Zadie during Tummy Time

Zadie loves her new rug.  She was all smiles and giggles during tummy time yesterday. 

4 Months Old

Daddy's home!

love

Day 5

Yesterday we went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and saw the new Art of Americas wing that literally just opened.  It was very impressive!  If you find yourself in Boston, it's a must see if you've got the time.  We ended up spending the entire day at the museum, despite being so tired from the evening before. 

Zadie slept a little better last night.  We'll see how she does tonight.  Wish us luck!

PS - We miss Daddy A LOT!!!!!!!

Day 4

This is the face I woke up to on Wednesday morning. 

Well, it was bound to happen.  We had a bit of a rough night on Tuesday night.  Okay, she only got up twice - not too bad, but she did not want to go back to sleep once she was up.  She cried and cried and then finally went back to sleep at 1:00 AM only to get up a few hours later at 3:00 AM.  She went back to bed after a long nursing session, but I was wide awake and couldn't fall back asleep. 

On Wednesday we drove up to Boston to visit Aly.  Poor Zadie had to sleep in her car seat again, but she was fine.  She slept almost the entire way and didn't have any diaper explosions or any crying fits.  

Here she is playing with her teething ring.  

Shortly after this photo, Zadie was ready for bed.  She went down at 7 PM, woke up at 9 PM and refused to go back to bed.  I was up with her every hour until 5 AM.  Somehow, I feel fine.  It's amazing how your body adjust to the schedule of a new baby.  

Day 3

We had another good night last night.  She woke up only twice and went back to bed each time without fussing (yay!).  We had a big day planned so we got up, got dressed, and organized the diaper bag. 

All dressed and ready for the day

So ready that she decided she wanted a nap before we left for Niabi's

Zadie spent a lot of time in her car seat today as I was helping my best friend move to a new apartment.  We made 4 trips back and forth from her old place to her new one.  Luckily, it wasn't too far away.  

 

We took a little break and changed Zadie's diaper

Zadie took a nap while Niabi and I had a prix fixe lunch at Aurora.  Salad, squash filled raviolis with pesto, warm bread, white wine, and sweet cream with caramel.  It was a perfect fall meal. 

Sleeping in her sling

After we dropped Niabi off, Zadie through a fit.  She had had enough of the car seat and wanted to get home.  Unfortunately, it was 5pm - rush hour.  It took us 40 minutes to get home and she screamed almost the entire way.  Poor girl.  The good news is that she was absolutely fine once I picked her up in my arms.  We got home and played a little bit on the activity mat before having a bath and changing into our pajamas.  

She almost fell asleep on her own, but wanted to be held a bit more before drifting off to dreamland.  

I welcomed the additional cuddle time and let her fall asleep on my chest.  What an amazing little girl.  I love her more and more every second.  My heart has never been so full. 

Day 2

Day 2 without Daddy went very well.  We woke up at 8:00 AM, had breakfast and watched some morning TV.  Zadie went down for her morning nap at 10:45 AM (she's been napping twice a day now - once in the morning, once in the afternoon).  After she woke up, she had some lunch and then we were off to the city. 

Zadie on the subway going to Manhattan

 

Rachel and Zadie outside Estancia - a cute little bistro in Tribeca.  I always feel like I'm in Europe when I go here.  

 

She was a little fussy so I held her for a while.  I'm slowly becoming a pro at eating meals with one hand.  

 

Rachel took over while I finished my salad.  Zadie was being a wiggle worm, as you can see.  

 

All bundled up and ready to take the subway home

 

home at last.  just in time for Zadie's afternoon snack 

Playtime on the bed.  She loves this toy.  

 

Zadie played in her crib while I set up her new rug and her activity mat. 

Looks pretty good on the new rug.

  

She used to turn to the side and avoid looking at the toys above her when she was younger.  Now, she is ALL about the toys.  

 

She played for almost 45 minutes.  I couldn't believe it.  I sat next to her and talked to my mom and watched her bat, grab and pull all the toys.  She was loving it.  She also wore herself out and passed out as soon as I put her in her crib.  

Day 2 was pretty great, but now that Zadie is in bed (it's 7:46 pm right now) I am missing Nate.  I think I'll watch a movie, have some dinner and go to bed early.

Day 1

Day 1 without Daddy went by without a hitch.  We woke up at 6:15 AM, which is early for little Zadie and her Mommy, and gave Daddy a kiss goodbye.  We decided to lay in bed for another 2, maybe 3 hours.  We played with some toys, we cuddled, we sang some songs.  It was sweet, even though I was super tired.  After I got up and fixed some coffee, Zadie drifted off to sleep.  I got some things done around the apartment and caught up on some blogs, news, emails, facebook.  In the afternoon, we went to the park and met up with our dear friend Eric.  We took a nice walk through Brooklyn while Zadie napped again.  We had a late lunch, played with Zadie, watched some football, and caught up on each other’s lives.  It was nice to have the company.  After Eric left, Zadie took a bath, cuddled with me in her PJs, and then drifted off to sleep.  She was an angel last night.  Only got up twice and went right back to sleep each time.

Sweetness

Could she be any sweeter? 

Daddy is away

Daddy left this morning for San Jose where he's taking a special programming course this week.  Mommy misses him already.  Zadie does too.

Monkey Time

At the MoMA

At the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) with Zadie, hanging out in front of Henri Mattisse's La Danse

A Little List

Christmas is just around the corner and we are so excited to experience it through the eyes of our baby girl.  We want to spoil her and buy her every cute stuffed animal and pretty outfit we set our eyes on, but we are going to try our hardest not to go overboard.  It will be a huge challenge, especially since there are a billion adorable baby items out there.  I mean, have you seen the stuff they have on Etys.com??  It's out of control. Here are some things I think would be great for Zadie. 

Number one on our list...wooden toys.  The office of our pediatrician has exclusively wooden toys for the kids to play with and guess what?  They love them (and we love them too).  I like the simplicity of them.  I like that they don't require batteries, or light up, or make noise.  Sure, they may seem uninteresting compared to all the super hi-tech toys out there today, but that's what imagination is for.  Also, many wooden toys have some educational or developmental benefit. Talk about a win win! 

Coming in at number two - books.  I've been reading to Zadie since day 1 and think it's one of the most important things to continue.  The little books we have are wonderful - Zadie looks at them, I read them to her over and over again, but there's one problem with them.  They are too short.  We need some longer children's books for Miss Zadie.  Some ideas - The Little Prince, The Velveteen Rabbit, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White (I loved these Disney tales when I was a little girl), and any favorites you recall loving as a child.

Knitted sweaters, hats, mittens.  She has a small head and we haven't been able to find her any super warm hats yet.  She's still wearing her newborn hats, which is okay for now since it's not too cold out yet.  As for sweaters, she has two sweaters she wears over her t-shirts, dresses and onesies, but that's it.  They are cardigan sweaters, but pull-over sweaters are good too.  As you know, I love taking her out on walks and plan to continue to walk with her through the winter (otherwise we'll both go stir crazy).

Anything that fits into her woodland themed nursery - owls, rabbits, foxes, bears, deer, birds, squirrels, etc.  She currently has an owl print and the decals stickers.

I could go on for a while listing all the amazing things that would be great for Zadie, but I'm pretty sure Zadie's family knows what's best for her.  Love to all!!

Zadie and Alex

My cousin's wife and my friend, Ingrid, came over for a visit a week or so ago.  We sat in the park and talked about our adventures in motherhood and then went out for a delicious lunch around the corner with Alex and Zadie.  They slept while their moms enjoyed lunch and a glass of wine.  After we returned, we snapped a few adorable photos of them.  So cute!  I can't get enough of little Alex and am counting the days until we can hang out with him and Ingrid again.

What I find funny about these photos is that Zadie is making faces she never usually makes.  What a funny girl! 

Zadie being a big girl

 Holding up her head like a big girl

 Looks like she's about to crawl - I think she'll start before 6 months

 Playing with her toy

Looking at Mommy

And...drum roll please....

ZADIE HAS LEARNED TO ROLL OVER ON HER OWN!  What a good girl.  Typically, babies don't learn to roll over until they are 4 or 5 months old.  We're so proud of her.   

The Nursey is almost done

We finally got the wall decorations we've been waiting for. Zadie's nursery now has a woodland theme! 

 Miss Bunny, meet Mr. Bird

 I spot an owl

 This bird is in love

 So is this one

 Zadie thinks her new wall decals are cute

And her mom thinks these dresses are cute

I love the woodland theme and all the animals that can be added to her woodland animal collection.  In fact, there's a fox I spotted on Etsy I've been dying to get for Zadie.  I think she'll love it.