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Sunday, September 26, 2010

Happy Birthday

This weekend we packed Colin and Maddie up and headed to the Durham fair on Friday afternoon to celebrate Colin's third birthday. Once there Colin insisted we had to head straight to the animals, specifically the cows. He lead us through each of the animal buildings informing us of his favorites and not so favorites. I took him on a carousel ride that he didn't like at all .. started screaming as soon is it started. But I don't blame him .. it was a VERY fast carousel (the picture below was taken before the ride started). Luckily the controller stopped and we were able to ride in a seated area. Next Colin and Daddy tried the giant slide per Colin's request. This didn't go over very well either .. he screamed and had a look of terror on his face as they came down the slide. We quickly removed ourselves from that area and grabbed some fair food and found a nice spot in front of the main stage where we were able to enjoy a country band for a while. The kids had a great time running, crawling and dancing around .. they wore Mommy and Daddy out!

I also celebrated my birthday this weekend with a nice lazy day on Sunday. The gift I asked for, seeing Colin and Maddie have fun on Friday, was the best birthday present a mother could ask for. I look forward to sharing many more birthday weekends with my son!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Enjoying Life

Our upfront apologizes for not updating the blog in weeks but we've been busy having fun! Please rest assured we will post immediately if we come across any speed bumps because it is all of you who give us strength :)

Last week Colin went in for his routine blood check and his counts are still in the good range so we've been taking advantage of this time and living life to it's fullest (well the fullest we can) by going to several parks, a couple outdoor parties and even a store (which was a little overwhelming with two kids and only one Mommy but we'll get the hang of it as we do it more often :) Here is what we've been up too over the past few weeks ...

Sail:
We were fortunate to be a guest on the Quinnipiac Scooner with some other cancer patients and family's. The sail was hosted by an organization called R.A.C.E. Great time was had by all and we met some more brave kids and amazing families. Thanks for the photos Jen!

Annual Clam Steam:
The Westbrook annual clam steam was another success and as our family's grow it becomes more interesting each year with the kids running around! Here is Colin cleaning the clams with Daddy.
Store Trip with Two:
Maddie is wondering why she has to share the cart now when this was a Mommy & Maddie chore in the past. Mr Colin on the other hand had a blast. As for Mommy .. let's such say I was pooped after!
Potty Training:
Colin has been busy using the bathroom and finding trees outside. We're very proud of him because within a few days of introducing undies he got the hang of it. But I have to say he's most proud when he finds a tree outside because he has to see how far it will go .. so darn cute (lol). Take note to the ad Colin's reading in the pic below ...

Parks:
We've had a lot of time to make up for so another weekly activity seems to be the park. Colin now has two favorite parks 1)Animal Park (Brooksvale) and 2)Slide Park (a big jungle gym here in town). Maddie loves the slide park too .. Colin taught her how to climb up the slide in no time (did I mention she's not walking yet but climbing up a slide - she's going to be our climber ... look out)!

Our First Football Game:
One Friday evening we packed the kids up and headed off to Cousin Frankie's high school football game. The kids had a blast .. Colin was in aww by the game and almost ran onto the field a couple of times. Miss Maddie cruised up and down the fence and kept us on our toes!

Annual Greening Get Together:
Last Saturday we packed the car and headed to up state NY for the annual Greening get together. The day was full of activities... corn maze, raspberry picking, polish horse shoes, great food, beer, awesome company and lots of laughs. The only thing that was missing was Nanny but we know you were looking down on us with a beer in hand! Wishes on Wheels Truck Convoy:
The wishes on wheels (Make a Wish) truck convoy was another huge success this year. Over 450 trucks convoying down Rte 84 with wish children and their families as passengers. Colin choose an Air Force Rescue truck that was pulling a mini airplane. We were the third truck in the convoy and lead the firetruck section. Colin sat in the front seat with Daddy and quickly mastered the sirens and lights. At the tail end of the ride Colin started exploring the CB's and found the loud speaker where he said hi to Nanny and Poppy as we passed. Our driver was great and gave us the low down on everything as it was happening. The ride was truly amazing and brought tears to my eyes a couple of times as I watched Colin wave to the people pulled over on the side of Rte 84 or standing on the bridges waving.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Counts Are Up!

Today Colin had his weekly visit and he quickly put on his game face when I told him we were going to put cream on his port. You see this means it's not just a blood draw from his arm but instead he gets accessed, blood is drawn from the port and they also administer the chemo. It amazes me how much he remembers and how he knows the difference at just three years old. Colin showed some anxiety after I put the cream on and was very clingy. Upon arrival, our volunteer friend quickly came to the rescue and swooped Maddie up so I could focus on Colin. Once again Maddie amazes me because she is happy bouncing from person to person and had a great time playing with the volunteer.

Even though Colin was experiencing some anxiety today he didn't flinch when he was accessed and didn't complain one bit during the chemo process. He was also distracted by his new friend the psychologist while they played a sponge bob matching game and built a tower.

The results are in and Colin's ANC is 1,000 which means he started all at home drugs again today including the ugly steroid. Grandma and Grandpa will be happy to hear the news because this means Colin will be able to go to the annual Westbrook clam steam this weekend!

We began potty training however because of the anxiety today we put on a diaper to go to clinic and I underestimated the diaper and we had an accident. So, Colin got a special pair of Dr pants today from one of the nurses!

This is a photo from last week ... Colin and Maddie having a tea party with the volunteer!