Merry Christmas (a little late) from Zoe to you! And, if you can believe it, we're not even done celebrating the big holiday!! Grandpa C has been sick with some nasty bug (HE wants you to know he was on his death bed) and didn't want the little babies to get sick (Z and her cousin, Jacob) so we are holding off until next weekend.
The weekend before Christmas brought us to Auntie Kate and Uncle Eric's house for their annual party and then down to Plymouth for a family party...Z was quite the ham. :) She wore her special Santa outfit for the family party and tried so hard to play with her cousin Taylor....he was not quite so forthcoming in the beginning!!
Christmas Eve morning, we spent the morning together having our Christmas. Santa was good, and changed HIS plans to accommodate us and bring us our gifts early. Zoe loved her Fisher Price Sing and Learn Stage and her talking teddy bear. She was such a good girl this year, she got lots of good toys, books, and clothes.
Then, Christmas Eve night was spent at Grandma and Grandpa B's house, with Unka G, Auntie Darcy, and Uncle Jeff. Z enjoyed the family time and was all about giving people raspberries and talking up a storm. We stayed over (and had to alert Santa to the change in plans) and had a great day at Auntie Darcy and Uncle Jeff's house. Zoe got to meet her older Cousin Taylor, and got to spend some time with her Uncle Richard, Aunt Marney, and Great-Grandma, as well as the rest of us!! She got some really cool things from Santa. I think her favorite is the pink piano. It was actually a toss up between that and the activity block.
Since, we've just been home, hanging out here and playing with the new toys. Pictures are coming, as soon as I get a chance to upload them!
Milestones! How could I forget!? Zoe stood, by herself, for a couple of seconds for the first time on Christmas day at Auntie Darcy and Uncle Jeff's house. She's been increasing her time bit by bit since. I feel the sharpness of ANOTHER tooth (that makes number 10, btw) and feel the bumps for at least 2 more!! CRAZY!
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gifts. Show all posts
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Giving to others...
Today, even as I sit here sick with a cold, Zoe has a cold, and Noah is getting over one, we were able to give to another Mommy and baby something very special, and it made us all feel very good afterward.
In July, when we found out that Z had her allergies, one of my first thoughts had been, "Oh my goodness, I have a ton of pumped milk in my freezer...and she can't have any of it!" I was devastated, to say the least. If anyone has ever pumped, you know how long and how much work it is to build up a good stash. By good, I mean I had 261.5oz pumped. That's a HUGE amount, and would have had, if I didn't have to start over, over 300oz by the time school started, which was a goal of mine. This way, Zoe would have had plenty of milk if I couldn't keep up at work (it's hard to be able to find the time to pump more than 1 time at work), and she'd have plenty of milk for her cereal. But, that wasn't the case, and here we are doing what we ARE doing today (that's a different post for a different day).
So, I was pretty emotional about the whole thing with my milk. There was no way I could give it to Zoe, as it was making her sick. But, there was no way I could just DUMP it down the sink. Like I said, if you have ever pumped, you know how much that is, and how hard it is to build that much. It took up probably about half of our freezer. I stumbled upon MilkShare.org (thanks Becky) and posted that I had a one time donation for the Boston area. I had a few people email me requesting the milk (including people from out of state, which I politely declined). I wanted to see the person I was donating the milk to, and I also didn't want to go through the hassle of packing up frozen milk to mail across the country, if there was a need here in the area.
The person we went with, after much deliberation, was a woman who is in the process of adopting a little girl who is just a month older than Zoe. This little girl came from a very troubled background, and suffice it to say, needed the nutrients and magic of breastmilk. I won't go into the details, but it was heartbreaking to hear about. It was also great to meet the little girl and see how much she has been thriving in this new environment. She and Zoe seemed to click and "talk" to each other. We talked to the mother for a little bit and then emptied out the freezer with the breastmilk that Zoe can't have to give to this mom for her little girl. It was tough to see it go, knowing that my little girl can't use that milk...but looking at it every day wasn't making it any easier to keep it there, waiting for this woman to come and take the milk away. What made it easy to give to her was that she wanted the best for her daughter. It made it easy to hear about how hard of a time she had on the formula, but how HARD her mommy was working to make sure that this baby was having breastmilk, and for the length of time she wants her daughter to have it (18-24 months). That's going to be a lot of work, and I'm very happy to have been able to help that family out.
It's sad to see all of that milk gone, but it's good to know that it is going to help this little girl out and get her to be as healthy as she can be, given her circumstances. I don't know how much it'll last for her, but for Zoe, that was about a month's worth of milk (for day care only). I know the mother was grateful, and told me she'd put us on her email list for updates on her daughter.
In July, when we found out that Z had her allergies, one of my first thoughts had been, "Oh my goodness, I have a ton of pumped milk in my freezer...and she can't have any of it!" I was devastated, to say the least. If anyone has ever pumped, you know how long and how much work it is to build up a good stash. By good, I mean I had 261.5oz pumped. That's a HUGE amount, and would have had, if I didn't have to start over, over 300oz by the time school started, which was a goal of mine. This way, Zoe would have had plenty of milk if I couldn't keep up at work (it's hard to be able to find the time to pump more than 1 time at work), and she'd have plenty of milk for her cereal. But, that wasn't the case, and here we are doing what we ARE doing today (that's a different post for a different day).
So, I was pretty emotional about the whole thing with my milk. There was no way I could give it to Zoe, as it was making her sick. But, there was no way I could just DUMP it down the sink. Like I said, if you have ever pumped, you know how much that is, and how hard it is to build that much. It took up probably about half of our freezer. I stumbled upon MilkShare.org (thanks Becky) and posted that I had a one time donation for the Boston area. I had a few people email me requesting the milk (including people from out of state, which I politely declined). I wanted to see the person I was donating the milk to, and I also didn't want to go through the hassle of packing up frozen milk to mail across the country, if there was a need here in the area.
The person we went with, after much deliberation, was a woman who is in the process of adopting a little girl who is just a month older than Zoe. This little girl came from a very troubled background, and suffice it to say, needed the nutrients and magic of breastmilk. I won't go into the details, but it was heartbreaking to hear about. It was also great to meet the little girl and see how much she has been thriving in this new environment. She and Zoe seemed to click and "talk" to each other. We talked to the mother for a little bit and then emptied out the freezer with the breastmilk that Zoe can't have to give to this mom for her little girl. It was tough to see it go, knowing that my little girl can't use that milk...but looking at it every day wasn't making it any easier to keep it there, waiting for this woman to come and take the milk away. What made it easy to give to her was that she wanted the best for her daughter. It made it easy to hear about how hard of a time she had on the formula, but how HARD her mommy was working to make sure that this baby was having breastmilk, and for the length of time she wants her daughter to have it (18-24 months). That's going to be a lot of work, and I'm very happy to have been able to help that family out.
It's sad to see all of that milk gone, but it's good to know that it is going to help this little girl out and get her to be as healthy as she can be, given her circumstances. I don't know how much it'll last for her, but for Zoe, that was about a month's worth of milk (for day care only). I know the mother was grateful, and told me she'd put us on her email list for updates on her daughter.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Ribbit, Ribbit
This is one of Z's newest toys, and she's having a blast with it. It's actually a bath toy, but she likes to chew on its fingers, toes, and eyes, laugh at its "ribbits", and stare at it intently. She even has conversations with it. Thanks, Grandma C!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thoughts from a New Mom
Last week, while I would be driving around with Zoe, running errands and seeing people, the radio station I keep on in the car, Mix 98.5 (yeah, hold the commentary, I know what some of you think of that station!) was having a radiothon for Children's Hospital in Boston. They call it Mix Cares for Kids. While listening to the radio, you'd hear remixes of songs that had stories from kids, parents, and other family and friends of those who are at Children's or have been patients there. There were all kinds of things that were encouraging, exciting, heart wrenching, and downright depressing.
If you know me, you know how sappy a person I can get when I hear that kind of thing. I always have...however it was so much more now that Zoe has come into my life. I would look at her by way of the mirror and be so thankful for what I have. I look at her now, thinking about what I'm writing, with her snoozing in her jungle swing, so peaceful and content, and just think, "wow, I'm so freakin' lucky." I hope we never need to use Children's Hospital, but if we do, I'm so glad it's there. I'm so glad it's nearby, it's easy to get to, and that the doctors, nurses and other people do what they do. I'm so happy that Zoe is a happy and healthy six and a half week old baby, with no signs of anything wrong with her. I am so happy to know that she is my daughter, that she was brought into a happy, healthy, loving family, to two parents who are so head over heals in love with her, they don't know how lucky they got....we definitely feel blessed and very lucky.
I could go on and on about this...I don't write this to be a sad post, I write this to celebrate the good we have. We didn't find out about Zoe until we were almost done the first trimester. In that time, I went through my normal coffee drinking, wine drinking, and taking the medication I had been on. Thankfully, the medication I was on was not a high dose, and not anything I needed to be on...but it was still a concern for a first time mom. I didn't drink gallons of coffee OR wine, so that wasn't a concern..but I still worried. I think it's only natural to do so. Of course, everything is ALL right. Everything is NORMAL. She is perfect in every single way. This is why I feel so very lucky. Zoe was not planned. She was not expected. But, she is the best thing that has happened to us and we wouldn't change the course of events for anything in the world.
Zoe is a smart baby, she's reaching all of her milestones, she's doing all the right things, and she is loved by everyone who comes into contact with her. She has this uncanny ability to have those who you wouldn't expect to fall in love with her...to fall head over heals for her in a way that I don't think anyone would expect. She's a doll, she's our little angel, and our perfect little love bug.
Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say, I'm so happy for what I have, for what is available to us, and hope we never need to use those resources that are available. If we do, though, I know we're going to get the best care in the area at Children's Hospital...to those who work there, THANK YOU. To those who've used it, I'm so glad it was there for you. And to those who don't need it, hug your children just a little bit closer. Love them just a little bit more. And, kiss them just a little bit more. I know that's what I've been doing with Zoe.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Surprise gift!
And we don't know who sent them! We got stationary from Expressionary.com today, and they're personalized with Zoe's complete name. We would like to give someone the proper thank you, but there was no shipping receipt or a name on the envelope...
Here is a link to show you what the cards look like: http://expressionery.com/product.aspx?lineid=11&productid=1349
We know it can't be random...The ladybugs make it impossible for us to think that it's a random thing!
Please, if you sent this or you know who did, please let us know! We'd like to thank you!!
****UPDATE**** Grandma D--THANK YOU for the notecards. They are adorable. :)
Here is a link to show you what the cards look like: http://expressionery.com/product.aspx?lineid=11&productid=1349
We know it can't be random...The ladybugs make it impossible for us to think that it's a random thing!
Please, if you sent this or you know who did, please let us know! We'd like to thank you!!
****UPDATE**** Grandma D--THANK YOU for the notecards. They are adorable. :)
Latest happenings!
It's been a few days, but that doesn't mean that Zoe was just sitting pretty doing nothing! :) She's had more visitors. Sunday, Grampa and Gramma C came to visit, playing with her and then treating Mommy and Daddy to pizza. We've found that she definitely has some "C" side of her...her Grampa naps the same way as Zoe!! :) Of course, as soon as he ate, he perked up quite a bit--just like Zoe!
Then, Grandma D and Uncle G came over on Monday with Chinese for us. On top of that, Daddy's friend, J, came over too. Again, more cuddling and playing abound!
Monday was also a day of gifts. Zoe received more gifts in the mail, from family and from friends. A big thank you to all of you who send/bring gifts to Zoe. It's amazing how many clothes a little baby can get, but also, how DIFFERENT they all are! Mommy and Daddy really appreciate all of the things people keep bringing for Mommy, Daddy, and Zoe.
Then, Grandma D and Uncle G came over on Monday with Chinese for us. On top of that, Daddy's friend, J, came over too. Again, more cuddling and playing abound!
Monday was also a day of gifts. Zoe received more gifts in the mail, from family and from friends. A big thank you to all of you who send/bring gifts to Zoe. It's amazing how many clothes a little baby can get, but also, how DIFFERENT they all are! Mommy and Daddy really appreciate all of the things people keep bringing for Mommy, Daddy, and Zoe.
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