Random Observations

Although Zoe usually wants me to participate in her play time, even if it just means lying on her mat while she plays around me, sometimes she will get into her own world and forget that I am around. Usually this happens when she has found or reached something she shouldn’t have and is focused on pressing buttons or tearing pages or just turning whatever it is around in her hands. I will come up behind her and in a normal voice ask her what she has. Almost every time I will startle her enough that she will drop the object and stare and me with a guilty look. She definitely knows the difference between right and wrong, but her usual reaction when I say no is to give me the cutest smile she has and then go back to whatever it was she was doing, such as turning the cat food bowl upside down. Her other response, more so if she is the slightest bit tired, is after being told no she will give a frustrated cry and press her forehead to the floor, what Alison likes to call a tantrum in its infancy (no pun intended).

I interrupt this weeks post with this important update. Zoe was able to hoist herself to a standing position without pulling herself up on another object. She placed her hands flat on the floor, and lifted herself with her knees to a balanced, standing position. Wow! Catch the exciting video below. Now, back to our blog already in progress.

I’ve only put locks on two cabinets in the kitchen. I suspect I’ll have to add more very soon, but one of her favorite drawers is the one that contains all of her stuff, such as bottles, the nipples (there are a lot), her yet-to-be-used cutlery, a handful of pacifiers that we tried before settling on the one she really likes, and a ton of other miscellaneous stuff. She will absolutely dismantle this drawer, so that the entire kitchen floor is littered with this stuff. She is very methodical; it’s not just about tossing things out. Every nipple and pacifier she will stick it in her mouth for a second or two before tossing it over her shoulder and reaching for the next one. And each bottle she will put up to her mouth and stick her tongue in. She will look each object over before tossing it aside. It’s a pain to clean up but she has too much fun to even consider a lock. Plus it keeps her occupied while I’m cooking.

The other afternoon Zoe and I were having lunch outside on a popular shopping street in Berkeley. Zoe was perched on my knee eating turkey out of my sandwich. In the process of getting lunch and settling ourselves at a table, we had the usual assortment of people approach us to declare Zoe the cutest baby in the world. “What beautiful eyes! Adorable smile! So intense, so smart! What a handsome father, she has!” I never get tired of these compliments, and when someone fails to acknowledge her overwhelming cuteness I feel slightly offended. So, we’re eating our lunch and this guy sits down near us with a beagle. Two individuals approached him to comment on his cute dog, but failed to stop at our table to coo over Zoe. What! Did Alison and I make a mistake when we choose a baby over a dog? Let’s see, dogs usually sleep through the night, right? And you can push a dog off your bed if you want more room. Maybe I should put an ad on Craigslist, “Will trade cute baby for puppy!” I’ll ask Alison what she thinks when she gets home.

See photos of Zoe at http://picasaweb.google.com/dbglass