Happy New Year -- 2010

Had a few friends over for a BBQ to ring in the new year.

Zoee woke up right after we rang in the new year...I guess we were being too loud and she wasn't happy here.

Zoee loved wearing the New Year's hat

Mike and Alfred

This will be our 6th year of marriage in February...I can't believe it's gone by so fast. Still madly and deeply in love.

TA-DA! I'm 10 Months Old

We thought it would be funny to see if the little bit of hair she has on top of her head would hold a bow.

And it did...but it looks really funny!

She keeps taking a few steps all by herself without holding onto anything every day

She loves her new Violet Pal...we personalized it just for her. It's really cute when it sings her name and talks to her.

December 26th was the first time Zoee clapped her hands all by herself over and over. She now does it all the time and every time I praise her for something she great she has done, she will give herself a big ol' hand and get really excited. I love it! It just brightens my day.

We don't go to the doctor until January 21st..so we will post more later on weight, height...things we already know and things we have learned recently.

10 Months has almost come and gone!

Zoee loves to chew on EVERYTHING..but shoes are her speciality!

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She's sporting her lil' Tommy Hilfiger jacket..isn't it adorable??
It's almost like she's got the knawing down to an art.



She even carries them around in her mouth
She looks like a puppy when she does this.


She loves to ride around on her lil' car



And plays with all the bells and whistles on it.


She can even push it.

She's going for a stroll.

And even braves taking several steps on her own.


But then decides to hold on...lol

Isn't she the cutest lil' DROOL bug or what???

We went to see our pediatrician today for Zoee's well-visit. It was suppose to be her 9-month check, but the doc had to go on vacation when our visit was scheduled at the beginning of the month and so we didn't get to see her until today. Grammy went with us and Zoee had to get a TB test done (which everything looks good so far) and I decided to get her the H1N1 vaccination. She said they were going to be giving it early in the season next year, which is great! After I (as the first time mother) asked the doc a bizillion questions (seriously..I had a whole list written down), Zoee took her two shots like a champ. She always initially freaks out when the nurse holds her down..but then as soon as the shot is given she doesn't even cry. She lets out a big scream and then it's over. She's fine after that. She's such a trooper.

Her stats were as follows: 10 months old
Weight: 18.1 lbs. (She's still a lightweight, but is in the 50th percentile)
Height: 28 1/2 inches long (She's 75th percentile)

Dr. R. said that the reason she probably looks so little is because she's pretty tall for her age and she's spread out lengthwise instead of being chubby.

Dr. R. also said we could start brushing her teeth and I told her that Zoee doesn't take well to regular sippy cups...she said with as many teeth as she has..she will probably do better with a sippy cup with a straw. We have one, so I'm going to see how she does with it tomorrow.

I told the doc that when I feed Zoee table foods and sometimes even her snackies, that she has a bad gag reflex and often chokes. So she gave me some pointers to help work with Zoee and get her used to eating table foods. Sometimes this scares me to death....especially when we are out in public....I don't like people to stare..cause you know what they are all thinking. LOL I feel like I have hindered Zoee in some ways because of this choking fear that I have...I haven't fed her enough food to get used to it...but Dr. R. said just take it slow and she will eventually learn. Every kid is different. So we're going to be venturing out more, cause this momma doesn't want to hold her daughter back in any way!

Also, tonight Zoee has said the words "Kitty Kitty" and "Bye Bye"
Mike watched her tonight while Grammy and I went over to Hobby Lobby. He fed her dinner and he said she saw the letter "A" and repeated it back to him while slamming her hands down on the highchair tray over and over. Surely she's not reading yet?? HA HA! I think it was just a fluke..something she heard. I mean I work on her ABC's with her all the time, read to her, and she watched Sesame Street. I can't remember if the letter "A" was on there anytime this week or not. I know they had the letter "Z" on there, which was neat...cause I got to practice Z-O-E-E with her repeatedly. But I don't know where she picked up on the letter "A" unless it's because I sing the alphabet song to her and we play with her alphabet pal a lot.

Zoee loves to wave goodbye..she can blow kisses (only when she chooses to) and for the first time this week she is holding up her own bottle. Yes folks, she has FINALLY mastered it. She has known how to for a LONG time..but hasn't chosen to do so until this week. Mom and I were talking tonight about how crazy it is that one day she isn't doing or saying something and then the next day she decides to. I still cannot believe she is almost about to be 11 months old. I've already started on the plans for her 1st birthday party. It's going to be so cute and really fun for her and the guests. Once I figure out to post videos on here I will upload a few.

Fun @ Dinnertime

Zoee is trying to hold her own spoon. She just insists that she holds it to feed herself now.


If she was blue, she'd looks like a Smurf to me with that silly toboggin Dad put on her head.

This is the face she gives you if you try to take the spoon away..ha ha!

UPDATE: Zoee is now 9 months old, almost 10. I weighed her the other day and she weighed 18 lbs. by my scale at home. She doesn't go to the doctor until the end of January for her well visit and we'll definitely know exact measurements then. She will have to get a TB test done (POOR BABY). They sure do a lot of prodding and poking the first year of a baby's life. Glad they don't remember it. When I called the doctor she said I could start Zoee on any kind of table foods (aside from the ones that are harmful to babies) and told me I could start her on regular whole milk if I wanted. I think I'm going to wait until she's closer to a year old before giving her regular milk because the formula has such good stuff in it for her.

The table foods she has tried so far are:
eggs (which Grammie fed her and she choked..she must not like the texture)

guacamole (she loves)

refried beans

mashed potatoes (doesn't like them yet)

dressing (from our turkey dinner the other day..she LOVED it)

chocolate pie filling

whipped cream

and we're trying new things daily aside from her baby food

She loves to eat her snackies every day..which consists of Gerber cookies, Little Puffs (which corn and cheddar flavor is her favorite), Yogurt Bites (she loves all flavors) Apple Pinwheels, and Carrot Pinwheels. And she LOVES apple juice, just like her sister Sebrena!

Zoee's First Christmas

She's trying to get a sneak peak into her stocking

Grumps and Grammie didn't go overboard, did they?? LOL

She looked like a lil' elf with Ethan's hat on.

After opening her presents she wanted to play in all the wrapping and boxes.

Oh my gosh! Look at those adorable cheeks! She was pooped out from all the excitement

Grumps was holding Ethan a lot

Zoee is playing with a reindeer from Hallmark that I played with when I was a little girl.

Grumps bought a walker and she's on the G-O!

Zoee was trying to be sneaky and grab the ornaments off of the tree

Mom started a new tradition in our family. Every year she is going to buy her grandchildren a Hallmark ornament that represents that year, and then when they are old enough she will give them all of their ornaments from past years.

Holiday Get Together

Sebrena wanted me to trim her hair and give her bangs...I told her that bangs were a HUGE committment and she still wanted them..and they looked really good on her.

Alfred was holding Zoee and making her laugh before she went to bed.

Sisterly Love

We got together with Alfred and Courtney and cooked fajitas, played cards, and rolled some good ol' dice for a Sunday afternoon of fun before Christmas.