2010

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.

So this past week I was at Martha's Vineyard, attending the Viable Paradise Writer's Workshop! For those unfamiliar with VP, it's basically a boot camp for writers of science fiction and fantasy, and it's taught by some of the big names in the industry. (John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear, Steven Gould, Laura Mixon, Debra Doyle, and James Macdonald, as well as Tor editors Teresa and Patrick Nielsen Hayden.) It's a veritable geekfest! There are lectures about writing as both a business and an art. There are one-on-one critiques with the instructors, wherein the student is given detailed feedback on his or her submission piece. There are impossible-seeming writing assignments that need to be completed by Thursday. It's exhausting, yes, but it's also incredibly confidence-inspiring. Once you get to Thursday afternoon and you actually have a finished story after having stayed up all night writing and rewriting it, well . . . there's just nothing like that feeling. Plus, VP only accepts about 24 students at a time, so the whole experience is really intimate and mentor-ly.

Highlights:

1. Thursday night some of us went out night swimming (well, night wading, in my case, since I didn't bring a swimsuit). There was no moon, and it was very, very dark. The Milky Way formed a huge stripe down the center of the sky. It was incredible.
2. Some of the best curry I've ever had (thanks Mac!).
3. Drinking beer and reading aloud from Twelfth Night.
4. Endless games of Thing and Mafia.
5. Bioluminescent jellyfish. Gorgeous and utterly unphotographable.

So yeah, here are some photos from my fantastic week. Enjoy!

Jeepers Creepers, where'd you get those eyes?

A gorgeous park near the Island Inn.

This sign seemed appropriate somehow. Seen in the reflection is Micah.

Ferries, ferries everywhere.

The awesome Elizabeth Bear holding court after an afternoon lecture. Also pictured: Michelle Mcguinness, Sean Patrick Kelly, Jake Kerr.

Here's a photo of the whole VP group. Look for me about halfway up, leaning against the wall.

Waiting for a lecture to begin. From left to right: Mary, San, Fade Manley, Sylvia Volk, Spencer Ellingsworth, Peter Sursi.

More waiting around before the lecture. From left to right: John Scalzi, Mary, Jessica, Sylvia, Cheryl, Spencer, Peter. Steven Gould is in the background.

Downtown Oak Bluffs.

A line of creepy Prisoner-inspired houses in Oak Bluffs.

John Scalzi being . . . well, Scalzi.

Nicole Duson playing camera tag with me. I believe she won.

San trying to keep out of the frame and failing. Muahaha!

And finally, here's a shot of Zooey after I got home. She was so excited she swiped my name tag and wore it around for the rest of the weekend. Aww....

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.

Check out this fantastic new blog layout, courtesy of my talented husband Nick. It's simple. It's clean. It's easy to navigate (I hope). You'll notice the url is different, so please update your RSS feeds, etc. Enjoy!

... 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.