7 months of fun!

Wow,
Even looking back at the post a couple of weeks ago, there is already a TON of changes! Here is the list of things that Zoe does now... at 7 months old. ( I realize that I am two weeks late, but hey.. I'm a little busy these days!)

Zoe.... here is what you do these days:

-Sit up... all by yourself. You are getting to be a pro at popping right up on your booty.
-Crawling. Although you have done this for a while now, you are officially getting to be "good".
  you zoom all over the house now. In fact, you are pretty darn fast!
-Eat. Wow, do you eat! Last night we laughed because we are pretty sure you are having a growth spurt. You drank your bottle, ate a whole jar of sweet potatoes, some baby oatmeal, and some baby applesauce. Your belly was about to pop.. but you even wanted more. I stopped you. :)
- You love to pull up on things now. This really just started about a week or so ago. We caught you standing up in your crib.... YES, standing! Oh dear... you are definitely going to wear us out earlier than we expected!
- You love to drink out of cups... for whatever reason, you are not a huge fan of your sippy cup. You chew it, but prefer a straw/cup better.
- You had your first halloween dress up experience. I was proud to show you off as a piggy, and a lion. you cheesed it up!
-You LOVE shopping with mommy. When we are at the grocery store you just "talk" and wave to everyone. You sit in the big girl seats now, and have done this for a little while. This is nice because I don't have to carry your car seat in anywhere, anymore.
-You like to try all kinds of foods. At first I thought you were picky, but now that your tastebuds have tried new things, you will mostly eat all baby foods... and people foods if we let you.
- You are most happy when around people, especially kids. I am pretty sure you try to play with anything your size.... puppies, kids, etc. You are for sure a little social bug.
- You love hide and seek. :) You are never scared when we pop out to "boo" you, but you giggle. You also like to crawl around the corner and "boo" us. Here lately, you love to be tickled on your belly and will laugh and giggle like crazy!
- Your first " official" word, other than when you said bye once, is now DADDA! I wouldn't have believed it, but you say it every time your daddy comes in the room. Grrrr....... :)
-You had your first little "bump and bruise" the other night. You were trying to stand up using your baby einstein playgym and you accidentally ended up knocking it over on your head. You fell backwards, bumped the  back of your head, and the gym fell on the front of your head. :( You cried for a few minutes, but then went on playing!
-You still love going to your babysitters three days a week. When I say, are you ready for " Mrs. Julie's" you get excited. :) This makes it much better for mommy to leave you!
-You love your mommy and daddy! You know us now, and even know our sounds and faces.
- Your mimms comes and keeps you a lot on Fridays. You love to play with her!
-You are about 18 pounds, but I bet you will stay the same, or lose since you are super active.
- You are a little ham. You cheese it up for pictures, and are about the happiest baby I truly have ever seen. I am not saying this because you are mine, but I am really thankful for your fun personality! We love you!
-You have gotten your crib fixed where you can't crawl over! Daddy went to home depot and got your crib "Zoe" proofed.

I am sure that there are many things I am forgetting, but mostly... we love you! We are having such a fun time with you each and every day. Here are some pictures!

All kinds of changes...

As a little update, I have to blog about the new things Zoe has been up to. First off, FOOD. Let me just mention that I had no idea how picky my little cutie was until this happened: She was exclusively breastfed with my breast milk until 6 months... which was my goal. However, I guess I never thought of the fact that this was all she was used to, and anything else... such as formula, would be horrifying to her! lol. The first taste of it was spit out all over the place! Honestly, I can't really blame her. Have you smelled that stuff or even tasted it! YUCK! Anyway, because I made it to 6 months and would be introducing all different first stage foods, I decided to start adding in a little formula to her bottles for a little " extra". It's just nice to know that she will take formula and it takes the pressure off of me to pump at work if I can't get the time. I'm still nursing and hope it  finally stays easy as we continue on.  Anyway, after a quick decision, I started adding an ounce to each of the pumped bottles. This gave her a little taste and helped her not think it was too gross each time. :) Thankfully, she now is fine with the mixture of half and half and it's not a big deal when she has to have it. Phew! Then, we started the cereal. I started cereal before adding formula actually. I forgot that. But, she started with rice, and then we did oatmeal. She was pretty good with both. In fact, we feed her with the spoon, and she LOVES it. She is definitely a " I want to feed myself" kind of gal. She wants to hold the spoon by herself.. which obviously is a big fat mess. ( But I let her sometimes because it's pretty funny to watch!) We started with sweet potatoes, then squash, then carrots, and then apples. She made about the funniest face with squash. And she simply spit the carrots. SO, we will keep working on it. :) I mix applesauce with her oatmeal in the mornings and she likes it a lot. But, sadly, the new phase of eating has caused a new phase of poop.... POOP stinks!

Although Zoe slept in her crib in our room ( her bassinet pack n play) for almost 6 months, she is officially in her own room across the house. :( This was for sure a decision by mom and dad rather than her. I am sure she would have been fine sooner, but since I still nursed and get up early for work, it was just easiest to keep her across the room instead of across the house! But, she is so funny to watch now, and she puts herself to sleep after about 10 minutes of playing, talking, and rolling back and forth in her crib until she is probably dizzy! She also keeps trying to have a play date at 1 a.m. each morning... but this must stop! ;) We let her talk and whine last night for about an hour to realize that she had dropped her paci behind the crib and couldn't get it! ha! If only we have know about 59 minutes earlier!

Things are going by SO SO fast, and it makes me sad. She  tries to sit up mostly by herself, but still will roll over occasionally. She has started the teething from about 3 months, but no tooth yet. She started scooting and crawling backwards, but hasn't gotten the forwards completely down yet. She rolls everywhere! She jumps forwards on all fours though... oh, and she is a QUEEN at pushups. This will be a memory we will always remember! She was destined to be a fan of cardio and aerobics I think!

"Zoe, you are about the silliest and most joyful baby I know! I love that you have a sassy personality already and you have a smile that lights up the room! We love you SO very much. I can't imagine what we would do everyday now. We spend our nights laughing at you being silly or learning something new, or how cute you look in the  crazy outfits we get you, etc, etc. It's fun..... and we are soaking it all up! God knew exactly what he was doing when he blessed us with you! We love you, Zoe Kate!"  Mommy and Daddy

"Half" glass FULL!!! Zoe Kate is 6 months!

The title of the posting is completely accurate! Zoe is "Half" way to one year! And, she has done nothing but make our lives half glass "FULL"! Every day is new and fun, and this little girl is one FUN wild thing! There is no doubt in my mind that she will be an outgoing lil lady! 

Here are the latest things that Zoe is doing:

-Sitting up with little assistance... she can sit alone in bumbo seat, chairs with backs,etc. But, freestyle sitting on the floor still is a little wobbly at times.
-She holds her head up completely, great neck control, and moves her head all around.
-She loves to ROLL! Rolls all over the place now. Here lately, she does complete "pushups". We are pretty sure crawling is coming up fast. 
-She is still teething, but this week has been better with pain. Still no actual tooth though!
-She loves to play "peek a boo", "run up to me and say boo", and other silly games.
-She made it to 6 months with nothing but breast milk...... yay!!!... But, she just started baby rice cereal . So far, she likes it! I am not sure if its the cereal or the fact that she loves the spoon!?
-She talks and talks and talks and talks.... :) She's definitely taking after her momma!
-She giggles and laughs a lot now... we LOVE this!
-She is very aware of everything around her, and she really loves people. We notice this more and more when we are out and about. She isn't shy...
-She eats well, but these days she is definitely not as interested in eating when things are going on around her. 
-She is a fluffy little chunky monkey! We love it this way! She was 14 pounds at her four month, but I am almost positive this latest growth spurt has put her to about 17-18 pounds. We will find out for sure at the doctor next week.
-She sleeps much better now, but still does a "habit" wake up around 2 or 3 am. She wakes up talking up a storm! Her sleep varies, but she mostly does great nap times. She usually does a two hour nap in the morning, a mini mid day nap, and a two hour nap in the late afternoon. Then, she goes to bed around 8:30-9 and gets up for the day at 6 a.m. Again, this varies, and doesn't always work out perfect, but I'm loving that she isn't waking much anymore! (I'm not gonna lie and say that I don't enjoy the talking and mini cuddle time when she does... but we don't want it to become a habit!)
-She loves to take off her clothes.... specifically socks and anything that she can grab and pull. 
- She wears size three diapers now, but really she is in a two... the threes just help the blowouts from happening! lol.
- Still loves her paci, but loves her little fingers too!
-Has good lungs, so when she wants your attention... you will know!
-Your little nicknames are Punkin, Pinky, and Punky.... and always Darlin from daddy.


Zoe, 
You are a little wild thing! You keep changing SO much! You are growing like a weed,and meeting all kinds of milestones. We love watching you grow each week. Our glasses truly are FULL with you. We enjoy you so much, and love taking care of you. Besides being our little cutie pie, you are our blessing! I'm not going to lie and say it's been perfect and always easy... but I would do it over 100 times! We love you so much! Happy 6 month Punkin!!! 

 Update: September 19, 2012: We went to the doctor today and Zoe got her 6 month shots. She weighs 17lbs and a little over 25 inches long. :) She's a growing gal! 

5 months old.. growing too fast!

For this blog post, I decided on mainly pictures. :) So much has changed in this last month! Zoe flips back and forth from tummy to back, and back to tummy! She "talks" all the time, and loves to hear singing... even from mommy who can't sing! She is beginning to teeth.... oh dear! And, she has started to push her booty up and "crawl" backwards. We are amazed at how fast she is developing, and are just choosing to joke and say she is "advanced"... lol. We can already tell she is a super happy baby, and very, very social. It's been made clear that she does not want to be held where she can't see what's going on! She is still  only nursing, and although I had such a struggle last month thinking it wasn't working, everything worked itself out and she is doing great. I now continue to pump while working, and she continues to grow like a weed! We are guessing she's around 15-16 pounds, but not for sure. She holds her own bottle, obviously we still monitor this! And, she has been reaching for EVERYTHING! The other night she was in her bed and we saw a little head poking up from the side.... the little stinker likes to play instead of sleep.... She wakes up about once a night, but this is mainly because of a dirty diaper. She sometimes gets a snack to hold her over til morning. Overall, this has been one of the most fun months! And, sadly I have gone back to work, BUT, I am loving getting the best of both worlds. We have a wonderful babysitter three days a week, and then Chris and my mom split the other two days. It's a blessing how it all worked out! And its so fun to come home and play!

"Zoe, you are such a little blessing and joy to us! We love you SO much and strive to show you that daily! You have made everything sweeter and more precious, and we value our days with you! We still can't wait to see the daily changes and see your cute little smile! We love you pinky!"

Four months old...

It's crazy to think that four months has already flown by! Things are really beginning to change now. Here are some of the things that you do now, Zoe:

-Sit up with support
-Love to be supported while you stand
-Roll over ( not all the time, but you have several times on your own)
-Laugh/Coo
-Growl and Grunt- These have been the most hilarious to listen too!
-Grasp everything! You try to hold your bottle when i give you one
-Eat, Eat, Eat!
-Stretch and arch your back... sometimes almost falling out of our arms.
-You definitely hear our voices now, and follow us everywhere with your eyes
-You know us! You track us down when we walk away from you!
-You like your swing and play yard now... You don't like to be away from the action much though!
-You "sing along" during worship at church... you squeal and grunt to the music :)
-You are most likely going to be an independent child... You know what you want, when you want it... and you know EXACTLY what you don't want!
-When you toot or poop... you smile and giggle!

At your doctor's appointment yesterday, you received your Four month shots. You did well, but it was still sad for us to see you hurt! We gave you tylenol before and after to help out. You weighed 13 lbs and 15 ounces.... so you have grown a couple pounds since last time! You were 23.5 inches long! I think that you are still just average size, right at 50%! Which we think is perfect! I am still nursing you completely, and you take pumped bottles just fine. I might start letting you try some formula once a week or so just to see if it might fill your tummy more at night to let you sleep longer, although, this isn't really needed right now. You sleep from about 10pm-8am, waking once or twice to eat. You usually wake every night around 3 am. We thought you had reflux, but we think it's getting better now that we are trying to keep you calm right after feedings... you are SUCH a wiggle worm!

Obviously, it is 3 am when i am writing this, due to the fact that I just can't seem to find time during the day to do it! Things are busy and I just can't seem to get everything done... go figure! ;)

Zoe, we love you and you are SO much fun! Each month really is getting better! Here are some pictures of you this month!

Life with a three month old...

It's been crazy these past few weeks! We had Chris's brother and his family in visiting, which was wild and fun! The rest of his family came a couple of days, too.... so, we were all pretty tired after the fun ended. We took lots of pictures of Zoe for her baby and three month pics.... she's officially not a newborn ... :( So many things are beginning to happen this month! Here are a few of the highlights this month:

-Zoe rolled over from back to tummy several times, and even tummy to back once!
-She tries to hold everything! I even have pictures of her holding her bottle.. obviously it loses balance after a while, but still...
-She is teething! She slobbers and chews on everything!
-She still sneezes a ton, and her number is 6... she hasn't gone more than 6 in a row. :)
-She has found her voice! The other day she began to just babble on and on. We loved it!
- She is still in 0-3 month and 3 month clothing. But, I know she is growing like a weed!
-I weighed myself, and then weighed us together and it said that she weighs 12.5 pounds... we will see at the doctor soon.
-We met her in- home caretaker for the Fall! She will be staying with her Tuesday through Thursdays. Chris will take Mondays, and my mom will take Fridays! :)
-She giggles and smiles all the time! Its really been a fun month of discovering herself.
-Sleeping has gotten better, too. She almost consistently sleeps all night, waking once or twice to eat. But here lately it's just been a one time a night schedule! Although, naps are not her favorites.
- She will be staying on her first night away from mommy and daddy soon. :( We are going on a much needed one night out to the lake with some friends. I have pumped up enough to keep her belly full!
-You celebrated Father's Day with your daddy... you made him a picture frame and a cute card. :)
-You went swimming for the first time, you loved it!
-You took fourth of July pics with your buddy,Ellis. You both made us laugh!

I am still nursing, and that is going well, but I am afraid that she is just about to become interested in something more. She seems to really eyeball what we eat, and she could eat forever if I let her! She eats about 3.5 to 4 ounces at a time... of course I don't know exactly how much when i nurse her, but that is when i pump. She gets so full that she pulls away with a milk mustache, stretches, and smiles! Overall, this month has been wonderful! She is becoming this little character already! Her personality is really starting to show. She has had a pretty busy month so far. In a few weeks she will be 4 months! Oh dear! Oh yes.... I almost forgot... she fell out of her swing the other day! It was a Sunday morning and she was in her cradle swing... calm cradle swing. Well, she decided to wiggle her way to her feet, except that obviously doesn't work, so she toppled out of the swing and landed face down on the floor. I had ran back in from the kitchen and freaked out! We officially strap her in to all swings, seats, and play toys now! Little wiggle worm!

"Zoe,
You are a little bundle of joy.... seriously, we have so much fun loving on you! I don't want you to grow up, but in the same way it's so much fun watching and being a part of it! I love you little bug!
Mommy"


Here are some pictures: ( no specific order!)

Sweet sleepy baby!

Your first time swimming! 

Your cousin, Zadie, feeding you...

Below is you with your three month picture.

You and daddy on Father's Day weekend.

                                                 You and Ellis at church... we took your Fourth of July pics!

                                                          

Two months old!

As of May 17th, Zoe was already two months old!!! It's crazy how the time has just flown by. This past month has been so busy that I really haven't had any time to blog much! I started back to work to finish off the school year with my first graders. They really enjoyed seeing me again, and seeing Zoe. ( I enjoyed being back too, although I missed my little girl!) Thankfully, Chris was able to take care of her the week and a half I was gone back to work, and now it's summer break! Here are some things that have happened this past month...
- Zoe sleeps from about 10pm to 7 am, waking up around 2am and 6am to eat.
-Zoe loves to eat her fist... in fact, she chokes on it all the time!
-Zoe loves bath time now. :) Mainly because she gets a lotion massage and gets warmed up with the blow dryer after her bath. She is sooooo spoiled!
- Zoe is a GREAT shopping buddy. She usually sleeps or just chews on her shirt or blanket while I buy groceries.
-Life without a bow in her hair doesn't exist. ;)
-Zoe likes it when we talk to her in funny voices... she coos and laughs at us!
-Cooing and laughing is a big thing right now, and we love this!
-Zoe is tolerating her swing much better now, less screaming!
-Zoe loves tummy time, and playing on her play mat... she just now started kicking and attempting to grab some of the little birds and toys.
-Zoe goes on lots of walks with me around the neighborhood..... she seems to like it better now, and doesn't mind the fresh air.
-Zoe still attempts to roll over, she has succeeded a few times.
-She is still swaddled in order to go to sleep, otherwise it's like a little ninja flopping around!
-She has got much better with eye contact and following faces and voices. She knows her mommy and daddy's voices for sure! ( And since my mom, Mims come a lot, she is knowing her voice more , too.)
-She loves to EAT! She has just started eating more at a time... probably a growth spurt.
- You are going through all your clothes! You are officially in 3 month clothes now... with some 0-3 still fitting.
-Oh yeah, you have the sad face down good... your little lip goes all the way down.


Finally, we went to the doctor today to get her two month shots and check up. She measured at 22.5 in long, and 11.67 pounds. She was exactly in the 50th percentile for her age group... the doctor said she was perfect, which we already knew! ;) We love this little girl so much. In fact, this morning on our walk I had to remember all that I am thankful for... she is my little gift. Although my pregnancy and labor weren't the best, she truly is! Life before being a mommy was great, but man, it's crazy how much better it is now. I can't wait to watch her grow more, and continue to meet all these fun milestones. It's already going too fast, though, so I am soaking up every second that I can with her.

Zoe,
You are such a sweet little cutie. Even when I am sleep deprived, you make me smile in the mornings when you laugh and coo. Your big blue eyes are sparkly and happy most always, which brightens my days! Me and your daddy sit and stare at you... in fact, he has to remind me to stop posting so many pictures on Facebook because I could post about 10 a day if it were up to me. :) I hope you know how happy we are to be your parents. We thank God daily that you are happy and healthy. We love you!



And here are some pictures from month two: