Happy Half-Birthday, Zo-Zo!

Wow! 6 months already? Yes, it's true - some days (and nights!) seemed to drag on forever, but overall time has passed quickly. Zoë has grown and changed; we have grown and changed. The last six months have been the most wonderful and most difficult, most life-giving and most exhausting.

Through it all, Zoë has taught us that we are inadequate in and of ourselves, we love conditionally, we are self-centered and lack self-control, and that I in particular turn into an erupting volcano of not-niceness when sleep-deprived. We need God desperately and are fully dependent on Him, just as this little one is fully dependent on us, and we need His grace every day to help us to be the parents to Zoë that he desires us to be.

Zac and I just began reading Gary Thomas' "Sacred Parenting" last night and wish we had started several months ago. If you are a parent or will be one, you need to check this out! The premise is "how raising children shapes our souls":

"Christian parenting is truly a sacred journey. 

It invites us to purify ourselves, to use the process 

of raising kids to perfect holiness [in ourselves], 

and to do this consistently, every day, 

out of reverence for God."

Enough about us! 
Here's what Zoë has been up to this past month :

-  Rolled over! I can't keep her on her back longer than a second anymore!

- Learned the "inchworm scooch" to move in circles on her tummy

- Passed objects from one hand to the other

- Played with banana and avocado on her tray...and maybe licked some off her fingers. She does love to lick apples, though!

- Had a sinus infection, diarrhea for 2+ weeks 4-5 times a day, then caught a cold

- Learned to play games with mommy, like "Where's Zoë?...There she is!" when putting her clothes on, and a version of hide-n-seek.

- Learned how to take her pacifier out and hold it...but not to put it back in.

- Lost pacifier privileges during the night after a rough couple of weeks of waking up every hour, and now she sleeps M-U-C-H better. Hopefully she will continue to do so!

- Started showing signs of separation anxiety (oh no!)

- Learned to shake her head side to side (as if saying no). This has become her #1 method for escaping medicine and the boogie-syringe. But she also does it just for kicks.

- Giggled, giggled and giggled some more! We love the giggles.

- Became more articulate and varied in her babbling and squealing

- Is very close to being able to sit up all by herself without toppling over

- Is starting to understand patterns and has learned to expect certain events

- Turned pages in board books (well, mostly. She turns it halfway, then tries to stick it in her mouth)

Special thanks to Brooke Ann Hill Photography for the wonderful family pictures!