Here Comes A New Shelmet

So the new year is coming, and with that a whole new set of adventures for Zoe. Tomorrow is the Mummer's Parade, which will be her first. Since it starts so early, Cheryl and I typically celebrate tonight by going to bed well before the ball drops so we're ready for the march down Broad Street. One thing Zoe has done a few times on my watch now is topple her princess tower. She did this just the other day and I took a short video of it. Cheryl and I were also having a bit of fun when we put one of her dolls inside of her sweatshirt hood. I think this is the baby version of a dog chasing its tail. Finally, to close out 2012, here are some pictures we took of her while we were all home enjoying our holiday break. They're just some randoms of her in her high chair and sitting on me, but she's just so cute, we had to share them. Even though the new year is almost upon us, you can still go to Zoe's set on Flickr to find all of these pictures, and more...

Cheryl left the house very early today to keep her tattoo appointment in Rhode Island, which left me and Zoe to our own devices all day. She was very good, sleeping in until about 7:10am. Once she was up, she ate well and then we hung out in her playroom until her first nap. While we were in there, she kept practicing her standing. I managed to catch some of it on video. I'm counting the minutes until she's walking. Maybe she'll be able to strut herself down Broad Street for the Mummer's Parade!

Since I forgot my camera today, I figured I can try to make up for missing content with some recent videos. Here are some that I took in the past week of Zoe eating, talking to herself in the mirror and mimicking my strange behaviors. I think my favorite is her talking (yelling) at the other baby that's in the mirror. She still smiles really big if you hold her in front of a mirror and ask, "Who's that baby?"

I really can't believe that I forgot to pack the camera on our way up to see Mimi and Joe Pop. How is that thing not attached to my neck at all times? Anyway, we made our way up to see the family. It was fantastic that we could all be together and that the cousins could share their first Christmas with one another. As expected, they were more than spoiled with gifts. I don't have any pictures of the day, but I have a few of the aftermath. This is what Zoe's playroom looks like now. Just like the baby shower, we cannot even begin to thank everyone enough for their generosity this year. It has been overwhelming. To make sure I'm keeping track of milestones, Zoe started to do all of the following just this past week (mostly with the help of Nana): Clap her hands Say "dada" (which she actually says "dadadadada") Pull herself into a standing position This last one is proving especially tricky since as we were opening up all of her toys this aft...

Cheryl's parents drove up and arrived on Thursday. They're staying until Christmas morning and on Saturday accompanied the three of us up to the mall for some more pictures. Zoe was meeting up with her cousins for Christmas pictures. I prefer to let the pictures speak for themselves. Extreme cuteness.The next day we were hosting a holiday party for all of Cheryl's family. We were super excited that some many folks were able to make it, especially considering it wasn't a short trip. Zoe got to open some of her first Christmas presents a little early. As we had been told, Zoe found the wrapping paper to be highly entertaining. My job was to make sure that as the presents were open, she didn't just keep tearing the paper into smaller and smaller bits. And that she didn't eat too much of it. I was mostly successful. Since we hadn't done it yet, Cheryl and I decided to take Zoe's 9 month pictures the following morning. She sits up so well on her...

So I have been trying to take more video of Zoe as she does her thing. There are still a few things I need to capture like her planking, but I was able to capture some activities recently. First, here she is just sitting in the tub, enjoying her crab and Muno. I love when she yells. Not sure why she can't just use her inside voice, but I guess she's my daughter after all. This next one has Zoe playing with her new farm set. She crawls on top of me and I request a kiss, but she's not having it. Today Zoe was sitting at her jump-a-roo, pulling on some plastic chain that was stuck there, when she started to crawl over to me. I also have this short clip, from when she first starting to drink from a straw, which was just a few days ago. It's so crazy to see on a daily basis how she develops. One day she's army crawling and the next she's using her right leg to help her along (thankfully not in a circle). I can't wait to see what she'll do ...

While shopping at the Deptford Mall with Zoe, we happened to see Santa just sitting all by himself. Since Zoe had never met him before we waited in line so that they could be introduced. It didn't take long for her to start screaming like most kids do on Santa's lap, but before that, we got one good picture. We also wanted to mark Zoe's first Christmas with some festive family photos. Again, we went to the Deptford Mall to get some pictures taken at JCPenny's. Having never gone to get pictures taken during the holiday season, I can say that it is best to get these done early. Even with an appointment it took us well past nap time to get our pictures taken but, as always, Zoe was a trooper. Here are some of the results. What a cute family! You can check Zoe's set on Flickr to see all of these pictures and more.

In searching for old family pictures to scan, I came across 7 reels of 8mm film. Not having a functioning projector, I was unable to tell what exactly was on them, but that didn't stop me from eventually getting them digitized. When I saw what was on them, there were several minutes of me and my older brother as very young children. If I had to guess, I would say that I'm no older than 2, but probably closer to 18 months. Anyway, it was very strange to see that as a child, I looked a lot like Zoe does now. If you don't believe me, just see for yourself. And don't worry, your speakers aren't broken. There's no sound in any of these clips. Hopefully as she gets older she'll look more and more like her mother and less like me. I'm glad I was able to find and save this stuff. Hopefully there is more somewhere, but if not, this is still pretty awesome.

Today Cheryl and I left work early to go out with Zoe to pick up her first Christmas tree. It was an incredibly beautiful December day, which I believe topped out around 67 degrees. Zoe was really into the trees and picked out a great one. Zoe was so good while we were out. She was overdue for a nap, but slept most of the ride home. Once we got back, no time was wasted in getting the tree upright. Of course Zoe was quick to make sure everything was all right. In a few days we'll decorate the tree and we'll be all set. Zoe's gifts are already waiting under the tree. You can check out Zoe's set on Flickr to see all of the pictures and more.

Yesterday morning Zoe and I were just hanging out in her playroom. While we were there, she showed off a few of the new things that she likes to do. First, she just did some crawling around. When I called her name, she swung up onto her hip, which is something she does often. After that, I went at her with my foot. For some reason, she seems to really enjoy this, but then gets tired of it and attacks. Then, she finished off the morning with some yelling and crawling. I'm not sure why she yells. Our assumption is that it is her attempt at communicating because she doesn't seem angry, frustrated or otherwise upset when she does it. My favorite it he flip onto her back at the end of her crawl. Unfortunately, I didn't catch how she continued to roll right back over onto her belly. You should be able to see all of these on YouTube. I put a playlist there of all the videos I uploaded for her and hope to add more, especially over the holidays.

So it was a little while ago that Zoe got her first teeth. Yes, that's right, she got both of her front bottom teeth at the same time. I'm sure that's common, but the way she had been chewing and drooling, I kept telling people that she was going to wake up one morning with a full set of teeth. Anyway, Zoe's a very happy baby and smile all the time. The problem is, we could never see her teeth. Well, this morning Cheryl took a few pictures that finally captured her teeth. For those of you who might be concerned, don't worry. This was the picture taken moments after those two. Back to her usual, smiley self. For some reason she really seemed to enjoy playing with the plastic chain links we got her. Then, I assumed she might want her pacifier back, but as it turns out, she didn't need it. Zoe's set on Flickr has all of these pictures, and more. Be sure to check them all out.