ELI WEEK IS COMING

IN THIS POST:
= Upcoming events (Rehab and Videos)
= Elijah Stories
= Pictures Galore!

SHREVEPORT AND MINI-LAPS (Videos all week long!)

Next week, Elijah will be in Shreveport for five days. He'll have his splints removed from his legs, and we'll proceed to teach him how to WALK in his first ever set of prosthetic feet. The rehabilitation will be a lot of work, more work than a 3-yr-old should ever be expected to perform, but the rewards are immeasurable. Eli's grandmother Granna will be with us to provide shift relief for the dad and moral support for the boy. Pray for us all week long.

And come back to the site EVERY DAY for new video from throughout the week. We'll conclude the week with video from the Mini-Laps event on Saturday morning. Don't forget, it's not too late to donate to Mini-Laps on Eli's behalf: http://littlelighthouse.donordepot.com/civicrm/contribute/pcp/info?reset=1&id=52

STORIES (or, Can your 3-yr-old do this?):

I ran across Sabrina, the preschool director at FBC Tulsa. Our boy promoted to a new Sunday School class a few weeks ago, and he's now hanging out with kids his very own age. Sabrina recalled peeking her head in to see how things were going, and she told me that Elijah was by far the "most vocal, most articulate" kid in the class. That put a real lump in my throat. "Every kid has his strengths," she said.

And here's a taste of his brilliance just from this evening:

1. COSMOLOGICAL EVENTS: Elijah walked from the mailbox to the house with me. He said, "Look, Daddy, the moon!" I asked him to point at it and he did. "The moon is following me," he said, and I'm still amazed. "Come with me, Moon!" he shouted. I told him, "The moon goes around the earth, Eli. We live on the Earth." When he got inside, he told his momma, "The moon goes around!" and he made a circle with his hands.

2. BEDTIME LIST: When he gets in bed, he runs down his list of needs, and he's always quite comprehensive. "I need my pacie." "I need Clifford." "I need my movie." "I need my blanket." "I'm wet, daddy." "I need Thomas." (He now sleeps with a model train. You read that right, people.) And last but not least, "Thank you, daddy! Love you!"

3. BAIT THE HOOK: I went in to turn off his movie and help him fall asleep. I put my hand on his face and said, "Night night." He whispered, "Night night." I walked away, and he said, "Wait!" I came back and asked, "What is it?" He said "Night night," and I couldn't help but rub his little head again. I walked away again, and he said, "WAIT!" I thought I'd missed something, so I returned. He cooed at me once more, and I held his hand for a minute. When I tried to leave, he said "WAIT!" This time when I came back, it was obvious he was giggling at me. For ten minutes I pretended to leave as he barked his "WAIT!" order at me. The comic timing on this guy.


NEW PICTURES:

Elijah and his cadre of huggable dogs (Charlie and Clifford):



Here's Elijah making his "Oh Wow" face. I love when he positions his hands like this. It always reminds me of two things: Charlie Brown leaning on the wall (http://images.pictureshunt.com/pics/c/charlie_brown_cartoon-5355.jpg) and the cherubs at the bottom of Raphael's Sistine Madonna painting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistine_Madonna). He really is just too cute.


Elijah is impressing us all during feeding therapy at Therapy Works in Tulsa. Our therapist, Kathy, is a genius. She has all kinds of fun tricks to get Elijah to eat and drink (remember that his swallow study says he can take anything by mouth he wants), and now there's no stopping him! He keeps his water cup with him all day long at TLLH. It's a game-changer.



Elijah and big sister Sophia doing the "Chicken Dance" at Incredible Pizza Company. These two kids really do get along very well. Sophia is so kind and giving, and Elijah wants to do everything his big sister does. He laughed and clapped as she rode the go-carts, and she made sure she saved money to buy him a balloon. And of course, everyone smiled uncontrollably as Elijah swayed, clapped and stomped during the dancing portion of the night.


Comments

Rob and Kathy Gandy said…
OK, we have now officially OD'd on Eli and Sophia! GREAT POST! Looking forward to hourly posts? this week? OK, we won't expect hourly updates, but if you should feel like doing that we will read every word and look at every pic/video multiple times! GO ELI!!
Anonymous said…
Thank you dear one for giving us the updates, as often as you can.
You can never know how much this means to Grandma Bobbie and Grandpa Marvin. Praying with you all every hour, day and night. Love you all.
Anonymous said…
Ramirez family:
Eli never stops amazing me.I had a good chuckle over the wait story.Such a smart little guy.I am praying for all of you as he starts this new journey in walking.I am sure my little hero will continue to amaze me.
Leveta

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