NEWSFLASH!

Zee crawls!

Five?!

Hey! Look who it is! In soft focus and ready to start the day!

Zora hit five months on the sixth, which, I realize, is a week ago. We haven't been good about keeping up with this blog, which is kind of how these things go, I gather.

Anyway, Zora is in fine fettle. She's getting long, is still lean, and has a winning personality. She's won over the folks at the corner store and is generally a hit nearly everywhere else we go. Actually, we only pretty much go to the corner store, but I'm very confident other people would like her, too.

She's very funny.



We took a trip out to an amazing old house built on a rock in Jamestown Harbor in May. There was lots going on, and you'd think, seeing as I had a camera with me, that I'd document it, but the true highlight (for me) was seeing Z strapped into her futuristic flotation device. She was puzzled by it, but put up with it for the trip back and forth.

She looks so small there, but she really is growing. And she's very strong. Her doctor says she's "motorically advanced," which R and I really like. We thought she was blowing smoke, but that's actually a word. And Zora is motorically advanced! Really! She's just about sitting up by herself, and goes up on her hands and toes. Her crawler is busted, so she just rocks back and forth and scoots backwards, but I'm predicting a leap this week.

Here she is balancing while we visited her Uncle Josh and Aunt Stew.

She's only just begun tasting adult food. The criteria are texture (easily gummed) and overall parental laziness in keeping her away from it. She's pretty dogged. Anyway, tonight R gave her some avocado bits. Wondrous!



It got a mixed review. She followed it up with a napkin and the tantalizingly cool air of a Popsicle held just out of reach.



Lastly, we've really been enjoying the fine weather. We had a field day a few weekends ago in the park near us (I broke a piece of the croquet set, Z drooled all over a mallet handle), and have taken some good walks. Here we are in south county about to enjoy some Rhode Island mosquitoes.

The other big June event (so far) has been an actual baby encounter. All of a sudden Z seems to notice other babies, even if they're her in the mirror. Last week we had a walk in the park with a baby slightly older and in possession of a harder edge. Her name? Violet von Doom. Yes. And she quickly initiated Z into big-baby world. Bonus: she showed her how many "five" really is.


Some earlier photos, before the great insult:

Happier, simpler times...
Violet isn't really THAT much larger than Zora. She's a little closer to the camera. She is much more focused, though. Unfortunately for Z, that focus isn't on the other baby next to her.

This kind of snub (and the hand-to-face above) can only lead to years of enmity and rancor, but it's so damn funny now. We're going to do a complete series of baby fights before they know what's up.


BONUS VIDEO: ZORA DRIFTS IN TIME-LAPSE!

FOUR (months).

Z is four, drooling, happy, gum-smiling months old! She's a pleasant and, we think, fun baby.

This last month we:

Visited Vermont family....

Maya and Zora...
Aunties Sarah, Lila and Zora (and Rachel).

We had a great visit up there and rang in spring (with the traditional Roberts Family spring picnic and burning of the wreath), but got caught in winter's last gasp on the way home-- snow, sleet, freezing rain and then just rain. A one-way total of about five hours. A couple more like that and Zora will have qualified for her learner's permit.

We've been enjoying the nicer weather following Winter's last gasp, and take a daily walk in the morning. Zora has been getting to know the people at the corner store, and various characters on the block. She's a big hit, and smiles for most everyone. Her laugher is broken, and she can only get out a few chuckles here and there. Squeals are becoming common, and long soliloquies bookend the day; one when her parents are still groggy, and one during the late-evening diaper change. Lots of "Oooohewwwwahs" and "Queeeeeahhhoooohs".

Lighting Photo Round!

Here she is on our trip to the Land of Garish Patterns.


Fresh Produce!
High-intensity nap training!
Blurry smiles! Still an elusive smiler-for-the-camera.
Like her father, Zora hates the flash.
Random tidbits: She loves bottles of all shapes and sizes. We don't know if she's a reincarnated glass blower, bottle collector or lover of drink-- or if she's all three. Her favorite so far is the Gerolsteiner fizzy water bottle, and if she's squirming while we're eating dinner, we only have to plunk the bottle in front of her. She loves it!

Progress report

. . . as of Friday!

Putting on size!
This photo was actually taken about two weeks ago, and this morning, the scale read 13.5. Grow, lil' Zee, grow! All around, Zora is a super strong, healthy yet petite little lady. Her weight holds steady at the 50th percentile, but she was closer to the 75th in length, last time we measured. No chubby babies here! It seems like most of her fat lives in her thighs (in case there was any doubt who her parents are), which are the delicious texture of a perfectly kneaded bread dough. Seriously, you have got to feel them, they are so delicious.

At three months, Z still loves the mobile.
Both of the above photos feature our all-around favorite feetsie outfit, which has come to be known as Golden Honey Bear (alternately, Z becomes Golden Honey Bear when wearing this outfit). Sadly, GHB has gotten a little short for our lanky girl, and will have to be retired. I gotta find another cottony fuzzy outfit like this, because it is so cute on her it makes everyone squeal. Zora has the nearly unique distinction of looking fabulous in yellow.

Aside from the mobile, Z has a few other loves. Here she is communing with Ms. Bumpy, who is clearly a dynamic personality.

It's hard to capture on film, but Z smiles and smiles and smiles, and even has a wonderful squeaky little laugh. This is really just about the closest we can get to the smile on film.

Zora has discovered her hands. Although she has figured out that they're great for sucking, as well as for grabbing other stuff to be sucked, she spends a lot of time either rubbing them together like an evil genius or impersonating a Hummel figurine:

As you can see, her hair remains sparse, and is mostly sort of fuzzy and fluffy and makes us laugh a lot. There are some curls in there, but we can't tell how tight they're going to turn out. We like to think that, once it fills in a little more, her hair might look something like this:
I suspect Z has an athletic streak like her Dad. She gets a strange thrill from doing situps, and stands up so so tall while holding onto our fingers. While at Chez Newman over the holiday, she impressed any and all by rolling over and over!

Her most impressive athletic achievement to date is winning $20 (2nd place!) in Legacy's March Madness pool.
I tell ya, this kid really knows her collegiate sports.

Professional, Holder of Masters Degree, Mother:

At changing table:

"That wasn't hardly no thing! That was more like a colorful fart!"

More Passover Photos

I wouldn't call it a long seder, but for a first timer...




The Bernstein Ladies entertained with their fingers. It's a family secret, apparently.

ZORA! DROOLER AND GUMMER OF KNUCKLES...

IS THERE ANY WAY TO STOP HER???!?!?!?!

Oh, it's been too long...

Sorry.

Happy Pesach!

Passover for those not in the know is the annual sprinkling of matzoh crumbs on one's person and around one's home. Eight days of crumbs!

We had a wonderful first Passover with Zora. We celebrated at Chez Newman along with Uncle Joshua, Auntie Stew (Zora's favorite knuckle snack), Stew's sister, Laila, Uncle Genius and his ladyfriend, Cousin Linda and good ol' Al Bemis.

Laila and Auntie Stew were a big hit with Zora. They seemed to enjoy making her laugh, and they did a big-hair dance with Joshua that she really enjoyed.

Sorry in advance for the blurry seder photos-- people just wouldn't sit still while they were singing and laughing.

Choice Quotes from Mom R

Zora overeats, deposits excess onto shirtfront-- R:

"Can you hand me a shmata? She's beginning to cheese."

PAUSE

"I never used 'cheese' as a verb before having a baby."

At the changing table, observing a full diaper:

"That's a spicy meatball!"

Is it any wonder I love her? She's a great mom with a disgusting sense of humor.

Two Months!

It's cold. Slush runs out of the tap and coffee gets a milk-skin before you take a sip. My mother told me her eyes nearly froze shut while outside (in Vermont, but play along) today.

Not the best time for a bath, you say. Better to wait a while until this cold snap breaks, you say. This is probably right. But here's the thing: I've been telling myself and anyone who will listen (Zora) every morning at her 8:00 a.m. changing of the guard that today is bath day FOR SEVEN DAYS. Every morning she smiles, burps and a recent meal rolls down her cheek, and every morning, as I try and clean her face, I say, "We're going to take a bath today," in some embarrassingly high sing-song voice I've found these last eight weeks. Today HAD to be the day-- even I can't procrastinate that long on hygiene.

Eight weeks! Two months officially today! We're very, very happy.

After a bath, styling:

After styling, more styling:

Happy two months!

Haiiiii-yah!

Happy Purim!

Seven Going On Eight