Let Summer Begin!

Zachary had a wonderful week. Tuesday, he had Alice over at the house to watch him.  Wednesday, Laurel was here for the day, and Thursday, Zach headed over to Barb and 

Nonni's to spend the day.  All three days were great, and Zach sends a big THANK YOU to the the wonderful ladies who were kind enough to spend a day taking care of him! Mommy brought Zachary to school on Friday for her last day (no students), and officially began her summer break around noon.  This weekend was fairly quiet around the house.  Daddy had to work Saturday morning, so Mommy and Zach had plenty of time together, and we all enjoyed a peaceful Sunday together... just the three of us.  We came to the realization that this was the first weekend we have had at home with just the three of us for over a month.  We are very grateful for everyone who has come to visit, watch Zachary, and stay at the house, you all have been life savers.  It was definitely nice to get back to life as or own "little" family.  

Mommy is excited to have the opportunity to spend full days with Zach now that summer break has begun.  He has been making some good improvements with his motor skills, and his ability to sit up on his own.  We've been working with him every day, and we're excited about what the future holds for Zach and his progress.  

Enjoy the pictures, and we wish everyone a safe and fun filled summer!  Love - Brian + Kimmie

Sir Laughs A Lot

The past six days have been very busy for Zachary and the Zurliene household.  As mentioned before, Aunt Peg left on Wednesday, and Grandma arrived Tuesday night!  Zachary quickly settled in with is "newest" visitor, and Grandma wasted no time catching up on all the hugs and kisses she has been saving for the past month or so.  

Thursday, Mommy and Grandma had dinner with the Zollers, and Daddy had a night alone with Zachary to do some male bonding.  Saturday was a good day for errand running and catching up around the house before the rain moved in that evening.  Mommy and Grandma had all the ladies from Littleton up for dinner, they enjoyed Zach's brief period of "awake" time, and catching up themselves.  After church on Sunday, Mommy and Grandma did some shopping, then the whole family headed down to Littleton for dinner at the Marshall's.  We enjoyed the delicious meal, and Zach was awake for a fair amount of time before he went down and all the "adults" were able to reminisce around the dessert tray for a while.  

Today, Mommy ran the Boulder Bolder for the first time in two years.  She did not run last year for the first time in a long while, because a certain little guy was still "cooking" in the oven!  She ran in just under an hour, a little slower than years past, but considering she is 6 months removed from having Zachary, we are all very proud of her!  

Grandma headed back to Arizona this evening, and Zachary was sad to see her go, but just before Mommy took her to the airport, we were able to get the video of the laughing machine in action!  Grandma was able to coax many a smile and laugh out of Zachary this week, and he is excited to visit her soon down in Arizona!!  Tonight, Mommy and Daddy are enjoying an "empty" Hotel Zurliene, and trying to remember how we survived without someone else here to help us.  Mommy only has three more days of school, then the summer will officially begin, and Zachary can continue to amaze us with all of his improvements and new personalities each day.  He is our little hero, we are eternally grateful that God has blessed us with such and incredible little boy, and we are excited for all the future holds!  Happy Memorial Day, and Love to You All - Brian + Kimmie

Bye, Bye Aunt Peg!

After two wonderful weeks, Aunt Peg had to fly back home today.  She and Zachary had some very good times together, and are definitely best buds!  Peg was so kind to come out for such a long time and helped out Mommy and Daddy tremendously.  We are very grateful... Thank You Aunt Peg!!  Even in the relatively short time that she was here, she noticed all the improvements Zach has made. He becomes more animated, talkative, and alive each day it seems.  When we were at the spinal defects clinic last week they mentioned that he might "take off" now that he has his casts off and his shunt is healed and working well.  We're enjoying all of his new "tricks" and what surprises he has for us.

Zachary had a busy weekend with a trip to the Pfnister's for Josh's graduation party.  Lots of people there to see and hold him!  On Sunday, Aunt Jodee stopped by for a couple of hours, and Zachary had fun with her, especially since he had not seen her since Easter. We finally had an opportunity to take a few photos of Zach in his sweater that Nana made for him when he was born.  It fits perfect, and he looks great in it!  We also took Zach's five month picture with his buddy Fiesta the polar bear.   

Last night Hotel Zurliene had one more resident when Grandma arrived for the next week!  We should have an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, especially with Grandma here to smother him with kisses and hugs!  Love to You All - Brian + Kimmie

Mr. Happy

Zachary has had a great past few days.  He and Aunt Peg have been enjoying the nice weather by taking some short afternoon walks, and his head control and motor skills have been steadily improving with his tummy time and play sessions.  

Yesterday, Zach's Jewish Grandma Doris, and Grandpa Steven stopped by and brought lunch for Aunt Peg.  As you can see from the pictures, Zach had a wonderful time!  He was full of laughs and smiles all afternoon, so we decided to head out and have his 5 month pictures taken.  True to form, the entire car ride over he was smiling, but once in front of the camera... not a smile in sight!  We were able to get one fairly good shot, and dinner was good at CPK, so the entire trip was not a complete loss. 

Today Aunt Peg and Daddy tried unsuccessfully to watch the Erie Town Fair Hot Air Balloon Launch.  Mother nature greeted us with cloudy skies, a strong wind, and no possibility of balloons taking flight!  We are all off this afternoon for Josh's graduation party, so all in all it is another busy weekend in the Zurliene household. Enjoy the pics - Brian + Kimmie

Doing Well, Especially His Mouth!

Zachary had a very successful trip to the spinal defects clinic yesterday.  All of the "major" medical conditions that Zachary is dealing with (i.e. his shunt, bladder, bowels, and feet) were given passing grades.  His head has shrunk slightly, a direct result from his shunt revision, and he appears much more proportional.   His feet are progressing wonderfully.  It's incredible how much they have moved and corrected to this point.  As for his bladder and bowels (always the favorite topic of discussion!), we did not have a renal ultrasound performed before the clinic, so the doctors did not have images to analyze.  However, after asking a few questions, and using our records of his catheter amounts, they are fairly confident that Zach is doing just fine.  We will have to continue the catheters, but only twice a day, and the possibility of discontinuing them in the future still exists.  

The majority of our day yesterday was spent with the physical therapy personnel.  They examined Zachary and gave us several new methods and exercises to use to further his development.  We also set up Zach's new therapy sessions that will take place weekly starting in June.  Now that he is out of the casts, and is able to be without his shoes for an hour each day, we are anxious to get him started with therapy, and on the road to crawling someday soon!

Zachary is continuing to enjoy Aunt Peg's presence, and he has been talking nearly non-stop so far during her stay.  Many of the specialists yesterday mentioned they believe he is very near to cutting a tooth.  With that and all the "talking" (i.e. fingers in mouth, lots of goos and gaas, drool everywhere) Zachary has become a bit of a bib and clothing drencher!  His voice has grown considerably louder, and he enjoys reaching for and grabbing many of his toys now.  

The rest of the week should be fairly quiet.  Zachary and Aunt Peg have no major plans (although Zachary's Jewish Grandma Doris is coming Friday!) and the weather is shaping up to be very pleasant as well, so we're hoping for a fun weekend! Thank You to all of you who have called and asked about Zachary's clinic yesterday, and  we appreciate all of the prayers and well wishes we continue to receive.  May God continue to bless our beautiful baby boy.  Love to you all - Brian + Kimmie

Happy Mother's Day!!!

A lot has happened since our last blog.  The biggest event was the arrival of Aunt Peg, as we noted, and as promised, here are a few photos to prove that she's here!  Zachary and Peg had a few days to get to know one another, and Zachary has been very pleasant with the exception of Friday afternoon (he decided to wake from his nap early and fuss until Mommy got home).  This weekend has been fairly calm, and unfortunately the weather has not been as nice as it was all last week, but we still enjoyed a nice dinner last night, and a quiet Mother's Day today.  A Very Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!  Mommy enjoyed her first one with a couple of very special cards from Zachary, and even had some flowers sent to her at school on Friday by Zachary as well (he may be young, but he's sure got amazing abilities!).  

This week Zachary will have his second spinal defects clinic on Tuesday.  The "one stop shop" is very beneficial for Zach's progress, and helps Mommy and Daddy by having a lot of evaluations and tests done in one day.  It also provides us with a comprehensive look at Zachary's overall health and an idea of what the next few months will entail as far as doctor visits and/or things we need to work on with him to improve his motor skills and development.  We don't want to assume anything, but to us, it seems as though Zach is doing wonderfully, and we're praying for positive news after Tuesday's visit.  

For now, it's back to school for Mommy again this week, and more bonding time for Aunt Peg and Zachary.  We'll update the blog again after we get the results from Tuesday, and we'll have some more pictures of Zachary's new best friend as well!  Until then, Love and God Bless - Brian + Kimmie

Mommy's Back to School

Sorry we haven't posted for a while, as you can see, Mommy went back to teaching on Monday, and Daddy has been working long hours at the golf course with the projects they have going on.  Uncle Dana had a great time Sunday night with Zach during bath time, and he headed back to Arizona Monday morning.  His trip was far too short,but we know he'll be back soon!

With Mommy back to work, Zachary had his first all day experience away from Mommy, and home.  He was at Becky's on Monday, Barb's on Tuesday, and a combination of the two today.  He seems to not have missed a beat.  With all of the Love and attention he has gotten in the last three days the only effect we've seen is Zach being tuckered out each night from the activities of the day.  Becky, Barb, Nonni, Meg, and everyone else who "helped out" with Zachary did a FANTASTIC job, and we are very grateful!  

Tonight brought the arrival of Aunt Peg (pics to follow tomorrow), who will be spending the next two weeks with us and watching Zach while Mommy and Daddy are at work.  She only had a brief encounter with Zach since he was asleep by the time she arrived, but we know they'll have lots of time to play with one another for the next few days!  For now we are off to the dream feed, and another day of work tomorrow.  Love and God Bless - Brian + Kimmie