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!!

Christmas is almost here!

I love to get mail. And you know what I love the most about mail? Getting cards from people! Especially at Christmas time. I LOVE Christmas cards, especially the ones with pictures of families, super cute babies, or pets on them. They bring such a smile to my face, and I love to hang them up in our home, just like my mom used to do. Every time I see them, I think of the family that lovingly sent it to us. Cards are great- they're like ready made decorations, sent straight to you! I have a great card hanger that my mom bought, and I look forward to sharing the cards that come in the mail with our little family every year.

Mark and I have been married almost 3 years (Dec. 15!), but have never sent out Christmas cards before. For one, they're expensive, and let's be honest, we're not the most photogenic people. But guess who is? Our little cutie Zoe. I mean, who wouldn't want a Christmas card from our sweet baby?

We're on a tight budget, so I was excited to learn that bloggers can get 50 free cards this year from Shutterfly. Go here to check it out: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

We've always used Shutterfly as a place to order prints from and share our pictures with others, so this year I'm excited to choose from one of their great Christmas cards! Help me choose! http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

I can't wait to see who we get cards from this year!

6 months!

Is Zoe really 1/2 of a year old already? It can't be... but it is! Our sweet pea has been with us for 6 months! Time is such a funny thing when you have a baby, isn't it? These last 6 months have gone by so fast, but at the same time, it seems like she's always been a part of our lives. She's getting to be quite a chunker, weighing in this month at the doctor's at 16lbs. 14 oz. Chubby thighs and cheeks are the best! What a fun part of our lives she is... this girl is hilarious!

Zoe still loves it when her daddy sings her silly songs, but she's starting to be quite impressed with mommy too. It doesn't take much these days to get a big cheesy smile out of this little girl, and believe you me, we are soaking it up! I love how she can be in her crib screaming (I don't love the screaming part), and if I go in to get her, the second she sees me, I get a HUGE smile. She's had a little bit of stranger anxiety, but once she studies their face enough, she'll usually not. stop. smiling. So cute.

What an explorer we have on our hands, and she's not even mobile yet. Oh dear, the thought of her being mobile scares me quite a bit. She touches everything her little chubby hands come in contact with, and most of it ends up in her mouth. Even our faces. Especially Marks nose : )

She stares at the computer screen or TV if it's turned (or anything with bright lights for that matter). Zoe loves books, and when we read to her, she sits in our laps and fingers the pages and gets quite excited. I love it! She has started rolling around all over the place, and can push herself backwards.

This past month she had 2 sets of visitors. Her Mama Robertson came for a few days and babysat her while mommy and daddy were at work/school, and then Poppy and Grammy came to visit the next weekend. We took her first trip to Grant's Farm and she got to ride in a trolley/bus thing too! She liked the wind blowing in her face : )

Because of her rolling skills, Z has started sleeping on her tummy, which scared me for about a day. And then I realized how much better she started sleeping. Don't get me wrong, she's still not a great sleeper (in part because she had so many tummy troubles for so long that were keeping her up), but we're working on it. She has a lovey that she adores, and the second we hand it to her, she rubs her eyes and knows it's time for nigh-nigh. What a cutie!

Big milestones this month- sitting up and food! What a big girl we have! She still topples over to the side or face plants, but she loves her new perspective of the world. She still loves to "stand" with us holding onto her, but now that she can sit, it's getting easier for her to play with toys. We started her on oatmeal baby cereal, and it was a hit. It did give her horrible gas and messed up her tummy again, so we're stopping for a few days before starting some veggies. Yum yum!

6 months. Wow. Before we know it she'll be 1, which just makes me want to cry! We love how much joy Zoe brings to our house, and we thank God every day for her!

Going private?

So, we've been getting some spam comments on our blog, and I'm considering making it private. Let's be honest, it's a little creepy to see random, strange comments on a post about my 5-month old baby. So if you read this, please email me to marci.robertson@gmail.com and let me know so I can add you to the list in case I make this private.