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!

Ziva update

This year brought a lot of changes for Ziva....lots of growing up for our little peanut! I have to be honest, sometimes it was hard to see her growing up so much, so fast, but I know that's a part of the deal. :) Some big firsts for Ziva this year: becoming a big sister, moving to her very own house, starting pre-school, mastering potty training (hallelujah to that one!), and meeting Uncle Ross and Aunt Amber.

It's so much fun to watch her little personality continue to blossom. She definitely has an inquisitive mind, and a growing interest in and openness to spiritual things. She typically sees things in black and white and is quick to tell whoever is listening the way of things. She loves ballerinas and anything to do with dancing, so we're thinking about the future...dance may be an option soon, although we also think she would benefit from a team sport. Her 2nd quarter report card came back with lots of positive growth, but also some room for improvement on those developing social skills. The queen bee has to learn to relate to the little guys, you know :) Ziva is always a joy and a blessing, even in the challenging moments, and she is growing into a fun, funny, sweet sister and daughter. Can't wait to see what the next year holds for her!

Ziva's first Christmas program at school. It was super cute! She's in the middle row, right in the middle of the shot by the microphone stand.

Another first....going to see The Nutcracker! This was a special time just for Ziva, Mommy, and Daddy....Zoe will get to come one day when she's bigger. We ended up on the very front row on the end, which turned out to be GREAT seats for a 3 year old! She stood on her booster seat and looked down into the pit almost as much as she watched the dancers....it was a big success, and we plan to make it a new tradition!

Christmas 2011

2011 ended sweetly for our little family. We missed Ross and Amber after thinking they'd be here for Christmas, but it was still a wonderful first Christmas for Zoe and for all of us in our new home. We grilled the traditional Christmas Eve burgers and I made a pretty tasty batch of homemade fries (my first time!), and there was some pretty mean cookie decorating going down. Next year I will be better stocked with proper cookie decorating supplies, but we improvised pretty well, I think. Sadly, my cookie picture seems to have been deleted accidentally. But this one's much more fun....these girls are definitely their Dad's, trying to sneak a peek at what's under the tree:

Opening stockings Christmas morning :)

Both girls in their matching Christmas dresses...