Chemo Day

On the way to clinic today Colin said "Mommy booboo port, no big whoop". This three year old is amazing, he doesn't appear to let anything bother him... well except getting accessed today but that was only for a split second until one of Colin's favorite nurses distracted him by giving Teddy medicine. After Colin gave Teddy his medicine he received his monthly IV chemo of vincristine. His counts continue to be in the target range with an ANC of 1,000 so we're gearing up for a fun filled Thanksgiving weekend!

Here are some photos from our visit with Auntie to Gozzi's Turkey Farm where they dye a few turkeys and let them play outside until Thanksgiving.

Colin's Blood Check & Maddie's 15 Month Checkup

Last week Colin had his routine blood check and his counts continue to be in the target range so we proceed with all meds and will return to clinic next week for his monthly IV chemo. We also received the results from the last spinal tap and we're happy to report there were NO leukemia cells found. We couldn't be more proud of the way Colin is fighting this awful disease.

On the Maddie front, she's growing up way to fast as we just had her 15 month check. The Dr is very happy with the way she's progressing especially how she managed to finally sleep through the night around the one year mark. She has a few favorite words . . doggie, aww done, nigh nigh (night night), ock (sock), all (ball) and memo (Elmo).

Here's how Maddie and Colin stack up at the 15 month mark ..

Maddie
Length: 31.5" - 75%
Weight: 25lb 8oz - 85%
Head:47.5cm - 85%

Colin
Length: 30 3/4" - 25%
Weight: 24lb 10.5oz - 50%
Head: 48.1cm - 75%

Thank you for checking in on us and hope everyone is enjoying the fall :)

Happy Birthday Gigi

On Sunday we celebrated Gigi's 60th birthday with a small family & friend dinner party. Many smiles and lots of laughs filled the room as we celebrated. The party was complete with the famous ice cream cake and the off key birthday song .. Greening style!

Gigi raised three wonderful kids (if I can say so myself) and is always there for our family. She has taught us to be strong, that it's okay to cry but most importantly she taught us how to love. As Mike and I raise our two children we practice these learnings every day and hope our children will value them as much as we do. We hope you enjoyed your birthday Gigi and we wish you a year of happiness ahead and of course another 60 years .. we love you!

Happy Halloween

This year Halloween was a lot of fun. The festivities began on Friday night when we packed the kids into the car and headed to cousin Frankie's football game. Both Coginchaug and Old Lyme were undefeated . The game was voted as the game of the week so the stands were packed. The game was action packed. However, as Colin was becoming uncomfortable with the steroid we made our way home during the first half.

On Saturday evening the kids had their first sleep over at GiGi and Papa's house since Colin was diagnosed. Colin and Maddie gave Gigi and Papa a run for their money with their TV, food, and activity requests while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed an over due night out shared with Auntie Courtney and Uncle Mike. The night was full of much needed laughs and love. Thank you Gigi and Papa for giving us the night off and to Court and Mike for giving us a reason to get out and have a good time. Love you all.

Mike starting preparing a large pot of stew early Sunday morning while the kids caught up on some sleep. Gigi, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Liesl, Cousin Frankie, Nanny, Poppy, Uncle Jack and Neven started gathering around 4:00. The kids entertained everyone with their costumes .. Colin was a train conductor and Maddie was a pumpkin. Colin had a great time playing with all the extras of the costume (a flash light, whistle and a wrench). Maddie was the cutest pumpkin and had all eyes on her when she tried to walk. She would take a couple of steps and plop down on the floor because the costume would get in her way. Too darn cute.

Rewind .. On Thursday Colin's playgroup had a little Halloween party where the kids dressed up. When I tried to get Colin to wear the train conductor costume he wanted nothing to do with it so he was the famous 'Dr. Colin' and Maddie sported her pink poodle outfit. This was a spur of the moment purchase when I ventured to BJ's with the two of them one day and Maddie went crazy over the costume. Now how do you say no to that??

We enjoyed visiting a few houses on the street, um probably a total of 5 until the cold started to get the better of us. So we quickly returned home to a house full of family and warmed up with Mike's famous beef stew.

Oh how one year can make a difference in the world of cancer when we reflect on how much we've learned and how much Colin has accomplished over this year. Thank you for continuing to follow our story and for the positive thoughts and prayers. It is all of you who give our family the strength needed as we continue on our journey