Hi everyone and thank you for coming back by to check on sis and our family.
I’m so happy that we have an update and prayer home again and can not wait to continue to share our lives with you 😊
Where do I even begin? Boy has so much been going on.
Well as you know Ceci just competed in the Miss You Can Do It pageant this past weekend and she had so much fun! This was her 6th year participating, and she is so proud to say she was crowned 2nd runner up!
For those of you that are not familiar with this amazing pageant let me explain a little. The Miss You Can Do It pageant is an amazing event for girls and women with special needs. This year was the 15th year for pageant and was held at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa.
The founder Miss Abbey Curran makes sure that each girl and woman that participates has a ton of fun and leaves with a crown, trophy and a goody box including a new Build a bear for a keepsake.
If you have not had an opportunity to see the Documentary that HBO did on the pageant years ago, you should definitely check it out! This is how Ceci and I learned about the pageant and it has had a special place in our lives ever since.
You can learn much more about the pageant at these sites below:
https://www.facebook.com/missyoucandoitpageant2017/
Ceci is already counting down the days until next year! A huge thank you again to our sweet friends that helped Ceci attend Pageant this year by sponsoring her pageant fee and to miss Cindy for always clearing her busy schedule to be right at Ceci’s side for all the preparations and fun and a big thanks to our friends that came out to cheer Ceci and the other girls on in the audience ❤
Goodness so much has happened since our last talk.
Well our girl is officially a teen! Yep that’s right. Ceci is no longer a baby girl. In May Ceci officially turned 13 years old and boy oh boy am I starting to see it LOL. She’s still my sweet, helpful girl but boy does she have a little bite now. And we have begun the “my mom is not cool stage”. I find myself actually having a little fun annoying her on purpose now :-p I mean all the things that use to be fun and cool aren’t anymore so I have to have a little fun right?! HEHEHE hopefully we get through these years without too many embarrassing mom moments.
Ceci’s little brother Aiden also had a birthday a few weeks before hers and he turned 7. Still can’t believe the little guys that I use to write to all of you about being pregnant with, are now 7 and 5. And the craziest part is Nicholas, Ceci’s littlest brother is turning 6 on August 16th. My baby is going to be 6! Wow does that seem crazy even writing that down. I’m getting old folks 😊
This year Ceci and Aiden had a combined Birthday Party. We rented the Eldridge Community Center and had a fun roller skating party. It was a private party at a heck of a deal and the kids enjoyed it so much.
LOL, at first it was almost comical because so many of these kiddos, including mine had no idea how to skate. So, the first hour was fall after fall but they all laughed about it, which was great!
Within an hour they were skating just fine and did not want to leave. It’s so crazy to me because when I was a kid this was the way we had fun. We skated at the local skating rink and skated the pavement when we were not racing the street on our bikes.
We were outside every summer day until the street lights came on and even then some nights we were busy playing flashlight tag while my mom and the rest of the neighbors sat on the front porch watching us. I miss those days and hopefully I can help my kiddos remember those are the kind of days you’ll remember. Not the days that you sat around and played on the computer and the xbox.
Anyway, needless to say their party was tons of fun and the kids like roller skating now 😊
Ceci came back from camp a few weeks ago and is still talking about how much fun it was. She went for one full week to Camp Independence in Volo, IL. It is an overnight camp for Children and Adults with Spina Bifida, so it is fully adaptive, and they are trained to take care of all the campers medical needs.
Each camper is assigned a counselor of their own to make sure the campers have loads of fun and the camp has 2 nurses on site along with a doctor. This was Ceci’s 5th year and she looks forward to many more summers there.
Between the Miss You Can Do It Pageant and Camp these are the 2 events that Ceci loves summer for.
With 13 comes Jr. high status. Our girl starts Jr. high in 9 days! My little girl is going to jr. high!!!! How did this happen hehehe.
We went to registration last week and we met several of the new staff members that will be working with Ceci and were also able to tour her new school and also a room that they have set up for her and another one of her friends private health needs.
They have made some wonderful modifications for these girls and it’s not only going to be a secure and safe place for their medical needs but will also serve as a great area for Physical therapy and anything else they may need. I’m very relieved that the school has been so accommodating and am very thankful that our concerns did not go to dead ears. It’s making me less worrisome for the big school switch. Our girl on the other hand has been cool and collective about the whole thing and says she is ready to see what’s ahead. I truly love her positive outlook about life. Love that girl!
Well guys I have so much more to share but I do not want to leave you with an entire book so I’ll be back later with more.
Thank you for continuing to be a part of our lives and for following Ceci’s new website. We are working on some things here and will be removing all ads soon along with adding more features 😊
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Also wanted to let you guys know you can also continue to like posts or pictures to let us know you guys are keeping up with us and comment as well.
We’ll be back real soon.
Lots of love and hugs,
Alexis and Cecilia Marie and family
~Spina Bifida Fighters and Survivor~
Ceci's Courage Crew & Family Too 