What We've Been Up To

I haven't had a lot of time to post lately, but here is a quick update and lots of pictures of what Zoe has been up to. I started working from home for the same company as Katrina in November and that was a very busy month. It has slowed down this month, but with Christmas shopping and decorating I haven't minded too much.
Zoe went to see a GI specialist in November and he thinks she just needs more time to outgrow the reflux and dairy/soy protein allergy. I have decided to continue nursing instead of going the formula route (the only option since she can't have milk), so I am back on the no dairy/soy diet too. The upside is that I won't have to worry about any extra holiday pounds!
Zoe's cast has come off and she uses her arm as if nothing happened. It has been a lot of fun watching all the new things she is learning. She has started climbing (not so fun) and loves to "help" cook. I give her a bowl and a spoon and occasionally add snacks and she stirs them up.
Paul has been working 60 hour weeks lately and starting tomorrow he is off through most of the holidays. I think he has to work one or two days until after New Year, so I am rejoicing that we will have some family time! Hope all of you have a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

And Its A Pink Little Cast

The orthopedic surgeon was able to see Zoe first thing this morning and his diagnosis was a broken arm. He did not take another X-ray since he thought cartilage was hiding the fracture and it would not show up. I learned something new at least--toddlers very seldom ever sprain anything and toddler's fractures as they are called are fairly common.
And Zoe slept through the whole examination and only woke when they were completing the cast. That was a blessing! She did cry out during the exam when the doctor twisted her wrist (which was his confirmation it was broken), but she went right back to sleep. It may have been the Tylenol I gave her, but I felt like God helped her stay asleep too. For Zoe to sleep like that is unusual, so I was very thankful.
Zoe will have to wear this cast for the next 3 weeks. The cast is much lighter than the splint, doesn't pull her shoulder and accommodates clothing with sleeves. Once the cast was on, Zoe felt the cast and then her other arm trying to figure out what this thing was. It was rather comical.
After we left the doctor's office, I took Zoe to see her Aunt Hannah at work. We got a cup of soup and a muffin to share there and had lunch while Hannah was on break. And I learned one advantage to this cast there--when your child is holding her purse in one hand, she can't grab displays with the other. However the cons outweigh the pros, so I'm glad its only 3 weeks.

Broken Arm

Yesterday Zoe was happily playing and carrying a little dress around with her. Somehow in the course of traversing the den with it she tripped and fell. It seemed like just a normal toddler fall that happens all the time. However she started crying immediately and when I picked her up she wouldn't be consoled. I noticed she kept holding her left wrist and she wouldn't use it to reach for anything, so we decided we should get it checked out. After a very long wait (3 hours) at the emergency room, they finally took X-rays. The X-ray tech was pretty sure it was broken based on how it looked and Zoe's actions, so she was very surprised that no breaks showed up on the X-rays. Then the doctor took less than 5 minutes to look at it (they were so backed up that there were no rooms available and Zoe got treated in the hallway) and decided that it was probably broken even though nothing showed up on the X-ray. His evaluation was that she fell on her hand and bent the wrist back causing a hairline fracture. He also said these types of fractures usually do not show up on X-rays until about 3 - 4 days after the break. His assumption was that it will show up on the X-ray done by the orthopedic surgeon. The good news is that no bones were out of place and they did not have to set the arm. The bad news is that they couldn't confirm the break or even where exactly it occurred in her arm although they were pretty sure its broken somewhere. I will feel much better after we see the orthopedics, but in the meantime Zoe has a plaster splint from elbow to wrist and an ACE bandage wrapped around her arm. The nurse thought Zoe would probably have to wear it for 3 - 4 weeks, but its up to the orthopedic surgeon.
She did start playing much more happily with her arm immobilized. She can certainly still get into just as much stuff with one hand as with two. Thankfully it hasn't seemed to phase her. She doesn't have any clothes with sleeves large enough to go over the splint, so hopefully the weather stays warm enough for sleeveless for awhile.
We've also been fighting a cold/flu bug here and Zoe has a very bad cough and runny nose right now in addition to teething and the broken arm. So life has been interesting, but its comforting to know that God never gives us more than we can handle and He is in control of each situation. And Zoe got lots of treats like Oreos, chicken nuggets and french fries out of the deal along with the Honey Grahams her Grandma brought her today and lots of extra attention (like sleeping with Mommy), so I don't think she minds too much (until we go see the doctor again of course)!

And The Reaction to Dairy Is....

not very good. This blog was intended to be about Zoe, but not always about her dietary issues. Its been two weeks since we started dairy products. She seems to do OK with yogurt and cheese, but whenever she gets milk she has a reaction. It seems the more natural form the milk (less processed) the more it affects her. After another visit with the pediatrician yesterday, she decided its time Zoe visits a GI Specialist.
We've had a lot going on the last two weeks. Zoe had more vaccinations and had reactions to those the first weekend. The next weekend she broke out in a rash and had a fever which I think was another vaccination reaction to either the measles or chicken pox. In between these events, she started getting her two top teeth. And both times she had a lot of exposure to milk, she had very bad diarrhea and even blood in her diaper. And the last two nights were the first Zoe slept more than 3 hours in one stretch in a week. I kept getting up to check on her because it was so unusual!
The GI specialist is going to evaluate her reflux as well which does not seem to be getting better. The doctor recommended either nursing or putting Zoe on soy milk until we figure out what's going on with the cow milk allergy. Zoe has been starting to wean herself, so it may soon be the soy milk. The doctor does not think I need to stop dairy again. Zoe can have foods with milk in them (like breads, etc), just not the actual milk and be careful with cheese and yogurt. I am not looking forward to this visit since some of the tests are quite invasive, but maybe we will get some answers. I am thankful for good medical care and that we have a chance to find out what's going on.
So that's the latest update. Zoe is happy and healthy otherwise. She is starting to do some cute things and its so much fun to watch her figure out what's going on. One advantage to having the loft is the great laundry chute it makes. The other day Zoe saw me drop the clothes over the rail. She decided she wanted to help so she marched in the bathroom, grabbed a few clothes and headed off to the loft. Now that's another of her favorite "chores". I'm waiting until she has to do those things--I'm sure it won't be fun anymore!

Home For Sale

We've had our home on the market now for approximately 2 weeks For Sale By Owner and I have finally completed the online listings. I thought I may as well use my Blog for free advertising as well! So if any of you know of someone looking to buy in this area, I know of a very nice one for sale.
We are praying for wisdom as we take this step that God will work everything out in His time and according to His will. (He always does anyway, but sometimes it hard not to get impatient.)
I've included the links to the online sites if any of you are looking or know of someone who is looking to buy. Most of all we ask that you would pray for us that we would follow God's leading and everything would go smoothly.

http://norfolk.craigslist.org/rfs/438615214.html

http://www.infotube.net/search_detail.php?u=EMINGRAM&photo=1&Adnumber=184043

http://www.owners.com/Search/ShowListing.aspx?id=1949617&loc=MA

Zoe's Birthday

I wasn't sure about doing a theme for Zoe's birthday since I know Zoe won't remember it, but it turned out to be a lot of fun! I went with a Teddy Bear theme and it worked out very well. My sister had a bear pan for the cake, so that was an incentive for the bear theme too. I'll let the pictures tell the story, but I felt very fortunate to find teddy bear plates & napkins at Wal-Mart on clearance. We also had french bread and spaghetti since they are Zoe's favorites. It was a special day!

What Would You Eat?

Zoe had her one year appointment this week. Other than the fact that she remembered what happened about a month ago when she had the flu, it went very well. She cried during the weight check and when the doctor examined her like she knew something bad was going to happen. Then she got happy until the nurses came in for the shots and she realized she wasn't home free after all.
Dr. Barkeley said we should start introducing dairy into her diet now. I have been nursing her 4-6 times a day partly because of the allergy issue. Once we know if she can tolerate dairy products, I will start weaning her.
We went to the store afterwards for a few groceries and it felt very weird not to have to worry about ingredients. I also had to resist the temptation not to buy everything in sight that I haven't been able to eat. I finally decided on taking it slow and starting Zoe on yogurt once she is over the effects of the vaccinations. And I decided it is probably better for me to gradually ease into it also and not overload her system since she still nurses a lot. So I left the pizza behind and put the ice cream back and settled on yogurt and milk and cheese.
I haven't given Zoe any dairy directly yet, but I have started eating foods with cheese on them again. And Paul ordered pizza for us last night since I hadn't had pizza with cheese for nine months. I did not eat much, but it tasted wonderful! And I went to a brunch this morning and ate small portions of Quiche and Cream Cheese Danish and a few other items. This is actually taking some getting used to since I either brought my own food or drove the hostess crazy trying to find out what was in the dish and its become somewhat ingrained.
I am taking my time with this because I don't what to eat too much and start enjoying it again only to find out Zoe is still having a reaction. And I almost feel guilty for eating "good" food again. However I am definitely enjoying it! I'm curious to know what would your first food be if you had to be without dairy or soy for awhile and then were allowed to have it again?

Happy Birthday Zoe

Today is Zoe's first birthday! She was born on September 23, 2006 at 9:30 a.m. She weighed 6.0 lbs. and was 18" long. Its hard to believe it has been a year and yet we can't imagine life without her. It has been such fun watching all the stages! God has so abundantly blessed us and we are so thankful! She is definitely a bundle of joy!

Happy Birthday Zoe!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend 2006 was spent preparing for Zoe. Its hard to believe it was a year ago, but I went for an ultrasound that Saturday because I was measuring small and the doctor thought we should make sure everything was ok. I was about 36 weeks and the concern was that Zoe was an IUGR (intra-uterine growth restriction) baby. Basically it looked like my placenta was wearing out and Zoe was not getting nourished. This could also potentially cause a stillbirth baby. The ultrasound did not have the greatest results so I got sent to the hospital for a non-stress test. That came back ok, but the doctor was considering bedrest so Paul and I went shopping and bought lots of groceries "just in case".

Thankfully I never had to go on bedrest, but I did have to go to the hospital once a week for non-stress tests and to EVMS for a high-risk pregnancy ultrasound. That in itself was interesting since they could actually measure the blood flow from me to Zoe. Anyway long story short, it was after the ultrasound at EVMS that the doctor decided to induce at 38 weeks. And her birth is another story in itself, but it definitely made for an interesting holiday last year.

So for Labor Day 2007 I had a pretty boring weekend planned--run the vaccuum, catch up on everything I was behind on, take it easy, etc. God saw fit to alter my plans. Friday morning Zoe just wanted to be held which was rather unusual. Normally she is squirming to get down and play. I didn't really think too much about it at first--just thought maybe she was tired or it was her reflux. We had taken her to the doctor a few weeks ago because she had started waking every 2-3 hours and would not settle down during the night. This had been getting progressively worse as she got older (I have since read that often happens as more food gets added to their diets). We had stopped treating for reflux after the milk and soy allergies got resolved and she stopped throwing up as much, but her pediatrician thought we should start treating it again as well as get some labs done. All the tests came back normal (praise God!) and the medicine worked wonders. Zoe slept all night the very first day we gave it to her. But I digress. By Friday afternoon Zoe had a fever. I called the doctor on Saturday and they told me to monitor her and call in on Tuesday if she wasn't any better. I did nothing but hold Zoe all weekend. She wouldn't sleep unless she was with me, so I took naps whenever she did since we were up and down all night. Monday I thought she was getting a little better, so we went to my parents for a cook-out. Monday night she thrashed around and cried and I couldn't get her calmed down (until we left for the hospital) so we took her to the CHKD emergency room.

We spent all night there while they checked for a urinary tract infection, ear infection, chest x-ray, etc. This involved a catheter which they missed on the first try and had to be repeated an hour later. Finally they determined it was a virus and told us to follow up with the doctor the next day. I'm glad we have a children's hospital locally, but it was much more reassuring to see the pediatrician the next day. She told us it was a GI virus that was lasting about 6-7 days. The big concern was that Zoe had not had a wet diaper for 12 hours, so we had to force her to drink from a syringe. The doctor wanted her to have 2 wet diapers by lunch the next day. She encouraged me to nurse her more since that had helped one of her other patients. Also, the doctor thought we were just getting to the worst of the virus. If she meant that's when Zoe would be the most miserable, she was right. Her tummy seemed to bother her more and she broke out in a rash all over her body. I was so thankful Wednesday morning when she wanted something to drink. And that was Labor Day 2007.


Zoe is finally over all the sickness although she's been a little cranky so I think she may be teething. Our next big event is preparing for her birthday on Sunday. We've selected a teddy bear theme and since Zoe likes spaghetti the menu was easy. I had hoped my child would not be such a picky eater, but the only vegetable she will tolerate is corn. Paul will feed her peas and green beans just to watch her spit them out (and to try to get her to eat them).


Below are a few pics of Zoe when she was sick. One nurse who did the successful catheter was so sweet. She gave Zoe the book she is playing with, got me a pillow so I could rest, and put on a Thomas movie for Zoe. She also sang to Zoe while we did the catheter and it calmed her down.

She Walks!!

Zoe started taking a few steps about two weeks ago. She gradually began walking 4 - 5 steps from furniture to toy, etc. and occasionally would walk across the room. Today, I guess she decided walking is her preferred mode. She doesn't fall as much and if she does, she gets up and walks. Its like she figured why crawl when I can walk? The funny thing is we really did not coach her very much. She just started taking steps on her own and now she's off.




I haven't figured out how to upload the video of her walking yet (if any of you have tips let me know), so I posted a picture of her doing another favorite pastime--watching Charlotte's Web. I rented it and she was so enthralled with the animals, that we finally bought a pre-viewed one.

Couldn't Resist

Here are a few pictures of Zoe eating rice. She prefers to feed herself, so I put it on her tray and let her scoop it up with her fingers. She eats much better when I let her do it herself, so it was worth the rice in her chair, down her outfit, on the floor...and she seemed to enjoy it much more this way.

My Favorite Subject

Just thought it was time for an update on Zoe and some of her adventures. She is now 9 months old and weighs in at 16.5 pounds and is 28" tall. She is in the 25th percentile for her weight and 50th -75th percentile for her height. Based on her parents I thought this would be reversed. She has begun standing on her own and pushing her toys across the floor while walking. Maybe running behind her toys would be a better term--she can definitely move. Thankfully she hasn't learned how yet, but she tries to climb over the baby gates. Some of her favorite places to play are in the dishwasher, the refrigerator, the Tupperware drawer, etc. She loves to feed herself, especially bananas. They squish and are wonderful to put in your hair! And it often means she gets a bath which she loves-or just her face washed which she hates.
She still has the milk allergy, but I don't think its nearly as bad anymore. The church nursery accidentally gave her cheese goldfish and although she got a little fussy, it didn't last too long. She has a very sensitive stomach though and often gets irritable whenever we try a new food. Or maybe she is just trying to get out of eating her vegetables! Since she is eating solid foods now, its hard to know if its what I ate or what she ate. She only has one tooth, but I think a second one may be coming in. She loves to torment the dog, so we finally put him in one area of the house and Zoe in the other. He probably wouldn't have any hair left otherwise. Below are a few pictures of her latest escapades.

My new toy from Grandma

Trying to escape

Trying to get my other spoon

Oh well, guess I'll just play with this

All ready to cook

Let's Ride!

I love furry things!

See I'm a big girl!

I've Been Tagged....

I've been tagged to do this by Shannon and Karis. After posting these rules, each player proceeds to list 8 relatively random facts/habits about himself/herself. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names.

1. I did not know how to cook when we got married. I knew a few basics like meatloaf, meatballs, cornflake chicken, macaroni and cheese, gourmet potatoes and mashed potatoes, but that was about the extent of it (and it was not the style of cooking Paul was used to). My Mom gave me a cooking magazine subscription and Paul (who had worked in restaurants) did a lot of the cooking. I'm not sure what we ate that first year, but I remember trying to cook chicken breasts once for company and I think its the worst thing I've ever served to a guest. Thankfully now cooking is often relaxation for me.

2. I love being organized. I have a harder time staying this way since I have Zoe, but I still like a place for everything and everything in its place. This could also be why I like doing our finances--I love to have things in order.

3. I have Old Order Amish relatives that still drive in buggies and don't have electricity. My grandparents lived this way when my Dad was born.

4. I have a fear of heights and I hate going up open flights of stairs. Once when we were on an anniversary trip, we went to a place called Chimney Rock near Asheville, NC. After we paid $12 for each of us to get in, I realized I had to cross over an open flight of stairs looking down around 2,000 ft. below. I decided to do it since it cost money, but I stayed in the middle of the rock so I wouldn't get dizzy looking down.

5. We did not have a television growing up. As a result, we kids loved to read and my poor Mom would have to fuss at us to put our books down and get our chores done. I have a lot of books now that I was given as gifts and have read and re-read many times. My dream is to have a room someday that I can use just as a library. Right now I have books in my den and the loft and the dining room....

6. I like NASCAR races. I'm not sure why, especially considering the fact we did not have TV when I was growing up and it wasn't the kind of thing my parents would have watched if we had. I like Tony Stewart as a driver though and it gives me lots of debates with my brother who likes Dale Earnhardt, Jr. I should point out that I don't follow it religiously, but I do like to watch the races.

7. I like to camp and hike. We used to go a lot more soon after we were married and want to start going again with Zoe. Our last hike was down Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. We took a shuttle to the top and hiked down. We did not know what we were getting into, but it was an interesting experience. Lets just say we could not walk very well the next day.

8. I love collecting crystal and china dishes and cookbooks. I try to limit these items, but I have a hard time resisting inexpensive dishes at yard sales. My Grandma would give us nice dishes or serving pieces for Christmas when I was a girl and my Mom kept them for me until I got married. I am more selective with cookbooks and only get unique or specialized ones, but I love reading them and subscribing to cooking magazines.

Tagged: Shannon Logsdon, Beth Keiler, Marlene, Anita, Andrea, Linda, and Karisa. I've edited the list to 7 and picked on some of you on Xanga. I'm looking forward to seeing your random facts and/or habits.

what i've been up to

Daddy's Birthday!

today is my daddy's birthday! mommy had a little party for him on saturday night and my grandmas and grandpa came over with aunt hannah and uncle william. i couldn't eat any of daddy's ice cream cake, but we had a lot of fun. i got to see my first fireworks and although i was a little scared at first i had so many people giving me attention that i decided they weren't too bad (i even took a little nap eventually).
daddy and i have lots of fun. he sits on the floor and plays with me and i even "helped" him fix the chair last week. he gives me shoulder rides when we go out and feeds me popsicles. when i get tired he cuddles with me in the recliner and i usually fall asleep. i always have a big smile and get so happy when he comes home from work.
daddy, i hope you have a very special day (and so does mommy)! we both love you very much! we know you work very hard to take care of us because you love us so much. i think you are the best daddy ever!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

with love from Zoe

What We've Been Up To....

Last weekend was my first Mother's Day. We had a luncheon here and my family and mother-in-law came over. It was a very special day. At church Zoe thought that I did not need to hear the pastor's sermon and should instead come take care of her. I was three-quarters of the way through the service and my number came up for the nursery. She was tired and hungry and the poor nursery workers could not get her quiet. It reminded me of what this day was all about--the joy (and sacrifice) of being a mother.

I'm learning that being a mother brings sacrifice. Gone are the days of doing anything leisure without a little girl involved. I have to put aside my personal desires when she needs care or thinks she needs attention (another reason why I have so many blog posts in my head and not on this blog)! :-) But being a mother also brings untold joy. Seeing this little child, this precious gift from God is so wonderful. Watching her face light up when I come into the room is such a privilege. Just doing daily activities and having her around makes life a lot more fun. It also makes me so much more appreciative of our mothers and what they have done for us.

Paul also treated me to getting my hair done and watched Zoe while I was there. They went shopping and when I met up with them, Zoe was almost asleep. It was nice to get pampered a little and not have to keep one eye on a baby. Thanks, Dear!

In other news, Paul passed another certification recently. Zoe has started pulling herself up and transferring from coffee table to couch to toy. Last night she pushed a package of paper towels across the floor and walked behind it (that was a first). Also, Paul has taken a few vacation days this week, so we have been chilling a little. For me it has been a great way to get caught up on the things I haven't been able to do when I'm working from home. I also had the chance to go pick some strawberries with Shannon and hope to go again next week for peas. That's been life here. I have lots of pictures of Zoe that will be coming shortly. We are having family over for dessert tonight since there are fireworks at the Jubilee. It will be interesting to see how Zoe likes fireworks. I'll be sure to include that in a future post.

Zoe Crawls

Zoe started crawling today. I guess now that she's mobile this is how my attempts to photograph her will be. I went shopping with my Mother-in-law last week and she bought this outfit for Zoe, so I thought it would be nice to get a picture. I got pictures, but they were all of Zoe heading for the rocking chair. As you can see, she finally achieved her goal.

Blessings

Lately I've been challenged to be thankful and count my blessings even when I'm feeling blue, sleep-deprived, and/or overwhelmed. Here are just some of the ways we are so blessed and how God has so graciously provided for us.

• A nice home/shelter and plenty to eat
• Access to good medical care
• Jobs and good health to be able to work
• A job where I can stay at home with Zoe
• Reliable transportation
• Protection in our daily activities (like at 2:30 this morning when I woke up and realized Zoe was next to me in bed, but I couldn't remember putting her there.)
• Zoe's first cold is not too bad and we have a helpful doctor's office
• Salvation and eternal life in Heaven
• We are not persecuted for having the Word of God and we can worship freely

These are just a few of the ways that we are so blessed and there are so many more I could add. We were challenged recently in a sermon to thank God first and then bring our requests to Him. This has helped me to put my requests in perspective and what I'm really asking for. Its also helped me focus on God's continuing work in my life and made me so thankful for what He has done.

7 Months Old

Its hard to believe that Zoe is seven months old today. She finally figured out how to get on her hands and knees in the last day or so, but her mode of transportation so far has been to roll everywhere. I also caught her trying to pull herself up on her jungle gym today. She had her feet under her, but she couldn't quite get up.

I have also started giving her rice cereal. After we got the allergies resolved around 4 months I held off on starting solids at the doctor's recommendation. The only drawback to not giving her cereal sooner was that she needed a feeding in the middle of the night. We now are giving her approximately 1 tablespoon of cereal twice a day which is about all she will eat. I've tried giving her applesauce and sweet potatoes, but her tummy didn't handle those foods very well. So I am gradually slipping in a few bites here and there. She also does not have any teeth yet.

We started putting her in the nursery at church. The first Sunday she played and had fun, but we forgot to clip on her normal binky on last Sunday and it made a very unhappy little girl. Thankfully I had a spare in the diaper bag. She is also starting to recognize people and gets scared if she hasn't seen someone for a while. Surprisingly she hasn't cried about being left at the nursery yet. She loves other kids though, so I think having 15 - 20 others to play with helps a lot. Its so cute when we go to the grocery store (which she loves). When she sees another kid, she will start smiling.

Being outside is her other big thrill. She will sit outside in her stroller while I do yard work and just play. One evening when she had been extremely cranky all day, I decided to do something therapeutic and work in the flower beds. She calmed right down outside and both of us felt better.

She is becoming a very sweet little girl (no longer a baby). We are working on teaching her no (especially when she pulls hair) and that she will not die if she does not get something right now. This makes the parenting quite interesting, but a joy nonetheless. We count our blessings every day and thank God that we have the opportunity to have this little girl in our lives.

My First Cereal

Not sure what to do with this

Fun with my toys

Ready to go!

I'm so cute!

F.Y.I.

Zoe got this pacifier at the hospital when she was born and she really likes it. It is soft and does not leave marks on her face. However, the one she has is getting very disgusting, so I started looking at getting another one. I found them at www.gumdroppacifiers.com. They are only $2.25 for each one plus shipping. They come in a vanilla scent or natural. You can also get preemie ones. I think they are definitely worth it.

Happy Birthday Mom

My Mom's birthday was on Sunday and I got a few pictures of Zoe "helping" her with the card she gave her. Zoe decided she would rather eat it than let her Grandma have it! Of course her Grandma gave it to her--so much for me trying to teach her no! :-)

Final Florida

Just briefly for the end of our vacation in FL--the company Paul was working for did not have everything ready for him and it delayed him by about a day. We were hoping he would be finished on Thursday, but it took him until Friday afternoon to finish everything. We went to Universal Citywalk Friday evening and had dinner at Margaritaville. They had a Cheeseburger in Paradise on the menu and that's what Paul was hungry for. Our server was very helpful and made sure none of my food had any dairy products.
Saturday we spent at a small zoo. It was not the greatest zoo and Zoe was not the least bit interested (she went to sleep), but it was fun. We wanted to do a river cruise, but that didn't work out.
We started driving home on Sunday hoping to make it all the way, but after about 6 hours Zoe reached her limit. Since we still had another 5 -6 hours we decided to stop. All in all it was a very nice getaway!

Six Months Old

Today is Zoe's sixth month birthday. Naturally we decided to "celebrate" by taking her to the doctor for her 6th month checkup and shots. Actually she did pretty well. She wasn't quite as enthused about the doctor poking and prodding, but she didn't cry too much after her shots. I think it helped that her daddy was there. She now weighs 14 lbs. 9 oz. and is 25 1/8" long. I think we will be starting her on table food soon. However we may continue to nurse a little longer since she has the dairy/soy allergies. She is definitely eyeing our food though when we eat. She is rolling over, sitting up, and starting to creep just a little. She does very well at sitting in her Pack & Play or on the floor playing with her toys. The biggest thing is that she has trouble going to sleep on her own and only naps about 30 minutes in her crib. I'm probably too soft and have trouble letting her cry it out. Actually I did discuss this with the doctor today and she thinks Zoe's sleep problems may still be reflux-related and she also suggested getting an egg-crate mattress to make her crib softer. We are going to continue giving her Mylicon gas drops since they seem to settle her down and help her sleep before we start medication for the reflux again (which created its own round of problems). She will go to sleep on her own sometimes, but often she kicks and fusses and won't settle down until I give her gas drops. I wasn't sure if she just didn't want to settle down or if something was really wrong, so it was helpful to talk to the pediatrician. I didn't realize Zoe's reflux was that severe, but the doctor said today we are fortunate she continued to gain weight and thrive. We have a lot to be thankful for. She also recommended getting a baby food cookbook since I plan to make my own baby food. If any of you have suggestions on a good one, I'd love to hear it. I love cookbooks anyway so it gives me an excuse to get one. :-) I'd also welcome any tips. It will be a little more challenging since Zoe can't have any dairy or soy items. The doctor suggested waiting until she is 12 - 15 months before we introduce dairy. I will have to get really creative for the cake and frosting on her first birthday! Well that's all for this post. I will put up more pictures of FL in the near future.

Waving Hi to everyone!

This chair is so interesting!

Pictures of Zoe

Zoe was given lots of cute little dresses for this age, but its been too cold to wear them at home. I decided to bring them to Florida since it has been in the 80's here. I have started taking her picture each morning because I think she looks so cute and grown up. And if she continues her growth rate, she will be too big for them by the time the weather at home warms up. Anyway I thought I would put a few of the pics here. She is really becoming a little ham! I barely had to coax her to smile today-guess she thinks its part of her routine now.

Its not a dress, but I couldn't resist