oh blogger

anyone have trouble with blogger, where it gets rid of your paragraph breaks when you publish your blog? argh. can't seem to fix it. I really do know how to write in ways other than one big long paragraph!

11 months

I can't believe we're one month from our baby's first birthday! It's hard to imagine that it's been almost a year since we saw her sweet face for the first time. What a bittersweet moment her first birthday will be! Since last month, Zoe now...

• has 3 bottom teeth, and 2 are ready to break through on top


• can say Mama!


• sign for more when she's eating


• When asked "How big is Zoe?", she responds by raising her arms up high when we answer "So big!"


• can cruise holding onto furniture


• say ba-ba (byebye), when waving (only happened a few times)

Zoe had her first ear infection this past month, which was a pretty sad milestone. She had a fever that would not go away, she was super duper clingy and fussy, and she really lost her appetite (even with nursing, which was when we knew something was really up). We took her to the doctor and sure enough, she had a pretty bad ear infection. She got a mild case of hives from the amoxicillin, so she's probably allergic to it just like her mommy is. In the last few days Zoe has started looking for things a lot. She will raise up on her tippy toes to try to see something when standing, or when crawling around, she'll peek under the couch, ottoman, chair, or anything really to see if there's a missing toy or paci she needs! Her new favorite toys are these little animals that have wheels on them. They're just her size, and she loves to have one for each hand at all times. What a cutie. She is so, so curious, and has recently discovered Mark's bookcases. Uh oh. This morning I caught her with Francis Shaeffer's book on Baptism : ) She also has become very affectionate, especially with her momma. She loves to wrap her chubby little arms around my neck, or grab my face with her hands, and give me a big 'ol opened mouth sloppy kiss. I love it! Next month we'll be celebrating her birthday with a family party in Ohio, and then on her actual birthday we'll be doing something small here in St. Louis. This has been the most challenging yet the best year of our lives! We love our little monkey so much!

10 months

Our girl is 10 months old! She is changing so quickly these days. I wish I could freeze this time right now- she is such a fun little girl and is doing so many fun things! This picture above is a perfect one- I think it really shows her personality (look at that face!), and just how busy she is (note the crumpled paper and toppled over bunny). Once again this past month has been a busy one for Zoe. In the past month, she:

-pulled herself up
-waved bye-bye
- went swimming for the first time
- said ba-ba-ba (not sure what ba-ba is though!)
- started dancing on her knees or when standing
- said mama (but only when crying!)
- slept all night without needing her mommy

When the Robertson's were here for a visit, they stayed in a hotel that had a pool, so Zoe got to go swimming for the first time! She was a little unsure at first, but once we showed her that she could splash, like in the tub at home, she had a ton of fun.

I feel like Zoe's sleeping issues should get their own post, but for now I'll just say this. Oh.my.word. Did we have some problems. We know that kids with tummy problems like her are usually not great sleepers, but saying she's not a great sleeper is a little generous. She's a pretty bad sleeper. She was waking every 60-90 minutes. All. night. long. Whoa. Unhealthy for all of us.
We finally went and talked to a sleep specialist in February about the issues we were having with Zoe at night. It was taking forever to get her to sleep, even at naps, and she would wake up way too often, needing lots of assistance in falling back to sleep. We read all sorts of books. Tried all sorts of things. She'd cry so hard she'd throw up. There were lots of tears, from all of us. To make a long, long story short, the sleep lady, a genius, really helped us. It took daddy stepping in at night time, a few nights with some crying, but now she's sleeping much better. She even goes to sleep a lot easier too!

I know I say this a lot, but Zoe is such a fun little girl! Before we know it she'll be walking and one!

9 months

Zoe Rae is now 9 months old! She now weighs 21 pounds, 4 oz (92%), is 29 inches long (90%), and her head has her in the 87%. She's still in 9 month clothes, but barely!

In the past month, Zoe has added to her bag of tricks:

Saying dada (not always to him, but we think she's done it a few times)
Getting into a sitting position from her tummy

Playing peek-a-boo
Crawling! (we thought she was SO close for so long, it's nice that she can finally do it!)

Drinking from a sippy cup (but still has trouble tipping it)

Pulling up to her knees

Playing pat-a-cake

Standing in her crib

Clapping her hands

We're at a stage now where we're having a lot of fun with our little girl. I feel like she changes daily at this point! She makes the cutest little noises when she's "talking" and is really starting to jabber all the time. Her hair is getting longer and it's slightly wavy, and the color has changed from black to brown with some reddish tints (like her momma's). Her eyes are still changing a little, but they look like they'll be hazel (also like her momma).

Zoe is still very attached to mommy and has some stranger anxiety too. Is it bad that it makes me feel good when she clings to me?

I can't believe our sweet baby will be 1 in just a few short months!

Miss Smiley Bottom

Mamaw Robertson gives all of her grandchildren nicknames, and Zoe's is Miss Smiley Bottom. Because she smiles. A lot. The following is a list (I'm sure I'm missing something) of things that make her smile :

- her stuffed animals

- momma and daddy
-seeing herself in the mirror

- people

- dogs

- other kids
- watching videos of herself on the computer
- talking on the webcam with family
- tickle time with daddy (it involves her rolling around on our bed while Mark "chases" her and blows raspberries on her belly and back. She thinks it's the funniest thing in the world!)
- seeing her sippy cup (it's the small things, right?)
-ditty bopping to music
- helping us clap our hands
- the Elmo's Ducks song we show her on youtube

(doesn't she have the best smile?)

8 months

This past month has probably seen the most changes in Zoe so far, and it has been such a joy to watch! Not only is she physically changing (her hair is lighter, longer, thicker, she's longer, and chubbier!) but she's changing in every aspect. She's eating more foods now (did NOT like potatoes or avocados, but we'll keep trying) She had her first real illness, she is all over the place, and really is a hoot!

Zoe can't crawl yet, but she's really trying. Still rocking on her hands and knees, but not crawling yet. She can scoot on her bottom and will push herself all over the place on her belly, so we've had to start baby proofing.

We were gone for 2 weeks at Christmas (in Kentucky and Ohio with family), which was the longest Zoe's ever been away from her home here in St. Louis. Needless to say, she loved being the center of attention, which she was smothered in from all of her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins! While we were there she got croup for the first time. It was really scary to hear her bark-cough. We ended up taking her to Urgent Care, and after some steroids and an antibiotic, she was all better. Poor baby! Zoe's 8th cousin Gunner was born while we were home too, which was really exciting for us because we got to meet him before heading back to St. Louis!

Coming back to St. Louis was an adjustment for Zoe after getting so much attention. She was a little bored with just mommy at home, but now that she's home with mommy all the time (yay!), she doesn't want me to ever, EVER, leave her sight. It's a big deal this days if I get to go to the bathroom by myself, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!

I've said before that Zoe is funny, but she really is a little entertainer. If she does something and we laugh, she keeps doing it. She's started bobbing her head whenever we sing or she hears music, and she does it so hard sometimes it makes her fall over! She has the sweetest little high pitched squeal that she does now when she sees any of her stuffed animals. It's the cutest thing, I'm trying to catch it on video so we never forget that sound!

I feel like these days are going by so quickly, and I sometimes catch myself saying "I wish I would have taken more videos/pictures/spent more time doing x,y,z". I don't want to watch Zoe grow up wishing I would have done things differently, or spent more time doing something with her, so I'm trying extra hard to make sure I cherish each and every moment I have with her. I can't believe she's almost been out of the womb longer than she was in it!

7 months!

Zoe Rae is 7 months old! Whoa buddy! She is getting so big and is changing so quickly, I really wish I could freeze time for a short while, and keep her this size for longer. What a fun girl she is!

Her major accomplishment this month was getting her first 2 teeth! Right after she turned 6 months they came through, 1 on a Friday night, the other the next. Front bottom teeth. Super cute when she smiles! Mark was in Ohio visiting his sister and our new niece Sophie, so momma was here with a teething mess of a baby! At least now we know how she'll react to getting teeth, so hopefully I'll be more prepared the next time! She was up a lot at night crying, drooling tons for a few days before hand, and just generally wanted her momma. After each night of crying, I felt the top of the new tooth!

She's also started on solids and is doing pretty well so far. Of course she loves fruit and orange veggies, is just ok with her greens. We're not giving her peas just yet, because her GI doc said that most babies with a soy intolerance don't do well with peas, and I'm just not ready to try and see what happens.

Zoe's first big holiday was this month too. We spent Thanksgiving in Ohio and split our time between our families. On Thanksgiving we ate at my parents at lunch and Zoe got to see her Great Grandma Timmons again. It was very quiet this year, Mark (my brother is also Mark) and his family were in Georgia, and Molly and her family were in North Carolina. We'll see them all at Christmas though! We then headed to Robertson's, and Zoe and I got to meet baby Sophie for the first time! What a precious, ADORABLE little niece/cousin we have!

She found her feet a while ago, but never played with them until this month. Now it takes everything I have to keep socks on her feet. Must get Robeez or some soft shoe sometime soon. She grabs them and plays with them all the time, which is now helpful when she grabs them when getting her diaper changed! She just started rocking back & forth on her hands and knees, so we know crawling is not too far in the future.

What a sweet baby we have! Everyone is always commenting on how smiley she is, and that is so true. Girl loves to smile, and has a very expressive face, which makes her look a lot like her daddy! She's laughing more, playing more, and changing every day. Her hair is getting lighter and longer, and I can now put bows in it! She's definitely still a momma's girl, but I'm not complaining : ) She LOVES her daddy, he's very silly with her and makes her laugh more than anyone else can, but when she's tired/fussy/hungry/overwhelmed, it's 100% mommy time. I love my little girl!!