Meet Squirrely Squirrelerton II and Ms. Nutty VonFluffytail

Ellis is doing well with her valve and, other than an unfortunate incident involving her finger and the bedroom door, she is having a good week. Poor baby has her first blood blister. But that is better than the broken finger I thought she had for a few minutes.
One of Ellis's favorite new hobbies is talking to squirrels and birds outside our living room window. Our friends Charlie and Carolyn provided a bird feeder in the tree just outside and Ellis and I often leave treats for the squirrels as well. She gets so excited! When we are in the park she runs toward all animals, so she can't get very close before they flee. But having them come up close to the window makes her just dance for joy. Thank you, everyone, for checking on us and continuing to pray for Ellis's progress!

Friday Fun

Ellis would like to remind you that this is the time of year you should organize your large bottles of sterile water.

We would also like to send our thoughts and prayers to our little buddy Owen and his parents as he recovers from surgery. He is making such great progress!

Perhaps the Cutest Thing Ever

Party Dress

Ellis is wearing her valve now for about 4 hours at a time! We are proud of her for working so hard at this, even though it is not always fun. I think she realizes that it is making her stronger, or at least she enjoys hearing her own voice.
I'm catching up on some pictures and videos, so here are a couple of Ellis in her winter party dress as we were going to a neighbor's house for a soup party a couple of weeks ago. She loves dressing up!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ellis got pretty flowers for Valentine's Day, and these pictures are too cute not to share. Happy Heart Day everyone!

The sign for "flower"

Look how her hair is growing!

Welcome Home Sgt. Uncle Grant!

We are so thrilled that Grant is back on American soil after two consecutive tours in Afghanistan. He still has plenty of work to do, but we hope soon he will get a much-deserved break and we will be able to see him. Ellis still remembers her "uncle" sign and practices it whenever we show her pictures or tell her about him. We are so proud of Greg's not-so-little-anymore brother!

Ellis and her friend Beatrice threw a parade in the living room to celebrate Sgt. Uncle Grant's homecoming.

All right, so maybe they didn't know exactly what they were celebrating. But E & B always have a great time together and we are so glad that Ellis has such a sweet little girl as her first friend. We hope they are BFF! (That's "best friends forever," for any of you who didn't go to elementary school in the 80s.)

The girls were discussing the effects of post-war industrial design on modern architecture and I interrupted to take their picture. Thus the looks of slight annoyance.

Another adventure!

Ellis, a bucket of hand sanitizer, and I went on another field trip yesterday thanks to our buddy Joe. We went to Joseph Beth's kiddie book section, which is filled with fun things to touch, see, and do. Ellis loved it. Not only was this the first time she has ever been in a store, it was the first time she has been around so many toys and books all at the same time. Sensory overload! But she did great and really enjoyed her first ever ride on an escalator. After she got over her shyness being in a new place, she spent the first few minutes wandering around with her mouth open and eyes wide looking at all the people and tall ceilings and toys. Then she spent some time playing and picking out new books (which we will go back later to get when Mama's arms aren't so full) and finished the afternoon with a visit to the big, splashy fountain. Yea!

Rocking the Valve

Ellis is doing a terrific job with her speaking valve! She can wear it for two whole hours now, on a good day. The more she wears it, the stronger her muscles will get and the closer we are to being done with the trach! Plus she loves hearing her own voice. Now that she is more used to it, I can sometimes let go of her hands without her pulling it off. (Sometimes.) So the other day I was able to grab the camera to share her progress with all of you.
This video is long, about three minutes. But I wanted to let you all hear how she can now sustain her vocal sounds, something she is not able to do without the valve. She loves hearing her own voice and experimenting with new noises. We thank God every day for small steps forward.

 

Bubble Fun

Ellis and her buddy B had a great time yesterday in the park, despite the strong breeze. :)
We love playdates.