It's been a long time

So, this blog has always had a lot to do with the adventure of raising Ellie, and as she outgrew her toddler antics the purpose of the blog slowly faded into oblivion. However, a year ago, Ellie decided to give us a run for our money once again. She started having seizures last January, and we have been on a bit of a roller coaster ever since. In December we finally made some progress with her meds, and she has been much more stable emotionally and physically. However, some of her meds make her extremely loopy at night when she takes them. It is like she is coming out of anesthesia every day. SO FUNNY! So I decided it might be fun to record a few of the highlights of the last few months here.

One night I walked into Ellie's room to find her stuffing her face with Snickers candy bars. She probably had about four of the bite-sized candy bars in her mouth when I found her. I asked her what she was doing, and she told me with tears streaming down her face and her her mouth stuffed with chocolate, "I HATE THESE. But they are mine, so I have to eat them!" When I told her that she didn't have to eat them she insisted that she did, so I told her that she had actually given the candy to me, so she really didn't have to eat it.
When I told her the candy was mine, she looked at me with a panic-stricken face and began spitting all of the chocolate out into her hand to offer it to me. I gave her the garbage can, wiped her hands and took away the rest of the chocolate. Fortunately, when she is in her loopy state, Ellie is VERY easily distracted, so to distract her I asked her if she liked gummy bears.
She responded, "Gummy Bears?! I love Gummy Bears!" And she began to sing the "Gummy Bears" theme song while bouncing on her bed.

Another night, after visiting the planetarium, Ellie got a little bit confused. Greg used to work for Northrop Grumman, and when Ellie was little she enjoyed watching Cyberchase, a children's show that aired on PBS. Cyberchase was sponsored by Northrop Grumman, and the movie we watched at the planetarium also happened to be sponsored by Northrop Grumman. When we got home, she asked me, "Did you know that the movie we watched was by Cyberchase? And Dad used to work for Cyberchase?"
"He did?" I asked.
"Yes! He helped to defeat the Hacker!" (a cartoon villain on the show).

If Ellie happens to cough while she is loopy she always asks, "Am I dying?" and when I assure her she isn't she is always visibly relieved.

In the years since I have written on the blog, we acquired a dog named Izzy. Ellie loves the dog, and when she is on her meds she sometimes thinks that she is a dog. She will sometimes bark, but rather than 'barking' she will say the word "bark" two or three times before deciding that it takes too much energy. Then she will sniff like a dog and burrow in her blankets.

Ellie is also extremely loving while she is on her meds. She will regularly tell all of us (in a whiny, almost crying voice) "Did you know that I love you so much? You are the best (mom/dad/sister) I have ever had!"

We have a few audio and video recordings of Ellie as well, and I'll try to remember to post them here as well. They are very entertaining.