Zoey is almost 4 months old!

Yep, time is sure flying by - Zoey is growing like a weed and changing and developing by the day! She can giggle now, push herself way up on her arms, and babbles up a storm. She also loves to be carried around in her Snugli front carrier as she looks out on the world - and especially loves starring at "that baby" in the mirror. Oh how I love my little girl!

Family!

Friday afternoon we faced the horrid get-away traffic and headed back to Stockton for my cousin Heidi's wedding reception. It was a rough ride with a cranky Zoey, but well worth the journey. Heidi and her new husband Brian got married in Maui last month but still wanted to celebrate with family and friends back home - and it was a great party! It was so nice to see my extended family and to share in the new couple's joy. After the party we stayed at my parents house in Manteca for the night and enjoyed a yummy homemade breakfast on Saturday morning. Hayden loved her Mickey Mouse pancake that grandma made for her. Family.....good times. : )

All you need is LOVE!

This picture made me smile.....happy Friday everyone!

Zoey meets baby Laila!

My dear friend Jenn recently gave birth to sweet baby girl Laila on January 8th, and Zoey and I had the pleasure of meeting her for the first time yesterday! Just like Zoey, Laila made her entrance into the world quite a bit earlier than expected (4.5 weeks to be exact!), so she's quite the teeny, tiny, adorable little preemie! And poor Jen literally had Laila the day before her scheduled baby shower! But luckily she has lots of adoring friends and relatives who've been super generous and supportive, and both mommy and baby are doing great.

Jenn and I had a fabulous afternoon chatting, hangin with our baby girls, and sharing mommy-related stories and adventures! I love that Laila and Zoey are so close in age and will hopefully grow up as close friends and playmates - and it's definitely a perk to have a mommy friend with a little one near the same stage who is there to listen with understanding, support me through the good and bad times, who can share lots of the same joys and milestones, and who I can commiserate with. I love you Jenn and Laila!

P.S. Doesn't Zoey look like a GIANT compared to little Laila??? Ha! Zoey is 3.5 months, and Laila is just under 3 weeks!

Without my camera.... :(

Unfortunately I left my camera at my parents house when I was visiting last weekend, which has been a huge bummer for me all week, and has also led to a reduced desire to blog. But I'll once again have my camera in my possession as of Friday when we head out to Manteca/Stockton for my cousin Heidi's wedding reception....so stay tuned!

I want one of these as my own!

This little guy makes my heart melt! He's an African Dik-Dik, too cute!

Waking up....or at least trying to!

Looking for my pot of gold...

Mommy-mode

So with the weather being as crazy and wet as it's been lately here in the Bay Area, I haven't been getting out much. I haven't taken Zoey out that often recently anyhow since she's going through a fussy period and I'd prefer to avoid public meltdowns. But now with these storms the past few days, I truly feel home bound at times! But instead of letting it drive me crazy, I've been trying to entertain myself and Zoey as well as I can - we've been singing songs, playing the Wii, dancing together, playing with our crazy cats, and resting/napping as much as possible. I still can't believe how FAST my maternity leave is flying by - on one hand I am very excited to head back to work in order to have my own identity again, but at the same time I know I'll really miss these special times I've had alone with Zoey to watch her grow and develop.

So as much as I tried to come up with another creative topic for my blog today, I realized since my life is revolving around Zoey and my mommy-hood right now, why not just go with it! So here are some shots of our life lately..... : )

Zoey's Wardrobe

As I think I've mentioned before, Zoey was so lucky to inherit BAGS AND BAGS of baby girl clothes from her cousin Hayden and her friend Riley. While we are very grateful to be given such an extensive baby wardrobe, it is often overwhelming at times! Last Summer when I was pregnant I sorted through the mounds of clothes and organized them according to size ranges, i.e. Newborn, 0-3 mos, 3-6 mos, 6-9 mos, etc. And honestly, she literally has more outfits than days of life to wear them within each stage! So in order to give Zoey a chance to wear as many of her adorable clothes as possible, I often play "dress up" with her at home so she can at least try on more outfits to find her favorites (or um....mommy's favorites). : ) However, Zoey has quickly reminded me that she is NOT my baby doll, and the poor thing can only handle 2-3 outfit changes per day at max before she reaches her limit.

One of the cutest little things she owns are these adorable pink bunny slippers! I also love this little pink jacket with the fur hood that she wore on our outing yesterday. Although Zoey has any clue if she's wearing an old pair of pajamas or a brand new fancy dress, I still think it's so fun to have a little girl who will someday appreciate all her fancy duds and hopefully enjoy playing dress up with mommy.

Saturday Afternoon @ The Game Palace

Today my dear friend Michael had a little gathering at his place, aka "The Game Palace", and we had tons of fun! It was a great chance to spend time with Kevin who was home visiting from New York, and we also got to check out Michael's newly painted and re-decorated living room. Although we didn't end up playing games at the Palace this time around, we did get to eat yummy pizza, play with Hayden and Zoey, and share lots of laughs and conversation with good friends. Thanks for hosting Michael! : )

Zoey and Co.

My dear friend Torrey just recently moved back to CA from Amsterdam, and she came by to visit and meet Zoey yesterday! We had a nice time chatting and catching up, and Tor even brought Zoey a gift all the way from Holland....two adorable shirts from Noppies! I purchased a maternity shirt from this lovely shop when I was in Amsterdam last summer, and now Zoey has some Noppies gear of her own....thank you Torrey! : )

Also, David's aunt Wendy came over to meet Zoey last week, and she was so excited to meet the newest little member of our family!

And these last few pics were taken last weekend when I went back to Manteca to see my parents, and when Leah, Lukasz and Hayden came over last Sunday night. Family love!

Cat Called to Jury Duty!?

Taken from an awesome website for animal lovers called Paw Nation. Enjoy!
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Cat Called to Jury Duty

by Michelle Toglia
Jan 11th 2010 @ 2:00PM Filed Under: Cats, Pets News

We all know jury duty is just about impossible to avoid, but what about purr-y duty? An East Boston cat and his family are determined to find out. Sal Esposito, a cat, is expected to show up at Suffolk Superior Court on March 23, reports The National Ledger.

Anna and Guy Esposito, Sal's owners, were stunned when they received Sal's jury summons in the mail, reports MSNBC News. Anna tried to disqualify Sal, but the jury commissioner rejected the appeal.

The couple thinks the issue stemmed from an error on the last census form. Just like any other member of the family, Anna listed Sal under the "pets" section. "I just wrote 'Sal Esposito', scratched out the 'dog,' and wrote, 'cat,'" Anna told MSNBC News.

If the issue isn't resolved by Sal's court date, Anna will have to bring her cat to the jury box to serve his apparent civil responsibility.

Will the feline juror have his own opinions about the case or will he be a copycat?

Daytime Television

Since I've been off work on maternity leave, I admit that I've become quite accustomed to watching a lot of daytime television. Now as you can imagine, there is quite a fascinating range of interesting, intellectual programming available from Comcast during the weekdays......and I've chosen to become hooked on the highest quality shows of all - things like "A Baby Story", "Supernanny", "What Not To Wear", "Tabitha's Salon Takeover", and "18 Kids and Counting".... :) I tend to gravitate towards reality-based programming on TLC, Bravo, HGTV, and Style Network, and I also love watching game shows and talk shows on the major networks in the afternoon. I especially love the new version of "Let's Make a Deal" hosted by Wayne Brady...have you seen it? It's just as good as the original hosted by Monty Hall in the 60's and 70's.

Now please understand that I do spend the majority of my day taking care of Zoey - feeding and changing her, playing games and interacting with her as much as possible, and rarely letting her watch the TV screen.....because the last thing I want is a television addicted child this early on! But since she is still so young, she sleeps A LOT.....even if lately that means napping ON ME. And having a sleeping baby upon my chest means that watching TV on the couch is about all I can do! My mom and several friends have encouraged me to read instead of watching TV, and while I do read baby books and parenting magazines on a regular basis, for some reason I just can't get into reading longer novels right now. Perhaps that's because I am living somewhat day-by-day with Zoey, and investing in a book just seems a bit overwhelming. Or maybe it's because I like the feeling of reading a short magazine article or a chapter in a baby book that I KNOW I will be able to finish in the span of a Zoey nap. Hey, I look for the feeling of accomplishment wherever I can get it these days, and I only want to set goals that I know I can achieve with a needy young infant by my side. : )

But all of this TV watching makes me realize that there is a whole big exciting world out there beyond my LCD screen just waiting for me. Hopefully once Zoey is on a more predictable daytime routine with a regular nap and feeding pattern, we'll both be able to venture out more to enjoy it. We do attempt to attend a weekly play group and get out for walks, but even that has become somewhat challenging the past two weeks. So for now, my television will continue to serve as a special, entertaining companion close and dear to my heart. : )

Zoey is 3 months old!

Our little girl turned 3 months old last Saturday! On one hand I feel like the time is flying by, but other days I feel like the afternoon will never end - ha! Honestly though, I am loving every minute of motherhood and I'm savoring this special time that I have to be home with Zoey and to focus on raising my little girl. Overall she is a curious, spunky, talkative baby, but Z is also going through a rough period as of late. The past couple weeks she has been unexplainably fussy in the afternoons and early evenings, which could possibly be related to early teething or a growth spurt - we're not quite sure. But luckily these difficult periods are counterbalanced by her cute interactive states filled with lots of baby smiles, coos, and engaging play. Today we read some books, had lots of "tummy time", and played in her new Rainforest Activity Gym. Even on the hard days, I remind myself that this stage of Zoey's life is SO SHORT and before I know it, she'll be on to a whole different period of growth, development, and cuteness!