Person-Like

Zoe is becoming a person.

I have always said that she is more of a critter.  From the get-go, she squeaked and snorted and grabbed-- more work and more fun than a pet, but not a fully formed person.

When I meet friends for brunch I say, "3 people and a high chair, please".  I realize I'm confusing the hostess- yes, the baby is also a person, but asking for a table for four seems absurd. 

She still has her critter-like tendencies.  She shrieks, laughs like crazy for no apparent reason, grabs your face and nose and hair all at once, chases other babies at the park, and picks things up off the ground to put in her mouth.  She runs with her hands out into glass doors and smushes her face into her reflection.  She tried to hurl herself down stairs or off of high surfaces with no inclination of care.

But, recently, she's had these moments of person-ness.  Where I can see the little girl waiting behind the baby.  Where she looks at a book, or gives a hug or a wave, or just walks down the street not like a critter at all.  Personlike. 

Highlights from a Brooklyn Saturday

Walking on her own for the first time at the farmers market...

Laughing and calling out "hi!" to the passing crowd.

Sharing a croissant, sitting outside of the library.

Playing peek-a-boo around the poles.

Listening to some street performers with rapt attention.

Just a nothing-to-do kind of Saturday.

Birthday Vacation

If you saw this article you know that companies know more about us then we do based on our shopping and computer habits.  This rang true a few days before Zoe's first birthday, when I checked my junk mail email box and saw that all of the random baby or pregnancy related items that I got had all suddenly substituted the word "baby" for "toddler."  Gone were "Helping your baby sleep" emails, and in their place, "Best toys for toddlers".  Apparently, according to consumer culture, I no longer have a baby.

We celebrated (okay, I mourned) the end of Zoe's baby status with a week in Florida- our first official family vacation.

Directly outside our hotel

We stayed at a golf resort outside of Tampa, where we had a one bedroom apartment with a balcony (a must for a vacation when the baby goes to bed at 7:30).  Zoe loved running around a new apartment, and she discovered the fun of the pool. 

Loving the pool!

She met her first trip to the ocean with less than what I would call enthusiasm.  Due to her incredible hatred of a car seat (she is a city baby, for sure, and does not understand WHY she has to be constrained in a car, although it improved over the course of the week) she arrived at the beach in a state of post sobbing confusion.  She did not want her pretty little feet to touch either the sand or the water.  Very high maintenance baby!

Don't let go of me, mama!

No I will NOT smile for the camera!

Her next trip was far more successful, and we enjoyed watching her run towards the water on her own!  We had a lot of fun on a boat ride (aboard Little Toot, which is now making a reappearance in our lives as Zoe's nickname when appropriate) and saw loads of dolphins.

Okay, I'll touch the water!

I like it!

 
Other highlights included gorgeous views, the amazing Spanish moss that hangs from so many of the trees surrounding where we stayed, palm trees and lakes and oceans.  We were able to visit with Aaron's grandma as well, and really enjoyed a fantastic, relaxing week with family.

What a difference a year makes!