Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Donating

I have officially joined the ranks of plasma donors. Zoe turned six months on Saturday so now I am legal.

I am very thankful for this unexpected source of income. Cam is still looking for a job and I can't find anything I can do around his schedule... plus my Utah teaching license expired last May and I am not qualified to renew it (Utah does a three-year cumulative point system). It is definitely a blessing we are both healthy enough to be regular donors.

All my trepidation - the small amount there was - was unneeded. Giving plasma wasn't any different from giving blood, except I don't feel as whoozie afterwards. I count that as a plus.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

With Solid Food

Zoe was not happy. I think she was hungry or bored and needed something to distract her. I was indisposed and asked Dallas to grab the cheerios and give Zoe a couple to eat. I was expecting three or five on the floor and came out to this:

Zoe concentrating very hard on the cheerios

And this is just the living room. There were a few in the hall and in the kids' room. I am sure there would have been more except we don't have any other rooms!

She had a heck of a time trying to get them in her mouth and didn't have a high success rate, but it sure kept her busy!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Zoe

Since I took that break from Blogging I have decided this is a very good way to keep track of the growth and changes my children make. That being said, I have a lot of catching up to do including the introduction of Zoe.

Zoe at birth. She had a fight with the birth canal and doctor, but that is another story!

Zoe was born in September. She is currently five months old and so much fun! She has figured out how to roll from front to back (she was doing this late two months) and then from back to front and is now army crawling around. I don't think she is satisfied with her mobility. She will pull herself up on to hands and knees. She loves playing with her siblings toys and looking at (and slobbering on) books.

Zoe around two months old.

Last night I was giving a family night out of the nursery manual. Zoe was a few feet away from me and the kids. We were all on the floor. Once I pulled out a picture and held it for Dallas and Chey to look at, Zoe started making her way over and soon was looking at the picture and gumming my knee. She really loves to be involved.

Dallas, Chelane, and Zoe a few weeks after she was born.

She doesn't take a pacifier and isn't fond of a bottle. She was fed from a bottle for a day six weeks after she was born; the day I had my gall bladder out. Luckily, she took the bottle for Cameron that day. She has discovered her thumb and, when she is really tired, will plug herself with that and drift off to sleep. Note that she only does that when she is REALLY tired and SHE has to plug herself with it, she doesn't take kindly to me trying to plug her!

Zoe and her thumb.

Now I preferred my thumb so much that I sucked mine until Kindergarten. So I am a bit worried about the thumb sucking. However, Chelane likes her binky. In fact until we lost it she sucked on it ALL the time. Even now she will sneak a Zoe binky (since they aren't being used) once and a while. Apparently they can both be addictive!

She has also started on some solid food in the last week. We have done cream of rice, cream of wheat, mushed banana (all these mixed with pumped milk) along with bread, white rice, and even waffles right off the table. She seems fond of eating like the rest of us.

Zoe on February 13th, almost five months old.

She is growing and changing so much everyday. She is such a joy to us and we love her!

Playing with Zoe

Zoe loves to be around people and dislikes being left out. Luckily Dallas and Chey adore her and usually keep her around. There are a few times that they start playing with her and then migrate to another room leaving her behind. After a few minutes, Zoe will start yelling. If no one responds that usually turns into a cry. She has been doing this since about month four (she just hit five months four days ago).

We have to talk to the two about being gentle and not making Zoe's body move, especially in painful or awkward ways. Dallas loves to carry her and Zoe loves to be carried and given the attention by her older brother; she often smiles when he talks to her and comes to pick her up.



Dallas and Chey were playing Duck, Duck, Goose and let Zoe join in. I will admit this video is staged as I was not quick enough with the camera before.

I love that even with their vast age differences, my children love playing together!

Sledding

After taking Cam up to campus, we stopped by a store to look at sleds. It is the perfect time in Logan to look at sleds 1) there is more snow on the ground this weekend than any other time since we moved here January 1st, 2) all the stores are clearance-ing their snow items to make way for spring.

We grabbed a plastic dish for $3. Went home, dressed in our snow clothes, drove back to campus where Cam took Zoe and the car back home while Dallas, Chey and I trudged up USU's east hill. Unfortunately I forgot the camera. We took turns sledding in various combination of bodies on the sled. The kids both decided they liked all three of us sledding down together best. We took a break and built a snowman - that turned into a snow angel and sled down once more before we had to head home to take care of Zoe.

Luckily we did all of this before 11am because now, at 3pm, the light snowing has turned to a drizzle and the snow is disappearing. There has been an odd amount of rain and snow this winter since we moved here. I think Logan has received more precipitation by rain than snow. We have been spending lots of time at the library.