Now that I have this wonderful blog started (and I started it in JANUARY) I thought I should catch everyone up to where we are from then until now...because it's a catch up blog, it will probably be long and windy so bear with me...after this, they shouldn't be so lengthy!
INDIE:
For the last 3 months, Indie's been living a dog's life...sleep, eat, go outside, sleep, play, sleep, eat more...etc. We had a couple a doozy snowstorms in February & March and boy, did he LOVE running and bounding around the back yard in the snow! He would tunnel his nose through the snow so that his little black nose would poke up out of the snow and that all you'd see! Then, he would lay down and roll in the snow...Doggie Snow Angels, I'm guessing? The bummer for Indie is that when ALL of that snow began to melt...he was very limited in where he could go in the yard due to the dreaded mud! I have tried to get him out and about on some of the nicer days we've had...I would walk him around the block (not so easy while trying to push a stroller at the same time) or give him a ride in the car and let him go to work with me on the weekends a couple of times. Yesterday evening, I even took him to the local Dog Run here in Lincoln...oh was he a dog in bliss! He looked so beautiful as the setting sun would glisten off of his golden hair as he bounded over the hills and met up with other canine acquaintances (the weiner dogs were his favorite - I think he was thinking where's the bun and the relish!?) Overall, Indie continues to be a great companion to us all...even when he gets in the garbage, I still love him! I know the past year has been hard for him having to adjust to not having all the attention since Zoie has arrived, but he has done really well and he is SO great around Zoie...I think the older she gets and more mobile, the more he likes her! They like to stand at the front door and look out the window together, Zoie gives him treats (some that aren't supposed to be for him even) and they 'chase' each other (ie, Zoie crawls after him and he takes off!). He is a good family dog and is definitely part of the family...we're very blessed to have him!
ZOIE:
Ok, she's really the one you all want to know about the most (haha...just teasing) so here we go...gosh, there is so much that has gone on as far as her doing new things and growing! My last post on here was right after Christmas so she was about 8-1/2 months then and she had 6 teeth, would pull herself up to stand pretty much while holding onto something stable, was sort of crawling...more doing the 'army' thing, could drink out of her sippy cup somewhat...giggles like crazy...loved peek-a-boo. Between now and then (she is 11 months old today!), she became the Mario Andretti of crawling, still only has 6 teeth, but 4 more are ready to pop through her gums any day now (mmm...steak!) and we have the drool to prove it, can crawl up the steps as long as someone is behind her - we haven't tried down yet other than she likes to walk down while you hold her hands, stands up all my herself from a sitting position, has mastered standing free, started with a step or two before the hard fall on the bottom, can now take 5-10 steps steadily before falling, has started to do a little self spoon feeding, can feed herself finger foods very well (has done this for a while) but overstuffs her mouth at times, she puckers up and kisses, waves bye-bye, claps her hands, throws her hands above her head when you say "Ta Da!", pats her mouth while making noise so that it sounds different, does raspberries, she 'growls' or 'roars'...and has some of the funniest facial expressions I've ever seen (don't know where she gets those!)!! She can say a few words...mama, mom-mom (Grandma), pop-pop, eh (Indie), ba (a multitude of things). She loves Indie, music, books, being outside, playing in the mirror and talking/making faces at the baby she sees there, she loves to go bye-bye and ride in the car and look out the window, she loves to take a bath and have no cloths on, she loves Grandma so much (mutual feelings there) and Pop-pop (Jim), she loves to play our giggle game on the bed - we start at the foot of the bed and I say, "I'm gonna get you, Zoie!" and she 'runs' up to the head board and keeps looking back to see where I am and then just falls back and has the most beautiful laugh and giggles...it's the best! She is a very good baby to take places...likes to be out and about and social...loves it when all the people stop and talk for the most part...sometimes, she looks at them like "Who ARE you and WHAT are you doing?!" The last time we had her weighed and measured (9 months) she was almost 22 lbs and was 30-1/2" long...her weight was in the 90th percentile and her height, well, no surprise was above 97%!! HA! She's wearing 18 months in clothes now but more for the length than the girth. We finally were able to find a daycare after 4-1/2 months of searching and Zoie really loves it there - there are 6 or 7 other kids who all like her a lot and the lady has 3 kitties and Zoie loves them! Zoie did have a little bit of a tummy flu in mid-Feb (vomiting and stuff - not fun for any of us), and recently had a stuffy nose, but for the most part we've been very blessed that she is really healthy and happy. Even when she is teething or tired, she's pretty calm. Her dislikes these days are real bananas (makes a very funny face!), the vacuum cleaner (she used to not mind it at all and now screams, but this is normal), this evil singing snowman that Grandma has...and, most of all, getting her nose wiped/cleaned out!! All in all, she's very normal and yet uniquely amazing! :) She starts her 2nd session of swimming 'lessons' this Saturday and next month hits the big birthday number ONE! Can't believe it!! Some of Zoie's little friends have already started...Isaiah in OK was 1 in Jan, Sawyer in CO and Annabelle in TX both turned one in March, Connor here in Lincoln turned 1 in Feb...lots of birthdays! Just think when they all turn 16 and graduate high school and all that...ok, nevermind, don't think about all that yet! Yikes!
HEATHER:
Well, if you're still reading up to this point and haven't fallen asleep, then you pretty much know from the aforementioned items what Heather has been up to...add into that my job and that's me! I do get to spend time with some friends here and there...I have a good friend and fellow mom, Vonda, who I work out with (but not nearly enough) and she and I are going to be taking a well earned, long awaited, anxious trip to the Bahamas at the end of April for a week so I am really looking forward to that. In February, my friend, Lindsay, and I did a weekend getaway to Kansas City - it was my first time away from Zoie and it was a perfect amount of time...we had a really leisurely visit and just did whatever sounded good at the time and were lucky enough to miss out on bad weather in KC and on the way back to NE. Another friend, Michelle, has a birthday in Feb a week after mine so a bunch of us went out on her birthday to bowl and it was a lot of fun! I even got a few strikes in here and there! Woohoo! I still like to get out to movies if/when I can, but mostly we rent these days! One of my closest friends ever, Kristin, is coming for a weekend visit this weekend and I'm so excited to see her...we last were together last year about this same time in my apartment in TX and I was pregnant so it was a tame visit...but not this time! Yeah, baby! Our great friends, Wendy & Marty, welcomed their little baby boy just a week ago so now Zoie has another new friend - very exciting for us all! We're so happy for them! We have some other good friends in TX who are expecting their first child this summer and are also so very happy for Thomas & Sophie!! Woohoo!! Work is going fairly well...still doing the training and we've started utilizing an online training program so that means I don't have to travel, which is nice, although I wouldn't mind it from time to time. I miss seeing the people face-to-face and it's hard for me to get used to looking at a computer and do training that way, but it saves money and that's what counts I guess. Other than work, Zoie it pretty much my world...I love being with her and watching her change and grow and discover - it really is an honor and a privilege to be part of her life. We are blessed to have my mom (grandma) with us everyday and I know that is so special. We try to see my brother, sis-in-law and nephews as much as we can, but they're a very busy group so coordinating schedules is a challenge at times...my mom got to go out there and stay with them for over a week - something they've all needed for a while...thank you to all of them for letting me and Zoie kind of 'hog' mom the last year.
Well, I believe that's it...thanks for your patience in reading this short book...and thanks for caring about us! Keep in touch...
Email: hedderd@yahoo.com
Phone: 402.610.4278 (don't be selling this #, either!)
