Moments with Zoe

I have three short stories I'll share with you...all from this morning between the hours of 8 and 10.

1. Before Zoe started walking, she would crawl or cruise over to one of us, take a finger or two, and pull on us as if to say, "Walk with me". She did that for a month or two before she ever took her first steps and went from a whole hand to three fingers, and then eventually to just lightly grasping one tip of a finger for that security. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed those moments until they were gone. As soon as she built up courage, the days of walking with mommy and daddy were over. Recently though, she has started to go over to her daddy in the evenings and grab a finger expecting him to drop what he's doing and walk with her. It's so sweet to just watch them lap the house or the room several times until she becomes distracted with a toy. She would get him at the most inconvenient times...for instance when he was trying to cook dinner last night b/c I had an OB appt. that ran late. Last night, when I got home, she grabbed his hand, walked him towards me, and then reached out her other hand for mine. I was somewhat touched by that small gesture. Then this morning, she has been demanding my finger just like she does her daddy's. Walking around the house with her this morning, I couldn't help but thank God for that short but sweet moment. At one point on our walk, she picked up two stray books that were laying on the floor, one in each hand...but managed to offer her finger to me so we could continue walking. I only hope Darin and I get to experience more moments like that with our baby girl.

2. Zoe is quite observant. She watches our nutty dog take a mouthful of food from his bowl in the kitchen and carry it like a hamster to a spot on the carpet about 10 feet away from his bowl, drop it, and eat it piece by piece. It drives me nuts that he does that b/c sometimes he'll decide he doesn't want all of it and leave a little pile of dog food on the carpet. According to Darin, Zoe last night apparently decided she was going to help him out by carrying the food for him. I saw it this morning with my own eyes. She walked from his bowl carrying a few pieces of dog food and dropped it in the spot that he normally carries his food to so he can eat. We normally discipline her for getting into the dog bowl (but that was when she either played in it or ate his food), but I'm clueless as to what I should do..she's trying to help him. Hmm....

And last but not least, we have bath time just about every morning after breakfast and before she goes down for her morning nap. I usually set aside about 20-30 minutes for her to play in the tub before I actually bathe her. Sometimes, I catch up on my reading, other times, I do my bible study while she's playing...but I'm always in there with her to keep an eye on her. Lately, the morning is one of the times that she tells me she needs to go potty. She will randomly yell "potty", very intently, and won't stop until I take her out and put her on her potty. Half the time here, she does something. This morning, that child about drove me nuts with her indecisiveness. She would say "potty", sit on it just a couple of seconds, hop back up and say "baf" for bath. I did that about 5 times. If she really does need to go potty...I've made the mistake and ignored her thinking she just saw her potty and she's pooped in the tub...YUCK...twice. I eventually got to the point where I was feeling myself getting upset with her, so instead of letting her see that, I had the grandiose plan to....put the potty in the bathtub. Yes...I actually did it. She sat there and continued playing. Score one for mommy....I just hope that I didn't open up a can of worms doing that, b/c that won't become the norm. She'll want me to put it in there just so she can sit on it.