Zoe Lulu. Working Actress.

Zoe at the first call for State Farm.

For those of you who don't follow our doings on Facebook here's the skinny:
I got a call last week that Zoe had an audition for State Farm Insurance. I took her to the session and actually, for the first time, got to see what my daughter is like "in the room". She's a pro. Doesn't need me anywhere to charm the casting director.
All she had to do was sit in a chair, eat grapes and be cute.
Oh, boy was she.
So, sure enough she got a callback.
I met up with Beth at the casting office to find my daughter goofily running from man to man asking them to pick her up and let her read to them. She was charming everyone in the place.
I went in with her, but it could have been Beth or no one. Zoe is super independent and hyper cute.
It wasn't such a surprise when we got the call that Zoe was on "avail", in other words, a top choice for the spot. And I confirmed with her agent that, when they are casting little children like this, they always cast more than one because you can't be sure how a child is going to behave on the day. They have limited time with the kid because of labor laws and if they don't get the shot, they have a better chance with another kid.
They cast 4 for this commercial.
Zoe was one of them.
My daughter, on her 5th audition, just became a working actress.
I couldn't be more effing proud of her.
She's gonna have a blast. And make a little coin for her future.
Zoe Mina. Actress.
And so it begins.

An early farewell.

A little over a year ago I was tearing my hair out.
Beth was knee deep in studying and, for all intents and purposes, I had become a defacto nanny-dad. Now, this is fine, I'm not complaining, except that it was killing me. ;)
I love Zoe. But I also love going to the gym, auditioning, having coffee, lunch with friends...it's been 20 years of establishing a lifestyle like mine and to turn it into, well, daddy-sitting was making me nuts.
All of this doesn't really make me sound so great, does it? Oh, well. This is what I get for being honest.
I adore Zoe. And I adore sanity. Call me selfish.
Anyways, after complaining (again!!) to my brother, he had the wisdom to convince me to hire a babysitter.
It was a daunting task, to say the least. We didn't want to put Zoe in day care. THAT seemed extreme. So, we needed to find someone.
As per Jonathan's advice, I took an ad in Craigslist.
In an hour I had a response.
We didn't need to talk to anyone else.
We hired Michelle that week and, because of her I am sure, Zoe started walking on her 1st birthday. She encouraged reading and the importance of simple play.
In a word, she was excellent.
Was.
We've decided that it's time for Zoe to get some socialization. She needs to be around other kids. And she also needs some slightly standardized education. Something formalized. Otherwise she will spend her days demanding to watch Wonder Pets all the time.
So, we're looking at pre-pre-Ks. We've found two that we are interested in. Basically, the cost is the same.
But, it is the end of an era.
So, in the next two weeks or so, we say farewell to Michelle. Zoe's first teacher that wasn't her parents. Her first best friend. Her first babysitter.


Thanks, Michelle.

3 pics

We're two years in now.
I think some of the energy to post here got knocked out of me. After all, 2 is HARD.

Here's some pictures and I implore you to come to Facebook where I post pics a little more regularly.