whirlwind weekend

Dear Zoe,

This past weekend we had your sister Josie's 9th birthday party at our house. We had 9 little girls over for 4 hours and I feel I can safely say that you can kiss your hopes for a birthday party like this goodbye. Not that you won't have fantastic birthday parties, kid, believe me - YOU WILL. They just won't be involving 9 little girls at our house for 4 hours. My favorite part was when one little girl threw herself on the floor sobbing because her team didn't win the scavenger hunt and felt that the other team was "bragging too much" and her friends weren't sticking up for her and supporting her when she said that she didn't "appreciate that bragging". I came quite close to telling this kid that even though the party wouldn't be over for another 2 hours, she could go wait for her mom outside in our garbage dumpster. Of course I'm kidding. Mostly.

This weekend we also had my Aunt Eileen, Uncle Chan and cousin Kieran visiting from Michigan. It was A LOT of action for you, which I think you really enjoyed. I only wish I had been better at taking pictures - I realized that I don't have one single picture of you with Eileen, Kieran or Chan. I'm a loser.

They loved you up right (I LOVE having my family dote on you, it feels so good) and every time I turned around you were doing something fun like watching TV with Josie and Jack in a basket full of folded laundry or wearing your burp cloth around your head.

I thought with all this action you'd be crashing out left and right, but you slept very little. I guess Grandma Patty and Grandpa David are right when they say you are just like I was as a child - always up so as not to miss a thing. There is a lot to see in this world, little girl, and I can't blame you for wanting to take it all in.

Love,
Momma

*UPDATE* Here's a picture taken by Kieran of Aunt Eileen, Uncle Chan and Zoe B

my dad's a geek

..and so is Zoe, based on how high her pants are pulled up. I have to say, though, that they're the two cutest geeks I've ever seen.

yes, we eat bunnies

Thanks, Leila, for this tasty rabbit.

Busy Weekend

Ah! We have had a very busy weekend here and don't have much time to post, but here's a picture of Zoe doing her Virgin Mary impersonation.

Hello to my fans

Hello to my fans
Originally uploaded by thechelseahilton

Zoe's Aunt Jess has two friends, Irene and FJ, who are big Zoe fans. Because we recognize that we would be nothing without our fans, we have to throw them a bone every now and then.

Teething

Dear Teething,

You suck. Please try and pop Zoe's teeth out quietly and without being noticed. We need to get some sleep.

Thanks.

Big kid stroller

little dough ball Originally uploaded by thechelseahilton

Here's Zoe today getting ready for a walk in her new big kid stroller.

she could get me to do anything

A Letter to Zoe at 15 weeks

Dear Zoe,

Tomorrow you will be 15 weeks old and I think it's about effing time I stop counting in weeks. If it's getting annoying at 15 weeks, wait until you're hundreds of weeks old. You'll be two years old and already embarrassed of your mother.

Everyone is always asking me what new developments are taking place over here and lately my answer is just one word - DROOL. A close second is spit-up, though. Your drool and spit-up are currently duking it out for first prize. Drool is winning because of the sheer volume, but spit-up is really shining in the 'requiring a change of clothes' category. However, there's another twist that keeps drool in the lead - you're likely drooling so much because you're starting to teethe and because you're starting to teethe, you're chewing on your fingers like a maniac which causes you to gag and spit up. So that makes spit-up more of a follower than a leader. That's just the way of the world.



We're still having trouble with the sleeping. You just don't like sleeping in a bed, so you're still almost always sleeping in the swing. It worries me. I'm sorry if you're grown up and reading this in a full body brace because your jackass mother couldn't figure out how to get her baby to sleep in a bed. It's not for lack of trying, though. Every night we try, and every night you wrestle around and grunt and kick your legs and swing your arms (except for when you're swaddled, of course, because you're in a burrito) and eventually scream and/or cry. So? Back in the swing you go and you go right to sleep.

You are such a happy baby, Zoe. You have started really laughing now, too. Good, long belly laughs. I love it. I do the stupidest things all day long to get you laughing like that. We are two of the happiest people around, I swear. I think about everyone else going about their daily lives and think of how lucky I am to be home laughing with my baby all day. I act like an idiot and you laugh and then I laugh and we're both smiling all the time. It's a great life. I hit the jackpot.

I love you, little bean.
Momma

More laughing...

Scary mom and laughing kid from chelsea on Vimeo.
The big bang at the end came from her siblings - up to some sort of shenanigans.

Zoe works out

Zoe does her sit-ups from chelsea on Vimeo.

GADGET OBSESSION #4,508: The Perfect Carrier

My mom gets on my case whenever she's here about our gadgets. "Why can't you have a regular can opener? (or cork screw, or toaster, or blender...)" We like our gadgets. I am also now totally obsessed with baby gadgets. The wipe warmer is one of the greatest inventions ever. Seriously.

My newest obsession is the baby carrier. We have two slings and a Baby Bjorn but they're just not cutting it. She has hated the slings from day one. SCREAMS in there. The Bjorn she loves, but it hurts my back. Sooo...I am on a quest for the perfect carrier. And it wouldn't kill me if it looked cool, too.

The picture here is of the Babyhawk Mei Tai. They look super-sweet and get rave reviews - you can even pick out your own fabrics. This one is high on my list of possibilities.

If you're interested, which you are probably not - here are the sites I've been addicted to:
The Babywearer
Attached to Baby

From where we're standing...

Zoe had a great night last night! She slept, in her baby-burrito straightjacket in her swing from 8.30-1.30. 5 hours! Yes, she's probably going to have a swing-shaped back when she grows up but I'm trying not to think about it.

The rest of the night she spent going back and forth between our bed, the cosleeper and the swing. I'm thinking about adding in a few more beds just to make our situation that much more ridiculous. Maybe I could put an inner tube on the floor and try that out. Or maybe a sled.

I was thinking about signing us up for a baby class like Gymboree or My Gym where we can see other babies and do some baby-exercises. Problem is, however, I think I'm too judgmental. Sort of like that Groucho Marx quote, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member." All the people in Gymboree are going to be lame, eager moms. I am not into lame, eager moms.
I would spend the whole class being annoyed and that would be a huge waste of money. I can be annoyed for free at any of Jack and Josie's school functions - why pay?!
Maybe I should join La Leche League. Maybe those women would be more up my alley. But who wants to sit around talking about breastfeeding?

happy baby

happy baby
Originally uploaded by thechelseahilton

Zoe and Daddy

Zoe and Daddy
Originally uploaded by thechelseahilton

Here's Zoe and her smitten Dad. There are no words to describe how much he loves this baby!

I love Dr. Sears

Dr. William Sears is my hero. My "you're doing it right by not succumbing to these crazy parenting books' advice and following your instincts" guru.

Zoe, for some reason, has stopped her long stretches of nighttime sleep and is waking up every couple of hours. I have been reading up on sleep solutions and I have to say that most of them make me feel sort of sick. My blood pressure starts to elevate just thinking about letting my baby cry it out. I can't and won't do it.

Dr. Sears told me it's ok to just meet my baby's needs and seek out the causes of the night waking. Hell, it could even be the milk. (I'm going back off milk - I just have a gut feeling about it - call me crazy.)

I wonder if there's a fan club I can join. Ha.

Happy as a clam but still her mother worries...

Being a parent is the most satisfying, rewarding, meaningful, emotional, and all-consuming thing I've ever done. I also find it enormously frustrating because there are so many things to screw up.

Am I doing this right?

Sure, part of it is instinctual. Nature did throw us a bone there - I don't worry that I'll roll over on my baby at night - I am very aware of her, even in my sleep. But what about sleep schedules? How much spit-up is too much? What about rosy cheeks? Is she getting TOO chubby?

The dairy and soy issues are still a mystery to me. I decided to eliminate soy from my diet (HARD AS HELL - it's in EVERYTHING - much worse than dairy) and her poop seemed to clear up a bit. So I decided to go back on the dairy and see what happened. Maybe it was soy all along and NOT dairy. Who knows. So, I reintroduced dairy and things seem fine. So I reintroduced soy (not obvious ones like tofu, just the minimal stuff like soy lecithin and stuff cooked in soybean oil), too, and things still seem fine. EXCEPT - she seems to be spitting up a lot more and she's got these rosy cheeks. But those two things could be related to about a million other things, too. Maybe just BEING A BABY. Hmm...

People tell you how hard it will be - never getting a full night's sleep and all that. And sure, that can get draining. But it's hard because I WANT SO DESPERATELY TO GET THIS RIGHT and it's impossible to really know how you're doing. There's no report card or performance review. She's a happy girl, though, so I guess I can't be screwing it all up.

I am so happy that I'm not working so I can stress out about this stuff full-time. No, that's not true. I'm happy I'm not working so I can spend hours every day smelling her neck and tickling her toes and drinking her in. She's growing so fast and before I know it she'll be up and running around and I won't be able to spend hours on the bed singing her songs and pretending to eat her feet.

This is by far the best job I have ever had.

French Zoe and too-hot-to-be-a-Grandma Patty

French Zoe and Grandma Patty
Originally uploaded by thechelseahilton

I miss my mom SO FREAKING MUCH. Having her here just reaffirms that fact. I haven't lived in the same city as my mother in a very long time, but since Zoe was born I wish for it every day. There's just something about having a baby that makes you want your family around so they don't miss a single thing.

Not to mention that my mom is a nurse practitioner and is like my own private doctor. Good thing she's on call at all times.

little and round

little and round, originally uploaded by thechelseahilton.

this bumbo chair is providing us with endless photo opportunities.

There are ten pigs on that bicycle?

listening to bedtime stories with jack, originally uploaded by thechelseahilton.

Here's Zoe listening to bedtime stories with her big brother, Jack.

In Daddy's ball cap...