My Place

Mom had been taking Z to school every morning so I could go to work early. That means waking her up, getting her ready, everything. Thursday I was able to take Z. When I went up to her room to wake her, the conversation went like this:
Me, turning on light: Good morning, Zoë.
Z: Hi Gaga!
Me: No baby, it's Mama.
Z: Good morning, Gaga!
Me, picking her up: No baby, it's Mama, I love you. Gaga is at her house today.
Z, finally opening her eyes, looks right into my eyes and taps my chest and says: No Gaga, just Mommy.
So I guess I know my place on the totem pole.

When I told P about it, he groaned that when we come back from Paris Z won't even care.
Me: Honey badger won't give a shit!
P: Zero fucks will be given.

Perhaps we both know our places on the totem pole.

Gotta say it does make me feel better about ditching the Kid with Gaga while we go to Paris for 8 days, though!

I Got Told

She, waving a bottle stolen from my unused make-up drawer around, "'Sat, mama?"
Me, grabbing the bottle to twist it around in her fat baby hand and read the label, "Ummm... spirit gum remover, baby."
She, "No mama! Issa BOTTLE!"
He, laughing from the other room, "Ooooo, you got told!"
I guess I did.

It Finally Happened

Dear Zoë,

Yesterday Daddy claims that you were asking for me as soon as y'all got home.  You were all, "Mama, mama?"  He claims.

Then I got home and I reached out for you and you DENIED me.  Ouch.  Daddy said, "Zoë, do you want to go to Mama?"  And you said, wait for it, "NO!!!"  While shaking your head no.  Emphatically.

Mommy had a sad.

So I went about my business, putting away the milk that I SQUEEZE FROM MY BODY every day at work for you to drink, and then without looking at you directly (It's like a kitty - don't look at you directly, and somehow you don't know I'm coming), I snuck you into my arms from Daddy.  Daddy promptly vacated the premises, and I was left with you yelling at me while I tried to quickly get you some dinner.

By the time Daddy rejoined us, I was almost glad you love him better.  (But not really.)

With you fed, I read to you while we waited for Daddy to get the shower ready (you still prefer me for reading), then y'all headed off to the shower while I made your meals for the next day, our little nightly ritual.

So I'm at the cutting board cutting up grapes for you when I head Daddy call for me, and you start crying.  I ran to the bathroom to see what happened - how you got hurt.  And, oh, little girl, Mama had a big laugh, because it finally happened, the thing I've been worrying about: you had dropped a GIANT deuce in the shower.  Complete with visible corn and spinach in it.  Nice.

All I can say is THANK YOU for giving that lovely gift to your favorite parent!

Love,
Mama

First Steps!

This weekend my baby took her first steps.  Her Daddy set her down on Saturday and moved his hands out a bit and she walked right to him.  We tried to get it on video and it wasn't as obvious, but then later on Sunday I set her down a few steps from her bookcase and she walked right to it.  And then grabbed a book and turned around and handed it to me!!  It was Flip Flap Fly, her favorite.  Every time we get to the snake part and I start hissing she giggles like I'm the funniest thing ever.  We've got to get it on video.  There are so many things that I'm so grateful we had the presence of mind to video because they have been so fleeting.

I feel like time is flying right now.  It seems like every day yesterday's major development has become old hat and she's working on a new accomplishment.

Last night I sat her down in her high chair while we made/had dinner.  She ate cantaloupe, steak, and baked potato, tiny pieces that I cut up for her picked up by her little fingers and fed to herself, by herself.  Even the slippery cantaloupe - she had to work at it, (and she wasn't sure she liked it at first, which surprised me) but she did it.  In fact, she loves to feed herself so much that we have to run around removing cat hair from her fingers/mouth on an hourly basis.  And if there isn't cat hair around to eat, she'll pretend to take a hair off Daddy's leg and put that in her mouth!

She dances every day, crawls and cruises all over the place.  We finally got the stair gate installed because we couldn't keep her off the super-exciting-to-climb stairs. 

Every morning when I go in to wake her up she crawls to the edge of the crib and pulls herself up to stand, then reaches up with both hands for me to pick her up.  When I do, she lays her head on my shoulder like she is totally exhausted and is super snuggly for about 2 minutes.  Then she is hungry.  NOW.

She has this new game where she hands me something, and I take it and say thank you and pull it into my chest, then stick it back out to her and ask if she wants it, and she takes it, and we do it over and over and over again.

She also loves to throw a ball, then she lifts both hands up in the air and SMACKS the floor with them as a transition into crawling over to get the ball and throw it again.

She often squeals with glee when she sees a kitty, inevitably warning them of her presence and causing them to run like hell.  She can point to or show me a kitty when offered pictures of different animals.  She also seems quite interested in ducks.

She still loves to walk while holding our fingers, with chest puffed out leading her, and tiny tushy sticking way out behind.  Walking her up to a toy and expecting her to walk around holding it instead of us may just result in a crying jag.  Until we pick her up.

She loves to turn lights on and off.  She has taken to applauding herself every time she touches a light switch.  She also applauds if you say, "Yay, Zoë!"  And I swear she claps every time If You're Happy and You Know It comes on her little Scout toy thingy (they must sing that one in daycare).

Sometimes I wish I could just freeze this stage.  It is such a wonderful, happy, exciting time.  That I'm already nostalgic for!

Tuesday Funny

Yesterday I sent the Z to daycare with a little bag of baby puffs and instructions to her caregivers that I'd like her to be offered 4 or 5 puffs along with a cup of water each day at snack time.  In the instructions I noted that Z  probably would not actually eat the puffs, but that I was just getting her used to them and just want her to have the opportunity to play with them (or eat them if she wants).

She came home with a note: Zoë loved her cup of water, but she picked up each of her puffs and threw them on the floor one by one.

Lol!  For some reason, the "one by one" is just hilarious to me.  It implies such a deliberate rejection of the food.  (Really what she is doing is discovering gravity and object permanence.  She loves to throw things on the floor, and then lean out of her chair and look for them.  And then get us to pick them up and repeat the whole process.  Of course, at daycare, once the food went to the floor it was dead to them, so her little modus operandi didn't work quite so well there.)

I sent a note today asking them to continue offering her the puffs anyways.  She'll get this finger food thing eventually.

Oh, and p.s. this morning when I woke her up, she clapped!