SHOES!

So many adventures to tell you about this week!

Zoe is now 14 months and she's learning new things every day!

The other night we were playing with her blocks and she decided 

that she needed a hat!

Our little block head

She's also learning how to take selfies.

...how to fold the laundry.

How to save food for later...

And how to help Daddy clean the floor...

Missed a spot.  Or twelve.

And she's even starting to work out how to put her own shoes on!

(but this one might take a while to master)

Not...quite.

Mommy does something where she opens this part...

 The good news is that once her shoes are on, 

Zoe knows exactly what to do!

I'm gonna push this!

Hey, Mom!  I'm gonna PUSH THIS!

Got my sneaks on.  Got a good grip...

Okay, let's test these suckers out...

Hey, not bad!

I like my new shoes!

Here is a short video of her trying out the shoes for the first time.

This week Zoe got to smell some flowers.

Hey, those smell way better than the pictures!

Zoe also figured out how to play "peek-a-boo" and figured 

the flowers might want to play, too.

Everything she finds can be used to play peek-a-boo.

Peek-a-boo!

There was a Friesian horse show at the equestrian center next door.

Zoe is such good friends with Dream she was excited to go meet

more Friesians just like him!

First she got to meet Hendrik.  He was very excited to make a new friend.

Even Mommy got to pet him!

Hendrik hung out with Daddy while Mommy and Zoe went to meet Sasha.

We also learned that Sasha and Hendrik (and their lovely, generous owners) 

are our neighbors -- we've seen them

around our neighborhood before and now we can stop and say hi!

In the Equidome, we watched some Friesians pulling carts!

Then yesterday our Friends Kari and Dan brought Ripley and Edi 

to come play with Zoe in her favorite park!

Zoe even got to help walk Ripley.

Zoe grabbed the leash from Dan and thought that maybe Daddy

wanted to go for a walk, too.

Just kidding...

Zoe's world-famous smushy-face smile.

Then it was time to Grab Daddy's sunglasses for a selfie.

Daddy even made a new friend!

Lastly, it's almost  Halloween and Zoe got a 

box from Grammie and Grandad with some
Halloween goodies in it!

What a cute mouse!  Let's give him a kiss!

Thanks, Grammie and Grandad!

Might as well give Cinderella a kiss, too!

...and now for a little sneak peak of HALLOWEEN...

Here is Zoe in her Cinderella costume!

And here is Cinderella with her little best mice friends!

Have a great week!

First Haircut!

It is with great pleasure (and a well-rested mind) that I report

that Zoe has decided, once again, to sleep through the night!

She took a few months off, waking up between three and three thousand

times each night.  But for the last seven days all three of us

are getting lots of sleep!

Much of the credit goes to Mommy who has set a firm routine for Zoe.

Each day, Zoe wakes up at 8:15am (if she's not already up) and Daddy

gives her a big breakfast.

Mid-morning is spent reading and playing around the house.

Zoe LOVES her books!

Zoe and Mommy nurse around 10am and then play until it's time for lunch.

After lunch Zoe takes a nap...and sometimes sleeps as much as 40 minutes!

We are told other children take multiple naps per day -- for as long as 2-3 hours!

We almost believe them.

After her nap Zoe feels well rested and wants to read more books!

Then in the late afternoon Zoe and Mommy take a long walk around the

neighborhood, ending up at the park just up the street.  

Here is a video of Zoe walking at the park!

They play on the jungle gym, the swings, and in the sand until Zoe is tired and

ready to come home again.

Sometimes Daddy gets to join them!

Zoe, Daddy, and Jon who flew down from Seattle to visit!

Once home again, it's time for dinner.

Mommy and Daddy work hard to make sure Zoe gets lots of veggies,

protein, and carbs!  Zoe also takes polite sips of some whole milk but 

hasn't really taken to it yet.

Based on the smile we think she likes the cooking.

After dinner is a bath...

 ...and then into Zoe's room for...you guessed it.

Sometimes she wants to sit on Daddy's lap and read.  Sometimes...this.

And sometimes Zoe reads to her friends.

So far this routine seems to be working!

We know it won't last forever so we're trying to enjoy it for now.

The other exciting news is that Zoe got her first haircut!

Judy Lea was busy making Mommy beautiful and helping Daddy look

as good as he can these days when she noticed that Zoe's hair 

was in her eyes!  

Here is what happened next:

Hey, this is kinda fun.  Wait...why is she...

The tears begin.  This is scary!

Look how pretty she is!

A few tears but who can argue with the results?!

Thanks for looking!

First Birthday, Cambria, and more!

Let me begin with an apology -- it's been almost a month since my last post 

and a lot has happened in that time.  

Zoe turned one and has learned to walk -- and now prefers two legs over crawling!

Grandma and Grandpa flew across the country and we met them 

at a gorgeous beach house in Central California.   

Aunt Deb and Uncle Brian drove up from San Diego 

and we spent the better part of a week 

listening to the waves crash, watching whales breach, 

and making wonderful new memories.

But enough text.  Let's get to the PICTURES!

During Breakfast on the morning of 8/15/15 Zoe noticed something was different...

I can't read just yet but I think that says....

Fast forward several hours and about 30 of Zoe's best friends 

showed up and celebrated Zoe's first birthday!

We don't have many pictures of the festivities 

(Mom and Dad were busy being good hosts)

but here is a pic of Mommy and Zoe as she tastes her first birthday cake,

Turns out Zoe preferred broccoli.

So she ate lots of birthday broccoli!

And then it was OFF TO CAMBRIA!

Zoe wanted a little change of scenery and, as far as scenery goes,

Cambria is pretty hard to beat:

This was the view from the balcony

We arrived in the early evening and got lots of hugs from Grandma and Grandpa.

Zoe and Grandpa worked on some towers.

Grandpa built them; Zoe destroyed them.

Zoe heard that the sunsets in Cambria were magical and asked to see one.

So it was down to the beach for a little evening stroll...

We watched the sun until it said good night.

Then it was back inside to read some wonderful books!

"...and rocked, and rocked, and rocked to sleep."

Even Mommy got to put her hair up and relax.

Zoe brought an inflatable duck in case of flooding.

Grandma and Zoe spent so much wonderful time together.

The next morning Grandma and Grandpa gave Zoe a new book!

 

Then Aunt Deb and Uncle Brian drove all the way from San Diego to join the fun!

Needless to say Zoe was the center of attention.

But she didn't seem to mind.

Zoe and Grandma loved making new memories.

Turns out Aunt Deb loves to read books, too!

We spent our days playing....

...and eating...

...and watching the ocean...

...and going into town...

...and sometimes making new friends!

Like this little squirrel!

And this red-winged blackbird!

And a few Turkey Vultures...

And this breaching whale!

As seen from our balcony.

And playing on the swings!

Each night would end with a gorgeous sunset...

And each day began with a new book for Zoe!

But all too soon it was time to go back to our normal lives.

Zoe said good bye to everyone...

...and we drove home.

Once back in Burbank, Zoe had to go say hello to all her old friends 

and tell them all about her trip!

They were all ears.

Mommy and Daddy got haircuts and Zoe helped organize some rollers!

Zoe can barely wait for the new season of "Game Of Thrones."

But mostly she loves being silly.

The last image I'll leave you with this week is Zoe's 1-year portrait:

Hope it was worth the wait!