Sunday, May 31, 2009
Ready for Summer!!
Hi Everyone--
We're soooooo ready for summer!! May is always busy, and this week has been no exception. Grandma A continued her visit with us through Friday. We celebrated Roger's birthday on Tuesday (along with Ellie-Kate's 16 month birthday on the same day!). Severe thunderstorms forced the cancellation of Emmy's soccer games on both Tuesday and Thursday, but we still celebrated the season with our traditional party at Larry's Dawg House on Thursday. The kids were bummed that they lost the last week of their soccer season, but it will be nice to have a few more evenings at home until softball season starts at the end of June.
On Wednesday, we had our end of the year awards ceremony at church for AWANA, and Emmy finally received her first book award. (She finished her first book back in January, but they wanted to present it to her in front of a crowd at the end of the year.)
Over the week-end, Emmy participated in the third annual string fling at OU; Chelsea attended a day-long 4-H camp counselor training session, and Roger went up to Cleveland with his mom for his cousin's wedding. We also did a new photo shoot at Walmart so that we could get studio pics of Chelsea and Emmy in their dance recital outfits (as well as a few others that we'll post very soon).
In the midst of all of this family activity, Ellie-Kate continues to grow, charm, and amaze us. We can't get over her sweet disposition and fun sense of humor. She's really wanting to walk, and we know that she will very soon. We are still waiting on the physical therapy referral, but we're confident that a few sessions will help her to get standing and moving on her own two legs!! However, the coolest thing is the way in which she reaches for each of us and connects with us in special and unique ways. She really loves each of her sisters, and, of course, Mommy and Daddy. She can point to pictures as we say names, but she's still developing the verbal ability to utter all of them.
We've had lots of turbulent weather over the past week, and we think that it's affecting her sleep patterns. She has been waking up more frequently and sleeping much more restlessly, and her pediatrician attributed the change to the dramatic shifts in barometric pressure that we've been experiencing around here. She goes right back to sleep, but we still need to get up, check on her, and soothe her back to sleep. Needless to say, the lack of sleep is starting to take its toll on us, but we're hoping that things will get back to normal soon :)
As we look at her sweet face (whether sleeping or awake), though, we are constantly reminded about how blessed that we have been and continue to be. Thank you for all of your prayers. She has been such an incredible answer to them!!
Enjoy the new pictures! We'll post another update again soon :)
Christie
We're soooooo ready for summer!! May is always busy, and this week has been no exception. Grandma A continued her visit with us through Friday. We celebrated Roger's birthday on Tuesday (along with Ellie-Kate's 16 month birthday on the same day!). Severe thunderstorms forced the cancellation of Emmy's soccer games on both Tuesday and Thursday, but we still celebrated the season with our traditional party at Larry's Dawg House on Thursday. The kids were bummed that they lost the last week of their soccer season, but it will be nice to have a few more evenings at home until softball season starts at the end of June.
On Wednesday, we had our end of the year awards ceremony at church for AWANA, and Emmy finally received her first book award. (She finished her first book back in January, but they wanted to present it to her in front of a crowd at the end of the year.)
Over the week-end, Emmy participated in the third annual string fling at OU; Chelsea attended a day-long 4-H camp counselor training session, and Roger went up to Cleveland with his mom for his cousin's wedding. We also did a new photo shoot at Walmart so that we could get studio pics of Chelsea and Emmy in their dance recital outfits (as well as a few others that we'll post very soon).
In the midst of all of this family activity, Ellie-Kate continues to grow, charm, and amaze us. We can't get over her sweet disposition and fun sense of humor. She's really wanting to walk, and we know that she will very soon. We are still waiting on the physical therapy referral, but we're confident that a few sessions will help her to get standing and moving on her own two legs!! However, the coolest thing is the way in which she reaches for each of us and connects with us in special and unique ways. She really loves each of her sisters, and, of course, Mommy and Daddy. She can point to pictures as we say names, but she's still developing the verbal ability to utter all of them.
We've had lots of turbulent weather over the past week, and we think that it's affecting her sleep patterns. She has been waking up more frequently and sleeping much more restlessly, and her pediatrician attributed the change to the dramatic shifts in barometric pressure that we've been experiencing around here. She goes right back to sleep, but we still need to get up, check on her, and soothe her back to sleep. Needless to say, the lack of sleep is starting to take its toll on us, but we're hoping that things will get back to normal soon :)
As we look at her sweet face (whether sleeping or awake), though, we are constantly reminded about how blessed that we have been and continue to be. Thank you for all of your prayers. She has been such an incredible answer to them!!
Enjoy the new pictures! We'll post another update again soon :)
Christie
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Happy Times :)
Hi Everyone--
Sorry for the delay in posting. We had a busy week, but we're enjoying a pretty relaxing week-end. Here are the upates:
Ellie-Kate is having fun with feeding herself (with a bit of assistance). We took her to our favorite restaurant (Casa Nueva) last night, and she LOVED digging into the refried beans--starting with Chelsea's burrito but we ended up buying a side order just for her to go along with her quesadilla! We still haven't found anything that she doesn't like :)
Ellie-Kate's new favorite pasttime is climbing up the stairs, as we carefully spot her, of course. (She climbs up a few steps to the landing, rests, and then climbs a few more steps to the next level.) She climbs it like a climbing wall, and she even exclaims "yeah!" as she reaches the top. She also loves the toddler swing outside, and she occasionally gets a bit grumpy when we tell her that she can't go outside whenever she wants. She really, really likes to go outside for a stroll and, now, to swing.
We met with staff members from Help Me Grow on Tuesday morning. They did an evaluation to see if we qualify for referrals to physical therapy, etc. Ellie-Kate did awesome on her very first "SAT," as we called it. The staff members kept saying that Ellie-Kate was impressing them, and they noted that she went far beyond age level in terms of analytic ability, etc. They agreed that she could benefit from physical therapy for her right leg, but it was reassuring/cool to hear them comment on how bright and smart that she is :)
Other than that appointment, our activities during this week tended to focus on the older girls. Emmy played soccer on Tuesday and Thursday, and she flew up from Brownies to Junior Girl Scouting on Friday. On Saturday, Emmy played her cello at the farmer's market on a beautiful but HOT!) morning. Chelsea had a lot of 4-H activities during this week as well as the end of the year band banquet.
On Thursday, Grandma A. arrived for her first visit with Ellie-Kate. She's here until May 29, and she's having a great time with Ellie-Kate as well as the other girls.
As we were visiting with the Help Me Grow people, I realized that we've only had Ellie-Kate with us for eight weeks as of tomorrow and that we've only been back in Athen for seven weeks. Our time in China seems so long ago, and I can't imagine our lives without Ellie-Kate. I love how her face lights up into a smile as we look at each other... how we imitate each other and burst out laughing... how much she has grown from a baby with no patience for books to one that adores "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"-- over and over and over.
Even if she can't yet say certain words, she understands so many things, and I am in awe of how easily that we can communicate with her. She really seems to trust and look to us for guidance. I am also amazed by her sense of humor and quick wit. She jokes with us by using her body and laughs with us as we "get it." Ellie-Kate is tenacious, determined, happy, easygoing, funny, spirited, yet eager to please. She's also very grateful. I framed some pictures and put them in her room and on our walls, and she smiled from ear to ear to see herself on the walls and in her room. Roger bought a small pink ball for her in Walmart today, and Ellie-Kate was beyond thrilled. (The girl likes to play with balls, and she already can't wait to kick a soccer ball or hit a softball.) We're so blessed to have her in our lives!!
Okay, that's the update from Athens :) Hope that everyone enjoys a terrific holiday week-end!
Take care--
Christie
Sorry for the delay in posting. We had a busy week, but we're enjoying a pretty relaxing week-end. Here are the upates:
Ellie-Kate is having fun with feeding herself (with a bit of assistance). We took her to our favorite restaurant (Casa Nueva) last night, and she LOVED digging into the refried beans--starting with Chelsea's burrito but we ended up buying a side order just for her to go along with her quesadilla! We still haven't found anything that she doesn't like :)
Ellie-Kate's new favorite pasttime is climbing up the stairs, as we carefully spot her, of course. (She climbs up a few steps to the landing, rests, and then climbs a few more steps to the next level.) She climbs it like a climbing wall, and she even exclaims "yeah!" as she reaches the top. She also loves the toddler swing outside, and she occasionally gets a bit grumpy when we tell her that she can't go outside whenever she wants. She really, really likes to go outside for a stroll and, now, to swing.
We met with staff members from Help Me Grow on Tuesday morning. They did an evaluation to see if we qualify for referrals to physical therapy, etc. Ellie-Kate did awesome on her very first "SAT," as we called it. The staff members kept saying that Ellie-Kate was impressing them, and they noted that she went far beyond age level in terms of analytic ability, etc. They agreed that she could benefit from physical therapy for her right leg, but it was reassuring/cool to hear them comment on how bright and smart that she is :)
Other than that appointment, our activities during this week tended to focus on the older girls. Emmy played soccer on Tuesday and Thursday, and she flew up from Brownies to Junior Girl Scouting on Friday. On Saturday, Emmy played her cello at the farmer's market on a beautiful but HOT!) morning. Chelsea had a lot of 4-H activities during this week as well as the end of the year band banquet.
On Thursday, Grandma A. arrived for her first visit with Ellie-Kate. She's here until May 29, and she's having a great time with Ellie-Kate as well as the other girls.
As we were visiting with the Help Me Grow people, I realized that we've only had Ellie-Kate with us for eight weeks as of tomorrow and that we've only been back in Athen for seven weeks. Our time in China seems so long ago, and I can't imagine our lives without Ellie-Kate. I love how her face lights up into a smile as we look at each other... how we imitate each other and burst out laughing... how much she has grown from a baby with no patience for books to one that adores "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"-- over and over and over.
Even if she can't yet say certain words, she understands so many things, and I am in awe of how easily that we can communicate with her. She really seems to trust and look to us for guidance. I am also amazed by her sense of humor and quick wit. She jokes with us by using her body and laughs with us as we "get it." Ellie-Kate is tenacious, determined, happy, easygoing, funny, spirited, yet eager to please. She's also very grateful. I framed some pictures and put them in her room and on our walls, and she smiled from ear to ear to see herself on the walls and in her room. Roger bought a small pink ball for her in Walmart today, and Ellie-Kate was beyond thrilled. (The girl likes to play with balls, and she already can't wait to kick a soccer ball or hit a softball.) We're so blessed to have her in our lives!!
Okay, that's the update from Athens :) Hope that everyone enjoys a terrific holiday week-end!
Take care--
Christie
More Pictures!
The pictures above are from Emmy's soccer game, Ellie playing at home, Emmy's Brownie Girl Scout Fly-Up Ceremony, Emmy playing her cello at the Farmer's Market, and Grandma A reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" to Ellie.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
All the better to hear you with, my dear :)
Hi everyone--
We're delighted to report that Emmy and Ellie-Kate survived their respective ear adventures with good hearing. On Thursday, Emmy went in for a re-check on her ruptured ear drum (from last week's ear infection), and the doctor determined that everything looks good and that she won't have any long-term damage. Praise God for such a good report after the drama of last week!!
Ellie-Kate went to the same ENT practice (but a different doctor) for ear wax removal from both ears on Wednesday. Although she didn't like it one bit (and I have to say that I didn't enjoy the experience either as I held her down for the procedure!!), the doctor was able to remove all of the ear wax. We were able to get into the audiologist right away after we told the nurse that we drove up from Athens, thus enabling us to avoid yet another drive to the big city. Anyway, we drove from the Westerville campus to the main campus of Children's Hospital, and we got right into the audiologist. After some relatively stress-free testing, she concluded that Ellie-Kate's hearing was "excellent" on her left ear and "pretty good" on her right ear. She (and the ENT specialist) said that Ellie-Kate likely had an ear infection a few weeks ago and that it was clearing up in her right ear. (No one could have diagnosed the ear infection b/c the ear wax prevented anyone from seeing into her ears.) In any case, both ears passed, and we're set until we go in for a re-check in four months.
We had a pretty relaxing (even boring!) day today. We had planned to attend the International Street Fair in Athens, but most of us stayed home due to rain. (Britti, Chelsea, and one of Chelsea's friends braved the weather to find little activity uptown due to the rain.) The rest of us hung out here at home, playing Barbies, doing puzzles, and climbing up the stairs (Ellie-Kate's new favorite activity!). Later this afternoon, Chelsea and a few of her friends/classmates shot a video for a Spanish class project, with Britti, Emmy, and Ellie-Kate's assistance. (Roger and I slipped out for a dinner at Casa.)
Ellie-Kate has discovered a passion for being outside, and she longed to leave the house, in spite of the rain today. She's also loving balls, and she's already working on her throwing arm and kicking leg :) After she starts to walk, she's going to be running everywhere!
This next week promises to be busy, with many end-of-the-year activities. Also, Grandma A is coming for a visit, and we're excited for her to meet Ellie-Kate for the first time in person (as well as to watch a few soccer games, attend the AWANA awards night, and help us with celebrating Roger's birthday). We'll try to get more pictures up next week-end :)
Hope that everyone's doing well! Thanks for visiting our blog to stay in the loop with us :)
Christie
We're delighted to report that Emmy and Ellie-Kate survived their respective ear adventures with good hearing. On Thursday, Emmy went in for a re-check on her ruptured ear drum (from last week's ear infection), and the doctor determined that everything looks good and that she won't have any long-term damage. Praise God for such a good report after the drama of last week!!
Ellie-Kate went to the same ENT practice (but a different doctor) for ear wax removal from both ears on Wednesday. Although she didn't like it one bit (and I have to say that I didn't enjoy the experience either as I held her down for the procedure!!), the doctor was able to remove all of the ear wax. We were able to get into the audiologist right away after we told the nurse that we drove up from Athens, thus enabling us to avoid yet another drive to the big city. Anyway, we drove from the Westerville campus to the main campus of Children's Hospital, and we got right into the audiologist. After some relatively stress-free testing, she concluded that Ellie-Kate's hearing was "excellent" on her left ear and "pretty good" on her right ear. She (and the ENT specialist) said that Ellie-Kate likely had an ear infection a few weeks ago and that it was clearing up in her right ear. (No one could have diagnosed the ear infection b/c the ear wax prevented anyone from seeing into her ears.) In any case, both ears passed, and we're set until we go in for a re-check in four months.
We had a pretty relaxing (even boring!) day today. We had planned to attend the International Street Fair in Athens, but most of us stayed home due to rain. (Britti, Chelsea, and one of Chelsea's friends braved the weather to find little activity uptown due to the rain.) The rest of us hung out here at home, playing Barbies, doing puzzles, and climbing up the stairs (Ellie-Kate's new favorite activity!). Later this afternoon, Chelsea and a few of her friends/classmates shot a video for a Spanish class project, with Britti, Emmy, and Ellie-Kate's assistance. (Roger and I slipped out for a dinner at Casa.)
Ellie-Kate has discovered a passion for being outside, and she longed to leave the house, in spite of the rain today. She's also loving balls, and she's already working on her throwing arm and kicking leg :) After she starts to walk, she's going to be running everywhere!
This next week promises to be busy, with many end-of-the-year activities. Also, Grandma A is coming for a visit, and we're excited for her to meet Ellie-Kate for the first time in person (as well as to watch a few soccer games, attend the AWANA awards night, and help us with celebrating Roger's birthday). We'll try to get more pictures up next week-end :)
Hope that everyone's doing well! Thanks for visiting our blog to stay in the loop with us :)
Christie
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day!!
Hi Everyone!
We hope that everyone had a great Mother's Day today, especially all of our new friends just back with their children from China! It was so wonderful to have our new addition here with us today :)
Emmy started feeling better on Friday, and, even though she's still weak and running a tad of a fever, we are so happy that she's on the road to recovery. We're hoping that she can return to school tomorrow, and we'll have more news about the condition of her ear after we go back to the specialist on Thursday.
We had a pretty quiet week-end. Christie took Chelsea's Girl Scout troop to Burr Oak for our anual "camping" trip from Saturday to Sunday afternoon. Britti had a commitment with a grad student conference at OU, and Emmy and Ellie-Kate got to hang out at home with Daddy :) After Christie and Chelsea got home, we all went to Ponderosa for a great buffet dinner and capped off our evening with the season finale of "Amazing Race." (btw-- it was so cool to watch it over the past few weeks as the competitors raced through China. We kept saying "We were there; we were there.")
One of the best parts of the week-end, though, was watching Ellie-Kate kind of take her first steps!! (We have to say "kind of," though, because they were more of diving/falling than definitive steps, but it's still progress!) She is sooooo cool!!
Overall, it was a super Mother's Day week-end, with Emmy's recovery and Ellie-Kate safely in in our home. Enjoy the new pictures!! The following pics of Ellie-Kate in the red and white outfit were taken today; the pics in the black and white outfit were earlier this week.
More soon--
Christie and Roger
We hope that everyone had a great Mother's Day today, especially all of our new friends just back with their children from China! It was so wonderful to have our new addition here with us today :)
Emmy started feeling better on Friday, and, even though she's still weak and running a tad of a fever, we are so happy that she's on the road to recovery. We're hoping that she can return to school tomorrow, and we'll have more news about the condition of her ear after we go back to the specialist on Thursday.
We had a pretty quiet week-end. Christie took Chelsea's Girl Scout troop to Burr Oak for our anual "camping" trip from Saturday to Sunday afternoon. Britti had a commitment with a grad student conference at OU, and Emmy and Ellie-Kate got to hang out at home with Daddy :) After Christie and Chelsea got home, we all went to Ponderosa for a great buffet dinner and capped off our evening with the season finale of "Amazing Race." (btw-- it was so cool to watch it over the past few weeks as the competitors raced through China. We kept saying "We were there; we were there.")
One of the best parts of the week-end, though, was watching Ellie-Kate kind of take her first steps!! (We have to say "kind of," though, because they were more of diving/falling than definitive steps, but it's still progress!) She is sooooo cool!!
Overall, it was a super Mother's Day week-end, with Emmy's recovery and Ellie-Kate safely in in our home. Enjoy the new pictures!! The following pics of Ellie-Kate in the red and white outfit were taken today; the pics in the black and white outfit were earlier this week.
More soon--
Christie and Roger
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Rough week...
Last Sunday, we had a terrific time at the baby shower that Sharon Fales hosted for us in her home. So many friends from our church were there, and we were so happy that they had the opportunity to welcome Ellie-Kate into our community. Even though she won't be able to personally remember the shower, I know that this warm and generous welcome meant a lot to our family and that it will mean so much to her when we show her the cards and pictures in future years. Thanks much, Sharon! Also, a big thank you to Carol Jones, Sandy Waldron, and Pam Scholl for serving on the "shower team" and co-hosting the event with Sharon!!
Unfortunately, the week took a rough turn on Monday. Emmy was feeling a bit under the weather so we kept her home from school. We figured that she was just exhausted after the dance recital and baby shower. However, she woke up around 11:30 p.m. on Monday night with horrible ear pain. Fortunately, we had never mixed the antibiotic that we took with us in the event of an ear infection in China so we mixed it and gave her some right away. On Tuesday, though, she was much worse, and we discovered blood on her pillow and dripping from her ear. We took her to the doctor right away, and we learned that her ear drum ruptured and that she has a really bad infection.
After three days of antibiotics, ibuprofin, and resting, Emmy isn't better. We were able to get her in to a specialist at Children's today, and the doctor said that we need to treat the infection aggressively. He prescribed an additional antibiotic, and he said that we need to take her in for IV antibiotics if we can't get her fever under 100. (It hasn't been under 100 all week!!) After consulting with her doctor here in Athens, we decided to wait until morning to take her in, if her fever still hasn't broken. We wanted to give the new antibiotic a chance to work.
Please pray that we'll have wisdom to know what to do for her as well as the ability to attend to both Ellie-Kate and Emmy. Please also pray that we can get through this time of illness and get everyone healthy at the same time again! We praise God that Ellie-Kate came to us with an impressive imune system--everyone else in the house has been sick at some point since we returned from China except our little baby girl.
We'll post cute shower pictures over the week-end. We wish everyone a great Mother's Day, and we thank you for your love and support!!
Christie
Unfortunately, the week took a rough turn on Monday. Emmy was feeling a bit under the weather so we kept her home from school. We figured that she was just exhausted after the dance recital and baby shower. However, she woke up around 11:30 p.m. on Monday night with horrible ear pain. Fortunately, we had never mixed the antibiotic that we took with us in the event of an ear infection in China so we mixed it and gave her some right away. On Tuesday, though, she was much worse, and we discovered blood on her pillow and dripping from her ear. We took her to the doctor right away, and we learned that her ear drum ruptured and that she has a really bad infection.
After three days of antibiotics, ibuprofin, and resting, Emmy isn't better. We were able to get her in to a specialist at Children's today, and the doctor said that we need to treat the infection aggressively. He prescribed an additional antibiotic, and he said that we need to take her in for IV antibiotics if we can't get her fever under 100. (It hasn't been under 100 all week!!) After consulting with her doctor here in Athens, we decided to wait until morning to take her in, if her fever still hasn't broken. We wanted to give the new antibiotic a chance to work.
Please pray that we'll have wisdom to know what to do for her as well as the ability to attend to both Ellie-Kate and Emmy. Please also pray that we can get through this time of illness and get everyone healthy at the same time again! We praise God that Ellie-Kate came to us with an impressive imune system--everyone else in the house has been sick at some point since we returned from China except our little baby girl.
We'll post cute shower pictures over the week-end. We wish everyone a great Mother's Day, and we thank you for your love and support!!
Christie
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