taking advantage of a warm february day.

It may have been a grey day, but it felt great since it was in the sixties!

I got a five mile run out of the way.

& we had brunch.

We visited the zoo and got to see Z light up with joy.

 I don't usually give her such a sugary breakfast, but thought we could share. Turns out, she is not a huge pancake fan anyway::

She was obsessed with the geese and loved witnessing their fights. She kept trying to get involved::

 We might skip this part next time because: poop!::

 She will still let me hold her like this when she is tired!::

 Jonas informed me that this is how he gets Z to walk sometimes. It really works!::

 This gorilla observed everyone for a long time. It was bizarre and really cool::

We shared a little ice cream::

Our 2017 Valentine's Day.

It was a great Valentine's Day with my little family. We shared some treats and had Cuban food.
 I love them today & everyday!

Zara::14 Months.

Zara is such a toddler now with her tantrums, her destructive exploring and the mischief.  She would rather eat nothing (or yogurt) instead of the yummy things I cook. She loves to dance, to stay busy walking and playing and she loves when we read to her. She still doesn't sleep through the night and she will get very upset if you tell her "no".  We get through all of that somehow & feel so lucky to have our little girl!

Some of my memorable moments from Zara's 14th month:

I was joking around and doing some yoga poses in the living room one night & Zara tried her best to copy. She got on the ground and scooted on her belly. Not at terrible first attempt at a downward- facing dog!

When I tell her shhh! she does it right back.

This one (thankfully) didn't last long, but there were several days she enjoyed spitting out her milk or food after taking in a mouthful.

When my closet is open, Zara grabs all of my jewelry. I finally organized it to help with this and accidentally left one giant, stupid ring out and Zara found it (of course). She put it in her mouth and ran away from me so fast and she was laughing so hard. When I caught her and took the ring, she cried as hard as she had laughed. I know it was dangerous(& that part is not funny), but I'll never forget how silly and joyful she looked when she ran away with that ring in her mouth.

Zara has been making animal noises, she especially loves to sound like an owl. Books about animals are her favorite ever. Her other favorite animal noises: snake, wolf & dog.

Z doesn't get jealous of other kids, but she is very jealous if me and Jonas are hugging or sitting together. She comes right over to wedge herself between us.

Z is constantly carrying stuffed animals, lining them up, placing them in corners, having me wrap them in blankets, put diapers on them, hold them like a baby. It is SO cute.

She loves to hold her blankets and grabs one when she is tired or does not feel well.

She loves when Papa calls on the phone. She gets excited and talks to him and waves at the phone and looks toward the door for him. She also loves to talk on her play phone or one of ours. Or she wants us to talk on the phone for her.

Z is trying to talk and will sometimes be in the mood to imitate words. She said "Ara" when I asked her to say her name. She also says "whoa" and "kitty".

Wrapping up dolls or stuffed animals in blankets is SO IN right now.

She loves to sit on the vents with some blankets and toys around her. She walks around playing and doing her own thing sometimes and really doesn't want to be bothered. haha.

She brings my shoes and socks to me and tries to put them on my feet.

Says "ahhhhhh" after drinking water. It cracks us up.

A couple weeks ago, I asked for a hug and she came to give me one in the middle of playing. It was so sweet.

My cousin gave her a toy with slots for shapes. She adores it and we put a lot of shapes away. Hopefully she will remember our talks about them.

Z eats radishes like they are going out of style.

We started a program with the library to read 1,000 books before kindergarten. You can count the same book every time you read it, but I really cannot keep track of how many times we read some of her favorites. & we usually read every book at least twice. I am really excited about this, I am keeping a list of the books we read. It will be so cool to look back at all the books we have read together. Right now, Zara loves lift- a- flap books and animal books. & when we make embarrassing animal noises.

Z's sweet voice talking all day. 

Always saying "whoaaaa" when we pass by a Valentine's display::

Zara has mastered fake cries and that look she gives me when she knows she shouldn't do something, she knows I see her doing it & she does it anyway. I love this stage. It was a wonderful month!

la vie en rose.

The things that made it a happy weekend:

Sharing a black bean burger & chocolate torte with my baby girl.
Sleeping in.
A morning run with Zara in the 17 degree weather(mostly it felt good to get it done).
Feeling fit enough to take a mirror selfie(no, my mirror is not that dirty. It is just this old one that will not come clean.)
Playing with Zara. We had a lot of fun. 
Working on a buffet for the dining room. I am not great with projects, so we shall see.
Finishing Call The Midwife (the first book) & starting 1984.
el taco luchador with my family.
Wearing a floral dress to channel Spring.
Keeping the doors and windows open while we played on the porch and listened to music.
Porch swinging.
Church.
Wine braised beef. I adore my dutch oven.
A stroll around the neighborhood.
& writing in my journal.