Yeah...it's been a while.
Sorry.
The good news is you have 4 months of pics
to drink in, so prepare yourself for a
parade of holidays and happy memories.
This fall, Zoe learned the joys of dancing and singing
along with her favorite music.
This is one of the first times Zoe tried to do
Balou's "Bear Necessities" wiggle-butt dance
from "THE JUNGLE BOOK."
(She thinks she's wiggling her butt)
We've been watching a lot of football and Zoe is
superstitious. She thinks this brings the Steelers
good luck.
Joke's on us -- it works (the Steelers made the playoffs!)
One morning Zoe pulled down all the paper towels and
made "a boat to sail to Grandma."
Ahoy, Zoe!
Zoe and her oldest friend Rhys sit on their
porch and enjoying their golden years together.
Zoe has become quite good at sleeping in her crib.
She now loves it when we tuck her in after reading
a few books together.
Of course, she does wonder what it's like in Mama and Daddy's bed.
What would the fall be without Halloween?
This year Zoe dressed up as Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street.
(pictured in her right hand)
Zoe thought it was pretty fun being a magical fairy.
Before the big night, Zoe got all dressed up for her
Zumbini class. She wasn't sure what people would think...
Good thing everyone else came in their costumes, too!
She and Mama also went to the Zoo.
After lots and lots of practice ("Trick or Treeeeeeat!) the big
night had finally arrived.
Mom and Dad weren't exactly sure what time to take her out and
made the rookie mistake of assuming we'd just have dinner after
a quick lap through the neighborhood.
So, at 5:30pm on All-Hallows Eve, we unleashed Abby Cadabby
on the streets of Burbank.
...and unknowingly created a candy monster.
She was scared at the first house, but did her best to
whisper, "trickortreat."
When that magic phrase was met with a sugar-sweet reward...
Zoe ran back to me and shouted, "MORE HOUSES!!!"
More houses indeed, little Abby. More houses indeed.
J. J. came out to join us and Zoe was SO EXCITED
to trick or treat with Minnie Mouse!
Eventually, we stumbled back to our house starving, drunk
on candy, and exhausted after 3 hours of trick or treating.
A few weeks later we met John and J.J. for a big Christmas
street festival in the middle of November.
Zoe got to play on a Fire Truck!
She also got to eat all kinds of fun foods...
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| Empanadas! |
Zoe got a balloon doggie, a ton of free give-aways
and (after an hour of waiting in line)
got to meet Santa!
Our brave little one was so excited...
...right up until the moment she turned and saw him.
At which point she burst in to tears.
But, ever the trooper, she smiled through the fright and
we got this pic to remind us of the experience.
She also got to meet Frosty!
...which was apparently less traumatic.
A few weeks later Gordon, Nola, Charlotte, and Oliver came down
from Alameda, CA to join us for a Thanksgiving for the ages.
Zoe had visited Charlotte's house last New Years, so she
was excited to show Charlotte all around Burbank.
We went to the zoo and saw some some really pretty lights!
We went back to the Zoo again (in daylight)
to see some of the animals!
Charlotte even got to feed a giraffe!
Thanksgiving was also a zoo with all seven of us staying under one roof
but we all had so much fun!
Then it was December.
It's been a wet month here and Zoe and her pet rabbit
love "Singing in the Rain" together.
(the rabbit plays "Singing in the Rain.")
Zoe had her first Menchies and quickly pushed the one
we made for her (with lots of fresh fruit) away and stole
Mama's triple-chocolate-supreme version.
Zoe's also learned how to help Dada wash his car
but with all the rain we haven't had much practice.
Zoe and her new best friend, Evie, have been spending lots
of time together. They're about the same age but Zoe has decided
to let Evie see what it feels like to be tall and Zoe will be good
at other stuff.
...Like singing on stage.
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| Our little rock star. |
Of course December means it's time for things like Reindeer and Christmas.
Zoe felt bad about crying in front of Santa so she went back and
told him she wasn't scared of him anymore.
He was happy to hear it and they celebrated with a high-five
and a candy cane.
Zoe took it upon herself to decorate our tree this year.
And celebrated a job well done with some
quality leaf-stomping.
As is tradition in the Bernat household, we went the Zoo on Christmas Eve.
Zoe got to see her first puppet show and even
got some reindeer antlers!
That night we visited some of the houses in our neighborhood
with the brightest Christmas decorations.
And the next morning...
SANTA CAME!!!
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| Note the empty plate of cookie crumbs on the table. |
I'll let the pics speak for themselves.
Santa (and all of you) were so generous and made her
Christmas bright.
And, continuing our Bernat family tradition, the next day
we went to Santa Anita for opening day!
Zoe got a free horse!
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| Look at that form. She's almost ready to race! |
Zoe had so much fun running and tumbling down the hills
of the infield. What fun!
Zoe has been obsessed with Frosty this winter so we went
to a nearby science museum where we found lots of snow!
Daddy helped Zoe make our very own Frosty the Snowman.
And for New Years we all went to Santa Barbara!
Zoe had so much fun on the beach and even dug up
a great seashell for Grammie!
(which will be coming in the mail shortly)
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| Grammie's shell, unearthed. |
We made sure to walk on the beach each day.
Zoe discovered a new playground near the beach and
had so much fun climbing and ringing this bell.
We also treated her to a hand-made lollipop in Carpenteria
and she was in heaven.
Zoe and Mama went diving with some sharks on the pier.
We also visited the Zoo in Santa Barbara and Zoe got to see Penguins!
(and look -- a rare pic of Dada!)
New Year's Eve we enjoyed an extravagant dinner which included
the surprise gifts of some necklaces and party masks.
And Zoe was ready to party!
She also befriended another masked Zoe from a few tables over
who was excited to show our Zoe the games on her tablet.
Zoe spent the rest of New Years Eve trying to break her neck
in our hotel room.
And if, at first, you don't succeed in killing yourself...
We had a lovely vacation together and can't wait to go back!
That's it!
Hope you all got some rest and happy 2017!
