Valentine's Surprise

Scott came home early on Valentines day and surprised Zoe and I. Zoe had a BLAST playing with her daddy. She LOVES her dadda!!!

Daddy is my Valentine

These are the cards that Zoe made (with her mommy's help) for her Dad for Valentines day.

Valentines Day!

Zoe and I went to a Valentines party with her Little Tikes Play group! It was so much fun. We made Valentines for the kid's Daddy's and had yummy snacks and played with lots of toys.

Real Toddler

I feel like my baby is a real toddler now! Today she walked with me all the way to the store (three streets up and one street over), just holding my hand and loving every step. She had her first day of preschool today where they learned the letter D and the number 4 and she did so great! She is talking SO much, telling me what she wants and using magic words- please and thank you (well, most the time), and expressing her self with constant movement! When she gets excited she runs in place, when she dances she runs in a circle, and when she gets really mad, she has started using a very loud, very scratchy scream that only a toddler can make!

Zoe has been loving all the activities we have been doing to keep ourselves busy during this long and cold winter. On Mondays we go to a little play group with kids her age. She loves going to other people's houses or play rooms. I set this up to help her get to know her nursery friends so she will stay in nursery with out Mom and Dad. I am happy to report that last week Zoe stayed in nursery all by her self! Yeah for Zoe and Yeah for Mom and Dad who can finally get something out of church instead of sitting in nursery the whole time! On Tuesdays we go to her little preschool class we do with similar age kids. We just trade off each week doing the little lesson. This week was her first week and she had a blast! It was very well planned, the kids loved it. On Wednesday's we go to the church for our ward play group which is fun to just let the kids run wild in the gym. Last play group I was there the kids and I (yes I was the only adult), played hide and seek! It was hilarious, I had about 10 kids just running after me and yelling BOO, when they found me. I would then go look for them and find them all in the same hiding place! Thursday's are open- which I will hopefully be starting a music or art class. We have been doing a music class for city kids called music for Aardvarks and Zoe has LOVED it. She learned a song about a Taxi, which only city kids would fully understand!! She actually sings the Taxi song and jingle bells, where ever we go in the stroller.

Friday's are especially fun because Scott usually gets home early and we either head up to the American Museum of Natural History, down to Toys R Us, or the Disney store in Times Square and Zoe has a blast!! She talks all about the Dinosaurs at the Museum and at Toys R Us. The museum has tons of Dinosaur bones configured to be life size, which are amazing, and Toys R Us has a life size T-Rex that moves and Rorrrrs. They also have a huge ferris wheel that is super fun to ride too! I love the toy stores and museums in NYC, they are out of this world! As for our afternoons, we usually go to friends apartments or run errands, or just play inside. Thanks to all these activities, we are actually enjoying the winter, well most days!

Winter Fun

Zoe found a puddle and loved walking in it!

Zoeisms

Zoe has been loving to play hide and seek. She runs and hides and says "I see you dadda, I see you mama." Actually she says "I see you", to lots of things she sees now. Anyway tonight before bed we looked out the window to find the moon, I told her it was too foggy to see the moon tonight. And she looked out the window and said, "I see you foggy."

Zoe loves animals- all animals, at night she will name as many animals as she can and ask me if they are sleeping- as if to make sure all the animals are going to sleep the same time she is. Of course I have to repeat every animal and tell her that they are all going to sleep.

Zoe; "Frogs seeping?"

MaryLynn; "Yes Zoe the Frogs are going to sleep"

Zoe, " Zebras seeping?"

ML: "Yes Zoe, the Zebras are going to sleep"

Zoe, " Dinosaurs seeping?"

ML: "Um, well yes they have been sleeping for a long time"

Zoe, smiles in satisfaction and goes to sleep.

And lastly, because of the song I sing to her about the monkey's in the trees, every time we go outside in the park she looks up at the trees and asks for the monkeys. "Monkeys??" Where are the monkey's why are they not in the trees like the song says??? I just smile and tell her it is too cold for the monkeys to be in the trees!

Fixes for the Winter Blues- Thanks Michael Jackson!

So this winter I am apprehensive to admit, only because I would like to think of my self as a positive person however, that I have had the a case of the winter blues. Don't get me wrong I love the snow it is great, although, I have to admit I was not prepared for some 20+ inches we have received, I guess it has just been an absence of the sun and seasonal sickness either mine or Zoe's that has gotten to me. ANYWAY, today I was thinking, I have GOT to find some sort of fix, exercise can only get you so far and for so long, although it helps A TON.

SO...

I have found a fix, I went on to itunes and downloaded all my favorite Michael Jackson songs and after listening to them and yes dancing a little, I am feeling better. SO thanks to the late and very talented Michael Jackson!!

Oh and just so you know making oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, or any treats for that matter, won't take away the blues, they just taste really good at the time and after you eat too many you are just right back where you started but with a little more chiggly! (Do I sound like I am talking from experience?:) um yeah!)

Of course another fix for the winter blues would be to get the heck out of town, find some warm sun and stay there for a while, which thankfully, we are doing at the end of February (Naples & Miami, FL, YEAH!!), but that still means I have one more month to survive!!

So I am calling out to my buddies that read my blog, do you guys have any remedies for the winter blues? I need some more, Michael Jackson can only get me so far seeing that New York winters last FOREVER!!!!! Well ok, not forever but it seems that way :) Your comments would be much appreciated!

At the end of the day, the good thing is is that the Spring ROCKS here in NYC. It is SO beautiful and fun, so I know I have something to look forward to, it is just getting to the spring that is the long and hard part!!!

Update on Zoe's eyes, she went to the Doctor the other day ago and we had to up her contact prescription- which was a bummer. As well as up the time she wears the patch- it went from 4 hours/day to 8 hours/day. The good thing is that she can see well out of the contact and so she doesn't fight the patch or putting in the contact weekly as much, so that is really good. The doc says she will be wearing the patch for a while, but, with time, we will correct the laziness of her eye, so that is GREAT!