3 Months...Memories and Milestones!

Zoe turned 3 months old last week Tuesday! There have been MANY memories created and milestones reached over the past few weeks. I'll let Zoe give you a (shortened, but still lengthy :) recap of what she's been up to...

A New Way to Be Carried: I've loved my Baby Bjorn lately. My head is getting quite strong, so I can enjoy looking around! Sometimes I get so relaxed, I even fall asleep in it. :)

Smiles: I'm all about smiles. Mommy and Daddy especially love it when I greet them with a smile in the mornings!

One of My Favorite Things: I love sucking on my fingers these days. Sometimes I get almost my entire fist in my mouth...which makes me gag, but I like it anyhow. 

New Diapers: Here I am posing (while sleeping) with one of my new BumGenius diapers on. I think they're pretty cool. They feel nice and sometimes even match my outfits!

Father's Day: I had a great first Father's Day with my daddy. After church, we went to Uncle Eric and Aunt Sherry's house. I was very excited to see my cousins Annika and Jackson again, along with Grandpa and Grandma DeJong. For Father's Day, I made my dad a garden stone and got him a #1 Dad picture frame. I also got him an incredible pin that I even made him wear to church! :) In the afternoon, we went to my Aunt Dena and Uncle Jevon's house for my cousin Quintin's 4th birthday party. I got to see many more relatives there, too (Grandma Casanova was even in town again)! I also turned 2 months old on Father's Day, so it was quite a fantastic day.

My First Camping Trip: The weekend after Father's Day, I went camping for the first time with Grandpa and Grandma Commeret in Charlevoix, Michigan. Since I'm a little too young to camp yet, I stayed with my Mommy and Daddy in the Boyne City Motel. I had a great time, but I kept my Mommy awake at night with all of the funny noises I must make while I'm sleeping. Oh, and I was a little bit cranky off and on. I think I might be getting a tooth, but I'm not sure. I'm a little young for that, but ya never know?!

Favorite Author: Even though I'm a bit too young for her books, my favorite author to date is Karen Kingsbury. Mommy started reading her book out loud to me and I sat still listening to her for over 45 minutes! I was captivated!

Favorite DVD: I love Baby Einstein's "Baby Beethoven!" It gets me more excited than almost anything! Here I am hanging out in my diaper watching it...

Favorite College: My current favorite college is MSU. Why? My Daddy just got his Masters from there at the end of June. I'm SO proud of him!

Favorite "Lovey": I love my taggie blanket from Mommy's cousin, Julie! I take it with me wherever I go.

Two Months Old: Here I am for my monthly photo shoot with my stuffed dog...getting bigger!

"At my two-month check-up I found out how big I am! That was a while ago, so I'm sure I'm a lot bigger now, but I don't go to the doctor again until I am 4 months old...next month! I was 10.8 pounds and 23 1/4 inches long at my last appointment. The doctor said I was such a good baby! She might have changed her mind when I got my first three shots, though, because BOY did I cry! Mommy says that I discovered a new cry that day and now I use it more often than she'd like. But hey, I gotta let people know I'm in pain somehow, don't I?" :)

First Backyard Outing: Here I am with Alli on my first backyard outing. It was such a beautiful day to lay on a blanket under the tree! It would've been nice if Alli gave me a little more privacy, though. :)

First Time in the Bumbo: Not so happy about it...as you can see.

First Time Falling Asleep on the Changing Table: Hey, I was tired! What can I say?

On the Move: I don't like to wake up in the same position that Mommy or Daddy puts me down in, so I just scoot (I can't give away my secret how). This is usually how my parents find me in the mornings, but sometimes I scoot even further and face the complete opposite direction!

First Out-of-State Vacation: Over the 4th of July, I traveled with my Mom and Dad to Louisville, Kentucky. It was a meeting point for a mini-vacation with Grandpa and Grandma DeJong, Uncle Todd and Aunt Laura, Graysen, Max, Uncle Eric and Aunt Sherry, Annika, and Jackson. We had so much fun! I was a very good traveler in the car. Mom and Dad were very proud. :)

The first night, we went to watch horse racing at Churchill Downs. It was a lot of fun, but VERY crowded! 

This was the first time meeting Uncle Todd, Aunt Laura, Graysen, and Max! They live in Atlanta, Georgia, so we don't get to see each other very often.

The second day we went to the Louisville Slugger Museum. We got to see them making baseball bats! I even got my own mini baseball bat. My cousin Jackson liked his much more than I did because I slept through the entire tour. :)

I got to wear my very first bathing suit! I even got to go in a pool for the first time! I loved it - probably because it was a warm as my baths. :)

The Louisville Waterfront Festival was fun, but HOT! My older cousins did some fun activities, but I just slept...something I'm very good at. 

Since all five grandkids aren't together very often, this is a pretty special 4th of July picture of us with Grandpa and Grandma DeJong.

We had a great time at The Louisville Zoo on the 4th of July, but boy was it hot! I slept almost the entire time, so I didn't get a good look at the animals, but Mom and Dad tell me they were pretty cool. Since it got so hot, my cousins Graysen, Max, and Annika got to go in the splash park!

My mom couldn't resist a photo shoot for my first 4th of July. I had a really cute outfit on that I got from my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Randy when I was born. I also wore a "Daddy's Little Firecracker" bib from one of Dad's students. I'm told I have been a little firecracker lately. :)

We had a great dinner at "Mark's Feed Store Bar-B-Q." Everything was great. My Uncle Todd even spilled a huge glass of water that went everywhere! After dinner we found a great park along the river to watch the fireworks. We had to wait forever for them to start, so I was pretty tired and cranky by the time they actually did!

We really had a great time in Louisville. Here I am with Uncle Todd while we were saying our "goodbyes."

Long-lost Friends: A couple days after we returned from Kentucky, we met up with one of Daddy's great friends who now live in South Dakota, Andrew, and his wife, Darcy. They have two daughters, Daraby and Dakota. They hadn't seen each other in more than two years, so we had a great time catching up with each other by Lake Michigan! Daddy and Andrew even got to go for a sail!

My Most Dominant Feature: My eyes! Everyone comments that I look like my daddy -- I think it's the BIG bright blue eyes! :)

More Fun With Friends: We went to Mommy and Daddy's friend Dave's house to meet all the new little babies and to see our friends Lora and Joel who were home for the summer from Nicaragua. We also brought our dog, Alli -- it was the first time we were in the car together. Let's just say Alli had to ride in the front seat on the way home...:)

Here I am with Lora in the first picture. The next picture is all of the mommys, babies, and soon-to-be mommys and babies! :) (From left to right: Kelly (who had baby Paul since this picture was taken!!), Janelle and Roslynn, Mommy and me, Angie and Austin, and Amanda with Baby Worst (due in September!)

My Favorite Book: I got the book, "Fuzzy Bee" from our neighbor, John, across the street. So far it's my favorite book because it crinkles when I touch it on my changing table!

First SUCCESSFUL Time in the Bumbo: Much better than the first time! I'm liking it more and more because my head is getting so strong! Alli still gets jealous of all the attention I get, so she sometimes decides to sit right next to me so she feels like she's the one getting the attention. Oh, Alli...:)

My Name Made the Wall!: Now that I'm 3 months old, Daddy decided it was about time I learned my name, so he hung it above my crib. I love it! So does Mommy. :)

My New Friend, Mason: We had a great time visiting Connor and his new brother, Mason. Mommy and Jenny have been best friends for years. Maybe Mason and Connor and I will be, too!

First Trip to Illinois: I made my first trip to Illinois to visit Tim and Ruthie and Owen and Mark, Kate, Dyllan, Quinn, and Cooper. Owen is seven weeks older than me and I am seven weeks older than Cooper! We had so much fun! I also got to meet Mommy's friend, Stephanie, and her daughter, Sawyer, but we didn't get a picture together...

 

More Fun at the Beach: I spent a couple more days at the beach visiting Lora and Joel. The first day I went with Jenny, Connor, and Mason. The second day we went again but more people were there, too -- Lacey, Dean, Angie, Austin, Mike, and Amanda. So fun!

 

3 Months Old!: I'm 3 months old! Here I am with my big stuffed dog for my monthly photo. Before we know it, I'll be as big as he is! Oh yeah, now that I'm getting older, I also love my exersaucer. It's a little big for me yet (my toes barely touch!), but I still love it!