Zoe turns 2

As promised, here are a few pictures from the party!  It was a wonderful weekend of celebrating with family and friends from both near and far.  I'm sorry for the delay, but nasty sickness circulated our household for 2 weeks after the party, but thanks to Spring Break we have some time to post some pictures now!

More happy memories with Papa, Gramma, Rachel, "Katie," and Sissy

She loved it!  (and still does!)

A piano??!!  For me??!!  Maddy's showin' her how to use it...as if she needed any help ;)

Hugs for Rachel from Florida...we completely surprised Zoe at school on her birthday!

HUGE cookie cake!

Zoe's friends waiting to celebrate with her at school.

                                                    

                                                                  Zoe ready to party!

We have seen better days...

We have definitely seen better days BUT the Gralls are on the mend!  ...everyone is finally getting healthy again and work is slowing down temporarily for both of us.

Birthday pictures are on the way!!  It's been very hectic the last 2 weeks and we all know I'm not mother-of-the-year, but I think I should have time to blog about her birthday this weekend.

Zoe's annual review for therapy services was this past Monday, and she met ALL of her goals that we set 6 months ago!!  Go Zoe, Go!  We are so proud.  Her feeding therapy will probably continue, but we will most likely start seeing her therapist less and less after the upcoming swallow study.  Yay!  And we are going to start getting more creative with her physical therapy during playtime.  After some discussion with her PT, she has a long road ahead of her and her goals are a little vague at this point because we don't know what to expect in this next year.  One thing is for sure that we are extremely optimistic and hopeful.  Her new "leg up" game is very encouraging to see though, and we are gonna start there.

Spring Break is 7 more school days away, and both Zoe and I are excited about sleeping in, planting some flowers, playing at the park, singing and playing piano, and relaxing as much as possible.  She's earned it for sure.

Jay and I are celebrating our 5-year wedding anniversary this Sunday!!  I don't know where the time has gone, but we have a lot to celebrate this year!  Each year looks incredibly different from the last, and I am looking forward to spending some time this weekend reflecting on our life together, eating some good steak (as per tradition!), and cherishing our little family.

I hope all of you are having a great week and enjoying this incredible weather right now.  Spring doesn't last long around here, so get outside and enjoy it while you can!  Love to all!

Cupcakes, Laundry, and Elmo "Treet"

What do all those things have in common???  It's Wednesday of course!  What a crazy evening it's been!  I couldn't wait to pick up Zoe this evening...we have been a little out of touch for the past 10 days and tonight was going to be a good night to just play and hang out.  Jay even got to get home a little earlier than usual :)

Zoe's been battling an ear infection this week...no bueno, but she of course is managing it well.  She actually told her teacher at school the other day, "Ouch!" as she pointed to her ear.  We have communication guys!!!  Yay!  But sad for her.  She's still suffering from some stiffness too.  Poor baby can't catch a break!!!  We are ready for her to be back 100%!!

I had a moment last night while giving her a bath.  She was pretty mad about something and was letting me know all about it.  Immediately, that guilt started creeping in telling me that I wasn't home enough and I had no idea what to do to help her......it was terrible and made me feel so rotten inside.  Thankfully, Jay had just gotten home and popped his head around the corner just in time to help.  I realized then, that we as mothers will always wonder if we're good enough, if we're confident enough, if we can handle everything life throws at us.  I am not always going to have answers, I'm going to have hard days, I can't "do it all," and I will be completely confused by my child at times, but I love her more than life itself, and nothing compares to that.  God gave me a job to do (several actually), and I will continue to do my best and I will try again the next day.  That's all any of us can do.

Cupcakes are made for Zoe's class party, laundry is just about done for the night, house is ready for guests, presents are wrapped, and I'm running on fumes at the moment.  Can't wait to see everyone this weekend though.  Sweet Zoe is getting so excited to see everyone too!   

Tonight, Zoe asked over and over again "treeeet!!!" and I had no idea what she was saying until she added Elmo to the request.  She was saying Elmo Treet instead of Sesame Street......She wanted to watch Sesame Street so bad!!!  It's quite perfect that Elmo is the theme of the party this weekend :)  Hey, I at least I got that right this week!  There's still hope.

Almost back to normal!

Zoe is just about back to herself!  We are so thankful to have her "back."  She is still a little stiff, but there is no pain associated with the surgery.  Yay praise the Lord!!!  Jay said at her follow-up last Thursday, Dr. Swift was grinning ear to ear when we told him her snoring has completely gone away.  That was immediate confirmation that the surgery was a success.

She has not had a full day back at school yet, due to crazy contagious RSV sickness in her classroom which we wanted to avoid like the plague, literally, and a low grade fever this morning which sent her home.  It broke within an hour, without any medicine.  So we will try again tomorrow!

I was cuddling with Zoe on the couch tonight.  We played with one of her new sweet little teddy bears.  It just reminded me that amidst all the craziness of balancing work and home, friends and family, loading and unloading the car over and over again everyday (with Zoe, or any toddler, that's no easy task), work-outs, laundry, and cleaning, that each moment with Zoe is to be cherished.  She will be two in ten days.  That's just unreal.  It seems impossible that it's already been two years.  Our little girl is growing up and gaining more and more independence slowly but surely.  One day we will be putting away that little bear that got the biggest hug and kiss tonight, or maybe it will go to another little Grall eventually, but all the "little things" need to be cherished.

I feel like we got a bonus when we had her - she was not mobil as early as most, took a bottle for way too long, couldn't sit independently for the longest time, I could go on and on.....BUT I have always looked at it like she just got to sit in my lap for a few months longer, and I got to feed her a bottle a little more than most.  I get to be needed a lot more than some mommys do.  Those are moments that happen and then they don't one day.  That extra time with her was a blessing in disguise all along.  She's not a burden, she's just Zoe.  She makes me work harder than I ever thought I could, and she just makes me appreciate the little things more and more.  I'm probably a little thinner than I use to be, I'm sure I'll be getting my first grey hair soon, and I may not be as rested as I wish I could be, but I wouldn't trade her for anything in the whole world.  I wish everyone could have someone like Zoe in their lives.

Can't wait to celebrate with our family here in our home next weekend (not this one, but the next).  Zoe's grandparents and cousins from Florida will be here, Zoe's sister Maddy is coming in for the weekend, all of Zoe's local family, and our very special guest-of-honor Zoe's great-grandmother "Nana" will all be here to celebrate her.  There is a lot happening between now and then, including a trip down to San Antonio for TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association), a big "event" for Jay at work, a few doctor's and therapy appointments, and hopefully a few house showings (maybe an offer??? please???), but we can't wait to see everyone next week!!!

Love to all and hugs from Zoe...

Little Miss Thang is hangin' in there!

We have been able to keep down her pain meds with very little vomitting since yesterday afternoon.  She is responding well to the antibiotic, and as long as she keeps us her fluids, we will probably avoid another hospital visit.  Thank God!  I just hope she starts to feel better physically soon.  She's very sore still.

We appreciate all of you being so kind to us by keeping us in your prayers.  All of the Facebook notes, texts, e-mails, gift cards, meals, and generosity have gotten us through this week.  I'm so thankful for all of you in our Lovejoy family, Prestonwood Church family, and close friends and family in this community.  Wow sums it up completely.

Tonight's our last production of Music Man and I've been so impressed by our kids and musical directors this week!!  Good luck to everyone tonight!

I think the Gralls are going to sleep in tomorrow and enjoy a quiet Sunday at home.  We are hoping to see a few visitors tomorrow, and then we hope to have a regular week of work and school starting on Monday!  We shall see...enjoy the rest of your weekend.

WeekEND?

I know this week could probably get a lot worse, I just don't see how at this point.  Zoe's not doing as well as she could.  She's in decent spirits considering she didn't sleep much at all last night (neither did I as a result), but not she is not responding well to the surgery.  Typical with Chiari surgery, she is vomiting quite a bit and not keeping her pain meds down.  But of course when they send you home with discharge papers that say, "call or visit the ER immediately if she starts vomiting," you begin to flip out somewhat.

Turns out, she's also battling a pretty severe UTI which could also be causing the vomiting.  This specific type of culture has ONE type of antibiotic available for treatment or else she has to go back to the hospital for a couple more days to get the antibiotics administered through IV.  (Poor baby!!!) We are going to start with the at-home version (comes with a few risks but the doctors are OK with starting there) so we are now waiting to get a prescription filled to start treating that.  There's also a chance if she continues the vomiting, she will have to go back to the hospital for fluids anyway.  We will also be starting some medication to decrease the nausea.  Bless her heart.

We are not over this hump yet, but the end is in sight hopefully.  She is napping now...sleep is so good for all of us.

So I thought about going ahead and renewing my driver's license today since I totally didn't get around to it in time to renew online, but I figured a trip to the DMV's hour-long line at a minimum was just something I would avoid...I would hate to have to hurt someone today.   I'll go ahead and risk getting that ticket, only to save someone's life.

It just seems there are too many obstacles this week.  At least we have Disney.  Zoe has never been into movies (hello, she's not even 2 yet), but they seem to keep her still and calm and entertained.  We've already "watched" Toy Story 3, Shrek, and Finding Nemo - "watched" meaning we color and play and build legos all while "watching."  She is being such a trooper, but I am definitely ready to have our little girl back to normal.  Stay tuned!

Home now!

Happy Thursday!!

Zoe is home and resting peacefully in her own bed.  What a difference 48 hours makes!  Thank God she is home.  We had a nice set-up in the hospital (she had a HUGE room), but nothing compares to your own bed, no matter how old you are.  When I went to lay her down, I spied on her in the monitor and she just looked around and got reacquainted with her room and her bed.  I gave her a little extra Tylenol to get her through her nap because she will most likely sleep right through her Motrin dosage...hoping to taper the pain meds soon.  She is still very stiff in her neck and fusses when she anticipates being moved around, but other than that she's doing great!  We gave her a real bath right before we left the hospital (she HATED that process!!), so she's gonna feel great when she wakes up.

God has answered so many prayers this week.  We are forever grateful for you who have joined with us.  He heard every single prayer and that should encourage all of us.  Nothing is too difficult for Him.  We are hoping to see improvement in her chewing and swallowing and sleep apnea immediately, now that we are home and focused on recovery (not just surviving the next dr.'s visit or vitals check or round of medicine).  

Ya know, Jesus went through more suffering than any of us when He was on the cross, and He overcame it all.  It didn't happen instantly either.  He had to fight too - through prayer (praise and worship).  I kept reminding Zoe of that, and each time I did she would start to calm down.  It doesn't matter how old you are or what you're battling or what time it is or how little sleep you've had - God meets you right where you are and He responds to faith, no matter how much or little you got.  Let's all continue to seek Him in all areas of our lives.  

Now that she's home and recovering, I need to get to party-planning!  Someone turns 2 in a couple of weeks and has lots of friends and family coming to town to celebrate.  If anyone has an Elmo costume Daddy can borrow, let us know.  I have a feeling there will be lots of princess parties in her future, but we don't know how long we're going to love Elmo this much!!

Come stop by tonight, tomorrow, or anytime this weekend.  Someone will be here!  Zoe typically naps between 12:30-3:00, and we're going to try to get her back to that regular routine now that we're home.  O yeah, and come see Music Man!!  That's where I'll be in the evenings...Happy show day, Lovejoy family!!