Zoë Calamity: The last word in little girls.

Zoë, along with her friends Naomi and Julia performed what is referred to around here as “the honey honey dance” at the Primary talent show.  The girls has a blast.

… read! She read her first book today, followed by two more. They’re beginning reader books, but books nonetheless! We’ve been doing“reading lessons” for almost 2 weeks, and she’s just soaking it in.  Go Zoe!

…write! Along with reading, we’re working on writing, and she’s doing really well. She really enjoys practicing writing her letters.

… do yoga! I got a kids yoga DVD for her, and this is what she surprised us with yesterday:

…swim! She’s started swimming lessons again, and is working on the elementary backstroke and the regular forward stroke. (She’s used to swimming without using her arms.) She’s working hard and getting better and better!

Two recent conversations with Zoe:

A dog barks outside.
Z: “That sounds like a fire dog!”
Me: “A dalmatian?”
Z: “No, I’m talking about a dog.”
Me: “Dalmatians are the kinds of dogs that fire fighters have.”
Z: “No, dalmatians are things we drive in.”
Me: “What?”
Z: “Like cars and buses and scooters and things.”
Me: “Ah, you’re thinking of transportation.”

And…
explaining this keychain to Audrey:

“Tiny, this is the story of this book. George Washington was a boy who lived in Washington DC. He LOVED to play Jazz.”

Today was Z’s last day of preschool for the year. She’s looking forward to swimming lessons and reading lessons this summer.

And here she is, pretty little thing:

Zoë is what some might call an active sleeper. On the nights when Audrey is causing a fuss and Z sleeps in our bed, I really do enjoy starting off my day by hearing her little voice say “good morning, daddy”. One thing I’m not a big fan of is her fist and feet of fury during the night. I have no idea how such a little thing can take up the entirety of a king size bed. (Granted, that sentence holds true for mother and daughter.  Last night, when I went to get in bed, here is how I found Zoë:

Once again, thanks to my new flash for helping me get this pic without waking Z

A moment of tranquility during the madness that was dinner.

Today I was at Costco and saw a pink track suit that I thought would be perfect for Zoë.  I also got in a new flash for my camera…I think you can see where this is going.

As Z would say, “I am proud to present Zoë, from W W I Z!!”

Zoe: Oh MOTHER.
Me: Excuse me?
Zoe: I said, Oh Mother.
Me: Who says that? Where did you hear it?
Zoe: It’s like Pooh bear says. But he says, “Oh Father”.
Me: No…. he says, “Oh bother”.
oe: Oh. I’m sorry.

A repost from Maryanne’s site:

My friend Stephanie just posted this picture on her blog, and I immediately asked her for a copy, because it captures the essence of Zoe like no other.

This was taken at her birthday party, as she was surrounded by her “little boys” as she calls them (”Is my little boy Ben going to be there?”), basking in the attention in which she is so at home.

Ah, I love it.

It’s been pretty hot the last couple of days so we decided to spend an afternoon at the pool. Zoë’s is such an excellent little swimmer now. She’s at the point where she can swim across the width of the pool, popping her head up to take breaths along the way. We overheard 2 other parents saying “look at that little girl swimming” to their children.

This is absolutely what I live for