The Kids Fishing Tournament

Like father, like son
Cade loved this tournament. He started out with this fish that measured 6 inches.

Then graduated to this 12 1/2 inch red fish.

Then added 13 more fish to that for a total of 15 FISH and won this FIRST PLACE TROPHY! He was SOOOOO proud!

First Day of Preschool (Take 2)

As we drove to clinic yesterday, I was totally holding my breath. I was having flashbacks of our visit two weeks ago and trying to figure out how to deal with the beginning signs of a tantrum should they resurface! Our appt. was in the afternoon, so Cade was with us. I'm not sure if it was that she was feeling better, the fact that she had to "show off" for Cade, she had a full belly vs. and empty one last time, or just that last time was a fluke, BUT...she did great! Much better! And her ANC was up to 1024 which means her immune system is strong enough to resurface from the bubble and be out and about again. She returned to school today! Had a great day! She had a ball with a little mystery girl in a green skirt and white sandals (of course Cora would take note of the outfit but not the name) and she's started ballet! (Which by the way if you've never had the chance to watch 3 and 4 year old girls do ballet, you need to. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen!)

In addition Cade brought home a progress report from school that confirms that he's the smartest kindergartener in the world (at least we think so!). So all is well...we're not sure how long it will last, but we sure are enjoying it for now!

The Leukemia Cup Regatta

Next Saturday (September 19th) Cora will be the Honored Hero for the Leukemia Cup Regatta. Come join us for a day of fun. There are events all week long. For a complete list of events visit www.lls.org/ga/regatta . Some of the events we are looking most forward to are The Regatta boat race at 11:00, the kids fishing tournament at 3:00, and the luau at 6:00. Let's hope our little hero is ready for this fun LONG day! Please come by if you're local. The Leukemia Lymphoma Society is a great organization for which we are super thankful!

to wear or not to wear?

This outfit may be illegal in some states!

Mama's role

Here's the scene...Cora is playing Little Mermaid

cora: mama, i need you to play little mermaid with me.
who do you want to be?

mama: i'll be prince eric

cora: you can't be prince eric because he's a boy and you have to be a girl. Because see your hair, you're a girl. you have to be ursula (the mean sea witch), she's a girl

mama: but ursula is mean. i don't want to be someone mean. (i know, i was asking for it!)

cora : (very nonchalantly as she shrugs her shoulders as to say, tough luck!)
well, sometimes you don't let me eat when I want to (steroid week) and I have to beg and beg and beg and so....you have to be ursula

I'm no moron, if i read between the lines I can get exactly what she was trying to tell me!

cade rides

As I think I've mentioned before Cade has been practicing his bike with no training wheels for months to no avail. He was just too scared so we put the training wheels back on. Yesterday he started riding like a lightening bolt with training wheels and when daddy got home Cade said, "I can do it now, take them off!" So daddy did and I just happened to grab the camera and capture his first try on tape! I'm so proud! PLEASE turn your volume WAY DOWN so that you don't hear the crazy mama that was way too loud! It sounds like I'm crying, but despite the pregnancy hormones, I wasn't. I always sound awful on video!!!

Clinic Visit + School

Well...Today was a big day for Cora. It was her first day of preschool and also she was scheduled at 10:30 for a lumbar puncture and chemo at the clinic. I really hated for her to miss her first day of preschool so I took her for one hour. She had so much fun. She loves her teachers and wasn't ready to go yet when I arrived to pick her up. Little did I know what was about to come. Sometime over the course of the last few months Cora has apparently decided she is D-O-N-E with clinic and treatment and all that goes with it. Pretty much upon entry she began to throw THE LARGEST TANTRUM IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD! I'll spare you the details because I'm not sure I can stand to relive it, but it lasted about 45 minutes complete with throwing up and hyperventilating. She was absolutely inconsolable and it only ended with sedation! Yes...it was that big that they went ahead and sedated her as quickly as they could (not before mama reached the point of tears). Her hemoglobin and platelets were normal, but her white count was low which made her ANC around 650. During the maintenance phase of chemo the doctors like to keep it around 1500. So Dr. G reduced her dosage of nightly oral meds and wants to check her again in 2 weeks.

So...today was her first day of school and her last for at least 2 weeks. We're really bummed that she can't start school and ballet as planned. She was so excited for both, but we know she needs a strong enough immune system to keep her well. We're hoping a low white count can also be credited as the cause for some of this extreme grumpiness lately. As her mom I am forever struggling with how to be the best, compassionate, yet firm mom to her in these moments of complete insanity. I am once again reminded of how lucky we are to have her and have her on the road to wellness. Please pray for her counts as her little body tries to find a way to adjust itself to all the medication she takes (and my sanity in the meantime). We are back to CONTINUAL handwashing, steroids, and the degerming routine upon Cade's arrival from school.

Today just basically reminded me exactly why we are raising $$ this month for CURE, because WE HATE LEUKEMIA! We can't wait until the day when there's a vaccine against it or an oral dosage of something to cure it or some sort of quick treatment! We'll fight it if we have to, but we'll also continue to work for a CURE so that others don't have to!