Spring Has Sprung?

It's beginning to look a lot like Spring! Well, at least on Zoey's backside! Hee hee hee!

Couldn't help but laugh when I caught a view of her from the back.

The other day I was looking up reviews for paper/craft stores in my area, and in a negative review for a local store, a woman mentioned a store she loves, called Ben Franklin Crafts. After discovering that it's less than 20 minutes away from our house, I made plans to go.

I am trying to do as many DIY projects for Zoey's "Princess Safari" birthday party as possible, which has led me on a hunt for fun animal print paper. Well, Ben Franklin had no shortage of paper, that's for sure!

Paper for days!

Now we're talkin'!

Oooh, RIBBON!

Other than Zoey squawking and demanding to have a bite of everything I picked up, I was in craft heaven! I am in no way a seasoned DIYer, so I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with everything I found. In fact, I didn't even buy very much today because I realized that I still don't have a clear enough vision of all the small details! So, I still have a lot to think about, but I am so glad I found such a great store (a new fave, along with Michaels and JoAnn's). 

On the way home, I had to stop at Walgreens for a new shower cap. And everyone knows that when you get a new shower cap, you have to try it on your innocent, unsuspecting baby! Duh! 

These last two pictures almost didn't make the blog, but my hubby took them, so I guess I'll tell the story...

Basically, something funky is going on with our internet and I haven't been able to log onto Facebook or Pinterest, unless I'm plugged directly into the modem. I called Comcast and they said it's likely a problem with our wireless router because when I bypass it, like I'm doing below, everything works just fine. Just add this to the list of my computer/technology problems (my phone is constantly on the fritz as well!)! 

Embarrassed by my ghetto set-up.

(My computer is plugged in to it's charger because, even though it's supposed to be mobile, it can't be unplugged for more than 5 minutes without shutting down! Ga-hetto!!)

This is my "I'm sad about my computer, but I'm even more upset that you're taking a picture" face!

A New Group

After seeing Zoey's crazy bed head, I put off feeding her so I could run and get the camera! 

She was not amused!

Tummy's full; time to relax and say "good morning" to the pups :)

After hearing a few of the mothers from our library story time/play group talk about another story time at a different library, I decided to give it  try. This other library is only minutes away from the one we got to on Thursdays, and the group meets at the same time, so it's a morning schedule that we're familiar with.

There were a lot more older toddlers at this "Baby" (0-24m) group.

Zoey didn't seem to mind. She found a few toys she enjoyed and had a blast!

Also, it was comforting to see a few familiar faces from our Tuesday group.

When we got home today, I decided to put some shoes on Zoey and see what she thought. She's been slipping around on the kitchen floor for a while now, and I'm thinking it might be time to start thinking about growing her shoe collection (WooHoo!).

Her first (and only) pair; given to her by her Aunt Christy, before she was even born!

Cuuuute!

They are made of really soft leather and have suede on the bottom. They're really more like leather socks than shoes. They keep her from skidding and, best of all, she doesn't seem to mind having them on! 

 

Chicken and applesauce, yum!

Making sure it all gets in there!

10 Months Old

Zoey is 10 months old today! That means I only have 2 months left until her first birthday party! I've got a theme picked out and am ridiculously excited to finish planning!

Where has the time gone?? 

She used to sleep wrapped up like a baby burrito, and now she's a big (baby) girl, with a blanket to snuggle with.

My 10 month old rockstar!

At 10 months she:

-Is trying to eat every little scrap/crumb she gets her hands on

-Has had her first cold

-Has started making a lovely new squawking sound that's enough to make you question why people own pet birds!

-Is dealing with the painful arrival of her top teeth

-Has had her first top tooth come through

-Likes to share, aka shove things in her mommy and daddy's faces!

-Finally claps correctly! Palms together, instead of slapping the back of one hand :)

-Is beyond ready to start walking on her own! (if only her little legs would let her)

Not one to be held back from doing something, Zoey has found a little bit of walking freedom, thanks to a perfectly child-size IKEA box!

She LOVES to push it around the kitchen!

If she gets stuck on a corner, she can usually maneuver her way around it...

...usually...

Her playing with the garbage can lid has become a daily battle between the two of us. I wish I could put an invisible shield around everything I'd rather she didn't touch!

Hahaha! I get this look A LOT! (it's usually accompanied by her new squawking sound)

When she wants to be picked up, when she wants something I'm eating/drinking, when I've taken something away from her... :) 

Superbowl Sunday

Today is Superbowl Sunday! WOOHOO!!

Ok, that's about as much excitement as the Superbowl generated in the Lubovich house this year. Our team wasn't in the bowl (what else is new?), Michael had work to do, and I had to watch Zoey, who doesn't even watch TV. We did have the game on though, and sat and watched it until half time. Then Zoey took a nap, Mike got back to work, and I baked some sugar cookies. One thing that did draw our attention back in was...no, not the Beyoncé halftime extravaganza...the Power Outage! What the heck? What a crazy thing to have happen at one of the year's biggest sports games! Who would have ever thought? Once the power was restored, we checked back in periodically; it was actually a pretty good game for all those who were truly invested.

Apple slices in the FFF, rescuing her sore mouth!

It's tough being a teething baby.

Apparently everything is a teether! LOL
 

Hard at work on a Sunday! 

Sometimes being a grown-up stinks!

Sweet Surprise

Zoey has started "sharing" things now. And although it's super cute, it can also be quite invasive. She'll get real close to my face and shove whatever she has right up against it! Such a sweetheart! ;)

 Taking a break from sharing her bag of frozen veggies.

 Last night, Michael had a "Guy's Night" with his friend Sean, and spent the night at Sean's place in Seattle. There was supposed to be another friend joining them, but  when he cancelled, they decided to go forward with the plans. (despite me teasing that they were going on a "man date" ;). 

I was glad Michael got to have a fun, care-free night with a friend, but was even more glad to see him walk in the door this morning. Although I was happy to see him, I got really giddy at the sight of the Trophy Cupcakes box he was holding!

I guess it's true what they say, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"? Either that, or he spent way too much money on beer last night? 

No matter how much beer he drank, these Dark Chocolate Raspberry and Red Velvet cupcakes are enough to wipe away all of his wrong doings! YUM!

Speaking of "wrong doings" (which made me think of "sin"),  I want to share something that happened at mass tonight. I don't usually preach about my religious and political views (I like to think that my beliefs shine through my actions), but tonight I was was smacked with a real wake up call. 

I am Catholic, have grown up in Catholic schools/churches, and have held onto my faith even during the times when I didn't attend church regularly. Well, it must have been my lack of regular attendance, that allowed me to forget that the Payers of the Faithful that are said each mass (after which, we say "Lord Hear our Prayer"), are written, in part, by members of the parish. Now I will admit, I have a tendency to say some of the obligatory mass responses without fully thinking about the words that are coming out of my mouth. Especially now that I'm trying to keep tabs on Zoey, I'm lucky if I get my response in on time, and not after everyone else has one quiet! 

So, tonight my wake up call came when I realized I said my routine "Lord Hear Our Prayer" after the reader read the petition "And for all those suffering from same sex attractions". The rest was something like "may they be healed". I honestly don't remember the rest because after I heard "attractions", my brow furrowed and, before I knew it, I was asking the Lord to "Hear Our Prayer"!

Wake up, Dana! Wake up!

Ugh! That is SO not something I would ever prayer for! Now, I don't know proper church etiquette regarding this matter, but after I nudged Mike in his side and he reminded me who writes the petitions, I decided to say a private prayer for the person who submitted that particular one. I do not believe that gays/lesbians need to be "healed" of anything! And the only thing they may possibly be "suffering" from, is the lack of acceptance, and even sometimes blatant hatred, of those who choose to put them down! Grr! I know everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, and that by attending a Catholic church I am understandably surrounded by the beliefs that the religion itself expresses, but man, I am going to be much more attentive from now on! 

I guess God knows what's in my heart and that's all that matters, right? Still, I wish the "controversial" prayers, could be kept as silent prayers...

Matching

I can't remember if I've already labeled a previous parenting experience as "The Scariest Thing Ever!" (maybe that time Zoe Zoe choked on her vitamins?), but hearing her scream at the top of her lungs, in the middle of the night, is fighting hard for top honors!

Last night, while she was sleeping, Zoey let out a gut wrenching scream...and then everything went quiet again. It was definitely a trippy experience, and a worrisome one, since I didn't really know what to do. I watched her on the monitor for a moment, but she was sleeping peacefully, as if nothing happened. So Michael and I just carried on, hearts racing, left to wonder what the heck was going on in that little brain of hers.

When Zoey woke up this morning, I quickly discovered that the ridges of her top tooth are actually visible now! Aha! Could that be what caused the screams last night? A brief moment of pain, as the tooth broke through a little?

Showing off those bottom toofs!

(So glad those didn't give her any problems)

It took me until about 3 PM to notice that we were matching today :)

Michael came home from work with a very special treat for Miss Rae. One of his coworkers had asked if Zoey could get some use out of a walker that his daughter is no longer using.

We have put off using walkers, but now that Zoey's so close to walking on her own, we decided to give it a try.

Ummm, I think she likes it? LOL

So blessed to have friends who love Zoey and think of her/us often :)

It's 2 toys in 1! So cool.

One thing Michael's coworker said before handing the walker over was, "Trust me, you'll never need to put the volume on "Hi"". We tried it out and, sure enough, the "Low" setting is plenty annoying..err, I mean, sufficient!