Ellie's at it again....

It's Ellie's mom for a minute....
This is how I found Ellie's doll today. Just sitting on the couch, hanging out, wearing Reid's arm restraints. Makes me smile. Not only do her dolls wear tape on their lips....they also must enjoy arm restraints it turns out! Gotta love it!

Reid Update

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Look who's home!

It's me...Ellie! I am home now from both grandma's and grandpa's houses! I had so much fun there while Reid was getting his lip fixed. But, I am home now, and Reid was SOOOO happy to see me! He smiled at me, but Mommy wasn't fast enough with her camera. Maybe next time! Here Reid is doing what he loves....pulling my hair! That tells me he loves me.

Here I am hugging Reid. I love his new lip. Dr. Gosain did a GREAT job!

I love Reid, and he loves me! I am glad to be home to play with him.

My Hero...

"Reid, you are my hero, little man. I love you to the moon and back."
......Mommy

I'm having fun!

Hi everyone! It's Ellie! I am being taken care of really well by all my grandma's and grandpa's who love me soooo much while Mommy and Daddy are taking care of Reid. I want to show you what I have been doing. This is a picture I made at my Grandma and Pappy's house. Grandma made the big circle, and some of the words that I told her to write...but I did the rest. Like my E that I made for the start of my name? I wanted to show everyone what Reid's new lip looks like. It is perfect. I miss Reid, but I will get to see him real soon! Love you, Reid!


Here I am with Grandpa. It's important to play the piano and sing songs together. I love to do that.


Here I am playing in the sand! What could be better?


Slides are my favorite!


Love you everyone! Thanks for taking care of my Mommy and Daddy and Reid by praying for us all. Kisses to everyone!!!

Reid's road to recovery...day 2 post op

It's Ellie's mom in for an update...
Look at the change in Reid. Unbelieveable! This is Reid at 3 days old. Look how wide his cleft is.


What an amazing change. This is Reid the day of surgery about 2 hours out of recovery...eating already! That's my boy!


Here is Reid today...2 days post op looking good. He is a bit swollen today, but not bad at all. His lip is clean and not seeping at all. What a little champ we have. I am blown away by all your support and love for our family. We thank you for the love, prayers, and overall outpouring of yourselves to us over the past 6 months. Reid is so blessed to have all of you on his side. We love you all, and thank you for taking this journey one step at a time with us. What a transformation we are seeing in Reid. I can't wait to see his first new smile with his new lip. It won't be long! More pictures to come soon.....

Blessings beyond words.

This is Ellie's Dad checking in. Reid is doing well and resting this evening. He's holding down clear liquids and formula so he might be able to come home tomorrow! His surgery lasted approximately 5 hours, which was a little longer than expected. Our surgeon, Dr. Gosain, did an amazing job. I can't even begin to describe how please we are with the outcome. I literally had to take a seat in the recovery room because I was so overwhelmed. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!

Thoughts about tomorrow....

It's Ellie's mom with a few thoughts...

Well, it is about 9:15 pm...and Reid is sleeping. I know I will need to wake him in 3 hours to eat one last time before the big day tomorrow. I don't think he will mind. He will eat anytime! Can't you tell??? : ) We had a great weekend with friends and family. It kept us busy and our minds off of the hectic day tomorrow. I feel ready for the surgery...but I know it will be a draining day. I really should be packing up my things, emptying the dishwasher, folding the laundry that is sitting in the basket, picking up Ellie's living room full of toys...but no...I needed to reflect one more time. As we drove home from my parent's house tonight, I just had 30 minutes of pure joy watching Reid laugh and smile that wide smile that we all love so much. I can't wait for the new look...but boy, I am going to miss this face that I love so dearly. He was exceptionally happy....as if giving me one last night to eat up that grin. What a sweetie. I just want to personally thank you all for what you mean to our family. I think Brian and I have grown a lot in this process. We have not always had good days...but looking back on these 6 1/2 months...I never would have imagined that we would have come out so strong and never would I have thought I would have learned so much from this little guy. He has taught me so much about love, hope, joy, strength, and perserverence, just to name a few. I think he has taught the world a few things, as well...at least those who would really listen to him. I am grateful to be living in a place where he has such good medical care so close to home. I am so happy to have my family so close by to watch over Ellie, and of course, us, too. We would have really struggled if it wouldn't have been for so many of you! We love you, and look forward to this new chapter in Reid's life. I will post pictures as soon as I can. I am anxious to see his new smile. Though it won't be as wide....I know it will make people smile right along with him. God bless.....and I will write again soon....

Until tomorrow....

Reid loves Great Grandma Wilson!

Reid and Great Grandma Wilson. He was so happy snuggling with her! Look at that smile!

Reid loves faces. He was all lovey dovey with her! What a ham!

Ah-ha!

"Now where did that cookie get to that I was eating? Ohhhh, it's stuck to my saturated bib like everything else I ate today!"

"Got it! Yum Yum!"

Last minute advice....

It's Ellie's mom just asking for any last minute advice from any of you WONDERFUL cleft friends out there. Of course, you all know that our surgery day is quickly approaching...and I will be GLAD to take any advice you have. I know that each child is so different, and we will take it a baby step at a time....but if there is something that was really helpful or something that you learned that you would like to pass our way....we would gratefully listen.

We care about all of you so very much, and thank you for all the inspirations that you have become to us. To hear your stories and look at your pictures of your beautiful children has motivated us and allowed us to realize that we are not alone in this journey. We have been humbled by so many uplifting comments and help from all of you from day one of this process. How lucky we are to have found all of you.

We will be blogging about our sweet Reid very soon from now with his new face. I promise to take lots of pictures and post as soon as I possibly can. We are excited and anxious at the same time for this big step. We love Reid's face right now, but we know that we will love what we see on Tuesday. Thanks for your prayers and your encouragement. We truly love you all.

Thanks for taking care of me Grandma and Grandpa!

I had fun today Grandma and Grandpa. I especially liked playing Barbies, playing outside, eating Doritos, and reading books. I love you lots, and I am glad you take good care of me all the time!

5 days until surgery.....

Mommy and Daddy took Reid for his last appointment before surgery. All looks good, and we are ready to roll. We are still taking lots of pictures of Reid's smile since it will be changing so much.


Look at those eyes! (and the corn all over his shirt!)

Baby Kittens!

At my Grandma and Pappy's house there are 3 new baby kittens (just what they want!!!). So, I got to hold them yesterday. They are so soft and furry. I love them.

I am extra careful. I told Mommy that we can't hold them too hard or they will squish. That would not be good. I am a very good kitten holder.

Hanging out with my Pappy

I love my Pappy. I want to be just like him. So, we are sitting in our chairs...reading the paper. You know, important stuff.

Hmmmm....

What is this big yellow box, anyway????

YES!!! Something else to put in my mouth! Thanks, for letting me help you cook, Grandma!

The answer is....

To answer the question of what Reid ate in the picture from the other day.....SQUASH!!!!!

A glimpse of Reid's first face....One week until surgery

Reid at the NICU.....3 days old

Happy Reid- pre NAM. He was about 2 1/2 months old here.

Reid with his NAM and nasal stints. He was about 4 months here.

Reid with his ever growing NAM pushing down on his lip. He is 5 months here.

Happy Reid...no more NAM. Waiting until surgery day one week from today. We are so proud of how you have handled this journey that you have been on. We fell in love with your first face...the one we wait for to greet us with the biggest smile around. We know we will fall in love with your new face next week just as fast. We are trying to capture every little moment before surgery with as many smiles as we can get! We love you, little guy......here's to the countdown.....

Can you guess?

I'll give you 2 guesses to what Reid had for lunch today!

He sure does know how to make a BIG mess!

Reid's favorite things.....

Reid LOVES his toes! He can't get enough of them!


Such a silly boy!

Look what God made!

I just wanted to show you what Mommy and I saw out our back window tonight. We were just finishing our dinner, and we saw this wonderful rainbow! God made the sky so pretty. I told Mommy that I wanted to slide down a rainbow someday. She smiled.

Reid the balancing boy!

Ha! Look what I did to Reid today. Everyone was laughing that the ball was staying on top of his head...and he had no idea. Then, Reid just started laughing, too! What a silly brother I have!

Beautiful Abigail

This is baby Abigail. She was just born a week ago, and is so sweet. Her mommy and daddy knew that Abigail was going to be born with a cleft, but did not know what kind or if her palate would be effected. She was born with a bilateral cleft lip/palate just like Reid. She's already been set up for her NAM device and will start this process soon. Since Reid is just finishing up with his lip aligning process, we know what this family will have to deal with. Please keep Abigail and her family in prayer as they begin this new journey. She is a beautiful little baby that has a wonderful supportive family. We just ask that you help us with keeping them close in your hearts. You can visit them at their blog anytime! (http://forourlittleone.blogspot.com/)

Yippeeee, Makenna!!!!!

This is Makenna from our town. She was born in China with a unilateral cleft lip/palate. She was adopted by the Ferrell Family (http://ferrellfamilyfun.blogspot.com/) in November. She is such a little ham. Her lip was repaired in China, but her palate was not. She just had her palate surgery on Thursday at Shriner's hospital in Chicago, and she is doing great! Keep this little girl and her family close in prayer as they journey home soon. We hope for a fast and positive recovery for her! Hugs to you, Makenna!

I am ready to swim!!! Come on warm weather!

Mommy bought me a new swim suit today. I wore it all day even though it was chilly. I told Mommy I would only wear it inside today. Then, I matched it with these lovely clompy shoes that I play princess with. Daddy said I looked like I was trying out for the Miss America pageant. Mommy didn't think that was too funny. I can't wait to try out my new suit. Hopefully, it will be warm enough soon!

Great-Grandma Mimi and Reid....

Here is Reid with our Great Grandma Mimi. We went to see her today. She now lives in a nursing home because she keeps falling and hurting herself. She is 93 years old...and loved holding Reid today. I didn't feel like getting my picture taken today. Maybe next time.

Reid makes everyone smile. Grandma Mimi loved seeing those baby blues. She thinks Reid is pretty sweet.

Last dental visit to Rainbow before surgery

Thanks to the many people that made our weekly visits to Rainbow such a joy. We love you all. Here is Reid and Chris. She was Reid's "girlfriend" in the dental office. Reid loved to smile for her, and she ate him up each week!

Here is Chandra. She was the person responsible for all the adjustments to the NAM each week. We worked extremely closely with her, and really created a great relationship with her. She will be missed. I think she was happy to get a smile out of Reid...because usually she is the one making him cry with the adjustments!

Lovey Reid. He has a thing for people's faces!

Sleepy Reid on the way home from Cleveland.

He woke up happy when we returned home.....as long as his blankie is there...he is a happy man! You are a trooper, Reid. You made it through all your adjustments like a true little hero. We love you.....and continue to wonder how you became so strong so fast! Only 12 days until surgery, little guy.