space

Zoe looked at a cup of bubbles while she was taking her bath this morning and said "look, the Milky Way".

scavenger hunt

Zoe is in love with a show called Team Umizoomi right now. It is a pretty good animated show with tiny superheros who solve problems using math, shapes, and Pattern Power! I found a scavenger hunt "printable" on Nick Jr's website and we have played it several times each day. I don't really hide the shapes because Zoe freaks out when she can't find them. The fun is in looking at the "map" and being able to quickly find the match. I check them off and she puts the cut out shapes in her Halloween bag that mom made 2 years ago. She uses this bag for a lot of tasks because it fits on her arm and it's easy to put things in it. And she likes the pumpkins that are on it.

hello

This was apparently the perfect time to upload video to the blog so I added lots of things for you to watch. I've had some trouble the past few times I have tried so there hasn't been an update for awhile. We are all doing fine. I am thinking about putting together a Halloween costume for Zoe. Maybe a buzzy bee. She has a really awesome bee hat that Nana Jo made for her. It could also be a really awesome Mizzou hat.

children's museum

We went to the Seattle Children's Museum. It was all right. There are more things to look at and read about then there are to do. This is a common flaw at a lot of places that are designed for children. Yes, things will get broken and dirty and carried away. That has to be part of doing business. Why else is it so expensive to visit these places when all of the objects are enclosed in plexi glass and everything that looks like it's going to move is nailed down?

She did enjoy the little kitchens from around the world. But everything was behind plexi or nailed down. The art room was good, but you could only stay in there for a certain amount of time and there was room for 10 kids at a time and the 1 girl who was running the space looked like she wanted to hide in a closet instead of dealing with the constant, constant, constant mess.

Zoe has lots of musical instruments - even a violin & guitar [thanks grandpa!] - and she often plays a little song on the piano that usually sounds better than the songs Pete invents. The other night she brought me a tamborine and gave Pete her maracas and she had her recorder/flute and she told us that we were a band and then we made some really loud music for several minutes.

imagination

Zoe saw the vacuum cord on the floor and said "look mom, a dog!"

puddle jumper

We went out to the beach on a cloudy day. I got Zoe a scoop of Maui Wowie sherbet and then we walked out onto the pier. There were several people fishing - but I didn't see them catch anything. The wind was strong and it felt good to be blown around.

dinosaur pajama dance

She's dancing to one of the Wow Wow Wubbzy songs.

tah-dah a castle!

taller

We measured Zoe a couple of weeks ago and she is now 36 1/2 inches tall. She grew exactly 5 inches in the past year. This is the tree in her room where I am marking her height.

zah things updated

I updated ZAH Things and posted some clothing items she could use.

potty training?

Potty training is not easy. But we can all do it, right? So it must happen somehow. I'll admit I'm not the best trainer. Zoe learns how to do so many things on her own that I really haven't had much experience trying to teach her something. So I bought this DVD that mom's claim taught the basics in a weekend. But the DVD warns you that it usually takes 3 months for a kid to understand how to use the bathroom. We are making some progress. Yesterday we used the kid's toilet at the YMCA. I also got her a Dora goes potty book and some Dora underpants for motivation/fun. She did try to put them on over her pants, but they obviously fit much better on her head. And the DVD fits on her big toe.

jump!

hello

There's not too much to report. I am loving the Autumn weather and even like that it is getting dark a little earlier. We have been doing some projects around the house and playing at the YMCA most days. Zoe is really interacting with kids her age now. She understands what "friends" are and she is eager to have some of her own. I would really like to enroll her in a preschool program when she is 3 [and potty trained].
I'm sure there are some funny stories I am forgetting to share. If I think of something I'll come back and let you know but I'm super-duper tired today and nothing is coming to mind.

smiles

dinosaur cookies