EMMA!

Carson said Emma tonight! He normally calls her Sissy. So cute. It was clear as a bell. He pointed right at her and yelled, "EMMA!"

He's picking up SO much lately. He repeats pretty much everything we say. We've been going through his "Look and Find" books a lot lately. He has a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse one and Elmo. After just a few times, he can point out different characters and objects. I'm not surprised w/ Mickey Mouse, but we don't watch much Sesame Street and he knows all the characters now. He points out all the dogs, balloons, cars, etc. He just amazes me. :) I tried to post a few videos last week but Blogger isn't very video-friendly. I'll have to try again soon. I've been trying to take more videos lately so I can capture all of these stages!

Emma update

We had Emma's normal blood test (one week after chemo) done yesterday. I am not even going to get into the story of actually getting it drawn because I'm still pissed off. But we were finally able to get it done and the nice people at Meadowbrook (no, not our normal vet) kept the office open for us while we waited for the results. Well, unfortunately, it came back that her white blood count is extremely low. :( I guess adjusting the dosage of the CCNU didn't work. Jenny had explained last time that, with each treatment, it will take longer to bounce back and it won't back bounce as high. But we were all hoping that with the adjustment, she'd be fine. I guess it's still not cause for alarm. I haven't had a chance to speak with anyone at U of I yet. Hopefully Monday. But it's just discouraging for sure. Our local vet put her back on the antibiotic that she was on last time. Hopefully, it will work again and pull the numbers back up. She hasn't been as lethargic as she was last time they were low. She seems to be feeling fine. I just worry that we're beginning to near the end....not immediate of course, but closer. We'll see what they say at U of I. We just want her to be comfortable and happy. Cuddles and belly-rubs are the prescription for this weekend! :)

Emma's Famous!

Emma's picture was in the Pekin Daily Times on Thursday (3/24/11). Here she is.....

I don't know if I blogged about it before or not, but the very first day we were in Champaign, we met a couple from Peoria in the waiting room. They were there with their dog Sammy. He was a beautiful golden. We noticed that his back leg was shaved. His mom started crying as she told us that Sammy had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and that he would need to have his leg amputated. Even with that and chemo, they might only get a year with him. Lucas and I even discussed at lunch that day how sad we were for them and awful that would be. We felt grateful and lucky that we were just there for a orthopedic consultation. Anyway, as we were talking to them, they said something about Sammy's brother Sosa. We realized then that we'd actually met them before! Lakeview pool used to have the Pooch Plunge on the last day of the season. We met Sammy and Sosa there a few years ago. They were fantastic swimmers and just loved the water. Our beautiful golden, on the other hand, was not fond of the water at all. Sosa had to go fetch her ball from the other side of the pool when she wouldn't go in after it. :) We remembered them mainly because of their names (they're obviously also Cubs fans). Anyway, weeks later, Brooke pointed out an article in the Pekin newspaper about Sammy and Sosa and their deep bond to one another. The article was written by Sosa's mom, Amy, who's an editor at the paper. Her parents are the ones we met in Champaign, Sammy's parents. :) I ended up emailing her just to tell her how much I enjoyed the story and how we'd met her parents and Sammy. I'd wondered how Sammy's surgery had gone and was grateful for an update on him. Well, we've emailed back and forth since then, keeping each other updated on the "kids". (I'm happy to report that Sammy's enjoying several weeks in Florida and is finishing up chemo. They're starting him on an alternative drug protocol as soon as he's done). Amy's kept me updated on new/experimental things to try. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to sustain Emma's remission long enough to try anything like that. But I hope it works for Sammy! It's been nice talking to someone who understands the bond we have with Emma. I know that most people don't. Almost all of our friends have been so supportive though, even if they probably think we're crazy. :) Long story short - Amy and I have exchanged pics of the "kids" a couple of times. She emailed me this week to see if she could run Emma's picture in the paper. They were having a segment on pets. So here she is. :) Emma's famous.

18 Mo. Checkup

Carson had his 18-mo. checkup yesterday. Dr. said he looks good! He's doing all the things (and more) that a typical 18-mo. old should be doing. He said he's definitely still big, but he's totally proportionate, so he's not concerned at all. He's just probably going to be tall. He should start thinning out more as he continues to grow. He already has, in my opinion. He's definitely lost most of that belly. :) He appears to be very healthy and that's all we can ask for. :) He had to get two shots. :( He was a trooper but cried pretty hard when they went in. He settled down as soon as I picked him up. He has this "hurt" face lately that just breaks my heart. Not a physical pain, but like his feelings are hurt. That's the look he had during the shots. He looked at me like "why would they DO that to me mommy??" Such a precious little boy.

Stats:
Weight - 30 lbs. 10 oz. (94%)
Height - 34.75 in. (97%)
Head - 49.5 cm. (90%)

Next appointment isn't until his 2nd birthday! Wow. :)

Easter Pics

We got the pictures from daycare of Carson with the Easter bunny! Looks like it went as expected based on the first picture. So cute though. He recovered nicely for the second. :)


What a difference a year makes......remember this?

18 Months!

Carson is 18 months old today! Can't believe a year and a half has flown by already.

He wanted nothing to do with Mr. Elephant tonight. Every time I set it next to him, he threw it down and laughed. :)

Chemo

We heard back from the vet early last week that Emma's white blood count had returned to normal. Yay! So we were able to go to Champaign Friday for another treatment. She did so well. Jenny said that they were very pleased with how well she responded to the new treatment. All of her lymph nodes have decreased dramatically in size since our last visit. One lymph node in her neck remains mildly enlarged so they consider her to be in partial remission. They backed off the dose a bit from last time in hopes that her white blood count won't drop as low. Her liver panel showed mildly elevated results so we're going to stop the steroids for now. Otherwise, they said she was bright and alert and responding well. :) We'll go back in 3 weeks.

Here's Em on the way down. :)

And after, enjoying a well-deserved treat.
She's been doing great this weekend. Hopefully it keeps up!

Spirit Week

As I already mentioned, last week was Spirit Week at daycare. Monday was Hat Day. Here's the rest of the week. :)

Mismatch Day

St. Patrick's Day


Crazy Hair Day
Notice the pink eye above as well. :( It's now in both eyes. We started drops on Friday and it looks like they're starting to clear up a bit now.

Wednesday was Favorite Team Day. It was also Easter Bunny pictures so we opted for a polo vs. sports tee. No pics yet. :) I'm curious to see how he reacted to the giant bunny. Hopefully, it was better than Santa!

Hat Day!

This week is spirit week at daycare. Today was hat day! :)

Look at that face!


I know, he looks like he's 3 in the last one! Ha!

Tomorrow's mismatch day!

Emma update

We got a call last week from our vet. Our oncologist had called him to let him know that Emma's white blood count was low. Jenny had warned us that with this kind of chemo, sometimes the WBC had a harder time rebounding. But we were under the impression that it happened more often after a couple of treatments. It was disheartening to have it happen after her first. :( They started her on some medicine to see if it would help bring it up. She got her blood drawn again on Thursday so we'll see what it says. She's supposed to go for her next chemo treatment on Friday. If it doesn't come up, I don't know that they be able to give her another treatment. The hard reality is sinking in that we're not going to have much time left with her.

It's really hard to think about, but we at least briefly discussed "the end" with our vet. He now makes house calls. He assured us that he could come to the house when it's time. That's very comforting to me to know that she'll be with us at home and not in some tiny, cold exam room. She'll be on her pillow and surrounded by her favorite toys, etc. She's been such a huge, wonderful part of our lives and I only hope that she's had a wonderful life with us as well.

We're not giving up yet though. We'll see how this week goes and plan on another trip to Champaign! :)

Melmo!

"Melmo? Melmo? Melmo!" That's what we hear around the house these days! Carson has been watching Elmo at school. :) He's recently discovered that Elmo is on his diapers and toothpaste at home. He seems thrilled by this. Almost as thrilled as Mickey (or monkeys) on his pajamas! It's so adorable to hear him talk more. I love it! Of course, he still calls himself "mama" and all of his "m" words kind of sound the same, but that's okay. Lol.

I haven't posted in a while. Figured it was time for an update on the little man though. I'm supposed to be working right now (don't worry, I'm at home), but.......I'm sometimes a bit of a procrastinator! :) Anyway, as it's been awhile, this post is probably going to be a bit random as I try to recall all that he's been up to lately. This is my baby book after all, so I need to get all of those random "milestones". Someday (I promise), I will be a good mom and go back and fill out his baby book completely! At least I have this to look back on. It's just crazy how time passes so quickly and he changes so much! It's hard to get it all down. I'm too busy soaking it up.

Like I said, he's talking more and more. It's pretty amazing to us to hear him. I think daycare has really helped a lot, being around so many other kids - I'm often surprised at some of the things he knows! A couple of weeks ago, I asked him if he wanted some more milk and he nodded and said "more". But I noticed that he also did something with his hands. I asked him again to see if he'd do it again.....and sure enough, he also signed "more". I couldn't believe it. Apparently, they do signing as part of their "circle time" at school. Since then, he's signed several things to me! So cute. What I like though, is that he also says it along w/ signing. He can sign "thank you", "hat" and "all done". Pretty cute. He also now knows all of his body parts. We started just w/ belly, nose and toes, but he's got them all down now. Last night, he even showed me heart. We were reading and saw a picture of a heart. When I said it, he patted his chest twice and said "boom, boom". How cute is that?! I'm just so proud of him learning so much. I'm just fascinated every time he says something new. :) I just love him to pieces! I was just thinking the other day about how I miss him being a baby... but this stage is so much FUN. It's hard to miss it too much.

I can't wait for warmer weather so we can get out and do more together. I'm definitely looking forward to it now that he's older. We at least made it out this weekend for our first walk of the year. I think it helped Emma being able to get outside a little bit. And Carson was more than overjoyed when we pulled his wagon out! We also went to the store this weekend. I know, very exciting. But the reason I share the story is because Lucas and I cracked up as we walked by the produce section. We went by all the onions, apples, oranges, etc. and our precious 18-mo. old screamed "ball, ball, ball, BALL!!" Love it. We laughed so hard.

Okay, so what else have we been up to over the last couple of months??

Discovering love of ketchup!
Surviving first blizzard!

After we dug out....
Helping Daddy clean the kitchen floor
Helping Mommy open her birthday card
Getting a delivery from Old Navy
Hanging out in the "toy chest"
Chasing down the vacuum (one of his favorite things)
Being adorable :)

Trading in our highchair for a booster seat!
Saying "cheese"

Being a big boy
Taking care of Emma ("Sissy")
Dancing

Going blind from Mommy's flash (but look at those eyes :) )
Guess that's about it for now. :)