Napping with Daddy

My two loves - so precious! : )

Out for a family walk

We took advantage of the warm, sunny weather to get out for a nice walk along Alameda Beach. I hope that Zoey will love the beach and our Alameda community as much as we do!

Baby Wearing

While we do plan to use a stroller on a regular basis, and I would even like to purchase a jogging stroller once Zoey is a bit older, I've also discovered the benefits of baby wearing. Upon the recommendation of my co-worker Jen, I purchased an adjustable fleece pouch from a company called Kangaroo Korner and we both LOVE it! Zoey fits inside just like a little pea in a pod or a little joey in it's mother's pouch. The moment I put Zoey inside she settles down and quickly falls asleep - I can imagine that it feels very warm and soothing being so close to my body and my heartbeat as if she were back in the womb. We even went out to run errands yesterday and she stayed calm and asleep inside her pouch the whole time. It is great to be able to hold Zoey hands-free so I can shop or do things around the house, while at the same time she can nap and feel safe and close to mommy. And on top of that, she just looks so cute and peaceful when she's tucked inside!

Zoey meets more of her friends & family!

We've enjoyed having more of our friends and family stop by to visit and meet Zoey this past week, and we look forward to the day she can meet more of you! Hopefully she'll get introduced to most of our extended family over Thanksgiving, but let us know if you want to come over!

Zoey is blessed to have 3 sets of grandparents! She's pictured here with David's dad Adrian and his step mom Doris.

Dear friend Desiree

fellow mommy friend Jennifer and future playmate Julia

David's New Haircut & Zoey Pics of the Day

My sexy husband : )



and my beautiful daughter. I am truly blessed. : )

Bath Time

So far Zoey HATES bath time - but she's still so cute throughout the process. : ) She squirms and fusses and basically cries the whole time we give her a sponge bath. Hopefully she'll enjoy her baths more now that her umbilical cord fell off and we can give her a real bath.

BeanBoozled!

This made me smile. How funny and strange?! : )
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Jelly Belly's wildest collection dares you to compare some of our tastiest, most popular flavors with our craziest ones. But here's the catch - you won't know which ones are which! The black Licorice bean looks exactly like the Skunk Spray bean! Sweet Caramel Corn might also be Moldy Cheese. You may think you're choosing our world-famous Buttered Popcorn bean, but what you'll be biting into could actually be Rotten Egg. The only way to find out what beans you're getting is to eat them!

The Jelly Belly BeanBoozled collection currently contains 10 colors of beans, and 20 flavors (10 "real" ones and 10...well...different ones). Also, coming this Fall from Jelly Belly: the BeanBoozled Spinner Game Gift Box, which brings our spinner promotion game to life. The second edition of BeanBoozled introduces two new flavors: Canned Dog Food and Centipede. See the chart below and then get ready to have some fun.

My Beautiful Baby Girl

The Kitties and Zoey

Our cats are slowly adjusting to having a new human sister in the house, although they are VERY jealous and much more needy then before....especially Aimee. I don't think she wants to share her mama with this new little creature. They are mostly just upset that they can't sleep in our room at night anymore - we don't want to risk having a kitty jump into Zoey's bassinet, which is very likely with our 4 cats. They are somewhat curious about Zoey, but most of the time I don't think they notice her at all. I warned them though that their lives will really change once Zoey is mobile and able to grab tails. : )

The many faces of Zoey

Zoey loves her daddy!

David informed me that I haven't posted any blog pics with him and Zoey yet - whoops, sorry Daddy! So here are some of my favorites. David is such a natural father (which makes my heart melt!), and I can already tell that Zoey's going to have daddy wrapped around her little finger! : )

Zoey's first visitors!

Zoey has officially been home from the hospital for one week today! Since then we've made great progress adjusting to our new life as a family, getting to know Zoey and her cues and needs, and trying to get on somewhat of a schedule. So far David and I are having so much fun and we LOVE being parents!

Now that we're more settled in at home we enjoyed having some family and close friends come over for a visit to meet Zoey this week. We'd love to have more of our friends come by to meet her.....call us to schedule a visit!

Zoey and her grandparents!




Zoey and her Auntie Leah (This photo was actually taken at the hospital....Leah I need more pics w/you and Zoey!)

Zoey and friends Jason, Reyes and Michael

Zoey is here!

Our amazing daughter Zoey Ruth Backes Diaz was born on Friday, October 9th at 6:41pm after an adventurous, complicated labor. But in the end everything turned out just fine and Zoey is perfect! She weighed 6lbs, 3.9 oz and was 18 3/4 inches long and our whole family is doing great now, adjusting to our new life together at home. I'm recovering slowly but surely from my c-section, but luckily I have a wonderfully amazing husband to help me and make me feel comfortable however he can.

Obviously I have a lot on my hands these days, but I'll do my best to update my blog as often as I can - even if it's just a new picture-of-the-day. I look forward to sharing my motherhood adventures and Zoey's growth and progress with all of you!