A Movin' and a Groovin'

Remember those "baby pushups" Zoë started doing at 8 months? Well, they were the start of something BIG! Baby pushups and rocking back and forth on hands and knees led to "hopping" forward on her knees and now, officially, CRAWLING. Way to go, Zo-Zo!

She started out slow about a week ago, but now Zoë can move-it, and get into all kinds of things. Mommy is running around chasing her already! She even made her way through a barricade in front of her door. :s Unfortunately, the gates I ordered do not fit the space we need, and the replacements will not be here for a couple weeks. Oh, and she just discovered that she can crawl in the tub :o The fun begins!

Even though it means more work for me (and requires the growth of an extra pair of eyes in the back of my head), it was delightful to watch this little one figure it out for the first time, barely able to put one hand in front of the other, and to watch her only a week later cross the living room and dining area to find me in the kitchen (calling "mamam-mamam" the whole way...*heart-meltingly precious*).

If you are just itching to see Zoë in action, you are in luck! Zac and I had a little too much fun on this video :) Enjoy some pre-crawling circles and rolls, the "first" crawl, and some recent footage of our little crawler.

Mama Mia! It's-a Pasta!

Yes, a momentous occasion - Zoë's first spaghetti night, complete with homemade meatballs, tomato sauce and a "I love Pasta" baby bib!

Well, ok, it's not officially spaghetti since she is eating egg noodles - but these are much easier for her to pick up by herself. Oh, and peas! She ate them right up. The meatballs had hidden oatmeal  for some healthy grains and Italian spices for a nice kick. This is the first full meal we have enjoyed as a family - eating the same food. YAY! Zoë even had a small bite of my breadstick :)

During a mid-meal breakdown, mommy saved the day with an impromptu discovery which Zoë found quite h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s! Thank you, breadstick-in-the-mouth. And quacking like a duck.

Ah...perfect plastering of pasta and sauce all over. You can't have spaghetti without having it everywhere, right?

What's the big deal with spaghetti? Well, it is daddy's favorite. Mommy bought this bib for Zac's "manly baby shower," and it seems like Zoë is a girl after her father's own heart.

That's amóre!

It's about time...

For more home videos :)

The mirror is truly one of Zoë's most exciting friends. Here's a clip to give you a glimpse of the mirror magic! The one part I didn't catch on video was when Zoë started "kissing" the mirror. Very cute!

Parents often talk about how funny it is that we even go through the trouble (and expense) to buy children toys, when the thing they end up playing with is the box it came in! Zoë has discovered several non-conventional toys that she LOVES to play with. Here are a few of her favorites.

Adventures in Foodland

It never ceases to amaze me how in the moment, some things seem to take an eternity (like getting Zoë to eat), but now that I look back, she has come so far in just a couple of months! The above picture was taken right around 6 months, with Zoë's first and only go at baby brown rice cereal. The nurse said it would help her stomach deal with a bad case of diarrhea, but Zoë would have none of it. It did make a nice gotee though...

Other than that and a couple tries with baby purees to deal with her strong gag reflex, we have gone the way of "baby-led solids/baby-led weaning", a method developed by Gill Rapley that gives the baby control over what and how much they will eat. So, from the get go, Zoë learned to feed herself! We found the easiest foods to begin with were long slices of soft fruits or vegetables that she could hold in her fist and then bite off at the end. Or like this big chunk of frozen bagel (for those poor little toofers :)

I'll admit, it was frustrating for me to sit back and let her do her thing (which meant several meals of smearing the food around the tray without eating one bit of it :s), but suddenly around 7 1/2 months, she started grabbing chunks, sticking them in her mouth, and EVEN chewing and swallowing the food. (Zoë wasn't a big fan of swallowing at first :) Around 8 months, she started picking up smaller chunks in her palm and shoving her palm into her mouth - which does get the food in there, but also gets quite a bit up her nose. Gross. We're hoping she'll figure out the pincher grip soon!

 One day I turned around from working in the kitchen to find Zoë had konked out in her highchair with the food still in her hand. Boy, eating is hard work!

Our little messy foodie - sweet potato all over. Zoë is skilled at getting food up her nose, in her ears, and smeared throughout her eyebrows and hair.

Watch Zoë in action! Our recent adventures in foodland have taken us into the world of spices (yum! cinnamon and parsley are current faves) and meat. Homemade (salt-free) chicken noodle soup coming right up!

A Perfect Day for Sledding

 A beautiful sunny day with soft, lovely snow and a little sled just for my girl :)

  Oh what fun!

Even Daddy joined in for a little bit

(but we need to get him some boots so he doesn't have any excuses!)

Snow Angel

Celebrate the Big 8!

Growing-growing-growing! Our little Zoë is 8 months today! With another month of life came a 3rd tooth (woohoo!), rocking on all fours, doing baby pushups, and feeding herself finger food. Oh, and lots and lots of talking. Zoë has been practicing her dynamics (LOUD and LOUDER) and endurance (how long can she hold that tone?!)

Baby push-ups!