Zoe Crawls

Zoe started crawling today. I guess now that she's mobile this is how my attempts to photograph her will be. I went shopping with my Mother-in-law last week and she bought this outfit for Zoe, so I thought it would be nice to get a picture. I got pictures, but they were all of Zoe heading for the rocking chair. As you can see, she finally achieved her goal.

Blessings

Lately I've been challenged to be thankful and count my blessings even when I'm feeling blue, sleep-deprived, and/or overwhelmed. Here are just some of the ways we are so blessed and how God has so graciously provided for us.

• A nice home/shelter and plenty to eat
• Access to good medical care
• Jobs and good health to be able to work
• A job where I can stay at home with Zoe
• Reliable transportation
• Protection in our daily activities (like at 2:30 this morning when I woke up and realized Zoe was next to me in bed, but I couldn't remember putting her there.)
• Zoe's first cold is not too bad and we have a helpful doctor's office
• Salvation and eternal life in Heaven
• We are not persecuted for having the Word of God and we can worship freely

These are just a few of the ways that we are so blessed and there are so many more I could add. We were challenged recently in a sermon to thank God first and then bring our requests to Him. This has helped me to put my requests in perspective and what I'm really asking for. Its also helped me focus on God's continuing work in my life and made me so thankful for what He has done.

7 Months Old

Its hard to believe that Zoe is seven months old today. She finally figured out how to get on her hands and knees in the last day or so, but her mode of transportation so far has been to roll everywhere. I also caught her trying to pull herself up on her jungle gym today. She had her feet under her, but she couldn't quite get up.

I have also started giving her rice cereal. After we got the allergies resolved around 4 months I held off on starting solids at the doctor's recommendation. The only drawback to not giving her cereal sooner was that she needed a feeding in the middle of the night. We now are giving her approximately 1 tablespoon of cereal twice a day which is about all she will eat. I've tried giving her applesauce and sweet potatoes, but her tummy didn't handle those foods very well. So I am gradually slipping in a few bites here and there. She also does not have any teeth yet.

We started putting her in the nursery at church. The first Sunday she played and had fun, but we forgot to clip on her normal binky on last Sunday and it made a very unhappy little girl. Thankfully I had a spare in the diaper bag. She is also starting to recognize people and gets scared if she hasn't seen someone for a while. Surprisingly she hasn't cried about being left at the nursery yet. She loves other kids though, so I think having 15 - 20 others to play with helps a lot. Its so cute when we go to the grocery store (which she loves). When she sees another kid, she will start smiling.

Being outside is her other big thrill. She will sit outside in her stroller while I do yard work and just play. One evening when she had been extremely cranky all day, I decided to do something therapeutic and work in the flower beds. She calmed right down outside and both of us felt better.

She is becoming a very sweet little girl (no longer a baby). We are working on teaching her no (especially when she pulls hair) and that she will not die if she does not get something right now. This makes the parenting quite interesting, but a joy nonetheless. We count our blessings every day and thank God that we have the opportunity to have this little girl in our lives.

My First Cereal

Not sure what to do with this

Fun with my toys

Ready to go!

I'm so cute!