Crazy Zoe!

Zoe is such a handful.  And it scares me to think soon, I will have 2. 

Zoe loves to draw and color.  But unfortunately she has realized crayons and colored pencils can draw on anything, not just paper.

My laundry basket.

The bathroom door.

We are investing in the Crayola markers that only draw on their special paper.  :)

She also LOVES to Skype!  We've been Skyping with Grandma and Grandpa Gist in Indiana at least once a week.  And when you say "Skype" she goes running for the computer. 

 

She loves playing house.  More importantly she loves playing with her babies/stuffed animals.  She loves to put her babies in her high chair and she tries to feed them snacks.  Yesterday, I caught her trying to change her baby.  She got a wipe and washed her face and her hair and then she laid her down on a diaper.

Her vocabulary is also growing leaps and bounds.  She's learning a lot of food words.  Apple and Bagel for instance.  Oh and the most hilarious thing she says is "cookie".  She doesn't get to eat cookies but she learned it from the Cookie Monster.  And she says it just like the Cookie Monster which is why it's so hilarious!  She also likes hummus, but she has to dip the pita bread herself. 

Some of her vocabulary includes:

Pa Pa (Grandpa), momma, daddy, doggy, Bubby (our dog), apple, bagel, no, hi, bye, baby, sock, shoe, go, water, book, belly, potty, cheese, yummy, ouch, cute, gentle, meow (she likes to meow like a cat), moo (she can moo like cow), cookie, hug, and a few others that I'm sure I'm missing.  :)

Lately her big thing has been to say "go bye-bye".  She'll grab her coat and walk to the door.

I'm sure I'm forgetting to tell you something....Who knows what it is.  I blame the pregnant brain.

Oh Zoe does have a checkup tomorrow, so I'll be sure to share that with you in the coming days. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday!  Let the countdown til Christmas begin!

No Pictures?! No Videos?!

I know...I know...Have I completely fallen off the face of the Earth?!

I'm really slacking over here in Oregon!

I haven't been getting on the computer much..When Zoe takes her afternoon nap, I take an afternoon nap and when she's up, we're busy playing and then at night, I just crash. 

I haven't really taken pictures or any video...I must be in a funk!

There is one thing in particular I'd love to capture on video and it's quite hilarious.

Zoe's grandma (Tony's mom in Arizona) sent a "baby-proof" photo album last Christmas for Zoe and one of the pictures is of Alex-Tony's brother.  Well, Zoe saw that picture and she went nuts..."DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!"  I tried telling her it was Uncle Alex but she is convinced it's daddy!  She does recognize Tony in pictures, but this one got her confused.  Can't blame her though...They do look a lot alike!

I still haven't posted pictures from our Indiana trip...Again, major fail on my part.  Santa surprised us a little early with Christmas and gave us a new computer so all the pictures are on the old computer but I think Tony's working on getting everything moved.  Once I figure out where the pictures are exactly, I will post them. 

Speaking of new computer, the reason Santa surprised us with a new computer was so we could Skype with family!  (Our old MAC was not compatible with any webcam...It was quite outdated!).   Oh how I LOVE Skype!  No lag, no losing connection, just awesome!  Zoe really enjoys Skyping with grandma and grandpa in Indiana and soon we will be able to Skype with grandma in Arizona!  Can't wait!  So, if you ever wanna Skype, hit us up! 

I'm still feeling fairly yucky.  I had an awful migraine yesterday with limited medication options.  Luckily yesterday was one of Tony's days off, so he was home to help with Zoe. I'll be 12 weeks on Friday, so I'm hoping things will start turning around SOON.  (Details on the pregnancy to come later...)

I haven't been crafting much lately but just recently got some new books from the library and am very excited about some upcoming projects. 

One of them being-make us Christmas stockings.  We searched and searched for new stockings last year and we could not find any that we liked.  So it suddenly occurred to me, why not make some that we will like?!  So, I'm hoping this weekend I can pick up some fabric.

Also on my crafting list-adorable cupcake pin cushions!  Such a cute idea!  And they'll make great little gifts.  Question is, do I know anyone who sews who would like a cupcake pin cushion?!

Tony's been busy at work.  Doing more reporting and also working hard on his weekly segment, Tasty Tuesday.  I often complain (on the bad days) about his long hours, but I am very proud of him and the amazing work he does.  He does have a couple weeks off the first of December so that'll be nice for him (well, us). 

Well, I think that's it for now...

We love you and miss you all!

(Side note: Aunt Karen, if you're reading this, I have been CRAVING your grape salad like nothing else!!!!  YUM!!)

Alright, I couldn't not post a picture...I found a mobile upload from my Facebook page of Zoe last Sunday morning.  I wasn't feeling too hot and apparently she was feeling a bit sleepy still.  She put herself under the covers and just made herself at home.  She didn't say there long, but it made for a cute picture!

Trip to Indiana and a Surprise!

Well the first week of October we went on a trip to Indiana to visit Tony's family.  And it was a wonderful trip.  It was very hard to say good-bye and we didn't want to leave, but alas real life was waiting for us in Oregon.

We took about 200+ pictures, plus the ones all the family took, so needless to say I have yet to go through all of them.  (I bet half of ours are of animals at the zoo but I digress.) 

While we were in Indiana we got one heck of a surprise....Dare I wait to tell you?  Most of you probably already know.

It's REALLY early to be telling everyone, but I'm awful at keeping secrets.  (At least these kinds of secrets.) 

Zoe will be a big sister next year!  I don't have a specific due date yet, but from my calculations I'm guessing around June 1st. 

Anyway, I wanted to post a quick update to let you know we're home safe and I haven't forgotten to blog.  But this pregnancy is really kicking my behind...Major nausea, food aversions, etc.  I gag at almost anything and everything.  So, when I'm not at work, I'm at home chasing that crazy Zoe trying to keep food and liquid down.  (TMI?!)

As soon as I get more time I will be sure to post LOTS of pictures and stories from our trip.

Love,
Courtney

Oh yes...That is MY daughter!

SICK!

Yes, the Gists or at least me-Courtney-has been sick the last couple of weeks.  Zoe got it first-I thought she was just teething or something but I got the brunt of it.  It started with a sore throat and just turned into the whole cold/flu package.  I somehow didn't miss a day of work although believe me I wanted to.  Of course the worst of it hit when I was off on the weekend but Tony was working long hours.  It's no fun being a parent and sick at the same time!  Tony fortunately just got the sore throat. 

We haven't been up to much..Mostly just trying to get better!

Zoe is growing of course and everyday she does the funniest things or learns a new word or phrase.  Her new things has been "cheese".  She got this cute little camera toy and so I would hold up the camera like I was taking her picture and I'd say "Say Cheese!" and she'd say it!  So we did that like a million times and now anytime I hold up that little toy camera she'll say "Cheeeeeese!" all on her own!  It's super cute.

She also says something that we've translated to "Happy Day".  We aren't really sure what she's trying to say but we think it sounds like "Happy Day" so that's what we say and then she'll repeat it.

She's also learned "shoes" and if you say "Let's put shoes on" she'll sit down and lift up her foot.  And she's been learning to put dirty clothes in the hamper.  It's so much fun teaching her new things. She's also a fast learner!

Well, I guess that's it for now!  It's late and I should be in bed!

Oh wait-I've got a couple pictures to share!

She fell asleep on Tony-He put her in my lap even though I was asleep.  Don't worry-she never fell.

So peaceful.

Working hard at using forks and spoons.  Needless to say after this particular dinner she got right into the bath.

I LOVE this dress that I found at my favorite resale store.  And I just happened to have leggings to match!

Eating a waffle.

Eating a waffle and watching "Handy Manny".

It's only Tuesday?

I don't know if it's that I'm anxious for our trip to Indiana (17 more days) or what, but this week is just crawling by.  It's ONLY Tuesday!

It probably hasn't helped that Zoe has been a little cranky the last couple of days.  She's teething...So it's affecting her whole nose/eye/throat region...She's got goopy eyes and a runny nose and a bit of a cough.  And she's been really whiny.  You can just tell she's uncomfortable.

One of the things I've learned is that while Zoe can't always verbalize what she wants she will definitely figure out a way to let you know.  She will know go into the kitchen and bang around the cabinets if she's hungry.  And usually when she sees something she wants she'll look at it and go "Ga ga ga".  She does it in the same tone and everything.  

I've got a couple more cute pictures to share from last week when she was over at our friends' house.

LUNCH!!!

Fun at the park!

 Well, I better go for now.  Hope you're week is going by faster then mine!  :)

Love,
C

Where did my baby go?!

Zoe is not a baby anymore.  She's a toddler.  And it makes my heart a little sad.  (I'm surprised no one has asked us about #2 yet...I can't really wrap my brain around another baby AND Zoe without a little help haha.)

I discovered tonight that Zoe loves the movie "The Cat in the Hat".  The one with Mike Meyers.  She'll usually kinda watch things like Sesame Street or the Wiggles, etc.  But tonight when the movie was on TV she sat on my lap.  Then got up during the commercial break.  It came back on and she sat in front of the couch.  And you can see the cycle.  But she actually watched it!  (And there was a lot of laughing and "WHOA!" going on...) When she watches her TV shows she'll usually watch for a couple of minutes and then play and when something catches her ear she'll watch again for a little bit and then go back to playing.  It's rare for her to really sit and watch something.  And I know, TV isn't recommended for kids under 2 blah blah blah.  But I'm not a perfect mom.  :)  Sometimes I need the help of Big Bird so I can get some dishes done. 

She also loves reading her books...Last night she sat in my lap and we read the same 2 books a MILLION times.  She's got TONS of books, but she just wanted to read the same 2.  One of them is a farm book and so every animal she saw she yelled "DOGGY!".  Yeah, we're still working on that.  It hasn't caught on yet though that not every furry animal is a dog. 

"Momma" has become the universal word for "up".  She'll go up to Tony and say "momma" with her arms stretched up meaning "Pick me up".  We're also working on that.  Haha.

We're making progress on using spoons and forks.  It's been a bit harder then I expected.  It definitely tests my patience.

We are on the hunt for some Zoe sized furniture.  Particularly a table and chair set.  I've seen some online at Ikea that I not only like but can afford.  Unfortunately our closest Ikea is in Portland and they aren't available for order online.  We are also on the hunt for a "time out" chair/stool.  I'm hoping that some Zoe sized chairs will help encourage her to sit still for a few moments! HAHA!

Zoe says "gentle" now..Or something that sounds like "gentle".  We were teaching her how to be gentle by petting the dog, instead of hitting or pulling on the dog.  We demonstrated being gentle on this stuffed dog that Grandpa and Grandma Karen sent a while back.  So now she'll walk up to me and pet my leg and say "Gentle. Gentle. Gentle."  It's cute.  She gets the idea!  But she still runs up to Bubby very excited and "gentle" gets thrown out the window.

I'm enrolling Zoe in some gymnastics classes next month.  Because of our schedule and their schedule, we'll only be doing one class a week.  It involves mommy participation..We're supposed to help teach them along with the teachers.  I'm really excited!  I hope it'll be an outlet for some of her energy.  It'll also be a good activity since it's indoors-once the rainy season arrives.

I continue to be amazed at how much she learns and grows.

Did I share these pictures with you?  I don't think I have.

Zoe got a hold of one of my purses...

I'm not sure what prompted her to get into the laundry basket but she loved it.  She even had a snack while sitting in it.

Oh and yeah, I'm pretty sure she's had a growth spurt recently.  Tony and I were watching her play one afternoon and we both looked at each other and said "Does it look like she's gotten taller?!".  She looked really cute in her overalls.  (Her hair, not so much.  UGH.)   Last week temps were in the 70's so that's why she's wearing the overalls.  This week we're back in the 90's!!  Luckily a friend let us borrow their window AC because it gets to be like an oven in here!


Well, I guess that's it for now.  I've got tomorrow off and so does Tony!  We don't have anything big planned-probably BBQ'ing since the idea of turning on the oven makes me crazy.  Oh I do want to get some organizing done but we'll see what Zoe lets me get done.  :)