Zoe is a few short weeks away from her first birthday. The past year has flown, but at the same time, I can't imagine a time when Zoe wasn't with us. She has always been ours - it's so strange to think there was a time when I didn't know her.
Zoe weighs 20 pounds, she has eight teeth, she has squishy thigh rolls, and she uses her fingernails like death claws. Her hair is super short in the back and very long on the sides. She has a little bit of a Red Skelton thing going on.
(I refer to her side hair as her "wisps").
Zoe was born with dark hair, but it has since turned blonde, and there is a slight hint of strawberry in it. Her hair has always her dominant feature - it is crazy.
Zoe has been crawling for a while. She is cruising and pushing things around while standing, so it won't be long before our little one is running around the house.
Her first word was 'Mom,' but she isn't saying it much these days because she has moved on to 'thank you' (which sounds nothing like 'thank you'). I only know that's what she is saying because I always say 'thank you' when she hands me something, and after hearing her say it several times, I realized she was mimicking me (it comes out 'dit').
Zoe is yet another early riser. It isn't uncommon for her to start her day, wide awake, at 4:30, much to this sleep-deprived mother's dismay. She hasn't been a good sleeper at all. In fact, she has only slept through the night twice...ish. We are currently letting her "cry it out" at night because we're at our wit's end. The first night she screamed for about an hour and a half, but now she only cries for a few minutes at a time off and on throughout the night.
Zoe is in a phase of discontentment right now. She is fighting sleep like a ninja day after day, and she wants to be held constantly - but never on my lap! I have to be standing up, carrying her around the house like she's the Queen of Sheba. She's always doing that back arching thing where I put her on the ground and she arches her back and screams so I pick her up and she arches her back and screams so I put her back on the ground and she slams her head into the wall to teach me a lesson.
Gotta love baby logic.
Suffice it to say that I have no idea what this child wants from me right now.
She is a hoot, though. She loves to play in the bath tub, and she folds her arms for prayer. One of our favorite things is to say, "Yay, Zoe!" and she will clap her hands. Her latest habits aren't very desirable, however. This week, alone, she has discovered the joy of emptying the kitchen drawers. She has also figured out how to wriggle out of her seat belt so she can stand up in her high chair (you should see the grin on her face when I catch her standing up - it is a look of pure mischief. And then, of course, when I try to sit her back down, she does the back arching thing). She has also learned to throw toys down the stairs, courtesy of Daisy. It's amazing how hard she works, ascending the stairs, dragging toys out of her bedroom, and chucking them down into the living room. You won't be surprised to hear that she hates her car seat, shopping carts, and the stroller, so I am forever holding her on my hip while trying to maneuver various things on wheels around various over-crowded public places.
When Zoe was born, she had a birthmark on her right eyelid. It is mostly faded now, but it occasionally reappears when she is upset or not feeling well. I kind of miss it.
Zoe can be very loving to other people. She reaches for people and crawls to them excitedly (as long as she has been around them a few times - but overall, she takes the least amount of time to warm up to people out of all of my children).
Daisy has surprised me so much over the past four years that I expect no less from Zoe. I anticipate many years of plot twists ahead. I am so happy to have Zoe - to be a mother of sisters is a daunting task, but I am up for the challenge.
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