Life Outside the Hospital is AWESOME!

I have hesitated to post it...afraid to jinx us.  I know, silly.  But life has been chugging along so well that I don't want it to end.  But we are having so much fun- we just have to share it!  Here is a glimpse of our life in the last couple of months with Zoe feeling mostly well.  A few little colds, bladder infection, etc but no major illness.  It is AWESOME!

 I have to type it- "Our life is so bright, we gotta wear shades..."

 On the merry-go-round at Chuck E. Cheese

 Trying out the tractor at the pumpkin farm.  Ailsa picked a nice, small, easy to carry pumpkin.  Zoe picked out a monster pumpkin and when I told her it was too big for me to carry she told me to roll it to the car and up the ramp!  

 Hockey, hockey, hockey.  Every Saturday morning Ailsa's plays hockey.  And every Saturday morning, Zoe yells at us until we agree to take her.  Actually, even after we agree she keeps on yelling until we get her in the car, as if we are going to forget her!  The first Saturday, Zoe was cheering so loudly that Ailsa stopped skating and yelled, "Yes, I hear you Zoe!"  Zoe has been vocalising more and more.  She tells us she wants to use her mouth to talk like Ailsa.  Who knows, maybe some day she will.  For now, it is really great to hear Zoe using her voice.  She makes some pretty hilarious sounds.  And she is LOUD!

Zoe has been feeding herself more and more.  She has really learned how to manipulate objects with her small "contracted" hands.  She is great with food she can bring to her face and drop in to the palm of her hand while her lips grab it and she uses her fingers to push it in.  She is still learning what to do with sticky food like mashed potatoes, noodles, etc.  Shoving her hand in her mouth and licking it just does not seem to occur to Zoe.  It is fascinating to see her eating skills develop.  

Overall, we have seen Zoe develop these last few months.  It is amazing how a few months of not being seriously ill allows Zoe to flourish.  She has gained a bit of weight (1kg/ 2.2 pounds) and this has made a big difference in her strength.  She walked all the way to Tim Horton's (a favourite restaurant in our neighbourhood) several times.  It is about .5km/ .8 of a mile away!  Zoe has also gained some upper body strength and can sit up tall the entire half hour horse ride at therapy.  All that muscle gain has been great for her core muscle strengthening- Zoe is able to have really deep coughs now.  Why does this excite us?  Zoe is able to clear more junk from her lungs.  Between chest physio, suctioning and Zoe's deep coughs we have kept Zoe's lungs clear of pneumonia so far.  She has had junky lungs since late September (this will never change- it is just how Zoe's lungs are) but so far we have kept the junk moving so it is not sitting and growing bacteria.  This is AMAZING!  

Like I said, "Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team.  Everything is awesome when you're living out a dream."

Ok, maybe we have watched the Lego movie one too many times...  I know a certain 8 year old who will be very excited that a certain movie with small unintelligible yellow creatures is being released to DVD soon.  We have never actually seen the Minion movie but Zoe has been talking about it for months!  And it will give us a break from "Frozen"!  So it better be good!

Fun Month So Far

Zoe and Ailsa napping in the tent while camping Canada Day weekend. 

 Zoe loves the spinning strawberries at the local parking lot fun fair.

 Ailsa holds on to our gigantic cotton candy stick.  Zoe remembered cotton candy from previous experiences and refused to open her mouth (she does not like anything too sweet).  Ailsa was very excited to try cotton candy for the first time.  Alison (in the picture) came along to give us an extra set of hands...I think she just wanted to play too :)

 Ailsa, Zoe and Gavin sitting on a boat at the Easter Seals Regatta.  This is one of Easter Seals biggest fund raisers- people who want to enter their boat have to raise money.  They ask cute Easter Seals kids (like Zoe) to show up and ride around on rich people's boats and then go to a BBQ.  It was a fun day and as you can see- Zoe loves being on the boat.

 This picture cracks me up because it is so similar to a picture we took two years ago of Ailsa at the Regatta.  She looks totally comfortable and at home on the water.

 This was Zoe's expression the entire trip.  Watching Zoe is very rewarding for donors because they get to see what a great time she is having.

This little girl with Ailsa is a sibling of a child with special needs who rides at Hippotherapy right before Zoe.  They hit it off and had a great time playing together all day.  We hope to get together soon for a play date.  The child with special needs is very similar to Zoe and they enjoy seeing each other too.  We hope this is a relationship we can build for Ailsa- having a friend who also has a sibling with special needs would be great for her.  Gavin and I also seem to have some things in common with the parents.

Summer Already!

Wow, I can't believe it is summer time already!  Zoe's last day of school is Friday and we are going camping on Saturday- great way to kick off the summer and keep Zoe distracted from missing school too much.  My very pregnant friend Angela is going to camp with us.  She has an almost two year old who gets along great with Ailsa.  The two of them love hanging out.

Pictures From Last Couple of Months

Zoe and Ailsa were flower girls at Riann and Daine's wedding in February.  Riann was Zoe's first respite worker when she was a baby.  Riann went on to get a full time job but we are still close with her even though she does not work for us anymore.  Riann and Daine took care of Zoe while I was in labour with Ailsa.  Riann was the first person (besides us and the midwives) who got to hold Ailsa.  Daine was too afraid because she was only four hours old!

We are rolling our eggs down the hill on Easter.  Don't ask me why we do this- it is some crazy tradition in Gavin's family :)  The girls thought it was hilarious.  Alan was at the bottom of the hill catching the eggs before they could roll in to the street.  

Riding the zoo mobile.  Both girls love riding around and looking at all the animals.  Zoe had just gotten out of hospital from pneumonia so we were taking it easy and not doing too much walking.  Someone gave us a pass for the zoo as a Christmas gift and it has been well used- we are going every other week and sometimes twice in a weekend!

Playing in the ball pit at Zoe's school on family pizza night.  You can see Zoe's purple legs sticking out- she loves to bury herself.  As you can see, Ailsa is still a little cautious in the ball pit.  Zoe LOVES the ball pit.

Summer Plans

Zoe will go to camp the first two weeks in July and then we are all going to the 1p36 conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.  We are very excited!!!!  We have not been to a conference since 2010.  The conference has really grown since it started back in 2007.

After the conference we are going to drive to St Louis to see Gavin and my families.  I have four sisters, a brother, and many nieces and nephews in St Louis.  Gavin has a cousin with his family and his Aunt Patsy (who Zoe loves because she talks in a "funny" voice to her and knows sign language).  We are so excited to see everyone this summer.

Our road trip does not end there- we are then driving to Chicago to visit a family we met camping in Kentucky five years ago.  We bonded over the craziness of camping in 100 degree F weather and cave spelunking with your special needs child strapped to your chest.  This family has four beautiful children (at the time it was three) and one of the daughters has Down Syndrome.  We are excited to catch up and let our children play together.

By the time we get back from our big trip it will August.  We hope to do a camping trip in New York with my cousin and her family from Massachusetts.  And we will probably squeeze in another small camping trip closer to home if we can.

The Big Weigh In

The great news is that Zoe has grown 5cm/ 2 inches in the last year and continues to thrive and develop.  She amazes us with her persistence in learning new skills every day.  Zoe can now finger feed herself and hold on to her cup for long periods of time!!!!  This is big!!!!

Zoe feeding herself cake and whip cream at Gavin's Birthday dinner.  See how the whip cream is actually near her mouth now!!!!  She is so proud of herself.

Unfortunately, we have noticed that Zoe has not gained any weight in the last 2 years.  She has actually started to lose weight in the last few months, so she now weighs less than she did 2 years ago.  We have added calories to her food but it has not made a difference.  Zoe is not able to eat a lot when she is at school.  She does a great job and the teachers try their best but Zoe does not want to sit there for 45 mins and eat while the other children play.  Zoe has never felt hunger like most people do.  She could go all day without food and would not complain (she has done this for medical tests).  When she sees her friends playing after they gobbled down their lunches, she clamps her mouth shut until the teacher gives up and lets her play.  Zoe has also been very tired in the mornings, so sometimes we are only able to get a very small amount of food in to her before school.  Some mornings we can not get Zoe to eat anything at all.  Zoe eats great at dinner time- she loves eating as a family.  We all finish sooner than Zoe but we stay at the table talking about our day and enjoying the together time.  So dinner is not a problem.  But Zoe only eating one good meal a day is a problem.

Why Does Weight Matter?

At this point, Zoe has used up all her fat stores.  She has grown in height and has grown even skinnier.  You can see every rib bone, hip bones, spine, etc on Zoe now.  Her legs have also gotten very thin and Zoe is not able to build any new muscle.  The fact that she is starting to lose weight tells us that she is out of fat stores and her body is going in to starvation mode.  Having fat in your body is also necessary for brain growth and function, good energy levels, healthy immune system, etc the list goes on.

So Why Isn't Zoe Gaining Weight?

We believe that Zoe uses an extraordinary amount of calories every day.  She is constantly moving, wiggling, playing, rolling, etc.  Even in her chair, Zoe is still waving her arms and legs around.  She loves to move!  In the past, Zoe was able to get enough calories in to grow at a nice slow- paced Zoe rate.  She has always been small, but she was always gaining on her own curve.  At this point, Zoe is not able to get enough calories in to support any growth and is now unable to even maintain her weight.

Options

We talked to Zoe about various options- she DID NOT like the idea of the teacher pulling Zoe aside in a quiet area to help her concentrate on eating.  She DID NOT like the idea of going back to forced oral feeding we had to do when she was a baby.  Zoe loves eating and wants to continue eating but she is older now and wants to eat when she wants.  And she is stronger now so forcing her is almost impossible!

When we discussed the G-tube option (a tube inserted into the abdomen that delivers nutrition directly to the stomach) with the team, Zoe became quite excited.  She likes the idea of us using the tube to feed her when she is tired or too busy (Zoe's words- apparently she is too busy at school to eat).  Zoe will continue to eat with her mouth, the tube will be there to supplement/ give her more calories.  Zoe already gets nursing at school so this will not be a problem.  Having the tube will make it easier when Zoe is sick or dehydrated- currently we have to insert the NG tube in Zoe's nose and she is not a fan of the procedure.  Zoe had always been good about leaving the tube in place when she was younger but this last time, in April, she kept pulling the tube out.  She does not want it there.  The G-tube can be tucked away and not bother her.

Swimming and Baths

One of our big concerns was that Zoe would not be allowed to swim or take baths- Zoe loves water.  However, the team said Zoe will get a simple g-tube that is allowed to go in water once it has healed. So we are all happy about that.

We meet with the surgeon next Friday to find out when the tube insertion will happen.  We are hoping in August- that way it does not interfere with our trip and Zoe does not need to miss any school.  Because Zoe has been losing weight, they may not be willing to wait that long.  We will see.

Ailsa

Jeez, this is already a long post but I wanted to put an update about Ailsa.  I made this a long post because feeding issues, tube feeding, weight, etc are such a problem for 1p36 children.  I wanted to explain why we are getting the tube now so other families looking for info have it.  We have many posts on tricks for oral feeding (I feel like we could give a seminar at the conference!) so if anyone needs any info- just ask.

Ailsa has finally been given a diagnosis.  She has a problem with her kidneys that does not seem to be genetic or have any reason for being there.  At this point, we need to monitor her and she is taking medication to stop further kidney damage.  We do not know how things will progress but we do know this is a lifelong diagnosis and she will need monitoring and medication the rest of her life.

IT SUCKS!

That is about all I can say about that.  I hate watching Ailsa get poked or taking her medication.  I hate that she already has some kidney damage and it can get worse...much worse.  I hate not being in control!  (Yes, I like to pretend I have some control over this crazy life of mine!)

Having said that, we know how lucky Ailsa and we are.  She is doing wonderful right now so we focus on that.  That is all any of us have- this moment.

Can you tell therapy is working :)

We hope you all have a great summer and we will post lots of pictures of our crazy adventures.  We are very excited about everything we have planned.  And we know everything always goes according to plan...

I love this picture of Ailsa giving her baby medication while I am giving Zoe her night meds.  Ailsa has a very strange idea about what is normal but that is true for any of us.  All we know is our normal.  And our normal is pretty awesome....most of the time.

Here's to 2012!

Here's to Hoping it's a Good Year!

2011 Ended With Another Hospital Stay

We visited my brother and his family in Philadelphia for Christmas. After the 12 hour car ride, we were relaxing at Joe and Kristen's house and hoping to have a nice visit. Within the first hour of being there, Zoe broke her arm! Of course it turned out to be complicated and needed surgery. Surgery led to Zoe developing an allergic rash which looked like a burn and was extremely itchy. 8 of the 11 days we were in Philadelphia were spent at the Children's Hospital- not exactly what we had in mind for our holiday.

Christmas Day in the hospital.

Some Fun Time Too

Unfortunately, Zoe did not get to spend much time getting to know her cousin Sydney and Sydney did not get to see much of Zoe. The days that Zoe was out of the hospital, she was in a lot of pain and very unhappy. Ailsa did get to spend some time with Sydney and learned some important new skills from her like growling! Sydney quickly picked up Ailsa's "milk" sign and by the end of the visit she signed "milk" while I was nursing Ailsa.

The last two days of our trip we were able to get to the park. The weather was beautiful and the girls had fun.

Ailsa and Amanda

Zoe loved the merry-go-round but Ailsa wasn't so sure.

Home Again, Home Again

It has been a rough couple of weeks. Zoe was itchy from the rash and complained that her arm was hurting her. We were surprised she was still having so much pain until she had the cast and pins removed last Monday. They discovered that one of the pins had been rubbing Zoe's arm and had created a deep opening. Everything else looked fine but Zoe still has two small holes from two of the pins and one larger hole. She is much more comfortable now that the pins are out.

Hospital Again, Hospital Again

Zoe was in the emergency room last week with what looks like a gastro bug. We then had to keep her hydrated with NG feeds. Hmmm, so far 2012 is not shaping up as we would like it to be...

School Again, School Again

Zoe finally returned to school yesterday and had a good day. Today she was all smiles when she came home from school. It has been a month since she has been in school so I expect it will take a little adjusting to get back into the routine. Unfortunately Zoe has appointments at the hospital on Thursday so she will miss that day and school is closed on Friday. Perhaps it is good to start with a shorter week anyway while Zoe adjusts.

Zoe Interprets for Ailsa

I am trying to keep this post brief but there has been so much going on. One last thing:

Ailsa still insists on signing "milk" to mean mommy. I don't mind, I actually think it is kind of cute. A friend was over the other day and Ailsa signed "milk." The friend said, "Do you want milk Ailsa?" Zoe signed "mommy" meaning "She wants mommy." Later, Ailsa was eating and kept signing milk. Zoe then signed "eat" meaning "She wants more to eat." It is amazing how Zoe picks up on what Ailsa means and is able to help others understand what Ailsa wants.

Sigh....I don't know why I should be surprised when I have the two most amazing girls in the world!

Last Days of Summer and School!!!!

Family Camp

After seven weeks of ongoing fevers, dealing with the PICC line, and monitoring Zoe constantly- Zoe finally started to feel better. Despite fevers, we decided to go to family camp at an Easter Seals camp. We had a great time and Zoe's fevers finally started to go away. The whole week was full of activities and there were tons of people willing to lend a hand. The girls had a great time and we plan to return another year.

Zoe rode in a canoe for the first time!

We were never sure how to get Zoe into a canoe but they had these bean bags at camp that worked great. Zoe and Gavin canoed over to the beach while Ailsa and I drove there. We played in the sand for a bit, visited with other families, and then we all had lunch there. After lunch, Zoe and Genevieve canoed back to camp while Gavin drove with Ailsa.

First Week of School!!!!

Zoe started at Sunny View school and is loving it! The teachers have a great way with communicating with us and we are all getting used to each other and the school routine. Zoe comes home excited and smiling every day.

Zoe signing Ailsa on the first day of school. The only complaint Zoe has had about school so far is that she misses Ailsa and wants her to be her school friend.

Zoe's first bus ride! Zoe gets picked up around 8am every morning and dropped off around 4pm. So far she has been coping well with the long bus ride. It helps that she is in love with her bus driver!

Why Can't Ailsa go to School?

It has been difficult for Zoe to understand (or perhaps she understands but wants a different answer) why Ailsa can not go to school with her. A few days before school started, I put Ailsa in the exersaucer for the first time. Zoe became very excited and was rapidly signing about Ailsa. It took me a while to figure it out but finally I figured out what Zoe was saying:

"Ailsa standing, Ailsa walking, Ailsa Zoe school friend."
Translation: "Ailsa is now standing which means Ailsa can use a walker which means Ailsa can go to school with me and be my school friend!" Zoe told me I was correct with the translation by smiling, laughing and repeating her signs over and over and over again over the next few days. When she gets home from school she still runs over to Ailsa to touch her hands and face and laugh with her. Hmmm, have you noticed I haven't posted anything about her missing Gavin or me?

Mom's a Canuck!

After living here for five years and having permanent residency, I finally had a chance to take my citizenship test in June. It was actually the day before Zoe got really sick and I kind of forgot about it with everything that happened after. In late August I got a notice to appear to take my citizenship oath on September 9th. We decided Zoe would have a better day at school (they are not big fans of small children vocalizing, playing loud toys, and throwing those loud toys off of their trays during the ceremony). Gavin and Ailsa went with me and Ailsa was very well behaved- she slept through most of the ceremony and then was invited to sing the national anthem at the front of the room. I noticed they were picking all the cute people/kids for the photo op. So who knows, perhaps Ailsa and Gavin will appear in some Canadian Citizenship pamphlet or webpage somewhere. Which is kind of funny since neither of them was there getting their citizenship!

Look at those good looking Canadians!

Getting Better

Zoe has been feeling better, getting stronger, eating better, sleeping better, etc in the last couple of weeks. We went away last week to a cottage that someone has donated the use of to Sick Kids families. It was beautiful and so fun to get away. Zoe did such an amazing job walking at the Petroglyphs park- she walked 400 meters! We had an appointment with her complex care team today and we are all hoping for a healthy and happy winter.

Just One More Picture

I can't resist posting this one because it just cracks me up....

Zoe: "Mom, if you take one more picture I'm going to . . .

Ailsa: "Don't do it sister! She only tortures us with so many pictures because we are so cute and she loves us so much!"

Zoe's great grandfather

This is a kind of sad post. Zoe's great grandfather (Gavin's grandfather) died this last week at the age of 98. We were lucky enough to be able to visit him in Scotland when Zoe was about six months old, and we got a lot of footage of Zoe with her great grandfather. His funeral was today, and as a sort of memorial to him I put together this video.

My grandfather was quite a character. He had a fondness for poetry- the good, the traditional and the very bad. There are examples of all three in this video. The first is a poem, as my granddad says, about Scottish emigrants- I don't know the title and, in truth, only understand about half the words. The second poem about a three legged dog and is by William McGonagal, widely recognized as Scotland's worst poet. The third one is a rather bawdy poem about a lady named Teresa my Granddads girlfriend Win declares is "not for young ears". The final poem is "The Shooting of Dan Mcgrew" by Robert Service- it was one of my Granddad's favorites. The music at the end is Amazing Grace- I'm sure you will recognize it. It was my grandfathers request that it be sung at his funeral, so it seemed the obvious choice for this video. This version is by a mixed Canadian Military and a U.S. Marine Corps band.

The lady in some of the pictures is my granddad's girlfriend Win Moore, who for many years has been my grandfather's friend and companion and a second grandmother to me (and a second great grandmother to Zoe). She is a wonderful person, and I thank her for bringing so much joy to my granddad's life.

Zoe's middle name is Alexander, named in part after my grandfather, and I can only wish she has as long and full a life as he did.


He will be missed.

We're Back!

A Great Trip

We had a fantastic time away. It was great to see all the other families at conference. Check out Whitney's blog (on the right) to see summaries of some of the presentations or Alayna's blog to see pictures of most of the kids. There is a cute one of Zoe.

After conference we rented a car and went to the Arches National Park. It was gorgeous. And Zoe did so well despite the warm and sunny weather. She was drinking water like a champ.

We ended the trip with a 3 day train ride from Salt Lake City to Buffalo. Zoe loved the train and kept signing "train." When the train made stops, Zoe walked around on the platform. Initially she had a hard time not trying to throw herself under the train but she quickly learned to listen. We were very impressed that just by saying (while signing) "no yellow line" Zoe would immediately stop and go the other direction. She really does listen well, especially for a 3 year old!

Photos To Come

We have tons of photos (over 300!) to sort through and then we will post some. It really was a great trip.

Little Cow-Girl

One thing I wanted to comment on was our discovery of Zoe's love of country music! While driving the to Arches we got stuck in traffic. Zoe was getting fussy in the back so we tried finding some music on the radio. When we stopped on the country station, Zoe immediately stopped crying and was quiet. As soon as the song ended, she would fuss until we found another country song. And not just any country- she didn't want any modern, not so country sounding music. She wanted good old fashioned "yee haw" twangy country. It was hilarious!

Just Too Excited!

Gavin's dad came for a visit the day after we got back and Zoe was beside herself with excitement to see him. He has grown his beard out and Zoe is just loving it. It was great to see her recognize him and get so excited.

To add to the excitement- today is the first day back at school! Zoe had a bit of a restless night and we think it was because she was so excited about school. She was laughing, smiling, and signing school as soon as I got her up this morning.

Zoe was very restless in the car and complaining (apparently I was taking too long to get to school!) As soon as I put Zoe in her walker, she raced into her school room. Some of her friends came over to get kisses and hugs and ask her how her break was. Zoe walked all over the room touching everything while smiling and laughing to herself. It was very cute. And great to see just how much she really does love school.

Chapman State Park Camping Pictures

We decided to go to Chapman State Park in Pennsylvania this year for a few reasons. Mainly because I have always wanted to camp in the Allegheny Forest and also we invited some friends and family from PA to join us. Unfortunately they were not able to come. But we still had a great time.

We were quite impressed with the handicap access of the park in general. Specifically, there was a totally accessible washroom including a change table that was set up between the men and women's rooms. Which meant we could both be in the shower with Zoe. We typically both take her into the bathroom when giving her a shower at camp (it is not safe to shower Zoe alone anymore because she arches and wiggles so much) but usually we have to sneak into each other's bathrooms. This time we could take our time and enjoy the facilities. There was also a wheelchair dock and steps down into the lake. Zoe had a great time walking up and down the wheelchair accessible sidewalk/dock area. We were camped near the fully accessible sights so Zoe could walk along the flat area of the road. She was even able to walk up hill a bit. Her walking has really come along in the last few months.

Zoe hanging out at camp. Yes- we brought that highchair! Been using it for three years now and it still works well. It is great because it is so small and portable. As you can see, it also doubles as a play chair.

Zoe's static hair after going down the playground slide.

Zoe doing what she loves- eating sand. It has actually become a bit of a problem because she has the fine motor control to get a lot in her mouth now. She is sitting in her flip 2 sit. We love her new chair- makes so many things (like playing in the sand) much more accessible.

Zoe LOVED bouncing along in the backpack. She got quite a bit of reflux (aka puke) from all the bouncing but really enjoyed it anyway. Puking has never stressed Zoe out so we just wiped it up and kept on walking.

New profile picture

I finally got around to replacing the profile picture- the previous one was from Halloween October 2008. This latest one was taken in March at the Philadelphia Flyers-Toronto Maple Leafs game Genevieve and Zoe took me to when we were visiting friends and family in Philly. Unfortunately (to Gavin at least) Philadelphia won the game- at least Genevieve was happy. Honestly though, with the season Toronto had, it's no wonder they won. Zoe had a good time, though it did get a bit loud at times- rowdy Philly fans, you know.

Our Trip to Philadelphia

For Christmas, Zoe and I bought Gavin tickets to the Maple Leafs vs Flyers game in Philadelphia. Why Philadelphia? Two reasons- the first is that it is nearly impossible (and very expensive) to get hockey tickets in Toronto. The second reason is that my "little" brother and his wife live there along with several of our friends. Gavin and I met in Philly and lived there several years before moving to Canada. So off to Philly we went. We drove since we are not supposed to fly if Zoe is congested and when isn't Zoe congested in the winter? Zoe did great on the long car ride down (it took us 11 1/2 hours with stops) on Friday. Saturday, we met with Ruth and Ulla- two friends that I used to work with.

Zoe hanging out in the bathroom at the store where Ulla works. She thought this seat was hilarious.

Zoe playing with "grandma" Ulla at Ulla's new apartment. Ulla is a wonderful volunteer I had the pleasure of working with in Philly. She is one of those people who you can never guess her age because she seems to have boundless energy and she is always so giving. She has been an avid follower of Zoe's blog and it was great seeing her again. It is amazing how much support we feel from someone we don't get to see as often as we would like.

Saturday night we had another get together to celebrate Zoe's birthday. Kristen made a delicious cake- can you see Zoe is even bringing some of the cake to her mouth herself! Zoe was then thoroughly spoiled with more gifts after dinner. Her favourite is the Flyers jacket from Uncle Joe and Aunt Kristen!

Zoe at the hockey game on Sunday! She spent half the time bundled and patted firmly to help her stay calm with all the noise. But some of the time she was full of energy and ready to play.

This is the only picture I have of Joe and Kristen from the whole weekend. How can that be? I guess we were too busy visiting and not always getting the camera out. I can only imagine Kristen is saying something about yellow helmet or free skate in this picture :)

Patrick and Zoe discuss the game after. They look like they are having a serious discussion.

Unfortunately Zoe did not feel well for the rest of the trip. She has had a cold for the past several weeks and she started running high fevers on Sunday. So we cancelled our plans for meeting up with friends and doing shopping on Monday and just hung out at the house. We left early on Tuesday to split the drive into two days. We stayed at a motel Tuesday night and Zoe was miserable. Up every two hours with a high fever that required Motrin and Tylenol and cold baths to keep them at bay. We hurried back on Wednesday after Zoe had what we think was another short febrile seizure. Once we were home, she seemed better so we held off talking to the doctor until Thursday. The doctor wanted us to go there Friday for a chest xray. The xray, as always, was inconclusive. There is definitely some "findings" but it is hard to tell if it was just pneumonia or some chronic lung changes. Since this is the fourth or fifth (we've lost count) pneumonia this winter, Zoe's doctor is sending us to see the "chest team" at the hospital. We don't expect to get any answers but we are willing to go and see what they have to say. Perhaps we can come up with a plan for when Zoe runs these fevers. We are unsure if we should bring her to the doctor right away since we are usually told, lets hold off on antibiotics for a few days and see how she does. Which we are fine with- we don't want to give her meds if she doesn't need them. The tricky thing is that her pneumonia is not a typical pneumonia where it is bacterial and you treat it with drugs. It is often a viral cold that causes Zoe to produce more mucus which shows up as pneumonia in her lungs. So even when we give her antibiotics, they don't do anything since the underlying illness is viral.

The exciting part about the chest xray is that Zoe was able to do this one lying down instead of in that bicycle seat/plastic tube contraption she is usually in. We did this xray in the community office in the basement under the paediatrician's office. That way we didn't have to go to the hospital. We weren't sure if Zoe would stay still enough but she did a great job. She thought the xrays were hilarious- she was laughing the whole time. Which is much better than her crying and screaming which is what she usually did in the plastic tube. Who can blame her? It doesn't look comfortable.

Our Thanksgiving Holiday

The Ontario Cottage Experience

"Going to cottage" is a very popular holiday plan for many people from Ontario. We planned to camp this September but never made it there so instead we decided to do the traditional cottage experience since camping in October can be a bit chilly. We were quite pleased with how relaxing a trip it ended up being. We went to Gananoque in the 1000 islands area.

I took a long time researching cottages to find one that Zoe could easily use her walker in. This cottage was great because the scenery out the front window was gorgeous. We were right on the river with our own private beach.

Zoe sits with daddy while enjoying her first cruise.

Zoe tuckered out from storming the castle.

Zoe laughing with mommy on the cruise ride back to the cottage.

Zoe was getting a bit tired by this time but luckily daddy brought a toy that was both entertaining and yummy!

This is the pier that was right outside our cottage. Zoe did a great job walking up and down it every night. It gave us a chance to get outside to enjoy the scenery. And we were amazed that Zoe did so well walking on uneven ground. She did get a little frustrated at times because she couldn't understand why she couldn't go swimming.

Family shot while sight seeing at the top of the 1000 islands Skydeck on Hill Island. Zoe's favourite part of this day trip was walking in the bathroom and the elevator. Doesn't Zoe look too cool for her parents with her new transition shades?

Last stop on the way home- Chucky Cheese! It wasn't quite as fun as mommy remembered it being from when she was a kid. But it is a great place to bring a kid like Zoe. She got to ride her first merry-go-round, she loved this car that bumped up and down, and she really liked licking the skee balls! It was a great place for her to be able to run around in her walker and get to pick what she wanted to do.

Zoe's favourite part of Chucky Cheese was the slides. It is actually quite a work out for us to put her at the top and catch her at the bottom but that smile is well worth the effort.