Eight Months Old

Talk about waiting til the last minute - you're almost nine months old and I'm just now getting to this update. yeeesh.

Zo!

First of all, getting older for you hasn't changed one thing, which is that you're still super awesome and you're the best ever. I mean look at that picture - you're so happy! The only times you aren't happy are when you're tired or really hungry, and when we have to take your toothbrush away. I don't know why, but wow you really love that toothbrush.

Month eight was exciting because you had your first Christmas. You got so many great presents from our friends and family, and you had a pretty fantastic day overall. First we opened presents at home, or rather you tried to eat the wrapping paper and bows while your sappy mom kept saying "Yay!" and "Ooh Zoey look at that!" Then we went to Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Jason's house for brunch with dad's family, and came back home for dinner with mom's family and Grandpa Jim. It was a lovely day.

You haven't had a well baby check up since you turned six months old so I don't have any stats, but I'm thinking you're nearing the 18 pound point. You're eating about 2-3 ounces of fruits/veggies and cereal three times a day, plus about 20-24 ounces of formula. I didn't notice how much you've grown until we recently had to pack away a lot of your 3 month and 3-6 month pants and onesies. I hate when you can't wear your adorable little outfits anymore, but hey it's an excuse to go shopping for more so that's okay. People tell us all the time how pretty you are, and of course we wholeheartedly agree. You're so pretty and smart and perfect. There you have it, from a completely objective point of view. ;)

You actually crawled this month! Okay so it was only like two movements but that's alright. You haven't mastered crawling yet but what you can do is push your arms against the floor, which moves you backwards. I think it confuses and frustrates you a bit but hey it's something! I still think you'll walk before you can crawl. You're pulling up on furniture {and us} all the time and you can actually stand on your own without holding anything for about 10 seconds at the most. Pretty impressive. You're so determined to walk, I think you'll be doing it within the next two months.

Some things you love right now: the dogs ("love" is an understatement), walking with the help of anyone who will hold your hands, jabbering at us (you say "mama" all the time now!), chewing on everything, and playing with all the new toys you got for Christmas (the Say Please Tea Set and Shape Sorting Cube are a couple of your favorites).

The only bad news this month: Aunt Rachel has decided to move on to bigger things so you will be starting day care at the end of the month. We found a really great place for you so I really hope you like it! It will be good for you to socialize and discover that there are other babies in the world, but I sure will miss seeing you during my lunch hour.

Keep on keepin' it real, Zobot!

Seven Months Old

Dear Zobot,

Please forgive my tardiness on this post. You are keeping me very busy these days!

Look how big you are! From your seven month picture you look like a chubby baby, but in real life you still look and feel like a little peanut. You're actually wearing age-appropriate sizes now, which makes shopping easier. With all the solids we've been feeding you lately I wouldn't be surprised if you weighed 20 pounds already. In the last month you've significantly increased your mealtime repertoire. You've now tasted squash (zucchini, butternut, and spaghetti varieties), green beans, broccoli, carrots, apples, pears, sweet potatoes (regular and Japanese), turkey, chicken and a variety of cereals. I mean wow. You eat solids three times a day, plus at least 30 ounces of formula, and you're still waking up almost every night. What's the deal? You just miss your ma and want to see her at all hours of the night. I knew it.

I still haven't heard you say 'mama', but dad and Aunt Rachel have. Boo.

Your two bottom teeth have come through and it's sooooo incredibly cute when you smile really big so we can see them. You're so happy all the time so we get to see those teeth a lot. Some things you enjoy right now are your jumper (you jump so hard in it sometimes I think you might flip it over!), blocks, books, and the wooden Brio toys that Grandma C. got you. Pretty much anything you can fit in your mouth is awesome to you.

Christmas is in two days and I cannot wait to watch you open your presents. I know this year is more for me than it is for you, and that's okay. You met Santa this year, and even though you have no idea why it made for a great photo op for your scrapbook (which I still haven't started). Another photo op that will be great - your first crawling! Two days ago you made one crawling movement and dad and I were so proud of you! We can see that you really really want to crawl, you're just not sure how to make it all come together. You do, however, think you can walk already, as you're always reaching for our hands to pull you up and take you around the room. I think we're going to have a lot of back pains in our near future since this is your number one favorite activity. It makes you so happy I can never say no.

I've missed you so much while I'm at work lately. I always do, but lately it's been a lot harder to get through the work day. I mean who wouldn't want to hang out with you all day! Aunt Rachel is so lucky! We had pictures taken to commemorate you turning six months old, and they turned out amazing. I look at these when I miss you and I can't help but smile.

Merry Christmas Zoers!

Six Months Old

Zobotski - so much has happened in the past month. Where to begin...

First of all, you said your first "word" - dada. It's the cutest thing I've ever ever heard. You also said mama a couple times, but not when I was around so I'm pretty sure that doesn't count.

Secondly, you got your first tooth! There are actually two coming through your bottom gums, which has made for some miserable days for you. You've been a little fussy here and there, though it's nothing ma and pa can't handle. I tried to get a picture of them but this was the best I could do:
In the past couple weeks you've been sitting up so well! You've done a couple face plants but mostly you're doing awesome, learning to balance yourself and leaning forward on your legs. Yesterday you sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time and today you mastered a shopping cart. You are officially big time! You're incredibly curious lately too. You like different textures and reach out to grab anything that looks interesting. Anything in your line of sight is reached for and then shaken vigorously. The look on your face when you discover something new is priceless.

You absolutely LOVE "walking" with mom and dad holding your hands. Since you love standing up so much we got you a ridiculously large and garish Baby Einstein jumper, which keeps you pretty happy with all the gadgets and dangly things that hang from it. One day you played so hard you crashed out mid-jump:

You're still sleeping about 10-12 hours a night and you're on a good two nap schedule, though lately you've been waking up several times in the middle of the night. The doctor said this means we need to up your solid food intake, so you've been enjoying a variety of veggies: squash, zucchini and carrots, plus oatmeal and barley cereal. We held off on the fruits until a couple days ago, when you tried apples for the first time. We thought you would love them but you made the worst face and even gagged a bit!

We think you're going to start crawling very soon. If you only had the upper body strength to get up on your hands you would surely take off. For now I really like that I can lay you on the floor and you don't go anywhere, so no rush on being mobile.

A very exciting time is just ahead of us, little lamb. Next week is your first Thanksgiving, and then your first Christmas is just around the corner. Your silly parents are so excited we can barely stand it. I can't believe you're already halfway to your first birthday. We're having so much fun watching you learn and change every day.
Long story short - you. are. the. coolest. ever. That is all.

Jealous?

It's Friday.

9:00pm:
Jimmy goes to put Zoey to bed, and I head to the kitchen to clean up after dinner and wash bottles.

9:40pm:
I get done with the kitchen and go into the living room. Jimmy and the dogs are asleep on the couch. At first I think "Lame! I thought we would watch a movie together!" But then I think "Awesome, I get the computer and the T.V."

And then I died a little inside.

Ah, parenthood.

First Word

Zoey said "dada" tonight! Jimmy was putting her to bed, and while I was getting him a refill on her bottle he was talking to Zoey to keep her awake. He kept saying "dada" to her, like he does many times a day, and eventually she repeated it. And it was sooooo cute. She was staring right at him, and you can tell she was trying and thinking really hard, and when it came out it was the cutest thing ever. I don't even mind that it wasn't "mama". You could practically see Jimmy melt right there. He's done for. That girl is getting anything she wants from him for at least the next 15 years of her life.

Five Months Old

Zobot the Robot, you are one awesome little lady. Now that you're five months old you've mastered rolling from your back to your stomach, you've added vegetables to your daily eating repertoire (butternut squash, made by mom), and you laugh with ease. You absolutely love to stand up, and every time you pull yourself up on our hands you open your mouth up really big, like this, because you're just so proud of yourself:

You are such a happy baby, and you're constantly babbling, smiling and laughing. Some things that make you crack up: when Aunt Rae fake sneezes, doing "earthquake tests" in your highchair, when mom and dad blow raspberries on your belly and cheeks, and doing the airplane. You do a strange spitting/raspberry thing when you're mad now, so we definitely know when your mood changes! You really like taking walks now that you've traded in your old carseat frame stroller for some new wheels, so you can sit up now when we go out. We think you might be teething because anything that gets within an inch of your mouth gets slobbered and chewed on.

At night you're still sleeping 10-13 hours, and it seems you've mastered nap time! For the past week you've taken two nice long naps a day, which makes mom and dad very happy. Last weekend we saw another first - your first road trip, to Dallas - and you got to meet lots of mom's family. And you were a champ {almost} the whole time.

Zoey, you're so much fun, and I can't believe you're almost half a year old. You make me feel young and old, silly and responsible, all at once. I can't believe it gets any better than this.

Our Life: Then and Now

So you know everything there is to know about Zoey, but how are mama and papa bear these days?...

Ashley & Jimmy, Before Child










This was taken on our last minute trip to Chicago to see the Cubs in the playoffs in 2008. We were far from spontaneous pre-parenthood but we had our fun. Most weeknights were spent making dinner together, enjoying some T.V., going for a walk, hanging out with the dogs. On the weekends we would sleep til noon if we wanted. If I got up early enough I might meet a friend for coffee and go to the farmer's market. Ah, just thinking about sleeping in makes my heart happy.

Jimmy never went out much but I enjoy a nice night on the town. I loved to sit on the porch at Vintage, savoring a nice glass of wine and the always entertaining company of Sarah, Chase and Natalie. Or hanging out at McNellie's enjoying some sweet potato fries and Guinness with Kayci and Jake. After shutting the bar down we would stop off for Taco Bell and then stay up a couple more hours watching old comedies and listening to Jimmy and Jake make fun of each other. Those were the good ol' days.

Jimmy and I really enjoyed trying new restaurants and going out to eat regularly. If we didn't feel like making dinner we just got in the car off we went (this is a luxury I so took for granted). It's the little things you miss.

The McIntosh Family, After Birth










A typical weekday: I get up around 6:00am, get ready and hope Zoey will wake up before I have to go to work (she usually doesn't). Thank GOD for my sister, who watches Zoey at our house, so we don't have to worry about waking her up and getting her ready every morning. After work I rush home to hang out with the little lady. Jimmy and I trade off playing with Zoey while the other makes dinner. Zoey's bed time routine starts around 8:00, so while one of us is giving her a bath, feeding her and putting her to bed, the other washes bottles and cleans up the house. If she doesn't fight going to sleep (she usually doesn't if we get started before she gets too tired), then Jimmy and I get to spend a little time together watching our latest Netflix selection before we have to go to sleep.

On the weekends we rotate who gets up with Zoey, so we each get to sleep in one day. She's been sleeping until 8:00 or 9:00am so we've been getting some decent sleep on the weekends. I love it when it's my day to get up with her, because she's so happy and smiley in the morning. Even when it's my day to sleep in I usually end up getting up because I can hear Jimmy and Zoey blowing raspberries and cracking up in the living room, and I hate to miss the fun. Since I only get a few hours with Zoey on weekdays I like to spend as much time with her as possible on the weekends. Needless to say I'm not spending all night at the bar anymore. I'm fortunate to have a husband who is a very involved and confident father, so I can go out of the house as I please; however I find that even when I have the freedom to go and do whatever I want, all I want to do is rush home to hang out with my little Zo-bot.

Jimmy and I have been out together without the baby a total of four times. The first time was at the end of July, for my company picnic. I know it's important that we spend time together, just the two of us, but it's almost impossible to completely relax and enjoy it. It's so liberating at first to be able to leave the house without a baby, car seat and giant diaper bag in tow. But not long after we drive away I start to feel the guilt of leaving the baby with someone else. Even if I can get over that I still rush around, whether it's at the grocery store or on a date with Jimmy, because I miss Zoey so much and I can't wait to just look at her little face again. It's pathetic, really.

Jimmy and I are so happy to have started our little family, even though that means life is more challenging. We have to remember to make those little moments we have alone together really count, and sometimes the exhaustion takes its toll and we bicker a bit. Not to sound too cliche, but all in all we're very happy and I know everyday I feel so grateful for everything we have. And I think we make a pretty kick-ass parenting team. On a regular basis we find ourselves just staring at Zoey in amazement and saying "Wow. We did that?" She's just the coolest ever. The end.

Zoey will be five months old on Monday. Where has the time gone...