Zia's First Christmas

Baby Zia spent her first Christmas in Santa Fe, New Mexico, visiting friends and family.  She has created a photo journal of her trip:

Zia brought some studio pics of herself as gifts for her family.

Plane stopped in Vegas; 1 1/2 hour wait on the tarmac; then off to Albuquerque! She was exhausted when we arrived, perfect for a nap on the drive up the hill to Santa Fe.

When she arrived in Santa Fe, she was treated to a beautiful light show at Grandma's house!

Her first visit was to Great Grandma's.  She loved her  Great Grandma Ruybalid!

She also went to her first Christmas party at Betty's house.  Here is a photo of Zia with mom, Grandma, and Carol.  Zia spent lots of time with Grandma Evelyn on her trip, but Grandma was sick so Zia kept a safe distance away from the germs.  She did spend a lot of time around her Grandma, but Grandma held back and didn't hold her, so she could avoid getting her first illness while on vacation.  Thanks Grandma!

She loved looking at all the lights on the tree.

When the Christmas music started, she was fascinated and watched the whole time.

Then a visit to Grandpa Danny's house!

He smothered her in kisses.

On Christmas day, she unwrapped all of her presents.

Her favorite was this red bow.

She also got some bunny rabbit earmuffs.

Uncle Mike met her for the first time on Christmas day.

Zia loves her Uncle Mike!

Zia got to meet lots of relatives, like her Great Grandma's brothers Joe and Murphy.  Here she is with Joe.

Zia couldn't leave New Mexico without a big bowl of green chile from the Horseman's Haven.

Zia got to meet her friends the Durans, with their new baby DeAnza, 7 months.

One week later, she said goodbye to New Mexico.

Daddy helped get her comfortable for a nap on the plane.

When she got home, it was time for a bath.

Zia loves her bath!

Baby Zia...or Bob Barker?

C'mon down, the price is right!

Who wants to be the next contestant?

First Halloween and Enough Costumes to Outfit a Small Orphanage!!

Polar Bear

Monkey

Monkey Tummy Time

What are we doing, Mommy?

OK, I'm done being a monkey.

Time for the brown bear suit!!

And...a boxing lobster.  Pow!

Don't cook me!

Between wardrobe changes...

Baby Halloween Fairy

Pumpkinhead

Showing off the pumpkin face

Are you done yet?

And...that's a wrap.

A Visit with the President

This week, Zia went to see President Obama stump for Patty Murray at the University of Washington.  She had a great time.  She slept in and got there a bit late, went to the crowd overflow area where Obama came and spoke for 15 minutes before going into the main auditorium.  Perfect!

Northwest Trek, Portland and a birthday!

At two months old, Zia is staying up more, interacting more, and smiling!  She has a new toy mat with flashing lights and a mobile that she just loves to play with.  She is getting better at holding up her head, too!  She is now old enough to go in the jogging stroller, with carseat attachment, so she has also been enjoying Greenlake runs with her mom.  She also got a Skype account so she can talk to out-of-towners who would like to see her in action.  Her user name is Ruybalids.

Zia smiles with her whole face.

...and frowns with her whole face too.

Sometimes she smiles with her eyes.

Loves her daddy!

Zia celebrated her two-month birthday with a trip to Northwest Trek to see the bears, wolves, elk, sheep, and owls with her friends Sophie and Eva, 11-month-old twins.

Zia and her mommy

Mountain Goat

Baby bison

Bison

Rams

Elk

Also, this week, Zia took her first train trip to Portland to visit her grandparents, great grandparent, aunts, uncles and friends.  She was held by a lot of new people and had a great time.  Her mommy was awfully busy tending to her and didn't get a ton of photos, but others did manage to get a few:

Zia and her mommy at the train station

Getting held by Chelsea's daughter Amelia

With Granny at her party

With her great-grandma Bernice