Zoe Through the Years
It’s time for my annual look back at Zoe on her birthday every year.
This isn’t actually April 7th, 2017 but it’s one of the closest pictures I have to that day.
April 7, 2018 - 1 Year
April 7, 2019 - 2 Years
April 7, 2020 - 3 Years
April 7, 2021 - 4 Years
April 7th
April 7th is always a day filled with so many mixed emotions. It is a joyous day to celebrate Zoe and all that she means to us. We are so thankful she was born 4 years ago on April 7th. It is also a day filled with sadness. We are sad for Zoe’s birth mom because we know this day is filled with loss and grief for her. We are also filled with our own grief remembering my dad’s last breath on April 7th, 6 years ago. It is a day to celebrate new life and death. We are so thankful God chose us to be Zoe’s parents and chose to provide some redemption for such a hard day in our lives. We all miss my dad so much and wish he was still here with us to celebrate this precious girl with us. But like I always say, even though he never met Zoe, we know they share such a special bond in this day.
This year, we spent the day in my dad’s favorite place. We drove all through Cades Cove, walked to the cabins, enjoyed a picnic, saw a bear and admired the gorgeous mountains. We took the girls’ Grampie bears with us and made sure to get some pictures with them. This place was definitely his happy place so it felt so right to be there celebrating his and Zoe’s lives. It was definitely hard to go to all those favorite spots without him but it was also fun to show the girls all the things he loved so much.
Zoe, I know I say this every year but your Grampie loved you so much. He never met you and for that we are so sad. We grieve what could have been in your relationship. He would have loved playing with you, laughing with and at you (since you love to make people laugh), trying to sneak you candy, and exploring the mountains with you. He was an amazing Grampie and I hate that you never got to meet him. But, I know you love him. You talk about missing him and that makes my heart happy and sad at the same time. I love that you recognize him in pictures and you know how special he is in our lives. We all look forward to seeing him again one day in Heaven and never having to say goodbye again!
Spring Break 2021 - Day 4 and 5
For our last day in Gatlinburg, we did a little hike to Laurel Falls. We debated trying another falls too but the forecast wasn’t looking great so we decided just to do the one. Zoe ended up not wanting to walk at all so what was supposed to be an easy hike ended up being a tough one because she was on my back on the way there and DJ’s on the way back. But, the falls were beautiful!
After hiking, we decided to have a picnic one last time at our same spot at Greenbrier. The girls attempted getting in the creek but Zoe couldn’t stand the super cold water. Ava braved the cold and ended up really wet and freezing but she had a blast.
After the cold swimming, we headed back to the cabin to enjoy the hot tub one last time. And we let the girls have an extra special vacation treat - roasted marshmallows! You can’t go to the mountains and not roast marshmallows. Our cabin didn’t have a fire pit but the charcoal grill worked just fine.
After supper, we were getting cleaned up and starting to pack when we saw a bear walk across the driveway! Then 3 more bears joined it! In all my years going to Gatlinburg (and my parents’s times going without me when I got older), I’ve never seen bears that close to the cabin. We watched them walk right in front of our window and then down the driveway. The girls were amazed! It was a super fun way to end the trip.
The next day, we headed back home to get ready to pack and move! We stopped along the parkway for a picture of the beautiful mountains. We also stopped at Biltmore for a picnic lunch. It was such a wonderful vacation for the 4 of us (well, 5 including Winnie. Lucy was enjoying a calm week with my mom)! We needed that time away, especially after COVID.
Spring Break 2021 - Day 3
Our 3rd day in Gatlinburg was also Zoe’s 4th birthday! We started the day with birthday cupcakes right after breakfast. We picked the cupcakes up at this super cute bakery in Pigeon Forge the night before. The girls each got to choose their cupcake flavor, icing flavor and sprinkles. Zoe picked a strawberry cupcake with buttercream icing and rainbow star sprinkles. Ava picked a strawberry cupcake with chocolate icing and pink sprinkles. The cupcakes were huge and took several sitting to finish (well, Zoe never actually finished her’s) and the girls loved them!
After cupcakes, we headed into town for our first meal in a restaurant in over a year! We had brunch at Flapjacks Pancake Cabin. The girls each got the bear pancakes and they were so cute! On our way back to the cabin, we watched 3 bear cubs cross the road in Cobbly Nob, our cabin neighborhood!
Then, we packed our picnic food and headed to Cades Cove. This place is so special to my family. It was my dad’s favorite place to go in the mountains so it was special to celebrate Zoe’s birthday there and also remember him on the 6th anniversary of his death. The girls loved checking out the cabins that are similar to what Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in (we are reading those books right now). We saw a bear along the road, which was exciting. And the girls played in the creek at the picnic. I tried to get some 4 year old portraits of Zoe but she was too distracted (so we got them later after we got home and moved to the new house). I loved sharing this place with the girls again because the last time we were here, Zoe was a year old.
After Cades Cove, we headed back to the cabin for Zoe to open her presents and have pizza for supper. It was a special way to celebrate Zoe’s 4th birthday!! Just cannot believe she’s already 4!!
Spring Break 2021 - Day 1
After not being able to do much of anything for over a year, we decided we needed a vacation and Ava’s spring break was the perfect time to take a family vacation. Even better, Zoe’s birthday fell right in the middle of it. So, we decided to rent a cabin in Gatlinburg (Cobbly Nob, where my family would rent cabins) and spend the week in the mountains. We figured it was a safe place to go because everything we wanted to do was outside and we knew we could distance ourselves from people. It was crowded but never too bad. We were able to enjoy so many spots that I enjoyed as a kid growing up and it was so nice to finally be able to get away as a family!
On the way to Gatlinburg, we decided to stop at Biltmore for a picnic lunch and to see the festival of flowers. The flowers were so gorgeous and it was a nice way to break up the drive before we got settled into our cabin.
Easter Portraits 2021
So these portraits were taken well after Easter this year but I wanted to keep them in line with the Easter post. The day after Easter we headed to Gatlinburg for Spring Break. Then, 4 days after we got home, we moved to our new house. Needless to say, we were a little busy to get portraits taken but better late than never. Plus, added benefit of waiting was I got to take them at our new house!
Easter 2021
This year, we finally were able to have a normal holiday! We spent Easter with my side of the family and because they had all been vaccinated, we didn’t have to wear masks and we all got to hug my grandmother for the first time in a year! It was so nice to feel a sense of return to normalcy after so long!! We started the Easter weekend with egg dyeing at our house on Saturday. Easter morning, the girls got their Easter gift bags (because their baskets were already packed and I had no idea where they were) and then we headed to my mom’s church for their outdoor service with my family. After church, we all went to my mom’s house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. My two uncles even got in on the fun and hunted the eggs that the girls hid. I hate that their Grampie wasn’t there to join the fun but I love that my uncles are willing to help fill that void on my side of the family for the girls. It was such a wonderful Easter celebration!
Some Random Phone Pics
Here are some random pictures from my phone from the late winter/early spring. Most are from my days at home with Zoe when she requested I take her picture (of course I had to jump on that opportunity). But they also include Ava’s horse therapy session at the ranch where she is currently doing her OT (and Zoe picking flowers while Ava had her session).
A Cold Day in the Mountains
We were all itching to get out of the house and do something fun one day this winter, so we decided to head up to Dupont State Forest. It ended up being a super cold day but we had a great time walking to the waterfall, eating a picnic and enjoying the views at Caesar’s Head.
Zoe’s Dance Classes
Zoe started her dance classes again this semester. She is actually doing 2 different classes. She is in the same “Twinkle Stars” class with Mrs. Annika where she learns tap and ballet. She is also doing the new “Tot Hop and Tumble” with Mrs. Molly where she does hip hop and tumbling. Back in the fall, right before it was time to register for spring classes, the studio offered a week to try 3 different classes for free. We let Zoe try the Twinkle Ballet class and the Tot Hop class. She was so bored in the ballet class (she usually gets bored in her Twinkle Stars class when they switch to ballet) so this was confirmation that ballet may not be her thing. But, that girl lit up in the tot hop class! She loved every minute of it. So, we signed her up to do it this semester and she is loving every minute of it. The teachers wrote little valentines for the girls and Zoe’s was so sweet!
