my valetines...

I'm a tad late on this post, but I couldn't let it go without writing just a wee bit about our Valentine's day festivities. I had planned a special get-a-way for me and Nate, but it got pushed back just a little, which didn't really bother us at all. After all, it's just an arbitrary day to remember the ones you love! (On a side note...I don't get people that boycott Valentine's Day...yes, you should show love every day, but what's wrong with putting a day aside so it doesn't get lost in the busy-ness of life??) Nate brought home 2 bouquets...one for me and one for Zoe!

Anyhow, so Nate took his two valentines out for a fancy dinner on the 14th. Zoe was an angel (which is not always the case, believe it or not) and she sat and enjoyed dinner with us--all the while showing all the people at surrounding tables all her new tricks (waving, blowing kisses, etc.) Never a dull moment with that child!

And then this past Thursday, we finally got our night away! Ever since we first moved to Tanzania and saw a movie at was was then THE movie theater in Dar...we were enamored by the advertisements for "The Colosseum" that played before the movie started. It's this fancy-shmancy hotel with a state of the art gym and a nice pool, and plush rooms (with a/c!). So, we splurged and stayed the night. Our sweet friend Webber stayed at our house with Zoe so we could have the night away. It was fabulous...we layed by the pool and read, Nate got to watch football (soccer, that is) on the nice flat screen at the foot of the bed, we played games, had an amazing dinner, and ate ice cream in bed while we watched some awkward dumb show on MTV...(btw, when did MTV cease to be cool and start playing dumb crap all.the.time?!) Anyway, we had a wonderful time and thank you, Webber for hanging with Zoe all night!

Zoe is 1 !!!

I know, I know...I'm a bit late on this post (and everything else that has been going on). Things are a bit crazy. But first things first...my baby girl has turned ONE year old. Our 4 Hands-On Volunteers got here the day before Zoe's birthday. So, to celebrate we took her to a restaurant here in Dar where they sang "Happy Birthday" to her. It sort of freaked her out..I posted the video on Facebook. But she was happy because she got to spend her birthday with four new friends (who are fantastic, by the way). She had such a fun-filled day, that she sort of had a melt down just about the time we were going to give her the birthday cupcake. Sooo...we decided to wait until her party, because she wouldn't have been too impressed at that point.
So that Saturday, we invited our friends over to the house for Mexican food and birthday cake! Yum! Nathan's mom had sent some decorations for the top of Zoe's cake (pictures below). So we had a grand time and Zoe loved being the center of attention (as always). But we sure missed all our family and friends back home and we are excited that we will be home for Zoe's second birthday to celebrate with them! Thankfully we got to skype with both my parents and Nate's parents for them to wish Zoe a happy birthday!

Now that Zoe is 1...she is no longer drinking formula! She has switched to whole milk and seems to be doing fine! She is taking steps (I think 5 is the most I've seen) but would much rather crawl to where she is going. She has started talking like crazy...not many actual words, but she babbles to herself all day long and she certainly seems to know what she is talking about! She is eating everything now...she loves her snacks, and is always quite interested in what Mommy and Daddy are eating and drinking!