playing catch up...

Here is a quick attempt to catch up on what's been happening with Little Miss Z the past three months...


Zoe became a BIG SISTER!!! She absolutely adores Claire! She has to be reminded 83 times a day to give her a little space... We all feel so blessed to have this new little babe as part of our family.


Zoe turned 4! She suddenly became very preoccupied with who is bigger, older, faster, etc - and she thinks she is all of the above and she isn't afraid to let other kids know this. 

 

In August, Zoe's doctors suggested that we "take a break" from chemotherapy... Her neutrophil counts continued to stay low throughout the summer, so we weren't able to have chemo regularly. Decisions regarding Zoe's treatment are always difficult for Sean and I to make... One day we will have to explain to Zoe why we did or didn't do certain things, so we always feel the weight of our decisions because they will have a life-long impact on her.  On a selfish note, I am welcoming a break from chemo. I'm excited to let Zoe be more of a normal kid - to go to preschool, play with cousins & friends, eat what she wants, etc. I'm tired of taking her to the hospital every time she has a fever (and we did that plenty this summer). So, since we are no longer doing chemo, Zoe had surgery the end of October to get her port out!

We celebrated with the Turner crew by having a PORT PARTY - Zoe was really excited about it and helped pick out the treats and food she wanted.

Zoe finally broke the Halloween curse!!! This is her fifth Halloween, but it is the first year that she has actually been able to fully celebrate Halloween, American style. On Zoe's first Halloween, she was readmitted to the hospital, after having already spent two months in the NICU. Her second and third Halloweens were spent in Jerusalem and although the consulate does a great job of making Halloween festive for little kiddos they still miss out on the door-to-door trick-or-treating. Zoe's fourth Halloween was also spent in the hospital. Finally, this year she broke the curse... and she had a blast running around with her cousins.

Our time in Utah came to an end.  We were very sad to say goodbye to the Turner crew... but it was time to get back to "normal" life -- (although this last year has felt like anything but normal).  Anyhow, it's great to be living together as a little family again.  Zoe was also really excited about going back to preschool.  Also, although we had to say goodbye to Nanny and Poppa, we were so happy we got to spend a bit of time with Khaki and Bim during a quick trip they made to Virginia.. 

 

So, Little Miss Z is doing really well, all things considered.  She has another eye exam tomorrow and an MRI in three weeks so I will post about that later.  Since we aren't doing chemo anymore, I won't be posting too often since my original intent was for this to be a blog about her treatment process... I will try to give more timely updates when we have them. 

We continue to feel so blessed by the love, support, and concern you have shown us.  It means more than you know...