Sunday, December 18, 2011

Cell phone pics

Daniel helped me figure out how to get cell phone pics on the computer finally.
I like the cell phone camera better than my other camera.
Maybe in the next year or two, I'll get another camera and take lessons on how to do half-decent pictures.


 Andy won tickets to go to a Wenatchee Wild game.
It was so fun!
We used to go see the Tacoma Rockets when we dated, and we loved to see the fights that would erupt.
Now, I can't handle the fights as well.
I keep thinking how the boys are someone's baby.
That night, there were so many fights, and more violent than normal.
I almost erupted with vomit a couple times.

 Kelly and and one of her sisters giving each other the evil eye.
 Our November chemo trip to Seattle.
We went through the first real snow storm on the mountain pass.
Pretty!

 Anthony fell in love with the clinic's fish all over again.

 On the way home, the storm was so bad.
It's hard to see, but there are some downed power lines that we had to wait for to get fixed before we could go again.
 Lilly and Maggie got to come along.
They loved shopping with Nana.  :)
 December chemo visit...
My friend, Sarah, met me at the Amtrak station.
We had so much fun!
We became sisters at the Ronald McDonald House.
Sarah had some donations for the House, so we stopped there first, and Anthony had a blast playing with the toys he remembers so well.
He loved seeing his friends at the House too.
 We had large McDonald lunches that day, so we could get the Coca-Cola glasses (love those!).
Sarah and I ate a total of about 1/2 of one of the large fries.
So, we let Anthony eat fries throughout his appointment.
He ate ALL of about 1 1/2 large fries packages!
We were laughing about how he would probably weigh a few pounds more than normal when did his vitals.
Sure enough, he was almost 2 pounds more than the previous month.
But, I don't think it's all from the fries.
Anthony really has had a big growth spurt lately.
He's getting heavy for me to carry anywhere.
Love strollers.



 Last week, Anthony's skin around his eyes got really red and a little puffy.
During treatment in Seattle, ringed eyes were a sign of needing a blood transfusion (hematocrit and platelets get low from chemo).
So, I called the Seattle doctor to see if it would be ok to wait until the next morning to go get labs.
The redness came on after 5pm, of course.
She was concerned that the redness and puffiness could be the result of an unlikely, but possible, infection that can reach the eye socket, and so the brain.
This kind of infection would require IV antibiotics, and with Anthony's history, it's best not to mess with.
So, we went to our local ER to have them check for the specific diagnosis.
If the ER doc wasn't worried about that diagnosis, we could go back home and not worry.
The ER doctor thought it was either dry skin or an allergic reaction.
Whew!
One of our nicest, and shortest, ER visits.
And, of course, a bunch of nurses came in to see their little patient friend.  :)
 Kelly and her friend on Christmas dress up day.

 Yes, that is a tree skirt.
 Anthony loved this book we checked out from the library.
The Boss Baby.
 Chillin' with one of his favorite brothers.

 Kelly got these socks as a fun pre-Christmas gift from her friend.
 Anthony's so cute in his leather jacket, Auntie Jenny!
 Josh had a concert last week.
He did his normal part with the alto sax, and also helped the choir teacher.
Josh was ecstatic to have Butterfinger ice cream and Cookies 'n Cream ice cream afterwards.
 Maggie dressed up for her Christmas day.
 Anthony had fun with a white board during church today.

Glasses (worth a look!)

Anthony now has 2 pairs of glasses!!
These are our favorites.
They're made by Mira-Flex.   
The first 5 minutes he wore them was miraculous, because it was a full five minutes, and HE did not take them off.  We did, because we were getting in the car.
He could see!
My friend calls these Anthony's superhero glasses.  :)

 This is a harder picture to see.
Anthony in his back-up glasses.
They are HEAVY on his ears and are kept on with a strap.
This picture, he was studying the toy ad like it was the Wall Street Journal (pointing and exclaiming loudly over Toy Story, Cars, and anything else he saw at Disneyworld).
 Anthony does NOT like to have anything on his skin.
So, he doesn't wear his glasses all the time.
He'll now wear them for about 1/2 hour at a time.
 IF HIS HANDS ARE BUSY SHOVELING CHIPS OR STRING CHEESE INTO HIS MOUTH AND A MOVIE IS ON.
I'm loving the Mira-Flex glasses more for now, although with such a small nose bridge (common to children with Down syndrome), the lenses are so close to the eyes that they fog up often.  Or his eyelashes rub on the lens.
I also love that they are so flexible and don't break.
That goes a long way with my oh-so-creative boy.

I'm thinking we might take the other glasses back and exchange them for the kind that wrap around the ear, so they're lighter on the top of the ear, and the strap isn't on the back of his head.
Although, the Mira-Flex glasses are held on with a built-in strap that wraps around the back of his head.  It's just a lot lighter than the other one.
If you have suggestions or comments, feel free to post them!

Red fun

Anthony was practicing his smolder (like Eugene Fitzherbert) with his new outfit.
He sure is the ladies' man!  ;)



 Messing around on Santa's chair.
 Kelly and her friend were awesome elves!
 Anthony with Santa.
He sat pretty well, just long enough for a couple pictures, then reached back for me.

Money disappearing (It's not diapers and formula that break you, it's the teenage costs)

Kelly got 8 spacers put in 2 weeks ago.
She'll get braces this week.
Her hygienist (not sure if that's what she's called) is also a Kelly.  :)

Blank slate

 So, it took us a few days to get the front room "ready" for the tree (really it was all about me having enough energy to oversee the decorating, and that takes a while when I'm still so physically exhausted from the toll of the past 2 years).

We put the tree up one day, then decorated it a day or two later.
While taking stuff out of all the rubbermaid totes, the children were asking about the 3 little pigs, below.
I had no clue, had never seen them before, and told them so.
They said we'd had them for a few years, and I replied that they must've gotten them when I was in Seattle with Anthony.
Turns out, Andy won them last year. 
There's a string of 3 clear lights that can go in them to make them shine.
Cute.
 Steve Urkel look while decorating.
 Grand-Nana made a treasure tree several years ago.
It is made with so many pieces of costume jewelry that is shiny and pretty.
The children play "I Spy" with it every year.  :)
 Decorated!!
 Anthony and I took the train to Seattle for chemo a few weeks ago.
That night, we returned home to a package from Auntie Jenny.
It was full of wrapped gifts for Christmas...plus an unwrapped Buzz.

Anthony was tired, but sitting in Andy's lap across the room.
He saw the head of Buzz in the box, and kept saying, "Buh, Buh, Buh!!!"
I facebooked Jenny and told her that I hoped it wasn't supposed to wait for Christmas because Anthony wouldn't stand for that.

We let him have Buzz, then he went right to get Woody and was throwing Woody around like he was teaching him a lesson or something.
He was so excited.
"Whoa!!!!  Buh!!"



Saturday, December 3, 2011

Under the Eiffel Tower

Kelly's school had a dance last night.
She and her student leadership friends worked all week to decorate.






 This was what Kelly wore.
She found a skirt I had never worn, in my closet.
We added straps (covered by the shrug), made a sash, and made a slip with tulle on bottom.