Is it too late to catch on to HP?

I consider myself a fairly avid reader. I look at popular book lists quite often for book club ideas and the NY Times Bestsellers list and find that I have read many or at least heard of them and/or have them on my to-read list.....but I have never read a Harry Potter book. Did you just gasp? I am sure some people mayhave ! Not sure why? Same reason I didn't get all in to Twilight I guess? I read the first one but haven't made it past there yet. Too many other books out there I want to read more.

But Harry....he has some allure to him. I have enjoyed the movies I have seen. I like books/movies like Lord of the Rings (I can watch those movies every time they are on TNT and TBS!) So perhaps I should jump on the bandwagon many years later and read them now? What do you think...are they THAT good? I need a good diversion from reality right now...

Sometimes my Kid Won't Eat

And it drives me BONKERS!  I feel like, ya know...he needs to eat to live and stuff!!  And then at the same time it infuriates the frugal side of me because I feel like I waste so much food.  Argh.  Esther eats better than Zachary on a daily basis.  Yet daycare says he is a great eater.  Perhaps its the group thing?  I don't know, I am totally clueless on this one but keep finding in reading that this is pretty normal and its what they take in over a week that matters and not by one meal.  

Tonight was just one of the frustrating meal nights.  Yelling at the fridge (him, not me, just to clarify, LOL), me opening the fridge and playing 20 questions to see WHAT it is exactly that he wants, him picking out objects, me preparing them, and him not eating them....AHHHH!!!!  I finally cave after he eats half a pudding cup and about 3 blueberries.  Tonight not even his favorite fruit sounded good apparently.  Drats!  It about brought me to tears which I know, sounds ridiculous and then his cute face looked at me all concerned so I got over it.  

Lots of really serious issues going on in the lives of my loved ones....family, friends, friends' family and I think that is what I was more upset about cause Lord knows if all I have to deal with is a night of not eating, I am very thankful for that.  Please keep in your prayers my cousin Courtney, some of my real and cyber friends who are battling IF valiantly, and friends who are also dealing with illnesses in their families.  Life is too short so make sure you tell those you love that you really do!

Love to all of you out there!! 

I'm alive!

I know, its been over a week, guess we have been busy??  The last 24+ hours have been spent battling some kind of stomach virus which was not fun.  It started on the way home from Dallas but I thought it was more because of being hot and in the car.  Once we got home, it was worse and I spent the night running to the potty :(  UGH!  And then it hit Matt today so since I was a little more recovered than he, I got to take care of the Z man who luckily didn't seem too affected minus a little loose poo.  NOT FUN for anyone!  But I think we are hopefully on the mend!

Today was Zach's ECI evaluation.  The two ladies that came to the house were really nice and informative.  Zach was average to above in everything except for communication which we think is attributed to the old ears.  He just barely qualified so we decided to go ahead and enroll in the program.  Together with the team, we came up with a plan for Matt and I to work on with Z over the next few months and starting in August, the teach will come to the house 2x a month to see how we are doing and giving us more tips!  All and all, it was very good meeting and we are excited about getting started!

We spent the weekend in Dallas visiting family which was really nice.  We had not been up there since last April, yikes!  My Grammy is turning 95 this week so we had a little get together with us and a few of her friends.  I think she enjoyed it!  I was also able to visit my cousin Courtney who is still in ICU with CF related issues.  It broke my heart to see her that way but she is a fighter and has wonderful sisters and mom who are with her all the time encouraging her along!  

So that's a very brief catch up.  Not too much else going on...looking forward to NKOTB this Saturday, even in the HEAT!!

Good weekend and 25 weeks!

We had such a good long 4th weekend....every day at the pool and just spending time with friends and family.  What more can I ask for? I think Zach is becoming a fish though, some times he will cry/whine when we go past the pool and don't stop!  HA!  Thank goodness for the baby pool in the back yard, it seems to get the job done too!  And no suit required! ;-)

I had a doc appt today and all seems to be going well.  Cannot believe I am 25+ weeks!  Next week is the oh so fun glucose test.  I failed my 1st one last time so my doc recommended that I fast before the test this time.  Also time to register with the hospital.  Things are moving very very quickly now!  Need to get this boy's room ready!!  :)

Sue and I took a quick trip with the tots to the outlet mall today.  So many cute things...but I am trying to hold off and not buy too much.  I have so much still from Zachary!  Need to start organizing it so it is ready for the little guy at least!

Not much else really going on.  We have our initial ECI appointment tomorrow and then Friday we are headed to Dallas to celebrate my Grammy's 95th birthday!  Very excited to see the family, it has been way too long.  Hoping to be able to see Courtney too and check in on her in person.  She is a fighter and seems to be getting better which is obviously great news!

Hope everyone had a good 4th! 

The Weekend of the Pool

That is what I am calling it cause I think that is about all we will be doing all weekend!  After work yesterday, we met Kerri and one of her neighbors for an hour or so.  Z loved the water sprouty things on the splash pad and just being in the pool splashing around.  We decided he was trying to swim because he kept falling forward in the baby pool on purpose and really looked like he was trying to swim!  Which is great except for that he can't so we were constantly pulling him up which he found HI-larious!  ;-)  Thanks for the invite Kerri, it did wear Zach out and he slept good!

Matt and Randy are playing golf this morning at the course in the neighborhood so Sue and I are heading to the pool behind our house.  It doesn't open until 11am so chilling for a bit.  Zachary is running around the house talking to himself....if only I knew what he was saying!  So weird, he is so independent now.  He just went upstairs to get some of his balls and is oooh and ahhing to me from the balcony!  So cute!

We watched Gran Torino last night.  I know, that movie came out like over a year ago.  That is how far behind me are in the movie world.  It's just now OnDemand so that was our choice last night.  It was very good...and definitely better than our last 2 rentals (Pineapple Express and He's Not That Into You).  I would like to see Bride Wars, Doubt, maybe 7 Pounds and Taken and The Reader.  Anyone have opinions on any of those or any other movies we should rent this weekend?

Let's see what else has been going on...currently The Boy is OBSESSED with my shoes!  If they are laying anywhere around the house, he will bring them too me and put them on me.  Or, sometimes he will just go into our closet and find a pair (which is really quite impressive if you have seen my closet) and bring them to me.  Let me tell you, heels and my PJs is QUITE the look!  He is also obsessed with the pool...be it the baby pool in our backyard or going to the neighborhood one.  As soon as he goes outside, he walks over to the hose and puts it into his pool.  Thank goodness he hasn't figured out how to turn the water on yet! 

As for the talking....I think he may be progressing on his own just in the last couple weeks.  Zach is saying bubble now and Da (dad) and generally just vocalizing a lot more.  He has his ECI apt on Tuesday which will be more paperwork the 1st time and then we will set up an evaluation from there.  I am curious to see what comes of it.  I also got the DVD and book I ordered in this week.  Haven't watched the Baby Babble DVD yet but the book I got has some great activities in there and I am looking forward to trying them out!  

Well, that probably catches us up for now!  Looking forward to the extra long weekend and Happy 4th of July to everyone!  We will be spending tomorrow with friends at where else...but a POOL!  :)

Now back to Sesame Street (Doogie Houser is on it today, interesting!  He is the "shoe fairy"....)

New things for baby?

Sue asked me yesterday if there was anything that I would need/want for baby boy (we really need to decide on a name, getting tired of this generic talking of him....) and it got me thinking! It is different when the second is the opposite gender because you need new clothes, decor, etc....but what about when its the same? Do I need any new things? Obviously my bouncer, swing, play mat, stroller are all still good....and I don't think there has been any major new baby invention invented in the last year that I would need? I bought a double stroller which I am excited about and new bedding which is totally adorable.

So, any suggestions for things I need the second time around that I may not already have or need to replace?? Only 4 more months to go. I need to get working on the room before I am too tired to do it! :)

Prayers for Courtney

My younger cousin Courtney has been battling Cystic Fibrosis her whole life but the last couple of years it has become harder on her and her body. Over the weekend, she had to be admitted into ICU in Dallas and put into a medical induced coma to relieve her of the over 50lbs she had gained in fluid in just a couple of days. Her older sister Megan started a blog for her to keep everyone updated on her status. As of now, no news is good news and the dialysis seems to be working and doing it job of reducing the swelling and fluid. If you had a moment, please add my cousin Courtney to your prayer list! She is an awesome girl and a fighter and I know she will beat it this time to!

http://www.courtneylynnhill.wordpress.com/

Just some fun pics from the weekend...

ECI Appointment

First of all, thank you guys for all the great advice and words of encouragement!  SO, after a long talk with Allison and a very well timed trip to Austin and visiting with the in-laws' good friend who is a professor of Speech Pathology (specializing in infants and toddlers no doubt!) @ UT....I decided to go ahead and set up an appointment to talk to some one at ECI.  

Both Al and Babs (the prof) think that Zach is perfectly normal and actually very bright, may just need a little help!  Babs biggest thought was that 1) for someone who seems very advanced in some areas (physical, social, etc) it stands out some that he isn't using words/sounds that much and 2) Zach has been so busy perfecting all his other skills and figured out ways to get what he wants without using his voice...that he may have just become somewhat lazy to it.  He uses his hand/fist grabbing sign and grunts to get what he wants and hey, why not, cause it works! ;-)  

Both of them also think that waiting till 18 months or even later would not do any harm, but since it's on my mind now, why not go ahead and contact them and see what they think.   It is quite possible he won't even qualify and then it can put my mind at ease...and if we do, then we can start working now as it will be easier now than later!  The main thing is, I can tell Zach gets frustrated by his silly mommy and daddy not knowing what he wants which in turns frustrates us all well so I want to do what I can to help my son!  The 1st appointment is July 7th and is mostly paperwork and such and then we will schedule a follow up appointment for the actual assessment.  Looking forward to it and getting so tips if nothing else! Stay tuned!

Father's Day weekend

We ventured over to Austin this weekend to visit Matt's dad and step mom for the weekend.  We had not been to visit since, gasp, Hurricane Ike when we escaped our powerless town home.  The weather seemed cooler to me than the Houston heat so for that alone it was nice!

It was so nice for Zach to spend some time with his grandparents and I definitely think they enjoyed seeing him too.  Manda did a fabulous job of baby-proofing before we got there so I was able to let Zach roam freely without having to worry at every turn what he was going to get in to.  They have a fabulous back yard full of lots of stairs, paths, bridges, plants etc and Z totally enjoyed just wandering around the yard and checking it all out.  Also spent some time at their neighbor's pool and the baby pool the g-parents bought.  The highlight for Zach probably was the Cozy Coupe they bought for him!  Manda and I put it together while Zach was napping and the men were off golfing.  We opened the box while Z was still awake thinking it would be a simple process...and about 100 pieces tumbled out of the box.  I decided perhaps nap time would be a better time to try!  But Z had just as much fun sitting and playing in the body of the car before it was all put together then he did when he woke up and got to ride in the real thing!

All in all, we just had a lovely time hanging out with family and watching everything that Z Man does!  

And of course a very Happy's Father's Day to my dad, Matt, and Dan!  You guys are the best and such a great example to Zach and soon to be little brother of what a man should be! :)