Hat Head

We have a new hat in the house. My Aunt made this hat for Zoe and it has taken 2 weeks to get her to wear it for more than a few seconds. She is at the age where, unless it is her idea, you are unlikely to get a lot of cooperation.

Zoe and "Elbo"

So we were walking around in Target today and out of nowhere Zoe starts shrieking "elbow" over and over (and I mean really loud.) Those of you with small children understand that deciphering toddler-speak is not an easy task, especially in public under the scrutiny of fellow shoppers. So I'm frantically looking around trying to figure out what the hell "elbow" is supposed to mean when I spy an Elmo doll at the end of a row a few aisles away. Now, Zoe has seen a little Sesame Street, but it really freaked me out that she knew who Elmo was out of context. As we got closer to the display, Zoe is boucing up and down in the cart and waving her hands wildly. I looked at her and said "Elmo?" And this child shot me a look like, duh Mom! Needless to say, we are now the proud owners of a new "Elbo" doll.

(click thumbnails to view photos)

Here's a quick video of Zoe saying "Elbo."

Zoe's friend Gracie also has a thing for Elmo, only she calls him "Melmo." That little red monster sure has a way with the ladies :-)

Miss Independent

Now that the weather is finally improving, we've been spending a lot more time outside. It's been so cool to watch Zoe explore the yard for the first time and it's always an advenure to see what kind of treasures she's going to bring to me. Usually its leaves, rocks or sticks, but today it was nearly a piece of petrified dog poop. Thankfully I saw her reach for it just in time to intervene. Phew!

Our little Miss Independent has entered the era of "Zoe-Do." She wants to do everything herself, which makes for incredibly messy meals and really interesting diaper changes. She also insists on walking everywhere -- without holding Mommy's hand. In this video, we were walking home from a neighbor's house and Mommy was clearly not moving fast enough.

Here are a few pictures from the week:

Black Eye...1 Week Later

Zoe's shiner has improved significantly over the past week, but it's still pretty awful looking. The good news is that the doctor says she's fine (just graceful like her mother).

Picking a Potty

I like to use the bathroom alone. Most people do. But since Zoe came home, potty privacy is a thing of the past. She pushes the door open and brings me toys, books, etc. and likes to hand me 1 square of TP at a time. (Is this too much info??) Anyway, we figured if she's going to be in bathroom, we may as well introduce the idea of a "seat" just for her. So this morning we took Zoe to the store to pick out a potty. This is, without question, the most hysterical shopping trip I have ever been on.



The best part of this is the crowd of people that formed to watch her sort out the pros and cons of each potty. When she put that one seat on her head, I thought one of the other customers would have a seizure from laughing too hard. I can barely keep a straight face just thinking about it :-)

Zoe & Emma

I'm happy to report that Zoe and Emma have been getting along much better recently. I still have to referee at least once a day, usually to rescue the dog from playing dress-up or a drive-by spatula attack.



Zoe is pretty adamant that the dog needs accessories. Here, our poor unsuspecting pooch was going to wear some bracelets...like it or not.









Once again, Emma was minding her own business when Zoe decided to practice her sharing. This time it was her blankie.

Black Eye

Zoe had a big first this weekend....a black eye. She tripped on the bathroom rug and her little face hit the side of the tub (cringe). She cried for about 30 seconds (and mommy cried for an hour). The worst part is that Mark wasn't home, so her first major injury happened on my watch. (Seriously, doesn't everyone just expect that these things happen when dad is in charge??) Let me offer a piece of advice to other parents out there: don't take your toddler out in public with a black eye. We lost count of the dirty "you're-clearly-unfit-parents" looks we got at the store yesterday.

Saturday
It wasn't too bad the first day, but it was definitely a shiner.



Sunday
The thing about bruises is that they always get worse before they get better, so by Sunday she looked like a prize fighter.



Monday
The swelling went down quite a bit by this morning, but it's still very purple.