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Monday, March 19, 2012

Home Sweet Home

We arrived home late Friday night after a long drive from Memphis. We were all anxious to get back to our own beds, our somewhat normal routines and the comfort of friends. Saturday and Sunday were spent unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning and of course yard work. Avery was ecstatic to see all her toys and most of all Jersey. You'd have thought she was just handed the key to Toys R Us the way she squealed at her toys. Rightfully so I suppose since she never got the chance to play with her birthday toys before we left.

Avery appears to be feeling well. She has tummy aches that we control with Zolfran and a serious burn on her neck that we have cream for. I made the mistake of telling the kids at the birthday party on Sunday that her burn was a sunburn and it was very important they wear their sunscreen. One little girl looked at me and said, " You didn't do a very good job.". Well said 5 yr old, well said.

Her vocabulary is really filling in and every day she surprises us with a new word. She prefers to put the word "now" at the end of every sentence rather than the word "please". She told me today she wanted to stay naked...can't say I really recall using that word recently but she picked it up from somewhere. She has also decided to be the mediator and match maker between Jeremy and I lately. If we bicker about anything she basically yells at us to stop. What's the world coming to when you can't even argue with our spouse about who shut the light off? I mean what a buzz kill! I guess the whole " Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" mantra can be justified in her eyes more than any and who's to judge her? She's experienced more in her 3 years than I ever will in my lifetime. Still, sandwiched between the demands of a tyrannical 3 year old, it's hard to be corrected by your toddler...knowing full well she's right... Why at 31 am I too dumb to realize it until after she scolds us? She's tough. She's demanding. She's my hero.

Take that cAncer.

Jenn

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Team Avery March Madness!

Hey Team Avery! Just in time for March Madness, it’s time for Team Avery’s Bracket Challenge 2012!

The Rules:
$10 minimum donation per bracket.
No limit on the number of brackets per person.
Scoring is as follows:
1st round wins 1 pt.
2nd round wins 2 pts.
3rd round wins 4 pts.
4th round wins 8 pts, etc.
Half of all donations will go to the Christiansens, the other half will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place as follows:
1st Place - 60%
2nd Place - 30%
3rd Place - 10%
All brackets must be submitted by 11am CST on Thursday, March 15, 2012.
All donations must be received by Thursday, March 22nd, 2012. If your donation is not received by this date, your entry will be removed.

How to Enter:
Go to this website: http://www.teamavery2012.bracketmonkey.com/
Create an account (you will create a log in and password).
To start your bracket, click “create new entry”.
Complete your bracket by clicking on the name of the team that you choose to win each game.
Select a name for the bracket to appear on the score page.
Guess the total points in the final game (used as a tie breaker, if necessary).
Save the entry.
Create additional entries if desired.
You may go back in and edit your bracket by clicking on the name until you finalize it.
Finalize your bracket by clicking “submit entry”.
Once your bracket has been submitted, you may make your donation online by clicking on the “Donate” button – using this option, you may pay by credit or debit card or via PayPal.
If you wish to mail a check, checks can be made out to The Avery Christiansen Fund and mailed to Nikki Pealer at 201 NE Hidden Valley Lane, Lee’s Summit, MO 64064. Please note that your entry will be removed unless your payment is received by March 22, 2012.

Scores will be updated as soon as possible as the games progress. If you have questions, you may call or email Julianna Kruger: 913-269-9659 or juliannakruger@gmail.com.

Good Luck!

Julianna Kruger

Friday, March 2, 2012

Week 4 Done

Avery finished this weeks radiation in good spirits despite the obvious burn marks now showing on her head, neck and tummy. We continue to put the cream on it and I think it bothers us more than her.  It appears to be a bad sunburn for the most part and as butt white as this kid is, I suppose she looks rather normal to everyone else. 

Next week we plan to do 2 more full Spinal/Cranial treatments before switching to the Boost treaments to target the actual tumors.  So far we've been good in terms of the puking.  God Love Zolfran - which by the way is apparently a few hundred dollars a bottle - who knew?  Next week might change all that though as her body starts to get annoyed by the amount of radiation we have dumped into it.

Avery is teaming up to be a typical 3 year old -- Bossy and Determined.  As you can see above, she refuses to smile unless it suits her and if a camera is pointed in her face there is no way that is happening.  We had pictures taken with the St Jude Marketing Department today and she was not having any part of it....even with a balloon, mommy crawling on her stomach and Nana hiding in every corner of the tiny studio jumping out and yelling boo!  Caught off gaurd though and this is what you get....


Hanging upside down - still gets her every time!

Jenn