Happiest baby in the world!

Yep, I am talking about Zoe (AKA Miss Crankypants)!  She had her happiest day ever today.  She also started reflux meds today.  Coincidence?  I don't think so! 

It is seriously like a totally different baby.  She played so nicely today, without her normal crying at the drop of a hat.  In fact, she didn't really cry at all or make her usual angry noises.  I would not have thought the meds would have made such a dramatic difference, especially this quickly.  I just hope it keeps up.

Update on Zoe

Zoe had her well-child visit at the new pediatrician last week.  She is 20 lbs (I thought she would be more) and 30 inches.  She is doing well for the most part.  The doctor thinks she may have some reflux so he rx'ed her some meds.  Unfortunately we are going on COBRA this month and it hasn't kicked in yet so we can't get the meds until it does.  (Lee's mortgage company got bought out so we have to COBRA for one month and starting new policy next month.) 

The bad part was that Zoe tested high for lead (14.5) and we went back today for a retest.  The retest was a lot better(10.6) but still higher than normal.  Now we have to go back in 4 weeks and test again.  We do live in an older home (our old house was also old) so that is a possibility.  The paint here is not peeling, in fact the previous owner had the place coated with a heavy coat of paint recently so I doubt it is that.  The paint in the old house was peely, but she did not get around much back then so I'm not sure if I think it could be that.  Both houses had the plumbing replaced fairly recently so it is probably not that.  One thing the lab person said is that newspapers are printed with lead ink and she is always grabbing for our newspapers.  I really doubted this and as I suspected, it is just another medical "professional" who does not know what she is talking about (see article). It could be one of her toys or really anything.  Hopefully, in 4 weeks the levels will be better still and we can stop worrying.


In other news...she is really walking good now!  She loves to tell people "hi" and wave to them when we are out and about.  It's very funny, she is one friendly kid!  She is very interested in body parts, especially on the face.  The only one she can say is "eye" so everything is an eye.  She will point to your nose and say eye, point to your mouth and say eye, and yes she will also point to eyes and say eye.  Bellybuttons are eyes, flowers are eyes, everything that is remotely like an eye is "eye".  She will turn through the pages of her books and point out all the eyes. 

She has learned to say "no" and she says it with a negative hand wave to help get her point across. Hilarious!! (Note:  I would have put a video here but blogger changed recently and I can't figure it out right now...grrr!!!  How annoying!!!)

Halloween 2009

Jackson was a super-cute cowboy and Zoe was a butterfly. We did not go trick or treating but we did hang out in the front yard for a while to give out candy and rake the leaves. Zoe was not digging the costume much and was having a cranky day anyway. But I did get some cute pics before she totally lost it.

Jackson's leg and sad news.

We went back to Shriners today to get his knee re-x-rayed.  It looks better and he also says it feels better.  He is not going to have to wear his knee immobilizer anymore unless he is doing weight-bearing activities. Yay!!

The sad news is that once again we will be without respite soon.  Our respite worker is taking a full time position with the agency that we get respite from.  It is good for her since she hasn't been getting the hours she used to get.  But bad for us since they don't currently have anyone to work with Jackson.  We have 2 more weeks and then she is done.

Look at her go!!

She is really begining to get around good!!

A Jackson and a Zoe

First Jackson:

We found out he LOVES knock knock jokes! It is hilarious! Granny was visiting this weekend and she was reading some to him off her computer while she was here. He was very amused! And also very amusing.

Then Zoe:

She is killing me with how many times she is getting up each night. Like 3,4,5 times a night every night. She doesn't want any part of Lee when he goes to take care of her so even if I do rouse him and send him down, he ends up just getting me up again soon after. I am hoping it is because she is just about to do a TON of new things and hopefully soon she will be back to her normal 1-2 times per night. Or even better, sleeping through!

She is taking steps on her own and every day going a little bit farther and getting a little braver. She is saying all sorts of new words and we can even understand some of them. Since it is football season now, when we shout "TOUCHDOWN" she will raise her hands above her head. She is very interested in reading books but has no patience to sit through a whole book. She points to things and wants to be told what they are.

I am amazed! + Bears fans pics

Zoe just started riding on this toy properly a couple days ago. It used to be Jackson's when he was little. Today she was climbing on and off by herself like she had been doing it forever as well as riding backwards and forwards. I can't believe how fast she learned to do that.

I don't think Jackson ever got to riding forwards (it's way harder than pushing backwards). I would give him a big forward push across the room and he would ride it backwards to me so I could push him again. Zoe is definitely more of a DIY girl.

And here are my cuties in their fan gear. (You can tell Jackson was not feeling too good this morning by his coloring. He is feeling better now.)

The shoes

Zoe hardly ever wore shoes during the summer and when she did it was usually the soft leather type shoes. It was pretty chilly today so we put her new shoes on for the first time today. She was not sure what to make of them.

Jackson Update

Jackson had been having some pretty severe pain in his right leg. I noticed it while we were doing range-of-motion stretching, which he normally loves doing. He started jerking his leg away. When we would try to sleep him on his right side he would cry out until we would turn him. And his PT at school reported that he had been crying when she attempted to put him up on the stander.

We made an appointment with our family doctor last week Friday (he was on vacation so we saw another doctor in the practice). He though that maybe his knee was possibly swollen and possibly warmer to the touch than the left one. He said we should make an appointment with his orthopedist to get an x-ray asap. (Why he did not order one, I don't know. I am accustomed to doctors passing him off to other doctors though.)

So we managed to get him into Shriners for this Friday. They took x-rays of his whole legs, as well as the normal hip and spine x-rays. At first the doctor just noticed a spot that looked slightly darker on the front view of his knee that did not match his left knee, but couldn't tell what it was. Then on the side view, he saw that he had a small fracture on his knee.

When you don't bear weight you lose bone and it becomes easier to get fractures. We don't know exactly when or how he got the fracture but the doctor says it could be as simple as getting his foot hung up on something as he was being lifted.

He does not have a cast but he does have a knee immobilizer that he has to wear all the time. We go back in 3-4 weeks to have it re-x-rayed.

As far as his hips go, they look about the same as last time. When the legs are pulled straight it looks like his joint is uncovered, but since he generally keeps his legs in a froggy position this protects the hips and keeps them where they belong so we are just going to wait and watch.

His spinal curve has progressed from about 16 degrees to about 25 degrees but again, it is something that we will wait and see.

Zoe is ONE!!

I can not believe she is one already!!! Where did the time go?

We celebrated on the Sunday before her birthday. In the morning we went for a short hike at the North Park Village Nature Center. It was a beautiful day. Then home for a nap.

In the afternoon we had a little party, just the 4 of us. We had balloons, presents, and cake. She had great fun with the balloons and loved opening the presents.

Pinkest birthday ever!

Zoe's birthday is coming up and I thought I would share the gifts we are getting her. They are just so CUTE!!

First is her swing since she liked swinging in the park so much. She can use it indoors as well as outdoors.

Then I wanted to get her a doll because all she has is Jackson's old doll which is a boy doll. I love this one with the pink hair.

And last, baby needed a new pair of shoes. These look like they will be nice for fall and winter. And they will match both red clothing and pink so they are perfect!

I did not set out to get all pink presents, but it does make me chuckle!

Enjoying our new neighborhood and town!

Last weekend our neighbors all got together and showed a movie outside on a gigantic screen across the street. It was so cool! Jackson and Lee and I went. They showed Chicken Run. I put Zoe to bed and brought the monitor out and luckily it could still receive the signal across the street. Jackson is not much of a movie guy so he fell asleep pretty quickly but woke up in the middle.

Then on Labor day we went to check out a local wheelchair accessible playground and brought along a picnic lunch. Jackson doesn't eat but he loves going on picnics for some reason. He has a song called "picnic" on his ipod and we sing it when we go on picnics so that might be why. Anyway, it was fun. They had a full support swing that Jackson was able to use. Next time we will bring his head support collar and he will be able to swing higher. As it was we still had to hold his head up, but he still enjoyed it. Zoe also took her fist swing ride and she loved it!

I took some pics with my phone, but unfortunately as you can see it takes horrible quality pictures.

Yesterday was our block party, which was completely AMAZING! Lee had a traffic safety school class he had to go to so he missed a good portion of it. But Zoe and Jackson and I spent most of the day outside. Jackson had his music pillow and was very comfortable in the shade on our front lawn. Zoe was loving all the attention she was getting from the older girls in the neighborhood and was actually very well behaved through the whole thing. I can't say the same for Dizzy though. He got a little upset with all the activity and was banished to his crate.

Our next door neighbors are the main organizers so most of it took place right in front of our house. There was a huge bounce house a couple houses down. The police came and "arrested" any kids that wanted to be arrested and put in the back of the squad car. The fire department came and gave the kids are very good soaking which they all thoroughly enjoyed. People had homemade goodies going around and a big popcorn machine. I just sat with Jackson and so many people came up to meet us and hang out and talk. Several neighbors also expressed interest in learning to take care of Jackson in case I ever need someone to watch him. It was really a fun day.

Later after Lee got home we went out to eat dinner with everyone, also right in front of our house. Not too many vegetarian options but next year we will definitely be more involved and I am sure we can make a few dishes and make sure there are some boca burgers and veggie dogs to grill.

I am just so happy to live in such a special neighborhood. It is so different than any place we have lived before, but I am loving it!

Jackson's "new" and improved wheelchair

We got Jackson's chair back Thursday, only to send it off again. Jackson needs his headrest to sit well behind the plane of his body (not sure why, odd shaped head maybe?). The way they had it did not allow it to go any further back and it was maybe only even with his back cushion. So they took it and built up a spacer so it could move back farther.

We got it back again on Friday, only to find that again something was not right. We got a special headrest for Jackson called the HAWC. We got this because he had been able to bring his head forward and then get stuck under his old headrest...not good, especially while I am driving him somewhere by myself and not being able to pull over for a while. We were expecting to also have the swing away mount for the HAWC so we could get him into the chair without removing the headrest and/or the laterals every time but they did not order it. So we have to wait for it and in the meantime getting him in and out is a real PITA!

We took it for a test drive today. I really like it a lot. Jackson was able to sit up relatively upright and remain comfortable. We took a pretty long walk and even though he was pretty upright, he did not drool at all which is pretty amazing.

For your amusement...

Zoe learned to clap yesterday. She is hilarious! If you say "YAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!" she starts clapping and saying yay too. (She also likes to play with my computer as you can see!)

I am very happy with Jackson's new school so far

The principal just called to give me an update on how things are going with finding a van to transport Jackson to and from school (He needs to have air conditioning on the bus and their buses do not have it). She has narrowed it down to 3 companies and is just waiting to hear back from them. He is probably going to be taking a taxi to school...the district deals with several companies that have divisions just to transport kids to and from school.

His IEP also states that he needs a nurse on the bus with him. She was hoping that I would be ok with a very trusted and experienced aide riding with him since she is having trouble finding an LPN. I told her I would be fine with that unless something happens that makes me become not ok with it. She said she completely understands that and hopes that I will come to her immediately if I have any concerns or problems with the aide, including just any personality problems.

She also invited me up to observe Jackson's class any time I wanted to. I would love to do this, I just need to figure out what to do with miss crankypants for a few hours. Any volunteers? :)