Sunday, July 31, 2011

July Flies By...

Eli got to wear a band-aid for the first time.  (Well, for the first time that it wasn't because his blood was drawn or shots were given!)  He scratched his heal with his toenail.  His little legs never stop....and he's sock-less most of the summer...so it was bound to happen, I guess.
He wore it all of 10 minutes before it fell off because he's such a wild man...but you know me!  I had to take pictures!


We went for a family picnic up the Yakima River Canyon - and Eli took a nap amongst nature:

Then we went to the Yakima Folklife Festival.  It was HOT!  We tried shading Eli with his stroller, and were wiping him down with wet wipes, but he got a little overheated so we left.


We visited the Yakama Nation Museum in Toppenish:

I went on an overnight camping trip with my girlfriends from work.


Eli saw his GI doc in Seattle to discuss feeding issues.  His formula change over is NOT going well.  The manufacturer of Neocate One+ decided to quit making it!  Eli is not tolerating anything else well.  Doc came up with a plan....we'll see how it goes.  Here is Eli hanging out while we eat lunch at the hospital cafeteria:


Then, we visited the Central Washington Agricultural Museum in Union Gap.  We rode on a large wagon pulled by a tractor and got a guided tour of the place:

I had a Pampered Chef party on the last Friday in July
...and have decided to become a consultant in September!

The next day, I had a yard sale with a friend.  Exhausting!

Then, on Sunday evening we hosted a BBQ for our Life Group from church...
and they played a game of Wiffle Ball:

And one day while driving to town, Eli was in a very awesome mood!
Man, I LOVE this kid...and his laugh!  :)





Thursday, June 30, 2011

Enjoying June!

In an effort to try and get my blog caught up....you get a 'reader's digest' version for each month this summer!

In June we had a wheelchair accessible deck built and it has been such a blessing!  We can roll Eli out there in any of his pieces of equipment!  Here he is in his Gazelle Stander:


He loves to go for walks in his stroller...round and round the deck.  Best part is....there is a ramp into the grass...now he gets to join the parties we have...and he can easily get to his new swing his Dad is going to build him.


When he went to Park Day after the last day of preschool, he got to meet Bonnie the Snake from our local library:

We spent a day at Camp Prime Time...and Eli got to go up into a wheelchair accessible Tree House!

And, Eli had his 6th Respiratory Distress Event.  He hadn't had one in almost three years, so we thought they were behind us!  Makes me sad to think they can still strike at any moment....and we get no warning!  Eli was a trooper as always...and the next day he's fine and you'd never know anything ever happened!

Eli also went to a rollerskating birthday party...
we spent a weekend at my Aunt's house in Auburn to celebrate my cousin's son graduating from high school.....

and Eli got his very own library card:

We also went to Seattle and he got his GJ tube switched out.  I was able to take pictures during the procedure.  I'll save those for a post of their own!

That's June in a nutshell!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Beyond Blessed

Tonight I am feeling so blessed.  Great things have been happening for me and Eli, and I don't want it to go by without thanking God for His amazing gifts.

Because of the book Wendy on Wheels Saves the Day....and the fact that we are cartoon characters in it....we have been blessed with a little local publicity.   Our newspaper did a phone interview and printed an article about it.  A local TV station came to our house and did a feature piece on us. It was so cool!  (You can watch the video here)

My heart's desire has always been to have Eli known by others.  And it's happening for us and I couldn't be more excited!  He's been the cover boy for our local Playdate magazine.  I wrote an article for Playdate, also, telling Eli's story.  In two weeks, I'll be the guest speaker at a MOPS meeting, sharing our story with others and trying to give hope to moms who may feel overwhelmed, isolated, or exhausted.

Raising Eli has had it's fair share of challenges, that's for sure.  But, being his mom and seeing what a happy child he is, even though he has so many challenges, has been the most amazing thing I've ever experienced.  I can't believe some of the amazing moms of special needs kids I've met along the way.  Moms who inspire me, educate me, listen to me, and simply "get" me!

The last two years with Eli have been the best so far.  We've finally figured his feedings out....and he's actually weighing in at 25 lbs!  There was a time I thought he was withering away before our eyes!  He is so easy to take places.  He's tolerant and content.  He loves looking around and absorbing the world, all the while cracking up as Elmo plays on his iPod.

I can't imagine life without Eli's laugh in it!  Here's a little glimpse into my world....my favorite sounds: 
Eli's chatter and his laughter.
(He's learned to squeal like a little pig!  It's adorable to us.)
This is Eli having a very good time:


To all my new readers....WELCOME!  
To all the rest of you....Thank You for continuing to come back!
I have big plans for my blog....so stay tuned...  :)

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Wendy on Wheels Saves the Day!

My six month hiatus is over!  I'm back and I'm excited to share the following with you.

Last year, a new book came out called Wendy on Wheels Goes to the Beach.  I bought two copies.  One for Eli and one to donate to our Children's Therapy Center.
I started following Wendy on Wheels on Facebook....and she asked people to comment on her blog.
So I did.

Then, a second book came out called
Wendy on Wheels Goes to the Zoo
Of course I bought it!  I love having anything to do with kids and wheelchairs!!  :)

In January 2011, the author Angela Ruzicka announced she was working on a third book.  She sent me a message saying that there would be a character named Eli in the book.  She remembered my comment on her blog last year, and wanted to include him!  I felt blessed and thrilled and totally excited!

Wendy on Wheels Saves the Day came out last week.  I ordered our copies immediately, directly from the author so she could autograph them for us.  I couldn't wait to see Eli's name in a book!

We got the books on Saturday, and that night Eli went to sleep hearing the wonderful story of Wendy taking "wonder packs" to the kids in a children's hospital and spending a fun day with them! 
I highly recommend this book!


I took the book to work on Monday and was showing it to all my friends.  The first thing they said was, "the mom looks just like you!"  I hadn't even noticed.  All the sudden, I said, "Omigosh, she does!  How funny."

Can you see the resemblance?
(Wendy on Wheels is illustrated by Elizabeth Gearhart)

So, I sent Angela Ruzicka (the author) a message on facebook...
...and she said... it IS me!!
She was inspired by my comment I left her and she started reading my blog.  She found pictures of me with Eli during one of his hospital stays and this is what I looked like.  She decided to add us to the book! 
(If you know me in real life....you know my hair is in a ponytail.....ALOT!)

You don't even know how excited this makes me!  One of my life's dreams was to be the voice of a cartoon character.  I doubt that will ever happen....but now I CAN say I am a cartoon!  :)

So, THANK YOU ANGELA RUZICKA and Wendy on Wheels!

You have made this Momma giddy with happiness!