The First 12 Month Posting

Well, after about 4 years of life with my beloved MacBook, the charger finally crapped out and she was out of commission for a few days. $85 and a new charger later, we are back in business. I've got so many posts planned over the next week or so, covering Z's first birthday and whatnot, but thought I'd give you guys a little something...

It's so crazy to see how much Z has grown and changed in the last year! She was soooo tiny in the beginning and now, well, she's practically a "kid"! When the photos are laid out like this, you can see that she started getting smiley at 4 months, and stopped all that smiling-on-demand business at ten months. You should have seen the theatrics the Hubs and I had to go through to get a smile for her twelve month photos! And, of course, you can see Monkey made it into the shot! 

Coming up soon, the Month 12 update and birthday photos. So stay tuned! 

Monday's Snapshot

Baby Tuna's love for Monkey (that finger puppet I've told you guys about) is pure and true. He goes with her everywhere and he makes an appearance in most photos. This week's snapshot is one of my favorite non-birthday shots from this past week. 

We heard her babbling in the monitor one morning and turned on the viewer to 

see this amazing sight:

She and Monkey (that white blob she's holding in front of her) were chatting up a storm. It went on for quite some time. I just wonder what the heck they were talking about! 

Happy First Birthday!!

One year ago today, very early in the morning, a little ball of smiles and silliness came into our lives. 

We still can't believe she's ours. 

This morning, the Hubs had to head to work early, but I wanted to celebrate Zoey's day (and see how she would react to candles and a crazy person singing Happy Birthday before the real celebration this weekend). So I threw a candle in her usual waffle and sang my heart out. She was a little confused at first, and of course tried to reach for the flame, but once I started singing, she was all smiles. Maybe the beginning of a birthday waffle tradition?

I cannot wait for her first birthday cake experience! Will she love it or will it be a train wreck? Either way, it should make for some great pictures and a big ol' mess! 

Monday's Snapshot

Hey folks! It's week #2 of Monday's Snapshot and I've actually chosen a still from a video I took this past week. 

I had another snapshot picked out for today...and then this happened on Saturday. Z had been pushing Monkey around in the toy basket while "walking" on her knees for a few minutes. Suddenly it dawned on me - she had moved to her feet and she was walking - for real! Since Saturday, she's only done this one more time, pushing her highchair a few feet in the dining room. I know it's inevitable that Baby Tuna will walk. I just would like her to wait a wee bit longer. I'm not ready to have a full-fledged toddler on my hands. Until then, she's still our baby girl! 

Cupcakes and Valentines

red & white felt garlands - West Elm C-mas Collection similar here | XO garland - DIY

We are not huge celebrators of Valentine's Day, despite our love of both candy and flowers around here. That being said, it's still nice to do a little something for the ones you love. So today, The bambino and I picked up some red tulips at Publix, made a little chocolate ganache for some leftover cupcakes, and got a little crafty.

Z made (all by herself *wink*wink*) a super cute Valentine for the Hubs. This momma was certain there was going to be a red paint nightmare all over the house, but the kid did so good!

And, with somebody's first birthday coming up next week (holy smokes!) the leftover batter for the smash cake made some pretty nice cupcakes. I went the easy route for the smash cake and made a boxed mix (the cake for the grownups will be a little "fancier".) and froze them until next week. But the cupcakes, well, with a little chocolate ganache and festive sprinkles, well they made the perfect dessert for our Valentine's Day dinner (chili, if you must know, since it's chilly outside tonite. Not terribly romantic, but very yummy!). 

And what kind of chalkboard artist would I be if I let a holiday go by without a little something? Last year, it looked a little something like this...

And this year...

heart striped shirt

These days, we don't get too many smiles for posed pictures. But at least she (and Monkey) sat still long enough for me to catch some kind of shot. Three seconds after the shutter snapped, she was making a bee line for the open door to the back porch. Heaven help me when she starts walking!!!

Happy Valentine's Day y'all! Hope you're all celebrating with someone you love! 

Monday's Snapshot

"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory."

- Dr. Seuss

I thought I'd try a little something similar to what I saw a while back on another blog (I just wish i could remember which one!).  One snapshot from the last seven days. One moment in time. I'm hoping I can stick with this, because I love the idea. This week it was hard to pick a favorite, so I left it up to the Hubs. I think he chose wisely.

Oh gosh, these two! This was taken before 7am, I'm sure. And notice Z has her monkey in hand. These days, she's rarely without him.

Month Eleven Must-Haves

1. Fisher Price Stacking Cups: This is one of Z's favorite Christmas gifts. She only just started actually stacking them (technically that's during her twelfth month, though), her favorite thing to do is to knock them down. They make a ton of noise as they clatter around on the tile, which really delights her. They not only stack like in the picture, but they fit inside of each other as bowls, and two can join together to make a ball. 

2. Pee-a-Boo Forest: This soft book is so cute, and the crackle fabric inside each page makes a ton of sound. I don't know if Z is unique, but I'm guessing that babies this age really dig noisy toys! 

3. Boon Tub Appliques: We're big fans of Boon products around here, and the bath toys might just be our favorite yet. They're a thick foam that sticks to the tile, tub, and baby, and they're magically resistant to scuz. 

4. Walrus Bath Toy Storage Bag: All those fun bath toys have to live somewhere, and since we're renters, we didn't want a scoop basket that stuck to the tile with adhesive. This guy is perfect! It attaches with some kind of super suction cup and hasn't fallen, even when full of stuff. The whole front and bottom are mesh, so everything drips dry. 

5. Zany Zoo: This is probably the biggest hit from Z's Christmas loot. She spends most of her time cruising around and around it, stopping to play with the beads on top or the activities on the side or to stack her other toys on top, then she goes right back to traveling around it. It's heavy enough that she can pull up on it (when it's on the rug) and it won't tip or tilt, which is nice. 

6. Z has really gotten into her books lately, yanking them off the shelf or out of the basket and flipping through the pages all. by. herself. These are two of her favorites. I bought You Are My Cupcake before the babe was even born, just because I thought it was so darn cute. She wasn't into it until this past month. The pages all have a little texture to them and the illustrations are very colorful. When I was a kid, I remember loving Richard Scarry's books. There was always so much to look at in each illustration, and Lowly Worm was my favorite with his one red sneaker and his apple car. I couldn't resist Cars and Trucks From A to Z as Z's first R.S. book. I can't wait to add more books to her collection! 

7. iHome Speaker Dock: When our noisy new neighbors moved in a bit ago, it became obvious that our old speaker wasn't gonna cut the mustard anymore. It's perfect for traveling and really did the trick when Z was in the hospital post surgery, but it just didn't get loud enough to drown out all of the door slamming and dog yapping. So, after some research (you know how we do things around here), and a recommendation from another blogger, we chose this guy. Not only is it a pretty decent speaker, but it lights up in all different colors - not something we really utilize too much yet, but I think the bambino will really appreciate it when she's a bit older. I downloaded the least annoying white noise track I could find (since we would be hearing it over the monitor every night), set it to repeat, and never looked back. Now the new neighbors can slam their car doors till their little hearts' content and the baby won't even stir. Hallelujah!