Potty Training Update - week 2

This is Ellie's second week of underwear and she has been quite successful! After going through six changes of clothes last Monday at school and then staying dry all day Tuesday, she had only one accident the rest of the week. Miss S explained though that the accident wasn't Ellie's fault - she told Miss S that she needed to go potty, but there was another kid in the bathroom and Ellie just couldn't hold it. She had a few accidents at home over the weekend although that may partially be due to the fact that we're not as scheduled with bathroom times as they are at school (Miss S takes her every 45-60 minutes whether she asks to go or not). Today is her second day of school this week and both days she has been completely dry. One of my manipulative potty training tactics has been to send her to school in her favorite outfits and explain that if she wets her undies, she has to change her clothes, which she definitely does not want to do!

We're still putting her in pull-ups when we go out to a public place since we don't always know where the nearest bathroom is. But she has started to tell us even then that she has to go potty and has even refused to go in the pull-up. Of course, she's still in diapers at night. That change is a long way off and one we're not overly concerned about right now.

So overall potty training is going well and we're so proud of our big girl! Now I just have to start buying size 1 diapers and begin the whole process again!

Memorial Day Weekend Part 2

As promised here are the pictures from strawberry picking yesterday. Today we had another fun day. We went out early to beat the heat - by noon we had played in two different parks and gone to our favorite Italian ice spot for a cool treat!

A happy girl and her bucket of delicious strawberries!

Ellie was so good at the farm and asked before picking any strawberry if it was okay or if wasn't too green.

They still had the little kids' hay maze at the farm so Ellie had fun finding Lori and Boppa.

This morning at the first park, we were happy to see Ellie be a little adventurous and try to climb this. She's generally very cautious, which we like, but we do sometimes want her to take a little chance!

We had forgotten that at the second park they have a little sand pit and as everyone knows, little kids LOVE playing in sand. The problem was that all the other kids' parents were good and brought toys to play in it (shovels, buckets, etc.). I felt terrible when I told Ellie that we didn't have anything and she asked me to please check the diaper bag for a shovel! So being the terrible and forgetful parents that we obviously are, Lori ran back to the car and brought out anything she thought Ellie could play with in the sand...a sippy cup, a cupcake holder, and a snow shovel! Not exactly what the other kids had, but she was happy to have anything. Next time we won't forget the sand toys!

Memorial Day Weekend Part 1

Well, now that Memorial Day weekend is here, it is officially the beginning of summer and the weather here agrees! We have had a beautiful weekend mostly in the 70s so we've been finally able to spend more time outside. We started the weekend off with a barbecue at a friend's house. Ellie had such a good time playing in the big back yard with her four kids. Yesterday we spent a long time at the park. Today Mimi and Boppa came over for the day, which always means lots of fun. This morning we went strawberry picking at a local farm (pictures of this from Mimi's camera to follow!) and this afternoon we played inside and outside before having dinner at Ellie's favorite restaurant. Right now she's downstairs with Lori playing in her fort, a newly discovered fun place to play!

Mommy tries to show Ellie how to climb the cool ladder at the playground...

...and Mama jumps on to show her! 35 weeks and still playing at the playground!

This slide was a wee bit taller than Ellie expected. Once she got up there, there was no way that she was going down it!

This slide was a little more to her liking.

Exhausted Ellie can't figure out how to climb up the slide...

Sticker pox strikes again!

We built Ellie a fort this afternoon and when Lori pulled off the blanket, we found her playing Lori's Gameboy!

Busted!

Dare I say it?

Can it possibly be true? Is Ellie really almost potty trained?

For the last couple of months, whenever we're home we take off Ellie's diaper and pants so that she is forced to use the potty. This week at the suggestion of Ellie's teacher, she is wearing underwear to school. Yesterday she was in her 6th outfit by the time we picked her up. She was also on her 3rd pair of socks - apparently pee travels far and fast through clothes. Miss S told us not to be discouraged and just be ready to do lots of laundry this week.

But today we picked her up and she had on the same outfit that we had dropped her off in, which means that she was dry all day! She got eight stickers for her eight successful trips to the potty and at the end of the day she got a certificate and two lollipops. She was so proud of the certificate!

Tomorrow may require another six outfits, but that's okay. She's on her way! And maybe, just maybe, we'll only have one in diapers when the baby is born!

Afternoon with friends

Today two of my good friends from graduate school came over for an afternoon of talking and eating - what could be better?!? We had such a nice time catching up. We hadn't seen each other since my friend's baby shower last year for the baby she's holding below! Hopefully it won't be as long before the next time we get together.

Ellie was completely fascinated by the baby. She was very shy at first, but once she warmed up to our guests she couldn't get enough of the baby. Ellie was thrilled to hold the baby on her lap and even shared her toys.

Ellie was a little wound up after our guests left. We don't know if it was the sugar in the pound of fresh fruit she ate or maybe the amount in the tiny piece of chocolate chip cookie she had, but oh my goodness. In case you can't understand what she's singing, first it's the song about the monkeys jumping on the bed and then it's the one about the monkeys swinging in the trees.

Anyone know a good exorcist???

Happy Mother's Day!

We have had a nice weekend celebrating our family and all the mothers in our lives. Mimi and Boppa spent the weekend with us so there were lots of moms to honor just in our house! Yesterday we went to the same farm we went to in the fall for pumpkin picking. They had a Kids' Day At The Farm and we all had a great time doing "farm stuff". Today Boppa treated all the moms to a fancy brunch where we stuffed our bellies full of great food. Even Ellie had lots of options at the buffet, which isn't always the case (brunch food is usually loaded with eggs!).

Happy Mother's Day!

Ellie saw lots of animals at the farm, including these baby lambs. She was interested in looking at all the animals but certainly wasn't going to touch them!

Painting a pot for the plant she potted for us.

Boppa and Ellie in front of the tractor while we waited to go on the hay ride around the farm.

As excited as she had been to go on the hay ride, the ride itself was very bumpy and she was a little nervous (as was her 33 week pregnant mama!!).

Ellie's favorite part of the day was the pony ride. She amazed all of us by saying that she wanted to go alone (meaning without Lori walking next to her during the ride). At the end of the day we had just enough tickets left for another ride so she got to ride the ponies twice. She hasn't stopped talking about it since!

Ellie's favorite souvenir of the day was the candy necklace she made!

In the greenhouse

We didn't get many pictures at brunch today but here Ellie is enjoying her first taste of watermelon since last summer.

Today Ellie was coloring in her souvenir coloring book from the farm yesterday when Lori noticed that she was purposefully coloring in the flowers. This is the first time we've noticed an attempt to stay within the lines!

And then it got very quiet at Ellie's table....

When Mommy looked over, she noticed that Ellie was meticulously coloring her hands green!

And lastly, Ellie was being a ham today and we caught her singing on video. If you can't tell, she singing "You Are My Sunshine" and inserting her own words for sunshine. And her microphone is our digital ear thermometer!

Special treats

Last weekend, Ellie was introduced to two special treats, croutons and canned whipped cream. She loved the croutons - after she ate every one from her salad, she then proceeded to suck the dressing off of each spinach leaf. She liked the whipped cream less than we had anticipated, but you can see that she definitely had fun playing with it....

Mommy puts a dollop on Ellie's nose

and Ellie spends a long time trying to lick it off once Mommy gives her that suggestion!

I don't think that she ate a single strawberry after she finished the whipped cream!

Making her "silly face"

After dinner, Ellie entertained us with her acting skills. Here she's playing one of our favorite games "Happy, Mad".

Oncology appointment

We have received good news again today! Lori got the results of the three types of testing done to determine the stage of the lymphoma, which I'll describe below. Since some people have asked about the difference between grade and stage, I'll explain that first. Grade describes how abnormal the cells look in a biopsied sample under the microscope and how fast the cells are growing. The grade for Lori's lymphoma was 1 out of 3, with 3 being the worst. This is why it is considered a low-grade, slow-growing (or indolent) type of lymphoma. We knew this from the lymph node that was removed 3 weeks ago. Stage describes how widespread the cancer is throughout the body. To determine this, Lori had blood work, a bone marrow biopsy, and CT scan...

Blood work - NORMAL!

Bone marrow biopsy - NORMAL!

CT scan - Although there were other enlarged lymph nodes seen in the axilla (armpit), femoral (pelvic) and probably abdominal areas, there is NO ORGAN INVOLVEMENT! Our greatest concern had been the spleen since it is a major part of the lymphatic system and an ultrasound two years ago had shown that it was enlarged. We were surprised and relieved to hear that it was NORMAL! And the nodes that were enlarged on the scan were not huge.

Our understanding is that these results classify Lori as a stage 3 because she has nodes enlarged below the diaphragm. Although in general this is considered a somewhat advanced stage, this is not unusual at the time of diagnosis for Indolent (slow-growing) lymphoma. The nurse and oncologist also explained again to us today that stage is not very important when predicting the prognosis of someone with Lori's type of lymphoma (as compared to a solid tumor cancer like breast cancer).

Lori does not need any sort of treatment now and will continue to be monitored. As I think we've mentioned before, treatment will likely be needed in the future, but the goal is to hold that off for as long as possible. The things that would result in treatment include: many very enlarged nodes; many and/or large lesions on organs; symptoms; and transformation of this lymphoma to a more aggressive type (the most concerning one of all). For now though none of these things are happening and Lori will have blood work done in 3 months and return to the oncologist then for follow-up. We think that she will need to have blood work and see the oncologist every 3 months for a long time (possibly forever). She will also have a CT scan every year.

I cannot even begin to describe how happy we were to hear all of this news! Yes, Lori still has cancer and she will always have cancer. BUT she is not sick and does not need treatment right now. I feel like 99.9% of the fear from the last 2 weeks has slipped away (for me; I won't attempt to speak for Lori about her feelings on this). I feel like I can relax a little again and enjoy these last two months of pregnancy.

Thank you all again so very much for the cards, emails, phone calls, meals, prayers, etc. during the last three weeks. We will continue to keep you updated on this, but thankfully it looks like we won't have a medical update for you until August - YAY!!

The Eve of Reality

BY LPC

I can't lie. I'm nervous.

Sure there isn't much that can top hearing the words "you have CANCER". It has been a rough couple of weeks. .....But it can get worse. I could hear the cancer is very extensive and I need to start treatment right away.

I was told since this cancer is so slow growing, it would likely be found in other areas such as the spleen and even bone marrow. That I have probably had this for years. In fact, two years ago, I had an ultrasound and it was noted my spleen was enlarged (did not send off red flags for anyone). But it was enlarged TWO years ago! I would be truly shocked if it wasn't in my spleen. Even so, I don't want to hear about bone marrow involvement, bone involvement or kidney and liver involvement. This would be reason for a poorer prognosis. 7 years vs. 10? 10 years vs. 20? I don't know. I just know the less it has spread, the better of course. And yet, I am preparing myself, and preparing my friends and family that the reality is - 70% to 90% of all cancer of my type is, upon diagnosis, found to be "late stage".

Am I still hopeful? Yes. But it will be hard to hear none-the-less.

This past couple of weeks I have felt fine physically and emotionally. Tomorrow will be the true test. When it becomes even more personal. When I know just what the "damage" is.

I don't want to do this, can someone please just wake me up?

........Deep breath. I can do this. I WILL DO THIS.


Dear God, I ask for only one thing. Strength for me and my family for no matter what comes our way. . ..........and while your at it, grant the same for all those suffering in this world no matter who they are.