A New Year

Happy New Year! Ellis was wide awake for ringing in the new year, which proves further that she is a night owl just like her parents. I guess sometime before she goes to school we will have to get her on a regular schedule, right?
Greg and I were able to get out a little this week, which was very refreshing. My wonderful parents came to babysit so we could go see a movie and go out to eat for the first time in a long time. Ellis enjoyed the extra attention and is quickly learning that grandparents are the ones who will let her do absolutely anything she wants, including taking her pjs off and licking peanut brittle. They are now her favorite people.
Greg and I were also able to take turns attending our church services for the first time since bringing Ellis home. She still isn't able to go yet, but we hope someday in the future we can all go together. We have the best church family, and we so appreciate all the prayers and encouragement. We were touched to learn that our Sunday School class made care packages for all the families at the Ronald McDonald House, where we stayed when Ellis was in the hospital, and delivered them all the way to Cincinnati in Ellis's honor.  What a tremendous help that was to those families, as we know first hand. We also have some super friends and coworkers who made donations to the Ronald McDonald house this Christmas in Ellis's honor, and since I don't know how you feel about me publishing your names, I will just say thank you to you generous elves.





Napping

Tomorrow Ellis has a check up and eye exam, so we are praying for good reports. She is making such good progress but also has many obstacles to overcome. We are so proud of our little girl.

A Very Merry Christmas



Ellis spent Christmas day with us and her grandparents Jan & Russell surrounded by more presents and twinkly lights than she has ever seen before. She could tell something special was going on from the moment she woke up that morning and stayed excited and wide awake the entire day. Ellis loved opening her presents (with a little help) and finally gave out from exhaustion late that evening. Santa brought her some new fun toys, lots of clothes, books, and other Christmas goodies.



What's that I hear on the roof? Reindeer hooves?



Ellis carrying on a conversation with her new lamb.

Christmas Eve

Ellis is spending today playing with her Daddy, who normally has to work during the day, and doing her stretches and exercises with me. She has also been enjoying her new Baby Einstein sign language DVD. We gave it to her earlier this week, and we have watched it together every day. It's about 30 minutes long and she pays such close attention to every second of it I can't help but laugh at how excited she gets. Don't tell Ellis but I am facebook friends with Santa and he told me he is bringing her some more DVDs and a sign language CD tonight in addition to other goodies. ;)

Ellis constantly amazes us with her energy and intelligence. And every day we love watching her learn about the world around her. Yesterday she discovered her hair and spent 20 minutes rubbing the top of her head and laughing. She kept looking back and forth from her little hand to me with an expression that said, "Are you aware of this stuff on my head? Seriously...there's something soft on my head."

We hope everyone has a blessed Christmas!

Ellis Says Bundle Up, Y'all

Little Miss E

Here is Ellis as she got ready for her very first Christmas party last weekend! And let me just say we have the best friends in the world. Since we could not go anywhere this year, our friends brought the party to us. It was a much needed and much appreciated break from our routine. And Ellis loved seeing new faces and meeting new playmates!


At our check up this week, Ellis was 16lbs. 4 ozs! She is outgrowing clothes faster than she can wear them and will soon be too big for her little bed! She is getting much better at rolling over, which means we have to be even quicker to assist her so she won't put pressure on the trach. She is much stronger and more coordinated and is chewing on anything she can get her little hands on. She has also decided not to take naps during the day lately, so all those little things like picking up, returning phone calls, and updating the blog have just gotten even harder to do. Every now and then she gives me a break and I can get a few things done but I also spend a good deal of time watching her sleep because she is so sweet.

We and her doctors feel like Ellis is still improving in many ways. The botox injections have helped some but have not completely given her relief from her secretions like we had hoped. Some help is better than no help. We appreciate everyone's good wishes and prayers for her continued progress.





Comfort

















Contentment












Resignation

Ellis Is Five Months Old Today!

Just wanted to share some cute pictures Mary Anne took on her visit. Ellis is celebrating her five month birthday today by rolling around on the floor with her toys and taking a few long naps. Sounds like party to me.

Such a Big Girl!

Ellis turned 21 weeks old Thursday and celebrated with a cotton candy dum dum. (I'm not sure at what age parents usually stop counting in weeks and start counting in months, but now seems like a good time to me. She will be five calendar months old on Wednesday.) It has been a week since her Botox injections, and so far we can tell a slight difference with her secretions, but not quite the improvement yet we had hoped for. We have been told that it could continue to improve over the next few weeks, so we are just trying to be patient. I am trying to stay positive by getting ready for Christmas and planning what her first Christmas presents will be. She has enjoyed watching the snow through the window but has not yet ventured out in it.
This past week Ellis has gotten very good at rolling over, and her head control just gets more and more impressive. At her last checkup she was 15 lbs. 8 oz. and 25" long! She is outgrowing clothes faster than she can wear them. Ellis has picked up a few more hand signs, although we know she is probably just mirroring our motions and doesn't really get what the words mean yet. But she is on her way to being able to talk back to us. The one she does most frequently is "Mama," but the one she learned the quickest is "candy." No surprise there. Ellis continues to do well with her therapies. We are so thankful that her therapists can come to our place to cut down on the number of trips we have to make out in the weather.


Ellis enjoyed meeting Auntie Mary Anne!














One of her favorite things is still playing with the baby in the mirror.














This is what happens when Ellis doesn't want her Christmas pictures made. Oh, well. We'll just keep trying. She did not enjoy the reindeer hat nearly as much as I did.