Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years

Hi Everyone,
Happy New Year!  It's been a long time since Zoe's reported on her whereabouts and goings-on, but she's had quite a good time and done a lot of growing up.  Since her last report we've had Halloween (on November 5th), Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, with lots of fun in between.

Halloween was bittersweet this year.  Zoe had a great time dressing up as a monkey from head to toe, complete with a wagging tail and her signature 'oooo-oooo-aaaaa-aaaaa' sound when you ask her what a monkey sounds like.  (On a side note, it's amazing how quickly she's picking up language these days, particularly understanding commands.  She will attempt almost anything you ask of her, and the list builds from week to week.  Next week I'm going to get her a stool and have her wash the dishes for me.)  She got her monkey suit around labor day and practiced dressing up a bunch of times before the big day.  Unfortunately, Superstorm Sandy changed the plans of many a child (and adult).  Our home in Rutherford effectively suffered no damage, but we were in the minority.  At least half of our town was without power, as was all of lower Manhattan.  All trains from Rutherford to New York were shut down for over two weeks.  Much of the Jersey shoreline was badly damaged, including Zoe's beach house in Point Pleasant.  As a result of the damage from the storm, Halloween was changed from Oct 31 to Nov 5th in New Jersey.  Zoe still had her day around the block, trick or treating at neighboring homes and at the mall with Yiayia.  She's a cute little monkey every day, but she was especially cute on this one.

Thanksgiving was madness, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  As usual, the Zarwis piled into their motorcade and headed north for Worcester, MA.  Daddy, Mommy and Zoe rode up in one car on Thanksgiving morning while the other Zarwis left separately in a couple other cars from Tenafly.  Zoe was not liking the traffic on the Merritt Parkway, and we had a cranky baby who napped only for an hour of the four-hour trek.  Like Daddy, she was frustrated that there was so much static on the radio station carrying the football game!  Eventually we arrived and Kholo and Auntie Susan's house where the Soffan side of the family descended en masse for some turkey.  A special appearance by the Riverses from Cape Cod was especially great. 

The best part of Thanksgiving was observing and interacting with the next generation.  Growing up, I was one of the (many) kids running laps around the house and getting dirty in the yard while grown-ups made sure I was happy and well-fed.  Now that many of us cousins are the 'in-between' generation, the script has flipped!  The original grown-ups will not trust me with cooking yet, but I was certainly enjoying supervising the kids party, as were many other 'tweeners like Auntie Rema and Auntie Alia, among others.  The new fun bunch includes Malak, Kamal, Maya, Kaia, Hanna, Lauren and Zoe. 
Thanks to gracious hosting, good times were had by all. The kids, including put on a great post-dinner show with a reading on the stairs (which will hopefully become a new tradition), and all of the kids, especially Auntie Rema (the biggest kid) danced and played for hours at the foot of the stairs in a narrow hallway covered in mirrors.  Because really, where and what else could be more fun?  By 7pm it was time to turn around and head home, which was a bummer for most, including me.  This Thanksgiving was bigger than any in my adult years (it felt like the 4th of July in the Fall), and I enjoyed all of it.  Zoe can't wait to see everyone again this summer!

After 'T-Giv,' attention was turned to X-Mas.  Now that Zoe is approaching 2, this Christmas season was much different from the last.  For starters, she can say the word 'Santa.'  We quickly discover that while she likes Santa in theory, she's frightened of him in practice.  On one hand I'm proud that her natural 'stranger' instincts kick in immediately.  At first glance, Santa is a scary dude.  If you think about it, he's an old, obese man who hides behind a beard and a costume and offers kids candy and presents for their affection.  Santa may have been dreamt up originally to teach kids NOT to talk to strangers.  In any case, like many before us we committed ourselves to educate Zoe to submit to Santa and all of his glory in the advent of Christmas. It started with Santa Claus and other Christmas paraphernalia decorating the house.  Saxophone Santa and Rapping Santa would wait patiently for Zoe to press their 'Press Here' buttons so they could play or rap for her.  Initially, Zoe resisted these characters so much that we had to move them to basement.  With time (and trepidation), she worked up the courage to approach the Rapping Santa doll and press near his button and say, 'not working.'  When I would offer to help, she would refuse adamantly and bolt in the opposite direction.  Bit by bit over December she grew more confidence, first by observing Rapping Santa from a distance and then ultimately embracing Santa getting jiggy with it.  Zoe was finally ready for Christmas! 
Christmas day was hosted by our family this year.  As usual, our parents refused our advice and brought more food than is humanly possible for 25 guests to eat.  In any case, our Christmas gathering was a huge success thanks to our usual supporting cast.  We had all of the Zarwis plus Ben, the honorary Zarwi.  We had all of the Mirases, including Justine's boyfriend Jay, who is still together with her even after all that he saw on Christmas.  We had George and Kelly and Ryan (and ? mark in Kelly's belly).

After dinner, Santa made his way down our stairs ringing his bells loudly.  I was playing with Zoe in the porch when she heard the bells, and she stopped dead in her tracks before bolting towards the chimes.  She was pumped for Santa!  St. Nick took his usual position near the tree and the presents to begin handing out gifts.  Zoe initially sat in the chair next to him, observing him inquisitively.  Eventually she worked up the courage to touch his beard and sit on top of a bring present next to him (she stopped short of sitting on his lap).  At the end of the day she was happy to receive so many gifts from him, including (among others) an Aquadoodle coloring pad from Mom and Dad and a Burberry jacket from the Mirases. Zoe looks pretty snazzy in her jacket while she colors. 

New Year's Eve was another MVP+3 Party: that's Mig-Mallow, Van-Visco & Pan-Zarwi, plus 3 babies named Noah, Serafina and Zoe.  The Van Viscos hosted a great party including a delicious Spanish beef stew, baked macaroni and cheese, a palette-cleansing cabbage salad and baby madness all around the house.  The Mallows brought a real Polaroid camera with real Polaroid film and captured some great 'instant' photos.  9pm was roughly bedtime for all of the kiddies, and we parents were in pajamas by 930pm waiting for the ball to drop.  We nearly played clue (master detective edition), but since I spent an hour reading the directions we just watched Jenny McCarthy act like a goofy teenager in Times Square.  She literally made out with a sailor!  By morning the kids celebrated the new year with the same gusto as the last. 

These days Zoe's mental growth progresses so quickly, it's hard to keep up with milestones or pinpoint precise new achievements.  She loves climbing up anything and trying to repeat what you say (we have to be very careful!).  She loves Winnie the Pooh at least as much as Mom and Dad; we can't go anywhere or sleep without the teddy bear, and we watch parts of the Pooh movie some nights.  She loves blueberries and dancing, and she even tries to sing songs she has learned.  She loves the book Knuffle Bunny, and she loves the Grinch.  Since she's oblivious to seasons, the Grinch doesn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.  Pretty soon she will be starting 'school,' which includes three half-days at a local early childhood education center.  This will be a big step in Zoe's independence!  We are all confident that she will be great.
That's all for now -- stay tuned next month for an update about school!