Daddy's 33rd Birthday

So Aaron turned the big 3-3 and we celebrated with a big steak dinner at home before heading out to a concert. Debbie brought over a feast and I managed to grill the steaks without cremating them. They were delicious. I was going to make a red velvet cake but I couldn't resist the chance to buy an ice cream cake in the shape of a race car. Makes sense to me.

No birthday cake would be complete without re-lighting candles.

Zoe thought Daddy needed help opening some of his presents.
Thanks Baby Girl!!

Love to kiss and squeeze the Zo-zo!

Putting on the Ritz with Aunty Steph!

Guess who we got to see for just one evening? Aunty Stephanie from Pacifica. She was in town just two days for a conference and was nice enough to spend her limited time with us. Zoe, Stephanie and I enjoyed a beautiful walk by the river before Aaron met us in the hotel restaurant for a delicious dinner. It was so wonderful to catch up with her and hear about her exciting plans to visit Pakistan in November. Such a globetrotter.


Zoe made sure to drool all over everything in Aunty Steph's hotel room, but she is so nice she didn't mind at all. We don't know when we will see her next, but we hope it is soon. Thanks for hanging with us!

Celebrating with Will and Alice

We had such a good time celebrating the marriage of our good friends, Will Smith and Alice Stevenson. They invited us to a rooftop party in Manhattan. It was also special because Zoe got to meet her friend Sadie for the first time since she was born in May. The Livaks moved to Chicago in March and made the trip to NYC to celebrate with us all. What a treat! You can tell everyone was having an amazing time.

Zoe made great use of the carpet at the reception to push herself up to sitting for the first time.

Hugs from Natacha


Daddy better watch his drink.
This wasn't the only glass to be molested by Zoe's tongue that night.


Hi Sadie! You sure are cute!!

The Livaks

Janet and Barbara

We look forward to seeing everyone again soon. Maybe a fall brunch at our place. We'll see.

Stoop Sale

What a successful stoop sale! I love the purge and it was a gorgeous day. We started out at around 8:30 in the morning and things were booming right away. We had such a rush that by around 1pm, there really wasn't much left. GOOD!

Though it was a beautiful day, we did have to say goodbye to our cousin Lindsay, who left to take a great job in Minneapolis. Hurry back to us cousin Linds! We love you!!

Look at all the junk, I mean goodies.

Nana Debbie came to sell some of her "goodies" too. She deemed it a success when she made the money to cover the tolls from NJ. Thanks for coming!

Such a Big Girl

So sorry to have waited so long to post. Life sure comes in waves. Of course a lot has happened since the last posting. Hmmm... where to start. Zoe love solid food, especially Mum-mum crackers and fruit. She is still working on her crawling skills. We need to get a rug to help her out. She now has 4 teeth, 2 top and 2 bottom.

She has figured out how to hold onto things to stay standing and depending on her position, she can pull herself up to standing. I guess this is just the beginning of the end for us, but you can't help but be happy for her. With every bit of control she is able to have over her body, she can truly exercise her exploring skills.

Yay for me! I'm standing!

I don't know how I got up here.

The perfect teether

I totally know how I got up here.

She likes to MOVE IT, MOVE IT!!!

Boy, do we have a different baby or what!? So I thought there was a drastic change at 4 months old but that was nothing compared to the last week. In a matter of days, Zoe has taken a real interest in solid food, really gotten control over body movements and is sleeping through the night. I'm sure a ton of this is connected but I don't care too much how it all works. It's awesome and we are having so much fun. Just take a look!

Zoe really does prefer standing...

...well, most of the time.

All of this was happening on the same day (if the same clothes didn't give that away) so it was pretty exciting and was quite the event in the Deetz household.

She has put in a lot of tummy time over the last few months and I think it has paid off. Enjoy your reward, little one. We sure are!!!

Hanging with Daddy! (and a little with Mommy)

Aaron and I have been fortunate enough to have a pretty good schedule worked out where we both get a lot of time with Zoe. She has very easily integrated herself into most of our activities, especially Daddy's extracurricular interests. Good for you, baby girl!

Daddy's been brushing up on his old NES skills and Zoe is doing her best to help out. Wouldn't want that pesky cord to get in the way. Better take care of that.

Zoe and I were hanging out in Daddy's studio and Zoe got thirsty. Check it out:



Of course, she didn't drink it but it was funny anyway. So many cute growly noises!

She has really started to learn to play and entertain herself. Don't get me wrong! She still prefers we give her our undivided attention, but she seems to be a lot more content when that is not possible. She is doing a lot of giggling and is producing many different sounds these days. I hope to catch more of them on video and of course you will be the next to hear them.