Zoë's First Christmas

Grandma Hsu and my sister Becky came for Peanut's first Christmas. She got plenty of new baby clothes as well as a Christmas stocking. Christmas Day was like Zoë's other normal days - pooping, breastfeeding, sleeping, breastfeeding, pooping, etc. Zoë was dressed in her "Christmas Tomato" outfit, a gift from the Nizzi family. We drove up to Libertyville, IL to spend Christmas Day with my Aunt Amy and Uncle Ken. Everyone was impressed by Zoë's size; since the last post, she has an official weight of 10 pounds, 6.75 ounces, and it shows by her fatty folds and chunky cheeks. She also is fitting into her baby clothes so much better now. Other than that, I don't think Zoë realized it was a holiday, so I guess everyday is a holiday for her (except when she gets her vaccine shots).

Also, we've noticed since her first month that she has a dimple in her right cheek. My sister snapped a picture of Zoë right before a sneeze. You can really see the dimple in the photo.

Zoë's First Snow Storm

Like much of the Midwest and the East coast this weekend, we received a significant amount of snow. We probably accumulated between 4-6 inches. Luckily we had nothing really planned and spent most of our time indoors. Zoë spent her day like any other day, not yet appreciating the first major snow of the winter, but we did notice all the branches outside our window covered with the bright, white stuff.

So Many Folds, So Little Time

Zoë is just over 9 weeks now. Her last weight check a week ago was also just over 9 pounds. We'll have an official weight measure at her 2 month pediatric visit this week. The breast milk has been doing a fantastic job in her weight gain. Bathing her is becoming more of a challenge because we have to clean all the body folds due to her ever increasing body habitus. Picking her up also takes more physical (sometimes emotional) effort. She now has an impressive layer of brown fat for the cold winter months as well as cheeks for storage of nuts and what nots.

A Visit from Champaign and Zoë's First Holiday Part-ays

We had some exciting events this past week. First, our friends Matt and Becca from Champaign came to visit. It was Matt's birthday, and he and Becca took the day off from work to hang out in Chicago for a day. Because my schedule has been so predictable this month (thank you adolescent medicine!) I was able to meet them at our home for some good Chicago style pizza. They also got to meet Zoë. They both seem to be pros with the baby!

Yesterday, Lisa and I also had our respective holiday parties to attend. Lisa had her holiday party with her Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago faculty and residents. I also had my holiday party with my University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital residents. We therefore chose to go to Lisa's party first and then attend mine. I have to first say that getting ready and out the door takes 2-3x longer now that Zoë has come into our lives. We had to bathe her, dress her, feed her, put her in the carrier as well as pack all the things to bring for her survival gear outside our home before getting ourselves ready. Nonetheless, we did it, but we now have to plan to be ready a lot earlier to make it to our social functions at a reasonable time.
Lisa's holiday party was at the Adler Planetarium which was really cool. We were able to play with the exhibits but unfortunately the little one is too young to appreciate the museum. The view of the Chicago cityline was gorgeous! Lots of other kids were there too so Zoë wasn't alone, though I think she was the youngest there. She was very good and enjoyed meeting the RIC residents and staff even though she was asleep most of the time. After eating and drinking some bubbly, we left for the other holiday party located at Grand Lux Cafe in downtown Chicago. By this time Zoë was getting tired, most of the fellow resident's babies had left to go home, and they had turned up the DJ speakers on the dancefloor. We therefore only stayed for about 20 minutes, just in time to say hi to our friends. We barely had time to snap a few pictures here.

When we arrived home, Zoë was wide awake, so we decided to snap some more pictures of her in her vintage dress, a dress Grandma Preston wore when she was an infant.

Zoë's Cousin Twin and a Fashion Show

We were in Normal, IL visiting Lisa's sister's family and their new baby, Rowan. The interesting thing about Rowan is that he was delivered on Zoë's due date of November 16. Rowan's mom, Cathy, and Lisa were supposed to deliver their respective babies just days of each other, but Zoë just didn't want to stay in the womb that much longer. Nonetheless, we still joke that they are cousin twins since they are practically the same age. In fact, Rowan already is bigger than Zoë in weight and length. They were introduced to each other this weekend. Both were very nonchalant about the meeting though the occasion was marked with much flatulence, reflux and urination.

We also brought Zoë to her first birthday party. Our friends Jamie and Irv threw a nice party for their son, Sam, who turned two. Lots of kids were there and there was an excellent slow smoked beef brisket. For such a nice birthday occasion, we put Zoë in some of her nicest clothes. Because she was in such a good mood after getting home from the birthday party, we decided to show off some other clothes that our many friends and family have bought/donated for her. We haven't even skimmed the surface of the number of outfits she has so we'll post more in the future.

Cheeks Overfloweth

Zoë's pudgy cheeks amaze us daily. They are especially accentuated when she's napping. One just can't help but squeeze them.