I'm proud to announce........

.....both kids and Brian were alive and well when I returned home from my conference!!!!! I knew they would be fine.....and they all did great. I didn't think I would miss them as much as I did....but I was so happy to see their faces when I got home (and I think they were happy to see mine, too!)

I'm off.....

Ok...say a prayer....maybe two if you think of it. One for me (for safe travels)....and the really big one for Brian! I am heading off out of town for a
4th grade conference in Columbus tomorrow until Thursday night. YIKES!!!!! I am not worried about the kids at all...I just know what a job it is to take care of 2 after you have put in a full day at work besides. I am blessed to have Brian watch the kids without hesitation. I think he will be glad to see me on Thursday, any bets???? Thank goodness for family....Brian's mom will be transporting the kids to the sitter in the morning so Brian can leave for work early so he can pick up the kids on time. Love you, Bri! I will update you when I am home how the troops made out. Hey, maybe I will be surprised and Brian will post for me......probably not...but who am I to say???? I will catch up with you all soon!!!

Ellie's Christmas Renditions...

Ok, let me preface this first by explaining a bit. Ellie is very inquisitive...VERY. She asks questions constantly and is always thinking. She is noticing different cultures around her and loves seeing differences in people (looks, hair color, skin color, etc.). So, she is VERY much interested in our neighbors who are Chinese. Their kids go to the same preschool as Ellie, and she is always asking me questions about China. We also have other friends who have 2 daughters from China, so I think this is where the curiousity stems from. She loves Hannah and Makenna...and honeslty, I think Ellie wants to be from China, too. So, that should preface this video....I just wanted to let you all know where she is coming from! It explains a lot! Enjoy the show.....never a dull moment here. Never!
**and notice Reid's walking abilities as well. He is doing really well...and is starting to choose walking over crawiling many times.

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Starring Ellie and Reid...

Brian had some time on his hands today...and look what he did with it!

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Plastic Surgery 6 week post op appointment

We headed to Cleveland yesterday to meet with our plastic surgeon to check the status of Reid after his palate repair. (and I am sorry to all you bloggers who follow Reid's cleft journey...I am WAY behind in posting....someday I will get there!) I knew we were in trouble when I signed in and the receptionist said, "Hi, Mrs. Shemenski....Dr. Gosain is REALLY running behind today..." Ok....well, we were there and in for the long haul.....so here is how it went!

We had a 2:15 appointment and we got back into our examining room around 4:30, and then our surgeon came in to meet with us around 4:45 or so. Yeah....long time to entertain 2 kiddos. Oh, yes....we brought Ellie with us to experience "Reid's hospital" as she calls it. The kids did amazingly well. Reid had only had a 30 min. nap that day...and only napped while I held him for about 20 minutes in the office and Ellie had no nap at all. They were really good. Ellie got to go with Brian to make crafts and decorate cookies because they had a kids table set up for patients and visitors to keep little ones occupied. That was GREAT and Ellie had a blast with Daddy. That was a huge help to the wait time.

Our surgeon took quite a bit of time with us when he saw Reid and really looked good at his palate and gum line area. The good news......NO FISTULAS!!!! No holes...no tears....all is tight and looking good. Thank goodness! Reid does seep some out his right nostril when eating, but Dr. Gosain thinks it is a muscle issue with learning how to move the food WAY back in the throat before swallowing...and he thinks with time this will correct itself. That's super news to hear. Our surgeon said that Reid does not have any food restrictions at this time. Anything is a go. I think that was music to Reid's little ears!

The next step in our journey does not come until May 09. Reid will be seen by the speech team and will also see Dr. Gosain because that will be one year post op from his lip repair. (hard to believe!) Pictures will be taken for his file and so on. THEN.....*drum roll please** we are on an ANNUAL CONSULT basis!!!!! Seriously!!!! We will begin cleft clinics at that time each year and see the plastics team, the dental team, the ENT, speech, etc.... but Reid is in the clear for any type of surgery for awhile. PRAISES! What great news that was to all of us! Our surgeon said to us that Reid will have to go through clinics to make sure he is progressing well....and I quote, "We will just follow his progress and keep up with him.....just in case he can't get by with his good looks alone..." We all had a chuckle. : ) A good day.....a good appointment....prayers answered...and just an all around feeling of joy. We are lucky....and we know it!

The Rockette's Christmas Tour 08

What a fun day it was! It was "Girl's Day Out" for Ellie, myself, my mom (in red) and my mother in law (in black). We have tried to stick to the once a month rule of going somewhere special together, but since the birth of Reid and our roller coaster schedules, this hasn't happened lately. But, today was different. Ellie and I surprised the grandma's today to The Rockette's Christmas Show in Cleveland. It was AMAZING. If you get the chance to go....DO IT! It was a really nicely done program ending with the Christmas story and the birth of Jesus. It was nice to see a show that really highlighted the true meaning of Christmas. We had a wonderful day.....and I was so glad I got to spend it with them. **we did have a little breakdown by Ellie at lunch afterwards at Applebee's because she spilled chocolate milk all down her shirt....but we all survived!** Thanks to my moms for going....it was a wonderful day out! When are we going out again????
** and a BIG thanks to Brian for watching Reid all day....love you, too!

Here we are before the program. So fun! Ellie and her grandmas who she loves to pieces. (Thanks to the guy who sat next to me that made faces at Ellie to get a smile out of her!!!!!) Gotta love it!

Santa's Helpers

Here they are....all geared up and ready. 24 days and counting!

A quick Ellie story, too. We live in town, but have some wooded area behind our house that houses deer. Well, around this time of year, we see them quite frequently as they come out to roam the area a bit. Ellie saw a HUGE buck a few days ago appear near our backyard and was thrilled to see one so close to our house. This got her thinking. She told Brian and I very matter-of-factly that this deer that we saw, was in fact, Rudolph. She thinks that Rudolph lives in our nearby woods, and he is there to check on all the kids in our neighborhood to make sure they are being good. Everyday, she watches out our back window to let Rudolph know that she is being good....and is excited for him to eat carrots at our house not too far off from now.