The Rainbow Connection

Do you like my swimsuit? It has cute ears on the hood to make you smile...

Bucktown Babe

It was a rare Saturday that we didn't have anything on the social calendar so we headed out and made the rounds in our 'hood. We bought some new clothes for Daddy and ate at an outdoor establishment. Hard to tell who got more attention by the passers by...Zoe or the puppy bull dog that was sitting at the next table...I'm thinking it was the bully dog.

Champagne...Illinois

Well, it was actually a little town called Dewy, IL that we visited to catch up with some friends from high school. We spent the day at a water park (hence the haggard look). Friends, Stephanie and Scott live on a pretty big piece of land that city folks like us would consider a farm...chickens, berries, fresh lettuce for dinner....and lots more. Our excitement for the night occurred when the pizza delivery guy got stuck in the mud trying to turn around in the driveway. Zoe LOVED watching the antics of the five other small children who were at the house. I would call it MEZMORIZED!

Delaney LOVES babies..."What baby Zoe doin'?"

Zoe's expression is priceless here...I don't think she was too keen on Ander's advances to hold her hand...which is fine with her daddy! Really, they liked each other...it's just that Zoe has a lot of male suitors and she doesn't want to be tied down to any one guy right now.

It's never too early to start good oral hygiene

Someone got a new toothbrush...

...to take care of these two new pearly whites!

Zoe starting teething right before Memorial Day...the teeth broke through just in time for a trip to Grandma Jane. Mommy was in Las Vegas, so she decided to go easy on Daddy and get it over with before the big trip.

Two days of crying for two teeth...not "two" bad ;)

First Father's Day...and Daddy's Birthday!

Zoe got Daddy a gift for Father's Day and was nice enough to help him open it.

It was a gift that they could share together.

Lately, Zoe likes to bend her neck to our right side when we talk to her. Only the right, NEVER the left!

Daddy got treated to his favorite meal (tacos) and favorite dessert (pie) by the Freling/Kruse clan.

Zoe wore a special outfit to celebrate her Daddy on his birthday and Father's Day.

And she wanted to remember her g. daddy too...

So this really nice lady came to our house and took some pictures...

7 months!

Dear Zoe,

You are 7 months old! Here is what we want to remember about you:

-You have started whining when you are bored or want something. More than one person has suggested that this may go on for another 18 years. You are getting harder to keep entertained and like it best when we give you new things to explore, like a wooden spoon and tupperware, instead of the toys you are used to.

-You are sitting up all by yourself! One day we tried it and you just knew how! We are wondering how long you had been keeping that one a secret. You love to reach and grab toys that are around you while you sit. You have fallen over with your body at a 45 degree angle to the floor a couple of times and you don't really seem to mind that all too much...at least for a couple of minutes.

-You now associate your crib with the dreaded nap/bedtime and cry when we put you there. Sometimes you settle down quickly, other times you scream bloody murder and we have to calm you down a bit and try again later. Guess you just really like us!

-You are eating like a champ. You have finally figured out that you should open your mouth when we show you the spoon. Now that it is warm out, you eat naked...clean up is a snap! You have had rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, apples, pears, peas, green beans, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash so far. You love nothing more than to grab the spoon away from us or stick your hand in the bowl of food.

-You started an infant swim class. Big surprise...you were more interested in the other people in the water than splashing around. I don't think you even noticed that we were in the water! We learned how to get in the water, to splash, float on your back with your head touching the water, and kick. Daddy says no submerging, so we're opting out of that. It will be interesting to see the other babies do it though.

-You have started to learn to move your body parts in different ways. You tilt your head to the left when we talk to you (and only to the left, never the right!), you shake your head back-and-forth like you are saying "no", and move your hand in a twisting motion like you are screwing in a light bulb.

-We've been out and about a lot recently and you get a LOT of attention. Everyone wants to talk to you and you usually give them a BIG smile. What a little social butterfly you are! The comment we get most often is what big beautiful eyes you have. We agree ;)

-Life if getting more and more exciting with you around. You've brought happiness to a whole new level for your Mom and Dad (and a lot of other people). It's so much fun watching you learn and grow!

Life's a Beach

Well, it was the first sunny day since the start of Summer, so we headed out to North Avenue Beach with about 237,991 other Chicagoans.

Auntie Kim braved the rugged terrain on our trek from the car to the beach.

30 minutes spent looking for parking, one spilled ice cream blizzard, and one beach cabana rolled towards the volleyball nets...it was finally time to have some fun in the sun!






Have you ever seen a cuter face????