Here Comes A New Shelmet

On Monday Zoe turned 7 months old. Every day she gets a little better at eating solid foods and sitting up on her own. When she's eating, she doesn't always stay clean, but she is generally happy. Just take a look. As with every month, we took some pictures to track how Zoe has been growing. She moves around so much now, that it is difficult to take a picture of her surrounded by blocks, but we managed to get it again this month. We also no longer need to pad out the chair to get her to sit in it. She sits up all on her own. Zoe also took some time this week to try on her pink camouflage outfit. If she ever goes hunting in Candy Land, she'll never be seen. As always, Zoe's set on Flickr has all of these images and more. We'll be leaving for Seattle this afternoon, so there will be some posts about that soon.

Since today was National Coming Out Day, Zoe wanted to show her pride in the awesome Ellen DeGeneres onesie her nanny Katie bought her. You may also note that she is sitting, another great thing Katie has helped her with. So, without further ado. You can see more pictures in Zoe's set on Flickr.

This morning Cheryl made pancakes for breakfast for the whole family. Zoe has been eating more and more solid food, but this was her first time having pancakes. We made sure to document the occasion properly. Take a look. She seemed to enjoy them even if she didn't really eat much. After the pancakes, she had a little bit of sweet potato that Cheryl had roasted the night before. She seemed to enjoy that too. We'll be sure to include those items on the menu more often. Of course, Zoe's set on Flickr has all of these pictures and more. Be sure to check them out.

This weekend Cheryl, Zoe and I went down to the shore with Nana and Poppy. We lucked out and had some great weather. It was a really nice time to just relax with family and watch Zoe scoot around the floor. Both inside the house and on the beach, we got to take some nice pictures. On Saturday morning we took a trip down to Wildwood to stroll along the boardwalk. The purpose of the trip was to find some functional photobooths, but, unfortunately, that didn't pan out. It was still a good day for Zoe because her mom was able to win her a stuffed Foofa, a character from her favorite (read only) television show Yo Gabba Gabba. She was very interested in her new toy, especially the tag. We finished up the weekend with some more pictures on the beach. A good time was had by all. I can't wait until next year when Zoe will be walking, talking and (fingers crossed) swimming! As always, Zoe's set on Flickr has all of these pictures and more.

We have been trying more and more to get Zoe to start eating solid foods. On the weekends we'll mix up a little oatmeal with some baby food and she has been really good at eating it. This week Cheryl was experimenting with giving her bits of food. First, there was the apple, which went over well... for the most part. She does really well at picking stuff up and, since everything she picks up goes into her mouth, eating was the next natural step. After the apple came the banana. For that Zoe had more of an audience. What a little monster.She didn't eat the whole thing, but she did take a big bite that made Cheryl and Mimi nervous. Expect a lot more where this came from and you can find them all in Zoe's set on Flickr.

So anyone who has seen some of the things that Cheryl and I did before Zoe was born will know that we are all about costumes. That being said, it should come as no surprise that shortly after Zoe was born I purchased a few costumes and had tried some of them out here and there. Well, today was no different. The dragon/Godzilla costume came out while Cheryl was out shopping and I took a few pictures. Here is the mayhem that Zoe-zilla unleashed on her unsuspecting duck and doll. No one is safe! You can witness all of this carnage, and more, in Zoe's set on Flickr. Later in the day, without the costume, Zoe was doing some serious damage to Sophie, her lovable, squeaky giraffe. I'm not sure what got into her, but she just kept chomping and smacking the poor thing. At the time I found this to be quite hysterical, but you can judge for yourself. I think that about does it for today. It was a very full weekend and hopefully Cheryl and Zoe enjoyed it as much as I did.

The plan today was to head up to Joe and Riley's house to spend some time with all the kids. They say in war that no battle strategy survives contact with the enemy. The same could be said for any plans we make and Zoe's cooperation. We were supposed to leave by 1:00pm, but little miss didn't want to nap until after that. At least it was bright enough in her room, and she was still out of it, so we could take some pictures. Once she was up, we packed the car and were on our way. It was a great day filled with grandparents, babies and grilled meats. Hank's not even a week old and already he's hung out with his cousins twice! Here's just a few of the pictures. I'm still not sure why Harlie was looking at me like that. I wasn't the one who farted. Anyway, like most posts, I'll end by saying that you can check out all of these, and more not only in Zoe's set on Flickr, but Harlie's and Hank's as well. It's really ju...