Santa Baby

Had to share the very cute photo of my sweet girl with Santa. She was a pro this year at sitting in his lap. Two years ago this would not have happened without her screaming. Last year she sat there in tears, so we have come a long way! It is so cute, I thought you might like to see it too. My sweet friend made the little skirt she is wearing and it has bells. Fun to listen to as she walks around holding daddy hand. Which is how she walked up to BoBoBo as she calls him:) (started a few years back before she could say h words). She walked right up and said Hey BoBo! So cute!

Love all the Christmas fun we are having at our house. Emma loves this holiday and makes us turn on all the lights in our house as soon as she wakes up. She keeps taking ornaments off the tree and rearranging them, which is fine, the ones on the bottom are nonbreakable. She gets excited about everything we go and do, like decorating cookies today or making ornaments with Hudson. So much fun to be had this time of year, and loving all the memories we are making.

Love and Happy Holidays! Take a moment and cherish what is going on around you!

What will my Christmas Card look like this year?

Christmas Card time is here again, and oh what to do? Do we send a picture card, one made by Emma or a store bought sign your name here one? Oh the decisons the decisons!!! Here it is the day before December and I am running out of time, which is no surprise to me as my life is crazy busy. So, what do I do and where do I turn to get the job done not only fast but beautiful too....well if you must know... I cheat and use a great website. Shutterfly is my new best friend!!


If you want to make a great photo card check out this link: www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photos-cards . If you go there you can add your own photos to already designed cards. I am already trying to narrow down my pictures to use and I think the winner is

Or maybe this one??

or I am not sure yet!!?? Pregnancy makes me so unable to make a decison!

But if you want to make a great choice on your card go to:http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards to pick out a cool designed card to send out to all your family and friends. It is so easy and so fast and they will come in your mailbox ready to be addressed with no hassle. I made Emma's birthday cards here last year and loved the quality and the ease of doing it online. I am no computer whiz but I could figure out the directions and it was a piece of Christmas Pie to do:)

I will say cards are not the only thing I am currently working on at Shutterfly, I am working a special calendar for Daniel with his girls on it for 2011. Go here to see the awesome choices to make your own special calendar for someone special: http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

I hope this post will help you with some of the craziness in your life right now. There is so much to do to prepare for the holidays and I hope you can make your life a litte easier with Shutterfly!!

Happy Card shopping!!

Rasberry Kisses

Fun in the fall!

First glimpse of Taylor Daniel

I just love that Emma gives my belly Rasberry kisses now before bed. She thinks it is so fun to blow on my ever expanding belly. Her brother seems to like it as well, he wakes up and starts kicking up a storm. Looking fowar to the day she can give him kisses outside my belly:) I feel like they are going to love each other so much and she is going to be a great big sister!

Quick update on the kiddos:

Little growing man, seems to be doing well. Today he gave me a little scare, but after being monitored for twenty minutes he was deemed fine. My heart might not ever be again, since I was so scared something was wrong. They think he is just growing faster then my belly is expanding. He is going to be big I fear!

Emma is doing great in school. She is starting to count more, recoginze and name more colors, and is learning to trace letters slowly She is going to have her OT eval done soon we hope to try to get help with handwriting and cutting skills. She loves her teachers and her classmates so much and is talking so much more this year. She even answers questions during carpet time which she never did last year. We did have a few weeks of crazy medical problems. We started out with a horrible UTI and ended up with her having outpatient surgery to clean out her colon. She seems to be doing better on both those fronts, but still a little more clingy and waking up at night. Which we see when she has had medica crisis. Hopefully that will pass soon.

She is excited about HOHO coming soon. She will be in two choirs (one at school and one at church). Looking forward to both performances! Trying to shop and will soon decorate the house YIPPPEEE!! I am not sure how I will do that with this big belly but I will try.

That about sums up life right now!

Am I coming or going?

Wow I am not sure which way is up or if I am coming or going? What a week! In the midst of trying to prepare for a wedding Emma and me are in next week, the normal life craziness, Halloween and trying hard to start working on the nursery, we end up having an outpatient procedure done on Emma on Tuesday. But to be truthful that is the reality we live with having a special medical complicated child. My husband laughed when I rubbed my tummy and told Little Taylor Daniel that this was life and we learn to roll with what comes:)

She is doing much better today and went back to school. But she is still clingy and needy which is to be expected from the OR meds! She is napping again which is nice, since she tried for two weeks to give it up and was a crank the whole time. I am able to do a few small projects while she naps and normally lay down a little too. I am not as tired now, being 23 weeks and all, but a small nap helps as the day gets longer inside due to it being dark earlier.

So, it has been a crazy week but a good week as well. Got lots of snuggle time in with my first born and still trying to grasp that I am having a healthy boy in March! Wow looking at blue is a whole new ballgame for sure. Did I mention he is healthy, we are so thankful for that fact. He will love his big sister and already responses to her cries! She even says baby when she points to my belly! Can not wait for the two to meet.

These are the moments

As we happily prepare for the arrival of baby Zook 2 in March, I find myself trying very hard to focus on spending quality time with Emma and soaking it all in. Yes, she has had us to herself for almost five years, and for many of those she needed lots of our help, but as she gets more and more independent and baby number two's arrival date creeps closer, I know things are wonderfully about to change. Do not get me wrong we are so happy for baby Z and have wanted this for a long time, but I know things are going to be different. We will know longer be a family of three but a family of four. Wow that is still so exciting to say!!

So, moments like seeing her ride the barrell train at the farm today made me almost cry. Last year she was afraid and this year she rode it proudly seated by her best friend Kadence. So proud of her and looking forward to the day she rides it with her sibling too. Moments like watching Daddy and her walk down the driveway with Emma holding his hands and walking in front of him, make me shut the door and bawl, as I reflect back on the many surgeries she has had and the hours of therapy she has had to bring us to that precious moment. I find myself even putting aside my OCD behavior to clean and instead sit in the floor playing puzzles as long as she wants since I know soon my time will be split between two little ones.

She is so precious! She will be a great big sister, but till that day, I will savor the moments with my first born as my second miracle grows and kicks in my expanding belly.

Stop these week and savor the little moments with your miracles.

First two weeks

Emma right before leaving for school!




Emma walking in on the first day!




Daddy helping her wash her hands!




This is whem Mommy cried, she took her teacher's hand and walked into class.


Emma is thrilled to be back at the Children's Center. She went right in on the first day and settled right into her new room with no problems at all. She was so happy to see some old friends and make some new ones. Her new teachers are wonderful. Her lead teacher, has a lot of experience with speech delays and has already taught her about 15 new signs and the words to them as well:) I am having to try to keep up:)

She has gotten to go to art, chapel, and music classes again and loved them all. She really likes getting to see her old teacher from room 5 while in Chapel and yells her name out. She also has to stop and speak everyday to her old teacher too, and if she sees her out the window she freaks out and starts chanting. So silly! But she loves her new teachers as well and goes in and hugs them first thing in the morning.

Finally all of her metro teachers have been by. She still has her same PT as last year, which we are so happy about. I know her special education teacher, since she worked in my classroom a few years ago, and I meet her new speech teacher yesterday. Not sure about her yet, but she seems nice. I will be meeting with her and the IT person on Friday to learn how to use the first augmentative device we will be trying with Emma. We fear it will be to simple a device, but have to start somewhere. I hope it helps her speech and am looking forward to moving ahead on this.

I have been so happy to have her back in school and learning so quickly. She is talking more and more with her friends and the teacher is really trying to foster that communication, since Emma does tend to go towards adults more due to her having so much therapy with adults. She has gotten to be the line leader and the flag holder already and did great at both. She tells me about her friends on the way home and that she had a happy day. I am so glad we decided to leave her at the Center. They are so great!!


Looking forward to a wonderful rest of the year.

Another Big Step

Backpack is packed, the extra emergency clothes are labeled and in a bag, your new outfit and bows are laid out, and you are snoring away. So all in all we are ready for the big first day of school tomorrow. (well mommy still needs to pack your lunch in your new princess lunchbox) I can not believe you will be starting your second and last year at Belle Meade Children's Center tomorrow. Where did the summer go? You will be in room 7 with two new teachers, but a lot of your friends from last year.

We went earlier this week and meet your teachers and talked to them about you. Planned diapering and those issues out and dropped off your diapering supplies so as to not draw attention to it on Monday. The school had already put into place the brand new changing station that was bought for your room and the teachers do not seem to mind having to change your cute little butt twice a day while you are there. (she is only there 9-12) We are so lucky this year that both your new teachers have lots of experience with special needs children and are looking forward to working with you. One, the main teacher, even has worked with speech delays and signs to all the class which will help you a lot too!!

You were so happy to be at the school for a visit and asked to see Mrs. Juarita your teacher from last year, but you would not talk to her. However, you have not stopped talking about her since Wednesday. Your new teachers took us to your room and let you play for a few minutes and after looking around unsure for a few minutes you got down and started playing trains with your friend Levi from last year. It was so cute. I think you will be fine tomorrow and adjust quickly to new room and teachers. Hopefully the weather cools down and you can go outside and play soon, since you can see the playground from your room and you love it. But right now it is too hot to allow you out.

Mommy and daddy are excited for a new year, but mommy is sad and nervous as always. I just pray that they remember to change you and that they remember that you like a straw in your milk cup since it is hard for you to hold and drink an open cup. I also hope you are safe and loved. I know you will be but still give mommy a little bit of time to be nervous. I love your school and they love you so, I am sure this will be great. Looking forward to a lot of new experiences and great reports this year. Wow my big girl is starting school again!! SO proud!!