's a person no matter how small." Zoe usually rolls around and sings a little song before she is ready to get out of her crib. Aunt Tammy bought the little green elephant that I hung on the side. When you pull on it it wiggles and giggles. Zoe spends a lot of time just staring at it and making little noises. She figured out how to pull on it with her feet, too and make it giggle back at her.

Toes are awesome, right?

This is hard to do [if you're not a baby, or a yoga instructor]. If you want a good workout, just lay on the floor and try to do everything a baby does. It would be a great excercise DVD. Zoe is wearing capri pants & t-shirt from Aunt Tammy. Zoe must be average-sized, all of her 6 month clothes are the perfect fit.

playtime

This isn't the most thrilling video, but I think it's cute. She's looking over her shoulder at the mirrors on the closet doors. She was very happy to keep seeing herself over there.

In the woods

We went back out to Darrington last weekend so that Pete could ride the Banshee with the boys. It was not nearly as hot as the last time we went, so it was nice to sit in the shade and chat with Ingrid while the guys went searching for the snowline. Zoe enjoyed the afternoon with us and then took a nice nap in her PeaPod. She really likes rolling around in it and putting her feet up on the sides. She likes to put her feet on just about everything and kick it as hard as possible.

Cargo Pants

When Peter & I were in Whistler, BC last fall I bought these little cargo pants for future-Zoe. He was mountain biking with a friend and I was pregnant, wandering through the village. I did take the gondola to the top of Whistler to walk around but the site of non-pregnant hikers huffing and puffing their way around the the top-of-the-mountain trail kept me from exploring too much. Anyway, these little cargo pants are so funny to me because they are exact miniatures of adult pants. They don't have the snaps along the legs for diaper changes, the expandable side pockets have velcro closures, the drawstring really works, and the insides are mesh-lined. So I guess Canandian babies frequently find themselves in rainy conditions while out hiking. Luckily, she'll be able to keep a compass and a granola bar in her pockets. They're pretty cute, too.

Today I took the Jumparoo outside and let Zoe enjoy the overcast day while I worked on one of our backyard weed gardens. Later we bought some lavendar plants and a few begonias. Hopefully it will rain again and keep everything alive.

Sunny day, sweepin the clouds away

Despite the predictions for constant rain, we are getting some constant sunshine and warm days. Every now and then it feels like summer. I put my yoga mat out in the yard so that Zoe & I could lay on it.

Our grass is really just a lot of weeds and it's not really fun to sit on scratchy weeds. If I had a dream come true it would be to have a big deck that covered nearly all of the yard, with a perfectly green grassy patch off to one side. We have a really nice neighborhood park for running around and practicing cartwheels, so our yard could really be for hosting bbq's.

Zoe does not like the sun in her eyes, of course, but she loves to feel a breeze blow across her face. We looked at the weeds and the trees and the clouds for awhile and then it was time for an afternoon snack. Today she had some carrots. And then she took a bath.

spiky hair

Some days it's up, some days it's down.

What a good daddy.

1st Father's Day

Our day started out early as usual. Pete worked on Zoe's sitting skills. What muscle do we learn to use that keeps us upright? I think it's an important one. We had brunch at our favorite, Sunday morning restaurant in Edmonds. Pete's friend, Darren, and his son, Gage, met us there.

It was a perfectly sunny, 65 degree day. Zoe wore a new dress that Nana Jo sent her. Since I don't have any money, Pete had to buy us all breakfast and then we went to Costco where he had to buy even more food. Nothing completes father's day like being forced to mow the yard! Our house had definitely become the "ghetto yard" on the block. While Zoe napped we got it back to a respectable appearance. I grilled ribeyes & asparagus for dinner and we dined al-fresco at our picnic table until the sun went behind the trees and it was instantly too cold outside. Pete patted baby Z to sleep and then went to Ken's house to help him figure out [again] why there is still water in the crawlspace under his house. There was nothing on tv while he was gone. I flipped between Can You Duet?, Denise Richards: it's complicated, Rob & Big, and SNL's Mike Meyers clip show. When Pete got back I made peanut butter-dipped frozen bananas with chocolate sprinkles. Yum! A little bedtime snack for sweet dreams.

Oh yeah, we cut Pete's hair and he sort-of shaved.

grey eyes

I love it when I get photos that show Zoe's actual eye color. Her eyes change constantly, but this picture really shows the grey-blue color and the little brown spots. I don't know what she's looking at. This is right before nap time, I think she's just zoning out.

in other news

The date pit that I planted in my african violet pot has grown 11 inches! I planted it in February after we bought dates at the market with Doug & Tammy. I watched something on TV about how fruit pits never lose their power to sprout, regardless of how long they are dormant. I stuck 2 in there, but the other one didn't make it. Right now it's just one long palm frond, I'm excited see if something else happens. It seems to like the kitchen window, but I'll probably need to move it to it's own pot soon. Also, my violets are finally blooming again. I don't feed them or give them special dirt or anything, so it's always magical to me that they can be so beautiful so naturally.

peekaboo

Nobody knows why peekaboo is entertaining, but babies love it and it's free to play as often as needed. Zoe thinks it's hilarious. She doesn't even need you to hide behind a blanket, she'll just turn her head away and then slowly look back over at you.

sitting lesson

Everyday I try to let her sit up for a few seconds. She's getting stronger! This was taken this morning. I know, her shirt is a little big, but the weather is cool here today and she does not have many long-sleeved 6-month clothes.

it's a baby

Zoe loves to smile at the framed photo of herself above her changing table. So I made some small laminated photos that she could hold and play with. Mostly she likes to drool on them.

tummytime

If I was laying on a blanket and right next to me was a giant piece of paper that was bigger than me, I would find a way to roll over on to it also. We are having to keep a close eye on her now that she's able to roll across the room. Nothing is better than when she can get her feet on something and kick it over and over again.

jumped out

Sometimes we all need a little break.

Sleeping on her own

For the last few days I've been letting Zoe put herself to sleep. I've read the sad tales of letting a baby cry and cry and cry while an anxious parent cries on the other side of a closed door. It's supposed to be a big deal to have a baby sleep on her own, in her own bed, in her own room. So it's a little weird to have a baby who basically asks me to lay her down so she can get a little nap in. There are still times that she will fall asleep in the jumparoo, or while I rock her after a bottle. But mostly she makes this aaeehhhhhh noise and squirms until I lay her down where she can curl her knees up, with her baby bottom up in the air, and suck on her thumb. Sometimes she's asleep in a few minutes. Other nights she's tired but distracted by the tv or noise in the kitchen. She looks at me with wide eyes and makes the aaeehhhh noise. So I lay her down, turn the mobile on, and after she tells some long story to the mobile and quiets down, we hear little baby snores on the monitor.

daddy's girl

A lot of people have said that Zoe looks like me, but pictures like this prove otherwise! She definitely has Pete's eyes, eyebrows & hair, but I think there's something about the shape of her face that makes her look like me.

Sitting pretty

Zoe gets better at sitting up by herself every day. She loves to sit in the rocking chair or in the corner of the couch by herself. Eventually she'll kind of slide sideways. This little outfit is from Pete's mom [Nana Jo]. Unfortunately, it's been too cold here for her to wear her little dresses, but I think we'll get some sun soon.

Pete at work

In other news, I was at school and Pete happened to be working on a building down the block. This building is the Pan-Pacific Hotel where Doug & Tammy stayed in May. It's 23 stories tall I believe. The bottom photo is from the same point, a block & 1/2 away, just super-zoomed!

lots of noise!

Zoe has learned some new sounds, mainly "da" and something that sounds like "ahmahaee". The other night she started talking and just couldn't stop. The video tells it all! It looks like the sound is "off", but I think it's just because she moves her mouth a lot more than she actually talks. She's like a dubbed ninja film.