Easy as a Walk in the Park

Last night, Zoë was really upset!

What was it? Was she hungry? Did she need a new diaper? Was she cold? Did she need a burp? We couldn't figure it out!

In the end, the answer was Aretha Franklin:


All hail the Queen of Soul!


Today, Zoë went outside for the first time!

We got her all bundled up.


Zoë was asleep.


We passed one of our favorite houses:


The people in this house voted for George Bush!

(We know because they had a lawnsign out before the election.)

It was a beautiful day for the park.


Fergus smelled something interesting!


Then Fergus noticed soemthing in the distance!


What was it?

Someone had made a nice snow-bear-person:


Zoë didn't wake up.


Some of our neighbors had made a little snow-person too.

(The little sign says "Happy New Year!")

Back home, we stopped for a bit to rock on the porch swing.


Here is a picture of Fergus's paw prints on the porch.


Zoë's asleep now.

Shhhhh!

A Small Gathering

Zoë is smiling a lot and trying out lots of new facial expressions!


Which is your favorite?

Zoë was up most of the day. Daddy neatened up the bedroom. Mommy did some dishes.

In the evening, some friends came over: Alyssa, Audrey, and Sandy:

Alyssa is a union representative and famous commenter on "Hello Zoë!" Audrey is a massage therapist. (The picture of Audrey is a little strange because she is enjoying some nice Tiramisu pannetone.) Sandy is the regular kind of therapist.

Everyone was still in a holiday mood.


Audrey said that Zoë was really something!


Later on, our friends Kirsten and Inge-Lise came over!

Kirsten teaches English and is a union activist. Inge-Lise goes to school and rides horses. (Kirsten is her mom.) Kirsten and Inge-Lise disagreed about the movie version of "A Series of Unfortunate Events." They have a nice dog named Max whom Fergus was mean to once and two cats named Drumstick and Findus.

We all had a lovely time. Here is a cute picture of Fergus and Alyssa:

Big Update

Yesterday, we spent the day recovering from the joy and merriment of the holidays. We didn't take any pictures. Zoë was a cutie.

Today, we had some big plans, but it turned out that we needed more time to recover from the joy and merriment of the holidays.

We planned a big trip for about noon, but didn't get out of the house until five. It was a big event: Zoë's first time out in public! We went to the co-op food bar for dinner! Unfortunately, there are no pictures to prove that this event really happened.

Zhigang and Huaying sent us some of the pictures they took at Christmas dinner. Here is our favorite!


In the evening, our friend Ian stopped by to do some union work with Jon and to admire little Zoë:


Fergus got his head scratched:


Jon and Ian finished the leftover pumpkin pie:


Now we are tired and are going to bed!

'Twas the Day Before Christmas (and Christmas too!)!

And everyone was stirring!

Oh, but first – this blog is written by Ant Lisa who has come to visit to meet Zoë! How exciting! She is definitely a sweetie!

Ceci and Ariana came to visit. Ariana is also a sweetie. She and Opa Mike got along well!


I took a group photograph of Rosie’s parents with the new family before they left to go back home. It was really nice to spend some time with fellow members of the Zoë fan club.


The next project of the day was getting the tree. It was a bit late in the day and the Christmas tree salesman had left for the day – the tree and a wreath were FREE! Merry Christmas. All the tree stands had been bought so Jon crafted a most excellent and quite handsome stand. Here is the project underway.


Some favorite ornaments including a very special star.


One of the stuffed animals was a bit uncomfortable.


Everyone relaxed when Miss Sheep could BREATHE!


Not a mad person – yet another dancing frenzy to One O’Clock Jump.


Tiny tiny perfect little starfish hands.


And then it was Christmas!


It was magical and exciting looking! Lots of bright beribboned packages big and small were waiting! All sorts of very nice gifts! The best one though was the realization of the love and thoughtfulness that we were sharing with family and friends near and far…

Zoë's cousins Sam and Crosby sent her a sweet little ladybug rattle.


And a First Christmas Bear who looks to be the honey-eating type arrived from Nana and Grand Pat. We wonder what Zoë will name her!


Lots of books for Zoë – in this family of course! We are all quoting the line from Richard Scarry’s “What Do People Do All Day” that says, “Everyone is a Worker.” Other literature included a lovely book about a mommy and baby bird, a hungry caterpillar, and the complete OZ series! (Thanks to UPOWER Staff and Organizing Committee! Although we think they would approve of the Richard Scarry quote too!) Zoë is only a month old and she desperately needs a bookshelf of her own!


Fergus exchanged a few gifts with his human pack members. He seemed to understand the unwrapping concept a little more clearly than Zoë. I guess having teeth helps.


It was quite festive! And we ate a lot of panettone (Thanks Stella and Mike!)


And then we ate more! Our friends Huaying and Zhigang came for Christmas dinner. We found out that they are very good with babies! Zoë was very happy to meet them! (I can’t wait to use the memory stick they gave me to take home pictures of Zoë!)


Really an exceptionally wonderful day! Thanks EVERYONE for making it exactly what Christmas should be!