Scooting Videos and "Baby Book" updates

Zoe turned 11 months old yesterday. I cannot believe she'll be 1 next month. Her and I went to the park and had a picnic and she swung on the swings. It was a lot of fun. Now that autumn's here we wont' be able to do that much longer.


Here's some basic updates on Zoe, feel free to skip over to the video's:

She's gotten 3 more teeth in the last week (one popped through just today) so now she has 7 teeth. Needless to say there's been a lot of night wakings (*yawn*)

She started scooching forward on her bum to get around, approximately 2 weeks ago? It came on quickly. One day she was scooting a little bit and the next she was zooming around the house like a mad woman. It's so funny to watch her, but I'm glad she figured out some way to get around, even if it isn't the traditional crawling.

She points with her index finger and says "wu-shat?" (what's that). She scoots around making silly little noises and babbling pretty much non-stop, unless she's tired.

She says "woah" quite frequently, which started a couple weeks ago when she was in the bath tub and me and her daddy said "woah" about something and she mimicked us. She hasn't stopped since. Sometimes it sounds like she may be saying "wow" but I think they're both relative enough.

She copied me by saying "yay" the other day, I think I wrote a blog about it. She doesn't say that much, but occasionally she will. If I say yay, she'll at the very least start clapping her hands.

Within the last 3 weeks she's started doing the "beauty pageant" wave. It's sooo cute. She also uses that wave as one of her dance moves.

She dances by bobbing her head up and down (head banging sort of) and bouncing her little body, she absolutely loves music! The sad thing is... she loves her daddy's music, which is sort of heavy for my taste, but I think she loves the beat to it.

She loves buttons, she finds every button possible in the house and pushes it hoping for some reaction out of us, or the machine she's pressing. She figured out the DVD player, and the X-Box, which I finally unplugged those yesterday.

Zoe loves to eat food. So far she's really never met a food she didn't like. She definitely favors some over others, but so far not picky. That will probably change once she's a toddler, but for now it's pleasant. One of her favorite foods is yogurt. As soon as she sees any form of food she goes "mmmmm" especially if she's hungry. We were at Winco and we were in the fruit aisle and she was looking at all the fruits going "mmmmm" she even spotted food on t.v. once and said "mmmm" what a cooky girl! I have a feeling she's going to be cooking with her daddy in a few years!

Lately Zoe loves to cuddle up and read a book. Normally she plays with books, she loves to open and close them, but she'll actually take a moment and cuddle up to me while I read to her. We used to read to her before bed, but she gets too impatient and just wants to nurse immediately, so I've started reading to her during the day instead. She's not much of a cuddler unless she's nursing, so I'm loving being able to cuddle up to her and read a book.

Anyway, I think that's enough bragging for now, just wanted to jot down some updates. Mainly for myself really. I want to never forget all these changes. It's really true that they grow up too fast. It's amazing how much they can change from week to week.

Oh my gosh, I'm hurting

I don't normally like to complain, but man am I in pain. I'm nauseous, crampy... ick, I just feel yucky. I was just talking about how I can't wait to get the surgery over with for these two cysts. Now I'm kinda freaked out though because I read that recovery is much like a c-section. I sure as hell hope not! I never wanna go through that pain again, I don't even wanna have more children because I don't want to experience it again. There's just no way it can be as horrible as a c/s recovery-wise. I just refuse to believe it because if I do I will be way too freaked! I just want to get this over with people, c'mon!

Zoe says "YAY!"

Zoe copied me today when I said "Yay!" in a super high pitched voice. She sounded exactly the same as I did. All day she would say it back to me when I said it. So cute. So, I guess besides momma and dadda, it's sort of her first word. Pretty exciting. I'll try and catch it on video soon.

Hmmm...

Lately I've been trying to read several articles on Sarah Palin and/or John McCain and for some reason error messages keep appearing on so many of them. Sure makes it hard to find the facts, that's all.

I'm over her!

Okay, I'm so over Palin, I thought I could handle her, but I can't. The woman is driving me nuts. I can hardly stand to even read negative things about her, let alone positive things. Ugh, enough already!

Here's some links anyway:
NY Times Article on Sarah Palin

Here's a link to some info on Palins speech, along with Giuliani's:
GOP Convention, Part 2


While I'm at it...

Here's a link on some more misleading ads about Obama (again):
Obama's view on sex education

Here's some info on McCain's acceptance speech:
Factchecking McCain

To be fair, I'll post the fact check on Obama's acceptance speech:
Factchecking Obama

Here's a link to Obama's proposal on healthcare:
Healthcare Plan


So, I can't decide who to be annoyed with...
Obama... For not standing up for himself, and letting the media, and the people search for the correct answers. Or, McCain's people for posting these lies in the first place... why make this election more difficult. Why can't McCain just be a man and be honest, is he worried we won't like what he's saying???

Train Video

Zoe's first train ride (Picture overload)

At a little restaurant/saloon in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho All aboard, choo choo. Grandma P. and Zoe

Daddy, Zoe, and Aunty Laura
Aaron, Aunt Laura, and Grandma P.
Family shot, aw

Aunt Laura, Daddy and Zoe giggling

Aunt Laura and Zoe

Mommy and Zoe

The End

Playing "piano"

Spreading the FACTS, not the RUMORS

I was on Barack's web site (again) and decided to point out some things that I find very good about him.



Here's his view on child education, NCLB to be exact. Back when I was working (to get paid) as a hair stylist, I talked to several teachers, even one ESL teacher from when I was in Elementary school came in. She specifically stated that she is so dissapointed in the way education has been reformed. She told me that the teachers just teach to test now, and that it's not only a lot of pressure on the teachers, but it's a lot of pressure on the students, and they are lacking in actual education during the process. Another male teacher was quitting only after a few years because he dis-liked the lack of flexibility at the Junior High he was teaching.


Here in town, approximately half of our schools were closed within the last year, and students were transferred to different schools in the beginning semesters of the next year. Doesn't this mean, higher student to teacher ratio's? How could it not? The population of Boise has only expanded in the last ten years (dramatically) and so why are they taking away schools? It's merely a symbol about how education seems to have been left behind during Bush's glorious entry into the Whitehouse. But, what do I know, I'm only an outsider on this whole thing, that is until my daughter enters into the school system.

Back to my point, I like Barack's idea on reforming the No Child Left Behind Act. Here's an excerpt:


Reform No Child Left Behind: Obama will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama believes teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. He will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.


Here's a piece of his record with education from his website:


Record of Advocacy: Obama has been a leader on educational issues throughout his career. In the Illinois State Senate, Obama was a leader on early childhood education, helping create the state's Early Learning Council. In the U.S. Senate, Obama has been a leader in working to make college more affordable. His very first bill sought to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to $5,100. As a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee, Obama helped pass legislation to achieve that goal in the recent improvements to the Higher Education Act. Obama has also introduced legislation to create Teacher Residency Programs and to increase federal support for summer learning opportunities.


References from Barack Obama's official website:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/

Zoe's version of crawling

This is the way Zoe get's around nowaday's:

Here's another one:

Obama Rocks!

Okay, I'll admit, I was getting a little nervous there for a while. I keep hearing things about him raising taxes, doing all these horrible things. I didn't want to believe it because it didn't feel like the man I originally liked and had faith in. Well, after much laziness, and finally hearing too much about all these supposed "tax increases" I finally just went to the source; his web site. It's a great web site, although at first I was a little frustrated that I couldn't just find a link to "taxes" but it was easy enough once I took a minute and read through everything, his tax information was under "economy." Makes sense, right?

Well, my husband, Jeremy, told me that he read an article similar to this one stating that the McCain campaign has been caught misleading the swing states about Obama's tax cuts in television ads. Saying stuff that just isn't true at all. That frustrates me, especially because I was starting to believe them. I don't like feeling naive and falling for lies. I haven't seen Obama take part in any of that sort of politics yet, and I hope not to. But come on Obama, stick up for yourself at least! Or just advertsise a little better... as we hairstylists always say, sell yourself!

Anyway, here's a great link to all of Obama's economic stuff. I feel so relieved.

I especially liked reading that he wanted to reform the FMLA. Something I am very passionate about. Although, it's not what I personally would want to change about it, it will definitely help and be much appreciated by those who need it.

I also saw on this factcheck.org article that he isn't raising the mortgage tax, which really was freaking me out. Here's the link to that article again. Also, here's a fellow blogger that simplify's everything that the factcheck.org site states. I'm worried about Obama, he's either gotta fight like McCain, or just speak up a bit more!

Today (pictures)

Don't worry, I don't make Zoe sit in her car seat outside. We were just sitting out there while I un-wrapped it (it's new) and I figured why not get the straps and harness adjusted so we can just install it when the time comes. It's super cute, and she seems comfy in it. I like it almost as much as my Britax so far, and it was 1/3 the cost. Yay, I love good purchases!

Thanks Dad! Thanks Jenny for finding it for me, great find!

Oh my gosh, such cute pics!

My mom and I were at Target about a week ago and got the cutest pic's of Zoe lounging in the cart. She was just chillin out. Cute little thing.

No, don't worry, we weren't buying depends ;-)

Oh, and I will include the pictures of before we left to Target with Zoe's angel in them.

It's funny because a while back we would always joke that Zoe had a ghost friend because she always looks over into our dining room and giggles and acts like she does when someone is playing with her; gets jumpy, excited, giggly, bashful, etc. Once in the dining room one of her toys even set off and no one, not even a pet was in there, and it's something you have to touch to make it sound off. Probably just a glitch, but it's never done it again.

Anyway, my mom noticed this picture I will show you the one she took seconds before, and then that one, look to the right of us, on the bookshelf (you can click the pictures if you want to see them larger):

Pretty weird huh?

I just like this one of her and I:

Oh and here's some cute one's from when Grandma babysat for us last weekend:

Blessings

These are my blessings:

We went to art in the park this weekend and had so much fun. It started out rough, I was grumpy because I was in pain and because little things stress me out so easily (fun things). I hate feeling rushed, but I also hate feeling slow, so it's a very conflicting state for me. Anyhow, we all had a great time in the end and even with the pain, I still managed to enjoy myself.

Pain...

Well, I recently had severe pain in what seemed to be my uterus. The only reason I know it is in the uterus area is because I have a smiley little scar there from when Zoe was born.

Jeremy forced me to call the doctor because I was doing the ol' "it's fine, it's just my IUD twisting oddly, it's no big deal, don't worry about it so much." He was having none of it once he saw me curled over in pain claiming it was nearly as bad as contractions.

Well, I went to the doctor the next day and he had me get a pelvic ultrasound because he could feel something in there. According to what I know thus far, I likely have dermoid cysts that are fairly large, and are on both ovaries. They will need to be removed, and probably sooner than later since they are causing me quite a bit of pain. I can't get in to see my doctor for two weeks, so it's a while to wait in pain, but hopefully the weeks will fly by like they normally do. It is a little nervewracking because they are seemingly large ("they've obviously been there a while" according to the nurse and radiologist) and they are causing me pain which can sometimes mean they're twisting my ovaries. This could result in loss of one or both ovaries. That is the worst case scenario though, and I don't think that will happen. I am just thankful to have had baby Zoe, because she's the only little babe I need (until I get the itch again). She's my little blessing, and so is my husband, who forced me to the doctor, and rightfully so. I love you guys!

Dear John,

Dear Senator John McCain,

I watched your utterly boring speech tonight. Well, I tried to watch it. I had trouble keeping my attention on you. I even turned all the lights off in my house so that I'd not have any other distractions and I still caught myself lost in your speech. At one point I realized I'd completely "dozed off" while you were speaking without even realizing it.

I'm sorry, but whether you are democrat or republican, we need a speaker who doesn't put us to sleep or into such a lull of daydreaming every time we hear them. I guess it might be good since most the nation is suffering from some form of insomnia. Just make sure your speeches are on late at night, that way you truly will be helping out the country!

Palin way over did you on her speech, in fact if she were running for president I might consider voting for her, but unfortunatley she's just running along side you, and unless she becomes the first female president by default, we will rarely hear her speak. She will just be a beauty in the background. Maybe you can adjust the way things presently work and have her do most of your speeches for you in order to keep the country's attention.

I would also like to state to you, Senator McCain, that I'm soooooo over you using your veteran status as an excuse/reason why you should run our country. I'll be honest, I appreciate what you did. I admire what you went through, and I also admire that you want to put a stop to torture camps, but who know's when you could lose it and start having flashbacks or something.

Not only that, but you went through all of that physical torture and you saw so much more than most people see in a lifetime and you are still soooo boring and unable to hold your audiences attention.

Good luck old man McCain. Good job with Palin. See you on the ballot, I'll be clicking my little metal pin into the other box, thanks anyway.

Sincerely,
Stephanie

Thanks Mom!

Thanks mom for giving me a mommy day off.

You prevented me from pulling my hair out by each individual strand.

You helped me feel loving again.

You are the bomb.

Thanks mom.

Love

Getting ready for bed tonight:

Ah, love.

When my baby girl was in my belly, I experienced love. She would kick me in the ribs, lodge her head into my pelvic bone and wiggle around. She made me nauseous and indecisive, famished, and incessantly tired. Let's not even discuss the amazing amount of stretch marks she bestowed upon me, I mean seriously I give Freddy Kruger a run for his money.

Those were minor ailments. My daughter was just showing me a glimpse of what motherhood would be like. There was two times before I had her that I felt sick to my stomach with an overwhelming amount of motherhood instinct, I literally felt my heart race twice the amount, and my fear take over my entire being. I feared for her life, I experienced the famous motherhood instinct to flee, to get the hell out of there. My body was her cocoon and I had to keep her safe until she was ready to hatch.

Once was in a scary situation (long story, getting a facial, crazy lady started to physically hurt me and chant) and in that situation I literally fled, naked and all. If it were just me it would be different, but the minute I realized my baby was in there I freaked! I became protective, I felt sick anxious, worried, lost, and I felt love.

The next time was when I was in labor and I experienced her heart decel every time I laid on my left side. The first time was slightly scary, but the nurse was there, she had everything under control, but I could even see her shi**ing her pants a little bit. It was the times after that that scared me. I had different nurses, they seemed to not care as much and they were constantly out of my room. As I watched the monitors I couldn't control my anxiousness, was she okay? Where were the nurses, someone, please tell me I'm just seeing things. This is my baby girl we were talking about, I wasn't about to let anyone jeopardize me meeting this little angel I already loved so much. [Angel as in the dictionary's definition #5:
a person having qualities generally attributed to an angel, as beauty, purity, or kindliness.]

As you all may know, I had a c-section (after labor), so when my daughter was born it was more like a guessing game, hmm, they stopped shaking me around for a second, is she born? Once she finally was born, she belted out a beautiful cry. One I would describe as a wet tired cat. She was pissed, but I was so happy she was pissed because it meant that she was alive! She was my little trooper.

The moment I laid eyes on her I loved her. She was distant, naked, scrunched up, purple, and had an umbilical cord hanging off of her belly, but she was my little girl as beautiful as I could ever imagine her. Her hair was immaculate, black as night, and long. It was interesting to finally meet her "in person" rather than housing her in my body for 9 months. In fact it was more than interesting it was amazing. I couldn't wait to hold her. The nurses took care of her and when they brought her to my face I touched her soft cheeks and was just in awe. When I finally got to hold her I couldn't help but resent the fact that I couldn't see the rest of hr body (she was all swaddled in a blanket). I just wanted to see every little aspect of her. I wanted to see her ten little toes, her chubby legs, and her cute little bum. I had met my little babe, at last, and I loved her instantly. I know that some people do not have that instant connection, but I definitely did. I remember her looking at me. She seemed so strong.

Well, she is strong. I sort of got off track, describing that experience is so profound to me. It can never be described enough. I wish that I could go back and re-live it all over again. Anyhow, my little babe has been struggling so much lately. She seems so ill, but I think (and hope) that it's just teething. A part of my "mommy instinct" tells me it's more than that, but I just don't know. I love her so much, but this past week has been rough and she has thrown me for a huge loop. I've been extraordinarily overwhelmed by her power. I've never heard her cry so much, and trust me, it's much bigger than a wet cat's cry now. Now it's like a big kid cry, it's a lot of screaming and hyperventilating. It's tough to hear her do that. It's tough to feel overwhelmed by her. It's just tough.

We will get through it, I love her so much, and that's what matters. We will get through this struggle eventually, and I will likely look back and laugh at myself. "It's gonna be okay" I keep whispering to her nightly, but really I am trying to convince myself of that exact sentiment. I guess I'm a liar, or maybe just an optimist.

Baby Signs and Talking

Zoe's recently (last couple weeks) started signing "more" when she's eating. She talks all the time and sometimes even spits out a resembling true word. Like "got" or "yeah" or "mm-hmm." She shakes her head yes and no, but mostly just to dance. Occasionally I can get her to do the sign language for "all done" but she's still learning.

Poor little thing just woke up from her nap sad, gotta go rescue her.

Yesterday (videos)

Yesterday Zoe stood all by herself holding onto her high chair for a really long time. She didn't fall over or anything! I took a short video of it, along with my mum leaving a message for my brother on the phone.

Also, I caught a super cute video of her kicking the ball with her daddy and grandpa. I caught it towards the end so she was a little more tired, but when we first started doing it she was lifting her legs up to kick it. So cute! She's getting so big and grown up!