Spring break fun!

So we haven't had the best weather for Spring Break!

But today....was beautiful!

And tomorrow should be good too.

We spent pretty much all day outside today.

We had a little neighbor girl who was doing face (and body) painting for 10 cents.

Not too bad of a deal.

So the kids ran down and had a lot of fun.

Kinda fun.

Now we need to think of something super fun to do tomorrow....got to soak up this great weather while we have it!

I am excited to get our piano tomorrow!!!!!!!

Yay!

Bowling!!!

We got to go bowling with the Young family today.

It is always a fun time hanging out with the Youngs!

Brent didn't quite make it before we had to get out of the Bowling alley....he was picking up something for us.

But we had fun anyway....I did lose Porter at one point.

Like lost, like I was getting worried someone walked off with him, lost!

We all searched everywhere for that boy!

I finally heard a muffled sound coming from the storage closet.

he had gone in there to poop, apparently.

Little sinker (literally).

He gave me quite a scare.

The rest of the night went well.

No more lost kids, anyway.

They all had a fun time bowling.

I love this one that Heather took for me.

My sweet Elsie.

She had fun running around the place giving people hugs between her bowling turns.

And she celebrated each time...whether pins were hit or not!

Just celebrating that the ball made it to the end, I guess?

Why can't we all be like that!

Bell and her best friend Kara.

They just went bowling a few weeks ago for Kara's birthday party.

So they are pro's by now.

Madi was so funny to watch.

She so reminds me of myself at her age.

She was so determined and thought way to much about how to get that ball down there.

But she had fun and that is what counts.

Porter thought it was pretty great.

A few of his balls 'just barely' made it down the isle.

Bowling really is pretty fun to do with these little kids...I wish they had one of those ramps.

Elsie had one when she went bowling for a field trip...that worked great!

Madi kind of looks like she is counting her steps....and not looking at all where she is throwing that ball!!!

Cass was a pretty great little bowler too.

She did have bumpers...but she sent it right down the middle several times.

Nice form Cass!

She looks like is is concentrating pretty hard on getting those pins.

Actually, it looks like she is looking at the arrows.

I told her to aim for those, cause they are closer.....it seemed to work out for her.

Brae, getting lots and lots of hugs from Elsie Rose.

She sure loves these guys!

I wish we could hang out more often!!!

********

And this is what Brent was doing while we were bowling.

He went and picked up our new 5th wheel.

We are excited to get out and camp now.

It will be much nicer to have this then to have our 'one big bed on wheels'.

It was great, and did it's job, now it is time for it to move on to another 'small' family.

We love it.....summer can't come too soon!

Elsie's Story- Part 5

I came across a wonderful quote today that I had to share.

“Motherhood is about raising and celebrating the child you have, not the child you thought you would have. It’s about understanding that she is exactly the person she is supposed to be. And that, if you’re lucky, she just might be the teacher who turns you into the person you are supposed to be.”

-The Water Giver 

I love it.

So perfect.

****

If you have missed them, here is part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

So where I last left off, Elsie had started using her walker.

What a blessing that was for her to be able to get around and feel like a normal(ish) kid.

Here is a post I did a little after she had been using her walker.

Walking around with her walker really helped strengthen her muscles in her legs.

Repost- May 24, 2008

Elsie is doing great with her walker, and we can already tell a difference in her strength she has in her legs. This is just a cute little video of Brent playing with Elsie and getting her to walk from couch to couch. This is the most she has ever walked...so that is really great! I love how she has to rub Dads newly shaved head for good luck...she gets a little mad a few times when he forgets to let her do it! What a cutie!

**********

 Here is what I posted just after her 2 year birthday.

Repost August 1, 2008

Elsie went today for her yearly check-up. She has made such huge leaps since last year. But before I get into all that, here are her stats:

2 Years old

weight- 21 lbs (3% Huge, I know...)

height- 32 1/2 inches (15%)

head circumference- 45 cm (5% itty bitty tiny head)

The new big things Elsie has been working on:

*She is learning better every day how to maneuver around corners and doorways with her pediatric walker.

*She has learned to crawl up and down the stairs. I knew the day would come...but it makes me so nervous.

*Her Physical Therapist has taught her how to put her stool in front of the couch so she can crawl up onto the couch, and then how to slide back down. That has been a fun one for her to learn.

*She has been coming along really good with her speech.

*She is imitating more words that we say, and knows all the signs to communicate with us daily.

*Her favorite words to say right now are bath, pizza, elbow, and her all time favorite DA DA!
*She is very eager when she wakes up to go and say HI to everyone!

*You ask her where the little baby is and she will point to my tummy and then make the sign for baby. So cute!

*She is trying really hard to learn to hold her spoon and fork so she can feed herself. She is doing a great job. She loves doing stuff that makes her feel big!

She is still the happiest little thing in the world.

***********

She also went on to get foot braces for her feet to help hold them flat on the ground instead of up on her tippy toes.

Repost- Sept. 10, 2008

Elsie got some more 'Helpers' today. She had her feet molded last week, and her braces got finished today. What are these for??? Well, hopefully they will make things easier for Elsie to walk. Elsie has flat feet, which wouldn't usually be a problem if she didn't have her muscle tone issues. Her feet were beginning to 'fan' out. It is hard to explain, but it was doing not good things for her feet, and eventually her knees and hips would be out of whack. These will also help her from 'toe walking'. The Achilles tendon gets really tight, forcing many kids with Cerebral Palsy to walk on their toes. She doesn't do it a lot, but has been doing it more and more, so this should help reduce that also.

I was worried about getting these because I thought it would mess up the progress she has made...but so far, so good. She loves them! She loves the sound they make when they hit the ground. I think she can tell that they are helping in her balance too. Anyway, we are supposed to put them on for a few hours more and more each day until she is wearing them all day. We just have to make sure they aren't rubbing her in any weird ways. We will have to get her some bigger, lots bigger sized shoes to fit over these, but it isn't necessary for her to wear shoes on them all the time.

Anyway, doesn't she look cute in them!

************

Things were going good, she continued to make progress, she kept her big smiles and patient attitude.

She had Physical Therapy once a week, Speech Therapy once a week, and Occupational Therapy once a week.

She was getting all the help possible, and she was doing good.

She even got to participate in a Tumble Time class for developmentally challenged kids.

She LOVED that!!!

I guess in the back of my head I had made myself a goal for her to walk by the age of three.

As we got closer to that time, I started to see maybe that was not going to happen.

Yes, she was doing so good, but I think this was the time I started to 'grieve' her diagnosis.

I hadn't done that yet....and really, I thought I was fine with it.

But when I started to see all the kids her age doing things she could not even begin to do....I realized I was having a hard time.

When she was younger and a baby, there seemed to be less of a gap between her and her peers.

And I guess I felt that the gap seemed to be getting bigger as she got older and I didn't want her to be left behind.

But, my little Elsie didn't care.

Elsie loved life and she loved doing the things she COULD do.

And she would find alternate ways to play like her friends did.

The day she turned 3, I found it to be very difficult.

I don't think I shared it with very many people.

I love Elsie with all my heart and I just wanted life to be easier for her.

It took me a while to get it in my head that Elsie is exactly how she is supposed to be.

She is perfect in every way.

PERFECT!

Shortly after she turned 3, guess what she did???

She started walking.

Repost- July 2009

She's got it!!!

Today she has been walking everywhere.
 Just now, putting her to bed, she walked from Madi's room to the bathroom where we brushed her teeth, then she walked from the bathroom to her room!!!
She is doing so good!!!
It's really gonna happen!
Elsie's gonna walk!!!

********
She never ceases to amaze us.
Over the last year and a half Elsie had learned to get into a standing position on her own (without holding onto something), she has started school (and loves it), gotten glasses, upgraded her foot braces, her speech has become so much better, got rid of her walker, and run.
And the girl loves to run!
There are so many other milestones that Elsie continues to hit....she really is so amazing and such an example to us all.
Very rarely does she complain.
And when she can't do something her friends want to do, she just figures out a different way to do it.
I think our biggest issue right now is communication.
It is still hard to know what she is saying a lot of the time.
And some days are better than others.
Her mouth muscles get tight at the same time her body gets tight....which usually goes along with illness or weather changes.
But we do what we can and we get by.
I love my Elsie bug and for the spirit and light she brings to our family.
Thanks for reading Elsie's story.
I would love to answer any questions you might have.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Elsie....and she would more than love to be your friend!

It is finally GONE!!!!!!

Cassi's front tooth has been loose for quite a while!

Finally, today, it popped out!

I heard Elsie and Cassi wake up and go into Madi's room at about 7:00 this morning...

I went back to sleep and woke up at 8:30 with the girls still happily in Madi's room.

I went to check on them and they had Cassi's tooth, tied to a sting and tied to Madi's closet door.

Oh, and a protective bath towel under her to catch all the blood that would gush out.

I left them there to do whatever they thought would get it out.

So I went downstairs and a little while later I heard a scream....like a muffled scream.

I got a little concerned...cause you know, those girls fight often, and you never know if it is gonna be good or bad.

As I am going up there Madi is saying to Cassi "Don't tell Mom" ....and at the time I thought she was saying it in a threatening way...but as I got up, I saw Cassi with her mouth stuffed with tissues just screaming her little happy head off.

Madi just wanted her not to tell me to see if I noticed it.

So they said that Cassi had to go to the bathroom and forgot she was tied to the door and ran for the door.

Out came the tooth.

Silly girls.

Cassi is very happy to have that thing out...all of us are!

Now I wonder which adult front tooth will come in first?

The one she lost when it was pulled out at age 3.....or the latest one?

Just playin'

Just a little snap shot of our lives.

Today was not a 'go out and play' kind of day.

Pretty cold and wet.

But they still all went out after dinner and got rowdy.

Just a nice laid-back kind of day.

I sure can't wait until it is really good spring weather.

Piano

I am so excited that we are getting a piano.

It is an old piano, that needs some love.

But I am so excited.

Madi is so excited as well...she really wants to play.

I wish I had a picture of it...but it's not at our house yet, hopefully it will be soon.

I tried to find one on the Internet that kinda looks like it.

This kinda looks like it, only mine is darker.

And much cuter.

I have no idea the make and model....but it is a piano....oh, and did I say I was getting it for FREE?!?!

Can't complain about that!

Spoiled.

There's nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.

This little boy talked me into buying him this lighting McQueen fabric, which I made into a pillow case.

I was at Hobby Lobby, and he and Elsie were being pretty good.

He saw this fabric and went nuts.

But I didn't get it for him.

He was sad, but still good about it.

Well, the next day I needed to go back to Hobby Lobby.

And I just had to get it.

It was on sale for heavens sake!

He was a happy boy.

Elsie was cute too.

She didn't even ask for anything....she just wanted Porter to get Lightning McQueen.

So cute.

And, I think it helps him sleep better.
It is a great addition to his bedtime collection of 'must have's'.
#1 his baby blanket
#2 his Emmy blanket
#3 sippy cup of water
#4 lights on.
I told ya, spoiled.

Madis Field Trip with Dad.

Today Madi got to go to the State Penitentiary, the Statehouse, and a pioneer grave yard.

All very exciting things for Madi.

And even better, Dad got to go with her.

Apparently Madi went pretty picture-crazy....like 116 pictures worth...

Where in the world did she get that from??????

I just picked a few from each of the spots so she could remember them....even though I would LOVE to post all 116 of them!

They had a pretty fun time.

Missing Grandma!

Grandma Ene bought Elsie a book a while ago that had this cute little horse shoe necklace.

Well, Elsie just re found this necklace yesterday....and she was the happiest girl in the world!

But she was sad too.

She started crying, saying she missed Grandma.

I told her that when ever she misses Grandma, all she had to do was give her little necklace a kiss.

That made her happy.

She was so excited to go back to school today...but even more excited to show everyone her cute necklace.

School went well for her, but she came home absolutely exhausted!!!!!!!!

I hope that she sleeps well tonight.

And we will be there to see you soon, Grandma!!!

Elsie's story- part 4

If you have missed them, here is part 1, part 2, and part 3.
*******

So next in line on our Cerebral Palsy journey was to get Elsie's MRI.

I was a good blogger at this point so here is what I posted that day:

Repost- March 17, 2008

Today we had Elsie's MRI. She is one tough cookie...poor thing had no idea what was going to hit her! The nurses were so nice, and of course Elsie was all smiles...UNTIL they put the IV in...she was MAD...being held down by Mom, Dad and a nurse, with another nurse sticking the IV in...HORRIBLE!!! But then it was in, she calmed down, I rocked her for a little while until they took us to the MRI room. They told me to be aware that when they sedate her, her body will go limp, and could stop breathing, but not to worry, they have people there just in case, as if that makes me feel better! Anyway, they start to give it to her, she cries cause they said it burns as it goes in, and then all of the sudden her head falls back and her legs seize up...then they say "Go ahead and lay her on the table now." I was so worried, but they said she is okay she is just going asleep, so I laid her down. That is when I broke down...my baby laying there with her arms all floppy, still a little conscious, but her body completely lifeless...oh man...so hard. Then they took us to a room to wait. We were supposed to be there when she woke up...but when the nurse came in she said "Well, she is awake and laughing at us" So we went in there and sure enough...our little Elsie was as high as a kite! So funny! Anyway...she is a trooper! We love that girl! We should get results in the next couple days.

Before the IV...she has no idea what is coming!!!

Daddy loves this girl!!!
Very mad about the IV in her foot!!!

Getting calmed down after the Iv stick
Here is Elsie VERY loopy!!!
Still a little loopy!
On the way home with her new friend from the hospital, Buttons... (very cute it is hand-made and donated to the hospital)

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We didn't have anything solved by doing the MRI.
Which was kinda frustrating.....but what can ya do.
The next big stride that Elsie made was when she started being able to hug us.
She was so week in the arms that to put her arms up and around our necks was just so hard.
Here is my post about that.
She melted my heart that day.
I remember it like it was yesterday.

Repost- April 4 2008

We have never gotten real hugs from Elsie.

The lack of strength in her arms has made it hard for her to stretch her arms to go around something...when you asked for 'loves' she would be very sweet and lay her head on your shoulder, but you never got a wrap around squeeze from her...

So in the last few days she has grabbed us around our necks and she won't let go...my heart is so happy to see her able to express her love the way she wanted to.

Nothing makes me happier than to get one of these squeezes from little Elsie...and she is more than happy to hand them out!!!

Anyway, just thought you would all enjoy some pictures of Elsie's newest milestone!

Then at the end of April 2008, Elsie started to cruise at 33 months of age.

We were so excited....

Again, thanks to blogging here ya go.

Repost- April 23, 2008

  

So Elsie has been making great progress.

In the last few weeks she has learned to do a lot of fun stuff and I wanted to document it.

Last week she started to pull herself up standing. She does it all the time and she is perfecting it now. She also will cruise a little bit along the couch, and she laughs the whole time, both the excited and scared laugh all mixed into one.

She still can't stand alone without support, but that is what we are working on now.

She has also managed to learn to climb a few steps...perfect timing now that our stairs are hardwood!!!

And she has finally learned to use a straw. This has been very hard for her to figure out. The muscles in her mouth are so weak, and her tongue tends to push everything forward, and it still does, she just learns to cope with it and get it to work for her anyway.

It started with Capri Suns..the straws are thinner, so takes less suction to get the drink up...after a little bit she caught onto that, and then we tried the big straws. She gets very excited when she gets a drink up the straw, and chokes up a little bit some of the time. But she loves it.

I love that with every little thing Elsie learns she is SO excited! She makes me appreciate all the little things we can do ourselves with no problem!

*************

Next up was Elsie's new ride!!!!!

We knew she needed some kind of aid when walking.

She just did not have the balance, but she wanted to do it so bad!
We started with a loaner from Katie, her P.T.
But then she got her very own shiny GOLD one!

Repost- May 5, 2008 

Elsie's Physical Therapist brought this to us today to try out. Elsie knows what she needs to do to walk. She just has trouble with her balance and her legs tend to buckle under her. So we have been thinking about getting a pediatric walker for her, but we weren't sure if doing that would hinder her from walking on her own some day. We didn't want her to become dependant on it. But we decided to give it a try. She loves it. This one is an old model, and we are going to go next week to a open house thing where there will be many vendors and we can figure out what would work best for Elsie and her needs, but for now this is our loner, and you can already see how much she is loving it.
Madi had to help her out on the grass, it was a little harder to push around there.

Repost- May 16, 2008

Elsie got her new ride today!!! She is loving it. This one works MUCH better for her...first of all..it's GOLD...how could that not be better, right??? NO, but really, it stops when it starts to roll backwards...which is a good feature. The front wheels swivel, which makes it much easier for her to maneuver where she wants to go. She loves it and has worn herself out today walking with it. Her little legs get tired pretty fast, but she loves it, so she keeps going! She will sleep good tonight, that is for sure. Sorry about all the pictures, but she just looks so cute...I can't help it! I should post a video, I will do that another time.

Loves and kisses for her daddy! That girl has him wrapped around her finger!!!


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Okay, that might be enough to post for now.
Again, the girl amazes me.
She is such an angel to us all.
I am so Thankful to her.
I plan to continue to post these until I am up to date.
I had been totally fine with the diagnosis up until she turned 3.
That is when I had a hard time.
I will get to that.
Thanks for reading.
It really is so important to have other aware out there of not only Cerebral Palsy, but all other disabilities out there.
They have a heart and soul too.....I think sometimes people forget that.
I also wanted to out out there, don't be afraid to ask questions.
We would much rather you come and talk to us instead of staring.
Elsie is perfect for this....she doesn't wait for someone to come up to us....she is always there with a big smile on her face saying "HI" to all who will look at her.
More to come.