Mountain Time

In Boulder and spending some quality time with Aunt Katie. She was (finally) discharged from the hospital this morning and able to go out to dinner with us at Pasta Jay's (so delicious). She is strong and wonderful and we are very happy to see her. Zoe immediately felt comfortable and even almost fell asleep on her shoulder after dinner.

Boulder is so familiar and at the same time completely different. There are corners that haven't changed at all and then the next corner will baffle and I won't have any idea where I am. But that's nothing new.

Many more stories to come later...


...like how wonderful it was to see my Theresa and Sky and their little ones and how amazing it is when your friends make such a beautiful and sweet family.


But the time difference is hurting me and I'm too tired now.

On our way...

Ah...Boulder! We shall see you soon.

The Zoe Monster

As promised, Zoe's impression of a "monster" ...
Whenever we say "Zoe Monster!" she growls like this...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Over the rainbow

I started to write a whole long post about Zoe's cranio-facial team meeting yesterday, but it quickly became god-awful boring. Instead I'll just hit the highlights.

- Big news! Zoe may qualify for EI (Early Intervention) because of her cleft lip. If so, we may be able to get a speech therapist to work with her at our home at no cost. I'm going to ask Zoe's pediatrician to refer us and have an assessment team visit after her one year well baby visit next month.

- Her teeth are our main concern currently. Part of the reason why they seem crooked is because her aveolar ridge is still rotated out. This will naturally turn in over the next several months. We need to find a pediatric dentist in our area (preferably one who has experience with cleft babies) to take some x-rays to find out where her next top teeth will come in. Impeccable dental hygiene is extremely important right now, we've begun brushing her teeth and totally banned juice.

- Dr. Noonan was so happy to see his "princess". He said our visit yesterday was more of a benefit to him than to us. He thinks she is healing remarkable well and made sure that his staff had taken alot of pictures of her. He once again reiterated that there are no more surgeries needed for her at this time. We may consider a lip enhancement in a couple of years, but even that is becoming more and more unnecessary. We'll see him again in April for another assessment.

- Both the audiologist and ENT passed Zoe with flying colors. Her ears are that of a "normal" 11 month old, her hearing is excellent and she is not anymore prone to ear infections than her peers.

- Zoe did very well during the visits, although she was very wiggly and would not stay on my lap...this does not bode well for our upcoming cross-country trip!

I revisited Zoe's photo montage today as I sent it to a couple of her team members. I want to have it posted somewhere on this blog, it shows how far she's come.

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Elvis Impression

...or the 313th way we are warping our kids.

Athena at the ripe young age of 2 and 1/2 can do a pretty mean Elvis impression. It's more of a 70's Elvis with the cape and sunglasses, although she can shake her booty like the young cute Elvis. You kind of have to use your imagination in this photo and block out the sippy cup and backpack (she was on her way to school) but she is holding a microphone and has got the stance down.

Zoe does a convincing "Monster" too...

There is love

Yes there are fights, and yes there is hair pulling, and yea Athena likes to knock Zoe over and gets a little bit jealous when the attention is not always on her. But when Zoe is fussing in the car and Athena reaches over to hold her little hand...my eyes well up.

Happy Birfday Ah-Katie

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Happy Birthday Aunt Katie!
Excuse the big splotch on her shirt, she just finished
"helping" wash the dishes.

Exercise Partner

They say you should have an exercise partner to help keep you motivated. So here's mine. Zoe and I are making a commitment to going for 2 mile walks every morning (weather permitting) to look at squirrels, kitties, trees and houses around our neighborhood and to help Mommy get rid of the last of her baby pudge. The weather was absolutely beautiful this morning, sunny and slightly chilly, and our neighborhood has a nice hilly terrain that's great for walking. The only problem is my exercise partner has a tendency to doze off after the first mile or so...

Little Surfer

Just a little over a month ago, Zoe pulled herself up for the first time and was so proud. Her latest trick is standing without holding onto anything. It's challenging to get a photo, because she typically uses either Chris or I as her launching point. She crawls up us and then with legs wide apart and arms outstretched she holds her standing position for several seconds, then she gets too excited and falls down on her diapered bum.

Chris is convinced she'll be walking for Grandaddio, Katie and Grandma Andree in Boulder next week, I think she's got to get her "sea legs" a bit more. Certainly before her first birthday (gulp...next month!) she'll be chasing after her sister. I have a feeling that as soon as Zoe learns to walk, she'll run.

She looks like a little
surfer girl riding the waves.

Mimi's Assistant

Zoe likes to help Mimi call in payroll but
has a tendency to get the keyboard all sticky.