So, we started out the holiday season by going and getting our tree. Zoë was a good helper despite wanting to be held almost the entire time. But, we found a good one. :) We decorated the next day and Zoë even helped...sorta. She was more interested in taking all of the ornaments out of the box than putting them on the tree. Next year.
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| Helping unpack the ornaments. |
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| Helped with a few... |
We went to Snowflake Lane with the Nelson family and while their daughter loved it, Zoë was super tentative and wouldn't be put down to dance or greet any of the people dressed up (in any costume, furry or otherwise). I still loved it, though, and can't wait until she's past this timid stage.
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| At dinner beforehand (top) and then on Snowflake Lane, cautiously watching the dancers to make sure they didn't get too close. |
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| "I'm cozy" she says as she snuggles with both babies. |
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| Chillin' with her light up wand. |
The following week we went to Zoolights at the Point Defiance Zoo with two of Zoë's boyfriends and their families. It's such a fun tradition for us (Chris and I started going when we were dating) and it was fun to see Zoë really appreciate the lights this year. Of course, she brought her light up wand Daddy bought her last year. The only disappointment was that she wouldn't ride the carousel. She wouldn't even sit on a horse, so we had to get off and watch everybody else ride. :(
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| Sitting coyly with Ethan and Griffin. |
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| Would love to know what she's really thinking here. :) |
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| Enjoying her jammies that match the jammies her baby is wearing. She sure loves that baby. |
And, onto the Santa adventure. We went to the Old Cannery in Sumner on a friend's recommendation and the set up there is absolutely incredible. They had a large screen TV playing movies (Frozen was on when we arrived, Zoë's new favorite) with kid recliners all set up in a circle around it. She LOVED the recliner and we almost walked away with one but they didn't really have a color that would go in any of the rooms in our house. Too bad because it was adorable. They had tons of wintery/holiday displays, a popcorn machine, and coloring stations set up throughout with clipboards so kids could take paper and crayons wherever. It was genius. It was a LONG wait in line (we were there 1.5 hours early and it still took another hour to see Santa), but might be more worth it if we went a weekend earlier. Maybe we'll try it again next year.
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| Kicking back watching Frozen with her snacks. |
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| Loving the trains. |
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| Hey, these penguins are kinda cute. |
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| Cheese! |
She was ALL for seeing Santa and sitting on his lap right up until the time we walked up to him, of course. She would not let go of me, and barely let go of my shirt long enough to stand next to Santa and take a second (bribed) candy cane. He was a great Santa, insisted that I just hold on to her while he talked to her for a while, but no dice.
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| As close as she got on her own...notice her shoe is off and mom isn't more than two feet away. |
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| Happy as a clam...AFTER Santa (probably because she's eating the candy cane she "earned"). |
So, I wanted a picture of her sitting on Santa's lap. Even if she was screaming. Chris loves me so much that he took her to Southcenter on his Friday off to see if he could get her on that Santa's lap. And, here is the result. Next year, right?
Today Zoë had her swallow study to follow up her surgery a few weeks ago. Chris took her (a 2pm appointment at Seattle Children's, not exactly a convenient appointment to get to) and said while she did a little bit better, the doctor said she's not better enough to take her off thickener. Apparently she did better with really cold liquids (with ice in them) and when she drank with her head tilted down (from a straw) she did better than when she tipped her head back to drink from a sippy cup. But, not good enough. She won't need surgery again, especially since the goo they injected into her throat didn't do anything much for her, but she'll likely need some therapy at Valley Children's Clinic. We have a follow up next Friday with the surgeon where he'll tell us what our next steps are, but for now, we keep thickening her liquids. I'm really, really disappointed. I could see the light at the end of the thickener tunnel and now the light's out again. :(
