Little Steps

Okay, I've been hesitant to say it because I didn't know when it's technically true, but Ziva is definitely walking, and has been for several days now. I guess I've been waiting for her to just take off and walk long distances all the time, and that's when we could say "she's walking," but I'm beginning to see it doesn't work that way. (First time mom, right?) She takes several steps at a time, and can finally stand on her own without pulling up, but she doesn't do that very often yet. She still crawls more than she walks, but she is definitely taking little steps. We hope you enoy the video!

Day at the Park #2

Ziva's sliding with Daddy

Ready...

Set....(look at that big smile!)

GO! (The blurriness means we're going so fast!)

Ziva really liked the swing. There was a "big girl" swinging next to her and she seemed to like that. She thinks she's one of them, after all.

Day at the Park #1

It's January 22, and today it was a sunny 71 degrees outside, so we headed to the park after school for a fun time out. We took Ziva's walker (or whatever it's called) and let her roam free. She was hilarious about the grass though...she did NOT like the brown crispy grass at all and refused to put her hands on it. What a little princess.

We had a hard time getting Ziva to look at the camera, but that's because she was looking at....

....the ducks!

For some reason I only know how to post 5 pictures at a time, so our day at the park will have to be in two installments.

Sick and Snuggly

Last week Ziva was sick with a cold/fever/runny nose so she ended up staying home most of the week with either me or Vince, so we got lots of sweet snuggly time which is out of the ordinary. Even though she was sick she was still her usual cheerful self most of the time, and we got some cute happy pictures. So close....almost walking!

Those two poor fingers that Ziva sucks have gotten drier and drier, and no amount of lotion will help since she sucks it off so quickly. And now with the cold dry air, one of her fingers got a big crack down the middle of it. It looks painful, but doesn't seem to bother her. Since she sucks bandaids off too, I had to get creative. We put ointment on, then a bandaid, and then covered it all up with her doggy mittens. Everyone wins that way!

Helping out.....she just loves laundry!

We're working on more table foods...she's getting there.

Cute Portraits

Ziva got maybe three hours of sleep last night, tops. Which means Vince and I got maybe three hours of sleep. Ugh. I was not ready to get up and out this morning, but I did, and as the day went on I found things to be thankful for, like a wonderful husband who prayed for me before I left, and a daughter who, although she didn't sleep too well and then threw up her lunch and had to leave school and go to the doctor, is still healthy, just congested and teething. And that a sub was able to take my afternoon classes when I had to leave. And not just any sub....it was this poor guy's first day, and although he was done at noon, he had stayed and was eating lunch with all the teachers in the breakroom, where, if he was listening, he heard me voice my dread at introducing the paradox of non-racist racial epithets in Huckleberry Finn to a group of fairly immature juniors....the same group he took over for me. (I didn't subject him to Huck Finn though.) So, to quote Candide (another one we just finished studying), I guess all is for the best.

Here are some great portraits of Ziva that Cherissa took for us a month ago. They turned out so great. Thank you Rissa!!!

Play day!

Thursday the weather was a little warmer than usual, so we took advantage of the nice day and went to the park. Ziva had fun climbing up the stairs of the jungle gym, but she's not quite ready to do everything on her own yet. :)

We got some alphabet magnets for the fridge, but it didn't take long for Ziva to cram an entire letter into her mouth, so they'll have to stay out of reach for a while, until she passes the put-everything-and-I-mean-everything-in-her-mouth stage. She's getting very close to pulling herself to standing without any support, and when we stand her up she stands for a quite a while. She thinks it's funny, and she stands and waves her arms around and laughs before she dives for our laps or legs. She's also started "dancing" a lot whenever she hears music or we sing. So cute!

And you can't see it yet, but Ziva has two more teeth that have just barely cut through, one on either side of her two front teeth on top.

Other than that, all is well around here. Vince and I have had fun being almost the only Gator fans around here!