bday invite

me and my girl

Just a little update on Zoë. She is now very adapt at drinking through a straw (however she will just keep drinking and let the overflow seep out of her mouth if you let her).

She is almost used to crawling down stairs backwards and feet first.. I can see her thinking about it, where as before, she would just step off. (Nana worked with her a lot).

She loves brushes: make-up brushes, hair brushes, tooth brushes, and brooms.

She also loves to push around objects much bigger than her.

Birthday: dry (and wet) run

Because Grandpa and Nana won't be here for her birthday, but are here now with presents in tow, we had a practice run at Zoe's birthday yesterday. I made a cake (from a package: lemon with creamcheese frosting) and iced and decorated it myself.. I can say, it turned out pretty well..



First we started with presents.. From Auntie Rebecca she received a cabage patch newborn babie.. so cute.. so loved, loved, loved it.. kissing it, sucking on its bald little head, etc.


Uncle Hang gave her this crazy hippo, which she also loves (I can't say I think it is pretty, but Zoe loves to "ride" it and cuddle it.. and its crazy colors will match her room).










From Grandpa and Nana she received the Fisher Price Farm set, with lots of cute little animals and people to add to it from Auntie Carrie. She's had a grand time openning the doors, pushing the animals around, etc. She also received a plastic piggy bank and is completely able to put the coins in herself, but then frets (a mild term for her screaming) over where the coins go.

Then it was cake time: we gave her the whole top to do with what she wanted, but we must have fed her too much dinner, she wasn't interested in eating it, but got both hands in and good and covered in icing.






For her real birthday, I will do things a little different, and make the cake after she goes to bed, so it too will be a surprise (she saw us making it because she woke up early from her nap).

Slide!

I'm sure the picture will say it all, (which I will put up as soon as I download the pics from my mom's camera)... but Zoe went down a tube slide at the waterpark all by herself today.. she and Nana were so tickled.. we did it about 5 times, me at the top, letting her go (hard to do by the way.. having to trust your child to a plastic tube), and Nana at the bottom to catch her.. so cute!


















Zoe is also fearless when it comes to the water, and went head first into the sprinklers, getting her face wet multiple times.. it was very, very cute.









Today we faced major teething pain and are now on a every 4 hour tylenol cycle to keep Zoe content... speaking of which.. time to go give her more. oh, and I was wrong, not just one tooth on the bottom, but both, are coming in!

one nap a day?

I think Zoe is shifting to a one nap a day schedule.. she gets up about 7:30 or 8am, then has started napping around 11 or 12 for two hours.. sometimes she takes a nap again around 5pm, but tonight she made it until 7:30pm and is now peacefully asleep in her crib.

pushing and pulling

Zoe's favorite new thing: to push and pull objects.. while waiting for the flight home, she grabbed the purple bag (which I fill with toys and books for her) and dragged it about 10 feet away, then it kind of got stuck, and she kept dragging it in a circle.. very cute. She's now pushed and pulled a resturant chair (which resulted in a guy from a nearby table saving her from a bonk as it nearly toppled over), and at home with a small garbage can and empty kitty litter container.

first tooth! and Siggraph in review

Zoë's first tooth has finally made an appearance... well, what I mean is that I can feel its sharp bumpiness... but we can't get her to grin and show it yet. (its the bottom front left one).. the ones on top and the front bottom right one are close too.

More updates: we just returned from a week in San Diego at Zoe's first SIGGRAPH.. she even has a badge with her name on it. (which is why we haven't posted anything in a while).
During our trip to San Diego, Zoe & I went to the Hotel Del Coronado... with some of the prettiest sand I've ever seen (only rivaled by Siesta Key, FL).. the sand appeared to have flakes of gold.. maybe the picture will show it, I doubt it though. Of course, Zoe found a 5 year old to play with.. the girl wasn't very keen on sharing her bucket, but her mom persisted and after half an hour and a small bribe from me (an very tiny, whole sand-dollar).. they warmed up, traded toys, and played in the sand.

We also went to the San Diego Zoo, where we received a personal tour (Sam's uncle Don) of the reptile exhibit.. Zoe slept through all of that.. but Bruce, Sam and I loved it. The only animal I remember Zoe really interacting with (ie intently watching and calling after) was a hyena... it was grooming itself, chewing on its paws.. it was amazingly beautiful.. very fuzzy.. Zoe call it "doggy" and "Molly".

pictures soon.