Well, not so much ferocious, I guess. But definitely drooling.

Zoë is just about 15 months old now. She’s walking and playing hard, and seems to have a vivacious personality. It’s just a shame she inherited her parent’s shyness.

Though she seems to understand almost everything we tell her, her vocabulary at the moment is consistent with most 15-month olds (lots of grunting and finger pointing!). Let’s see, there’s ‘mama, dada, ball, book, hi, hello, bye-bye, woof, more, yay, juice, and mmmmmmmmm (of course, only reserved when something is REALLY tasty. And, she uses the vocal influx, so it’s actually mmmmmMMMMMMMMmmmmm.)

Why, it's me!

Although it IS nice to be able to see!

I'm drooling but still cute!

Oh my God, it's headed for the bedrooms!

Playing hard

With Grandma and Nana (dear family friend)

You can see the rest of her current album on Flickr by clicking here!

Today was Zo?’s first birthday. I can’t believe my little girl has turned one!

The day couldn’t have been more magical. The weather was fantastic, the food was great, the company was excellent, and the birthday girl was a trooper all day long (even we were surprised at that!)

Matt’s father was smart enough to set up the back yard for us, and it turned out great. I never would have thought to put the backyard furniture where he put it, and it ended up being a great flow to the yard. Sometimes you just have to have someone else organize things for you to see them in a new way!

Here’s some pics, I’ll have more on Flickr soon!

A birthday breakfast:

With Grandma Spinosa, Grandma Stratton, and Uncle Jay:

With neighbors Brogan (thick as thieves, those two!) and neighbor Jack:

Mommy and daddy:

Finally all changed to open prezzies with Daddy:

(from 9 months down to 6 months…)

View the entire 6-9 month Flickr album….

Ever since I moved out of my bassinette and into my crib, a bunny has been keeping a watchful eye over me. He used to sit at the far end of my crib but as of late, he snuggles with me at nap time, keeps me company when I am sitting in the living room and has even been so ambitious as to go on car rides with me.

Recently, Mr. Floppy Ears let me in on a ?little secret?. His real name is Theodore Evan Bear or Ted E. Bear for short. I told him that it was a silly name for a bunny rabbit. Then he did the most amazing thing! He took off his hood to reveal that he was a bear disguised as a rabbit. I was flabbergasted!

At first, I wanted to know why he felt he needed to disguise himself. He began by telling me that recent studies showed that bunnies were 75% more likely to be adopted as stuffed animal friends over bears. It seems that children who have teddy bears for friends get mauled by bears 30% more then those who do not while children who have bunnies as friends have a 0.4% chance of getting mauled by a bunny. The most recent case of a bunny attack was not really that recent at all but recorded in 1974 by a Mr. Monty Python.

He went on to tell me that his cousin, Smokey T. was recently fined $5000 when a 4 year old ran to a grizzly bear in Vermont to ask for assistance in putting out a camp fire.

I couldn?t believe what I was hearing!

As Ted went on, I was all ears. He told me he is a member of a private organization funded by a certain bear building workshop that shall remain nameless. This workshop has been striving to renew children?s trust in teddy bears by allowing them to make their own bears. Thanks to their contributions and radical approach to this crisis, teddy bears are once again beating the stuffing out of the competition.

On hearing this, I gave him the biggest smile, grabbed him, stuck out my tongue and drooled on him. He is my best friend and also very absorbent. Without him, I don?t know what I would do. Thank you Mr. Floppy Ears for infiltrating the stuffed bunny uprising and informing the world of the atrocities ?recent studies? can cause.

A long time ago I mentioned that one of my favorite relaxing things to do was to go back and look at old photos.

I was looking at my baby album with my parents awhile ago, and realized that I had seen some of the pictures before somewhere recently.

Yes, as it turns out, I had seen them, except they were in Zo?’s album, not mine.

THEN

Mother and daughter
Newborn, 1976

NOW
Grandmother and granddaughter
Newborn, 2008

THEN
Mother and daughter
Christmas day, 1976

NOW
Grandmother and granddaughter
Christmas day, 2008

It’s nice to know that some traditions occur quite by accident, even 31 years later.