All I need is a pair of wheels....

Today was the big day! Zoe's got her wheels and now she's a (wo)man in motion. Sorry I'm gonna do it...

"I can hear the music playin', I can see the banners fly.

Feel like you're back again, and hope ridin' high.

Gonna be a man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels.

Take me where my future's lyin, St Elmo's Fire.

I can climb the highest mountain, cross the wildest sea.

I can feel St Elmo's Fire burnin in me, burnin in me."

Now the geek in me knows St. Elmo's Fire is more than just a great 80's movie, it's an electrical weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a coronal discharge originating from a grounded object in an atmospheric electric field (such as those generated by thunderstorms or thunderstorms created by a volcanic explosion). That being said, I like that it has always been seen as a blessing for sailors on their journey, because today, Zoe took another step in her journey. Down to Scottish Rite trucked the family, with Papa John and Grammy joining in the fun. We once again were whisked into our room in orthodics and Ms Abbey was there in short order with Zoe's new AFOs (braces), we did a quick fit test, did a nip/tuck on the braces so they fit just so, and next thing you know, Zoe's all braced up and wearing shoes. I was struck how much they looked like mini versions of the ankle boot I was in last year, except hers have cute little butterflies all over them with purple straps, such a girl! Soon, Zoe was getting fitted into her rolling stander, and it went over like a pregnant pole vaulter, not well at all! The idea is to strap Zoe's butt in place, get her legs straightened out and secured with velcro straps, then a final back brace and wooosh she's off to the races. Zoe however, was not happy with this from step one of the above procedure. Now, we had Scout there to assist with the transition and with a little bit of time, Zoe got the hang of standing up straight. She has yet to be overly thrilled with it, but it's only the first day. We took her out and checked to see that there was no unusual rubbing in her knees and braced areas, then Mommy and Me got to put her in. It'll take some practice, but we'll get it, that's all that needs to be said about that :-) Anyway, Zoe stays in this for about 15-20 min at a time, to get used to the idea, so D.O.G. is safe for a little bit, we aren't going to release the chocks and send her out flying just yet. We let her play with stuff on the table in front of her and get her used to grabbing things, which will I'm sure lead to grabbing EVERYTHING when she's in her chariot from now on, but enough from me, let's get to the star of this show!

 Ms Abbey doing a final fit on Zoe's braces, Zoe's still on board for this whole thing at this time.

 Scout makes everything more fun!

 "Why don't you sit up here and get braced, and I'll take some pictures for awhile, Dad?"

 Do you know how hard it is to feed a baby in a mirror? Neither do I, but judging by the amount of yogurt on her face, it can't be easy.

 Daddy and Scout taking a fail at cheering Zoe up, this was very early on

 Ms Abbey doing another check of Zoe in her Chariot!

 Zoe was so excited when it was over, she grabbed Papa John's Blackberry to text all his friends what she had just done!

 "That is NOT how we text young lady!"

 Zoe chillin at home in her new stander, I believe at the time she be rockin dem beats on her keyboard

 Rear view of the stander and the braces

So maybe this whole grabbing the wheel and learning to roll thing won't take all that long after all! She's got Papa Joe's tongue already at work on figuring this one out!

For those who read yesterday's blog, she is OUT tonight. All this and P.T. after she got home from Scottish Rite, she was waaaay ready for bed tonight. And to all of you, goodnight and thank you for caring enough about Zoe to sit through a silly proud Dad and his ramblings.

Cheers

Old Man Moment

Great, I had my first official, Old Man "Get off my lawn!" moment. We were out front the other day with Zoe swinging in her swing when I heard the tires come around the corner, then looked up to see a silver mid 90's Mercedes sedan coming down the street, doing at least 45mph in a very short time. They drove by and one of the kids leaned out and spit in the general direction of my neighbor's mailbox. While we were still outside, I heard them coming from the other direction and started walking into the street like a traffic cop waiting for them to come around the corner. They do and I stop them with my hand and march right up to their car. I proceed to tell them, "I'm out here with my daughter and my dog, don't come through my neighborhood driving fast and spitting out the window!"  Arrrrgggghhhhh, I've become my Dad. Great, Zoe got the tongue thing from him, and now I'm running around the neighborhood yelling at teenagers.... What the Heck!?!?!

OK, this had nothing to do with Zoe other than the fact she was there, Big Day tomorrow!!  Scottish Rite, in case you somehow missed it. Maybe someone can let lil miss, "I don't wanna sleep" in on that!!  GO TO SLEEP KIDDO!

G'nite all

Okay, had to add this cause she's just too stinkin cute!

T-Minus 2 days and counting

Yup, 2 days until Lil Rolly Zoe, becomes Big Standin Zoe P... I think that'll be her rapper name, then she can shorten it later to Zoe P, then ZP, and in a couple of years she can rerelease as BSZP. It worked for Sean Combs (Google it if you don't know) and we already have designs for the Zoe Pantiloni Clothing line, but I digress. In order to become "Big Standin Zoe P," she has to go down and see our good friends at Scottish Rite and get her ankle braces (AFO's) and her Rolling Stander (aka the Chariot) So Tuesday is the day folks, our lil girl is going mobile. It's going to take some getting used to, for all of us, but this is a big step for Zoe and we couldn't be happier, and yes, I will likely cry like, well a baby, when I see Zoe rolling around and standing straight up for the first time. This is what I can only expect to be the first of many future milestones for this amazing little angel. For those of you who don't know, 13 months is a bit early to be trying this, it's not like we can tell her to turn right and she'll understand, but the therapists feel she's ready for it, and her actions tell us she's ready for it. Zoe's a mover, she wants to be moving, to go get that "something" over there, and this is going to be the start of that. You will be getting pictures, no worries. I need to find one of those, "God is my CoPilot" stickers for her, because with God's hand on her back, Zoe can't help but move forward.

Until that time, here's a few pics of Zoe's easter egg hunt/hike through the Heard Museum....enjoy. And I'll leave you with this, from Jim Gaffigan. "Easter, the day Jesus rose from the dead, what should we do? How bout eggs?!? Well what does that have to do with Jesus? Allright, we'll hide em. I don't follow your logic?? Don't worry, there's a bunny."
Cheers

Jay

 It's sooo early, why don't we get some coffee or something?

 Hellllooooo blue eyes

 The team: Zoe, Aunt Bethy (BG1), Heather and Lil Emory, Mommy (BG2)

 The hard part was NOT finding a happy smiley photo, the hard part was finding WHICH happy smiley photo to use, jeeez kid, cheer up will ya?!?

 Ummmm, they're not real honey, you can't eat em. Sorry, we forget you're just a baby sometimes, we'll tell ya next time.

Zoe just learned there's candy inside each egg, she's very proud of her eggs!

Stairs, oh the damn stairs

Hey ya know what kids with SB don't usually do well with? Stairs. Ya know what we have in our house? Stairs. So, it has been brought to our attention that a house with stairs may not be the best thing for Zoe's future development. Ooops. The only bedroom downstairs is the master, Zoe's bedroom and playroom are both upstairs and even when she is walking, stairs just may not be the best thing for her. So we have begun our search for the perfect home for our family as it is now, not 3 years ago when we moved here. One thing we are not, is in a hurry. We've contacted our amazing realtor, who stuck with us through a 3 day, 75 home marathon when we bought this house. He suggested waiting until next year before we try and sell. My brother-in-law wrote our mortgage, he's been a huge help. And well, we are going to take our time and find out what the best thing is for us. We've looked in places we never have before, see McKinney, and found a lot of nice areas that we both like. About our only restriction is not straying too far from Lovejoy H.S. so Brooke and Zoe don't have a crazy long commute to work. We may decide to build, I have friends who have done it and done all the "bleeding" already and have great insight on what it takes to build a home and NOT lose your mind and wallet in the process. That being said, we are no experts, and will take all the good advice we can get, we'll thank you to keep your bad advice to yourself. Anyway, stairs, who'd a thunk it? Okay, signing off now, it's hard to type when I keep laughing at the keyboard listening to Brooke's hiccups from the other room, I shouldn't laugh, but I can't help it....

Cheers all!

Springtime fun and Scottish Rite

So for those in the know, an appointment at Scottish Rite is a big deal. Scottish Rite is where all of Zoe's specialist reside and the all kinda gang up and do one very thorough check up. We went there last Tuesday and had an amazing day. First of all, I've said it before, this is the model for which any health care reform should follow. We checked in a few minutes early, we were taken back a few minutes early, we waited all of about 3 minutes and got Zoe's height and weight done, then went to an exam room, where once again we waited for about 2 minutes. Then in came the first round of therapists, physical and occupational. They checked her out we voiced our concerns, they took notes, and cycled the next group through.

Two big things came out of this trip. One, Zoe's been doing a lot of spitting up, and we haven't found a rhyme or reason to it, sometimes it's milk only, sometimes it's after food, sometimes just a bite of certain foods, sometimes after a cough, sometimes for no reason. You get the idea. Once Dr Adams was satisfied it wasn't from all the caffeine we were giving her (Okay, we don't give her caffeine, but a report from our urologist said, "continue caffeine twice a day as directed..." What they meant was "cathing" as in a urinary catheter) we decided to do a feeding study. We will be going back in a couple of weeks and Zoe will eat under a low power x-ray video machine and we will watch her digest her food internally to see if we can come up with a cause, very cool stuff, and hopefully we will learn why we have to pack 3 outfits anytime we go anywhere.

The next big thing, and this is so cool, Zoe got fitted for her first set of braces (for her ankles, not the 8 teeth) She will be getting a wheeled stander as well. It's sort of like a personal chariot. It puts Zoe in a standing position and locks her in place, but has wheels on it for her to get around in. This is a HUGE step for her and us, and now we have to baby proof the house at like a 3ft level since she'll be a bit higher than if she was on just her feet. I think D.O.G. is going to get some payback for all the times he's done a Lick and Run on Zoe. The braces will get her feet pointing straight while she's in the chariot, all these things are steps she'll need to take before she take steps on her own. This is a big deal, she's only 13 months old and EVERYONE of her doctors and therapists expect her to be "high functioning" which for kids with SB means, a mover. We can't wait to get her in this and see how it goes!!!!

We had a great Spring Break, enjoyed the weather and got some much needed downtime. We had one of those up and down days today, Zoe had spent the night with Papa John and Grammy and they brought her to church, we decided to check in on her at the nursery and as we got there, she had just spit up from crying so much. We took her out and calmed her down, she eventually went back and did great, but nobody wants to be sick and sad. But after church we came home, she got a nap and when she woke up, she wanted to move, Brooke and I were upstairs just rolling all over her room with her. Zoe can roll, and for her that will be a major method of moving to get things, at least early on. Zoe doesn't usually roll to her back, then immediately roll to her stomach again, but she did today, it was great to see. She's good going to her right, but needs work going to her left, just like Daddy in basketball. Here's a few pics from a fun day down at Watters Creek in Allen

 Daddy's head is fun, it's like a drum

 Look at me, I'm on a duck.

 Hugs and smiles, you'd think these two liked each other or something

 I just wish she was happy ya know

 More hugs from Momma

 hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe. In espanol jejejejejejejejejejejejejejejejejeje

 Sitting by the dock of the bay, watchin the tide roll away

 Can I touch it?

 Thanks Dad, I blame the tongue thing on you

 What a sweetheart

"Why yes, I am just the cutest thing you've ever seen."

Who's the worst blogger EVER!!! Me, that's who!

It's official, I'm terrible at this, and there isn't even a really good reason for it. I'm on my computer all the time, but I always feel as if I have so much to share, that I won't have time to post it all. Well I've recently seen how this can be done and done well, so, here it goes.... "I, Jay Grall, promise to be a better blogger than I have in the past." There ya go. Now on with our show

So Christmas, yeah, BIG event for Zoe, it was a first and I think she got the hang of it right from the start. It was a fantastic day, and possible the last time I saw my wife until this week of Spring Break. Ok, it wasn't that bad, but between a major ramp up in work for me and her having Musical rehearsal and performances, Solo & Ensemable competition, UIL, Orpheus, TMEA conference, and actually teaching in there, she had a few commitments to take care of. And did I mention that in there somewhere, our lil Rockstar turned 1? Yup Zoe had her first birthday party and just rocked it, but all these things are better told in pictures so without further adieu...

 Zoe's first trip to hang with Santa, she did great, and he's a good Santa too, but I think I saw him at the biker bar down the street last week

 Oh Scout. Scout is her Christmas gift from her sister, Madison. Scout knows Zoe's name and talks to her, Scout also plays lullabys and is the greatest toy ever made, that and Zoe loves him and hugs him, but sometimes they get in fights and she wants nothing to do with him, but they always make up. We love Scout!

"Yawwwwwn, 5 minutes of bedtime music, goodnight Zoe."

 In a way she was conducting the Christmas Eve festivities, that little rocking chair seemed like it was built for her, what a great night she had at Papa John and Grammy's

 Twas the night before Christmas...

 Christmas morning, Zoe getting into a good book, what a cutie!

 We seem to like our Christmas dinner too, even if she does look like a court jester in that bib, OMG

 Birthday Party Day!!!!  Mom and Zoe gettin ready to Rock It!

 The "Smash Cake." Zoe's personal cake, she did okay with it, but Miss Sensitive Tummy does what she does, and we learned it's too early for icing.

 But it looks cool on my fingers

 YUP, 1 Year Old and she's still "SOOOOOOO BIG"

Dad, if you knew the things I'm about to do to this dog....