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Today was Zoe's very first day of school ever. She's going to pre-school five days a week for a half day. We're so excited to see our little girl growing up. However I think we're also a bit sad. I (Sam) spent a lot of time with her this morning. She wanted to take a bath, so we took a bath together. Then she had breakfast while I washed my hair and got dressed. She was all ready to go but we had an hour before we needed to leave. So, she wanted to play. I swung her around, bounced her, and let her hold onto my leg while I tried to walk.

Zoe's play has been getting a lot more advanced this week. Well, her play has been complicated for a while, but there seems to have been a significant breakthrough in mental processing in the recent past. Yesterday we went to a pretend airport. To do that we had to get dressed in coats, shoes and hats. Naturally they all had to be removed for security and then put away on the plane. We brought a baby with us, which unfortunately needed to be changed urgently as we were preparing for takeoff. We had to wait a long time for the door to be closed and for us to takeoff.

Zoe wanted me to rock one of her baby dolls. She was upset that I was doing it wrong and told me she'd show me how to do it. The first time she grabbed the doll and showed me how to hold/rock it while standing a step away and allowing me to touch her arms. However she was still unhappy. She took a few steps away to show me, and was very unhappy that I wanted to touch her; far more unhappy than is explained by me rocking the doll incorrectly. I reminded her that my eyes don't work, something that she has commented on in the past, and so I need to touch her to see.

Yesterday, Zoe was talking to me and was saying something about eyes. I didn't take notice. This morning, though, Zoe was sitting in my lap and gently reached up to pull open my eye lid. She was very interested in examining my eye. I think she's catching on to the fact that something is different there. She is very perceptive about her environment.

We had so much fun on Easter! Zoe is an amazing baby, and she already understands that she wants to find Easter Eggs, so that she can eat the treats inside. She loves the hopping bunny, and all of her other Easter gifts. We got her a baby table and 2 chairs for Easter, which she is quite excited about.

While we've managed to post some pictures of Zoe in the last few months, we have not written much about her. The last few months have been filled with amazing developments. Zoe started walking on December 17. By the end of 2008, she was reasonably mobile. Now, she runs all around the house, dashing from toy to toy or running from one person to another. She was doing well at her one-year check-up.

Zoe, Margaret and Sam spent a week in Ireland with Sam's parents. Sam and Margaret were attending the IETF meeting.
Zoe travels well. She enjoyed the new sites of Ireland and the attention of her family there. She continues to be more mobile: she can get her knees under her, but cannot quite crawl. However her lack of crawling does not stop her from exploring. She is quite good at rolling to where she wants to be and can also pull herself along.

Here is a picture of Zoe on the 4th of July, all dressed up for the festivities. July 4, 2008.

Here's another picture of Zoe on the 4th of July, which her favorite puppy peeking in from the side... :-)

Zoe has been learning to drink apple juice from a cup. Here she is trying for the first time on July 3, 2008.