Ok - let's go all the way back to April. Lauren had her first 3 month scans and checkup since finishing treatment and everything came back fine. When we first got there she said it felt a liitle weird being in clinic without getting antibodies and that she missed it but once she spent time in the playroom coming and going as she pleased she admitted it was better. Also since we had had a three month break so her veins had a chance to rest and it was much easier getting an IV. She only needed to keep it in til after her PET scan the next morning so that made her a happier. She only had to be careful for one night and then had the freedom to do what she wanted. We had some fun strolling through Central Park, riding the carousel and going to the Pottery Place. Lauren's teachers - Miss Melanie and Miss Lisa - even came in one day to spend the afternoon with us.
We had Easter dinner at our house this year with Grandma, Gramdpa, Aunt Nean and Uncle Dylan. Lauren said the highlight of the day was getting to paint Grandpa's nails dark blue!
Lauren also had a trip to the pediatric dentist this month to have her first cavity filled. She was a little scared at first but the dentist was really nice - he took it slow and she was a real trooper. Which was a good thing because he found another cavity (actually two more but one was in a loose tooth) so that meant another visit. About an hour after we left from the second visit Lauren lost her first tooth. Boy was she excited. She couldn't wait for the tooth fairy to come! And she has since lost a second one. The dentist said she was a little bit early losing the teeth and isn't sure if it's just normal for her or due to all the chemo she's had. We do know that she's at greater risk for dental problems like cavities and short roots so who knows.
April was also the start of baseball season for Timmy. This was the first time he had played and he absolutely loved it. He was one of the strongest players on the team especially at bat. He had the honor of hitting the first (and I think only) homerun of the season in his second game. We were so proud of him! He was given the game ball which he dated and put up on his trophy shelf.
Now for the month of May which I swear felt like it went by in the blink of an eye. It seemed like we had something to do every single day. During the week it was either baseball practice, karate or dance and the weekends were filled with baseball games and first communions. Timmy's First Communion was on Sunday May 11 - Mother's Day. Our church does these a little different than others in that they're spread out over 4 or 5 weekends with only 6-8 kids receiving at each mass. Each child goes up one at a time with their family around them as they receive for the first time. It was really a beautiful service and afterwards we had a big party back at the house. Lauren had her long awaited dance recital at the end of May. Daddy, Timmy, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Nean, Uncle Dylan, Aunt Val, Jen and Miss Melanie all came to watch. Unfortunately we had horrendous thunderstorms that night so Grandma & PopPop, Aunt Eileen and Uncle RIch were unable to make it up. Lauren was so excited but also a little nervous when we first got there. I asked her why and she said - "Come on mom - I never danced on a stage in front of people before". I told her to pretend like we were at home where she's always putting on a show for anyone who'll watch. She put her hands on her hips and said - "But mom I just make that up as I do it - this time I'm supposed to do real steps!" By the time her first number came up she was fine and wound up having a blast. She was in two dance numbers - one tap and one ballet and she looked so cute in her costumes (a picture of her in the ballet outfit should be on the home page).
We also had two doctor checkups in May and got good reports from both. First was the eye doctor where we found out that Lauren needed a new prescription because she has gotten more farsighted. Dr Chen in not too concerned about this as long as her eyes are staying straight with the glasses - which thankfully they are. Whew! The second was with the orthopedic to see how her back is doing. Dr Reiger is happy that the scoliosis is stable and the kyphosis (forward curve) is actually slightly better. I guess the back strengthening exercises at PT for the past 2 years has really helped. He even moved us out to one year xrays/checkups.
Lauren also finished up preschool at the end of the month. She really had mixed feeling about this. On the one hand she was happy because it meant summer was coming and she was so anxious for everyone to open their pools so she could go swimming. On the pther hand she was sad because she would miss her teachers and friends. I told her we would visit Miss Melanie and Miss Lisa and that come September she would see some of her old classmates at kindergarten. Some days she still talks about it and says she's decided that she's going back to preschool instead of kindergarten.
June followed much the same with baseball, karate, end of school events/parties for Tim and lots of birthday parties. Of course one of those birthdays was Lauren's. She turned 5 on June 10th. Since all of our families had recently been up for TImmy's communion and then Lauren's dance recital we didn't do our yearly family BBQ party this year - just a kids party. Lauren and 12 of her friends went to a new place in town where they did crafts, danced to music and played games. They got to paint, run wild, get loud and sweaty, expend tons of energy - and I didn't have to clean up - what more could you ask for! Lauren and I went into the city for a day to visit with some friends that were in from Utah for scans/checkups. Lauren loves seeing Courtney and Karen especially since Courtney shares her love of the pizza place down the block from RMH. And even though it rained most of the day we still had a great time.
Another highlight for June was a new addition to our family - Lauren finally got her puppy! Her name is Angel and she is a mix (probably Shep/Terrier but we're not sure). She's now about 12 weeks old and a little ball of energy. We found her at the Port Jervis Humane Society. We had been going there on and off for about 2 months checking for puppies without much luck. Then one day they called and asked if I could tech in surgery for a day. I said sure and what do you know - she was on the list to be spayed that day. She had come in as a stray a few days before (at only 6 weeks old!) Well I took Lauren back the next day to meet her and after 2 hours of playing the three of us went home. The boys were really surprised when we got home not to mention our 3 cats! Now I really had no intention of bringing her home that day so I had nothing ready in the house. I grabbed some food and a cage from the shelter to get us through the night then quick went shopping the next morning. Over the next few days everyone stopped by to meet her. Grandma took Lauren shopping for a leash and collar and Aunt Nean took her shopping for puppy toys (because Lauren said Aunt Nean knows best about dog toys!) Then the next week Angel went to spend 4 days with Grandma and Grandpa while Bill, the kids and I went down to Grandma and PopPop's house for the July 4th weekend and cousin Roe's wedding. The weekend was really hot and the kids spent a lot of time in Aunt Eileen's pool. We hung out at the pool all day on the 4th then took the kids (and Melissa) to watch some fireworks. We all went to the wedding on Saturday night and it was one of the most fun wedding's I've been too. It was like a big picnic in Roe's backyard complete with a big roasted pig and a canoe filled with drinks. We were all dressed in Hawaiian attire (very comfy!). The kids played volleyball and badminton, with beachballs and bubbles and sparklers. We all had a great time especially Tim who thought it was great that the wedding and the reception were held at the same place (hey - the food's all right there!). We relaxed at the pool again the next day then headed home. The kids and I went up to Grandma's on Monday to pick up Angel - who even though she loved her little vacation and Grandma/Grandpa - was so excited to see the kids and to come home. The cats on the other hand had wished she stayed there.
So now we're into July settling into a routine (I swear it's like having a baby in the house again - I'm sleep deprived!) and enjoying the summer. Both kids joined gymnsatics for the summer. They go once a week and really love it. Tim still has karate twice a week and Lauren PT once a week. Tim also did a week of Mad Science camp in which he built a working robot. Right before Lauren and I went back to the city for her 3 month checkup she went on a mini vacation to Aunt Eileen's house for 3 days. She had such a blast. Melissa and Frank took her to the boardwalk one night to go on rides and play games. At night Lauren and Aunt Eileen camped out in a tent in the backyard, eating popcorn and watching movies. By day they worked in the garden and spent hours in the pool. Then on Saturday they went up to a lake in PA with Grandma and spent the night with Grandma's sisters Aunt Dee (who was visiting from CA) and Aunt Peggy and Uncle Tom.
After they brought her home on Sunday we headed into the city for scans/checkups. Everything came back fine once again and she is still NED (No Evidence of Disease) Yeah! Dr Kushner was so happy to see her and said she looks fantastic. Everyone commented on how big she's getting and how long (and curly) her hair is. She had a checkup with the late effects team this time and everything looks good there too. They do want her to have another hearing test when we go back in Oct just to make sure everything is still ok there. We also went over to NYU for her to have a Neuropsych evaluation which looks to see if there may be any issues with learning and school. We already know she has an issue with attention (which I found out is not uncommon for these kids) but I won't have any results for a few weeks.
We only stayed at RMH til Thursday this time and were in clinic every day so the time went pretty quick. I think Bill actually had a rougher time than we did this time because while we were away he had to take care of the puppy and Timmy. To back up for a minute - Saturday night, the night before we left to go to RMH TImmy fell off the swing in the backyard and fractured his wrist. He broke and displaced both bones so we spent 3+ hours in the ER that night while they set and temporarily casted his arm. Because he also displaced the bones they couldn't put a permanent cast on because they knew it was going to swell. So he came home with a half plaster splint wrapped in ace bandages and in a sling with strict instructions that he had to be a couch potato for the next 10 days. I felt so bad for him - he hurt so bad. But after about 3 -4 days of Tylenol w/ Codeine the pain went away. The Tuesday after I got back we went and got his "hard" cast (up past his elbow) put on. He was hoping for a "swim" cast but because of the displacement the doctor said he had to use plaster under the fiberglass so he could mold it better to the wrist so the bones would stay in place. He had to quit gymnastics and take 8 weeks off from karate. He can't swim or do anything real active. The doctor warned him if he does too much the bones could move even with the cast on. Tim has been a real trooper about it though. In another 10 days we go back in to change to a shorter "wrist" cast and the doctor promised him - as long as things look good - a waterproof cast this time so at least he should be able to swim. He should be out of the cast during the first week of school though he can't go back to sports or do gym or recess for 2 weeks after that.
The first weekend in August we took a trip down to my cousin Donna's house for a sort of family reunion (my dad's side - his brother) my parents and Aunt Nean came down too. It was really great to see everyone as we had not seen them all in about 2 years. Timmy and Lauren were the oldest of the 6 cousins (soon to be 7) and really had a good time. We all made a promise to stay in touch and get together every few months. Since Donna & John live only about 10 minutes from PopPop and Grandma's house we were able to sneak in a short overnight visit with them. When we left to come home on Sunday we left TImmy behind for his mini vacation with Uncle Rich. We weren't expecting it to be then so I hadn't packed anything extra for Timmy but Rich found himself with a few unexpected days off. Timmy was very excited and couldn't care less that he didn't have any extra clothes - besides they told me "we're going to camp out and do guy things - who needs clean clothes!" So after many warnings about the arm and cast (not sure who got more warnings afterall sometimes I don't know who's the bigger kid) we left Tim in Uncle Rich's care til Thursday night when Bill picked him up after work. Of course TIm had a blast - he so loves spending quality time with Uncle Rich.
The NJ State Fair (aka Sussex County Farm & Horse Show), which is 10 minutes from us, was on last week so Lauren and I went over on Tuesday for Kids Day. We met up with the Gratales, the Roccos and the Arnolds and spent a few hours walking around. Then the kids and I went back on Friday to watch Jen and Devon show their cows. After the show we went over to the midway and did some rides and games. Thanksfully the rain held off and we were able to walk around for a while. Tim was a little upset because he couldn't do many of the rides but Lauren had a great time going into every fun house she could find.
Whew! - I think that brings us up to the present. It's hard to believe that school starts in just over 3 weeks. Both kids are getting excited. We should know by next week who their teachers are. I have a meeting with the child study team for Lauren next week so we'll see what that brings. We had all of her evaluations (speech/OT/PT) over the past few months and it seems that she is not eligible to receive PT & OT in the school. Her therapist now is not too happy about that and after talking about it we've decided to try and stop PT in Morristown once school starts. We both think it will be too much being an hour away. Karen will give me a list of things to watch for with Lauren and we'll take it a step at a time. I have to admit I'm much more anxious about Lauren starting school than I was with Timmy. Ahhhh I'm sure everything will be fine.
And on that note I'll close this long, long update! As always - thanks so much for sticking around with us - for keeping at me to get updates done and most of all - for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!
