Bowling in South Bend

On a recent trip (ok so it's been like a month ago but anyway) I had a bowling outing with some of my co-workers from my division. Mark and Zoie came with me to South Bend and were able to join in the bowling fun. Zoie did very good, was held by lots of people, and was a hit as usual. Here are some pictures.

Mommy & Zoie

Watching from the side

Mark with my boss

This is where Zoie spent some of the evening

Zoie sitting with Lisa

I didn't bowl very well but I didn't completely embarrass myself either. We had a nice time and my co-workers got to know my family a bit better.

What does Zoie do all day?

As I'm currently working from home, the common question is what does Zoie do all day. I thought I'd give you a few pictures to illustrate.


Yes she does take naps in her bed, this just sometimes happens when she gets really tired. She is actually a very good napper, which is when it is the easiest to work. She usually takes 2 2-4 hour naps everyday.

She is ok with the jumperoo. She is a bigger fan of the swing...I just couldn't find a good picture of that right now.

She plays a lot on her activity mat. She really likes the toys.

This is her moving away from the play mat. For a child who doensn't officially "crawl" yet, she gets around.

She also likes to sit on our futon to play. She is looking at books here. She probably tries to "eat" the books versus "read" them.

Before and After

A few weeks ago Mark and his brother Ben put a new roof on our house. Since we changed the shingle color, we changed the shutters as well. Here are the before and after pictures.

First Foods

At Zoie's 4 month doctor appointment (which yes was well over a month ago), he suggested we start her on some solid foods. Thus far I've only ventured into rice cereal. She was not initially impressed. Here are some pictures

Daddy thought it might be funny a few days before to give her an apple. Don't worry, all she could do was gum it.

By the second feeding, she was all about her rice cereal. If you are too slow, she lets you know it. We are hoping to start vegetables soon.

3 Years!

Happy Anniversary Mark! It's been 3 wonderful and exciting years with lots of changes. I pray we'll have many more together. I love you!

TV junkie

Zoie loves to watch TV (this is going to likely cause us problems later on). She'll just sit and stare at it, she's been doing this since she was 2 months. We're definitely going to need time limits on TV time in the years ahead.

Zoie's Fan Club

Zoie has many members to her fan club. Here though are pics with a few of her biggest fans.

Visitors

We have had a few visitors to our house recently. Yesterday evening Hannah, Ben, and Mom L. arrived. Mom and Hannah are helping Josh and Bethany with their new baby and Ben is helping Mark put a new roof on our house. The Grandma's came up to pick up Mom and Hannah this morning.

My aunt Donna stopped by on her way home from Chicago a few weeks ago. She is a "great" aunt and glad she could finally make it to our place. Aunt Donna is the relative you call when you need random assistance and she is always willing to help (my sister Diana has some noted experience with this).

Finally, my mom had to come get a Zoie fix.

We always love visitors, so come by and see us.

Mommy Jinxed It

So yesterday Mommy shared what a good baby I am (See Baby Lottery). While that's still true, I decided to be a bit ornery last night. I waited until after 11 to go to bed and then I woke up at 5 for a snack. Now I wasn't too bad as I just ate and went right back to sleep...but Mommy better careful what she says next time. Lots of love ~Zoie

Baby Lottery

My sister commented the other day "You really won the baby lottery with Zoie." The more I think about it, the more I conclude she is right. Now I am Zoie's mom, so that makes me a little biased which I ask you to forgive. A few highlights though

1. She's totally cute and adorable (pictures below to prove my point).

2. She has been sleeping through the night since she was 6 weeks old. I'm talking always at least 8 hours and up to 11. When she first came home from the hospital she'd go to bed at night, sleep 4 hours, eat, and go right back to sleep. She was only "up" in the day time.


3.She is growing and healthy

4. She is very interactive. Unless she's grumpy, you can count on a smile if you talk to her. She especially likes older women, which makes her a hit at the nursing home when we visit my grandparents.

5. She is a good traveler. We've been all over since she was born (Georgia, Michigan, Indiana, and more times to Central Illinois then I care to count). Overall she's pretty content in the car seat once we get moving and she's been fed. She doesn't always like to be put in it and sometimes she's had enough...but overall pretty good. She also is able to sleep in her pack n play just as well as her crib.

6. She can calm herself and put herself to sleep. Sometimes she'll be mad in the carseat for a minute or two and then just be done with it. I think she knows her parents aren't giving in :). Also, if she is tired, if I just lay her in bed, she may fuss for a couple of minutes but pretty soon she'll just go to sleep. A lot of times, she doesn't fuss at all.


Many of the things that make Zoie especially easy as a baby are just a result of her being her. Mark and I are NOT wonderfully gifted parents. There are many wonderful parents whose babies are no less wonderful, just more work. We're just taking it day by day, learning how to care and love our little girl.

With this good baby, Mark is especially nervous about even the thought of a #2. He doesn't think you can gamble and do this good twice :).

College Grad and A Visit From Amanda

As I hear Pomp and Circumstance in my head, it's with great pleasure I salute this family's newest college graduate. Mark completed his B.S. in Accounting from the University of Phoenix this summer. It's been a long road but he has done very well. I'm amazed at the diligence he has shown to reach this accomplishment.

He also was recently approved by the Illinois Board of Examiners to sit for the CPA exam. It's a 4-part exam and he sits for the first test at the end of August. So the studying isn't quite over, but he keeps making progress.

Last week Aunt Amanda came to get her Zoie fix. We had lots of fun shopping for Amanda's birthday which was yesterday. Happy 18th! I can't believe my "short-child" is already a legal adult.

Zoie August 2009 1 (39 photos), by Laura Lindberg

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you.

Lindberg Visit

I'm a little behind here but a few weeks ago the Lindberg's came to visit. It was wonderful to see them. Since the first week they were here it was the last week of my maternity leave, we got to spend a lot of time together. A little perk of Zoie coming a week late.

Here are a few random pictures.

3 Months Old

My little Zoie is 3 months old today. Below are pictures taken right around the time of the milestones. 3 months, 2 months, 1 month, and brand-new. It's amazing how she grows and changes so fast.