Thank You Katie!

Katie and Zoe reading a book.

Our friend "Auntie" Katie slept over last night so she could help us out today. First, she got up with Zoe when she woke up which meant Gavin and I got to stay in bed together! This is the very first time we have ever been able to sleep in like this. I, of course, did not sleep much but it was nice to lay in bed. Zoe has an EEG (electroencephalography is the measurement of electrical activity produced by the brain as recorded from electrodes placed on the scalp) scheduled for Tuesday to check for seizures. Zoe woke up with a coughing fit at 6am and then after that I was thinking about her appointment on Tuesday so I found it hard to relax and fall back to sleep. Not to mention I am just not used to sleeping in any more. After we rolled out of bed at 10am (can you imagine!), we went to the eye doctor (both of us needed to be seen) and then out for a relaxing lunch. We returned to a very happy child and a clean house. We are so grateful for Katie helping us out like this. Zoe has been sick for the past eight weeks so we have had a lot of doctors appointments and sleepless nights. So the extra rest and relaxation was wonderful. To say we are desperate for help right now would be an understatement. We do not have any family in the area so we are completely on our own and this is the first time we had help like this. As a bonus, Gavin and I realized on the way home from lunch that today is our anniversary. So, it is nice that we got to spend a nice day together as a couple.

Ongoing Support

We do have a respite worker, Riann, who is fantastic and comes for a few hours every week. Most of the time we end up using the time to run errands, clean the house, etc instead of respite time. But Riann is a lifesaver and she is great with Zoe.

The daycare that Zoe goes to two days a week is another source of ongoing support. They are absolutely fantastic with Zoe. It is wonderful to have people in Zoe's life like her teachers and Riann who know Zoe, understand who she is and appreciate what a wonderful child she is. It is a huge emotional support to be able to share all of Zoe's small milestones with her teachers and Riann and to see the excitement on their faces since they too have spent hours and hours, weeks and weeks working on these goals.

Another support has been my "personal assistant" Melissa who makes appointments for me to see students at fancy salons which means I get to get a fancy haircut for a cheap price while she watches Zoe. And then we go out to eat. We always say we will shop too, but by the time I get the haircut and Zoe eats most of the day is done. It has been a huge help getting my hair cut, especially recently since Zoe is now working on developing a pincer grasp. Since she isn't quite there yet, she is working on pinching things and grabbing on to hair. She is learning to be gentle but it not physically capable of letting go yet. So, I decided to get a shorter haircut which makes my hair harder for Zoe to grasp. We are letting Zoe grow her own hair out so she can pull on it and learn to release. It looks a bit shaggy, but we have cut the bangs so it is not in her eyes.

Long distance support comes to me by way of my friend Amanda. Amanda lives in Pittsburgh and since Zoe was born we have alternated her visiting us one month and then us going there the next. Amanda is a wonderful listener and always up for a random good time. I can never thank her enough for all of the Papa John's she has exported for my benefit. I don't think she has ever declared those at the border.....

Melanie, Amanda, and Genevieve on go carts at the pumpkin farm. Hey- those bikes aren't just for kids!

Gavin and Zoe having fun on the slide at the pumpkin farm. Zoe was just a little too small for the go-carts.