Here Comes A New Shelmet

This past weekend the Carusos flew home on Friday. John and Annabelle took a later flight and actually spent Friday evening with us here at casa de Shelreno. It wasn't a long stay, but it is always nice to see my goddaughter. Her and Zoe had fun playing with the grill and then enjoyed a lovely breakfast together the following morning. You can tell they're good friends by the goofy faces they make together. On Sunday, I packed Zoe up in the car to take a trip up to Langhorne to visit with Mimi and Joe Pop. We went with Mimi to a nearby park. Apart from smacking her head right into the side of a picnic table, she learned to drive some cars. She already seems to have a little road rage. After that we went back to the house to ice her head... er... I mean, so she could take a nap. She was super tired, but when she woke up she was full of energy. Joe Pop was home and he showed her around the animals in his room, including the dogs. I think she was a little excited to see ...

In every family, the dynamic is slightly different. Recently, I am noticing a trend that I can only imagine will continue throughout the years. That is the trend of Cheryl stating whether Zoe is her daughter or my daughter. Let me give you a few examples. Zoe is starting to repeat a lot of sounds and words now. When Cheryl says to her, "Is that the ball?" and Zoe replies with something that sounds like ball, Cheryl will say, "My girl is so smart!" Now, when that same child is left in the playroom without a diaper and then squats and goes to the bathroom on the floor, Cheryl will say, "Your daughter just pooped on the floor." It's kind of interesting how all of the good, smart things Zoe does are evidence of her being Cheryl's child while all of the bad, weird things she does only proves she's mine. Here's a video of what Cheryl would say in this situation. That's my girl!

On Tuesday, after Zoe was back from daycare, she had a visit from her nanny Reilly. While hanging out in the playroom, without her shirt on, Zoe was chatting up a storm once again. I happened to catch some of it on video and provided translations for those who might need it. It really is something to see Zoe speaking more and more every day. Some of the things are starting to sound like the proper words. Good thing I was able to capture some of this footage before she starts speaking full sentences.

I just arrived in Philadelphia International Airport this morning. On July 9th I flew across the country to Las Vegas for a work conference. This was the first time that I have been away from Zoe, so it was pretty rough. Thankfully, with today's technology, I didn't have to miss seeing either of my lovely ladies. While she was at home with Cheryl, Nana and Poppy, I was able to use my phone to Skype with her on Cheryl's iPad. This is what it looked like on my phone. And this is what it looked like back in Philadelphia. Yes, that's her sharing wubby with me. She's such a sweet baby! With the conference over on Thursday night, since I was already most of the way across the country, I flew up to Seattle for the weekend to visit my goddaughter Annabelle who is 7 months older than Zoe. Here are a few pictures I took of her with my phone. We had lots of fun swimming and playing together. I can't wait until she comes back this way in a couple of wee...

As most of you know by now, Zoe loves to talk. She babbles on and on covering topics from the weather to Middle Eastern affairs. However, some of you may have trouble understanding just what she says. Well, Monday morning, when Cheryl had to go into work early, Zoe and I sat down for a nice little chat over breakfast and I was able to record some of it. If you can't tell what she's saying, just turn on the closed captions, but be warned, she has a bit of a potty mouth. Also, for an easier viewing experience, make the video full screen. So that's what a typical conversation is like. It jumps around a bit, but she seems to know what she's talking about. I hope to capture more like this in the future.