School days

Hope everyone has enjoyed their back to school days, for those of you with kiddos. Riley is still in love with school...it's all she ever wants to talk about. She has made some new friends, but the only one she will really mention(besides Jillian, a friend she's had for a while) is Shelby. But not the same Shelby that goes to Nana's house...a different one. She also informed me that because she already knows her ABC's and 123's, she just helps teach the other kids...can't you just picture that.
We did survive our last round with steroids. The combination of the chemo, with the steroids just wipes her out. By about the 2nd day you can tell she is exhausted. She even gets the dark circles around her eyes, but things will usually get better around the 4th day. She does good mostly, just a little short-fused at times. We will take her next week to have her labs checked, and she also has her 4 year old check-up scheduled with her pediatrician, Dr. Hilbert, in Victoria. She and Hayden both (we're a little late getting him in for his 18 month check-up) will both be getting shots...should be a fun time for all!!
We also wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe Labor day weekend. This holiday weekend will take our family in all different directions. My sister Jen and I fly out tomorrow for Vegas, baby. Our cousin Josh and his fiance Carrie are getting married. It's super fun because there will now be Josh & Kari, and Josh & Carrie...lucky for you, Granny, we do spell our names differently. Wouldn't want any confusion with our Christmas presents!! :-) My Josh will be joining his parents, Nani and Papo, camping in Kerrville...and Riley and Hayden will be joining Nana and Pops in Brenham. Fun times!! Catch you all on the flip side...pictures to follow, promise!!

A long day in clinic

Riley and I had a very long day at clinic yesterday. I had sort of anticipated it being a difficult day due to it being a procedure day, meaning no eating or drinking after midnight...and we weren't scheduled to even arrive at clinic until 10:30. We arrived at 10 hoping this may help speed up the process...no such luck. They first stuck us in one of the curtained "holding area" rooms until a procedure rooms opened up, and it did have a TV so this helped a little. They finally accessed Riley around 11:30, and sent her blood off to the lab. So, at this point I'm thinking we are sailing along, and will be done in no time...again, no such luck. We didn't even see anyone again until 2 o'clock when some volunteer person came strolling into our area, asking if we wanted a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie. Um, yes I would love one...Riley you stay right here while mommy goes and inhales one of these heavenly smelling cookies...NOT!! We finally got moved into the procedure room around 2:45, and they finally finished everything about an hour later. Riley was finally able to devour her cheeseburger...and all was right with the world once again. Whew...

Riley's blood counts were all good. Her ANC was 1300, hemoglobin 12.6, and platelets were 146. Her check-up and everything else also came out great. We started another 5 day round of steroids, and her teacher has been warned. I think she'll be okay during the day, though...it will just be the fun evenings we get to deal with. She is still loving school, and talks about it non-stop. She is quite the social butterfly, and has already made a lot of friends...or made up a lot of friends, as Riley says. She came home the first day and was so proud that she made up a lot of friends, but she couldn't remember their names...hopefully these really are actual kids and she's not walking around talking to imaginary people. Her teacher even commented how she is friendly and talks to everyone...she probably meant to say bosses around everyone, but we'll let her have it.

On the way home from Houston yesterday we got to stop and see our friends Kelly and Angie's new baby girl. Alyssa Ann was born bright and early yesterday morning, and is just as precious as she can be. Big sister Addison turns 2 on Saturday...so they were so close to sharing the same birthday. Congrats you guys...you have a beautiful family.

Finally able to inhale her cheeseburger

First day of school

Riley was so excited to go to school this morning. She popped out of bed, and rushed to get dressed. She kept telling Hayden to give her hugs and kisses because he was going to miss her today while she was at school. I think she did this with him at least 3 times in a course of 15 minutes. Hayden was funny this morning too, while I was trying to get pictures of Riley on her first day of school he insisted on being in the pictures with her but would not cooperate until I went and found him a backpack to put on...he wanted to go to school with his sissy.

I believe I handled the morning fairly well...I only started to get a little emotional once I parked the car to take her in. But she was so happy to be there, and couldn't get out of the car fast enough...so this helped to calm my nerves a little. Once we got in she found her friend Jillian, sat down by her and started coloring. I am super anxious to pick her up after work so I can hear all about her first day. I am still in shock that she is actually now in school...maybe by next week it will have all set in.

Summer is coming to an end

Another week has come and gone...I think I will always be amazed at how fast time is flying by. Riley has been doing fantastic, enjoying her last bit of summer vacation. Tomorrow she starts school...can you believe it?! I am still a little in denial about my baby girl being old enough to go to Pre-K...but she is going whether I am ready or not. Riley is super excited about school, and cannot wait for tomorrow morning to come. We'll see if she's changed her tune once I wake her up bright and early in the morning.

Wednesday is Riley's next clinic appointment. She is scheduled for a spinal tap, chemo in her port, and we get to begin another 5 day round of steroids. Isn't her teacher in for a special treat...first week of school and all. I'll keep you posted...

We had a good time fishing one night last week with Josh's cousins Reid and Hayes...Riley even caught a couple of fish. Good times!!

Waiting on the big one

Riley's big catch!!

Reid-o's big catch

Hayes' big catch

Hayden trying to hook a cow patty

Summer Lovin'

Splishin' and a Splashin' - Riley's 4th Birthday Party

Goin' to the Chapel

Shelby and Justin's wedding was a blast. Riley was meticulous in her flower throwing, and Hayden was a bell ringing force to be reckoned with. Enjoy!

Back online

Sorry for the radio silence...had some minor Internet issues to work out. Let's see...where did we leave off? Riley had a great birthday, thanks for all the birthday wishes you all sent her way. It seems like she grew up so much over night. I find myself having adult conversations with her, and then have to remind myself that I am talking to a 4 year old. But she is so smart and has such an advanced vocabulary...you tend to forget sometimes.
Last Monday Riley went back to Houston for her clinic appointment, and was treated like a princess - once everyone realized it was her birthday. Some of the nurses even gave her a plastic tea party set...you would have thought they just gave her a new car, she was so excited. Her blood work was unbelievable. Her ANC had jumped from 100 to 1700 in a matter of days...I was shocked. All of her other counts were all in the normal range, as well. That hardly ever happens. Because of her great counts she was able to begin back all her nightly chemo pills. The treatment plan she is on calls for her to just start back up where she left off, not just gradually build back up. I think this took a toll on her little body, going from nothing to everything all at once...she was just so worn out all week. Then throw in steroids on top of this, and it was a very trying week. Definitely not the worst we've seen, attitude-wise...but she wasn't her normal chipper self. We did get to end last week with a small swimming party for her birthday on Saturday...she had a blast. I'll add some pictures soon, along with some wedding ones. I haven't forgotten.
Riley had her labs checked this past Monday here locally, just to make sure the chemo hadn't knock everything back down. There was some miscommunication with getting the results faxed to Houston, and then they were off yesterday due to the Hurricane so I never have heard back what her ANC was. I'm assuming it's fairly high as her white count was up to 6,600, the highest it's been in a while. We will check it again here next week, and then she goes back on the 20th for another spinal tap, and the next round of chemo and steroids. Oh, and I finally got an end date for our journey...December 7, 2009. Right around the corner!!! Not really, but it is nice to know that there is definitely an end in sight...16 months and counting.
That's about all that is going on in our neck of the woods. Riley starts Pre-K on the 18th, so we are getting ready for that. We also signed her up for dance class again, that will start in September. So, the fun is about to begin!! Let's hope our princess stays well to enjoy all of this.

Pictures to come...I promise!!