No Matter How Cold

Sometimes no matter how cold, you simply must... get.... outside. There are only so many coloring pages, puzzles, play dough sculptures and Super Why episodes you can watch before you start to go a little crazy. So, even though it's 15 degrees in the sun, you power through. Then, coloring on the living room floor or quietly doing a puzzle becomes a welcome treat 'cause you're not freezing your bum off!

Look at poor Zoe's cold runny nose.
She, of course, refused to wear her hat.

Kitty boots in action!

Zoe is so ready to go home.

Blog restrictions

This is a blog for friends, family, my other blogging Moms and families blessed with a special cleft baby like Zoe. So, I've just added some restrictions to the blog to make it secure from bored strangers who happen upon it by clicking "next blog" on the Google toolbar or who search for odd things and find us. So, as of today we'll be off the Google menu list of blogs and off all search engines.

I know some friends and family search for "beanspeak" in order to find our blog, and that isn't going to work anymore. But, instead, you can write down the address and stick it to your computer, or bookmark the page, or subscribe via bloglines. We're not going anywhere!

I don't want to restrict the blog to only invited subscribers as I know there are many families who find us while doing research about having a baby with a cleft (we are still listed on a couple of cleft sites). I want us to remain a resource for them to show how normal and lovely life is with our little Zoe. I remember that time of frantically looking at every photo and reading every website (ah the post-pregnancy hormones...Chris almost took my Internet privileges away) and I still want to provide an image of the future for families doing the same thing.

Anyway, although I will miss seeing the words people have searched on that hit our pages...most notably (and these are the exact words used to find the attached pages).."images of perioral dermatitis" "Athena and the Bee" "Zoe monster" and "yia yia's house" ...it is just a little too weird to be coming up in these searches.

I really do hate to loose the folks who look up things like "being an uncle for the first time" and "cranio-facial team" and "potty presents" and find us but I think it is the smart thing to do.

Zoe's Photo Post

I don't know why my Mom's not blogging.
She seems to be spending all her time on the computer
Something about "werk" and "massive NEA grant"?
Whatever that means.
Guess, I'll just have to post some photos...

I'm going to take this time to show you photographic proof of my
treatment around here. This is usually how it starts...

...and this is how it ends.

Check out the outfit Dad chose...stripes and leopard print?!??!
Really not appropriate for tea...

Mom should be back soon. If not, I will!

Pearls at the Park

Athena insisted upon wearing her pearls
at the park today with Unca Stu.

Looking for dragons on top of the wooden castle.

"C'mon Unca Stu. Stop taking pictures and play with me!"

A visit with Unca Stu

Unca Stu came for an overnight visit. Yay! Athena greeted him with a running hug and did not let him go for the entire evening. Apparently she woke him up very early this morning by putting stuffed animals in his bed one by one. He scooped her under the covers with all the animals and all that was heard was the two of them yelling "GO!" and the blankets would shake (animals jumping up and down I presume?). Unca Stu is immediately entertaining, even after only a few hours of sleep.

I say "apparently" because Chris got up with Athena and Zoe and I were still sleeping. We were still sleeping because my sweet little Zoe vomited all over her bed at bedtime and then woke up at 4 am screaming and miserable. It took us almost an hour to get her back down again.

The only thing we can attribute to her sickness is an aversion to Kraft Mac n' Cheese. We pieced it together and that is the one constant in the three times she has recently thrown up the entire contents of her stomach. What in the world could be in Mac n' Cheese that she is so sensitive to? Her allergies continue to baffle me.

Here's Zoe all cute in pink just before she
threw up all over her bed. Sigh.

Winter go Bye-bye

It's was 64 degrees today. Warm although a little windy. We took the opportunity to get outside and run around. All the huge piles of snow everywhere are melting away. Leaving icy bits of white that make a satisfying crunch when you step on them.

We asked Athena why it was so warm and she said "Winter go bye-bye!" Although it probably has alot to do with global warming, it was really nice to be outside and not freezing. It's been so cold and snowy already this winter that Zoe, who only has a vocabulary of 20-25 words, can point out the window and say "snow" when she sees it.

One year ago today

One year ago today we handed our baby over to an OR nurse in green scrubs through glass double doors that we were not allowed to go beyond. A year ago today we waited impatiently for close to four hours until they called us to post-op. A year ago today I felt my whole body go weak as a nurse carefully placed a sleepy, bandaged baby with splints and attached to an IV in my arms. A year ago today Chris and I took turns sleeping, feeding Zoe with a syringe and rubbing her temples as we cradling her on a pillow on our laps for a 24 hour hospital stay.

One year ago, and this is today...

Zoe's Top Ten Right Now

Oh my sweet Zoe. Why has it taken me three days to come up with a Top Ten for you? In my defense most of Saturday was spent caring for and cleaning up after you 'cause you got a bit of a stomach flu. Then yesterday I had to prepare for a big meeting. Today I have a ton of work to do, what better time to blog about my baby?

1. Right now, Zoe's most constant and defining trait is her love of books. If she finds any one of her adults sitting, she'll pick up a book and plunk herself in your lap in one swift motion, and hand the book to you, like "Read to me now, puhleez!" After you read it, she'll get up, pick another book and sit right back down again. You have no choice, you must obey.

2. Zoe surprises us several times a day with her new words and will repeat almost anything you say to her. Among her ample vocabulary are words such as: apple, shoe, cracker, all done, night-night, milk, mine, sister, kitty, book, dog, duck, baby, up, out, nose, fish, sock, Elmo and the list goes on and on.

3. She calls Mimi "Ma-Ma" and me "Mamm-Ma" ...there is a difference...I think...

4. At any given moment she is apt to lift up her shirt and say "Belly!" Usually prompting her father to do the same.

5. Stuffed animals are her thing. Zoe likes to grab her animals and bury her face in their soft fur. We had an unfortunate accident this weekend where one of her favorites, the bear that nods and sings "You are my sunshine," was thrown into the washing machine with the crib bedding. Now his head spins maniacally to an eerie cacophony of jumble high pitched notes. (It really freaks Mimi out, which is why she will probably find it in her bed tonight).

6. The other day at dinner, we were trying to get Zoe to say everyone's names then point to her and saying "Zoe!" She shook us off and pointed to herself with both hands and said "Bay-Bay!"

7. You keep using that word -- I do not think it means what you think it means. She loves to say the word "No" usually in response to us saying "No" to her. She'll repeat it again and again in a sing-songy almost mocking tone as she continues to do the exact thing you don't want her to do.

8. She will fling herself backwards over the couch if not properly watch. She loves to be upside down or spinning or flying like an airplane or high in the air, she has no fear.

9. She has recently discovered the power of laughter and is so delighted by it. If she gets a laugh out of you she will do the same thing three more times with even more joy.

10. It is almost one year since her surgery. With her bright eyes and peaches and cream complexion, there are many times a day when she simply takes my breath away. I cannot believe her beauty.

Athena's Top Ten Right Now

It's bitter cold here and there is not much going on. We've had a handful of very uneventful days. Athena got a funny haircut, Zoe is constantly surprising us with her language skills, I've got a big project at work and Chris is teaching Athena about calendars and the meaning of days with all his travels.

After the mania of the holidays, this peace is welcome. But there isn't much to say lately. Just a handful of little stories that I don't want to forget. So, to help preserve this time, I thought I would write an Athena's Top Ten Right Now Stories (and next I'll write Zoe's).

1. Athena has named her newest two-year molar "FaLa". Every night, when we are "making Happy Teeth" (aka brushing) Chris (who makes voices for all her teeth as they are getting brushed) has to make a particular point of brushing FaLa and make the other teeth welcome him.

2. She's started cleaning up her toys by herself. Without any prompting, she'll just begin to put her toys away at random moments. There is no organization at all, everything is just thrown in the toy chest in a big heap. But, we are amazed nonetheless.

3. She thinks that there are monsters in my mother's house that they can be chased away by saying "Meow." (This may be due to the fact that we told her that monsters live in the rooms where Mom keeps the kitty litter and only cats can go in there because the monsters are scared of them).

4. Athena has a crush on a boy called Nick. He's at her school and I hear her talk about him all the time. When I dropped her off at school the other day, she saw him and chased after him and said something compelling like "Nick, Nick...I watch Dora before school today..." Nick, who is at least five, just dismissed her with a "Hrmph" and ran into the classroom. (Must they learn so early?)

5. Her favorite movie is Cinderella. I worry that this is a very slippery slope and soon I will have a house full of Disney Princesses. But the original movie, which I have not seen in some thirty-odd years, is actually quite charming. I don't mind watching it all the time as most of the film is about the birds and the wee mice and the evil cat and the dog. I just pray it does not lead to Belle and Ariel and Jasmine (ugh)...

6. See photo above. Her latest trick is to say "Lookit dis" and strike a pose like the one above. Each one sillier than the next. I laugh and tell her she's crazy, and she says "Unca Stuart is the craziest!"

7. She often makes her belly talk. Mostly this is in response to the Daddy belly that talks to her. (How much of weird behavior is learned?)

8. We can get her to do just about anything by giving it a voice or personality. For instance, if she eats her dinner with her fingers we tell her that it makes her fork sad. She will eat her green beans if they suddenly take on life and ask her to please let them live in her belly. It is an awesome power.

9. She can recognize instruments by sound. This is totally Chris' teaching as I cannot recognize a guitar from a whatever. But it's Athena and Chris' special game and she gets it right more often than I would.

10. We think, for the most part, Athena would prefer to be an only child. Zoe is a bother except when she is sleeping, then Athena can't live without her and must wake her up immediately. She is allowed to wake her up from her naps as a special treat and then she bursts into the room and says "ZOE!" like it's been years.

Happy New Year!

New years come and new years go,
Pieces of time all in a row.
As we live our life, each second and minute,
We know we’re privileged to have you in it.
Our appreciation never ends
For our greatest blessings are our family and friends.
(poem stolen from a greeting card...)

Happy New Year!