Fun with Nan D

There is always something to do at Nan D's house. She loves to jump and play and sing and she's very snuggly.








After the peek-a-boo lesson, we had a great time jumping on the bed.

Of course, after all that fun, everyone needs to rest.

Zoe has such a good time with Nan D. I think being away from her is the hardest of all. She always makes up for lost time but it would be wonderful to see her more often.

BATHTIME!

Zoe was taking a bath all by herself when Lily decided to join her. So much more fun. It was just too cute seeing them both in the sink together. It's too bad we live so far away. Bath time is always more fun with a friend. It's amazing to see these little people connect with one another. They just look at each other and reach out to embrace and explore. There are definitely some disadvantages to growing up. Losing that innocence tops the list

I think they missed a spot

Don't fall over Lily

Yeah, we're cute


We're really, really cute.

If you don't believe how cute, just watch this.

A quick trip to Redding

We couldn't make it all the way across the U.S. and not visit Great Grandma and Grandpa Deetz. The 2 1/2 hour drive was a cinch and the weather hung in for us long enough to make it home. Grandma made us some delicious food and we had a really good time visiting. Zoe showed off all her latest moves and I think they were impressed.

Big kisses from GG Deetz

Hey Great Grandpa!

Thanks for feeding me lunch, GG!

That's quite a view you got there

I'll help with the pie, y'all

This is fun but I hope that pie doesn't come back up

We had a great time. Hope to see you guys soon!

Fun with cousins in Oregon

Zoe and I left Dad in NYC and went to Oregon for Veterans' Day. It was a quick trip but so needed. Everyone is getting so big. Lily is delicate little thing and Judah is a bruiser. He only weighs a half-pound less than Zoe and is 7 1/2 months old. All the other cousins are doing all sorts of new things and the oldest are doing well in first grade. Here is some of the fun.

All the babies playing together

Zoe and Judah getting acquainted

Aiden really wanted to sit with the girls

Super Cute


Judah likey yogurt....mmmm


Jon and Sammy


Ben and Sammy


Ben was really into the camera

See what I mean (oh, that's Bekah)

Abigail is getting so big. What a little lady.

Zoe's Movement

So I managed to catch our little action figure on camera. She is all over the place. Zoe never really got the whole crawling posture in the beginning and she still hasn't perfected her form but I am certain that is on the horizon. She does this curious little scoot and when in motion most resembles a hermit crab. Take a look.



When it comes to standing and pulling herself up to standing, she is a pro. She is pretty fearless and has no problem letting go of one thing to grab another. Her newest move is using your pants as a ladder.




I knew this was going to be a lot of fun but this is ridiculously great. Her little personality is shining brighter every day and she could not be sweeter. We are so blessed to have this amazing little person in our lives.

Future Vegetarian?

So I guess it was silly of me to be concerned about the lollipops. Apparently, Zoe has a broad palate. I was cooking dinner the other night and had some mushrooms in a container on the counter. Very often, I have to hold her while throwing things together. I went to get some mushrooms out of the package and she reached right in and grabbed one.

Knowing that everything goes into her mouth, I expected her to taste it and after discovering it kind of tasted like dirt (don't get me wrong... mushrooms are delicious), she would throw it down. Boy was I wrong. Check it out!




Let's hope she takes to all vegetables the same way but I know better than to assume her tastes will remain the same. She hated bananas the first time I fed them to her and know she kinda digs 'em. Ah, the adventures of solid foods.

Lollipop Lover

Over the Halloween weekend, we had some Tootsie Pops in the house. Nana Debbie thought it would be cute to give her one and I have to say it has created a monster. Now when she sees the shape or even the stick in your mouth, she starts to grunt and whine for a lick. Check it out.



We were in the living room and she got into the pumpkin bucket with candy in it. She picked out two Dum-Dums and couldn't really make up her mind about which one she wanted.




So the sucker love will have to be monitored closely. There are all kinds of things you say you will never do with your kids before they are born and of course, you end up doing most of it and looking like a total hypocrite. Luckily, most people aren't keeping score and you are usually doing what's best for them. What more can you ask for, really?

HALLOWEEN!!!

LONG LIVE ROBOTS!!! When Aaron shared his ideas for costumes a few months ago, I was skeptical about our ability to pull off the project. Make our own robot costumes? Dunno about that. We did some research and made many trips to home improvement and party decoration stores and much to our surprise, all the materials we thought would work actually did. We even found some unexpected surprises that made the costumes even better (Zoe's costume actually started as a beer keg hat).

We started our Halloween weekend in New Jersey at Nana Debbie's school. They had a parade and Zoe came to visit in her bunny outfit. She was a hit of course and it was nice to have all Nana's colleagues able to see her in person. We know Nana brags about Zoe all the time.

We spent Halloween night in the West Village at the Annual Halloween Parade. Zoe was the first one dressed and ready to go. She just had to wait for all the slow adults to get robo-cized.

Here we are in all our foil glory.

Zoe had the best costume of all. We couldn't get more than a half block at the parade without someone stopping us for a picture. She was a celebrity with her own paparazzi.

We knew the subway would be a challenge but it wasn't as bad as we thought. Of course, we had to stand the whole way there and back. Hard to sit in a box!

Daddy and Zoe. Quite a pair!

It was an eventful evening for our baby girl. Being famous is exhausting.

We had a blast and are hoping to make it back to the parade soon, although we know that there will be much trick-or-treating from next year on.

We're Back

So sorry to have disappeared from the blogosphere. I realize that many people are chomping at the bit when it comes to images of Zoe and I truly apologize. I will do better but I have to tell you the update will do a lot to satisfy your craving and get me back in your good graces. Let start with some "hangin' out" pictures.

Zoe had to try on Emma's wacky Sid Vicious wig. AWESOME!

Emma is officially a bi-ped. Way to go Emma!

We met up with Kellie (the previous and now current nanny) and Emilio at the park. So glad to have her back.

This apple slice didn't stand a chance. Totally pulverized at the end of this snacking session.


Playing after bathtime

I made the mistake of letting her taste the Popsicle and then the grunting began.

Everyone is doing well. Zoe is working on lots of new teeth and is really starting to scoot around. Sleeping through the night has been a little elusive but I'm sure poking enamel chunks through your gums is a bit uncomfortable. I can't help but comfort her with closeness. I may pay for it later but only time will tell.

Hangin With My Baby!

I so look forward to my days off. The idea of sleeping in with Zoe or taking a walk to just about anywhere or meeting up with friends. Everything is an adventure. Zoe makes friends wherever she goes: the cashier at the grocery store, the person waiting in line at the post office, someone waiting at the red light. She teaches me something new every day and I still can't believe she's my daughter.

What is this strange contraption?

Arrrrgggg!!!!

I got these great shots of her while we were waiting to catch our first M train together.
Yay, new subway expeditions!

I hope to look forward to coming home to her for the next 18 years.

Officially In My Early 30's

My birthday started off with a delicious breakfast. I took a little crap for making it myself but it was a lot of fun. We can't have our guests slaving in the kitchen, can we? After waffle boats, turkey bacon and eggs, we made our way into the city on a very sunny day.

We headed to the Highline Park in Chelsea to check out the foliage.

The infamous Standard Hotel
(apparently they like to encourage guests to display themselves sans clothes in the windows facing the Highline)

After a delicious dinner at the local sushi restaurant, we headed back to our apartment to devour some cake. No, I didn't make my own birthday cake. Debbie made it but I really wanted to decorate it and since it was my birthday, Debbie graciously conceded the task to me. Pretty good huh? Maybe I missed my calling.

Thanks for coming to visit and making my birthday a special day. We hope to see you all again really soon.

Grammy and Grampy and Sam, Oh My!

We all got quite a San Francisco treat when the McAuliffe-Schmutz family came to visit us for a few days. They had perfect timing and arrived on the weekend of my birthday. The weather was amazing and the company was outstanding. Everyone arrived on Saturday afternoon and we spent the evening in the new neighborhood. One of my favorite things about Grammy and Grampy is how much they enjoy exploring the areas in which we live. We had dinner at our favorite pizza place and made tentative plans for the weekend.

Here are some pics from the visit. You can see more of our adventures in my birthday post, up next.

Grampy got a lot of cuddle time with Zoe.

Grammy and Uncle Sam

Storytime with Grampy

Full o' giggles

How I wish the world was full of nothing but joyous children! Zoe is a wonder of unconditional love and curiosity. She loves to be with us and really asks for so little. Her presence makes me realize how much we need to change the way we deal with one another and the unrealistic and unnatural expectations we place on ourselves and others. It's time to re-focus ourselves on the things that really matter: loving and caring for others in the hopes of making this world a better place.

Heavy stuff! Now onto the goodies... enjoy!!



Zoe is hilarious.