S07.E07: SanFran, Here We Come!

[4leafclover]

I love how they keep them on!  I could never get my little ones to wear their sunglasses--they were either in their mouths or they were sitting on them.  However, as adults they seem to think they need every new designer pair that hits the market!  Grateful that they pay for their own, now!  

[LegalParrot81]

Will's been attached to sunglasses since the get go and  Zoey's finding her inner diva.  :)

Rewatching the ice cream parlor scene and Will wanting to eat the cherry was pretty funny.  When they brought Jen's "single scoop" and he's "oh, look".  

Edited April 18, 2014 by LegalParrot81

[4leafclover]

Zoey's "inner diva."  Love it!  She does seem to be taking it all in stride, doesn't she?  I couldn't believe those two finished all of that ice cream, even Zoey's dish looked empty!  

[EmmeRose]

Whenever I see Zoey, I can't believe she has achondroplasia.  Her arms seem to be a normal length - her legs are a little short, but compared to Will, she seems to look like an average toddler.  Does anyone else notice this?  Could she have been mis-diagnosed?

[Greeneyedlady]

I agree with you--she doesn't seem to have the large trunk and oversized head that is typical of that type of dwarfism.  She looks more like Bill, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.  

[EmmeRose]

Yes, Greeneyedlady, I guess time will tell!  I wonder if Jen and Bill will take Zoey to the Dupont Children's Hospital to see the same specialists that saw Will.  She doesn't seem to have hearing problems, and they never mentioned sleep apnea, which of course, Will had.

[Lillybee]

Having the kids act up in the store could be producer driven. TLC (when did they stop being the Learning Channel) did the same thing when St. Josh of the Duggars took his kids to the Goodwill to buy shoes.

[Greeneyedlady]

I didn't even think they were really acting up that much in the store!  I've seen much worse--they seemed like normal little kids who were bored and probably tired from the day's activities.  All in all, I think they behaved well.  

And KarenReilly, Jen has probably already arranged for Zoey to be assessed by one of the many professionals she knows!  I know if I was a pediatrician, I would take advantage of all my contacts!  

[EmmeRose]

Yes, Greeneyedlady, I imagine Jen has arranged for Zoey to have a full exam by specialists.  I also didn't think the kids were that bad in the store.  I am sure TLC arranged that with the store owners and agreed to pay for anything that was broken.

[jodo]

Wow how "educational" to watch the kids be allowed to grab things and just toss them onto the floor with no repercussions like every place was their playroom and all we hear from Jen is "Will, Zoey no no..." in that soprano voice while Bill leaning on the stroller looking like he just took a pile of valium looks on with a smirk saying to the camera "my wife...blah blah blah but bless her heart I love her"  so ignore the behavior if we think TLC might be paying for it so oh well then!    

This is what Will and Zoey do in stores ALL the time...let's go back to Will at the bookstore:  Bill "he went rogue"  And then in the store on Baba day Will melts down and throws his body on the floor and peeks around to see if that will work to get the truck (that belonged to a customer) and it likely usually works with Bill and Jen although in the show that got aired they showed Bill carrying Will away from the situation like he didn't get his way HOWEVER Will did get the truck!  On the TLC site there is additional footage of Will playing with it.  I am tired of reading "well they are new to parenting and are learning"....aren't all parents new to it?  

In this episode more than any other Jen was definitely "working the cancer!"....don't get near me, I just finished chemo, don't shake my hand my immune system is low (but I am so nice I can't help it..LOL), brian cramp joke telling the audience I had cancer?  Does this medical audience live under a friggin' rock and have no access to the medical news of Jen having cancer and being a little person figuring out her dosage etc etc, was this not a kind of first in the medical community??  Ya think!  All this after travelling on a hermetically sealed plane full of germs, travelling in cabs and let's not talk about public hotel rooms and restaurants.  

And Jen looks terrible after all that chemo, I know not her fault nor am I saying that but she is so self absorbed I am surprised she doesn't take a look at herself and think wow, wonder what I could should do to look healthier now?  Um follow doctor's orders and rest, avoid places where you might pick up illness because you are really rundown and hell get some collagen injections and follow Will and Zoey's advice and EAT and take a chill pill.  She seems unable to relax where Bill is the opposite and can't seem to get excited!  LOL  

That nervous shotgun laugh of hers drives me bananas and Bill's worship of her makes me gag.  She is the one who should be worshipping him for his going above and beyond.

And of course they have help behind the scenes, these little people are NOT doing all this on their own and the people who are yelling discrimination go suck an egg!  This show is educating us about how difficult/impossible it is for little people to live in houses that are not customized to their size.  

Good point made about the tea party coming up, did Jen make all those little sandwiches/cakes we see in the previews?  Guess we will save that for the next show thread!

Bill and especially Jen cannot safely handle or contain their kids...period!  Neither parent is able to outrun either child easily if at all and the kids are not even remotely obeying their parents when asked to stop.  When Zoey was back inside and used rubber legs Jen continued to almost take her arm out of her socket holding her up asking her to stand, why?  She was safe so use some common sense and shut the door like Bill did and let her go like Bill asked her to, he just said "Jen leave her, she is ok, let her lay there!"   Jen is not a natural parent, she wants everything to be too perfect, perfect clothes, perfect shoes but she has 2 kids that are not perfect, they are kids and they are new parents that know nothing as parents just like the rest of us.  

They need to learn how to say no, that is in the best interest of the kids. I think once Jen establishes herself with Will as his mom (not just another caregiver) he will respect her more.  When he waves his hand after her angrily because she took the remote away or took a tub/brush away or his beep beep after he hit her (Bill thought that was funny...).  We have known that Will has zero respect for Jen since he decided Jen could take a flying hike when he wanted to go into the garage at the dog show.  The day they were bonding and painting and Will took off from her she had to chase him down and really work at getting that beep beep away from him...he digs his heels in and gets that Will mad look on his face and says "MO!" to Jen...he is now physically her size and after chemo she is even weaker while Will gets bigger.  Will is the pack leader and Zoey follows whatever Will does and says.  It is time for Bill and Jen to start parenting and that means more than providing shelter and food and endless endless kisses.  Will has learned to almost take someone's head off rushing to give a kiss like with Jen in the hospital when they got cupcakes to when she asked Will to kiss Zoey (for like the thousandth time) for the Xmas photos because Will knows food will follow!  LOL Pay attention it's true. 

Jen is trying so friggin hard to be fun isn't she though?  Putting her arms in the air and waving ME ME ME....talk about asking a redundant question of kids..."who wants cake?".....too funny and I wonder if when Jen is at a restaurant and the server asks "who would like a glass of water?" does she madly wave her hands in the air shrieking "ME ME ME!"  Teach the kids some manners because they already have the kid's stuff down!  

Edited April 18, 2014 by jodo

[Bella]

 

Good point made about the tea party coming up, did Jen make all those little sandwiches/cakes we see in the previews?  Guess we will save that for the next show thread!

Nah, you can talk about it here since it was in the previews and we don't have a spoilers, speculation, or media thread like some forums do.

[all4mom]

I keep wondering if Zoey may have a form of primordial dwarfism; these people are perfectly proportioned, just very tiny (smaller than Zoey, but she could be on the high end of THAT growth chart).  Definitely doesn't have Will's form.  They burned rubber getting him checked out for every possible physical issue; I'm surprised they haven't done the same with her?  That exam seemed very cursory.  Perhaps a trip to the same hospital specializing in dwarfism, where they took Will, is in the offing, but they could at least have drawn blood and sent it off for genetic testing, as did the Hennons.  They'd have had the results in 4-6 weeks.  By the way, did you know Jen just finished chemo?  She reminds me of Kody Brown telling everyone he meets that he's a polygamist.  Yes, Jen; we all know you just finished chemo, and I'm sure everyone at that conference did, too.  Did you really have to make an issue of it during your (closing) keynote speech?  To the pediatrician during the exam, "I snuck away from my inpatient chemo!" like she didn't know that?  "Well, you know I'm immune-compromised!" to the conference-goers, yet she's eating in restaurants, on kiddie rides in parks, and shopping in public with no mask?  Somehow I think she would've "rested" more without Bill and the kids along, but those activities were probably producer-driven.  Not good.  To me, they BOTH just seem exhausted; as someone else suggested, more like tired grandparents.  Hang tough!

Edited April 18, 2014 by all4mom

[jodo]

LOL LOL LOL  hilarious post all4mom!  echoing my sentiments perfectly!!  

Burned rubber...still laughing out loud!  Ok wiping tears from my eyes...forging on...I guess if it weren't for Will's severe sleep apnea things might have been delayed there and of course his speech indicating there were hearing problems.  Zoey seems perfectly normal doesn't she!  She walks she talks she hears everything and must not have apnea.  She just looks like a tiny girl so am guessing the need for her tests/check up is back burner.  Jen was the priority though wasn't it.  I am sure Bill could have managed to take Zoey alone for those tests so have to assume she is in a good place.  That medical exam she had in Texas was overrated for sure as to it's importance, no bloodwork done, and zero need for Jen to go, all hyped up for nothing other than for Jen to tell everyone "I snuck away from my inpatient chemo!" LOL  Do you think the nurse might have a clue as she was being filmed as part of the show!  

Oh Jen you are so transparent and full of yourself makes me cringe.  Thank God you got those 2 kids as I couldn't watch otherwise.  I love Bill but I want to see his BALLS!  LOL

[jodo]

"Just wait til Zoey gets here" was a joke. Probably a half-serious one, but nonetheless she was laughing at herself.  One of the things I like about her is that she can recognize, and laugh at, her own craziness. 

Jen is super super competitive and I don't agree this was a joke!

[all4mom]

It was clear in this episode how the "pairings" are going to go down; it's Will with Bill and Zoey with Jen!  Good for Will, however (lol).

[MrMattyMatt]

Zoey's rubber legs and falling lifeless was really funny, I love it when kids do that, at least she didn't throw a bratty Will-trantrum, but I'm sure that's coming soon.   So far, they have not showcased much of her personality, it will be nice to see more of her next week! 

Edited April 18, 2014 by MrMattyMatt

[jodo]

And I forgot to add how utterly thoughtless it was of Bill to spin the tea cup as fast as possible then mention seeing Will's face start to change THEN spin it the opposite way KNOWING Will gets motion sick easily example 3x on the first plane ride to India and in this episode it followed a humungous amount of ice cream.  Jen's shotgun laugh while commenting on how Will is turning green? 

And "no more Baba" is not a sentence.  But Will saying more than one word is a huge advancement instead of waving his hand from side to side indicating no as he usually does.   

[Fostersmom]

That was really stupid considering it's pretty easy to keep those kinds of rides from spinning at all if you really want to. Bill was lucky he wasn't wearing Will's lunch after that.

[LegalParrot81]

The kamikazee tea cup ride wasn't after the ice cream.  The ice cream had been the evening before.  Ice cream, Jen had the blue cap on; Teacup, Jen was wearing her wig. 

[all4mom]

From Jen's shocked reaction, I got the impression that this was the first time Will had spoken in a complete sentence.  Then she tried to "spin" it -- no pun intended -- in the TH by saying how delighted they are when he utters a NEW sentence.  Uh-huh, Jen.  I took no exception to Bill trying to have a little fun in the teacup; poor guy!

Edited April 18, 2014 by all4mom

[MrMattyMatt]

I shook my head at the hold tea-cup ride incident.  Poor Will.  I'm giving Bill the benefit of the doubt, maybe once he got it spinning it was difficult to stop it.  I came extremely close to muting my TV on that scene, Jen's ramped up witch-cackle was like nails on a chalkboard.

[Madame]

I just watched the bonus scene with the sea lions:

BILL: Are they mammals?

JEN: They are mammals.

BILL: Is it because they have teeth?

I guess we know who slept through biology class! 

Last night I saw the promo where Jen is rattling off a long list of activities for Will's birthday, and Bill is looking  at her with that bemused "Huh, I married a madwoman" look.  I forget what all she said, but I started lol'ing at "giraffe-petting."

ETA: It's by no means the first time Will has used a complete sentence.  He's said "I want to eat!" a number of times! 

Edited April 18, 2014 by Madame

[jodo]

The kamikazee tea cup ride wasn't after the ice cream.  The ice cream had been the evening before.  Ice cream, Jen had the blue cap on; Teacup, Jen was wearing her wig. 

Thanks, missed that and thank God!!!

I shook my head at the hold tea-cup ride incident.  Poor Will.  I'm giving Bill the benefit of the doubt, maybe once he got it spinning it was difficult to stop it.  I came extremely close to muting my TV on that scene, Jen's ramped up witch-cackle was like nails on a chalkboard.

I always lower the volume substantially when Jen is cackling or I suspect one is coming!  LOL  Bill didn't seem to struggle slowing it down to turn the wheel to go the other way and I was corrected on the fact the ice cream was another day.  At least Will recognized the solution: STOP

[jodo]

 

ETA: It's by no means the first time Will has used a complete sentence.  He's said "I want to eat!" a number of times! 

I would LOVE to hear it!

Edited April 18, 2014 by jodo

[Fostersmom]

 

I just watched the bonus scene with the sea lions:

Oh thank you for finally mentioning this was a bonus scene! I've seen it mentioned here and there, and have been trying to figure out how I missed this during the show. I just kept thinking how the hell did I miss sea lions? 

[MrMattyMatt]

Oh thank you for finally mentioning this was a bonus scene! I've seen it mentioned here and there, and have been trying to figure out how I missed this during the show. I just kept thinking how the hell did I miss sea lions? 

I was going crazy over the sea lions too, I thought, WHAT sea lions!

[Everh]

I think Will's first real complete sentence(s) will be:

Would you please stop with the G-damn hand sanitizer already?  and......

Now, get me that cake !

[Madame]

I know Will said "I want to eat" when they brought dinner to Jen in the hospital, and I don't think that was the first time.  Another sentence, just off the top of my head: He said "I want Baba" when Jen was taking him to yoga.  He is a man of few words, as yet, but he knows what he wants. 

[jodo]

Will kept crying/whining Baba, Baba, Baba...Jen repeated it back as "you want Baba"... and in the hospital Will said "Baba Mama eat" while pointing to his mouth over and over again repeating it until Jen said "you want to eat?"  A few minutes later he says "I want eat" and maybe there was a to in there that closed captioning missed....it is just going to make him so much cuter if possible when he starts to talk!!! 

I am not sure why they don't take advantage of how smart he is and they keep telling us he is such a good listener so ask him to repeat a simple phrase back BEFORE he gets his food?  Instead of allowing him to say eat ask him to say "Can I eat?"     This kid has not even learned to say please and thank you!!!

Edited April 18, 2014 by jodo

[roamyn]

Jodo, that's actually a good suggestion.

And it's so simple and doesn't take time to do.

[jodo]

It is simple to do/ask yet they don't even try and I am sure the speech therapist gives them homework to help Will.  

Will is very adept at using his hands to motion his needs, something they taught the kids at New Day, how to sign their basic needs because so many were challenged I guess.  He points to his mouth for "eat/drink", waves his hand back and forth for "no/mo"...those are the two we see most but at least now he is adding words to the hand gestures albeit not many!  

[all4mom]

Isn't Bill's undergraduate degree in some area of biology?  Not buying that he doesn't know what a mammal is anymore than I'm buying that he was rejected by "Daddy's girl" Zoey.  This show is jumping the shark, and Bill is selling his soul if he's uttering lines driven by a producer's plot (it would've been too humiliating for Jen to be shunned by BOTH adoptive children, so there came that storyline, and now we must demonstrate that not only is Jen the put-upon breadwinner, but is so much more intelligent and/or better educated than Bill, whose own occupational achievements would be impressive if not -- forgive me -- dwarfed by Jen's high-status position).  I personally found this episode boring.  I will commit the ultimate heresy of suggesting that they were both happier and healthier child-free but, no, Jen HAD to be like the other mothers (granted, Bill also wanted a family, but he was Mr. Super Sperm and could easily have procreated).  Sometimes Mother Nature knows best, and the wise course is acceptance.

Edited April 20, 2014 by all4mom

[MrMattyMatt]

I totally agree that they have somehow decided to "dumb down" Bill.  Some of the things he says, I don't know if he's trying to be funny, but I have a hard time believing he's that thick.  I watched an episode from a previous season recently where they went to Atlanta to speak about small business owners with disabilities and Bill was very polished and many people suggested he even run for Congress!  

[Jellybeans]

yeah, both kids are better off at the orphanages instead of jen and bill. what were they thinking?!?

[Bella]

Regardless of whether everyone is cut out to be a parent, how that is determined, the issues of societal pressure in choosing to have kids, etc., etc., etc., Will and Zoey are here with Bill and Jen and are therefore on the show.

Also, this is an episode thread.

[jodo]

Yes I agree they dumbed down Bill to showcase Jen's knowledge of mammals.  I fast forwarded most of this episode and think the upcoming tea party will be a Jen show too if the previews are any indication but will save my comments until it airs.  

If it weren't for the kids I wouldn't be watching it.   

Edited April 21, 2014 by Bella
ripping out inflammatory stuff

[mbutterfly]

I thought the episode was lots of fun. 

Edited April 21, 2014 by Bella

[4leafclover]

I'm with you mbutterfly.  

[Ina123]

What she said.

[LazyToaster]

Yep, me too. I thought it was cute. They are still figuring out how to be a family and it seemed like they had fun.

[Motownbecky]

I really enjoy this show.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Bella

[xldb2004]

 I love this show and this family.  I really loved how much Will and Zoey liked the sea lions and was sorry it was cut out of the episode.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Bella

[jcbrown]

I love this show, too. Last week's episode redeemed an absolutely crappy day for me. They make me smile. 

[Bella]

We seriously considered shutting down this thread, but we will be addressing individual posters instead. For now.

Yes, we do want the episode threads to be about what happened in the episode. There are a lot of people testing us on this, and you can all stop right now.

If your post appears to be edited, that's because I'm editing posts. Other mods will be giving out warnings because they're not as tolerant of this nonsense as I am.

[roamyn]

I'm surprised being on those teacups didn't make Jen sick.

They always made me sick healthy, andc for someone still recovering from chemo, she must have a stomach of iron!

[Kohola3]

I thought the child who questioned Bill at the playground was a little old to be that disrespectful of an adult.  I know that kids are inquisitive and little ones often blurt things out but these are all opportunities for an observant parent to intercede and teach some manners.

 

It must be hard for Bill to know that both of his kids will have to put up with that for the rest of their lives since so many parents these days are clueless about what is appropriate for children to say and do as evidenced by kids running amok on planes, hanging over the back of boothes in restaurants, and stomping up and down the pews during church services.  The parents apparently think their little darlings are adorable while the rest of us would like to strangle them.

 

I thought the brat's tone of voice was especially disrespectful but I admire Bill's calm responses.  I would have told the kid to take a hike..

 

As for the keynote speaker - having been to many medical conferences, being a keynote is a very prestigious honor and I don't blame Jen for not wanting to miss that opportunity.  She wasn't asked to present because of her celebrity. She was asked because she runs a darned good program that is copied throughout the country. 

[Jellybeans]

I thought the child who questioned Bill at the playground was a little old to be that disrespectful of an adult. I know that kids are inquisitive and little ones often blurt things out but these are all opportunities for an observant parent to intercede and teach some manners.

It must be hard for Bill to know that both of his kids will have to put up with that for the rest of their lives since so many parents these days are clueless about what is appropriate for children to say ...

I thought the brat's tone of voice was especially disrespectful but I admire Bill's calm responses. I would have told the kid to take a hike..

I understand where you are coming from. However I am deaf AND have MS. Lucky me! I became deaf as a baby. MS later in life.

On a regular basis I encounter behaviors like that child. It is quite normal if you think about it from the child's perspective. I like to take it as a teachable moment and explain my disabilities to a kid. It is when parents say "hush, shush" I feel ... kind of miffed. We do not want to create an atmosphere where the child is afraid of the disabled because they are "not allowed" to ask questions. How else are they to learn we like being treated?

I let kids ask whatever they want. :-)

*edited to add a smilie

Edited April 23, 2014 by Jellybeans

[MrMattyMatt]

I also didn't think the curious kid at the park was all that bad.  It would have been worse if he had been taunting them from afar.  He probably knew about Little People but never actually came face to face with one, so he was naturally curious.  Bill handled it very matter of fact.  My heart goes out to Will and Zoey when they start school as not only Little People, racial minorities and reality TV kids.... 

Edited April 23, 2014 by MrMattyMatt

[Fostersmom]

I don't know. The kid at the park had a certain tone to his voice that sounded to me like he knew exactly what he was doing when he was asking questions. He was just a little bit too old, a little bit too rude, a little bit too too, if you know what I mean. Kids ask questions, but they do so innocently, without a tone. I manage a kids store, I hear their little chatter, questions, and comments all day long. That kid wasn't so innocent. Bill handled him like a pro though. He probably snarked about the kid to the camera crew when they left the park! LOL! 

[EmmeRose]

I wondered if maybe that kid in the park was given a script from TLC to ask the questions.  I am sure that every dialog is not spontaneous!