You stink!!!

No doubt about it...Julia has this great sense of humor! Today Victoria got Julia up from her nap and she had a dirty diaper. Victoria was changing Julia's diaper and teasing her by saying "Oooh, Julia...you stink!" Quick as a blink Julia yelled back "NO! YOU 'tink!!!" We were all suprised and kept egging her on. Julia got to laughing and telling us that we "'tink"!

Will this behavior be funny in 10 years? Probably not...but today it was hilarious!!!

Julia celebrates Julia!

The funniest thing happened yesterday. Victoria was browsing through Julia's website. Julia came over and wanted to get up on her lap. Victoria picked her up and kept looking at the pages on the website. Julia sat there for a minute, just grooving to the music when suddenly she became very excited. She started shouting "Ooo-eee-uh! Bay-be Ooo-eee-uh! Meeee! Meee!" She had seen a picture of herself as a baby on the page and identified herself! She was so funny...clapping, shouting, laughing and pointing to herself.

Victoria took her through the pages and she amazed us by identifing -by name- the vast majority of people in the pictures...even folks that we don't know well or see often. It was a very "connected" moment for her cognitively. Not only was she able to pull up the information mentally, she was able to verbally express what she was thinking.

Yay!!!! Go, JULIA!!!

More than a little scary...

On January 5th I noticed that Julia was running a fever. After several hours of fever that didn't respond to medication David and I decided that we had better take her in to the emergency room. This was not something I was looking forward to...I figured that they would tell me she had the flu and to keep her hydrated.

Thank God we took her in! I will spare you all the details of our 14 hours in the ER, but the final diagnoses was that Julia had a ruptured appendix. At 4:00 PM (diagnoses at 2:30 PM) on the 6th she had surgery to remove her appendix and clean up the infection that had already filled her abdominal cavity. We were so blessed that the surgeon on call was a fabulous doctor...one of the best! And also thankful that the ER physician is a wonderful doctor! She stayed after her shift to make sure that Julia's tests were completed and that she received proper treatment!

Julia stayed in the hospital for 8 days on IV antibiotics. This was a loooonngg time! I stayed with her and did not leave the hospital at all until we went home. Thank God for my great family...my older daughters took care of Olivia and ran the house! Our church family provided meals for us for the entire time that Julia was in the hospital...no mean feat for a family of 8!

One of the great things that happened while Julia was in the hospital was that she was introduced to Greta, a canine companion who visits the children who are staying there. Greta's handler encouraged me to apply for a canine companion for Julia. Julia really does need a watch dog...she gets away from us and one incident even involved the police...that's another post. So, now we are in the planning stages of Julia receiving her very own canine companion! What a blessing! Her companion will help us to keep track of her whereabouts, bring her home if she gets away from us, track her by scent if she is out of sight, protect her around strangers and water and alert us if she needs help.

Many thanks to everyone who sent cards and food, who prayed for and with us, who took my family to church while I was at the hospital, who called and laughed and cried and rejoiced with us. We would not be complete without each of you!

Most of all we say thank you to our Lord Jesus...Dr. Marr told us that "12 hours would have made a difference in the outcome." He didn't interpret that for me, but just the sound of it is scary...thank you Jesus for keeping your hand on Julia! Except for a scar on her tummy you would never know that she was desperately ill just a few weeks ago!

Well...it's about time!

It has been over a year since I last posted on Julia's blog. Shame on me! So many great moments have come and gone that I know I will never remember...if only I had immortalized them on this blog before they slid away into the ether. Does this mean I will do better next time? Probably not. Time is so scarce around here!

Julia is making incredible progress. Her website is a great way to keep up with her, and only requires that I update twice a year to be current and not feel guilty. However, that update was due in January, and it is March...go figure!

Julia has lost 6 teeth now. She definitely has that little girl snaggletoothed smile. She is not a baby at all any more...except for the diapers. No bottles, sippy cups, binkies...all the paraphernalia of babyhood is gone. I do use Baby Magic Original scent lotion on her after every bath, though, and will continue to do that till she's a teenager! Love that stuff...and I am thankful for an opportunity to indulge!

School is great. Julia is in her third year in Miss Lisa's class. I love the fact that she is with the same teacher's and, for the most part, the same students year after year. She loves school and busses both directions now. She was allowed to attend full sessions starting last fall...a full 4 hours of school daily. When she began at Jessie Baker her attention span and stamina were so low that she could only function for an hour and a half of school every day. Now she goes the whole time and is a fully integrated member of her class.

Speech is improving daily. We are so thankful for all of her communication. Julia is a very persistent and deliberate communicator. She knows what she wants to say and doesn't give up till we "get it". Yesterday David was playing with her and he tickled her under her arm. Julia immediately said (clear as a bell) "Ahm-pit...dad...stop!" We died laughing.

I have always been concerned that Julia would not be able to express to us when she didn't want something. That "no" was something she didn't truly understand. It's funny, but my personal motto has always been "Don't borrow tomorrow's trouble." Spending ANY time worrying about that was definitely borrowing tomorrow's trouble! Julia fully understands how to say "No!" and what it means! We can ask her to do something...give a kiss, for example...and she will shout "NO!" and run the other way. Or we can ask if she wants something...like going outside...and she is quick to say "Yahss!" She will even second-guess herself and change her answer if she realizes she's saying no to something she really does want...like Pepsi! So, our Miss Julia is a great communicator...and we are very thankful!

WALKS ALONE.....November 21, 2006

On Julia's website there is a milestones page. I created the page in November of 2003...right before Julia's 1st birthday. The last milestone listed is "Walks alone". Over the last 3 years we have watched Julia achieve one milestone after another. We rejoiced when she smiled, rolled over for the first time, pulled to stand, crawled and said her first word.

Yesterday I cried all day. Julia walked more than she crawled or scooted. She walked with no assistance whatsoever...no hand to hold, no walker, no support of any kind. She walked all over the house and over and around obstacles. She even navigated through a crowd of people after church service last night. It is only fair to point out that most of the people stopped dead in their tracks to watch her...it was amazing, and more than one tear was shed. So many people at The Rock Church love Julia and our family, and have supported and encouraged us unconditionally.

I was so overwhelmed to be given this gift the week of Thanksgiving. I feel that as of 11/21/06 Julia is officially WALKING! She has taken many independent steps before now, but never has she chosen to walk (without our encouragement)when she could crawl!!! Yay, Julia!!! Yay, Auntie Michelle!! (Julia's former PT who is still very invested in Julia's progress and has become a part of our family) Also, many thanks to Cheri who has taken over Julia's PT work in the last 2 months.

And most of all, thank you, Jesus! It's no mistake that the song we chose for the milestones page says "Count your blessings, name them one by one...count your blessings, see what God has done!!"

Too sweet for words...

Always sisters...always friends!

It has been such a long time since I posted on any of our blogs...life is insane for us during the summer! Hopefully, now that Ladies Retreat, Kidz Musical, C.O.D.E. conference and Senior Camp are over, I can get back on track! I wouldn't trade one activity! I am thankful for all that God allows us to do, and for my precious husband who, although he is not a believer himself, encourages us to be involved in many different activities.

Julia is making awesome progress in so many areas! To get the full picture, check out the June update on her website: Celebrating Julia!

Julia is now combining up to 3 VERBAL words in a sentence! Granted, they are word approximations, such as "mo" for "more", but we understand her, and she has finally "gotten" it...she can TALK to us! It is the neatest thing to hear her little voice say "Mo, mama, pease!" We do rejoice over this achievement ("We're so sorry, Mrs. Ezell...but Julia will most likely be non-verbal..."), and are also thankful that her signing vocabulary is now over 60 words, used consistently and appropriately! Thank you, Jesus!

Julia is becoming quite proficient in her walker...but the sweetest thing is when Olivia helps her steer! How blessed we are to have been given such a sacred trust...all seven of them!

The most wonderful friends on earth...

Adam, Trevor, Kirsten, Tim, Emily, Noah and McKenzie King

This is a picture of our wonderful friends the Kings! Tim, Kirsten and their children, Adam, Emily, Trevor, McKenzie and Noah are the dearest people in the world!

Tim and Kirsten have recently written a parenting book entitled "Helping Your Child Become". This is a timely and wise book that comes highly recommended to Christian parents everywhere. They also do Family Ministry conferences, retreats, revivals and seminars. Their children eximplify all the principles they teach, and I can say first hand that they are absolutely genuine people...no facades here!

The reason I post this on Julia's blog, is because they have been so integral in Julia's development from the first day, and love her as one of their own. (As they do all our children!)

We love the KING family!