"Treats"

Zoe loves to give Maggie and Boston "treats". The dogs are very gentle when they take them from her too (though it doesn't look it in this picture - it looks like Boston is going to eat her arm off!) We were calling them "cookies", but Zoe kept trying to eat them, so we had to change the label to "treat" so she would actually pass them along to the dogs!

I guess it was inevitable....

Step One:













Step Two:














Step Three:













And she is out the door....!

Potty Time!

Since Zoe has started telling us that she is pooping and seems to know when she is peeing, we thought now might be a good time to introduce the potty and see what happens. (She comes in the bathroom with me so she knows the deal.) Hopefully potty training will just happen like every other new skill she has mastered so easily and we will only have one in diapers come November. - Ha! Don't worry, I'm not crazy...Nothing wrong with wishful thinking, though! :)

Jumping Bean

Our old guest room is going to be Zoe's new room and the new baby will have the nursery. The new "big girl" room is still a work in progress, but Zoe loves to use it as a crash pad - literally. The day bed (which will go in our new guest room - which is now the computer room ) is dissasembled and waiting to go, but for now Zoe uses it as a trampoline. She loves to run in the room and do a face plant on the mattress and then start rolling around and attempting to jump (not a skill she has acquired yet!). The dresser in the pic is a second hand find (so cheap!) that we will paint to match the new digs - which will also be painted soon ( right now we're thinking lime green..) I can't wait to get this new room together... May the nesting begin!

Independent Play

Being able to play by yourself is a good thing on so many levels - for Zoe and Mommy!

Date Night

So tonight was about the third time since Zoe was born that Keith and I have had an official date night. It defintitely was overdue, but the real celebration was because yesterday was his last day as a tech at the hospital and from now on he will be working as a nurse. Whooo Hooo! Go Daddy! We went out for fondue (oh my goodness, there is a heaven and it is at The Melting Pot!) and really enjoyed ourselves. Gramma babysat for Zoe (thanks Gramma!), and apparently for the first time, Zoe actually expressed that she missed us. Gramma said she was standing by the door waving good-bye throughout the night saying "momma" and "dadda" in a really sad voice. That is soo sweet! As much as I don't want my baby to be sad, it is nice to know that she really does miss us when we are gone:)!

Family Photo Shoot

We finally did the inevitable. We got the family photos taken at the mall. They lured in with a great "special" and got us in the end for way more than we were planning on spending - but it was worth it! These pics are so great! We never get any shots of the three of us that are any good, so I am glad we did it. We are now officially a family:) Say cheese!

Our first Playdate

Zoe and I hosted our first playdate at the house for the Mother's Group we belong to. I never cleaned the house so well - thanks Daddy for all of your help! I baked homemade coffee cake, had individual snacks and mini juice boxes for the kiddos, iced and hot coffee, and various other goodies for the moms. It was hours and hours of work, and only two kids showed up (lots of people had to cancel because of holiday weekend plans). But that was OK because we had a great time - the kids played and the moms chatted, and now I won't be so nervous to host another one!

Captain Zoe

We took a cruise around Wrightsville Beach the other day and Zoe had her first boat ride ever! She was really good about wearing the life jacket and liked climbing all around the boat. Ahhh...nothing like a summer staycation!

(As you see in the past few pictures, Papa John is visiting again! Zoe loves her Papa and it means so much to us that he tries so hard to see her as often as possible! Zoe definitely feels the love!)

Happy Birthday America!

Last night Zoe, Gramma, Papa John, and Momma went to an outdoor jazz concert/picnic. Zoe chowed down on tons of picnic food and made lots of friends (tons of people came up to us to tell us how cute she was - of course!)! This morning we tried to go to the beach at 9am, but there wasn't even any parking by then, so we had to come home and play in the baby pool for a while. While the adults all complained about the "damn tourists" , Zoe didn't seem to mind at all! She had a great time exploring the hose for the first time!