Z-O-E spells trouble

Ziva: Mom, come see this! This is hilarious!

Me: That is not hilarious, but I should take a picture. I'll probably think it's funny later.

Perhaps the best part is that Ziva just stood there and watched...I guess because she thought it was hilarious :) And the other best part, of course, is Zoe's face...THAT is hilarious!

She's just trying to help....

So funny

{Ziva is chasing Zoe around the house, one of their favorite games. They start to move into the kitchen.}

Me: Not in the kitchen.
Ziva: Why not?
Me: Because that floor is hard, and if Zoe falls she might get hurt.
Ziva: No she won't.
Me: You're too rough and you don't know it.
Ziva: Yes I do.
Vince: Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Self-portraits, by Ziva

Zoe walking

Just a few seconds....and it's sideways, sorry about that! But she's walking on her own!

The little lady turns ONE!

This picture was taken on the last day of school...both of the girls have grown up so much!

 Zoe's 12 month picture with her lamb--I gave up on trying to keep her still on the floor. Probably should have used the couch all along! She has definitely come a long way in her first year of life, and we just love her to pieces!

Vince and I tag-teamed on Zoe's lady-bug cake. I haven't done a cake like this since Ziva turned one, and I forgot it's actually not as hard as it might look. The blue eyes to match Zoe's were Vince's idea...I'm not quite that creative! :)

We fully expected Zoe to dive right into her cake, considering how much she likes to eat. But she wasn't too sure about it! She played around with the icing a lot, and it wasn't until I gave her a bite myself that she realized, "Hey, this is cake!" and dug right in.

This one doesn't show the full extent of her messiness, but you can see how she always plays with her ear and the hair right above, and that was where most of the icing got smeared. We had to abandon the party for a few minutes for a quick bath!

And the presents!! We couldn't believe how many gifts Zoe received, and she had a lot of fun (plus had a lot of little helpers) opening them all. She's a blessed little tyke, and now it's time to clean out the old toys to make room for the new!

At Zoe's 12 month checkup, the doctor said she's doing great. Her height is 29.5 inches (64th %), weight is 21 lb 2 oz (52nd %), and her head circumference is 17.5 inches (32nd %). She's starting to lengthen out some, especially in her torso like Daddy and Ziva, and is already wearing 18 month onesies! Every day she gets steadier on her feet and is even starting to run. She and Ziva play great together (hoping that lasts a good long time!), and one of her favorite things to do is climb onton the couch and walk back and forth on it. She does know how to get off the right way, but every once in a while she takes a spill. And she's starting to appreciate books, which I am so very thrilled about :) Zoe is full of life and loves to laugh, and she is a blessing to all of us!

11 months and Mother's Day

This month's highlights include Zoe's 11 month mark, Mother's Day, and, one more day away....the end of school!! I'm late on Zoe's 11 month stats, so I think I'll save most of it for the big ONE coming up in a couple weeks! But the big news is Zoe is just starting to walk, and I expect by her birthday she'll be a full-fledged little toddler. Our other big transition this month is going straight from pretty much all baby food, to all table food. Zoe is a great eater, but she is her momma and daddy's girl...with the real thing in front of her, she suddenly doesn't care for green beans :)

 This just might have been my favorite gift for Mother's Day...seeing Ziva's own handwriting like this! We are so proud of our little peanut!

 Ziva's class had a special Mother's Day breakfast and then we got to go to chapel together. It was a sweet time and I got to wear the heart she made for me.

Zoe just will not be still long enough to get any more pictures with that lamb, so it's a good thing we've only got one month left! Hard to believe how fast time's been flying! 

Zoe is walking!

She's still faster on all fours, but Zoe is walking! Over the weekend she moved from her maximum of three steps in a row to 5 or 6 or 7. We haven't caught her walking solo on video yet, but she loves pushing this little walker around, and if she doesn't run into anything, she gets pretty fast on this too! I think the main reason she's not walking more is that she literally tries to run....she takes one or two steps to get going, then gets all excited and tries to speed up, and takes a nose dive!

because He lives...

Easter weekend 2012 started out with the traditional egg dying experience. It doesn't seem quite as huge as I remember from when I was growing up and all four of us kids each had a dozen eggs to color....I just boiled one dozen for the whole fam. But I'm sure as the girls get older they will get their own dozen...one dozen was still plenty fun this year!
Zoe got to participate too......knawing on that hard egg felt good on two little teeth that cut through yesterday!

Checking out their Easter baskets this morning....Vince said "You could have at least put Zoe's dress on first!" Ha, oh well. They were both excited, regardless of the wardrobe.

And speaking of wardrobe, this was the best shot we got of Ziva and Zoe together in their Easter dresses. Mimi bought them these adorable matching dresses and brought them by on Ziva's actual birthday so she'd have something to open then (sweet!). They looked precious....I think I'll keep dressing them alike as long as I can possibly get away with it.

And here is our little family, celebrating the best day in history, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today I am grateful for the hope found in that empty tomb, and the knowledge that "the same power that conquered the grave lives in me." What a good God, to give us not just the cross and forgiveness, but also the hope of eternal life in Him one day, and the presence of His spirit today and every day. Thank you, Lord. Let Your kingdom come in our lives.

Zoe is 10 months old!

Zoe is quickly approaching the one year mark....where has the time gone? Just last night I was sorting through baby clothes to give some away to a girl our small group wanted to bless, and I couldn't believe she actually fit in some of those.....or that they were too big at one point!

Zoe keeps growing and she continues to be a delightful little girl. She is happy 95% of the time, and is developing such a fun little personality. She loves to have you chase her....especially if you're crawling with her, then she zips off and laughs like crazy. She is pulling up on just about everything now, but no steps yet. One thing that seems unique about Zoe is that she loves tight spaces....she crawls under the dining room chairs, through the bottom of our little accent table in the living room, behind the chairs under the window, through and around the legs....she is a climber and loves getting in and out of those tight spots. She's still got just 4 teeth, but she's expanding her eating repertoire slowly to include some table foods. Today she had grilled cheese with the rest of us at lunch, and she's pretty content to munch on crackers if she can't eat what the rest of us are eating. The other newest thing she's doing is waving. At first she waved backwards, toward herself, in the same direction she saw us doing it. Now she waves her whole arm, and she says "Hi," "bah-bah," "da-da," and every once in a while, "mama." She's got plenty to say to herself and runs a pretty steady stream of baby babble. She is usually content to play on her own, but she loves playing with Ziva still. SHe's also developed a real affinity for doors. If they're open, she closes them. If they're almost closed, she opens them. If I leave the front door open even a crack when I take things out the car in the mornings, she's coming out after me grinning. She's a sweet girl and we sure do love her!

These were the best shots I could get with the lamb.....it's a good thing I'm only planning on doing this through her 1st birthday. It's just too hard to get her to sit still!
Roly-poly Zoe!

Zoe likes the new trampoline almost as much as Ziva does! She loves to just sit while Ziva's jumping and get bounced around. I usually have a hard time getting her to crawl back to the opening to get her out!

Party #2

After party #1 ended, Ziva spent the afternoon playing with her new toys. She and Zoe had a sidewalk tea party, and spent lots of time on the trampoline.

Saturday evening, Mimi and Papa and Uncle Mitch and Aunt Rachel came over for round two. Ziva opened MORE presents (including a pink radio for her room she's been wanting, so now she can listen to music at night; and her most favorite, a set of little Disney princesses that go everywhere with her)

And of course, more cake. We had lots of princess cupcakes left over, but Ziva wanted a chocolate cake with sprinkles, so we made a new one. She was princess for the day, after all. :) This picture looks an awful lot like her first birthday, ha!

It was a good day and a great birthday! We are so blessed to have Ziva as our daughter, and we thank God every day for entrusting her to us. She makes us laugh and teaches us things every day. We love you Ziva!!

Birthday Business - Party #1

Spring break was a rainy affair, but it ended with a big bang--TWO birthday parties in one day! First came the friend party, and it was a princess's dream. We had 5 little girls from Ziva's preschool come, and they jumped on Ziva's new trampoline, decorated princess crowns, spoke not a word as they inhaled princess cupcakes, and screamed the rest of the time. What fun!

Reflections from a 4 year old

Ziva turned 4 this week.

On our way home from school on her birthday, I asked her what she'd like for her birthday dinner.

Me: Ziva, what would you like for dinner tonight? You're the birthday girl, so you get to choose.
Ziva: I want...a tree!
Me: You want a tree for dinner?!
Ziva: No, I want a road for dinner!
Me: You want a road for dinner?!
Ziva: No, I want....grass for dinner!
(this went on for several minutes as she named everything she saw out the window as potential birthday fare.)
Me: Ziva, did you get a little sillier when you turned four?
Ziva: No, I got a little prettier.

9 months

Yesterday was the 9 month mark for our little Zo-Zo! A lot has happened in this last month--she started doing her "Bear Walk," two more teeth have come in on top to match the bottom set, she had an ear infection and a stomach bug (at the same time!), and just in the past week, she's started saying "Dada". I've officially lost her to Daddy.....maybe someday #3 will be a momma's boy :)

Zoe continues to be a happy baby! She plays well on her own (she LOVES the kitchen, especially the letter and number magnets on the fridge), but she loves playing with Ziva. No one can make this girl laugh like her big sister! She's becoming a pretty big explorer now that she's moving on her own so well. Ziva's room is probably her second favorite spot behind the kitchen, and she will head that way, then move as fast as she possibly can when she thinks you're coming after her and laugh. Pretty soon she'll be running! She already spends a lot of time on her feet, but with her hands on the ground too. Any minute I'm expecting her to just push herself the rest of the way up. I don't think it will be too much longer....

First snow!

February 13 was our first snow of the year. It wasn't much to speak of, but I guess it was enough to cancel school...wasn't really necessary, but we enjoyed the day off! Since it was a Monday, Vince was home too which made it extra fun. Zoe didn't get out in the snow this time, but Ziva had fun!

Two Daddy's girls :)

Zoe's Bear Walk

Watch closely at the beginning....this is Zoe's preferred means of travel. We're calling it the Bear Walk. She is fast, and I just have to laugh every time I see her do this!

8 months

It's getting harder to catch a picture with Zoe's lamb....sitting still is not something she's usually interested in!

Mouth wide open = happy and excited!

Love this face!

This one shows a pretty good view of her hair....it sticks straight up all the time right now. It's starting to lay down a little bit in the front, but most of it is on end.

What we've been up to

Well, where does a whole month go?! We've been keeping pretty busy around here. Getting back into the school routine has gone smoothly, and the girls are enjoying school just as much as always. Zoe has started crawling in earnest now (at about 7 1/2 months) and she loves exploring every corner of the house. Ziva's room seems to be her favorite right now. We're expecting her to start pulling up very soon....she gets on her feet with both hands on the floor, so it's just a matter of time before she gets the balance and strength to stand all the way up.

Vince and I have started a class at church, Financial Peace University. That adds to the schedule, but we're excited about it and it should be a great thing. Our small group is really growing and we had a great outreach this past weekend. We are really excited about the direction our group is heading and what God has in store for it this year.

Now that Zoe is sitting really well, she and Ziva have started taking their baths together. I think this is a vast improvement for both of them......they already liked baths, but they LOVE taking it together. Ziva's great at pouring water over Zoe's head. :)

This month we were invited to Gabbi's 4th birthday party. Ziva and Gabbi are best friends, and this was a princess party to remember. Lots of dressing up and very loud screaming....it was a hit! We love Gabbi.

Another highlight from January was Ross and Amber's visit. It was too short, as always, but it was great to see them. Ziva loves having all her uncles at her disposal to wear out, but I think Ross and Mitch tag teamed a little and gave Ziva a run for her money. :) We had fun having dinner with them and catching up a little. El Paso is still a long way away, but it's so much closer than Hawaii!

Right now our little family has been taking turns getting sick....Ziva came home from school a week and a half ago with a stomach bug and spent the weekend recuperating, while Zoe's nose was running off her face the whole time. And then last night it was Zoe's turn for the stomach bug, and she spent half the night throwing up, poor baby, and then today at the doctor we found out she has an ear infection. So the antibiotics seems to be working and we're hoping for a better night! Vince is under the weather too....may be a combination of what the girls have had, or possibly just severe lack of sleep. My poor husband is a champion....he's had to work so many hours but he works hard, does a great job, and keeps a good attitude through it all...I am always so impressed with how he handles it! Much better than I could, for sure. But we're praying for a job change that will bring better hours. We'll see what God can do!

Zoe - 7 month update

Zoe is just over 7 months old now, and such a sweet girl! She is almost always happy, and she still smiles with her whole body...it's adorable! She isn't "officially' crawling yet, but she army crawls like nobody's business, and she is FAST. She was enamored with the Christmas tree, and we saw our first proof of original sin in her when we told her "no" as she started for the tree. She would stop, look back, grin at us, and then lunge for the tree with all her might. Pretty funny! Her speed doesn't just come from crawling, though....this girl is a real roly-poly. She will get going and just roll her way across the room, which is also pretty funny. but efficient! And on top of the crawling and rolling, she can now push herself to sitting from her belly. I think it's going to be time to lower the crib any day now!

I don't have any new stats for 7 months....we won't have another check up until 9 months. But she is definitely growing like a week, and she likes to eat! So far the only baby food she has flat out rejected is green beans, which is no surprise to me. I was only surprised that Ziva actually would eat them!

Zoe still has just her two bottom front teeth, but she seems to pretty constantly exhibit one symptom or another for teething, so I'm expecting several to erupt all at once here one of these days. She has taken to sticking her tongue out a lot:

That little lamb just keeps getting smaller....

Peek-a-boo! Crawling has opened up a whole new world for Zoe, and she loves exploring the house, especially the kitchen, and playing with her toys. She and Ziva play well together...here's hoping that lasts into the teen years!