One Year Old!

ZOEY! You are one year old! I feel almost as excited as I did the day I went into labor. Almost. I don't know why but I feel we've achieved a huge accomplishment as a family now that you're a year old. Month 12 was a big month for you. Let's recap shall we...

May 9 - you took you first steps! And it was glorious. We had been practicing with you quite a bit, even just trying to get you to stay standing, and hadn't had much luck. Well that night you just decided to go for it; not much prompting was needed. You took two or three steps and dad and I looked at each other in amazement. Then I ran to get the camera, he stood you back up, and you did it again! What a good child you are, waiting for me to get the camera ready. It was so awesome watching you take your first steps, I can't do it justice here. After that we were sure you would just take off, but alas, you were just testing the waters and I guess you weren't as excited as we were, because you didn't take anymore steps for a couple more weeks. You'll usually take about three steps if someone stands you up and tempts you with a toy or your cup. Just yesterday you started becoming more brave and you actually stood up on your own from a sitting position and walked to a toy all by yourself! I saw you take seven steps yesterday. SEVEN! Now we're really getting somewhere! I'm sure you'll be running in no time.

May 13 - this was the day you had your last bottle! We slowly began introducing the cup a couple months ago and ran into various issues with each one we tried. The one with the wide rubber spout and the handles was tricky because you couldn't figure out how to get the liquid to come out - which means you didn't know how to tip it up. The one with the narrow plastic spout without handles was too slippery and had too slow of a flow. The one with the straw was too big and you would easily tire of trying to get liquid out of the straw. You also developed an attachment to your bottles around month 11 and every time you saw one you would scream because you wanted it. This was not a good sign. Thank goodness Miss Dara at day care recommended this cup with a latex spout and curved handles that come up from the bottom - you loved it! You knew exactly how to make it work and it quickly replaced your morning and afternoon bottles. The bedtime bottle we were sure would be a challenge, so we were very careful to replace that bottle time last. You surprisingly did not miss it because you love this cup SO much. I just packed the bottles away for good last weekend (well, maybe not for good but for now), which I am so stoked about because that means I don't have to wash any more bottles!!! I don't know why I thought buying bottles with five tiny parts each was a good idea. We got really fast and efficient at washing all twelve bottles but we dreaded it every night.

May 15 - we began introducing whole cow's milk. The doctor advised us to slowly introduce milk, so as not to upset your stomach, and it has been going great so far. The first week we did one ounce of milk with three ounces of formula, the second week we started doing half and half. We're still doing half and half, only because we have two packages of formula left and I would hate to waste it. I am extremely happy to say we have bought our last box of formula!!! We would buy it at Sam's, because it's so expensive and they have the best deal in town, and I hate going to Sam's with a passion. The only reason we have a Sam's card is because of formula. I think this might make me happier than not having to wash bottles!

Other exciting things that happened this month... we can tell that you're now using some words on purpose, so you're not just babbling "mamamama" anymore, you're actually looking at me and saying "mama". I love it! You also say Bella, bye bye, ball, belly (it comes out "beh", but I know what you're saying), Dara (your teacher's name) and you try to say a lot more but we usually can't make any of it out. You try to repeat us a lot, so we're definitely watching what we say! You also just started transitioning to the "Onesies" room at day care. We've been waiting for this day, not because we're unhappy with your current room, but because in the Onesies room the kids are all on the same schedule which means one long nap time for everyone. You've slept in there a few times already with great success! One day you took a two hour nap. No lie. It's amazing. We also think that being around all those kids who are walking will encourage you to do the same. This is the type of peer pressure that we like! In your new room you'll also get to do water play, art projects, lots of singing and dancing, and one of your teachers loves styling your hair so I expect you will come home with lots of awesome hairdos in the near future!

We went in for your one year check up a few days after your birthday, and here are your stats:

• Weight: 19 lbs, 11 oz (27th percentile)
  
• Height: 30 inches (77th percentile)
• Head: 46.5 cm (85th percentile)
  
• Height-for-weight: 17th percentile

So we (your dad) kind of joke about how big your head is.. actually I don't think it's big, I think it looks like a normal baby head because pretty much all babies have big-ish heads that look disproportional.. but there it is in black and white - 85th percentile. :)

Now let's talk food. You are an amazing eater. Anyone who sees you eat is impressed, not only by the amount that you consume but by the variety that you enjoy. Lately nothing is off limits, so we're taking advantage of that and letting you try lots of things. I also think you eat a lot, but that could be because you're much more active now. You are constantly on the move so you're burning through those calories fast! I really thought you would be over 20 pounds at your one year check up with the way you're eating, but your weight is actually on the lower end of the spectrum. I love that you're an adventurous eater; it makes me proud!

I'm so amazed that in one year you've gone from this

to this

And I'm even more amazed that I've gone from this
(clueless!)

to this
(not quite as clueless, and a little more rested!)

I can't tell you how happy I am to be your mother. We are just starting to have a lot of fun and I'm so excited for this next year! We have come such a long way as a family. I know people do this every day but it's really weird to me that it's us, doing this every day! I think we're getting pretty awesome at being parents, and I hope you agree, little Zobot. We love you so so much. Happy one year!!!

Happy Birthday, Little Lamb!

It's been a busy but lovely day so far!

First, Zoey opened presents from ma and pa...

...and then had some play time with said presents this morning.

Then we went to the zoo!
[Jimmy took her cup away so we could take this picture. You never mess with Zoey's cup. Never.]

Here's a good one!

We got to pet some sheep and goats!

AND look at monkeys!

Speaking of monkeys...

Because it is her birthday and all, Zoey got to pick out a toy from the gift shop.
And then she passed out as soon as we put her in the car.

It's been said a thousand times but I can't believe she's a year old. Happy birthday, peanut! We love you!!!

Ma

11 Months Old

I'll blame denial for this post being so late. Also our laptop crapped out so I'm using our dinosaur of a desktop computer to write this, which will probably take about two hours to upload. I CANNOT believe tomorrow is your first birthday, Zobot! I better get to it, only 2.5 hours to go!

Zoers,

If I had to describe month 11 in one word, it would be "ACTIVE". You are just all over the place - scooting, crawling, standing, reaching for everything and keeping us on our toes every waking minute. You're so much more independent now that you can get around on your own, though you still give us a lot of cuddly moments too.

This month you stopped eating purees! You're a strictly solid food girl now and you eat everything we eat. Your favorite? Meatballs. You love meatballs. Another favorite is taco night, which is good because let's face it - if you don't like taco night you're not going to survive in this family. You love everything, which I'm fascinated by. I guess I always thought babies should eat only bland food, or that they wanted only bland food. It seems like you're constantly eating. If it's not a meal time then you have a cup or bottle or a snack. We're really working on getting you to use a cup so that we can slowly transition away from bottles but so far no luck.

We pulled out a toy recently that was handed down from your cousins that you absolutely love. It's a chair that sings and reads a book to you and has a little talking lamp. You almost exclusively play with this chair. I think we could probably trash your other toys and you would be just fine playing with this chair forever. You sit on it, then you stand up and dance a little next to it, then you'll slap the lamp (you're really into slapping things [and people] lately) and flip the pages of the book around. Best toy ever.

Dad and I are still working on the walking skills. You didn't make it by 11 months like I thought you would, but that's okay. You're perfectly happy just scooting around everywhere. Once you're ready you'll go for it, and that's when we'll really be running around like crazy to catch up with you! Right now you're a pro at pulling up and standing up. You can even stand up on your own, but once you realize no one is holding onto your hands you sit down immediately. Be brave, little one!

Day care is going great, except for those darn naps. Now you take one or two 20-30 minute naps every day, which, compared to the four hours of naps you get at home, is not cutting it. I have to put you down for a nap when we get home almost every day, which cuts out a good chunk of our limited Zoey time. I've been missing you so much at work lately so this makes it even worse! You are learning a lot from your teachers and friends at day care. Your teachers have been telling us how smart you are and that you're starting to repeat things they say. One day at pick up they asked me if we have a dog. I asked why, and they said earlier they asked a little boy to get down off of something, and you said "Get down!" after they said it to him. This is something we often say to Swashbuckler as he tries to clean the remnants out of your highchair, so I guess you've caught on to that phrase! Oh you crack me up...

Your birthday is so soon and I'm getting more excited than one probably should. I'm taking a week off work beginning on your birthday so we're going to have lots of time together and I can't wait! You're growing up to be such an awesome little lady and we love you sooooooo much!

10 Months Old

Zoey, you're such a big girl. Look at you. Standing up so confidently. And I'm behind the camera quickly snapping the picture in case you do a face plant (you didn't). It's amazing to see you looking so happy considering the last month has been marked by frequent doctor visits and sickness after sickness. FINALLY last Tuesday you decided you were all better and we've been soaking in your happy disposition ever since.

The weather improved dramatically this month so we made a couple trips to the park and plan on many more. It's so funny to watch you around so many people - I just sit you on the blanket and you smile and clap as people walk by. So easy to please! You're still clapping a lot and you've added a new talent: waving. You wave allllll the time and then usually follow that up with a little clapping, you know, to reward yourself for such good waving. These are a couple of the things you've learned in day care, which has been going really well, aside from the napping. You usually take about an hour and twenty minutes worth of naps at day care but somehow you manage to spend the evening happily playing and hanging out with mom and dad.

Now let's talk mobility. You got SO close to crawling recently! But no dice. Your new way to get around is by scooting. You learned this from a little girl in your class, and basically it involves you scooting on your little bum across the floor, sometimes with the help of your hands. You can actually get around pretty quickly with this new movement so we have to watch you pretty closely. We're going to go ahead and baby proof the house this weekend because you are getting really fast! Dad works on your pulling up, standing and walking skills every night so you're quickly becoming a pro.
You've really grown up food-wise this month, Zobot. I was nervous about giving you table food but you have really taken to it and have been quite successful! (read: no choking!) Foods you've tried in whole form this month include sweet potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, grilled chicken, black beans, ground beef, waffles, edamame, peas, carrots, quinoa, rice and bananas. At first it took some convincing to get you to eat more than a couple bites, but now you just dive right in. You have four teeth (we can see two more coming in) so they certainly help. I'm really amazed by it. We're also working on getting you to drink out of a cup but you haven't quite figured that out yet.
I know I say this all the time but I can't believe how old you are already. I ordered your birthday party invitations last weekend. It's just crazy. You're becoming more like a "kid" and less like a baby every day. Your little personality is really starting to come out and I can't wait to see what's in store for next month.

She's Back!

And boy am I glad. Last weekend was rough - Zoey's fever got up to 104 every day from Friday to Monday, which totally freaked us out. I called the doctor's office after hours twice, and their nonchalance as I frantically listed all of Zoey's symptoms was incredibly frustrating. The doctor I talked to on Sunday told me there was nothing else we could do besides give her fever reducing medicine as often as possible. When you have a miserable infant with a fever that high you want someone to tell you exactly what to do to make it stop. According to the doctor there was nothing else that could be done, so we followed his direction and gave Zoey Advil every 6-8 hours. Jimmy and I had plans to go out to dinner on Saturday to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary and my birthday, but we just felt so bad for the Zobot that we decided to stay in. We ordered some delicious take-out and watched a movie; it wasn't what we had planned but it was still a lovely evening.

Yesterday Zoey woke up fever free and remained that way throughout the day. Hooray! I worked a half day and then came home to hang out with her, and we had a blast. She was so incredibly happy and just back to her normal self. Today she had a great day at daycare, aside from napping only an hour, so she crashed at 6:45 tonight. Little Lamb was exhausted. I feel like I barely got to see her today, but I'm glad she's getting some good rest. I'm sure she'll make up for it by waking up at 3:00am, ready to eat and play!

As I type this I can practically feel my tonsils swelling and my ears are throbbing. If I end up sick I'm going to quarantine myself in my room (or at the Mayo, perhaps?...) so that Zoey never gets sick again. I'm soooo glad she's better and I don't think I can take seeing her sick for another day.

Holy Sick Baby, Batman!

Waiting at the doctor's office on Friday.

Zoey has been sick almost constantly since the end of January. Not even exaggerating. Let me break it down for you:

January 27-28 (her first days of daycare): Sick with snot and fever and all that fun stuff. Missed daycare both days (she didn't even make it in). This was the first time she got sick ever.

February 1-4: Still had mucous and coughing galore. Lucky for us there was a blizzard going on so daycare (and work) was closed so we all stayed home.

February 9: We got more snow so I stayed home with Zoey that day. She seemed a little sick and just wasn't acting like herself, so we ventured out in the snow to visit urgent care since I was off work and all. Guess what - she had RSV! The doctor said it wasn't a bad case so she didn't need breathing treatments, only a steroid. Whew!

February 10-11: We have never seen Zoey this miserable. She was so out of it and had a bad fever. Rachel was kind enough to watch her for us and all she did was sleep most of the day. Heartbreaking.

In the meantime... Zoey would get low grade fevers here and there and we constantly were wiping her nose and trying every home remedy we could think of to get rid of this sinus infection or whatever it was. She had about 4 days where we thought she was getting over it and then...

February 23: We go in for Zoey's nine month well baby visit and told the doctor about our visit to urgent care. Just to be sure Zoey had kicked all of her illnesses, the doctor checked Zoey's ears and lungs and discovered that she is wheezing and has infections in both ears. Super! We got amoxicillan and an inhaler, or "apparatus of torture" as the doctor called it. Sounds awesome.

March 6: I fed Zoey egg yolk for the first time. Wait for it....

March 7: Zoey wakes up with a rash covering her entire body. I took her to the doctor, where it was decided that the rash was a reaction to the egg. No more eggs until she's one! Another check of the ears and lungs and both are still bad. We got a new antibiotic, omnicef, and instruction to call if things hadn't improved in the next few days.

March 8: Awful.

March 9: Absolutley miserable.

March 10-11: Not to be too gross, but both mornings Zoey couldn't open her eyes because they were glued shut with eye goo. On top of that she has a horrible diaper rash for some reason, so she stayed home from daycare both days. This morning her fever was 102 so we scheduled a doctor appointment. We saw a different doctor in the practice and she advised us to toss the antibiotic we started only four days earlier, because obviously it wasn't working, and she prescribed augmentin. After the appointment Zoey got a nap in and her fever went away, then Rachel came over to watch the lil' lamb so I could get a few hours of work in (thank god for Aunt Rae!). At 5:15 Rachel called to tell me Zoey's temperature was up to 104 so I came home and called the doctor right away. Zoey looked completely miserable. They advised us to just "watch her" and call them if she gets any worse. I guess they weren't too worried since the Advil we gave her at 5:30 had already dropped her fever by a couple points only 20 minutes later.

So we sit, we watch, we wait, like we have been for the past six weeks...

Going into starting daycare, everyone I talked to who at one time had put their own kids in daycare told me exactly this: "She's going to get sick A LOT." And boy were they right. Zoey was in daycare a total of three days before she was diagnosed with RSV. Could she have contracted it elsewhere? Sure. Coincidence? I think not! Let me say that I am really pleased with our daycare and I'm sure they do the best they can to manage all those runny noses and germy children. I think Zoey getting sick is just part of the process; you're practically begging for a sick child when you throw a baby - who had barely seen another baby in her eight months - into a room with six other kids, five days a week. It's bound to happen.

So now we have to deal with the fallout. Luckily I could use the blizzard as my primary excuse for missing work while Zoey was in the thick of hacking coughs and clogged nostrils. My boss is really understanding about when I have to leave work unexpectedly to go take care of a Zoey issue, and Jimmy's office is very family-focused so he has some flexibility in his schedule as well. I just hate having to ask to leave early or, in some cases, not come in at all. I started the year with a bounty of PTO that is rapidly dwindling... It's days and weeks like this that make me think being a stay-at-homer or working part time would be ideal but that's just not in the cards for now.

Of course Zoey's illnesses have been inconvenient but the worst part is that she's unhappy and feeling terrible. I just want her to feel well again! We have had a few good days here and there in all of this, so every day hasn't been bad, I just want my little lamb to be back to 100%.

Alright Zo - you're getting this out of your system now so that you never miss a day of school, right? Okay? Deal.

Nine Months Old

Just a little reminder: Zoey was born on the 18th of May. I understand how this may be confusing as I'm constantly posting her monthly updates on the 25th, 3rd, 10th, etc.... Someday I'll post on time!


Little Lamb,

What a month of change this has been. Let's start from the beginning.

You started day care at the end of January at a really nice place near our house. Your teachers are great and you've discovered that other babies exist! You didn't really like the other babies at first but now you're starting to get along well with your new friends. You actually got sick for the first time the night before your first day of day care, so you started a few days later, on January 31. The next day we had a heinous blizzard so you were stuck in the house with dad and me for the next four days. Then the following week you went to day care two days before it snowed again, and of course any time it snows in Tulsa the whole town shuts down. I took you to the doctor on that snow day because you just weren't acting like yourself, and it turned out you had RSV! Three days of day care and you get ridiculously sick. We decided to keep you home the rest of the week to help you recover, and you got much worse during that time. Your temperature was over 103 for a while and you didn't do much other than sleep and snuggle. It was so sad seeing you like that and I hope it never happens again. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of your sickness. For about a month you were extremely congested, had a terrible cough, and somewhere in there developed infections in both ears. Because there's not much in the way of medication you can give an infant we tried every home remedy possible: we elevated your mattress, bought a humidifier, constantly wiped and cleaned your nose out with that nose sucky thing (which you HATE), created a steam room in the bathroom, and rinsed your nose with saline. Once we went to the doctor they put you on a steroid and an antibiotic and gave us an inhaler (which you also hate). I'm ecstatic to say that you have been feeling a million times better lately. It's good to see you back to your old self.

You had a check up this month! You weigh a whopping 17 pounds 13 ounces and measure 26 and 3/4 inches in length. The doctor said you're doing great, meeting all your milestones and growing just as you should. She also said we could start feeding you some table food so we're going to work on that. We get a little nervous giving you chunky foods because, as new parents, we're terrified that you might choke. Since you started day care you've learned how to pick up and eat puffs, and it's soooo cute to watch you pick up each one with your little thumb and forefinger and put them in your mouth. You're such a lady. You're still eating purees too, three times a day, and about four to five bottles a day.

Things you're into right now: EVERYTHING. You never sit still anymore; you are so curious and excited about everything around you so it's nearly impossible to hold you for longer than a few minutes anymore. You reeeallly want to be mobile and you try so hard to crawl but it's just not happening. One big development is that you can "cruise" the furniture. We start you at one end of the coffee table and slowly but surely you make it to the other end. Dad works with you a lot on your mobility so I still say you're on track to walk in a month or so. But if not, no big deal. We like not having to chase you around yet.

Your sleeping has gotten better lately. Starting at about five months you began waking up a few times every night. Sometimes we have to feed you but most of the time all we have to do is give you your pacifier and pet your hair before you fall back asleep. Lately we've had a few nights a week where you sleep straight through, which is great for all of us. Going to bed has been easier too. You're starting to understand that when we lay you down, it's time to sleep. A really cute sleep development is that when you wake up in the middle of the night sometimes you'll find your pacifier and put it back in your mouth yourself. It's amazing to see you be so dextrous and independent. Next thing we know you'll be going off to college! Oh geez, I promised myself I wouldn't cry! (forgive me, motherhood has made me extremely emotional)

Now that you're not sick you're back to your extremely happy self, babbling all the time (dada is your favorite word), smiling at everyone, and clapping! You are now a pro at clapping and you look so proud of yourself every time you do it. You've turned in to somewhat of a ham lately too, giving the biggest smiles to every person you see. Strangers are always so impressed by you. When we went in for your nine month check up, a man crossed the doctor's office waiting room to tell me how beautiful you are. I can't make this stuff up! You are quite the pretty little lady. :)

BTW, I've started planning your first birthday party. With the holidays over I have to have some event to look forward to! Of course this birthday is more for the grown ups since you really won't know what's going on, but it's going to be awesome and I can't wait.

Only three months til the big 1!!!

Eight Months Old

Talk about waiting til the last minute - you're almost nine months old and I'm just now getting to this update. yeeesh.

Zo!

First of all, getting older for you hasn't changed one thing, which is that you're still super awesome and you're the best ever. I mean look at that picture - you're so happy! The only times you aren't happy are when you're tired or really hungry, and when we have to take your toothbrush away. I don't know why, but wow you really love that toothbrush.

Month eight was exciting because you had your first Christmas. You got so many great presents from our friends and family, and you had a pretty fantastic day overall. First we opened presents at home, or rather you tried to eat the wrapping paper and bows while your sappy mom kept saying "Yay!" and "Ooh Zoey look at that!" Then we went to Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Jason's house for brunch with dad's family, and came back home for dinner with mom's family and Grandpa Jim. It was a lovely day.

You haven't had a well baby check up since you turned six months old so I don't have any stats, but I'm thinking you're nearing the 18 pound point. You're eating about 2-3 ounces of fruits/veggies and cereal three times a day, plus about 20-24 ounces of formula. I didn't notice how much you've grown until we recently had to pack away a lot of your 3 month and 3-6 month pants and onesies. I hate when you can't wear your adorable little outfits anymore, but hey it's an excuse to go shopping for more so that's okay. People tell us all the time how pretty you are, and of course we wholeheartedly agree. You're so pretty and smart and perfect. There you have it, from a completely objective point of view. ;)

You actually crawled this month! Okay so it was only like two movements but that's alright. You haven't mastered crawling yet but what you can do is push your arms against the floor, which moves you backwards. I think it confuses and frustrates you a bit but hey it's something! I still think you'll walk before you can crawl. You're pulling up on furniture {and us} all the time and you can actually stand on your own without holding anything for about 10 seconds at the most. Pretty impressive. You're so determined to walk, I think you'll be doing it within the next two months.

Some things you love right now: the dogs ("love" is an understatement), walking with the help of anyone who will hold your hands, jabbering at us (you say "mama" all the time now!), chewing on everything, and playing with all the new toys you got for Christmas (the Say Please Tea Set and Shape Sorting Cube are a couple of your favorites).

The only bad news this month: Aunt Rachel has decided to move on to bigger things so you will be starting day care at the end of the month. We found a really great place for you so I really hope you like it! It will be good for you to socialize and discover that there are other babies in the world, but I sure will miss seeing you during my lunch hour.

Keep on keepin' it real, Zobot!