Summer Fun!

We had a blast yesterday hangingout with the Riggs and Stifflemeyers! We had a pool party over at my in-laws house.. while they were away on vacation.. Zoey loved hanging out in her Bumbo chair (that thing is seriously a life saver!) and especially loved all the attention she got from maeghan, sydney, and riley! We topped off hours in the pool with a HUGE shrimp and crab boil! Such good food and friends!
Loving the shade in the bumbo chair!

Zoey and Maeghan

This week..

More smiles... she is really getting to be interactive, responding to us all the time.. its only going to get better from here!


I bought her a bumbo seat..and she LOVES it! she will sit in it and just look around.


She is becoming quite the good little sleeper (10-12 hours!).. but the other morning she woke up and was in this position.. which is exactly 180 degrees from the position i put her in..


Lastly we just got back from Panama City visiting with nana and papa.. once again no one would let her be by herself for an extended period of time.. papa LOVED sleeping with Zoey!


Zoey with her Nana and Papa... she loves them soo much!

we're expecting...

birds that is! When Gary took the dogs out last week he noticed a bird's nest in the cup holder of a folded chair.. now we have a momma bird that watches the nest everyday... we are expecting eggs to be there any day.....

Peek-a-boo Joy

Zoey was going crazy when Gary starting playing peek-a-boo...


Zoey smiling after playing peek-a-boo with her daddy...


after she was so worked up.. she fell right to sleep...

Cousins...

A couple weeks ago Kimber came up to visit and the girls FINALLY met each other.. while there wasn't much of a reaction from either.. I'm aure they will be life long friends!
The two girls.. Sam(4 months) and Zoey (2 months)


Alex, Sam, and Zoey


Kimber and Sam, Gary and Zoey

Baby talk...

Zoey has recently been talking up a storm... she definietly gets that from me as i could talk for hours about nothing... i fear for the teenage years...

New discoveries...

The past week Zoey has discovered many new things.. she found out she has a voice and loves to baby talk which eventually leads to a happy shreek! She is also starting to try to roll over.. yesterday we went to get her from her nap and she was half way rolled over, she just couldn't seem to get that other leg over her body... She has started doing "baby crunches" working out those abs.. and almost grabbing her feet...Zoey has recently discovered watching television.. I know she can't see exactly what is on, but the moving lights and blurred images have really caught her attention.. and she loves watching tv.. i knew she was our kid... this is her face when she watches...



She has also really started to enjoy her bouncer... she will stare at the animals forever... and is also starting to hit the rings.. and move around.

Name Change?

Our Blog name can now change....
as of today the Mattes name lives on...
NO not through us, are you crazy?? Zoey just started sleeping through the night... i want to enjoy that for awhile..
but Gary's cousins Josh and Courtney had a beautiful baby BOY... which means the Mattes name now has a male heir... pheww.. that takes the pressure off... now if we have another girl I won't feel as bad...

CONGRATS JOSH AND COURTNEY!!

2 Months...

I can't believe two months has already gone by.. and things are amazingly WONDERFUL! Zoey is becoming more and more interactive everyday and is getting more and more beautiful too! She is sleeping through the night (9 hours!) and is starting to get into her own little routine which is great for me! She is definitely the apple of her daddy's eye... At her doctor's appointment today she weighed in at 11 pounds 13 ounces and was 22 1/2 inches! I can't believe how big she is! We love every moment with her... even when she is screaming her head off!


This is normally how we see her...


Video for the grandparents...

To Tampa and back....

After the grandparents were missing their lil' Zoey for a whole month.. they got a plane ticket for us to come down and visit. Zoey and I made the trip down last Thursday and returned today (after being stuck in Atlanta overnight...) We had a blast hanging out with family and friends and having everyone meet Zoey for the first time. It was also nice to not really have to do much for a week or so... since everytime Zoey made a noise someone would come and get her for me... but while it was nice to see everyone in Tampa it was even better to finally be home...

Sleeping with Abuela... of course no one could let her sleep by herself...


Being entertained by Abuela #2...


Hanging out with Papa...


Finally meeting uncle Paul (the crazy uncle)...


And meeting uncle Brett (the rich uncle)... this is generally how we would find them.
(Steve the supposed "favorite uncle" was busy with work and his girlfriend for me to snap any pictures... but of course there was bonding time...)


Once again sleeping... with Nana... I don't think the child slept alone one night...


Meeting cousin Gavin... so cute all he wanted to do was give her the bottle...


Cousin Alex.. she was sooo good with her!


I just couldn't resist, these are too cute!



Zoey is getting to be so cute.. she is constantly smiling and almost laughing. All you have to do is talk to her and smile and she will smile right back! She is soo amazing, she slept EVERY minute of the flights! Everyone complemented me on how cute and well behaved she was... lets hope this continues! I love seeing what new things she is doing and reactions she has! We love our lil' girl!

A Real Dad...

A real dad does the following...

Loves his own dad...


Kisses his little girl..


Feeds his little girl..


Plays with his little girl...


Comforts his little girl...


Changes his little girl's dirty diapers...


And gets peed on by his little girl!!!


To the best daddy in the whole world! Happy Father's Day!

Summer Fun!

Thankfully grandma and pop-pop have a pool..it has been sooooo HOT here!Zoey had her first dip in the pool! She loved it! I think we have found our summer activity!

Lil' family enjoying the pool!


Living the life! It must be nice to be lounging in the pool while someone feeds you!


Yes, she feel asleep while in the pool...(unfortunately they don't make bathing suits for babies this small... so she is a little small for her bathing suit)


ps- Zoey and I will be in Tampa from 6/19 to 6/24... we would love to see you! Call my cell phone so we can see you!

Summer achievements...

While this is not the first one of these... I woke up yesterday (Gary woke up with Zoey and I got to sleep until 9:45... isn't my husband the best!) and Gary said I needed to look on the camera.. I asked if Zoey had done something cute.. he responded by telling me to look on the camera... I did and saw this...



Gary bowled a perfect "300" game on the Wii.. I think he was gloating a little bit... Congrats babe!

Some more brotherly love....

Cyrus loves his sister too...

Motherhood... enough said...

Smiles!

This is becoming a common sight around our house... especially when daddy is around!

Zoey's 1st Soccer Game...

Zoey had a new experience this week of going to daddy's soccer games. Gary's team is playing in a summer soccer league so Zoey and I have been to the games to cheer for Daddy!! Hopefully Zoey is getting used to this since soccer will be apart of our lives for quite some time. I think she likes the games especially since Jill won't put her down and gives her undivided attention for two full hours! We love Jill!

Typical sight of Jill "hogging" Zoey all to herself....

Zoey enjoying the game!

Zoey still enjoying the games... or so we think she is...

ps- the team is playing really well and so far is undefeated! woohoo! hopefully this lasts till next year!

Brother and Sister...

I was putting away the groceries and Zoey started to cry... when I walked over to see what was wrong... this is what I saw... how cute is that...


This we did.. but he actually sat there for a period of time without moving and bothering her....

Our Lil' Soccer Star... sort of..

The training has already started...

One month...

I can not believe that a month has gone by sine Zoey was born! She has changed soo much in the past month...
- She is recognizing voices, especially her daddy's
- She is starting to smile as a reaction not just gas
- She is holding her head up... and is very strong when she kicks
- She has gained over a pound and is probably close to nine pounds
- She is starting to get into a routine
- She is sleeping more than 3 hours at night.. sometimes even four!
- She is getting cuter by the minute
- She is the best thing that has ever happened and I can't believe that we made such an amazing little girl!