Howdy Y'all

                                       

Things here on the blog are going to get a bit quiet this coming week.  We are leaving on a jet plane to warm temperatures, good BBQ, great music and many quilt shops that I've never been to before.  Granted they don't know about the guilt shops yet, but I'm working on batting my eyes and looking ever so irresistable. 

On a side note, this little fact has turned me into my mother.  When I was in junior high and high school my mom had this book called The Quilter's Travel Companion.  It listed quilt stores in every town in the US with a map on how to get there.  Anytime we went anywhere, we had to stop by quilt stores.  I was horrible.  I'd complain, ask to leave and generally be put out that we had to go to another quilt store.  "Isn't all fabric the same, mom?"  Then I'd roll my eyes.

Fast forward a couple decades, I've got my Quilter's Travel Companion and I've ear-marked the stores I'd like to hit.  Because I am my mother's daughter, I'll use the same star stickers she did to denote if I'd return to that store.

I'm not sure Austin is ready for us.  Our legs haven't seen the light of day in months so I have a feeling we're going to scream "tourist."  Fortunately we have a slew of family down there that love us for who we are.  They'll likely switch our SPF 75 sunscreen out for baby oil, but hey, it's about making memories.

I hope y'all have a great Thanksgiving and are reminded of all the blessings you have in your life.  If you also get to visit a quilt store, that will make this Thanksgiving even better.

Sleep, Precious Sleep

For the last month we've had interrupted sleep.  Zoe started out with a cold, then she got the cough.  Because she's a gagger, coughing is always fun.  Once we turned the corner on the illnesses, I foolishly thought that we could go back to sleeping through the night.

I couldn't be more wrong.

The last couple weeks have been filled with dreams.  She's been having nightmares.  She can't tell us what they're about, she just knows she needs mommy there to cuddle and make it okay.  Both N and I struggled with nightmares as children, so I have a soft spot in my heart for Zoe and her dreams.  I can clearly recall the horrible dream I had as a child and the only thing that made it better was my mom cuddling me. 

I'm so blessed that I can do the same for Zoe, even if it means I drink Starbucks like it's water.

This week we decided that before bed we'd talk about our favorite parts of the day and even what we would dream about.  My hope was to fill her head with good things so the bad dreams might not come in.  I'm proud to report that it's working.  She's having great dreams.

Last night she started laughing and chuckled, "it's a deal" as she giggled harder.  Nothing made my heart beam than hearing her laugh in her sleep.

That was until 3:30 when I heard "MOMMA!"  I rushed into her room and she goes, "is it time for school yet?" 

"No sweetie, not yet.  It's still ni-night time."
"Will it be soon?  They sing really fun songs there!"

Apparently both the nightmares and the good dreams wake her up.  She was just too excited to go to school and sing some songs.  She couldn't fall back asleep until 6 o'clock.

How can you get mad at your child when they're just excited to sing songs with their friends and learn at school?  I guess it's another Starbucks morning!  This momma is singing her own tired song this morning.

Yo! Gabba Gabba

There are many shows you have the privilege of watching once you have kiddos.  Some of them are great and some of them make you scratch your head.  One show Zoe LOVES is Yo! Gabba Gabba.  It's a DJ and his creature friends who sing and dance.  Because Zoe loves to sing and dance, I can totally understand why she loves the show. 

Foofa, Muno, DJ Lance, Toodee, Brobee and Plex (clockwise from the pink one)

N has a really hard time stomaching it.  It's okay, mainly because of Biz's Beat of the Day, which is Biz Markie giving us a beat with his vocal abilities.  Beyond that, I'm a bit lost.

Several months ago we learned that Yo! Gabba Gabba was coming to do a live show.  Because of Zoe's love for it, we bought tickets.

At the last minute N had emergency band practice, so he got out of it.  I'm not quite sure if he talked his band into having practice or if it was God's little blessing to him.  Either way we had an extra ticket and ended up taking my youngest nephew Connor to the show. 

He had no idea who Yo! Gabba Gabba was but was just excited to be out with us.  We went to dinner at Red Robin, arrived in time to get shirts for the kiddos and get our seats about 3 minutes before show time.  Connor just picked one of the guys, Brobee (the green one) and claimed him as the favorite.  He sat down, yelled for Brobee and immediately became a groupie.

Zoe's heart belongs to Toodee (the blue one).  She got her Toodee shirt and couldn't stand it, she started yelling for Toodee.

Then the show began.  The kids got up and danced, they sang, balloons fell from the ceiling, confetti rained down and I was blown away.  Those Yo! Gabba Gabba folks can really put on a great show. 

It was a night of laughs, dancing, joy and bonding.  Plus I got to see Biz Markie in person do his beatbox.  It was even better than that guy from those Police Academy movies.

November is Prematurity Awareness Month

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you'd know that we were touched by prematurity.  Actually if you want to get technical, both N and I were born prematurely too.  This isn't something that's new to us, although Zoe's birth was by far the earliest premature birth in either family. 

She weighed in at 2lbs, 10 oz and I'm almost sure as we were making mashed potatoes last night that one of our potatoes weighed as much. 

That time in our lives was devastating, emotional, full of worry, full of joy and shaped who we are today.  Our story ends happy.  Zoe is alive, without significant problems of asthma or cystic fibrosis, loss of hearing or eye sight, mental disabilities or the many more effects that prematurity can have on a child.  We are incredibly fortunate that the only effect of premature is some slight cerebal palsy in her left heel chord.  If you saw her today, you'd never know it was there unless you walked through the physical therapy with her.

Zoe's prematurity left an impact on us in ways we are still experiencing.  God took us through this journey, carried us, shaped us and without Him I'm not sure we would've survived that journey.  It was a time of emotional ups and downs that both N and I handled in our own ways. 

We spent 9 1/2 weeks going into that NICU and Intermediate Care Nursery, watching babies come and go.  Some thrived better than Zoe and some didn't.  As a parent you're barely ready to handle an infant, let alone a preemie.

Once we finally came home we were up every 2 hours for feedings.  Zoe was on several medications that we had to manage and we had to watch to make sure she remembered to breathe.  I think every parent worries about their child not breathing, but prematurity takes that to a deeper level.  We had to learn how to use breathing tools and infant CPR in case she were to stop breathing.  One time in her swing she did. 

I share all this because November is Prematurity Awareness Month.  In the United States 1 in 8 babies are born prematurely.  This number has grown at a rate of 30% since the 1980s.  Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn death worldwide. 

The March of Dimes was originally established by FDR to fight polio.  Since it's origin, it has switched efforts to fight prematurity.  This month please consider donating to March of Dimes.  They have made huge strides to slow the rate of premature births in the United States.  So far they've seen a 3% decline in the number of premature births, but there is still much work to be done.

As a parent I felt helpless and guilty for Zoe's prematurity.  To see her struggle and fight just to have the same chance as a baby born 10 weeks later was heart-wrenching.  The March of Dimes is an organization that is near and dear to my heart.  My prayer is by the time Zoe has children of her own, the cycle of prematurity in our family will end.

She's Full of One Liners

Last weekend Zoe asked both daddy and me on a date.  On Monday night we decided it was a great time for a date.  We went to dinner at Red Robin and then to Target to do a little shopping. 

As we were headed home, we got behind a slow truck in the parking lot.

N:  "C'mon people, get a move on!"

Zoe:  "Daddy, do you need to check your blood pressure?"

I have no idea where she gets it, but I love it.

Trick or Treat

This year was a banner year for trick-or-treating.  It was Zoe's second year, but her first year of being really excited and totally loving "knock on someone's door and get free candy" aspect of the night.  We did about a 1/2 mile loop and she ran from door-to-door for the first 3/4 of it.

She couldn't wait to get to the next house and the next house and the next house.  Her smile charmed more candy out of people and we ended up with a full pumpkin bucket by the end of the night.

Really, how could you only give one piece to this face?

After her and grandma got done sorting through the candy, she played trick-or-treat with daddy.  She handed him her bucket and told him to say trick-or-treat, then she'd put candy in it.  He was supposed to say thank-you after she got done putting candy in it, so she could have the bucket and do trick-or-treating to him.  Daddy doesn't play by the rules and instead looked in the bucket, looked back at her and said, "trick or treat" again.

Zoe put more candy in the bucket, daddy looked at the bucket, looked back at Zoe and said, "trick or treat."

Zoe put more candy in the bucket.

When he said "trick-or-treat" one more time, Zoe went to get more candy.  As she did that, she looked at daddy and said, "you're killing me smalls."

Pumpkins

Several weeks ago we went to Seimer's Farm at Greenbluff to go through the corn maze, drink apple cider, go down a giant slide, ride a train and pick pumpkins.  It was the last weekend of great weather, so we got several pictures of the girls.  This year we were all happy, unlike last year.  It was an extra special day.

The girls each picked a pumpkin and we decided this last weekend would be the perfect time to carve them.

E pulled out the guts.

D figured out a design while Zoe started on hers.  She LOVED the poking of the design onto the pumpkin.

After all was said and done, we came out with a pirate for D:

Two happy faces for E and Zoe and a spider for me.

It was great Saturday fun.