Auction for Josephine Elizabeth

Josephine Elizabeth is a cousin of Kate the Great and Marvelous Thing. She was born this past October with a genetic defect, and so family members are having an auction & sale over at SweetBabyJosephine.blogspot.com to raise money for her medical care.

You can read more about Josephine Elizabeth and her condition at Kate the Great or/and at Jeanne's Life

I hope that each of you will go over and take a look at the items up for sale. They are reasonably priced, would make great Christmas gifts, and will go to support a great cause!

A Tribute to My Oldest Child on His 18th Birthday

Josh is my oldest child. He is the apple of my eye. He is funny and sweet. Sassy and naughty. And everything in between.

He has a great sense of humor and loves to be silly with his sister. The picture above was taken on the trip home from the zoo back in April. Rarely does he use this expression, but isn't it priceless? It makes me smile.



This picture was taken when I was pregnant with Josh. Pregnancy with Josh was difficult. I was soooo sick! I had to go for an IV once because I'd thrown up so much. I loved being pregnant though, because I wanted a baby soooo much.



Here is Josh on his first birthday. See the puppy he's holding? He grabbed that stuffed animal at the store and wouldn't let go!



Here is Josh on his 4th birthday. See the pony in the background? That was Josh's favorite toy from the time he was 2 until 6, when he outgrew it. He has always loved to rock: on ponies, swings, chairs. He still has to be in motion.



This picture was taken in '99 when Josh was just barely 9. I love how big his smile is!



This picture was taken in '02, when Josh was 11. Notice how he has his arms around his sister and brother? He was protective of his siblings and watched over them alot.



This picture was taken at the family birthday party when Josh turned 15. I really wish I would have enjoyed him more during the years between 14-16. Those are hard years for me! They go from being kids to that aweful in between stage when they don't have wisdom to go with their thirst for independence. This was the year he went to live with his bio-dad (sitting in the chair holding Michael).



This was the year Josh turned 17. This was a great year, because we started being better friends again.



Josh went through a gothic stage. Long hair, black clothes, skulls, big baggy pants w/ chains. I'm soooo glad he outgrew this one! :-)



Remember last summer when he colored his hair and it turned kind of purple? Come to find out, I really liked it! He has since dyed it pure black. I miss the lavender highlights!



And this picture is as close to a portrait as I have come for years! It was taken when school started this year. What a handsome guy, huh?!

He turned 18 today. He is living with his dad again, but is trying to move out with a group of friends. He calls me often, though, and sends me texts that tell me that he loves me. He never hangs up the phone without telling me he loves me. My heart swells with pride at the good person he has become, and I love him dearly!

Happy Birthday, son! I love you!

P.S. I wrote another post earlier today about Michael that you won't want to miss! Melody

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Michael has had a feeding tube since he was 7 months old. He resisted eating as a baby, and a lot of what he did eat would be spit up because of reflux. The doctors said he had "oral aversion", so he had NG tubes off and on throughout those first 7 months, but still spit up because of reflux. Needless to say, he just wasn't gaining the weight that he needed, so at 7 months he got a nissan (secures the opening to the stomach so that reflux isn't an issue anymore) and a G-tube.

Over the years, he has gone from resisting food in his mouth altogether, to licking the seasoning off chips and throwing the whole chip away, to chewing up the chip and throwing it away, to chewing and swallowing a few bites of foods, to wanting (and insisting) his own plate of food to eat bites of while the rest of us are eating dinner, to this:



Here is Michael, watching a Barney movie (that he picked out at the video store) and eating cheesy Pringles (that he asked for at the store!) (Notice our lab waiting for what Michael doesn't want anymore. She has become his best friend when he eats, because he has often given her the pre-licked or masticated popcorn, chips, etc.)

This is such a jump for him! He asked for the Pringles, then when we got to the car I opened the can and gave it to him to snack on on the way home. He ate several chips in the car and then in front of the tv. My hope is that he will keep making leaps and strides and be free of his G-tube in a few years.

Here is to my little tortoise whose motto is "slow and steady wins the race"!