Happy Twenty-Two Week Birthday, my little princess ...

(well, yesterday)
time keeps passing and the kids keep growing, including our little Zoey Grace! She's quite the bundle of joy ... she's much more willing to share those smiles (and has been for a while now) and she rolls over and pulls up her knees and acts like she's trying to scoot - what an amazing little girl she is! Her appetite suddenly picked up in the last couple of weeks and last night I skipped the "late night" feeding and she happily slept until 6 this morning! Her eyes are still blue at this point, but the brown "stripes" have become more pronounced ... her hair is a fairly dark brown - she is just a little beauty! The tube comes out tomorrow - I'm thrilled! NO MORE TUBE! Yay for easier dressing and not having to worry about pulling it out or her pulling out, ah - a sigh of relief! Nana and Granddaddy go home tomorrow as well - it's very bittersweet! My parents have been abundantly helpful and it's been nice to have company all this time ... but now - it's time to return to reality (will I survive - lol). It's an adventure full of excitement and a little bit of fear, I know I'll manage - how well is the question? I'm just praying for more motivation and self discipline to be able to keep up with things around here and have fun with my kids at the same time! Hoping finances won't get in the way of us being able to do a couple fun things for the remainder of the summer! That's about all the news for today!

Happy Five Month Birthday, my little princess ...

I am beyond excited to tell everyone that Zoey's "g-tube" will be coming out monday! It feels like our last big hurdle (for now, anyway) to get past with her and I'm just thrilled that it will be gone! We haven't used it for 33 days (30 was the magic number for getting it out). I'm also excited to share that Zoey hit another milestone today - after she rolled from back to tummy ... she rolled back over, from tummy to back! I didn't witness this, Annicka told me and it was wonderful to see her so excited about it ... she definitely has a heart for Zoey and I pray that will remain for always! I can't believe Zoey is five months old - seems so crazy! She's still a super little baby and is doing so great! I love all her facial expressions - when she "talks" to me it is beyond adorable all the little sounds and faces she makes - I love it! I love her smiles - even her silly little tongue smiles, she's so funny! When I look at Zoey or even when I'm holding her, there's just something about her ... something that makes my heart melt a little ... something that makes me sigh ... makes me smile ... makes a tear come to my eye ... makes me thank God so very much for all we have! I love you little "Zoely" ... you're a treasure!

Happy Twenty-One Week Birthday, my little princess ...

yes, a day late - that's becoming the usual! I don't generally forget, I just sometimes don't have time to get to it! Zoey continues to do so well! Today is day 30 of NO TUBE ... which means I can call the g.i. doc tomorrow and see about getting it 0ut ... I feel like that's our "final" hurdle with her! Now, I know that it's not ... in as much as she's going to need physical therapy and whatever comes up in the future ... but medically speaking, I feel like once that tube is out ... she'll be completely "normal". Not to mention - no more worrying about it getting pulled out and bathing and all that! Yay for Zoey - you're doing so well my baby!

Happy Twenty Week Birthday, my little princess ...

so, I sort of had plans to (again, finally) get out and do some cute outdoor pics of the little miss today ... but alas, there's just too much to do with washing all my new yard sale stuff and hubby deciding to sort through boxes in the garage and needing to organize stuff around here - we're even skipping the ice cream social that we were going to go too (I hadn't really told my kids about it, knowing we might end up not going, thank goodness)! Yes, there's still a ton of stuff to get done and I've not accomplished too much (yet)! I'm definitely not one of those "move in and within three days the entire house is put together" type of gals ... it just doesn't happen - it didn't happen when I had one child, two children, three children ... and certainly is not happening now with four! Yes, I have help - but still, it's just a lot of tedious work! So, anyway here's some pics of the little princess ... I gave her her first sit in the bumbo seat - she liked it! I do still wish I had a pink or purple one - and fights may break out now that Liam has claimed it - but the bumbo is great and I believe will be a great learning tool for Zoey! Now I'm off to see what I can accomplish before my dad gets here this evening - we're so excited to see him - wahoo!!!

Happy Nineteen Week Birthday, my little princess ...

Nineteen weeks, wow! So, Zoey is a little behind in the milestone department, but not too bad (I feel) especially when "compared" (is there a better word) to her brothers and sister! I don't remember when they rolled over, but Zoey hasn't done that yet ... as is proved in one of the following photos, though, she really tries! Her neck muscles are also still weak. She can hold her head up when in a sitting position, but it's still wobbly and she can only do it for so long - just depending on how tired she is, etc. When she's on her tummy, which is very rarely, she really struggles to get that little head up ... all in time, though, it will come!

Other exciting news: today is day fifteen of NO TUBE!!! Ever since I decided that one saturday that I wanted to be done with it, we have been! Zoey doesn't fully wake up for her "late night" feeding (before I go to bed) but she still will eat at least an ounce or two, which tides her over until morning! Her zantac, iron, and vitamins (and recently she was taking an antibiotic) go into her bottle with milk and she takes it just fine! I can't wait until we can get that tube out and be completely done with it!

Zoey continues to be a great baby and such a blessing! She is happy (only fusses if she needs a diaper change or to eat, sometimes if she's over tired) and loves to smile ... and her smile always makes me smile! She absolutely loves to "talk" - I think she may be quite the chatter box - she makes all sorts of coos and sometimes quite enjoys getting a little loud! She usually falls asleep between 7:30 and 9pm and sleeps until at least 6am (her last eat is usually at 10/11pm, but - again - she usually doesn't wake up). She's a joy!

So, here's some pics from this afternoon ... a little floor time with sissy!