An Afternoon at Forsyth Park

We spent Sunday afternoon at Forsyth Park. It was an beautiful spring day. Everyone was out. We had high hopes for a very successful "photo shoot" with Ziva. We love the pictures we got of her...they're just not the ones I had planned. :) I just knew she would love the flowers and want to play with them and hold them and smell them and touch them...and apparently have nothing to do with them. All she wanted to do was pick up dead Live Oak leaves. So look closely in the pictures and you will see her handful of dead leaves. Any flowers on or around her are props staged by Jason and me. Regardless of our photo woes, we had an awesome time and loved every minute of it.

Dogs!

This is just one of many pictures of Ziva petting dogs on this outing. Savannah is a very dog friendly town and I truly believe that there were more dogs at the park than people. We spent a lot of our time chasing Z down as she went to look at them. These two...well...forgive us fellow Hog fans...are actually close relatives of Uga the UGA mascot.

Forsyth Fountain

"Look Daddy!"

Hmmm...Leaves.

Counting Her Leaves

Going to Find More Leaves

A Springtime Statue of Liberty

Just one more example of how off base my "photo shoot" plans are. I just knew Z would want to wear this headband and pose for wonderful Easter pictures to send to friends and family. This is the best one I got. Can't you just see the question in her eyes..."Why do you do these things to me?"

Guard Dog

This cute pup was stationed at the Row House that we parked in front of. I do not think he moved an inch while we were gone. Isn't he too cute!?! And yes, the house number is 9 1/2. Gotta love Savannah.

One Year Ago Today

I know that these kind of things are usually done on birthdays and such but I just can't seem to keep up. Anyway, I can't believe it has been over a year since I had my sweet baby! Look at how "widdle" she was a year ago. She's two and half months in this picture. We thought that was a lot of hair. Boy, we had no clue!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

Party Girl

Ziva got to attend her first surprise party this past Sunday night. She seemed to really enjoy all the activity and excitement. She did not enjoy the cornbeef and cabbage (bday boy's request). She loves being around people and kids...even though she doesn't interact a lot. It was good for all of us to get out and spend time with good people.

Look at all those kids! There are twice as many outside!

Check out the little chubby cheek baby checking out Z. He was obsessed with her. I don't think she even noticed.

Z's St. Patrick's Day dress. I made it last year just hopping it still fit and it did! I wish I had gotten a better picture of her in it since we aren't going to the parade today...someone is having a real bad teething day.

Be Gentle.

Silly Baby!

Sera's New Dog Bed

Sunshine

No matter what the calendar says it is Spring here. Ziva finally gets to go "ousssid" and play. She loves it. Not a big fan of sunscreen but what kid is?

Note: Ziva has started teething again. If you haven't noticed all the drool then look again. Her outfit is soaked in these pictures. I keep fighting having to put a bib on her because I was so excited that she could stop wearing them.

All in One Day

This picture was taken a day after Jason washed my car. It is officially spring time in the deep south.

A Girl's Day

Now that we live in Savannah (right outside really, but whose keeping score) it is a lot easier to spend time with friends. Ziva and I took a day and hung out with my friend Ashley. "Hanging out" involves a lot of running around and trying to get things done for me. Ashley and Ziva are troopers and handle it real well. Actually, Z and Ashely are like two peas in a pod. Z loves to hang out with Ashley. Ashley says that Z is the coolest kids she's ever met...granted she hasn't changed any of her diapers but we'll let her keep saying that.

Ashley and her "babies."

Say Cheese!

Hands On Fun

Learning Opposites

I need to start remembering a bib.

What a Silly Little Girl

The older Ziva gets the more of a "hoot" she becomes.* Below are a bunch of funny faces she makes. They are on purpose. It is a riot, especially when her and Jason get to trading funny faces. Too cute! Usually she won't let me catch them on film but the other night I was lucky. I also have a video of her "talking" away. Mostly she signs: brushing teeth and pick me up. I haven't decided if she is going to be the class clown yet or not. I feel she has a lot of her daddy in in her...strong silent type, very stoic, but when you get to know her she will let down her guard and go crazy.

*As I wrote the sentence above. I heard my daughter fussing behind me. (I had her "pinned" in today because we have a lot of boxes out and we were going in and out, etc.) Well, she had pulled her car over the edge behind me, crawled on top of it, was standing and trying to throw a leg over the top of the fence. I caught her just before she toppled over. So it has begun.

Fried Rice, Please

We took Ziva to a Japanese Steakhouse the other night. Yes, we took ourselves too, but we were very interested in how she would respond. She actually was a little more "relaxed" than we thought she would be but she was still interested in what was going on.

"What to order?"

Holding on.

Ziva watched, as she held on to Jason just in case.

We are still have issues with Ziva taking out her hair accessories. So now we take them once she has discarded them and put them in our hair. She thinks it is hilarious. It hasn't stopped her from removing them but at least it gets her to laugh.

The After Mess

Cleaning Ziva up after eating can be a lot of fun. A lot of the time I just end up changing her clothes. I keep forgetting a bib. Which is funny because she wore one 24/7 the first year of her life. I guess I excited that we can finally go without one that I have totally left them behind.

This is a "clean" day.

Breakfast

Below is a clip of Ziva eating with a spoon. I did not force this on her. She wants to do it...herself. She does a good job with oatmeal, basically anything that sticks to the spoon. She ends up using her hands on the other stuff. I can tell by the way she insisted on a "big person" spoon and doing it herself that we're going to loads of fun in the months and years to come.

Poor Baby

Ziva had a tummy virus a couple of weeks ago. I have to say that it caught me way off guard. Not that I expect sickness. I just...I don't know. We were on the way to the store. I had just parked. Ziva made this weird sound. I turned around and smiled at her. Got out of the car. Started to get her out of her chair. Noticing nothing till I looked down and she had projectile vomited, missing the top of her dress and car seat, and hit lock/button area and her shoes. The fun stuff to clean. Needless to say we did not go shopping. We turned right around and went home. I striped her in the drive way. She was sick for three days. It was so sad. It was the first time Ziva was actually sick sick. Running a fever...the works. Day two, or was it three, I changed at least a dozen dirty diapers and I'm being nice when I call them dirty. Now she is better. Jason and I managed not to get sick. All is fine now. Still working on getting the smell out of the car seat.

Sick Baby

XOXOXO

Ziva enjoyed Valentines Day. Her favorites were the balloons which you see in other posts. Here she is opening her cards. She holds anything she likes/loves up to her face to "love" it. She does that to one of the cards she got. The one I picked out actually. Good job Mom!

Have We Mentioned...

...That our child is weird? She is silly and happy and giggly and serious at times and just a little weird. Jason's answer to me when I comment on her weirdness is..."Have you met yourself?" I love it but it really catches me off guard sometimes.

Ziva kept posing for the picture like this.

Z picking her nose. Actually she kept poking it over and over again to make me laugh. Then just as I took the picture she accidentally shoved it up her nose. She didn't think it was as funny as I did. Note: She does think it is funny to shove her finger up my nose repetitively.

Playing in her Room

Ziva loves her new room. I have not finished decorating it so we won't "unveil" it yet. Still she loves it. She likes her big window that faces east. She loves to "let the sunshine in" when she gets up in the morning. Basically, she has a lot of fun and I don't mind her going where ever she wants to in this house.

Note: See the activity cube to the right? It's awesome. Z loves it. The best thing...it only cost $10!

What to play with?

When we came back from our Christmas trips we instituted a few new "rules" for Ziva. One was no passie or taggie if she wasn't in bed sleeping. She took on quickly and doesn't mind at all. It also helps because I know when she is ready for a nap because she will go to her bed, get her taggie and hold it to her face. No hiding that from Mommy.

I know that all too soon Ziva and Sera will be inseparable. They love each other. It is cute until Ziva licks Sera back. Which she did the other day. GROSS!

The Things They Say

Ziva is talking up a storm. My kid talking...no. Where did she get that?

First, let me say that I am dealing with some parental guilt. I feel that I may have delayed my child's mental growth during the 9-11 months of her life. She had started saying a couple of words or what sounded like words. I thought is was a coincident. That they just sound like words. My mom said Ziva was saying real words but I though she, my mom, was...well...being a grandmother and over exaggerating things.

It wasn't until close to Christmas when Ziva continued to use these "words" but then added more words (with or without our encouragement). Now it seems that she says a ton of words. She has added and made up more signs and her comprehension skills are amazing. Which means she is getting in more trouble because we now know she understands what we are saying a lot of the time.

It has a been a lot of fun working with her in this area. We aren't pushing her at all. She is just a little sponge and loves to learn. Below are her "words" and the time she started.

9-11 months (a little iffy on this since I wasn't paying attention)
Yeah/yes – “yeh” (now in March she actually answers questions/requests with yes)
Hey – “hey”
Bye bye – “byby”

Between 11-13 months
Hi – “hi”
Dog – “da”
Cat – “ka”
Sera – “ssser” (she now says Sera Bear - "ssserabea" which is what we also call the dog)
Ball – “ba”
Balloon – “bao”
See it – “sssit”
Duck – “du”
Dad – “da da”
Mom – “mamamama”
Love You – “louoo”
Outside – “sssid”
Whats that – “waasstha”


She has added these since around the first of the March:
Shoe – “sho”
Sock – “soc”
Daddy – “dady”
Nanny – “nany”
Poppy – “pa pa”
Go Bye Bye – “go by by”
Outside – “ousssid”


Signs she has added since Christmas time:
Please
Thank you
Me/Pick me up (She made this one up. I pat my lap when I am asking her if she wants up. So now she pats herself on the belly if she wants up or in my lap. It is so sweet.)
Brush teeth

She likes to:
Throw things away even if they are not trash
Empty containers
Turn off lights with help
Brush her teeth
Kisses and hugs
Eskimo kisses

Below is a clip from February. If you listen closely you can hear her say duck..."da".

Growing Like a Weed

None of this information is current but I still thought I would share Ziva's growth information. Way to stay on top of things Autumn. I know. What can I say I've been busy shining my "Mom of the Year" award.

On Jan. 14, 2005, at her one year check up, Ziva weighed 20lbs 2oz (32%). She was 30.0" tall/long (80%). Just over two weeks later on Jan. 29th, 2005 she was the same weight but had grown an inch. I know she has gotten taller since then because the jeans that she was wearing at the time have gotten a lot shorter. They are "high waters" now. I need to go get longer ones. We can't believe our child is getting this big so fast. I think it's time I start coming to terms that my daughter is going to our grow me...big time.

The Beach

Nanny and Poppy wanted to take Z to the beach. It was 78 degrees at our house so we hurried and headed to the beach. Unfortunately, it was 65 degrees at the beach. Our trip was short lived. We did get to watch the birds for a while but we wanted to get back to our warm weather 15 miles inland.

Ziva's "thinking" pose as she ponders what she will do at the beach.

Birds, birds and more birds. You know what. Someone ought to do a movie about a lot of birds.

Chillin' with Poppy

My parents helped us out a lot this Jan. and Feb. In total they were here just over a month. That may seem like a long time to some of you but it was a blessing for us. We really needed them. My mom actually came down to visit while Jason was gone on training and then she stayed to help me get ready for the move. On her way home she got stopped by the ice storm about the same time my car died for good. This was three days before the actual move. A day later my mother was back with my dad in tow. They were such a big help!

For instance in this picture, Z is working on teething (still). All she wanted to do is watch Cinderella and sit with Poppy. All he wanted to do was read his paper and sit with Ziva. It was so cute. They were inseparable.

"Ousssiid"

That's Ziva for outside. She loves being outside. Any time she passes a window or door she asks to go "ousssiiid." These pictures are from sometime during the first weeks of February. Can you believe it? We love the South and it's warm weather.

Zoom Zoom

Over Christmas Ziva had so much fun playing with her cousin's car that her daddy had to go get her one. This wonderful and inexpensive Wal-mart toy has brought hours upon hours of fun into Z's life. She loves it. At first she would just play around it, then with it and now she is playing on it. As usually she didn't perform for the camera like mommy wanted her to but you can get the point.

Kicked Back

If any of you know Jason you must recognize this form of relaxation.

To help pass the time while Ziva was working on teething (all her back teeth at once...oh no, I'm serious) she got to watch Cinderella. I don't know why but only this DVD will help calm the major fussy teething child. To help her get more comfortable I brought in her little chair and Z didn't waste anytime getting comfy. Granted I'm not too thrilled with the belly showing but she still is a small child. I just can't get over how she is so much like her daddy when it comes to relaxing.

Recycling is Good for the Planet

And it gives baby a new thing to get into.

Note: Z's hair is so crazy right now. Once again I was proud and the Lord, in all His wisdom, had to fix that. I just knew that if I started early that I would get Ziva to allow all hair accessories to stay in her hair. I actually can hear the echos of myself telling this theory to other mothers. Alas, I was very wrong. I can't keep anything in Ziva's hair. She continuously takes them out. Many may ask, why I insist on putting stuff in hair and I answer...Have you seen her hair?!? It has nothing to do with vanity and everything to do with her being able to see. She runs around looking all crazy, pulling out the barrette and then "putting" it back by placing it on top of her hair, then it falls out and she fusses with her hair till it sticks out everywhere. Oh well, hopefully she'll grow out of this soon.