Well, I’ve heard from more than a few people that the updates are missed. I guess I just thought that my mom and Zak’s grandparents were the only ones reading, and with the craziness of December I just got sidetracked for a whole month! Sorry, but enjoy today’s post!
That Zoe girl is amazing. She can walk like a pro now. She lifts her arms to resemble the wings of a bird in flight and then takes off, zooming around the whole house. She’ll occasionally fall out of balance and wildly raises her arms to ground herself, then is on the go again. We love to chase her around the house and she shrieks with silliness as we quickly catch up with her, grabbing her and gently tossing her about. With her walking, our lives have certainly changed. We’ll open the dishwasher and within seconds, Zoe is there helping to unload. It’s fabulous to have a helper like that, but a small inconvenience when the dishes are dirty and we have to reload the green plate for the seventh time that day. As fun as her new walking is, my heart melts each time she stubbles toward me with open arms to lay her head on my lap. It turns out mom hugs are slightly more convenient when you can walk right to the lucky victim.
Zoe’s sense of humor continues to crack us up each and every single day. She is constantly looking for a reaction of laughter and happily giggles each time she gets it. When she finds something funny, she laughs a laugh that is so deep in her gut all around her can’t help but to laugh too. Yesterday she and my parents were looking at the Macy windows on State Street and thought the image of Mary Poppins drinking tea while floating on the ceiling was the gosh darn silliest thing ever. And she loves pop-up, interactive books, laughing as illustrations dance around the pages.
Just as every parent would say about their own child, Zoe is one smart cookie. Her finger immediately points to her nostrils when she is asked where her nose is. She can push the purple button on the Weeble Tree House when directed. My Grandpa Owen was blinking at her during one family Christmas celebration and before you knew it, Zoe was blinking right back. She can put on her own winter hat and scarf and knows that shoes and socks belong on her feet. She knows that washcloths are for washing and will scrub her face during bath time, and the floor while helping fold laundry.
Zoe’s mind is a beautiful thing, yet so insanely curious to me. She takes after Grandma Margie and has a need for everything to have a place and for everything to be in its place. Some would call it anal. The ideal place for many things is not where you or I would place them, let alone insist they belong there. For example, the moment we enter my Grandpa Harry’s apartment, she’ll zoom over to the small entertainment center and immediately remove Uncle Mike’s and my framed high school senior pictures and drop, not throw, but drop them on the floor. If we attempt to replace them, she’ll drop them to the floor again. At my parent’s home (new and beautiful!) my mom had four small Christmas candles on the edge of a side table in the living room. Zoe did not like them there. The first few times we visited during the holidays she always dropped them to the floor. However, something changed during the holiday weeks and as of yesterday morning the candles belongs on the chair. Back at home, if we place a toy on a chair, she removes it. Or if we balance a toy on our head, she does everything in her power to get it down. We think she simply doesn’t like things on top of other things. Strange little munchkin!
She certainly had a very happy Christmas, receiving delightful gifts from all sorts of friends and family. She’s continuing to explore and enjoy all her new toys and is looking lovely in all her new outfits. And of course, we all hope you each had a fabulous Christmas and are looking forward to a fun New Year’s!
Thanks for reading this very belated update and look for pictures soon (from our band new, fancy camera!!)
