Rain, Rain Go Away!

This has been the crappiest week. Non-stop rain and humidity have trapped us inside. Ugh. And then I heard that Ernesto is coming to dump 5-8 more inches of rain on us this weekend...

But today there was a break in the weather before Ernesto! We are so lucky that Kevin works for himself and can make his own hours so the three of us could take advantage of the non-rainy weather. We took a long walk along the Manayunk Canal courtesy of our new Bob Stroller (thanks Paige, Alyssa and Johana!) which allows us to go off-sidewalking. Zoë loved looking up at the treetops and seeing the sun shining through. Did I have the camera with us to capture this outing? Nope. However, picture us laughing and smiling and so, so happy to be outside because we were!

It is a bit chilly tonight and we had to bundle up a bit to go on our errands. How cute...



While cooped up inside this week I found that Zoë is no longer content to lie around on her back. She much rathers being propped up or sitting in her bouncy seat to take in the world from a new perspective. Of course she continues to be adorable!



This last pic was snapped earlier this week when I thought we were ready to go and got her into the car seat but then realized I had a few more things to do. This is Zoë saying "What the heck? Are we going somewhere or not?"

Three months old!

Yesterday was Zoë's three month birthday! I propped her up for a nice birthday photo:



...but she preferred sliding down the chair and laughing!



Let's do a comparison of Zoë today, and Zoë at 2 weeks old:




WHOA! She really is growing up!

Zoë has been getting really good at connecting her hand (or whatever is in her hand) to her mouth. She is really able to calm herself down by sucking on her fingers. What is cool to note is that Zoë is always sucking on her first two fingers, just like Aunty Sarah did when she was a baby! Like Aunty, like niece!!

A wedding and new discoveries

Last friday Kevin, Zoë and I went to the wedding of our friends Michele and Kevin. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony and Zoë slept through the whole thing in her sling.

She had a blast at the reception though. Zoë had fun visiting with the other guests at our table. Look how cute she is - first, engrossed in table conversation and then mugging for the camera:





At the end of the night, she was happy to be back with her dad where she could snuggle up and fall asleep!



In other babyland news: Zoë has found her feet! If we prop her up on the couch she will just stare at them and move them around for 15-20 minutes.



Finally...look at that face!!!

Vacation Part 2 - Cousins!

For those of you who don't know, Kevin's sister Leslie had a baby 8 days after I did! Her name is Lilyana and here is her blog. This trip was the first time the cousins got to meet.

First they played on Lily's mat...



Then Kevin and Uncle Mike tried to have a baby grudge match...



The weather was so beautiful we took the babies on a picnic. Lily found a flower bigger than her head!



And Zoë fell in love with the trees and the grass.





After all that excitement, Zoë needed to take a nap in Lily's papasan swing. How cozy!


Towards the end of the trip, Zoë started having fussy nights. She needed maximum snuggles for an hour or so before bed time and she also LOVED looking at the pictures in her books. (This book's pictures are black, white, yellow and red and she was hypnotized by them!)



Finally she would nod off. And Kevin and I found that if the baby goes to bed late, she wakes up later in the morning too so we did not lose too much sleep - yipee!

Vacation Part 1 - Pass the Peanut

Our little family has just returned from our first road trip! Kevin and I were a bit nervous to be spending so much time in the car with Zoë; we weren't sure how she would take it. But there was no need to worry - she is quite a little traveller! Our drive from PA to MA took a bit longer than usual because we had to stop a few times to feed, change and play with our little bug.

When we got to Massachusetts, Zoë was so happy to see her relatives. We stayed with Memere Jo and went to visit Little Memere, Aunty Janice, Dadu, Great Grandma, Aunty Nancy and Uncle Tom! She enjoyed being passed around and sometimes even snuggled up and fell asleep. Check out our peanut with Memere Jo, Dadu and Aunty Sarah...







On Saturday we went to Look Park for a big family reunion. Here is a picture of Little Memere and her descendants!



...don't worry, Zoë and I did not leave Kevin at a rest stop, he is taking the picture!

Saturday evening, Kevin, Zoë and I set off for Worcester and the second leg of our trip. Pictures of Zoë meeting her cousin Lily will be in the next post!