Thursday, January 20, 2011

Remembering to celebrate the baby steps ....

Well,you know,it is no secret that I long to see Zoey vertical.Up on those precious little feet of her's,exploring this great big beautiful world of ours.And I cannot wait for the day that she once again,powers down an entire bowl of food.And,dare I say,even asks for more.And while we are on the subject of asking,perhaps we will one day hear her precious voice calling our names and,if we are lucky, even listen with joyful hearts as she sings along to the music she so loves.Tall orders I know.Lofty dreams but I am not without hope.We continue forward,ever faithful to our adopted mantra of,slow and steady wins the race.

While we patiently wait,okay,who am I kidding?Somedays it is not so patiently.But wait we will and while we do,I will remember to rejoice in the small victories.The little milestones.The baby steps that represent,that everything will come in it's own time.Never my time.Always,always Zoey's.In my moments of frustration,when I feel that we are at a standstill,plateaus of time where development seems virtually halted, I need to remember.Remember and recall the days when my child hated and I mean hated, the tub.Seemed like we were headed to sponge bathing the child for the rest of her life.Seriously.Eventually she overcame that fear, but what remained was the little,teensy,weensy hurdle of washing her hair.Boy,not fun.Scream and cry and thrash herself about.When we finished the tub,the torture,much to her and sometimes my,dismay, continued with the brushing of her teeth.If possible,that little task was far more traumatic then the bath experience.The only upside was that she was screaming so much and so loudly that her mouth was wide open and I had prime vantage to hit every tooth.I honestly thought that this was the way it was going to be.No end in sight.A battle for the simplest of hygiene care.Baths and brushing.And then,without notice or fanfare,the battles ceased.The request to look up at the light was granted and the water poured over her head and not a tear was shed.And just as miraculously,a simple, "Please open your mouth Zoey", was met with a beautiful,"ahhh".Be still my heart.The small victories translate to reminders to hold on,hang tight and when you least expect it,those things once deemed baby steps,become giant leaps.

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30 comments:

Stephanie said...

Yeah!!! Zoey!! Huge milestones if you ask me!

Anonymous said...

Now, this brings tears (of happiness) to my eyes. As I've said before, this little child is leading the way and doing everything in her own time. Wow! what a stride forward you have made Miss Z.

And maybe, just maybe she might say "Bluebelle" some day. Amazing thought.

I might add, we noticed on Sunday when she was "talking/signing" with us on the Webcam - she spoke ma & ba -she did not have any vocal communication last April - We all jumped on that when we heard it, and I might add... loved it!

You go Zoey girl!

Love & hugs to everyone

Aunt Bluebelle

Peter Olson said...

She loves that camera!
And she is adorable!

patsy said...

so glad i found your sweet girl...zoey is a cutie!! and so happy tub and teeth time is more enjoyable :) www.missmaggierae.blogspot.com

Rochelle said...

Yeah Zoey, ooo girl you are cute, cute, cute. Happy Friday!

The VW's said...

Adorable pictures of Miss Zoey!!! Great job on your successes Zoey! I know your Momma is so happy and so proud! And, so are me and Gavin!....Of course, Gavin thinks you are crazy that you enjoy your baths now, and wonders why you left the "hate bathtime club", but he's proud of you all the same! :) Maybe you should come visit him and teach him a thing or two?! Hugs sweet girl!

blogzilly said...

She is so expressive! Great set of pics.

Anna said...

Heather, thank you for such a sweet, encouraging post. XXOO have a blessed weekend.

Anonymous said...

That last picture... oh my gosh. That needs to be a poster at the pediatric dentist's office!

Mo

Kristin said...

My 5 year old still screams when I wash her hair - you mean there is hope???!! Haha.

ardith said...

So cute, Squeaky clean or not!!

Dana Janowicz said...

Those pictures just made my day. Angel face.

Anonymous said...

Really wonderful and expressive photos. Your post is particularly touching to me because you are so well spoken. I think some of us who are touched by your child and others similarly situated really forget (or simply don't realize) the day to day challenges that so many of us take for granted. Bathing and brushing and the like. You are an amazing mom. I really don't know how you and other blog families do what you do. AND take time to write such long and appreciated postings to share your family and feelings with so many friends and strangers. Its all pretty darned inspirational. Thank you.

CB

Lacey said...

That last one with the toothbrush is soo sweet! Her and Arina can take baths and party together! After two weeks of screaming bloody murder in the tub, its now her absolute favorite thing to do!

Bethany said...

Those are great accomplishments and definitely milestones worthy of celebration!! I can not begin to tell you how many times I nearly lost fingers while brushing teeth after lunch as a teacher and there were always a few kids who made it sound like we were conducting torture experiments. What a functional, life long skill to be developing!! And do dream and believe - Zoey has defied so many expectations the only ones she is guaranteed to fail to meet are the ones never set.

Cammie Heflin said...

I LOVE this post! I so can relate you know! I watched a video today of a little girl with DS that is a couple months older than Addy. She is beginning to walk and she was verbally counting outloud as she took each step. She counted to ten clapped and said "I did it Mommy! I do again." One of those moments where I had to rejoice for her then look at Addy and rejoice in the fact that she is standing and sort of counting with her fingers and not her words. I know when Zoey and Addy are teenagers and are texting and video chatting with each other we are going to look back at these days and forget what they were like! I love you and Zoey my dear friend!

Googsmom said...

Wooot Woooot!!! Zoey is precious and look at those perly whites!!

Angi said...

MADE MY HEART SMILE !! THAT LAST PICTURE WAS JUST SO AWESOME !!!

just jean said...

JI love this set of pictures! You are amazing at catching the powerful moments of everyday life!!!

Thanks for the pleasure of your blog!

Denise said...

Ha ha...I thought this post was going to be about eating :) But nonetheless, great milestones indeed!!

Elizabeth said...

Oh, good night -- that child is just a big bowl of buttermilk. I adore her --

Anonymous said...

Heather,
I love this post and love the pics!! Her beautiful face makes me smile every time I see her pics. This post took me back about 20 years when Scotty was a baby/toddler and HATED to have his nails clipped. He screamed the whole time, and I was grateful one time when he was having a procedure where he would be sedated; I brought my clippers and clipped away with ease! I think, because he had been in so many medical situations and settings, he wanted nothing to do with using any instruments (clippers) on him. He also had problems with trying shoes on - he didn't know that strange person at the shoe store and didn't want him getting close or messing with his feet! The other thing he had problems with was having his picture taken at a studio. There's that strange room (kind of like an examining room), with that strange person using big strange equipment (cameras and big lights, etc). He just knew they were going to do something to hurt him! Luckily, he did grow out of all of those things by the time he was about 3 or 4. And now, his favorite place is to be in front of a camera or the center of attention!
It is so important to celebrate the baby steps and sometimes we need someone else to point them out to us! Our infant educator was invaluable in helping us to see Scotty's progress very early on in his life. For that I'll always be grateful. She helped us to understand that while our other children may have gone from step A to step B in one leap, what we had not realized was that there were many points of progress between steps A and B. She helped us to recognize them, which gave us the courage and patience we so needed at the time.
Thanks again for sharing your Zoey with all of us who have grown to love her!
Karen from Logan UT

Tina said...

Yes slow and steady is what I seem to be learning more and more about each and everyday. Not to mention there are those days when I get impatient (if only within myself) to see those changes. I know they are there even if really subtle and visible to me but its things like this that bring me such joy and hope. What adorable pictures of Miss Zoey and in that last one she is a true poster child. Many many hugs to your precious little Zoey.

Claudia said...

those photos are sooooo sweet. Zoey is just a beautiful girl,

love to you!
Claudia

Jeana said...

Love this post, it's so important to look back and reflect on the little victories they have made, not to mention them beating all odds and getting through some serious medical challenges. Sometimes when I see other babies much younger than her learning to crawl, or eating with ease, I secretly say in my heart, "Thats all well and good, but my little girl knows how to fight for her life, and surpass insurmountable odds, so those other things she's working on don't seem so big." They'll get there, and when they do we'll have a party!! And then move on to the next thing :)

Bethany said...

Aww, love this! And yes, so many more milestones to come. She seems to remind me so much of Nika ... her little red hands after bathtime, does that always happen? Nika's are always like that after bath and I have no clue why!!

Alisha said...

I think Zoey is a huge inspiration! YAY ZOEY! She seems to enjoy bathtime as much as my girls too. Seriously, I can't keep them out of the water! lol

Dawson said...

Heather.... I wish you knew how much we are enjoying watching her grow. What a beautiful child!!

Melissa said...

I love this post and this pictures, especially the last one! It is so true to remember the enjoy all the accomplishments, big and small.

Cole said...

Sometimes I think the noticing of those changes is the milestone- they're just doing their thing and one day we really see it! She's so lovely! Yay Miss Zoey!!!!!