Zoe Estelle Schiappacasse

Alessia, can you remember when your little Phoebe was this small??

Papa Steve cuddles Zoe like a pro!

And finds out they're good for sucking too!!

It's amazing what you can do with a two and a half month old and superglue!

Zoe is now making all sorts of sounds. Hear some samples below:

and she's also holding onto things better, like her yellow rattle (a bit big for her still...) .

Her hair looks red in these photos but it's only cradle cap, which will hopefully go away soon.

Zia Toni came by to give the new rocking chair a spin...

This weekend we went out to a lake near Rome with our friends. It was a lovely day and Zoe seemed to enjoy being away from the heat and humidity of the city!

The gang, from left to right: Rohan, Toni, Jordan, Amy (little Z), Stefania, Ilja

Mom making googly faces with little Z after a swim in the Med -- ahh summer!

We all went to the Golden Gala competition at the Olympic stadium which attracts all the best track and field athletes. Every summer the top athletes compete in ten European cities with the potential to win a million dollars if they win their event in every competition. We watched Jeremy Wariner run the fourth fastest 400 m ever (his medal ceremony is pictured below) and Asafa Powell run the 100 m in 9.85 seconds.


We got to the stadium late and were frustrated to find that there was no elevator to get to our cheap bleacher seats with the stroller (ah Italy!), so we asked one of the officials for help and she showed us to a shorter flight of stairs leading to some open seats -- little did we realize it was the winner's circle! There we were with all of Rome's VIPs, and Dan got chummy with Marion Jones and her coach while taking Zoe for a stroll... Unfortunately the photo is blurry from the protective glass in front of our seats, but the woman in blue sitting down is Marion Jones, and the man next to her is her coach.

We finally received our shipment from the US, which was full of gifts and clothes for Zoe including the baby gym pictured below. She loves it!!

We had our friends - Gerry and Laura and their two kids, Pablo and six-month old Alicia - over for a bbq. Alicia was looking to high five Zoe but Zoe was wondering when the burgers were going to be ready.

Zoe has now started putting things in her mouth ... beginning with her bottom lip...

... and, unfortunately, has also become fussier, especially in the evenings. Luckily, walking her around the house seems to calm her down until she's ready for bed.