Busy

Life is busy lately. I have not found the time nor the motivation to keep up with the blog very well. I guess that can be viewed as a good thing; not much to report. Riley did have her 18 month checkup yesterday and she weighed in at 24 pounds. Awesome! This puts her in about the 40th percentile, I think. She had one shot and I think she is suffering from a reaction to it today. She is super tired and cranky. I think she may also be running a slight fever. It is a total bummer since we were going to head over to the beach today with some friends. It has been beyond hot here the past few days and we are melting. Thankfully it is supposed to start cooling down tomorrow otherwise I was going to hang out all day at Yogurtland and eat enormous amounts of toasted coconut frozen yogurt.

Here are some pics from the last couple of days...

Playgroup Friends

Beyond Grateful

There are certain days when I am overwhelmed with an intense feeling of gratitude. Today is one of those days that I stare at my miracle baby and am so thankful she is well. I am thankful that an MRI was ordered before an unnecessary surgery, that she was transferred to an amazing hospital the very day we found out she had a brain tumor, that we were given an amazing neurosurgeon, as well as his fabulous team, to perform her surgery, her surgery was a success, the tumor was low-grade, no further treatment was needed, all of her symptoms in regards to the tumor disappeared after she recovered, and she is now happy and medication-free. Wow! I am so aware of how Jesus took care of us through this process.

I am also well aware of how my lovely Avery took on the burden of a sick sissy so beautifully. She had some rough times, but considering she was away from mommy and daddy for 17 days I do not blame her one bit. She is such a trooper and has such a strong spirit. She is a protector and feels so deeply for others.

As I have been hearing and reading more sad stories of families who are in situations that do not produce a good outcome, I am even more thankful Riley is growing and doing well.

I will always have a special place in my heart for the patients and staff at LPCH.

Thank you to all those who prayed and gave to our family during our time in the hospital. We love and appreciate each of you.

Easter

On Saturday we went to one of many local parks where our church was hosting Hunt, a large Easter egg hunt for the community. The girls had a ton of fun. Avery was very selective about what she wanted to pick up and searched out 2 golden eggs (to be redeemed for prizes). Riley did great at picking up eggs and placing them in her basket. It was a beautiful day.

My dear friends Molly and Heidi


After Hunt, we went back home and had our own search for eggs in the backyard. Avery especially had fun searching high and low for eggs Jaron, my dad, and uncle had hidden for her. The girls got fun baskets from my parents filled with lots of fun items. We enjoyed a fun afternoon together and then dinner out. Yum!

On Easter Sunday we headed up to Pittsburg for some time with Jaron's family. His dad's company put together 2 great baskets for the girls. It was filled with so many fun things, clothes, bubbles, coloring books, stickers, candy, books, etc.. We had lunch together and then had a wonderful visit.

Ballet

Avery started ballet class last week. The class was a gift from my uncle Scott for her birthday. I found a class at a community center and signed her up for he 8 week session. She made it through about 10 minutes before crying and saying she was too tired. I was able to convince her to go back and try some more. She lasted another 15 minutes or so and then was in meltdown mode. I should have been more prepared for this as this is how she typically reacts to new situations. She takes a long time to warm up and feel comfortable. We got a ballet dvd from the library so she can practice some of the techniques and I have been talking with her about it a lot so hopefully she will feel more comfortable at the next class. But, after we got home from class, it was all she could talk about so I know she is interested and excited about it, just a little frightened because it is something new.

Cereal

Avery with her cereal bowl (almost 2 years old)

Riley with her cereal bowl (18 months)

Dirtcakes and Pizza

Stealing the schedule

Today is a new day. Today is the day I stop eating everything in sight, particularly frozen yogurt, cheesecake, pretty much all sweets in general. I think, actually I know, that my eating has been out of control since mid-February when Riley went into the hospital. We were blessed with a ton of food brought by a ton of people most of which included some kind of treat in the mix. I also had a Starbucks white mocha almost every day Riley was in the hospital. I literally gained 8 pounds. My clothes are a bit snug and I feel like it is time to put things back in order.

My friend Charlie made a schedule of sorts for her two kiddos to see what the week would look like for them. I stole the idea, thanks Charlie!, and now it is in print so Avery can help me be accountable as well. I included daily activities such as watering the garden, a walk, and playing on the swing set, and weekly activities such as Avery's ballet class, church, and a trip to the library.

I am also writing down everything I eat. I did Weight Watchers for a few months after Riley was born and used their online program to keep track of everything. It worked so well for me to see it all in writing. I am not going to sign up again, but I am going to keep a journal.

I worked out this morning, walked to the Library, and have written down everything today and I already feel so good. I feel happy. It feels great to have some control again and feel like a good mother by focusing on both of my kids rather than stressing over throw up and brain tumors.

So, I am not depriving myself, but am not indulging in everything. So, if you see me with a treat in one hand a Starbucks in the other swat them to the floor and give me the stink eye.

SF Zoo

MB Aquarium

Tuesday was the final day before our aquarium passes ran out so we had to take advantage. Luckily, the weather was gorgeous! The girls had a great time. Avery and Riley both loved seeing and touching the seastars. We ended the day witha meal at Bubba Gumps. Yum!

I am so over this

This is what Riley would have said to me if she could every time I tried to put her in her highchair these last few days. It is a battle with this stubborn child! I think she has finally decided to be a "big girl" and she wants to sit at the table in a chair. Today we tried it and instead of a battle I got this wide grin taunting me as if to say, Ha ha, Mom, I won!

Doctor visits, turning blue - just the usual.

So Riley has had a few more doctor visits in last week. She saw her pediatrician on Friday and weighed in at 21 lbs 15 oz. This is almost a five pound weight gain from a month ago. I plotted it on her growth chart, and it looks crazy...an 11 month period that is totally flat, then a spike of 25% in such a short time. She also saw her Ped. GI doctor who was happy with her progress, and released her from his care and gave us some feeding advice. That's the good news.
The not-so-good news is she is back to having breath-holding spells. Her neurosurgeon predicted those would not stop, and said they were unrelated to the brain tumor. Great. She hadn't had any in three weeks following surgery, so I was optimistic...thinking they must be connected somehow. Nope, they're back. Something makes her upset, starts crying, gets worked up and cries harder, freezes on end-expiration, and does not take a breath for 15-20 seconds until she turns blue and starts to pass out. When she finally relaxes she wakes back up and gasps for breath. After having 3 on Monday we took her in for a check-up on Tuesday (she was originally scheduled to go on Thursday for a follow-up with the neurosurgery team). They said she was doing well as far as recovery from surgery, but referred her to another neurologist on the team who examined her on Wednesday and thought everything was okay. The question has been whether or not she is a having any kind of seizure activity during these episodes, which can sometimes accompany the breath holding spells. We were suspicious a couple times that they looked different, and it made us wonder, but the doctor felt like what we were describing was typical for breath holding spells and not seizure.

Run for Riley

I mentioned in an earlier post that while we were still at LPCH some student-athletes at Harker put on a "Run for Riley". When I got back to work I heard it was a pretty good event, but didn't get many details. I was just told that at the next school meeting they we tell us more about it. So Jenni and the girls were able to come with me to Monday's school-wide meeting. At the end of the meeting they ask everyone who had participated by running, or sponsoring a runner, to stand up. I stood so I could see across the gym, wanting to see how many people it was, or who all stood up. Well, I was totally shocked to see hundreds of people stand up, literally. I couldn't believe it, I had no idea the response would be so large...amazing. After a few nice words from the students that organized the event, they presented us with the money that was raised, as well as strings of 1,000 oragami cranes that students had folded. It was pretty overwhelming. The money that was raised is enough to pay Riley's medical bills...wow! The time and effort people had put in to give our family these gifts is truly a blessing to us. Plus, we got something else I've always wanted, a novelty size check, Happy Gilmore style! We can't give enough thanks to everyone from Harker who has been rooting for Riley. A special thank you to David and Arman who came up with the idea for the event, and got it organized (I hope I'm not missing anyone else). Thank you to everyone else who ran, sponsored a runner, created the 1,000 cranes, sent a card, donated, or simply shared their concern with me since getting back to work.