Look Who's Walking!

Zoe took her first steps today at my sister's house! Here are her official first steps...

Before you know it, she'll be off and running!

More first steps...

Holiday Photos

Zoe and I went to have our Christmas photos done the other day. Konrad Gös is a genius with a camera! Poor Zoe had a high fever that day, but somehow he still managed to get her to smile. While our cards will be late getting mailed out, at least the picture part is done! Just a few more days and we'll be relaxing with the whole family. We can hardly wait!

The Birthday Party

Today was Zoe's first birthday party! We all had fun celebrating her special day. After singing "Happy Birthday", I put Zoe's cupcake in front of her. She just stared at it! I tried mashing her hand in it to give her the idea she could get as messy as she wanted, and eat lots of sugar! She could have cared less..she wasn't the least bit interested. :-) I even broke a little piece off and put it in her mouth, but she spit it right out. Fortunately, she was a lot more interested in the presents. Everyone was so generous; Zoe got spoiled!

One Year Old!

I just can't believe a whole year has gone by. It seems like just yesterday I was laying on the couch with my feet up, rubbing my belly, and wondering when the labor would begin. This year has truly been the best year of my life. Zoe has brought more joy to my life than I ever thought possible. We celebrated her birthday together, just the two of us tonight. We ate her favorite dinner (chicken, jasmine rice, and sweet potatoes) and then we went upstairs so she could see a few of the things I bought for her. She was a little hesitant about the doll house at first, but thankfully she warmed up to it. The rocking horse, however, was a big hit! After playing for a while, she took an extra bubbly bath and then I put her pj's on. She sat in my lap while I read to her, and at the end of the night, when I put her into her crib, I stayed and watched her fall asleep. She's not my little newborn baby anymore, my little girl is one year old.

Riding In A Police Car

Zoe went to a birthday party this week. Her best buddy, Ava Lily, turned one on Tuesday. Zoe had fun playing with all of Ava's toys, including her 2 dogs! Her favorite toy, however, was the little Polizei riding toy. The girls were all smiles as they rode their little cars next to each other. Ava Lily even got off her car, and started pushing Zoe around...it was so cute! In another few weeks, someone else will have having her first birthday!

Pumpkin Fest and Halloween

After the pumpkin incident a few weeks ago, I was a little nervous about taking Zoe to the pumpkin fest in Ludwigsburg last weekend. However, it was a beautiful fall day, and we decided to make a go of it with Keely and Ava Lily. The theme at the fest was Noah's Ark, so all the of the animals were done two by two, made of pumpkins and gourds. Surprisingly, Zoe wasn't scared of any of the pumpkins at the fest! :-) We had a great time!
Here she is in her Halloween costume - she was a firefly this year.

Pumpkins are Scary!

Today I took my students on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. We had such a great time picking out our pumpkins. Originally, I wasn't too excited about choosing one to bring home, as I'd already carved a pumpkin for Zoe last week. She's too young to really understand and enjoy the whole experience, so it was more for me. However, thoughts of Anne Geddes-type photographs entered my mind as I stepped into the pumpkin patch, and I set out looking for the perfect pumpkin. After some searching, I found one that I could envision myself hollowing out and putting Zoe inside of to take some pictures. Well, tonight after Zoe's bath, I put her on the floor with the pumpkin, in hopes of snapping some pics before I carved and hollowed it out tomorrow. Let me just tell you, to say she was scared of the pumpkin is putting it very lightly. I tried everything to help her to not be scared of the pumpkin. I tried sitting far away with her, slowly inching closer and closer, to no avail. The closer I got the more she screamed. I tried putting her toys around it and on top of it, so she would see familiar things and want to get closer. Nope, that didn't work. As soon as I pulled her away from the pumpkin, she settled down. I was sitting on the floor with her on my lap when the thought came to me...I could slowly slide her toward the pumpkin with my foot and snap a picture before she even realized she had gotten closer to it. As you can see, this did not work either. Yes, that is my foot she's holding on to. So much for my artistic pumpkin pictures! Just wait until I try to put her on Santa's lap at Christmas...oh boy!

Stairmaster and Horse Whisperer

Today my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Zoe was playing with her toys in the living room so I decided to go collect the laundry upstairs. Although I do have gates at all of the stairs in my house, I neglected to close the one that goes up. Zoe has never gotten near the stairs, and I was only going to be gone a minute. I kept listening to her play while I collected the clothes and put them in the basket. Suddenly, it got eerily quiet. I peered down over the railing and didn't see anything, but decided I best go downstairs to check it out. I didn't have to go far. Zoe had climbed up the steps and was only 2 steps away from reaching the top! I didn't want to startle her, for fear of her falling backwards, so I very quickly grabbed her to safety. I am still wondering how on earth she navigated those steps, curved and wooden, in such a short time when she's never climbed up one step before. Must have been all that practice on her slide outside last week! This is a definite lesson for me - never again will I leave the gate unlocked.
When my nerves settled down a bit, I took Zoe for a long walk. We went to the Kleinzoo around the corner. Zoe is really starting to enjoy looking at all the animals. She got a real kick out of the ponies today. She seemed to be talking to them - she'd make a noise, and then the ponies would make a noise. She was giggling so much over this! She was also able to "talk" to the goats - and she sounded just like them!

What A Wonderful Weekend!

Zoe and I had a fantastic weekend. The weather here is just perfect - and with the leaves starting to change, I want to spend every minute outside. Zoe has a new slide in the backyard that she's been climbing on for the past few weeks. This weekend, however, she actually went down the correct way. I had to help her up the steps, but once on top, she let go and slid down all by herself!
We went bike riding every day, and sometimes we'll stop and look at the horses or feed the ducks. I saw these beautiful blue flowers on a fence and decided to take Zoe's picture in front of them.
We were out and about all day, so Zoe was thankful to get home for a late lunch. She had her first hot dog - and she loved it!

Race for the Cure and Bike Riding

Today was Zoe's first race. It was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Frankfurt. Last year, I walked with her in my belly...this year she rode in the stroller. It was an absolutely perfect day. We finished our walk then headed to lunch near the Hauptwache.

When we got home, I took Zoe for a bike ride. I just got this new bike seat a little over a week ago, and we both love it. It is so nice to jump on a bike and go. Nothing to push, carry, put in a sling, or on my hip! :-) Zoe just loves it - she squeals and talks for the whole ride.

New Friend, New Car, New Teeth, Same Mess!

It's been a busy few weeks in our house. Zoe has found all kinds of new things to entertain herself! Just last week she discovered a new friend in the kitchen. Every night when I'm making dinner, she comes in and finds her friend. She dances, kisses, touches, and screams at this new friend while I cook. While I love that she's having such a good time with her oven twin, I'm not able to use the oven to cook as the door gets too hot. I figure once the novelty wears off she'll find something else to do while I cook. I hope that is soon...I can only think of so many things to cook in a frying pan!

For the past few days we've been zipping around the neighborhood in Zoe's new car (thanks, Lucas!). Zoe loves beeping the horn as we walk around. I am sure the neighbors love us!

The other week Zoe woke up with not 1, but 3 new teeth...bringing the grand total to 5! You can see the new teeth in the picture of her with her little red ball on the kitchen table. This is Zoe's new game...she crawls over to red ball and grabs on to it. She makes her way to the table, pulls herself up, and throws the ball onto the table. Then she stands on her tippy toes to try to reach the ball so she can throw it across the room and start the whole thing over again. What fun!

When I think back to the tricks I was trying to get Zoe to eat just a few months ago, I'm ashamed of myself! This girl loves to eat, no tricks needed. Her favorite foods this week are spaghetti, chicken and rice, and pink guava. She still loves to feed herself and make a big mess. You can see why every night is bath night in our house. :-)

I Feel Like Dancing

For the past two weeks or so, Zoe has started to dance to music. She starts to move her body when she hears music on the stereo, or when she makes her own music with rattles. I've been trying to capture these dances on video, but every time Zoe figures out I'm recording her, she crawls toward me so she can grab the camera. This morning, I was able to capture a few seconds of her moving to the groove. Click "play" below to see Zoe dance!

Standing Up

Zoe continues to grow and change so much every day. This week she's learned how to say "mama". The truth is, while she says "mama" to me, she also says it to everyone - but August 23rd will still go in her baby book as the day she learned how to say it to me. :-) She's also standing all of the time. Every piece of furniture in the house has become something for her to grab onto and pull herself up - including her crib. Just when I thought the mattress was low enough, it's time to put it down one more notch to the lowest level.

She's enjoying her food so much these days. Her faves are turkey, vanilla yogurt, Cheerios, mac and cheese, and applesauce. She's definitely got my appetite - that girl can eat!

She's Got Her Sea Legs

Jeff and Tami took us out on the boat today. Zoe absolutely loved it! She was smiling and so relaxed. (Check out her first two teeth in the top photo - so cute!) She even fell asleep while James and his friends went wakeboarding and wakeskating. We're going to miss this weather, I've heard it's cold and rainy in Germany. (The wakeskate in the photo above was made by James and his friends!)

You can watch James wakeboarding here.

Click here to see James do a 360!

First Family Photos

Zoe and I finally had our first 'official' family photos done last week. Now don't get me wrong, I've got thousands of photos of us, but this was with a professional photographer, Michael Blanchard. We did whatever he asked. He told us where to sit, stand, and look - and the pictures turned out fabulous! Here are just a few of my faves.

She Crawls! She Eats!

Oh, what a difference a day makes. Zoe has been rocking back and forth on her knees for weeks now. Every day I was thinking, "today is the day she'll crawl". Well, today it finally happened! Mom and I were trying all sorts of things for her to crawl to. We tried ourselves, we tried food, we tried toys, we even tried flowers from around the house. What did she end up crawling toward? A magazine. :-) Watch her crawl here.

Not only did Zoe decide to crawl today, she also chose today to eat several different foods at lunch and dinner. For lunch she tried bananas, blueberries, raspberries, and noodles. She wasn't too excited about any of them, but she ate a few bites. For dinner, she had more noodles, blueberries, and banana puffs. Again, not too excited about any of it. I gave her an ear of corn to suck on, which bought me a little more time to enjoy my dinner. Then, my mom told me that my sisters just loved baked beans as babies, and maybe we should try some for Zoe. I took some off my plate, mushed them up, and let her try them. Let me tell you, that girl opened her mouth again and again for more beans. She absolutely loved them!

Swinging

Today the big kids went out on the boat, leaving Pierce and Zoe behind. I put Zoe in the tree swing, and had Pierce push her. She loved it! I need to get one of these for Germany.

Sitting Up

For those of you who don't already know what a great sleeper Zoe is, let me explain. This child will sleep 10-12 hours a night, plus take two 2-hour naps every day. All I have to do is put her in her crib, pat her butt, hit the button on her musical toy and say "good night". A few minutes later, I go check on her, and she's sound asleep. Well, just the other day, Zoe learned how to sit up from a laying down position. When I put her down for her morning nap today, things were a little different. I heard music playing after the toy was supposed to shut off. I went to check on her, and I found her sitting up playing with her Rainforest musical toy. Time to lower the mattress and put the safety railing up!

Zoe still loves to jump. Here she is in a new jolly jumper, as I forgot to pack hers in our suitcase. Jenna really had her giggling!

Puppy Love

Zoe has grown very fond of a little stuffed puppy at my parents' house. No one knows exactly where it came from, although we know it's from a previous Christmas because there is a stocking hanging from it's mouth. Zoe sleeps with this little guy, nuzzling very close to it, and even wrapping her arm around it at times. She loves to rub the fur and pull the ears. The other morning I heard her sucking on something. Knowing it sounded different than the usual sounds, I quickly went in to check on her. I found her sound asleep with the little puppy's tail in her mouth - she was sucking on it just like it was her pacifier, it was so funny! When she wakes up in the morning, she grabs it as I lift her out of the crib. It's defintely her little buddy - it's so cute.

Eating...Or Not

Zoe is starting to get 2 teeth on the bottom. Here she is munching on a teething biscuit. She isn't crazy about the idea of eating solid food- once it starts to dissolve she throws it on the floor! She definitely has a mind of her own when it comes to eating. She has absolutely no interest in food at all. She loves her formula, yet she will only eat exactly enough to feel satisfied, you can't overfeed her even half an ounce. If you stop to burp her, she figures out she's had enough and refuses to eat anymore. When she sees a spoon coming near, she just looks at me and keeps her lips pressed tightly together. I'd have thought after months of eating the same thing she would have been thrilled to try out some new flavors. Grandma has nicknamed her 'zipper lips'!

Water Baby

Zoe and I had a great time in the pool today. We've been looking forward to getting into Grandma and Pop-Pop's pool for a few months now! Although we just spent the past few weeks traveling around Europe, it didn't feel like summer vacation until we put our suits on and jumped in the pool. Zoe absolutely loved her new 'mommy and me' float. It is just perfect, she sits in her end, and I wrap the other end around my waist. She was smiling and giggling, slapping her hands on the water and chewing on the float. She's definitely a water baby!

World Traveler

We just returned home from a 12 day vacation around Europe with Teri, Sam, and James. We spent some time in Heidelberg before going to Dachau, Salzburg, Eagle's Nest, and Rome. Teri headed home and then I took the boys to Paris and Versailles for a few days. We all had so much fun everywhere we went. I think I wore them out with all the walking! They were a great help with the baby, I couldn't have made it up and down all those stairs without them. Zoe of course slept through most of it. She was such a great traveler, never complaining - even if it meant spending hours in the stroller or Baby Bjorn. The vacation was fantastic up until the trip home. Sam, James, Zoe, and I traveled to Philly together. We said goodbye to Sam in Philly, and James and I took Zoe to the gate for our flight to Norfolk. When we got there, we saw the flight was delayed an hour, but we didn't mind - we were just excited to get home to see everyone. We got on the plane at 6, and taxi'd out to the runway, where we saw at least 30 planes ahead of us in a line. No one was taking off. It was then we were told a storm was passing through and we'd have to wait it out on the plane. Six hours on the runway, and we finally started to move. We thought for sure we were finally getting to take off when they announced we ran out of gas and had to go back to the gate. They told us to re-book our flights, as no flights were leaving that evening. It was after midnight, and I told James to run into the line to re-book, while I got on the phone. I figured working both ends might get us a flight sooner. James was such a trooper, he stood in line for 2 and 1/2 hours with Zoe, while I called family, hotels (no luck), and the airline. I got us re-booked on a flight for 4 pm the next day. While all this was happening, they made announcements like "all hotels in the Philadelphia area are booked" and "there are no more rental cars". I couldn't believe this. We knew what we had to do. We found a row of 4 seats without arms so James could lay down. I laid on the floor next to him, with Zoe curled up against my stomach. I looked at that floor, full of old band-aids, gum, little things that I'm telling myself were raisins, and who knows what else, and if I weren't so tired, I would have been sick. We finally got to sleep around 3, shivering because the air conditioning was turned up so high. Several people saw I had a baby and offered me their airline blankets for her, which I gratefully accepted. When I think back to that moment, with Zoe sleeping on that disgusting floor, I think she is the most amazing baby ever. Not one complaint. If there was ever a time to have a meltdown, that would have been it, but she never fussed. The next morning at 6 - which is just 3 hours after we fell asleep, I was awakened by a man holding what looked like a large ball of aluminum foil. He held it up and said, "for the baby, it's warm". I didn't know what to think, I partly thought I might be dreaming. (I realized an hour later it was an emergency blanket that the airport had handed out a few hours before.) I told him no thank you, and decided it was time to get out of that airport. I woke James up and told him we were going to try to go standby on every earlier flight to Norfolk. We got on the second flight out, a few hours before our scheduled flight. We were so happy to hear our names called to board, that we ran out the door and were in our seats in a matter of seconds. When we arrived in Norfolk, only 2 of the 4 suitcases were here, but just a few hours later, the other 2 were delivered to the house. After a long, hot shower, and a good night's sleep in a real bed, it's so nice to be home.

She eats!

I was ready to give up on solid foods for Zoe until our travels were finished and we were relaxing at Grandma and Pop-Pop's house. However, thoughts of my daughter sucking her meals through a bottle for the rest of her life because her mom didn't start her on solids early enough got the best of me, so I tried rice cereal again. The previous two times, she was not interested at all. I got the cereal ready, but this time decided to do without the cute bowl, spoon, and matching bib, convinced that she would not like the taste again, and I'd be cleaning up seconds after getting it all set up. I must admit, I have tried it, and it tastes like cardboard! Zoe wasn't sure about the first few bites, but after about the fourth spoonful, she decided it was just perfect. She ate the whole bowl and followed it with her first bottle of water. If you look closely at the picture, she's even giving me a 'thumbs-up'!