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