The Goodwins

It’s hard to believe that Ella will be a big sister soon! She’ll be three in April (can you believe it?).

Kirk and I are amazed everyday at the extraordinary addition she has been to our family, and we can’t wait to see what joy her new little brother will bring to us all!

I doubt Ella truly knows how her life is about to change… right now she’s all about hugging, kissing and raspberrying the baby in Mama’s tummy. She loves to listen to the “thumpa thumpa” (she taps her chest) on the heart monitor we rented, and she laughs whenever we ask her about her little brother. I wonder how she’ll do with crying, sharing, and stinky diapers that aren’t her own…?

So for all of you who love our family and are watching us grow, here is an image of Ella’s little brother from our recent 3D ultrasound. If you click on the image of our newest Goodwin it will get you a little bigger picture of the cute face that is about to join the world!

Sending love, smiles and blessings to all of you!

P.S. for those who haven’t yet heard or seen it for themselves, Ella is officially a walker - she’s all about doing it herself (no more need for mom and dad’s fingers!), and she is picking up the pace every day! I’m hoping to get some movies of her soon!

Kirk, Ella and I are getting ready to participate in our 2nd Buddy Walk on September 20th (supporting Down syndrome awareness) and we are hoping that many of you will be able to help us meet our fund raising goal of $3000.

The walk helps to raise funds for the Michiana Down Syndrome Family Support and Advocacy Group. This group welcomed our family when we moved to MI and their goal is to improve the lives of individuals with Down syndrome. They provide education, awareness, medical need assistance, and family support to families throughout Michiana and the surrounding areas.

Please take time to check out Ella’s donation website where you can donate with your credit cards, or Kirk and I are happy to accept cash and checks (made out to Michiana Buddy Walk).

We know that there a lot of charities out there asking for your money so please know that if all you can send us are your prayers that we thank you for those as well!

http://www.firstgiving.com/ellagoodwin

And of course, if you’d like to join us for the walk please do!

Here’s the schedule:

Event Schedule
We will walk rain or shine.
10:00 - 11:30 - Register and turn in your donations.
(T-shirt for each walker that raises $50- while supplies last)
10:00 - 11:30 Silent Auction Open
10:00 - 1:30 Vendor Tables Open
10:00 - 1:30 Fun & Activities with ND Athletes
12:00 Walk / Followed by Lunch
Entertainment
10:00 - 10:30 Dads Band
10:30 - 11:30 Leonardo
11:30 Speech / Slide Show
12:30 - 1:30 Leonardo

And here’s the directions to the Stepan Center (on Stepan Drive) on the Notre Dame Campus

Directions:

Go west on Douglas Road ½ block past roundabout turn South on Wilson Drive then west on Stepan Drive.  You can also find it through Google Maps. Or for those with a GPS the coordinates are 41.706270, -86.234349. A map can be found below.

View Larger Map

Just a quick update on Ella … our lives keep passing by and I can’t seem to get on the computer, so please forgive me for not getting this together sooner.

Ella had her eye surgery on August 14th and everything went very well - the doctor saw her the day after and was pleased with how straight her eyes looked. And, while sleeping in arm restraints and having drops & greasy gel put into her eyes made her extremely unhappy at first, she has been a trooper as usual and by the end was even allowing dad to put the medicine in without mom having to sit on her! We have finished all her meds and only have a couple days left of the arm restraints and we’ll be all done.

The procedure was called a bi-lateral medial rectus recession. It involved making an incision on the white part of her eyes - on the sides so there should be no visible scaring. From that point the doctor detached the muscles (nearest her nose) and re-attached them further back on the eye. They used dissolving sutures and she did not have any bandages or patches over her eyes when they were finished.

We have a follow up appointment at the end of September to check the true outcome of the surgery. In the meantime, she’ll continue to wear her current glasses prescription with the potential of outgrowing her far-sightedness (kids often do). However, there is a good chance that as she grows she will move into being near-sighted like dad, so she’ll probably continue needing glasses regardless, but we’ll see.

Thank you to everyone for all the supoprt you always provide to us!

I know we’ve fallen behind in our updates on Ella’s health and expander progress, but I have to say it’s been nice to sit back and enjoy life without really having anything to report.

Since the surgery to remove her forehead expander Ella has been healthy and happy! She’s even enjoying bath time again… they had become a screaming fest whenever we had to put water on her head! And as you can see from the pictures her “bubble” is really growing!

And Ella is growing up everyday too - she’s added the word “papa” to her vocabulary, as well as the sound of a bee. She’s getting really good at blowing bubbles (in the tub), and has even stood up in the middle of the room a few times - of course she avoids doing it on command so we haven’t gotten any video of it yet! But she’s still the same cutie who loves to peekaboo and make us all laugh!

Thank you to everyone for all the love and support that we always feel surrounding us.

This stinks!

I knew the tissue expander process was going to be hard to go through, but I just hate that Kirk and I have to make Ella so mad when we mess with her head… of course we know it is for her own good, but her tears and screams tell us that she doesn’t buy that.

We’ve decided that she needs another - even more fashionable (ha!) - haircut tonight. The sutures on her forehead are oozing some lovely goo. We think (hope) that it’s part of the original infection and that we’re still getting her cleaned out, but it’s getting all matted in with her hair every time she takes a nap or goes to bed. So tonight the clippers come out again and she looses even more hair so that we can keep her healthy.

Her smiles still warm our hearts, but the tears are killing us! Especially daddy as he is the bad guy more often than I am, and he’s not home all day to see the smiles and hear her belly laugh when dolly does something funny.

Maybe if we all shaved part of our heads I’d feel better.

hmmm… probably not.

Our hearts have been touched by the thoughtfulness of our friends here in St Joseph; always willing to lend a hand or an ear when we need it! Most recently Ella has been showered by fashionable head wear to carry her through the next few months of expander growth. She wore her first fabulous new look out to run errands with mom today, and got all kinds of compliments and smiles!

We thank God everyday for those who have helped to lift our spirits.

Ella is doing much better today! In fact I’ve been having trouble getting pictures as she’s moving around much more - makes everything come out blurry!

She was still a little puffy when she first got up, but she could actually open both eyes! And she’s looking better and better as the day goes on - yeah!

We’ve determined (we think) that she got a mild infection from the hole that was created on the side of her head from her glasses rubbing the tube that runs between her port and the actual expander. Something that could have been avoided if the tube had been placed elsewhere, but at least the infection is manageable and better than a problem that would require extra surgery!

Thank you to everyone for the love and prayers that you sent our way - it helped us to get through it all!

Hopefully Ella will now continue to mend!

We’ve completed our second injection into Ella’s tissue expanders… there were tears, we are all tired, and only one of us is sleeping peacefully.

We managed to get a partial nap in Ella on the way to Chicago, but it wasn’t enough. As soon as we walked into the back of the doctors office (away from the toys and other kids) she started to whimper a little, but she still smiled and charmed her nurse. When we started messing with her the screaming started… Ella is not a girl who cries often or for very long, and this was like a storm raging through the office. I think if Kirk wasn’t being strong for his girls he may have had a few tears too - he doesn’t like his job in this process. Hopefully when we start doing things at home next week we can fit it into Ella’s schedule a little better.

After the injections Ella buried herself on dad’s shoulder and occasionally looked up to sign bye-bye and/or car - she was ready to leave! She laughed at the Veggie Tales movie in the car and enjoyed mom and dad’s custard at Culver’s about half way home. A bath with dad, lots of books, and all is well. She is asleep, happy in her own bed.

Maybe Kirk and I will sleep peacefully when this is all over.

Today our little family was once again in Chicago and Ella is a little lighter in the head, missing her surgery hat and drainage tubes… however, she is also a little heavier as Kirk and the nurse injected her expanders with an additional 35ml of saline (15 in the front and 20 in the back). Her head is officially taking on a strange shape and the haircut from surgery isn’t quite in style - especially considering all the detangling that was required after 10 days under her surgery hat… dreadlocks are in right? But her smiles are still so beautiful!

Kirk and I are very thankful for our friend from church Karen, a nurse here in St Joe. She met us in Chicago with her husband and two sons in tow (they went to the zoo) to learn the injection procedure with us so that we’ll have a backup here in town. We have had so many blessings along the way and Karen has been added to that list!

Once again Ella was a trooper - she did cry, pretty hard, but I am attributing that more to the lack of a nap before the appointment than to any real discomfort. She was really mad about the numbing cream rubbed on the injection ports; maybe it was cold? But once the gel was in place she played happily for about 30 minutes while we waited for it to kick in and while the nurse was reviewing the procedures with us. And she did not cry during the actual injections so we know that she should do fine when we are on our own. Kirk was amazing to - he is an incredibly loving father and while it hurts his heart to push a needle into Ella’s head, he is strong and steady; instilling confidence and faith in both his girls!

When we came home I walked into our kitchen and smiled at the beautiful vase of flowers brought to me earlier by my friend Miss Barb (Ella’s part-time therapist, friend, and now babysitter - if she’ll come back after Ella’s afternoon of tears this week!) It lifted my spirits, and I needed that!

Ella did finally get a good nap on the way home and she ate a big dinner - bigger than she has all week! Maybe the medications upset her tummy? Or maybe it was just all her struggling to avoid taking them that messed with her appetite. But luckily now that the drainage tubes are out she no longer has to take them, and Kirk and I (mostly Kirk) no longer have to wake her at 1am to force them into her.

After dinner we took a short family walk and Ella laughed and smelled all the flowering bushes in our yard! She giggles when we laugh at her efforts to snort air in and out her nose! We shared some ice cream, and gave Ella a bath… at long last we have washed her hair! That made mom feel better too.

So now Ella is sleeping peacefully, and Kirk and I are relaxing together, happy knowing that all is well with our beautiful girl!

Every time I talk about exercise and getting “back in shape” my mom sighs and says “I wish you’d dance again.” And while that always sounded like fun, who really wants to pay for classes unless it’s leading somewhere. So Kirk and I finally caved in and joined the YMCA, and they actually have an adult jazz class that isn’t filled with college students and teenagers! So I signed up, and even got a new pair of dance sneakers as my jazz shoes were falling apart (and out of style after 17 years!) I’m really enjoying the movement of the class and my brain picks up on the steps as easily as I ever did, however, when I look in the mirror I have to wonder who that chunky, old(ish) woman is looking back at me. What happened to the girl who could eat anything and never gain a pound… darn my changing metabolism. I have to say my reflection yearns for the days when fitness came naturally and my diet consisted mainly of Mountain Dew (not diet) and a bag of barbeque chips as my roommate Lori and I road tripped to anywhere.