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!

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...

odds and ends

Zoe had her 6 month check up on Monday, and she's a picture of health....I sure am thankful for healthy, happy children. She weighs 16 lb 12 oz (63 %) and she's 26 in. long (57 %). She has her two bottom teeth now; both came in pretty close together about a week before Thanksgiving. I think she's working on another one, but I can't see it coming yet. She's been more cranky than usual lately (which still isn't much), and I think maybe her immunizations have been tough on her this time, too. She's starting solids, and I know she's mine and Vince's for sure, because she does not like green beans!

We put up our Christmas tree two weeks ago, and it is so much fun decorating for Christmas in our own home for the first time! Our tree looks great and Ziva still has fun rearranging the ornaments at least once a day. Some of them she even sleeps with! She's been singing lots of Christmas music lately, in preparation for her pre-3 Christmas program next week. I can't wait to see it!

Zoe is getting to be pretty solid at sitting on her own now, and she's SO close to crawling. I think technically we still have to call it creeping, but she's getting around pretty good, and she's getting those knees up under her too. Just yesterday she started rolling over from her back to her stomach with a lot more ease, so she's practically independent! Her favorite things to play with right now are the remote control, Vince's phone, her pacifier, and her monkey ring. But mainly the remote control. I'm thinking about just getting an extra one for her for Christmas!

Zoe at 6 months

Can you believe how much she's grown?

a few pictures

New pjs

Ziva's Thanksgiving feast at school. She was putting food in her mouth every time I took a picture, so this one was as good as any

Mmmmmm, peas :)