23 Weeks!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, she's 23 weeks old.

This week, Zoe tried sweet potatoes (below) and butternut squash.

Both were a rousing success.

You may notice that she's holding her foot in that pic.

Zoe thinks that any time NOT spent holding her foot is a wasted opportunity.

Here she is after her bath...holding her foot.

And here she is holding her foot with her hands...and her mouth.

Lori noticed that Zoe looked a little bigger than she used to be and made this comparison:  

                                                                                                             Notice that she's not smiling...
                                                                                                       ...mostly because she's not holding her foot.

 Zoe and Lori go for walks every day and have made some new friends.  

Zoe now loves looking at the horses.

Here she is just loungin' 

Oh -- and now that she can roll over at will, it's always an adventure to see where she is when she wakes up from naps.

Mommy and Zoe say we'll see you next week!

5 Months!

Well, I hope you're sitting down.

Zoe is 5 months old today...

Happy 5 months!

...but that's just ONE of MANY milestones to celebrate this week.

This week Zoe tried her first solid food.

She's been watching us eat and drink with growing interest, so we bought her 

some rice cereal and let her see what she's been missing.

Daddy...what's in the bowl?

First bite...

...and a smile!

Hey, this stuff's pretty good!

Pretty soon Zoe was helping us feed her

...and it wasn't long before we were completely irrelevant in the process.

Eating with your feet?

Now you're just showing off.

And today she tried carrots for the first time.

Zoe also loves looking around on our walks and seeing all the sights.

She also decided the Lakers are so terrible she'll try out for the team.

She already plays more defense than the entire bench

See how she has possession of the ball?  Already fewer turn-overs than the Lakers.

She then thought about following Grandma's prediction and become a gymnast.

But mostly she just loves practicing her smiles.

Zoe's friend, Anna, came over for a visit. 

She's 4 days older than Zoe so she had a lot more life experience to share.

Which brings us to our last, big milestone.

Lori had been noticing that Zoe was side-sleeping quite a bit. 

Zoe has been has been less and less happy to lay on her back

She's always eager to move around on her tummy, even trying to crawl.

We've been encouraging her each step of the way, and tonight...

This happened:

She did it about 5 times and decided it was time to eat.

She earned it.

Zoe says thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Zoe is still discovering the joys of her holiday gifts, so thank you all again.

She loves this little pony...

Just look at those eyes.

Sometimes we want to read together but her books aren't close by.

This evening we read through a beauty supply catalog together.

Zoe thinks people are nuts for spending $95/oz on Vitamin C drops.

Zoe now recognizes the horses (with rapt attention) 

and this week she got to meet a few of our neighbors.  

 We also have a family of four white Egrets living in the wash behind our house...

...and about a hundred (or so) LOUD parrots who (as legend has it) descended from five or six domesticated birds who were released from their cages 25 years ago.

They sound like a hundred squeaky wheels...running over a flock of disgruntled parrots.

Zoe has also mastered "tummy time" and can now squirm/pull herself 

the length of her play mat (as long as I let her push off my legs)

But the most wonderful new trick is her 'talking.'  

She has so many things to say...

...and (as a bonus) I now present to you a short video of miss Zoe Elise Bernat 'speaking' to me.

I defy you to show me a better way to start 2015.

Happy New Year!