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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.

This morning Zoe was opening the pantry wanting breakfast. I had already given her a cup of milk which she had placed somewhere in the kitchen. I was concerned that if I started giving her breakfast, she'd decide in the middle of it that she wanted something to drink. I didn't know where her cup was. Not really thinking it would work, I said, "Zoe, go get your cup and I'll get you something to eat." She runs off, shouts "Juice!" and returns with her cup.

People have been asking us what we were going to call Kevin and Sam. We said that we called them both daddy and Zoe could decide what she wanted to say.
She's decided, at least for now. They, along with everyone else who takes care of her are mommy! Gwen, Alice, even Rachel and Owen are all mommy, especially when Zoe is happy to see them.

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.

Today, Zoe went in for her six month checkup. She weighs 15 poinds, 2 ounces and is 26 inches long. She's doing fine.
The big news is that she gets to eat more variety of foods. That's good as she's made it very clear to us that she's ready to expand the menu. The stage 1 fruits and vegetables are fine, but she thinks the stuff we're eating would be good too. Of course, to really eat a lot, she needs to work on the teeth and on growing. However she can have creamy table foods, which should make her happy.