Life On Lisburn

September 10 was a big day for us.  Little Man had his CI's activated for the first time - there weren't huge smiles or giggles but there weren't tears or screams either! We saw a really positive response - I think I would classify it as curiosity.  The team at CHOP evaluated the surgical site and gave it two thumbs up - apparently Little Man heals well and having a nurse in the family (my mom- gran) isn't a bad thing either! She helped us to take care of the wounds and that sure made a big difference!  It's been nearly 1 month that he's been "hearing" and little man is doing amazing things in our eyes and the eyes of his therapists.  He's been showing off some new sounds, responding to sounds (alerting to them by quieting/stilling), watching our faces much more than ever before and even starting to chatter as soon as his CI's are placed on his head.  Yesterday, when I ran home for his developmental therapy he reached out his arms as soon a...

It's so hard to believe but little man had his surgery a week and a day ago.  It feels like it was yesterday and it also feels like it was forever ago.  The family is doing well - but let me share with you the past week. There are quite a few days & dates in my life that I don't think I'll ever forget May 21, 2005 (Married Jeremy Ellis) July 21, 2007 (Bought our first house) April 6, 2011 (Met our wonderful daughter Anna Christine) July 23, 2014 (Welcomed our incredible son James Lawson into the world) those are just a few - and August 8, 2014 is proving to be another one of those unforgettable dates.  Neither Jer nor I were really sleeping soundly that night.  We had tucked Anna in and told her that Gran would be taking her to school in the morning.  We tried explaining to her that we were taking Jamesey to the doctor - she was so sweet and just kissed him and told him to get better.  I think she and Jamesey were the only ones in the house w...

It's hard to believe that we have two more days and then it's Friday.  Friday - August 8 - the day that Jamesey undergoes Cochlear Implant surgery.  We are supposed to call on Thursday between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m to learn our arrival time.  Little Man can't have anything to eat after 11 p.m.  - tell me how do you explain that to a growing boy who can't hear you?  Not excited about that.  It sounds like they are trying to give us the earliest surgery time possible - but still --choosing to be thankful for early surgery times (whenever that may be).  Incredibly enough - the surgery is now designed as outpatient surgery.  For those of you who are curious about how a cochlear implant works I would encourage you to take a look at this video. It's put out by one of the cochlear implant manufacturers but I think it presents some helpful starter information.  If you're not faint of heart there are also videos of CI (Cochlear Implant) surge...

On Sunday we decided to make a trip over to Hershey Park and cool off at the water park.  Jer and Anna headed straight to the Reese's Cup ride to give that a whirl - proud to say our girl rocked the second highest score out of the four riders in the car (and no Jamesey and I weren't the other two in the car).  Little man and I headed on over to the Boardwalk to cool off and wait for them.  While we were there I was watching the crowd and had an unexpected encounter.  I noticed a girl who was sitting nearby and I was pretty sure that she had a cochlear implant.  Jamesey was asleep in the carrier   and so we ventured over to introduce ourselves.  We got to meet her mom and dad and learned that she was implanted at age 2.  She spoke so articulately - and is actually headed out to college in the fall and will be playing lacrosse! It was a wonderful encounter. The last couple of days have been such a mix of emotion as we face August 8 and Little Man'...

Wednesday was wonderful.  We celebrated the first anniversary of James' arrival into our lives - his birthday that is :) It was bittersweet - but mostly sweet.  There was a very real fear in my heart that it would be hard to celebrate knowing all that was behind us but looking at all that is before us overwhelmed it (in a good way). Little man thought that an early morning would be a good reminder - he was born at 5:52 am and wouldn't you know we were awake together yesterday morning at that time.  He's such a sweet little man - and his big sister loves him so tenderly (at least tenderly in her heart but she can be a little rough sometimes) - it's beautiful.  At Target on Tuesday Anna had decided she needed to pick out a birthday present and yesterday morning she gleefully shoved a green, squishy toy into his face and excitedly announced Happy Birthday. The pictures don't do it justice but I'll post those - needless to say - Jamesey wasn't nea...

One year ago we were a family of three - hours away from becoming a family of four.  We knew that little man was due any day - we had his name all picked out, his nursery ready (well the essentials were ready because it's hard to get everything ready with a busy two year old 'helping'), bags were packed and it was just a matter of when he would choose to arrive.  We knew life was about to change in a big way but really had no idea just what the next year would hold.   Many of you know the roller coaster that began soon after.  Our first day with little man was magical - love at first sight and even Anna adored him (let's be honest - who wouldn't love that cutie).  The next day was his newborn hearing screening.  When they gave the test the first time - he didn't pass.  They gave the test a second time - he still didn't pass.  We thought nothing of it and neither did the staff, they gave us a date and time to come back to the hospital for a ...