roly-poly

On Monday Zuzu got the sniffles, which are still hanging around. She's been in a pretty good mood considering that she's had the snooter-rooter (a.k.a. nasal aspirator) in her face quite a bit. Tonight I got out the camera while she hung out on the floor since I hoped to take a good sneeze candid for the blog. Instead she was content to play on a blanket and was looking as beautiful as ever:

Then I flipped her onto her belly for her evening tummy time. Lately she's been pushing up with her arms more until she gets so tired she tries to eat the blankie, which is what I anticipated she'd do tonight. She spent only about five seconds pushing up with her arms... ...and then to my complete astonishment she rolled over. She rolled over! Wahoo! I couldn't believe it. I don't know what surprised Zuzu more: the fact that she went from tummy to back all by herself, or my repeated cries of, "I can't believe it! You did it! You DID IT!" followed by an overdose of hugs and kisses. Of course I had to document her laying on her back too:

I was so proud of her that she and I went for a little celebratory walk up the street so that we could greet Ty on his way home from work. Zuzu had her little footsies up on the tray of her stroller, relaxed and looking on top of the world, when Ty pulled up and we announced that Zuzu had big news. Of course, Ty was awfully excited to hear about this latest milestone. She hasn't had a repeat performance (I'm sure she's just saving it up for another day) but now we can really say that she's our squirmy wormy.

it's contagious!

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li'l giggle

Zuzu finally did it – she laughed! Ty got the honor of being the very first person to hear Zuzu’s first laughter on Saturday. She’d been soooooo close for weeks now and we’d just been waiting for an authentic giggle to unfold. I missed hearing the first one since I was out of the room but from listening to Ty’s laughter in response, I knew her giggle must have been something great. This morning she laughed for me for the first time at church. Later tonight, I was able to get her going with some silly noises and tummy tickles, and Ty got it on video. It’s too late to upload the video but hopefully Ty can get it on soon and share her laugh with everyone.

What a great feeling to hear her laugh! It’s beautiful!

poolside

In preparation for our upcoming trip to Maine, we thought it was about time to try out staying overnight away from home with a baby (of course, practicing this was more for us than it was for Zuzu). So on Tuesday night we headed to Ames and stayed at Zuzu’s Ama and Poppa’s house. Sometime in the middle of the night, I decided that putting Zuzu in the travel bed between us wasn’t the best idea since Ty and I were each left with a narrow parcel of mattress to sleep upon, plus we made her roll every time one of us moved. So the travel bed wound up on the floor at 2 a.m. and Zuzu snuggled in between us in the regular bed.

We spent the 4^th with the Francos (Jenn’s sis, bro-in-law and kids). The kids voted not to go to the Ames parade (according to nine-year-old Maddie, “it’s just a bunch of sweaty kids trying to get candy!”) so instead Zuzu had her first Digi Makeover. If the Digi Makeover box says it’s for ages 7 & up don’t listen, because 33-year-old guys who like tech stuff can also have lots of fun with the Digi Makeover camera.

The highlight of the day in Ames was taking Zuzu swimming for the first time. Did you know there are swim diapers specifically so that little babies can get in the pool? I’m awfully glad the Francos gave us an extra one because I was otherwise worried that after Zuzu’s swim we might be on pool cleaning duty. Zuzu had a fabulous time in the pool – Ty took her in first while I got it on video – and once I got over the initial fear of my perfect husband accidentally dropping our baby in the water, all was well. Zuzu was happy as a clam and “swam” alongside her cousins.

I discovered this picture on the camera tonight. At first I was a little horrified that Ty did this to Zuzu (earlier the same day he put her in a turban) but then it made me chuckle. You never know what fun will happen when the two of them are left alone together.

it's been 3 months...

i think it's about time for some more pictures in my album!