Grandpa and his "babies"

This is my Grandpa Leatherman and Reid and me! Grandpa came over to visit today, and Mommy took this picture of us. I love my grandpa very much. Thanks for playing with me, Grandpa....love you!

Baby Reid's first month's journey

Here is a little tribute to my baby Reid. I love you! I snuck a few pictures of myself in here, too!!!! He can't take center stage ALL the time, c'mon!!!! Love you, Reid!!!!!

Shhh,....my baby is sleeping

Hi, there. This is a picture of my baby sleeping. He loves to be held when he sleeps which can be a problem at times...mom says. : ) He is super sweet and loves to cuddle next to you. My daddy was holding him here. Reid likes the binky at times, but he can't hold it in his mouth himself....he needs help. He is super sweet. Sweet dreams, Reid!

I am a ballerina tonight!

So...I decided to hang up my princess gear tonight and trade it in for my ballerina wear instead. I love to wear my tutu. I think tutu is a funny word to say!!! TUTU! I laugh every time I say it! I love being a ballerina!!!!

Princess Ellie

I love playing dress up. This is my princess dress and my clomping shoes (as I call them). I wear this most of the time at home, and one time I almost got to wear it to the library. I want to be a princess when I grow up. I love to twirl my dress around and dance in it. Mommy and Daddy say that I am their princess. I love to dress up!

Big Boy Reid

Look how big my baby brother is! He is very strong (but we knew that....from all he's been through). He can hold his head up...and can move it all around even from side to side from a laying down position. He is an amazing little guy. We love you, Reid!!!!

Surgery #1 Pictures

Sorry if these are a little graphic. Reid was so swollen after surgery...but I wanted you all to see how his lip was attached on the top to both sides. He really looks quite good. These are just some recovery pics taken after surgery while in his room during this past week in the Cleveland Clinic. You'll also see his Aunt Carol holding him. She and Uncle Kevin came to see Reid and hold him while he was in the hospital. We have a great family! We know we are lucky. Reid is comfortably healing and seems to be getting into the swing of eating with a syringe instead of a bottle. He gets frustrated because he wants to suck...but he is just not able to do this yet. We are scheduling appointments for this week to see what the next step of this journey is. We will keep you updated. Love you all...

Reid- Post Surgery

Hello, all. What a week we have had. It has been a bit rough. Reid went through his surgery on Tuesday morning as planned. Not feeding him was really rough on us all. The poor guy ate last at 1:30 am on Tues. morning, and he wasn't taken into surgery until 8:32 am. It was really difficult to watch as he was so hungry. I will just give you the basics here....surgery went well...BUT..since the surgery on Tues. Reid's lip as split. The doctors were worried about that because he has such a deep cleft lip. So, we are disheartened about this. Nothing can be done at this time...just give him healing time and go back in around 2-3 months from now to re-do. Not fun. Reid has also developed some bleeding on the back of his head. It is not on the brain which is good, but there are some problems that need to be resolved. He was taken for blood work, an eye exam to look for bleeding, a CT scan, a full body scan, and tomorrow he will undergo a MRI. He will have to be sedated for this process. So, this means another night of fasting for Reid. We are just really having a hard time with this. It is so disheartening to watch your child go through all of this. We know he is in a good place...but wow...we have gone through some major doubt. We just really need love and prayers. We need strength to trust our medical staff that is working with Reid...and faith that we have made good choices for Reid. It has just really been a struggle for us...and we need your help. We know we have such awesome prayer partners, and we are so lucky. Please be with us in helping to pray for good things to happen for Reid. He has been though a lot, and it is just really wearing on us as parents to watch. He is such a blessing and miracle...and we pray that this all works out for him as best as possible. I will update you again as we know more. We love you all and thank you for all your help. Happy Thanksgiving....we know we are blessed....

Prayers for Reid...

Just wanted to send out a message for anyone reading this to say a little prayer for Baby Reid. He will be having surgery tomorrow in Cleveland for his first lip surgery on his bilateral cleft lip/palate. We hope for a successful surgery and a rapid recovery. We love you, Reid....and know that you will be in good hands. We will update soon.....

Hugs to all...

Just being a big sister

Well, here I am...being a big sister. I am a good helper. My mommy and daddy are so proud of me for helping out. I like to help change diapers the best. I get all the supplies out and hand everything to Mommy. She is lucky to have my help! Here I am just giving my mommy and daddy a break. I held Reid for a long time and he slept on me. Ya' know what else he did??? Lots and lots of "toots". Mommy and daddy were proud of me for getting that out of his system! Never underestimate what a 3 year old can do! I love my new brother. Pray for him as he has surgery #1 on Tuesday. We love you, Reid!

Surgery #1 Scheduled

Just a quick note that Reid will have his first round of surgery on Tuesday, Nov. 20. This will be done in Cleveland by a fabulous Plastic Surgeon that we have good faith in. It will not be easy to see Reid go through this...but we know that he will be watched over and prayed for by all of YOU! He will be admitted and probably will be spending 2-3 days there. Our Thanksgiving plans will be different this year. I truly will know the meaning of Thanksgiving this year....as we know how thankful we are to have Reid in our family. We will hopefully be staying in Clevenand again next week. We will wait and see if there is a place for us to stay at Ronald McDonald house again so we don't have to make the constant trips to and from Cleveland. The actual surgery is to move the growth (premaxilla) towards the center of Reid's mouth. They will then attach his top lip on the right and left side to the growth. So, his lip will not be repaired in this surgery...but moved over more so in preparation for the next round of surgery. It is truly important that this surgery go well...because in his case, his right side does not have a lot of lip to attach to the growth. He will need to be tube fed again for a time because he will not be able to suck due to the surgery. They will watch him closely because he could tear if we are not careful. Healing time will be important to just take it little by little. We know that we are in good hands...and so many of you have asked about what is next and what our plans are. This is it for now. He did see the facial/surgery/dentistry team yesterday and molds were made of his palate. A possible prosthesis will be made if needed to fill the gap in his palate..but that will come later. Again, thank you for keeping so up to date with our family. It is so nice to feel watched over by so many amazing families. We are blessed and grateful for you all. Please keep us close in prayer next week....and I will update you soon to how things go. If I don't write again....please have a blessed Thanksgiving with those you love. We are thankful for all of YOU.

I love baby Reid

I was a big helper to Mommy last night. I helped give Reid a bath. He hated it because he hates being cold and undressed. But, I was brave and his crying didn't even bother me. Then, I got to hold him and love him up. Then, we put him in his big crib to watch the mobile. I got in with him to share. It used to be my bed, but since I am a big girl now...I will let him use it. I love you, Reid.

Here he is!

Well, here is my new baby "broter", I love him most days. Sometimes, I get a little mad at Mommy and Daddy because they can't always be right with me. I have been a good girl, though, and Mommy and Daddy are very proud of me. Reid is doing pretty well. He went to the doctor today and he weighs 9 lbs. exactly. The doctor was glad that his weight was pretty good...and they will continue to watch it. Mommy and Daddy will be in Cleveland on Monday for more appointments to meet with the surgeon team (plastic surgery) and a dentistry team that will help Reid with his palate. It will be interesting what everyone has to say. These pictures aren't in any order....just some that Mommy likes. The one with the lady holding Reid was Mommy and Daddy's favorite nurse from the NICU. She was wonderful, and we loved her. This was the day Reid went home. We miss her very much. I will continue to keep posting as I can. Life has taken a little curve....but we are well. Mommy and Daddy can not believe how wonderful everyone has been. We are loved...and we are blessed. Thank you everyone for all you've done. Much..MUCH love.....

Welcome Baby Reid!

Well, it is official! We have a new baby! This is Ellie's mom...I am taking over for Ellie today. Some of you may not know...but Baby Reid James was born on Sat., Nov. 3, 2007 at 5:04 pm. He weighed in at 9 lbs. 6 ozs. and was 20.5 inches long. He has a lot of dark hair and is a little snuggle bug! We were unaware of any complications before birth, but when he was born, it was quite apparrent that he had a quite severe cleft lip and palate. We were all surprised...including the doctors. We have been on a whirlwind for the last 4 days. Reid was transported to Cleveland Clinic via the Neonatal Ambulance on Monday. He has been in the Neonatal ward since then. He has a very profound cleft lip and palate and will need quite a lot of surgery and reconstructing as he grows. We have been through so many emotions, but we feel that he is in a very good place right now. We are at the Ronald McDonald house in Cleveland until we are able to come home with Reid. His biggest challenge is eating. He can not close his mouth so he can not suck. I am pumping and the doctors have been giving him my milk via a feeding tube. Today, he was able to take a bottle better and we tried several nipples to get him feeding a little more with the bottle. Actually, his feeding tube came out today because he is doing much better. This is a big step in the right direction. Ellie is being taken care of by grandparents and is doing ok. We have gone through many changes here recently and will continue to do so. We already have 3 more appointments next week for Reid. It will truly be a lifelong journey that we are facing. We appreciate your prayers and love so very much. Reid may be able to be released tomorrow actually, and then I am sure a whole bunch of new challenges will await us. With your prayers and support, and knowing that we are being looked over by God....we will be ok. I will post pictures as soon as I can. From the Ronald McDonald house, I am not able to....but should be home soon to get some on here. Thank you for all your concern and love. We are ready to share Reid with you....and
can't wait for you to see our little miracle. We are blessed...and God is good. We will update you all soon. Thanks for your prayers in advance. Love you all....