as it turns out...

photographing a baby becomes more difficult when she can move.

marching on

I have been clobbered in the face by a particularly nasty cold.

It set up camp last Saturday and has yet to leave. Every time I get a cold, I find I've forgotten just how terrible they really are. Now I've passed it on to Zoë, which leaves me with all sorts of guilt. It was inevitable, really, given our proximity and the trajectory of my constant sneezing, hacking, sniffling, and, oh, BREATHING.

I know that babies get sick, and we've been lucky that she's been healthy all winter, but STILL. Babies are supposed to get sick from daycare and strangers and older siblings and baby gym classes and NOT their MOTHERS, who are supposed to keep them SAFE and HEALTHY and not infect them with Rhinoviruses and other potentially life-threatening illnesses. Maybe not life-threatening, but at least awful enough to make you want to crawl in a hole and die, which is exactly what I've wanted to do all week.

Clearly, she's tougher than I am.

Thank you for letting me whine for a moment. I needed it.

Moving on. March is here! What is it they say about lions and lambs and spring months? I can't recall, but what I do know is that this March is BRINGING IT. We started with 4+ inches of snow Sunday night and another day off of school. Of course, the winter wonderland melted before I could get the camera battery charged. (BTW: Tim found the charger plugged into our bedroom wall. Go figure.) But I did get two pictures of Zoë inside.

Here she is bundled up for a trip to Granci's for dinner:

I can't imagine what she's thinking.

Here she is wearing her lovely snowflake dress, courtesy of her fashion-forward cousins.

She calls this pose "Blue Steel."

I recently stumbled across a blogger who is taking daily pictures of her five-month-old's outfits. My initial reactions: What a ridiculous idea. Can you GET any more self-indulgent? Who has that kind of time? Who cares what your kid is wearing? However, seeing as I keep checking that blog to find out what the child is sporting today - and I must admit, this particular kiddo is one haute bebe - I have decided that taking pictures of Zoë's outfits is exactly what I'd like to do. At the very least, perhaps this will force the issue on this whole posting thing, because I sure can't seem to make it happen by myself.

Zoë, however, continues to breeze through her New Year's Resolutions. The little booger.

Movin' on up!

Recent accomplishments:
-Rolling from back to front (Valentine's Day)
-Sucking her thumb (SO CUTE... for now)
-Playing with her feet (though she can't seem to hang on for long)
-Watching Otis (she'd like to be able to grab him, but he's wary of those little hands)
-Sleeping sans swaddle (ALL NIGHT)
-Giggling (apparently Tim is the most hilarious thing on the planet)

And Sophie the Giraffe is de-lish.

The two skills she has not yet mastered are taking a bottle and napping in her crib. X + Y = Zero. As in zero time away from baby during the day. The only way I can get her to sleep for more than 20 minutes is to snuggle up with her in our bed and nap with her. FOR TWO HOURS. On the one hand, a two-hour nap! On the other hand, a two-hour nap? I don't have that kind of time to burn.

Especially when my baby-free evenings are jam-packed with important matters such as American Idol and Lost. And The Biggest Loser. On second thought, maybe that nap is the most productive two hours of my day, after all. I mean, I AM battling the Rhinovirus. And it's not pretty.

But these two are.

Makes me feel better already.