This and That

I'll just start out with the most-frequently-asked question:  No, we haven't heard from Charleston!  :)  I think I'll be shouting from the rooftops when we finally get a call from them!  :)

 Rebekah, her babies and taggie

Rebekah has just started to sleep with some of her baby dolls.  She usually doesn't ask to sleep with them, but if we ask her if she would like a baby, she will almost always choose one.  A couple of days ago, she had to take two of her babies to bed at naptime.  She was so cute with the baby dolls and taggie that I had to run downstairs to grab the camera.  Rebekah was a little confused when I came back into her room with the camera, but she patiently tolerated me snapping a couple of pictures.  I think I'll save a few of these pictures for her high school graduation party!  :)

 Yikes!  I didn't realize how dirty my broom is!

One of the developmental stages that kids go through is imitation.  It has been a little slow in coming for Rebekah, but she is starting to imitate some grown-up jobs and activities.  One is playing with baby dolls, which she really isn't doing much, but occasionally she will.  Another is "cooking" with some pans, or bowls, spoons, whatever I pull out of the cabinets.  If you missed the video in the post below, Rebekah is "cooking" breakfast for me.  :)  Something else Rebekah did for the first time this week is "sweep" the floor.  :)  Prior to this week, Rebekah mostly just followed me around when I was sweeping.  This time, I laid the broom down to grab the dustpan and Rebekah took off with it!  Do you see how serious she looks in the picture?  Rebekah was working so hard to sweep the floor - it took a lot out of her to hold that big broom up!  :)  It is so much fun to watch Rebekah do more big girl things!

 The Goose and Boo - sounds like a story book title!  :)

If you know us in real life, you know that we use a lot of nicknames at our house.  One that has stuck (and one that Justin loves!) is Goose.  It actually started from us calling him a silly goose because he was (and is!) so silly sometimes!  Justin is definitely our practical joker.  I take great joy in seeing him play jokes on his brothers, and sometimes on us.  He is so much fun!  Anyway, silly goose became shortened over time to Goose and Justin totally loves it.  It makes for some fun teasing, too.  "Get up in your bed or I'm going to pluck your tail feathers!" is one he hears a lot.  Or, "Enjoy your afternoon because tomorrow we're roasting a Goose for dinner!".

Boo got shortened from Bekah-boo, which we still use on occasion.  It seems to fit Rebekah.  The boys also think she looks a little like the character Boo in "Monster's, Inc."  In fact, Rebekah has started using "Boo" to refer to herself.  Rebekah and/or Bekah still seem to be a lot for her to say, so Boo works perfectly.  :)  This afternoon she looked at me and asked, "Boo bye-bye?"

 Justin and Bekah

I think I mentioned in my last post that Justin and Rebekah are completely inseparable!  Here's more proof!  Justin asks me constantly to take a picture of him with Rebekah.  He is such a sweet boy!  Rebekah loves her brothers, but I think Justin has a special place in her heart.  Lately she has been looking at her brothers and saying "I lul oo." (I love you)  So, so cute!!

 The three amigos!

Justin, Aaron and Rebekah are the most alike in personalities and physically.  Aaron had some minor birth defects and required a brief stay in the NICU and a surgical procedure the day after he was born.  He was our first experience with any kind of "major" medical issues with our children.

She's got some growing to do before she fills those shoes!

I have to admit, Rebekah has good taste in shoes!  ;)  She did a great job balancing in slip-on shoes with heels from the kitchen to the bathroom door.  I just love the sweater Rebekah is wearing.  It's one my mom found last year and I've been waiting for Rebekah to grow into it.  So cute!! It is SOOO much fun to have a girl to dress up, especially after four boys.  (But don't think for a minute that we don't have fun dressing up the boys, too!)

Rebekah has physical therapy in the morning.  DeeAnn is going to see how Rebekah does at therapy, and if things go well, we may switch back to an every-other-week schedule for a while.  We're hoping so!

Don't forget to check out the Ride for Mike 2011 page (linked from the top left sidebar).  If you are planning to come to the Family Fun Ride, or the picnic, please let us know so that we have an accurate count.

Nancy

A Little Update

I've been putting off a blog post in hopes that I would have surgery date to give you, but I've given up. I'm posting anyway, and maybe we will have a surgery date by October. Maybe. :)

I don't really know why it is taking so long this time for MUSC to schedule a date for Rebekah. We know that her case has been presented at conference (several weeks ago), and we know that the doctors have decided to proceed with the surgery. So why the wait? The best guess I can come up with is that she is just not a priority case right now. Yes, the surgery needs to happen, but from a medical standpoint, it really doesn't matter if it happens this week or three months from now. I guess we'll know the date when they call us, and no amount of fretting over it is going to make them call us any faster. :)

In other news, Rebekah is talking a mile a minute! :) She truly is our little parrot and will attempt to repeat almost anything she hears. It's quite comical to hear her repeat random words or phrases that her brothers have said. Her favorites seem to be singing Jesus Loves Me and Deep and Wide. She says "song" and touches my lips to let me know that she wants me to sing her songs with her.

Rebekah is playing with "hats."

Rebekah has had great sessions at physical therapy the last two weeks. This week she was stepping up and down from a little four-inch platform with almost no assistance at all! Rebekah's PT mentioned that if Rebekah does this well again at her next PT session that we will probably go back to an every-other-week schedule. That would make this Mommy very happy!! :)

Justin and Bekah are almost inseparable.

I am sitting here trying to think of other Rebekah "news" to share, and I'm honestly drawing a blank! After two years of medical crises, delayed development and more than her share of colds and sickness, Rebekah is just being a normal two-year-old! We are certainly enjoying this period of "normal" right now and will continue to enjoy it for as long as it lasts. :) We are so thankful that the Lord has blessed Rebekah with several months of good health. She is still sleeping a lot more than a "normal" two year old, but that is going to continue at least until surgery and may always be a problem that Rebekah struggles with.

Lookout, Brothers! There's a new sheriff in town!

This will be Rebekah's first RSV season without the RSV vaccine. The vaccines are only given until the age of two, since RSV is usually worse for young children. However, we are concerned since Rebekah's anatomy is very different from that of other two-year-olds. I'm not sure what will happen if Rebekah gets RSV. Most certainly it would be a hospital admission. I'm afraid it would be a struggle for her to keep her oxygen saturation up in her normal range. Please pray with us that Rebekah does not come down with RSV this season!

In case you missed the previous post, you are all invited to join us for the Ride for Mike Family Ride on Saturday, October 22. The ride starts at 8:00 at Cleveland Park in downtown Greenville and ends with a picnic lunch at 11:00 at Gateway Park in Traveler's Rest. There is no charge for the picnic or the ride, but we do need a count of how many will be attending. If you would like to come, please feel free to email Jonathan or leave a comment below with the number in your party. Also, Jonathan has set up a tax-deductible fund for those who are interested in giving to Ride for Mike 2011. All proceeds will be disbursed through Helping Hands Ministries and will be used for expenses directly related to Rebekah's care, especially with her upcoming surgery. You can find instructions for giving to Rebekah's project by clicking the Ride for Mike link on the top left sidebar of the blog, or go directly to the Ride for Mike 2011 donation page.

Thank you all for your support and prayers.

Nancy

Exciting News!!

For those of you who came to Lil' Rebel for the cruise-in, thank you!!  And, if you didn't see Rebekah with the trophies, here's your chance!  We had really wanted to get some pictures of Rebekah with some of the entrants and their vehicles, but about two hours into the cruise-in, we got a torrential downpour that lasted for several hours.  It was still a lot of fun, though!

The trophies were pink - in honor of Rebekah!  

The plates at the bottom say "In honor of Rebekah Grace Ellis."

So....{drumroll, please}..... now for our exciting news...... Ride for Mike 2011!!!  What is Ride for Mike, you ask?  I will be happy to tell you!  Drew and I have been friends with Jonathan Pait and his family since we were in college.  Jonathan is an avid cyclist, and has completed a Ride for Mike since 2007 in memory of his friend, Mike McCaskill, who passed away from brain cancer.  Typically Jonathan raises funds, through donations and other fundraising avenues, to donate to a worthy cause each year.  We were honored when he approached us several weeks ago and asked if Rebekah could be the recipient of this year's Ride for Mike.  

Jonathan will be riding (weather-permitting) from Greenville Hospital to MUSC Children's Hospital on October 24.  The trip - about 220 miles - will be his longest ever one-day ride!  Jonathan chose this particular route because Rebekah has spent quite a bit of her life at both of these hospitals.

And for those who live in or near the Greenville area, Jonathan will be hosting the first ever Ride for Mike Family Ride!  The Family Ride will begin at Cleveland Park in downtown Greenville at 8:00 am on Saturday, October 22.  It will conclude in Traveler's Rest with a picnic lunch.  There is no charge for the Family Ride, but Jonathan does need an accurate count of how many will be attending.  If you are interested in participating in the ride, please email Jonathan at lowcadence@pait.org with the number in your party.  If Rebekah is doing well and the weather is nice, we are planning to attend at least the picnic portion of the event!

For current information about Ride for Mike, or to make a donation to Ride for Mike, please visit the specific links.  Also, there is a link on the top left sidebar of our blog that will take you directly to the donation page.  Thank you all for your support of this wonderful project!

Drew and Nancy