A little behind.

I'm a little behind on blogging. Okay, a lot behind. I do love doing it and I miss it a lot... but life has kept me incredibly busy. A quick recap:

1. I love my new job. I'm 9 months in and it feels so right. The people are great, the work load is great, I love it.

2. Zoey is 15.5 months old, saying cute little things like "what's this?" and "thank you".

3. My husband is officially ordained as an Elder in the church and I am so proud of him.

4. Hubby's job ends July 29. He works in Atlanta for the month of August (home on the weekends) and will be officially unemployed on September 1.

5. My kitty Yumi is outside for good after deciding to pee on one of Zoey's hats. Yeah. She walked into the bathroom, looked in her litter box, turned around, walked right into Zoey's room and peed on a hat. I watched the whole thing.

6. Falkor is probably going to a goat farm a friend of ours is setting up. He deserves a place to run and needs a job. And since I can't have a goat, we're placing him with someone we know will take excellent care of him and that we can visit any time we want. Not sure when this begins... soon.

7. I've been crafting more... I have officially completed Zoey's first year scrapbook (which is bulging at the seams by the way) and I made her a tutu for July 4 festivities. I <3 Pinterest, by the way.

8. I'm 7 lbs lighter than when I got pregnant with Zoey and have 8 more to go until I reach my goal.

9. Zoey is in her "I'm going to throw myself on the floor, kick my feet, scream and hit you if you don't carry me around and give me what I want" phase. It's adorable. (note the sarcasm) Terrible Two is a lie is I ever heard one. It starts at 12 months.

10. I want to deliver our next baby naturally.

#10 isn't a joke and it isn't an announcement. It's just a thought. I've read some AMAZING and inspiring birth stories lately... and while I can't really TTC any time soon, I truly pray that next time is different... that next time, the placenta acts right... that next time, the baby doesn't start trying to come out at 32 weeks. I can't guarantee anything. All I can do is pray.

Now I leave you with cuteness:

A Zoey Update... what else is new?

I just realized I never posted the video recap I made of Zoey's journey to her first birthday. Shame on me, I know. For those interested, here it is:

http://youtu.be/JIDvVg0u86Q

In other news, Zoey is walking a little more every day. For some reason she walks at her babysitter's house more than she will at home. I think by the time she's here, she has missed us so much and she just wants to play and be held. It's cute, but a little annoying at the same time. We kind of need Zoey to walk so she can finally start school. You're probably thinking, "School? What the heck?!" We got her into Bethel Baptist Preschool, which is a curriculum-based daycare. The only catch is she has to be walking because their only opening is Toddler I. The deposit is paid and she's in... when she walks. She'll be in a classroom, they provide all her meals and have a little playground just for her age group. We'll miss her sitter, but it will be good for Zoey to get more socialized with several children. It doesn't cost a whole lot more than what we pay now and regardless I think the fact that food is included will make up for the difference.

Zoey is starting to babble more and actually say words... and try to converse with us... and it completely takes us off guard. She'll talk to us as if we should understand exactly what she is saying, and when we repeat her in question form to see if that is what she said, she always says "Yeah!" ;) Too. Stinking. Cute.

I can't believe we're in her 2nd year. Even more so, I can't believe that this time next year I'll be starting to potty train her... yikes.

One thing at a time, momma. One thing at a time.

Reflections of ONE

My sweet little Peach is officially ONE. What a wild ride it has been. She's growing so fast, I can hardly catch my breath sometimes. She's very close to walking. Her first birthday party was sweet but overwhelming. There were so many people in our house, Zoey was a little freaked out. In the end, she had a great time and got some really cute clothes for the spring!

To see more adorable pictures of Zoey from her One Year photo session, and for pictures of other adorable babies, visit Jennifer Adams Reflections' NEW website! It's so stinking cute, your heart just might explode. ;)

Tubes!

It has been a wild ride for Zoey since before Christmas... today, she got tubes in her ears! Poor baby has been on five rounds of antibiotics, one of which was a series of shots that she haaaaated... none of them worked. When it got around to the 5th round, her pediatrician said she will have to get tubes because... well... there was NO antibiotic left... she's had them all.

Nice.

Good news is surgery was a breeze! They had to use a larger hose to suction her ears because she had so much thick gunk behind her ear drum... it wasn't just fluid. It was a very quick procedure and she recovered well. So well, in fact, she took a SIPPY CUP from the hospital with REAL MILK in it... like a champ. Not formula... MILK. Girlfriend has been throwing tantrums at home when we offer her a cup over a bottle and we have every cup on the market... except this one. Not sure why this cup was more interesting... maybe she was desperate for a drink... but she took it and it's a toddler hard-top cup. I don't understand it and don't even care... she's off the bottle as of today! :) I'm so relieved to not have to wash the 459849608596 parts to her Dr Brown's bottles anymore...

Looks like our ear troubles are finally over!!

One Year Ago...

One year ago today, I was 30 weeks pregnant and I went to my weekly OB appt for a placenta check. I had a rare form of vasa previa where my placenta had split in two and each section was connected by a blood vessel covering the cervix. This means if my water broke or I went into labor, I could bleed out and lose the baby and possibly my own life as well.

During this scary time in my pregnancy, I was getting weekly ultrasounds to check the placenta's activity and to see if I was dilating/effacing at all. By this point, I had been already. That day, I never went home. I went into an ambulance and to a hospital equipped to handle my situation.

If any of you are looking for some dramatic reading, check out the old posts from the vasa previa days, starting with the day I was Admitted. Then, there is a filter by Dealing With The Hospital, that's some fun reading right there. Start at the bottom... work your way up. If you feel so inclined. :) Today, I'm taking a trip down memory lane and looking back on those days... I still can't believe that was my life, but at the same time it feels like yesterday...

I have nothing to talk about...

So I'm going to post pictures instead...

Protected + Catching Up w/ Photos!

This blog is now only viewable by those who have been invited. :) Take that sickos!

I figure I'll just post photos from the last month to bring everyone up to speed on my daughter. There is also a YouTube video at the end, so you're in for a treat! Enjoy! I'll blog more often now that I know I can literally choose who gets to and who doesn't get to read this blog. :)

In a nutshell, she has 4 teeth, she pulls herself up and she's working on saying "bye-bye". She's 9 months old now!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Our little Peach has her first Christmas coming up and I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. :) So far she has a musical table, "Peas and Thank You" (a Veggie Tales book), and a little turtle shape-sorter wrapped under the tree. I still plan on getting her a set of rubber blocks for her to practice her stacking skills... and something penguin because the child has fallen in love with penguins. I was thinking of a pillow pet even though she's not supposed to sleep with a pillow yet... maybe I'll save that for her first birthday.

On her first Thanksgiving, she got to savor her first lollipop. And when I say savor...

I...

...mean......savor!!

For those of you wondering, no she didn't become a crazy baby and yes she napped afterward. :) Our little Peach is now 8 months old... she's very close to crawling, but that doesn't stop her from being completely mobile. She has decided that she can get places a lot faster if she just rolls across the floor, so that's what she does. She can "crawl" with her legs, but hasn't figured out how to lift up her hand and coordinate movement. Instead, she sticks her butt way up in the air, feet on her tippy toes, hands flat, and then just gives up and rolls across the room to her destination. :) I love it.

She is a happy baby... an adventurous eater, curious of the world around her, loves to laugh and smile at everyone... she's the greatest gift this Christmas season. I know this is a mom cliche, but I don't care: I have the greatest daughter in the world.

Zoey's First Halloween (a photo update)

Shmorgishborg!!!

It has been a long time since I've blogged. I'm actually going to wait until the end to title it... I also just looked over all my labeled and selected all the ones I should topic this blog around because it seriously has been so long since I've produced any meat and potatoes for you all. So, here we go...

Zoey was the size of a 9 month old at her 6 month appointment... we were told she's so tall, she's off the percentile chart (which was meant for full-term babies, by the way)... so we're always like, "What preemie? Was that a dream?" Hmmm...

She has two teeth now. They came in during the same week, just a couple days apart, when she was 6.5 months old. She also started sitting up on her own around the same time. Teething has been... fun. Not really. Especially since her teething tablets were recalled. Losers. Get it right the first time, people... instead, we've had to resort to Infant Advil (which takes 20 minutes to kick in, which equals forever to an infant) paired with Orajel (she hates it). Some days are downright horrid and I feel awful for her... but lately, it's gotten a tad better. She's a wonderful baby, starting to get mobile in her 7th month, which terrifies me... is my home baby-proofed enough? What is she going to get into now?! And why is she so grabby?! She and I need to have a talk about what belongs to her and what doesn't... something tells me it won't go so well.
My new job... it rocks. I don't know what else to say about it yet except that I. LOVE. IT. I love the people, the work we do, the additional education they offer us for free (InDesign training!)... everything about it is everything I needed to move toward a happier life. We're not made to feel guilty for taking a lunch (yeah, I said it... stupid, eh?)... we're encouraged to play as hard as we work and to love our environment. All this love makes me happy :)

The holidays... oh, the holidays. Zoey is going to be a peach for Halloween. Well, kind of... I dropped the ball on getting her costume made because of everything with the job transition and vacation... so I got a little creative and made her costume. I found a fabulous tutorial online and made her a tutu myself... took about an hour total. I bought a long-sleeve onesie and dressed it up a bit with a couple buttons and ribbon. She already had a peach hat to wear. I also got her some peachy tights, but I'm thinking (thank you cold weather) she's going to end up in velvety brown pants instead, which is just fine, right?! Peaches have brown on them... they're fuzzy... see, it all works out. :) Of course I will post pics after. I'm too proud of my crafting not to.
Zoey is loving oatmeal now... we buy her the kind with fruit mixed in. Oatmeal and apples make her veeeery happy. She also loves yogurt. I think one thing I look forward to the most is Thanksgiving... she's going to get to try real sweet potatoes for the first time. :) I may even puree some turkey and gravy... we'll see. ;)

I am so stinking excited about Christmas, too! I've started looking on Etsy for her first ornaments and I found a birdie one I probably have to have because she has birdies everywhere... but I was also inspired to make them myself. Kristin and I are plotting a decoupage session in the near future...

I love crafting. I finally bought a glue gun today (I know, what the heck took so long?!) and I want to glue everything... this could get dangerous. My cats better not get in the way because I'm half tempted to glue ribbon and embellishments on their fur... but I digress.

Zoey's 5 month session with Jennifer Adams

The same talented photographer who did the "Overcoming PCOS" session when I was pregnant came to do a 5 month "Peach" session with Zoey. How lovely my little peach is in all these photos! I am in love all over again. To see more of Jennifer's work, visit her site: Jennifer Adams Reflections.

Giggles.

Zoey is starting to Giggle now... she's had a squealing laugh for about a month now, but last night we captured an adorable moment I just had to share. Note that the video quality is very poor since this was recorded on my BlackBerry, but it's what you can hear that will melt your heart.

Zoey's 4 month appointment

14lb 5oz
26" long

97th percentile for height
75th percentile for weight (because she's so tall)

How in the world did she get so stinking tall?!
She sure didn't get it from me. I'm 5'1"....

Solids & Oozy Poop Explosions...

Zoey is now experiencing new foods. She's 4 months old and very ready. When she was 3.5 months I gave her a taste of cereal for the first time and she did really well with it. We also did bananas mixed with breast milk. Last week, she tasted a bit of smashed avocado and after making a hilarious face, she tried to suck my finger off my hand. That's my girl. :)

This weekend we spoiled her and gave her pear baby food in her cereal and she definitely liked it a lot more... but then we gave her straight pears. Big mistake because now she doesn't want cereal, she only wants the fruit. Oh well, I suppose that isn't a bad thing... they don't have to have cereal right? I'm guessing it's the first solid they're started on because it's mild...

This morning was the first "solid food" explosion. Zoey had the biggest oozy/drippy poop I've ever seen. It was dripping out of her onesie and was all over my arm. What did I do? Laugh hysterically. It was quite funny and it didn't really smell very bad... it was just oozy and gross looking. We pulled the onesie down instead of over her head to avoid it going in her hair. I just threw the onesie away. I couldn't bring myself to clean it. Zoey just smiled the whole time.

Looks like we're in a whole new world of feeding! She's getting a little bit of solids every night between her last 2 feeds as a snack until she's a pro at eating and we can replace a bottle with baby food. Four month check-up tomorrow!

July 4, 2010: Crazy Aunt Misty

3 months old

Zoey is 3 months old (14 weeks to be exact) and she is just blossoming. She is 12lb 11oz right now. Her colic is finally getting under control... she's happier and so interested in the world around her. She has thrush right now but it's not really bothering her. It's not spreading at all, it's just thickening in the same spot on the back of her tongue... no diaper rash to go with it either. She's on some meds for 10 days and she loves how they taste. She's so funny. :)

I am excited to start her on food, although I'll [probably] wait until the 4 month mark... I am toying with the idea of pureeing some bananas with breast milk, per my mother-in-law's recommendation! I just want to be sure she is sitting up even better in her bumbo before we do this. She is very strong, but I don't want to risk her choking. It excites me to think of introducing Zoey to new foods... seeing if she is as adventurous of an eater as Glenn and I are. So far she's pretty open to any type of nipple and whatever substance we give her, be it breast milk or a specific type of formula. She hasn't had any bad reactions yet and she just goes with the flow! (ha ha... "the flow"... get it?)

She is putting weight on her legs all the time right now. She likes to arch her back so that I will stand her up... I wish she'd slow down. She's soooo strong for her age. I'm definitely proud of her... you wouldn't know she was a preemie. I just wish she'd stop advancing so quickly, haha. She is pretty closing to rolling over in both directions... belly-to-back and back-to-belly... she can get on her sides pretty well in both directions, she just can't figure out how to move her arm out of the way. Right now, she just loves to stand and look around at everyone. She's adorable and I love her.

Zoey on YouTube

I'm going to start posting videos on YouTube of Zoey for all you family and friends who live far away. This way you can watch her grow up beyond just pictures. Enjoy the first of many:

It feels like just yesterday...

It feels like just yesterday I was laying in the hospital just waiting... waiting and not knowing what was going to happen and when it was going to happen. I still feel like a large chunk of my life has been taken away, even though it has been 3 months since Zoey was born... but in reality, I've only had her home for 2 of those months. Really, really hard to believe...

I've come to the realization that placentas are evil little things. A necessary evil... I can't even count on both hands how many people have issues with it... low-lying, completely lying, splitting in half, lol... I mean, wow! Maybe I just never noticed it before because I never knew what to worry about... but it seems like it's everywhere now... I only hope to God that no one I know has to go through the same thing I did.

It still feels like yesterday that I was fainting in the bathroom, with four nurses hovering over me... like yesterday that I was crying in pain when the pain meds weren't kicking in fast enough... crying because my baby was regressing in NICU instead of progressing.

I've said this 100 times and I'll say it again. I would do it all over again. This baby girl is truly a miracle and was worth every fight during the TTC process, every tear shed, and every long night in the hospital. I'm getting back in the swing of life, but I still feel drained at the thought that most of my 2010 was spent dealing with the hospital. I look forward to it being a distant memory so I don't remember the fight as vividly. I still feel like I just got home.

Sometimes I just stare at her and cry a little. What a precious gift she is... and she is mine.

12 Weeks Old: Pictures Worth 1,000 Words!

I have nothing to say. This little girl has stolen my heart! I can't believe she turns 3 months old 1 week from today....