First up, we have our local St. Patrick's Day parade! This was the first parade we've taken Zooey to where she really knew what was going on. It was quite a momentous event.

And this is what she was so excited about.

And here was MY favorite part of the parade. Pretty clever, guys.

Most days we let Zooey pick out her own outfits, so sometimes she looks like this.

Other days she transforms into Ms. Fancy-Fancy. (Notice she's actually wearing TWO skirts here. Because sometimes just one foofy princess skirt isn't enough.)

Collecting Easter eggs in the back yard. Plus, candy! Sweet, sweet nectar.

This past week Zooey's Uncle Ryan came up from Austin to visit, and he brought her a fabulous pink and purple bike with training wheels. She was super-stoked about it. She went pretty slowly at first, but it wasn't long before she was cruising around and doing turns on a dime. Thanks, Uncle Ryan!

And lastly, here's what happened on our last trip to Target.

Zooey: (putting on mask) I'm Superman!!

Me: Not exactly, honey. :)

Three. Years. Old.

Unbelievable.

Zooey turned three on Tuesday, but we held her party on Sunday afternoon so that our out-of-town relatives could make it. As you can tell, it was a Caillou-themed party. This is because Caillou is Zooey's favorite fictional character in the entire universe (as well as all other possible universes). We had a personalized Caillou banner, Caillou cups and plates, an adorable Caillou t-shirt (which you will see very soon), and an appropriately themed cake made by yours truly. The girl was beside herself with excitement. The presents were just the cherry on top.

Here she is waiting oh-so-patiently for the guests to arrive.

Check out the fabulous party outfit!

The cake! Yes, I did make it. I couldn't find a Caillou cake pan anywhere (and I even consulted the INTERNET!), so I baked it in a star-shaped pan instead, iced it, and then placed an edible cake topper in the center. I then piped the yellow border and dropped the sprinkles on. It was quite a hit.

Opening presents with characteristic whimsy and flair.

Does it look like she's strangling Clifford here? Kinda looks like she's strangling Clifford.

And......roller skates!! This may have been the big winner of the day, and it came to us courtesy of Grandma and Papa Joe.

Exhibit A. I should add that she picked this up incredibly quickly. We all anticipated a pretty steep learning curve, but she must have better balance than either Nick or myself because within a few minutes she was cruising around, going from carpet to wood surface and back again. She fell a few times, but she was undeterred. I was very impressed.

Here she's wearing the floppy Tom Petty birthday hat and playing with an awesome Uno barn game that my mom and dad got for her.

...And now we've switched to the Viking helmet, "for safety."

Just in time, too.

Playing cards with Aunt Laurie.

Grandpa, Clifford, and Papa Joe chilling on the couch.

Our little roller derby queen.

Here are a few shots from her birthday proper.

I let her choose her own outfit that morning, so we got a striped hoodie, her party skirt, the birthday hat, and a panda backpack. Two words: fashion icon.

Thanks to everyone for making Zooey's birthday so special!

So the night before Christmas, my parents came over for our traditional dinner of cheese, crackers, and Chex Mix. (It's delicious, don't judge.)

Afterwards, we descended on the tree and let Zooey open her presents. What she's got here is a great drawing board with a magnetic pen.

The second gift was this little baby doll. When Nick took it out of the package he forgot to remove one of the strings on the back, so Zooey thought it was an ornament and immediately hung it on the tree.

This is an awesome floor keyboard that was given to Zooey by her Mamow and Peepaw. (Remember the one in the movie Big? It's like a home-sized version of that.) It's got different settings so the keys can sound like different instruments. Super cool.

Playing with several toys at once. And why not? It's as decadent as the late-era Roman Empire around here.

And checking herself out (with Penguin) in the Christmas photo.

Christmas! Christmas Christmas Christmas! The big day finally arrived, and with it came an insane amount of enthusiasm from a certain little girl we know. First thing in the morning the three of us had a gift exchange in our jammies. Here's Zooey opening The Snowy Day, one of my favorite books from when I was little.

Then we went over to Grandma and Papa Joe's house. Here's Zooey having a chat with Grandma and Boo Boo. (Grandma and Papa Joe are in the process of moving, so that's why there's a bit of clutter in the background.)

This is the first of two tea party sets Zooey received. She used the container for this one as a watering can and went back and forth across the living room pretending to water the furniture. Pretty cute.

And then she got this sweet Razor mini-scooter, which she proceeded to race around the house for a couple of hours. I was amazed how quickly she caught onto this! She'll have a motorcycle within the year, I just know it.

Both Daddy and daughter fascinated by the train.

And here we're having a milk party (she insisted on pouring milk instead of tea) with Grandma and Penguin.

By this point, it was becoming obvious that both Zooey and I were coming down with colds, so when we came back to Lawrence we only went over to my mom's house for a few minutes. While we were there, though, Zooey received this awesome homemade pillow from my talented Aunt Judy. Check it out! It's covered with penguins! Aunt Judy also made the adorable apron she's wearing.

Zooey was SO excited about this pillow. Here are a couple of shots of her cuddling up with the fabulous penguin pillow.

This is the first year that Zooey has really understood what was going on with the Christmas decorations, traditions, etc., and she has been extremely excited about all of it. First of all, we set up an advent calendar in the living room, which dispenses toy frogs and bouncy balls and chocolates and the like. Zooey likes to go over to it about 40 times a day, asking us if she can open another window, at which point we have to explain that the Advent Monster only visits once a day (not true) and that the other slots are empty until the day they are opened (they're actually all full now...don't tell her, please). We also introduced her to the idea of Santa, although I'm not sure she fully grasped the concept. I suspect she's thinking of him as some kind of tv character like Caillou or Cookie Monster. (And for some reason she seems to think that a visit to Santa consists of driving a fire truck.) And then, of course, there's the obligatory Christmas tree. She was SO excited about the tree. Her shrieks of delight while we set it up began at a normal pitch but ended up in a whole crazy register that Nick and I could no longer hear because we're old or possibly because we're not dogs.

She had actually calmed down a bit by the time we took these pictures, but believe me, the crazy glint is still there in her eye. Oh yes, it's still there.

Taking a break from putting up ornaments to hang out with Daddy (and the Grover puppet).

In other news: last Saturday we took Zooey to the local library to check out a book for the first time. We went to the children's section, naturally, and she rifled around in the board book bins until she found one she liked. She ended up selecting "The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites." I think it's a solid choice.

Right away she adopted the slouchy, don't-bug-me-I'm-reading posture. Doesn't she look like a moody teenager here? I'm thinking of starting her on The Hunger Games next.

We took Zooey downtown this weekend for the annual trick-or-treating extravaganza. The merchants stand outside and hand out candy, and the kids go from shop to shop until they have a veritable mountain of candy in their bags. This was the first year that Zooey was really aware of what was going on. Especially the principle of "Say slogan, receive candy."

Here she is, practically beside herself, and we haven't even gotten out of the house yet. ("Costume!! Candy!! Costume!!")

She makes for a very scary (and fabulous!) werewolf.

I love this one. By the way, Nick took all of these pictures, so if you're wondering why the quality is so much better than usual, that'd be why!

She was intensely interested in the other trick-or-treaters. Thankfully, she wasn't quite old enough to be spooked by some of the freakier costumes. (This is Lawrence, after all. Freaky is our bread and butter.)

Scoping out the candy haul.

At one point Zooey bolted from the line and made a beeline for this merry-go-round. We kept trying to lure her away with the promise of more candy, but she would not be deterred until she had ridden each one of the horses.

This last one's kind of blurry, but I'm including it to show what the full outfit looks like. The big red bow up by the ear? I sewed that on. Also the heart patch on the knee. Cause werewolves can be fancy, too.

Today, Zooey and I met up with my good friend Susan for a quick visit to her sister's farm (thanks, Julie!). Zooey has been to petting zoos before, but she's never been in close proximity to either cows or chickens. Here, she encountered both. These pictures can't begin to depict her excitement about this adventure, but if you imagine a two-and-a-half-year-old freebasing cocaine and watching SpongeBob, you might get somewhere near the level of enthusiasm on display here.

Here's Zooey with the eggs we collected from the coop. We even got to bring some of them home! Mmm, farm-fresh eggs.

Zooey tried her best to befriend Winston (the rooster by the fence) and his ladies, but for the most part they kept their distance. Not that she minded. Just after this photo was taken, she started flapping her arms like a chicken and jumping up and down like a crazy person. Hilarious.

And what farm is complete without a bunch of friendly dogs? Zooey really wants one of her own, but Nick has a rule that there can only be one non-potty-trained person or animal in the house at a time. Good rule, I think.

P.S. Please ignore the gray spot on the wall. We were just testing paint colors. As for the red marks beneath it, they are of course crayon and are courtesy of the same little lady who's sitting so demurely on the bench.

Here are some belated pictures from Zooey's first real Easter celebration. We bought some of those individually wrapped candy eggs, tossed them haphazardly around the yard (we didn't really HIDE any of them, per se), and then handed her a basket with which to retrieve them. She was thrilled about the whole thing, and that was before she figured out there was candy inside. Mmmm...sweet sweet candy. Truth be told, we let her have a few too many of those eggs, and before long she was zipping around the house so fast all we could see was a purple blur and the flick of flying ponytails. It was at least dinner time before she crashed. We were driving to the restaurant, and we turned around to see Zooey sitting in her car seat, staring at her hands like she'd never seen them before, like she was saying, "DUDE, have you seen these things? They're huge!!" Very, very funny.

So this past Sunday we had a fabulous dinosaur party in honor of Zooey's 2nd birthday. (Two years, already! How did that happen?) We had cake and presents and yummy Wheat State Pizza, and Zooey was just absolutely thrilled with all the attention. Here are some choice shots from the occasion.

This is a dinosaur hoodie I sewed for our little Zooeysaurus.

Part of the birthday display. Notice the phalanx of tiny dinosaurs arranged along the ledge.

Zooey has totally figured out how this present thing works. Here she is opening a Sit 'N Spin that Grandma Janelle and Papa Joe got for her. (I know! SIt 'N Spins! Cue the collective nostalgia flashback!)

Zooey playing blocks with Grandma Jan and Grandma Janelle.

Zooey prowling the earth in the Land Before Time. Watch out for that comet!

Zooeysaurus enjoying the Sit 'N Spin.

Part 2.

Here's the cake I made for the party. It took FOREVER to decorate (my pinky finger developed a spectacular blister), but it was worth it to see her face when she saw it. Also, it was yummy.

Taking some time to color with Grandma Janelle. Notice that very few of the crayons are in one piece?

Lastly, here's a picture I shot tonight, on Zooey's birthday proper.

Happy Birthday, Zooeysaurus! We love you.

Christmas season photos! Yay!!!

Here's Zooey wearing Mommy's blazer, looking very hip and telling everyone all about how she liked Arcade Fire's early stuff better. Pass the PBR, please.

And here she is in a fabulous scarf, classing up the joint.

We always open presents with my folks on Christmas Eve, then spend Christmas morning with Nick's family. Here's a super-cool cat keyboard that Mamo and Papo (Grandma and Grandpa) Vaughn got for her. She loves to mash the keys and chatter into the microphone.

Next up was the obligatory Cozy Coupe, which Zooey insisted on sitting in while it was being assembled. Not terribly patient, this one.

Too. Much. Sugar.

This is Christmas morning at Mamo Janelle and Papa Joe's house. It was amazing how quickly she worked out the whole gift-opening process.

A baby MP3 player thingie.

And lastly, it's the awesome Chicken Dance Elmo. As you might guess, he does the chicken dance.

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

This weekend we took Zooey to a place called Shear Madness to get her very first haircut. They had these great car and truck chairs for the kids to sit in (although Zooey refused to sit down in hers), and there were little tv screens at each station, showing Thomas the Tank Engine and such. Pretty cool. We got the classic "first haircut" package, which included before-and-after pictures, a certificate of bravery, and a lock of hair preserved in a little baggie for posterity.

Zooey was a bit upset at the beginning (you can tell by her expression in the video), but overall I think it went well. And the nice lady even gave her a cute little braid, which is something I've never ONCE gotten her to hold still for.

Here's the Halloween video, such as it is. I had a whole ambitious vision in mind, complete with choreography and...you know....a toddler who was facing the camera. But we had fun (and cookies!) so it was all good.

Also, this was Zooey's first year trick-or-treating, so we took her downtown to participate in the annual candy give-away by local businesses. She was a little overwhelmed (she kept plopping down in the middle of the sidewalk), and we left pretty quickly, but boy howdy did she appreciate the candy.

Here are a few random shots of Zooey playing in her room. The adorable smock was sewn for her by our talented friend Mary Ann.

Zooey wearing her Thing 1/Thing 2 hat.

Hanging out in overalls.

This is an old Princess Leia doll I found at the bottom of a box of my childhood things. The red goo on her neck is actually residue from a balloon, which I apparently wrapped around the doll for extra decoration. It . . . um . . . melted onto the doll.

Zooey's first newspaper hat.

Here's Zooey at my Grandma's 90th birthday party. Zooey's on the right. On the left are my cousin Debra's kids, Landen and Kendra. My cousin Sharon is in the background.

Zooey playing with Landen.

Crashing out on the car ride home.

A few weeks ago it rained. And rained. And then it rained some more. Over the course of the storm we made a discovery in the back yard: a new river! If it returns we may have to give it a name. The Miskatonic River, perhaps?

Here's Miss Zooey's first trip to the baby pool. Lauren Bacall, eat your heart out.

Playing with the fountains in the pool.

And finally, here are a couple of shots of Zooey at the State Fair petting zoo. She was unimpressed.

... as described above.

I have been remiss with my postings lately, so forgive me if I include a few more pictures than usual in this entry. There are just so many great ones, and apparently I do not have the ability to choose between them! So first up, here are a few shots of Zooey being extremely excited about a balloon.

And another one.

And another one. Could anything be better than this balloon?

Here's Zooey enjoying the new little playhouse Grandma Janelle and Grandpa Joe got her.

This makes me think of a very short pirate carrying a cutlass in his mouth.

Zooey wandering around on the driveway.

Here she is looking slightly wistful in her floral jumper.

We recently found a box of my old ballet costumes, so we thought it'd be fun to let Zooey try some of them on. We thought it was adorable, but she seemed somewhat dubious about the whole endeavor.

Here's Zooey wearing a beautiful little dress that my talented friend Mary Ann sewed for her.

And here she has somehow managed to get it down around her waist. Good job, honey!

Smile!

We got the official ok to switch the car seat from rear-facing to a forward-facing position. This means we can look back and see her while we're driving, and more importantly, she can see us. Here she is trying out the new set-up.

Happy April! Here are some recent and rather random pictures from our household.

Last fall we planted some flowers at our new house, and this past Thursday we saw our first daffodil come up! I'm so proud of us.

Lately, Zooey has started doing a thing where she has to examine and test the properties of all the objects around her. Step 1: Grab the object and/or substance and smoosh it around between the fingers....

Step 2: Put substance and/or object in the mouth.

Motorcycle!!

Still excited from the "ride" on Daddy's motorcycle.

Zooey in her Easter dress and floppy hat.

Here's another example of Zooey's new world investigation technique. Yes, she's tasting a rock.

Zooey pulling an Annie Oakley.

I came upon this lovely sight shortly after getting Zooey up this morning. I went to the kitchen to get some juice, and when I came back, more than half this box of Kleenexes had been emptied.

And lastly, here's a picture of Zooey being adorably sleepy.

We took this video a few weekends ago when it was gorgeous outside and the birds were chirping and spring was shouting "howdy!" from around the corner.

Last weekend it snowed five inches. Sigh.

Also . . .

I promised our friend Jeff I'd make a big old cookie burger out of the dough we ordered from his daughter, Natalie. Looks . . . appetizing. Right? Doesn't it?

Woohoo! Zooey turned 1 year old today!! Here are some photos from the family party we had today. She did pretty well...she was in a pleasant mood the whole time and didn't get cranky until after the guests left, which, in my opinion, shows great consideration and maturity.

Below: Zooey is chatting with Grandma Janelle.

Here's the robot "cake," which is actually assembled from a bunch of cupcakes and iced repeatedly to fill in the gaps. It turned out reasonably well, I think, except for a slightly disjointed shoulder joint which I couldn't seem to do anything about. I figure he's one of those post-apocalyptic robots who got injured fighting a band of psychotic oil thieves. Oh, the things he's seen, man. The things he's seen.

Here's the whole table set-up. (Thanks to Aunt Emily for the awesome robot plate! She must be psychic because I'm pretty sure I never told her the theme of the party.)

Zooey with her very first present, a little velvety car that her dad and I got for her. She hasn't figured out the rolling part yet, but she likes to chew on the wheels.

Zooey and her stash.

And now the obligatory birthday cake event. Here's Zooey eagerly awaiting her dessert.

...and here she is halfway through the cupcake...

...and here she is afterwards. Notice the blue fingers and the glazed expression. Sugar rush in 3....2.....1.....

She then had the energy to ride this sweet rocker and giggle for about 30 minutes.

From left to right, Grandma Jan, Grandpa Jerry, Zooey, Grandma Janelle, and Papa Joe.

Taking a minute to pose with Mommy.

Guess who just graduated to the Big Girl Bath? And yes, she's still wearing her Transformers party hat.

That's three tiny steps for Zooey, one giant leap for . . . um . . . Zooeykind.

(Cue confetti)

So I've fallen behind a bit on the holiday photos. I posted Thanksgiving photos on Christmas, and now, several weeks after the start of the new year, I'm posting our Christmas-related photos. The best I can say is, sorry about that. Looking after a baby is exhausting, and most evenings I'd just rather play Dragon Age: Origins than mess around on the computer.

So yeah. Anyway, here are some fun holiday pictures, yo, beginning with this cool one of Zooey having a conversation with her Great Grandma Vaughn.

Here's Zooey in the high chair at Grandma Jan's and Grandpa Jerry's house, waiting for the Christmas grub and for the eggnog that, sadly, would never arrive.

Hanging out with Grandpa Jerry on Christmas Eve.

And opening presents. "Hooray, this is just what I wanted!"

At home with her stocking and the toys that came in it.

Here's one at Grandma Janelle's and Papa Joe's house. This present must have seemed like a mountain to Zooey.

Between presents, with bow.

Here's one with the fabulous rocking horse that Papa Joe picked out for Zooey. I have a feeling she's going to LOVE this when she gets a bit older.

"Thanks, Great Aunt Sheryl!"

All decked out at Grandma and Grandpa Vaughn's house.

None of these presents can compare with the simple bliss of Grandpa's watch.

Here are a couple of shots of Zooey wearing a gorgeous poncho knit by my Aunt Judy.

Here's a good one showing the poncho from the back. See the adorable hood?

This has nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas, but I'm including it because it's awesome. Over the holidays we paid a visit to our local Habitat Restore place, and in the back was this fabulous door, set in a frame just like in Monsters Inc. It made me want to buy it and put it in my house just the way it is pictured, only with the addition of a few pink flower decals, like in the movie.

The Family in Black. Here we all are in our Johnny Cash shirts, because when it comes down to it, we're all walking the line. (Except for the baby. She can't walk yet.)

And now the last one. Have you ever eaten so much that you just couldn't stay awake any longer? I know someone who has.

Okay, so not all of these are strictly HOLIDAY pictures, but sue me. They're cute.

Here's one from a few weeks ago. Seems like every time I try to snap a picture, Miss Z makes a beeline for the camera.

We thought it'd be fun to let Zooey play with one of the saucepans, so she'd have something to do while Mommy and Daddy were preparing meals. Guess what she did with it, first thing? Hmm...it's shiny...it must be a hat!

This is just a cute picture of Zooey wearing a corduroy jumper that my Aunt Judy made for me when I was a baby (*sniff, sniff). Still looks gorgeous!

Here is Zooey on Turkey Day eagerly awaiting her food. This was shortly before she ejected her pureed turkey dinner out through her nostrils. Ouch!

Zooey tickling the ivories (with a little help) on Turkey Day.

These days, the old way of carrying around a pacifier just won't do. Now is the time for innovation. Now is the time to think outside the box.

Here's Zooey balancing upright. And with the striped pants, doesn't the coat look a bit like a flamboyant pimp coat? All she needs is a jewel-encrusted cane.

Helping Daddy wrap presents. We call this one, "I love it when a plan comes together."

Here's Miss Z trying out the rocking horse my Uncle Joe made for me when I was a kid. Still in working order, apparently!

Yes, she does have a proper bathtub. But it's so much cuter to see her in the sink. So there.

This happened about half an hour ago, and already she's done it three or four more times. It's like something just clicked in her brain. ("What, this crawling thing? Yeah, that's no big deal.")

Woohoo! This past Saturday we moved into a new domicile! Here are some random shots from The Big Day.

The front of the house.

Saying goodbye to the old place.

My friend Laurie came by to watch Zooey.

Mike and Maddi occupying themselves with my Guitar Hero: Metallica game, while their dad helps unload the truck.

View of the dining area and kitchen. We will be painting the walls a lighter color as soon as we get a chance.

Living room. Sorry for the clutter, but it IS moving day.

Zooey entertaining herself with her laptop.

Master bathroom.

This is the view from our bathroom window.

This little staircase takes you up and out to the patio/back yard area. We're planning on using it as a decontamination zone for when Zooey gets big enough to make mud angels in the yard.

I love this yard! However, Nick and I have spent the past several afternoons mowing, edging, ripping dead plants out of the garden, etc., and I have come to a conclusion. Yard. Work. Sucks.

Back view of house with patio for grillin' and such.

Here's Zooey in her new room, sitting in the rocking chair her dad used when he was a baby.

Zooey's bathroom.

Check out that bookshelf. My God, it's full of...dust!

Here's a shot of Zooey's ladybug room. The gorgeous quilt on the side of the crib was made for her by my Aunt Sally. And yes, those ARE movie posters on the wall (A Clockwork Orange and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, respectively). Is that weird?

The other side of the ladybug room.

First night in the new house! Zooey seems to be a tad excited about her new room.

This past Friday was Zooey's 6-month birthday. I can hardly believe it's been so long! Seems like just yesterday we were bringing home a teeny-tiny bundle of babyness wearing a tomato hat.

Just this weekend, Zooey began to talk....and talk....and talk....and talk. What exactly is she saying? Is she waxing philosophical about the emergence of online media? Is she perhaps expressing her dismay at the current state of our political discourse? Who knows. All I can say is that it's pretty entertaining stuff. Just take a listen!

This weekend Nick and I took Zooey to the park for her first ride on a swing. She seemed to enjoy it, especially when Nick pushed her ever so slightly and she got to feel the breeze flowing through her wispy hair. (FYI: Mama is just outside the frame, waiting to spring into action should the need arise.)

Here she is looking casual and carefree.

Awww...this picture makes Mama's heart go melty-melty.

"Hmm...did I forget to turn the stove off?"

Looking a bit wistful here (perhaps thinking of the late John Hughes).

And this is Zooey playing with the Punk Rock Sheldon turtle that her daddy knitted for her. Cute, huh?

This beautiful tree sculpture is on the northeast side of the KU campus. It was designed by the artist Patrick Dougherty and was constructed using silver maple and dogwood saplings from sustainable populations west of Lawrence.

Peekaboo!

Oooh, more camera time!

Here's Zooey playing with her new play center.

And her new exersaucer...

And sitting in the big girl chair!

She can also stand, with a little help from Daddy.

And here's a little more Tummy Time. This is my favorite of her pajama outfits.

Whenever she wears it I always have to sing:

"There ain't no lemons on me,

There ain't no lemons on me,

There may be lemons on some Gene Simmons

But there ain't no lemons on me!!

Which is of course silly, since there's nothing BUT lemons on her outfit. But you know me. Ceci n'est pas une pipe.

Here's why.

In honor of Zooey's 4-month birthday, here's a video of the little lady rocking out to some mid-80s Austrian pop goodness. You know you want to sing along.

My good friend Thomas was in town this weekend, along with his wife Colleen and his very handsome son Christopher. We took advantage of their presence and had ourselves a little Baker University reunion. Food! Toys! Moderate destruction! It was just like old times (except, you know, for the offspring). Here are some photos of the occasion.

Below is Thomas with Christopher. In the foreground is Emily's son Cooper, who is taking a picture of me while I take a picture of him.

This is a picture of Christopher meeting Zooey for the first time.

Nick, Zooey, and Michael.

Michael's son Parker is in the Cozy Coupe. Behind is Thomas playing with Christopher.

Alan and Kristen on the sofa. Emily sitting with Cooper, and Nick sitting with Zooey.

And finally, here are a couple of photos taken of Zooey in the outfit that my talented friend Mary Ann made for her.

Karate kick!

As the title indicates, here's a collection of random photos taken over the past few weeks.

First up is my latest project, the Octopus's Garden jacket. I used green and white damask fabric and cut out an octopus shape that I had drawn out. I then applied fusible web paper to the back, heated it until it was attached, and stitched it all on with light blue contrast thread. And added button eyes, natch.

I love this picture of Zooey playing with her daddy.

Mere moments after this photo was taken, the truck unhinged its jaw and devoured the little sedan beside it. Seriously.

"Oh noes! More pictures of me!"

Cute baby, cute dress, nuff said.

I ordered this charm on Etsy (an online crafts bazaar). Remember the evil robot Maximilian from Disney's "The Black Hole"? This is him! Isn't he the coolest?

And last but not least, more Tummy Time!

Last week my mom and I took Zooey to the Bloch Building, which is the newest addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in downtown KC. We learned several things on this trip. First, Zooey has a teeny tiny bladder. Second, Zooey really likes contemporary art, especially the work of George Segal. And third, Zooey does not care for the 16th-19th century Indian paintings we looked at (apparently the detail is too fine and no one provided her with a magnifying glass). All in all she did pretty well, and we're hoping we can take her back when she's older.

Here we are by the Thinker, hoping to tune in to his very profound thoughts. (Fire power.)

This is the inside of the Bloch Building. As you can see, the design is really beautiful and the windows are placed so that the interior is absolutely full of light.

Here's my mom holding Zooey beside a bronze statue that we befriended.

Other recent developments in our lives include . . . a fabulous new table! (Zooey's wardrobe was provided by Mama, who can't seem to stop making cutesy applique designs for her little one.)

"Punk Rock Girl, give me a chance

Let's go slamdance, we'll dress like Minnie Pearl

Just you and me, Punk Rock Girl."

Here's Zooey in the bath . . .

And on her tummy . . .

And with her pacifier . . .

For Memorial Day, we took a family trip to the playground and helped Zooey play on the equipment.

Here she is licking the snozzberries on her shirt.

And here she is again, just looking adorable. Does she really need to do anything beyond that?

Guten tag! Here are some photos from my first Mother's Day, as well as a few stragglers that I just thought were cute. FYI: Mother's Day this year was on the same day as our anniversary (my "mom-aversary" as Nick says), so, as we do every year, we went out to Clinton lake and had a wee picnic on the spot where Nick proposed to me. You can see that the weather contributed to the romance by providing a healthy dose of coldness and drizzling rain.

So here we go.

Below, you'll see Nick offering Zooey a sip of his soda. (She politely declined, opting instead for her usual beverage, which was conveniently on tap.)

This photograph was taken mere moments before a massive poop. Maybe you can tell by her expression?

As you can see in this picture, Zooey has started drooling quite a bit recently. I'm really hoping this doesn't mean she is about to begin teething. (Apparently I started teething at about 6 weeks, so there is genetic precedent.)

Try as she might, she just can't keep her eyes away from the food source. "Zooey, honey, my eyes are up HERE."

Trying . . . and failing . . . to get her to look at the camera.

Still trying . . . .

Zooey looking cute as she attempts to devour her hand. As a side note, you know what I think of every time she does this? That painting by Goya where Saturn eats his kids for breakfast. I'd link to it, but . . . well, you know. Kinda gross.

I made this monster applique and sewed it onto a onesie while I was pregnant. Now, finally, she can fit into the thing.

And finally, here I am reading to Zooey from the Brown Bear book that Aunt Emily got for us. Yay!

Lately, our little Zooey has been associating with some rather notorious characters. Just this past week, for example, I've observed her chatting with Che Guevara . . .

Cavorting with Cthulhu . . .

Fraternizing with the Fett . . .

And . . . um . . .

playing with Nick.

So it turns out there was a traveling NASA exhibit on the KU campus today. The main attraction? A moon rock brought back by Capt. Ron Evans (KU's first astronaut) aboard Apollo 17. The moon rock is an estimated 3 billion years old, and we were allowed to touch it. How. Freakin'. Cool. Is. That?

Naturally, we brought you-know-who to see the thing. Here's a photo of Zooey walking on the moon (rock).

After you touched the moon rock, there was a little kiosk set up where you could have your picture taken, and it would print out a photo that made it look as though you were wearing a spacesuit.

Yes. We are huge dorks.

The following are just some random photos from the past few days:

1. A pretty purple dress.

2. Doesn't this outfit make her look like the little boy from Labyrinth? (You remind me of the babe...What babe?..The babe with the power...)

3. Zooey's finally big enough to fit into the cloth diaper set we bought her. The result is a little bulky, but overall not too bad at all.

4. Cute daisy dress. Enough said.

5. Sittin' pretty in the papasan chair.

6. And finally, here are four generations of our family: my dad, me, Zooey, and Grandma Vaughn.

Nick also posted a lovely picture of Zooey on his site tonight. You can check it out here.

Here's Zooey in her menagerie. Does this remind anyone else of that famous scene from E.T.?

The kimono set she's wearing in this picture was originally intended for the trip home from the hospital. (The tag even said "a take-me-home" outfit, or some such.) A month old and several pounds heavier, she's finally big enough to wear it! Yay!

AWS -- Adorable While Sleeping.

Here she is looking a bit like Elton John.

Tummy Time with Daddy. And no, there's nothing wrong with Zooey's legs here . . . she's just doing her usual froggie imitation.

And finally, my favorite: the requisite boppy picture.

Here's Zooey "enjoying" her first ever parade. (Don't worry, we put the canopy back over her as soon as the picture was taken. Two weeks is a bit early for a first sunburn, and anyway you know how those newborns can be real divas when it comes to their skin.)

This float wins the cookie! Behold, a worthy tribute to one of my favorite movies of all time.

What do these guys do? Apparently they scoop poop.

In case you can't tell, these young women are doing the "Thriller" dance in full zombie regalia.

Kids on unicycles!

Here's Dorothy, looking a bit mannish.

This parade brought to you by...um...green paint.

Asteroid Head Art Club. Why do these guys make me think of "City of Lost Children"?

Asteroid head up close.

Still more asteroid heads, with wagon.

And speaking of artistic expression, here's an original design of Zooey's. The subject matter is unconventional (a bird, maybe?), and you may notice she has used spit-up as a medium. That's our clever girl.

Power napping with Daddy.

As you might guess, this is Zooey at exactly 1 week old.

Baby's first trip out to a restaurant (Spangles).

Zooey asleep in striped pajamas.

And here, posing with Daddy's newest acquisition from the Yarn Barn.

Take a look at our lovely Miss Zooey Elizabeth (named after the Salinger book). She was born February 28, 2009, at 6 pm, and weighed 6 lbs, 10 oz.

Here's Baby Zooey in the hospital.

Nick and Zooey (with the hat Nick made for her):

Nick and Zooey, part II:

And here's Baby Zooey with her birthday flowers.

More later. Very tired now.

Here are Nick's most recent projects for our little lady. (Thanks to Queequeg the Penguin for serving as model.) In order of appearance they are:

The fabulous tomato beanie

And a very pretty crown hat.

Today's Topic #1: A Holiday Song Promoting Things Both Larcenous and Unethical.

Have you ever really thought about the lyrics of "The 12 Days of Christmas"? It's pretty bizarre stuff. First of all, half of the gifts bequeathed by the narrator's True Love are birds (swans, partridges, turtle doves, etc). Everyone knows that pets make terrible presents. They require a lot of responsibility, and it's not fair to the animals in question if their owners turn out to be too flaky to take care of them. The other half of the gifts from the song are people. Actual people. Are we talking about human trafficking here? How do you think the eight maids a-milking feel about being purchased for some random chick's Christmas gift? They're not thrilled, I can tell you that much. In fact, the only proper gift in the whole song is the set of five golden rings. (Even that is rather questionable. I've always suspected the rings were stolen.)

Today's Topic #2: Zombies.

A few nights ago I had another dream about zombies. This time I was in an enormous house, and there were a bunch of other people with me. We had managed to contain the zombies within the upper and lower level of the house, but of course zombies can't just be content with what they have, so they were trying to break through to where we were. We set out to fight them, arming ourselves with items from the kitchen. I killed several zombies with a small paring knife and also with one of those little pokey things that holds your corn-on-the-cob (more effective than you'd think). The interesting thing is that this is the first time I have actually fought back against zombies in a dream. Typically, I catch one glimpse of those brain junkies lumbering toward me and immediately bolt in the other direction. I guess now that I'm pregnant the stakes are higher?

Today's Topic #3: Happy New Year.

Ahem. Happy New Year.

Nick and I went for a second sonogram today to check on the baby's progress (all the growth measurements were normal). This first image shows our genteel little lady sucking her thumb (or picking her nose, we're not sure which).

This one makes it look like she's blowing smoke rings, doesn't it? Like maybe she's got a little hookah in there and she's just going to town with it? Well in reality those little bubbles are segments of the umbilical cord that's resting beside her.

Nick and I also went to childbirth classes this weekend. The highlights were as follows:

1. practice of various relaxation techniques
2. a tour of the hospital and birthing suites (they have DVD players, so I can watch Superman Returns over and over again during recovery)
3. some new terminology (e.g., baby catcher, sunny side up)
4. a series of videos featuring families with fabulous 80s hair
5. and lastly, a demonstration of childbirth using a knitted uterus as a prop (I think Nick has found his next big project)

This weekend Nick and I went out and purchased a baby stroller/car seat combo. Kinda neat, so we decided to strap Yellow Bear into it and try it out. (Yellow Bear was Nick's favorite stuffed animal as a kid.) We rolled it around the room a couple of times and Yellow Bear didn't complain, so I think we're going to deem the purchase a success.

With a little baby kicking nonstop inside my belly--(I really think she's testing it systematically for weaknesses, like a velociraptor)--I thought I'd do a little kicking of my own. This took place in the engineering building on campus. KAREN SMASH!

And afterwards . . . oh noes! What have I done!

Further updates:

Wanted is out on DVD now! Man, I loved that movie. It was just so brazenly beautifully over the top. Also, Zod is in it (you know, from Superman II?), and any movie featuring Zod is automatically Oscar-worthy.

And speaking of movies, we recently watched a movie called Machine Girl, which is essentially a Japanese grindhouse flick. Wow. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite so hilarious and bizarre. Nothing about the violence is realistic (imagine, if you will, geyser-like blood spurts emanating from severed limbs), but it's still not for the faint of heart. Tarantino only wishes he could be this hardcore.

Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, I love hot chocolate again! More Chocolate-Cinnamon Delight, please.

What does music sound like to a fetus? It has to be fairly muffled, like listening to the car radio when you're curled up in the trunk. Sometimes I like to imagine our little girl as a miniature blues singer with a harmonica. Or maybe a Johnny Cash clone, whiling away the time in her hide-out until she can emerge and make her musical mark on the world:

I hear the heart a'beatin,'

It's comin' 'round the bend,

And I ain't seen the sunshine

Since I don't know when.

I'm stuck in Karen's belly,

And time keeps draggin' on . . .

I've heard it's good to sing to the fetus, so I've been doing that at least a couple of times a day. I also play the requisite classical tunes (more Beethoven, less Mozart), as well as a healthy dose of Bjork, Neko Case, The Decemberists, Jeff Buckley, Leadbelly, Tom Waits, and the soundtrack for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Oh, and I've been playing her a lot of college radio lately so that she can get a good background in some of the lesser-known indie bands. So begins the slow indoctrination into wannabe hipster culture. (Maybe she can get through that insufferably pretentious, just-discovered-Plato's-Allegory-of-the-Cave phase while she's still a toddler. Wouldn't that be awesome?)

So, anybody have any musical recommendations?

Here are some freaky eyeball sugar cookies I made for Halloween. In case you're wondering, the irises are Life Savers and the pupils are chocolate chips. Yummy + terrifying = perfect.

Being a fetus is no excuse for not wearing a costume. With that in mind, here is our little girl dressed up as Rogue from the X-Men. She got her first trick-or-treat candy from the generous staff at Spangles. Thanks, guys!

Here is a closer view of her costume.

Yep, we had a great time taking the baby out on her first Halloween outing. In the evening we went on something called the Haunted Haskell tour, which was a flashlight tour of the places on Haskell University's campus where ghosties and other specters have supposedly been seen. We didn't see the dead janitor or the red floating orb, but we did see a guy in a very convincing Teen Wolf costume. Oh, and there was also a guy wearing an Obama mask who charged toward us shouting "VOTE FOR ME NEXT TUESDAY!"

All in all, a ghoulish good time.

For anyone interested, here's a video of the newest member of the family. The subject is currently in beta testing, with a scheduled release date of late February/early March.

Oh, and in case you can't tell (what, you're not a lab technician?), it's a baby girl.

One day I went outside, absolutely convinced that there was some kind of decomposing plant matter nearby. I could smell it everywhere, pungent and rotten-smelling. But when I dragged Nick out to verify it, he wasn't able to smell anything at all.

I don't know how it's possible to be this overheated all of the time. Sometimes my face feels like the Nazis at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

So my body is building a home for the baby, and it's apparently doing it 24/7 based on the symptoms I've been experiencing. Don't they have unions in the uterus? Seriously. Someone's getting overworked.

Flavors are all wrong. I also have a terrible aftertaste following every meal, drink, or snack. What's with that? It's like I taste every flavor, and then I taste the haunted carnival version of the flavor. It's the same basic taste, but all sinister and unpleasant.

Wouldn't it be cool if there were educational tapes and videos that you could use to teach the baby about the world while it was still in the womb? You know, like in Superman.