Discharged Early

Avery's Chemo round went well. She did great like always -- no puking and seemed to feel good through out the week. She was low in red blood counts yesterday so they transfused and that picked her energy right back up! She will get her G shot tomorrow and then we'll have a nice weekend at home with just the 3 of us.

We had some fun visitors again and that helps pass the time for both Avery and us. We were also able to hammer out a theme for Avery's 2nd Birthday Party that is right around the corner. That being decided, Aunt Angie and I then spent the next 2 days cutting and sewing our hearts out for the party. Great ideas usually mean a lot of work. Totally worth it though as never has a 2 year old more deserved an awesome birthday.

We sure hope everyone had an absolutely memorable Christmas with their family and friends. Ours was wonderful and spread out over the month of December so it didn't seem to come and go so quickly. As soon as we got Avery home today, Jeremy put together her new Barbie 4 Wheeler and we took her out in the 60 degree sunshine to test it out. She LOVED it! And she even wore her "don't fall down" helmet without complaint.

This week was a plus as Avery learned how to go potty on the potty. With them pumping as much fluid into as possible, it was easy to get her to pee on the new chair. She even managed a #2! Needless to say, like every other parent out there - we were super excited and shared our news with whomever would listen. Why we are so fascinated by this -- I am not sure, but all parents agree this topic is uber exciting when their little one starts to comprehend.

As we come to a close on this ridiculous year, I've started to think about all the amazing things that have happened in the last 365 days. While some memories are devastating for us, there are others that Jeremy and I will be eternally grateful for. The chance to meet some of the most amazing children and families....not to mention working side by side with amazing medical staff. The opportunity to see the St Jude team in action, to partake in their research, to help other children 5-10-25 years down the road...to watch our self reliant family become utterly dependent on our loved ones around us and then to see that this is ok -- as all those loved ones stepped up to the plate. To see my daughter start at ground zero and work so hard to get back on track. To see her light up as we sing a song or tickle her tummy or chase her around the floor...to become a member of a group (cancer parents) that no one ever wants to join, but that they will always be connected to....to finally take the time to appreciate the day -- crappy as it may be, it could always be worse and until you experience worse - you don't get it. To follow the motto "don't take life for granted" and truly and fully understand what that means.

We once again thank all of you for your love and support the last 365 days -- by no means has it been easy, and it will not get an easier so we appreciate all of you stepping up when we needed you most and having the stamina to keep going with us. Here's to a way better 2011...and to the strongest person we have ever met - Avery.

Jenn & Jeremy

Merry Christmas

As the holidays approached we found ourselves wrapped up in the magic of the season. A great feeling by far, but in the back of our minds the words "she probably won't make it to Christmas without some sort of treatment" creep in from time to time. As sad as this makes us to hear and as much as we love our St Jude Dr's....when tomorrow morning rolls around and our little fighter wakes up in her red feety pajamas, raring to open her gifts....we will be giddy ourselves. And even though we know they know their stuff....a big fat "I told you so" will be issued from this end at all the dr's - (under our breaths of course as you don't want to tick them off, kinda like you never want to tick off the McDonalds drive through attendant for fear they might spit in your food.) Avery is a fighter and with a team like ours, how could she lose?

Strong and feisty, and enjoying every last present she has been given, Avery is doing great. We will spend the week at CMH getting the 4th round of chemo next week. A slow week at the hospital as I am sure half the staff will be out on vacation, but we hope it flies by with all her new toys to keep her busy. Daddy is off of work this week as well, so we'll have both of us tag teaming the toys and learning. Our biggest hope is that her appetite continues as it has been for the last week or so. She can unwrap a hershey's kiss faster than me -- and let me tell you that is some good work on her fine motor skills!

As this weekend passes us I hope everyone has the chance to stop and really enjoy their family and friends. We've been blessed with a huge eye-opening experience this year that has for the last 12 months pushed the strength of these relationships right in our faces. We are in awe every day of the love and generosity that surrounds us. And we are so thankful for every morning that we wake up and get to see those blue eyes and crooked smile while she embraces us in her big hugs. After a year of walking this road our words of wisdom to you are these... "Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." Kirby Puckett

Merry Christmas to you and yours from us.....

Jenn, Jeremy & Avery

Weekend with Grandma & Uncle Jason

We had a fantastic weekend with Uncle Jason and Grandma! Lots of snuggles and lots of playing, especially with her new dollhouse. I swear she spent the whole night playing with the house and woke up this morning for more!

Her appetite appears to be increasing and we are crossing our fingers for a 9.8 kilo result this week. She has been clocking in at 9.6 kilos for the last few weeks, which has been good, but we are hoping to see a bit of an improvement. For those of you not submerged in the hospital world....2.2 lbs per kilo puts her at 21.12 lbs. A good weight for her right now is probably closer to 24-26 lbs but we'll take whatever we can get! She's always been in the lower percentage for her weight, but never quite this low of course. She is sitting at 32 inches in height and has the longest toes and fingers you've ever seen.

Speaking of toes...our smarty pants was playing quietly this afternoon on the floor watching football with daddy. He heard her giggling to herself and after a few minutes decided he better peek around the ottoman and see exactly what she was doing. Of course she was coloring her feet blue with her new markers....I mean, who doesn't do that? I didn't figure this out though until I went to get her up from her nap and realized her feet were entirely blue. Thank heavens they are washable!

Tomorrow we have a busy day of snack making for our team at Mommy's work. The end of the year is a very busy time in the payroll world and I attempt to make up for it by bribing my team with food. If I feed them, that means they only have to get up from their desks to pee....Just kidding guys : ) ok, kind of kidding. He He He Avery are attempting, but not promising, some punkin bread and chex mix. Again, don't get your hopes up.

Thank you to all that have been so sweet to us this Christmas. Avery has discovered that she loves to open presents. So each night she randomly wanders into the living room and selects a present to rip open. We of course don't realize it until it is too late and by then you can't not let her finish opening the gift. She has of course loved all of her presents, even the noisy ones that Mom and Dad aren't so fond of. So thank you to everyone for making this Christmas a special one for her.

Our next round of Chemo is next week. We are attempting to go in the day after Christmas so we can be out by New Years, but not sure how that will work out. We then have appointments on January 10th at St Jude. We are anxious to get back to our comfort zone and to see the dr's and nurses we have missed. We are also excited to see our friends, the Parkers. Avery's counts are on the way up again and she seems to be feeling great. We've kicked the colds and runny noses and are excessively adamant about the hand washing now. My house is a disaster in terms of toys all over the place, but you better believe they have been wiped down with Clorox bleach wipes!

Jenn