First family camping trip

Well, we survived our first annual family camping trip to Letchworth. My family has been renting cabins there every summer for over 20 years now. Last summer when Zoey was born was the first time that we ever missed a year.

So, we had a really nice time. The weather wasn't the greatest. We had quite a bit of rain, but we still had fun and were able to have a campfire every night. It was definitely hard camping with a baby, but we managed. The cabins are pretty dirty, with hard floors so I didn't feel like I could just let her walk around, so there was no where to really put her and just let her play. And naptime/bedtime was always a challenge. Since we were away from home and not on any type of normal schedule, I never knew if or when she would nap and when she would finally settle down for the night. But overall, it was a good week.

Zoey/family pics:

And some beautiful scenery pics that Joe took.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Zoey!!! I can't believe that we have a one-year-old! I have been feeling a little emotional about her turning one, I really can not believe how fast this year has flown by!

Today was a very nice day. We spent the day getting ready for her birthday party and then around 4:00 had our families over for her birthday party. It was a very small party -only 12 people including Zoey, but that was perfect! It wasn't too overwhelming or stressful, so I was really able to enjoy the day, and I think Zoey definitely did too. She had her first taste of cake and ice cream, and was really interested in opening her presents. It was so fun!

Here are some pics:

Her simple, Betty Crocker from-the-box, Birthday Cake. I'm not very creative when it comes to baking, but it definitely tasted good! :)

Waiting to see what this birthday cake thing is all about...

She wasn't too sure about the cake at first....But after some encouragement, she dug right in!

Presents!

Zoey received lots of nice presents, and really seemed to enjoy opening them. It was a big change from Christmas when she couldn't really open things and didn't seem all that interested in what she was getting. She was very excited about her new toys, but waited very patiently for Daddy to take them out of the box so that she could play with them.

Baby sign language is so fun!

Zoey started signing for nurse about a month ago, and since then it's like she can't get enough and is picking things up left and right. So now, her "vocabulary" is up to 10 words. In addition to nurse, she knows baby, book, kitty, doggy, eat, drink, more, fish, and shoes. It's so awesome that she is able to start communicating with us even though she isn't able to talk yet. And she gets so excited and proud every time she spots something that she can "talk" about. This morning we went to the Target and when we went down the pet supplies aisle, she was so excited to see all the dogs and cats on the packages that she just kept pointing and doing her signs for "doggy" and "kitty". It's really amazing to see how much she is noticing and taking in even though she isn't able to verbalize it.
For all you moms out there, I would highly suggest it. I think that my family all thought that I was wacko at first, and even Joe would sometimes roll his eyes when I would do signs with her. But now that she has started doing it back, everyone is so excited about it and loves that she can "talk" to us somewhat.

I think she has mastered "da-da" and "hi"

Well I think we can finally count at least one of them as a real word. Zoey has been saying "da-da" for a while now, but she I don't think that she was really associating it with Joe. But within about the past week or so, she has been saying it every time she sees him, she will wave goodbye to him and say "da-da", or sometimes when he is outside, she will crawl up to the front door, start banging on it and yelling "da-da" to him. It's pretty cute. So, I guess that it's official and "da-da" is before "ma-ma". But then she will also kind of babble it to herself all day long when Joe is no where in sight, so that makes me second guess it a little bit. I don't know when it really "counts" as a true first word??? But, she has also started saying "hi" in the correct context, so I guess maybe we should say that is really her first word? It's really cute, she loves to wave and say "hi" to the dog and cats. She gets so excited when she sees them and will wave and just keep repeating "hi, hi, hi". SO adorable! She loves the animals so much. She's still working on saying "kitty", but doesn't quite have it yet - it's mostly just "kuh, kuh" or "ki, ki", but you can tell she is trying.

11 months old!

I can't believe Zoey is 11 months old today. One month from today, we are going to have a one year old! That's crazy! Getting this girl to sit still for a pic is pretty impossible now - she is constantly on the go! But here's a pic for today, playing with her baby doll. She loves that baby so much, it's so cute. And here is another picture - snuggling with mommy. She loves to crawl up on my lap now, it is the sweetest thing. I think I fall more in love with her every day! Being a mom is the best! :)

More on my brillant baby :)

Well, I know that all of the things that she is doing now is probably just normal developmental stuff for her age, but I've never been through this before, so I think it is so amazing to watch her and be able to see how she is learning so much all the time. Even though she can't talk back yet, I can tell that she can understand the things that I say to her and I just think that's so great. I can ask her "where is the kitty, or doggy?" and she will turn her head and look right at them. She absolutely loves kitties and will smile and point at all the kitties in her books and say "kuh, kuh, kuh".
Also, she can will follow simple directions that I give her, like if she picks something up that she isn't supposed to have (she is an expert at finding every little speck of dirt, or paper, or anything on the floor) and I tell her "Give it to mommy", she will crawl over and give it to me. Or if I tell her to bring me a book, she will go pick one out, and then climb up on my lap for me to read it to her. It's so sweet! So, I know that this stuff is probably not anything out of the ordinary for a baby her age, but to me - she's brillant! :)

Recent pics

Here are some recent pics of Zoey from the past month or so:

Day at the zoo

First trip to the beach

Still too cold for swimming, but we had a good time!

Memorial Day

Snuggling with Aunt Shannon

Hanging out with the "big girls"She LOVED the parade. Testing out the racing seats in Daddy's Car (someday she will be big enough to actually go for a ride!)


Snuggling with her baby - awww!!