Shortly before Z's birthday, she began making this face at random times (mostly at daddy). We honestly don't know where exactly it came from (both Daddy and Gma K are taking credit). However, it has stuck because it is so funny - it still makes us laugh aloud! Now we just say, "Z, where's that face?" and she turns to us and does this! These pics are a bit blurry but they still give you the idea. Quite the goofball already!
This is the comment we have received since Z was born. At one year, Z has had 3 hair cuts and can wear several hair styles well, including the Pebbles hairstyle pictured here. I bought hair ties after seeing a baby with a cute little ponytail on her head and thought, "oh, I bet that would work for Z". Yeah, you can see it works - and maybe next time we can braid it or throw it over her shoulder too!
I had to post this picture.
Not actually, just dressed like one. Z is sporting an outfit that was given to her cousins from their Omie (grandma). The outfit is from the Netherlands and E*lisabeth, Mi*nke's mom purchased it there while visiting her family, who still live there. I think Z looks like she could pass for Dutch, don't you? (Actually, she is Finnish, Scottish, Irish, Norwegian and a mix of several other things).
Also, you may notice Z's two front teeth - they came in around Halloween and we have not seen any more since then! However, the doctor is not worried and it certainly doesn't stop her from eating lots of finger foods. So messy and so fun!
Z loved the park so much last time that sheand her mommy invited her cousin A*ugust and A's mommy to the park. We all enjoyed the swings, but the real hit for Z was the slide. The snowsuits don't slide real well, so Z tried to help A get down faster. After all that swinging and sliding, both girls were pooped and ready to go home and nap (A actually started her nap before she got home!)
Spring fever in Minnesota also means that as soon as it gets above 20 degrees, you take the baby to the park. Actually, not all Minnesotans do that I am told, but I don't know why not! (D says its because some people are wussies!) Z took her parents to the park one Sunday afternoon a few weeks back to try it out for the first time. It is a park just a few blocks from our house that we recently discovered. We are beginning to view our neighborhood through the lens of "where can we go with Z this summer?" Don't let that pink nose fool you - Z had a blast swinging, sliding and staying warm in her big down snowsuit! 
Z is so enamored with her grandpas these days! She has a special connection with both Grandpa M*ike and Grandpa S*teve. She says "ba ba" with a wave to most people when they leave now, but the first people she said this to were Daddy first and then Grandpa S. With Grandpa M, she has an amazing connection through touch - she needs to reach out and touch him when she sees him. Here is Z with Grandpa M on a recent visit.
Grandma Ju*dy came to visit Z recently. Z got such a charge out of having her feet kissed, that it, like so many things these days, turned into a fun game!
For those of you who read my sister's blog, you know that she returned to work the beginning of January, and we now have a new crazy but wonderful childcare situation involving cousin A*ugust. Crazy because every day of the week is a bit different. Wonderful because Z is still cared for only by family (grandma, grandpa, Aunt E*mily and Uncle S*cott, mommy and daddy) during the 32 hours I work and the 40 hours D works. Also wonderful because Z and A are together 3 1/2 days a week. They can both get a bit jealous at times especially on the days one of their mommies has both girls. But they are also starting to have some fun together. (Notice they are actually holding hands in one of these pictures.) They are 4 1/2 months apart, which is a bit of a challenge at times now but won't always be in the future. I took these pictures today - the day of the week that A comes to Z's house. We are all enjoying one another's company but we, like so many Minnesotans are getting cabin fever. We are SO ready for spring when we can actually leave the house and all get some fresh air!
Z's great aunt, Ka*thy made this rocking zebra for Z when she was born. Not even two weeks ago, Z was not interested in it. Then last Friday during her weekly afternoon with daddy, Z fell in love with it. She can't even reach the foot pegs yet, but when she got on the first time, she began to bob her head back and forth indicating she not only knew it rocked but wanted to do that. By the second or third time, she was riding it like this!
When I was pregnant with Z, a few people asked if I was worried about our cats, Id*gie and M*ilo, interacting with a baby - jumping in the crib, scratching the baby, etc. We weren't worried - our vet reassured us that cats usually have a tolerance for the baby early on. Unfortunately, we did not have the chance to find out with Idg*ie because she died less than a week after we came home from the hospital with Z after contracting diabetes 3 months earlier. Id*gie had been a stray and came to live with us after my sister in law took her in over 8 years ago. She was a bit persnickety at times, but we loved her dearly. (I have posted a picture of Idgie here.)
At 3 years, Mi*lo has always been a bit of a wild card and a lot like a kitten. We weren't sure what would happen for Mi*lo between Idg*ie's death and having Z. But he has risen to the changes and the challenges. He has mellowed considerably, and as you can see, actually enjoys Z's attention to him. (I think he actually thinks she is petting him - which we are working on with her.) When M enters a room, Z gets very excited - she has a special way of talking to other babies and she uses this same tone and "words" with M. She notices him in the next room and drops what she is doing to chase him. She actually "leap frogged" over him after this picture was taken - I wish I could have gotten that on video! Its amazing to me how this kind of relationship happens and it is fun to see. Growing up, we had a dog, but I married into a serious cat family. It is fun to see how this love for cats is now be passed on to Z already. Oh, and M only jumped in the crib once - it was before she was born and right after we set it up. I think he just wanted to check it out. He lost interest when he realized it was harder to get out than it is to get in!
Z has been eating solids for about 3 months now, but we recently have been moving into the world of finger foods and interactive mealtimes. The messiest food so far has been "the teething biscuit" as evidenced by this picture taken at Gma K and Gpa S's house. Z turns the biscuit over and over vertically before beginning to eat it using her hands, mouth and face. In the last month, she has mastered her pincer grasp quite well by eating lots of tofu and recently the old stand by, Cheerios. After studying child development and psychology during grad school, I find all of this learning fascinating, especially as I see Z work through some specific stages of development (specifically Freud, Erickson, and Mahler for all you developmental psych buffs out there). D's dad often talks about all the new information that Z is taking in on a daily basis at this young age, and it is so amazing to see it happen - to watch the little wheels turning. I have read so much about all this both in school and in our many parenting books, but there is just nothing like watching a baby move from toy to book to toy to cat to parent as she decides what she wants to do and as she seeks to understand her world. I know many of you who have parented for years may be thinking, "Yes Jen, this is how we all started out - are you just getting this now?" My response: I got it intellectually a long time ago (and wrote many a paper on it!) - now I am getting it through eyes I have only had for the last year of my 36 years of life - parent eyes. I can see why so many people tell me that 9 months is one of their favorite ages!
On Saturday, we had Christmas with the P*atricks at Friendship Village in Bloomington, where Dav*e's grandma, J*ean, lives. Grandma J is Zo*e's only living great grandparent. Here is a four-generation picture - we will try this again at the next gathering so we get Z's smile.
Z and mommy opened Z's presents first - wonderful toys, books, blocks and a winter hat. Z then helped mommy open her presents and got quite excited about my book about babies. I think I mentioned before that Z gets very excited to see babies or pictures of babies - in fact, she uses a different tone of voice all together when trying to communicate with other children or with animals (especially cats).
Da*ve's step mom, B*onnie, passed on a wonderful collection of blocks to Z this Christmas as well, complete with an explanation of the generations that have played with them from the 1880s to the 1960s. In a world where everything is so disposable and cheaply made, it is a rarity to have heirlooms such as these passed down through time and to think that when Z plays with them, she will be playing with the very toys that those who have gone before us played with also. It is also very special to be the recipients of heirlooms that have been passed across families - because D is related to B through marriage, we did not have the opportunity to meet or know most of her family of origin. However, we have "gotten to know them" through the stories B has shared about their lives. This is truly a gift that we will cherish for years to come!
It's a Christmas explosion!
Zo*e's first Cristmas was, and is still, a blast. We had Christmas with J's family on Christmas eve and with D's mom on Christmas day. We are looking forward to the Pat*rick gathering on Saturday. So far, Z received many books and a few toys.
Cousin N was helping Her open a present, but
She just wanted His face.
Uncle J and Auntie M
gave Zo*e a wooden
crocodile toy that She
loves. Z's idea of a great toy these days is always determined by how it tastes - she decided she likes crocodile!
Z was very enamored with the wrapping paper - sometimes more so than the present inside. She enjoyed ripping a piece off and then, of course, tasting it. We will now spend the next year telling her not to rip paper!
Here Z is tasting a present from Grandma J. Zo*e really liked this present - both how it tasted and what was inside!
Grandma K and Grandpa S are members at the YWCA in Minneapolis. They invited Z and J to swim there this past Sunday. It was a very snowy day, and it took us twice as long as normal to venture over there. My first picture looks a little frosty because it was so cold outside. When we arrived, there were no other people in the pool besides the four of us and cousins, N and O. Zo*e had not been swimming since this past summer at the island, so I was very anxious to see how she would respond. She was so excited to get into the water - she splashed and kicked and "swam" on her tummy with a little help from mom. We had a blast! As I climbed back into the car after buckling in a snowsuited baby and cleaning the additional snow off the car, I was very grateful for the taste of summer in the middle of a good Minnesota snowstorm. The extra drive time was well worth it. And Z slept an extra hour and a half the next morning - I think we officially wore her out!
The three of us went to the Children's Museum on Sunday - conveniently located about a mile from our house. Dav*e had never been there but Zo*e and I had made her first trip a few months ago with her cousins, N*oah and O*liver. We inadvertently chose to visit on "Free Sunday" when admission is free to everyone, so it was very busy. You can see that Z focused on the details of the lily pad flower amidst the noise and what seemed like dozens of children with not enough parents - she can be quite determined when she wants to be. She also loves to stand and to jump, but as you can see, every so often mom gets into it more than she does!
Winter Girl! For those of you who live a little further south (or west), you may have missed out on the experience referred to as "bundling up." This is a regular occurrence in Minnesota from about November to April-ish. We have added a new skill to our parenting bag - putting a baby in a snowsuit. I hear it can be even more challenging with a toddler - I guess I'll write about that next winter! (Actually, Zoe is quite a good sport about it - just like she is about almost everything - we have truly been blessed with an easy-going baby!)
Dav*e and I have been thinking about setting up a blog for Zo*e since she was born, but are just now getting to it. That is the story of my life these days with an 8 month old (as of Tuesday), and a 32-hour/week job for me and a 40+ for Dave. We decided to do this too because of family and friends out of town and a massive IPhoto file on our computer that we have shared with so few people. My sister-in-law, Mink*e's recent post to link blogs gave me the final push I needed to get this going after so long. Zo*e is just recuperating from her first cold - it is so hard to hear her hacking and have her look at me like "mommy, do something!" I am not posting any pictures of this because I don't want to remember her like this! Tuesday was the worst of it - she was already doing much better the next day - back to scooting all over the floor and grabbing the things in the living room that are not toys, such as the phone, remote, or a magazine. And smiling - oh how we love that!
Grandma Kathy makin' Zo*e laugh!
What would We do without Grandparents?
We are sorry for the delay in posting - Life has been so busy lately now that Z turned one (on April 4)! Z had a beautiful party with about 30 family and friends at the house. She did the ceremonial stuffing of chocolate cake in her face as well. Several people said, "oh, she is going to cry through her party - its too many people" but not Z - she loved the excitement, seeing so many people who love her, and of course, the chocolate cake (gluten free no less, and still mighty tasty!!!)
