September was the month of visitors. In one weekend we had Ben, Simona and Dan visit! (Next weekend the Grandparents Zych were here -- more on that in the next blog entry) Zoë was thoroughly stimulated and had someone to play with her nearly all the time... no wonder that when they left she was especially needy. It seemed that in the mornings before dropping her at school she suddenly needed extra Mama time to assure her that 1. Mommy wouldn't leave like the other visitors and 2. that she has my attention too some of the time. I think this is better now!
I digress now with a recent tale: She is still testing her boundaries, in her wise toddlerhood -- and with only limited communication skills she sometimes asserts her wishes, opinions and independence in shocking ways. Like the day that she bit Haven in school because Haven tried to steal a cheerio from Zoë. The teachers were rather relaxed about it, but I had to have a stern talking with Zoë: "You don't like having bugbites. It is mean of the bugs to bite you. You can't go biting other people-- it hurts. Use your words!" Eventually she did say "Soree" to Haven. The teachers said that this was age-appropriate behavior -- she is testing different ways to communicate. Generally she is so sweet and sharing and friendly. But not about her space. And definitely not about her food. Hmmm...
So when the gang was visiting, we went to the park. Lately Zoë has been coordinated enough to scramble up the stairs and find her way to the reward-- the slide doooooooown. Whhheeeee! Here's a video:
Also this weekend, Zoë was invited to her first birthday party! Emil (the son of friends of ours from New York -- and introduced to us by Simona and Dan, no less!) turned two! Here are some pictures of Zoë at the party. The outfit fit her perfectly (from Didun, brought from India several months ago!) Unfortunately she was in a mood -- overall pleasant, but once Mommy wanted to take a nice picture with her Zozo, she was sour. Sadly, no good shots of the two of us :(
Ok-- I did not make my deadline to finish September blog entries by September... oops! (But did anyone really notice, I wonder?) More updates soon...
