A Very Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful first Christmas with Zoe. Even though she's too young to really understand much of it, it was extraordinary to see everything through her eyes. She's starting to get the hang of unwrapping, but it still mostly interested in the bows and boxes rather than the stuff inside. Of course, finally having her home is the best gift of all :-)

We had the opportunity to have Santa come to our house for pictures, instead of going to the mall. (I figured if she was going to have a meltdown, it may as well be at home.) She was OK with Santa at a distance and even walked up to him on her own to check out his suit. But the minute we put her on his lap she started screaming.

Here are a few highlights from Christmas:

What a Day!

Bad Bagger
Some situations just leave me speechless. I started using reusable shopping bags recently in an effort to be a bit more "green." I went food shopping today with my eco-friendly bags, but when I got to the car and started to load the bags, I just had to laugh. The bagger packed all of my groceries in plastic bags, then placed the plastic bags inside the cloth bags. Umm.... DUH!

Bad Dog!
When I got home from the supermarket, I opened the door to the basement and found my dog in the corner with her tail tucked between her legs. Oh crap, now what? (The whole reason the dog has to be in the basement when I go out is because of the previous incidents where she scarfed down 6 gingerbread houses, an 18 pack of English Muffins, etc.)

As I turned the corner, I saw the carnage. Emma ate most of a frozen lasagna and an entire half-gallon of vanilla ice cream. What baffles me is how she got to it?? We have a spare fridge in the basement and all that stuff was in the top freezer. Who is this dog? Houdini??

My day started somewhat poorly when I discovered that Zoe had diarrhea. Now the baby AND the dog have the runs.

Random Cuteness

Gingerbread Party & Other Stuff

Every year I have a gingerbread party for my nephews & some friends so that the kids can decorate houses. I spent several days constructing 6 houses and (foolishly) left them sitting on the kitchen counter while I went upstairs to retrieve Zoe from her nap. Emma, my canine counter surfer, simply could not resist the opportunity for a little holiday snack. She was hiding underneath the dining table when I came downstairs which told me immediately that I was not going to be happy. All of the houses were on the floor in various states of disrepair.

I had neither the time nor the energy to rebuild the houses before Sunday, so I improvised and made trees instead. The kids didn't care. They had a blast and came up with some pretty crazy creations:

(You have to love the use of drink umbrellas. It doesn't matter how much candy we put out, the kids ask for the little umbrellas every year :- )

So, on an unrelated topic...you'll be happy to know that Danger Girl is expanding her territory. I was rearranging some of my kitchen cabinets last week and put an organizer shelf on the floor for a moment. I turned around and guess who decided to climb on board? She cracks me up.

You really just have to laugh.

So, typically a child left alone with a box of wipes ends with all the wipes out of the box. Zoe took out about about a dozen in 30 seconds, but them shoved each one back into the box.

3 Words

Learning to Multitask
You're apparently never too young to learn to multitask.
She has a ball in one hand, remote in the other and a sippy cup hanging out of her mouth.

Profiles in Stupidity

So I'm at the store with Zoe today and the cashier strikes up the following conversation:

Cashier: How old is she?
Me: 13 months.
Cashier: Wow, this is pretty advanced stuff to buy for someone so little. At this age she won't even care about most of it except for the wrapping paper.
Me (slightly annoyed): Well, this stuff is for my nephews.
Cashier: How long have you had her?
Me: We brought her home from China in June.
Cashier: Oh, how long did it take to get her?
Me: About 3 years.
Cashier: Wow! You waited all that time and you only got a girl?
Me (foaming at the mouth with rage): It's painful to wait for any child for THREE YEARS.
MAY I PLEASE HAVE MY RECEIPT!!

Oh for the love of all that is decent in this world, please tell me how people this ignorant and rude are allowed to survive the natural selection process!!!! As a footnote....how do they continue to find me???

Danger Girl at 13 Months Old

Zoe is walking about 30% of the time now. Being upright has opened her eyes to a whole new level of Danger Girl activity.



A Few Hours in the Life of Danger Girl
Oooh Mommy left a ladder for me to climb! She's on the wrong side of the ladder, but still managed to get both feet up on that bottom rung.



If I can't climb the ladder, then at least let me play with these lights! Nice try Danger Girl, but mommy spoiled your plans again.



Danger Girl thinks building a fire should be a father/daughter activity. Notice the TV remote in her hand?



Danger Girl finds daddy's old cellphone...and dials China.

Running with Scissors

I am a moron.
For the polite, they'll think, "Oh no dear, what could you possibly you mean?" But for those of you who know me, you'll think "What the hell did she do now?"

Well...to make a long story short: I impaled my eyeball on a Christmas tree. Yup. Yesterday, whilst stringing the lights, I bent over to grab another strand and accidentally jammed a branch of Frasier Fir into my eyeball. UNDER the eyelid. The branch shredded my contact lens. I'd like to say that I took it like a champ, but instead I squealed like a little girl with pigtails. I can handle just about anything gross -- heck, I can watch the surgery channel during dinner. But the only thing I can't deal with...is the eyeball.

So, after a visit to the doctor, it turns out I have a 2.5mm corneal abrasion (pretty big as far as the eyeball is concerned.) I was supposed to wear an eye patch all day, but Mark kept saying AARRGG, AYE MATEY every time he saw me so I gave up. So after a few days of antibiotic eyeball ointment (and Cabernet) I should be healed. SAD!!

Turkey, Trees & Toddling

Zoe's First Thanksgiving
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving-- with much to be thankful for. For so many years we had an empty place at the table (and in our hearts) as we waited for Zoe to come home. Every year we'd say "this is the last Thanksgiving/Christmas/Mother's Day/etc" that we'll have without her. It took 3 LONG years, but can I just say... she was totally worth the wait :-)

This is Zoe's Thanksgiving dress. (I loved this fuzzy little jumper-- it makes her look like a character from Monsters Inc.) Notice the footwear? I had some cute Mary Janes picked out, but Zoe loves this pair of pink corduroy sneakers. She brings them to me, says "ish, ish" (this, this) then sticks her feet in the air to have me put them on. I can't say no to that face.

Christmas Tree

On Friday we took Zoe to pick out her first Christmas tree. When I was a kid we always got our tree the day after Thanksgiving, so I was thrilled to (finally) share this tradition with Zoe. We're big into the whole experience of cutting down a tree, so we loaded up the family truckster and headed to this cool family run tree farm in the middle of nowhere. (Think "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.") Zoe settled on a 9.5 foot frasier that would make Clark W. Griswald proud. Sadly, it was only then we realized we had no way to pay for the tree. In all of the exitement, neither Mommy nor Daddy had the presence of mind to bring enough money (the farm only takes cash). Did I mention we were in the middle of nowhere?? Eventually we found an ATM and went back to collect our tree.

Danger Girl Walking

Zoe has entered a new danger frontier: walking. Our house (and the poor dog) will never be the same again...

(turn up the volume for this one)

The Lesser Known Chinese Proverb...

Yesterday I was introduced to one of Confucious' lesser known proverbs:

"She who leaves T.P. unattended shall have empty roll."

I couldn't help but crack up after putting Zoe in her snowsuit.
She looks like a little sausage link :-)

What Daddy Taught Zoe...

Happy First Birthday Zoe!

Zoe has kept me so busy that I've been a bit delinquent in my posting lately. Here are the highlights from the past few weeks:

Zoe turned 1 year old on November 7th. We had a little family party and she handled the chaos like a champ. For me, it was a wake-up call that I can't entertain the same way I used to. It's nearly impossible to cook & attend to guests with one arm tied behind your back and a 20 pound giggle ball attached to your hip. I'm so glad I figured this out before we host Thanksgiving dinner next week. (Can you believe it's NEXT WEEK!!)

I was looking back at photos from our trip to China and I'm amazed at how much little girl has changed in the past 6 months.

6 months old


12 months old


Girly-Girl vs. Danger-Girl
We're seeing more and more evidence that Zoe is going to be equal parts girly-girl and danger-girl.

Exhibit A
The girly-girl loves shoes, hair bows and any kind of poofy skirt with ruffles.
Meanwhile, danger-girl will try to climb anything.



Exhibit B
Girly-girl squishes her birthday cupcake, then freaks out because her hands are sticky.
Meanwhile, danger-girl continues to taunt the dog..."I'm not touching you...I'm not touching you..."



Exhibit C
My girly-girl loves to try on hats.
My danger-girl like to wear the box :-)



Exhibit D
Girly-girl loves to push around her new shopping cart, while danger-girl loves to help daddy put it together (and checks to see if screws and washers taste as good as they look.)



Sleeping
We went through a 4 week period where Zoe decided she was too cool for naps. Thankfully she outgrew that stage before mommy completely lost her mind. Now Zoe has developed an affinity for 3:00 AM. She will sleep soundly through the night-- until 3:00 AM, at which point mommy must come move her out of the corner of the crib, find a lost blankie or unwedge a fat little thigh from the rails. The fact that it's always 3:00AM is not the strangest part. On the weekends (when it's daddy's turn to get in the middle of the night) Zoe wakes at 1:00 AM. She goes to bed the same time every night, but somehow she seems to know who is "on duty" that evening and wakes us up accordingly. Go figure?

Wardrobe Wars
On Sunday, I was going out to run errands and daddy was in charge for the afternoon. Before I left I laid out some pink overalls, a cute sweater and (of course) a hair bow. When I can back from shopping, I found daddy and Zoe on the couch...watching football. Zoe was wearing a Patriots sweatshirt and jeans and the two of them each had a remote. What happened to the clothes I put out for her? Apparently you can't watch football in pink :-)

First Haircut

I took Zoe for her first haircut today. We went to a place that specializes in kid's cuts, so the chairs are small and they have videos playing at each station. I wasn't sure how she'd react to a haircut, but she did very well.

Happy Birthday Emma Dog

Our first baby, Emma, turns 6 today. We rescued her from an abusive home when she was 10 months old and she's been the queen around here ever since. (Well...that was until she was dethroned by the pint sized empress. )



Ever since her "little sister"arrived, Emma's nose has been seriously out of joint-- and with good reason. She has to share attention, maneuver around baby gates and comply with arbitrary new rules like No Barking During Nap Time and Don't Knock Over the Baby.



Zoe LOVES the dog and chases after her all day shrieking oof..oof...oof ("woof").



Emma put up with an awful lot even before Zoe came home. Who do you think I dressed for Halloween before I had a child??





Despite all of the change in our lives, Emma has always been and will continue to be an important part of the family...and our first little girl.

Happy Birthday Emma!!

Trick or Treat

Zoe was a ladybug for her first Halloween. I bought the costume about 2 years ago, luckily it was the right size :-) She didn't mind the costume, but HATED wearing the hood. Most of the pictures from that afternoon are of her trying to rip off the antennae.








Daddy took her trick-or-treating to a couple of houses in the neighborhood. Mark didn't even have to show her what to do, she reached right into the candy bucket on her own.



Adventures in Babysitting
This past weekend Mark and I went to a wedding...by ourselves. It was the first time we've been out together without Zoe in 6 months. Zoe stayed with her Auntie Jenn, so I knew she was in excellent hands, but I had this irrational fear that Zoe would think we were leaving her forever. In the end, everyone had a great time. (And I only called home to check in once!)



Walking
In other news, Zoe took her first unassisted (wobbly) steps last night. She let go of the couch and took a couple of steps toward me. We were both speechless. We thought we might have a couple of months before she started walking on her own, but I think it's looking more like a couple of weeks.



Sleep Issues
Zoe will be a year old on Friday and she has apparently decided that she's too old for naps. For about the past 3 weeks, I've been lucky to get her to take one nap, let alone the 2 naps that she usually takes. Anyone else dealing with this??




The minute Mom isn't looking, Danger Girl tries to scale the kitchen cabinets.

Profiles in Stupidity

So I'm at the supermarket with Zoe today. Zoe is sitting in the cart facing me when a woman approaches us and strikes up this uncomfortable conversation:

Shopper: "How old is your daughter?"
Me: "Almost 12 months." As Zoe turned around, the woman looked startled.
Shopper: "Oh, I didn't realize you were babysitting, sorry."
Me: "No, she's mine."
Shopper: "Oh, that must be a really interesting way way to do things, I hear a lot of people are doing that." (I'm assuming by "that"she means adoption.)
Then she leans in for the grand finale and says: "I bet it's probably a lot easier than having them the other way."

It's the Great Pumpkin Zoe Lu!

We took Zoe to the pumpkin patch this weekend. She liked the pumpkins, but was really interested in the stems...especially one broken hunk of stem that she carried around the farm for an hour...



...I'll give you one guess where the broken stem came from....hmmm.



Mommy and Zoe sitting on a poor unsuspecting pumpkin.



Moments after this photo was taken, Zoe noticed a small bug crawling on this pumpkin...she picked it up and tried to eat it. Eww.



Daddy and Zoe exploring the corn maze.

11 Months Old

Long time, no post. Our little 11 month old tornado is keeping me VERY busy. Zoe has changed significantly in the past month.

• She is cruising all over the house (using push toys) and I suspect she will take her first solo steps very soon.
• She is very vocal and "talks" all day long. She only says a few recognizable words, but some of them are priceless. My favorite: when asked "what does a lion say" she ROARS in her tiny voice. (It's so damn cute)
• She feeds herself (and the dog) at meals and even uses a fork on occasion.
• She has 8 teeth.
• She's a climber and an investigator...so we've installed lots o' gates around the house in the past month.
• Perhaps the most amazing change, in my opinion, is her emerging personality. Zoe is so happy and joyful. My mom called it months ago-- Zoe is going to be the comedian in the family. She does silly things all the time-- just to see if we'll laugh.
  
  
  
  Here are some highlights from the past few weeks:
  
  We were in Connecticut a couple weeks ago to celebrate my mom's birthday and Zoe met her Uncle Rich (my little brother) for the first time. I wasn't sure how Zoe would react to all of his tattoos, but she was fascinated.
  
  
  
  I watched [in mommy horror] as daddy put Zoe on the big slide at our neighbor's house. I should have known that my litle danger girl was going to love it :-)
  
  

Here she is investigating a mini pumpkin in the yard. We're planning on taking her to the pumpkin patch this week to pick out a big one!



Zoe wakes up happy and smiling every day. She is such a joyful little girl. The only downside to her hair growing....no more Zo-Hawks :-(



On a totally unrelated topic...I had a very cool experience this month. I had the opportunity to do a tattoo...a real permanent tattoo...on a real person. Let me note for the record that I am in no way even remotely qualified or experienced to do a tattoo- which is why this is SO cool. The subject/victim was my brother. He's a tattoo artist, so at least one of us knew what they were doing. He was adding his new niece's name to his ever-expanding body art collection and decided on a whim that his big sis should do the honors. What he failed to consider before making this decision is all of the payback that I owed him for all of the miserable little brother stunts he pulled as we were growing up. Needless to say, my tattoo was more like acupunture (with an ice pick) and he cried like a little girl. (Okay, so he didn't cry...but he did bleed.) We have some video of this event, but I have to edit out all of the expletives before posting :-)