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We have seen witnessed once again the cumulative effects of lots of chemo in a our little girl.  The last week or so has been difficult.  Can I just say THANK GOD we are finished with Dex, the lovely steroid that makes Allyson so moody!  It will take a bit for it go work its way out of her system, and we cannot wait.  She is very bloated and wants to eat constantly.  - It is strange to not have to give her medication all the time right now.  — The vincristin (however you spell it) has caused her legs to be weak again.  It can also cause something called “drop foot”…Allyson’s little foot gives out every once in a while and she just drops to the floor.  Poor kid… - We are just starting to see Ally get more energy back.
We have an easy week this week as far as treatment goes.  The first two weeks of June are intense.  We have to go in five days in a row the first week…off two days…back in the office for four straight days…each weeks starts with a visit to the hospital for lumbar punctures (spinal taps) and chemo in the spine.  We’re not looking forward to these two weeks.

Benjamin is plugging right along.  He’s saying more and more each day.  We are working on his little temper tantrums.  He throws a fit if he doesn’t get his way, a huge fit.  We’re working on it…

Gramps is here from New Orleans.  The kids are loving it! Both of them give big smiles when they see him first thing in the morning.   Play, play, play!!  It is so good to see Gramps get Allyson giggling like crazy!  Benjamin LOVES his Gramps.  Both of them followed him to the bathroom this evening.  If they could have gotten the door open, they’d have been in there with him!

This is Allyson’s last week of school.  Let’s hope she can make all three days this week to finish out the year.

Allyson was in a funk all day today.  She is definitely not herself.  The difference between Friday and today is so huge.  This evening, Brad said she seemed “slow” - that is exactly what I thought too.  She’s slow to respond, slow to speak…just slow.  She showed little emotion today.  She did smile and laugh a bit today, but not much at all.  Brad even took the cover off the sandbox so she could play in there.  She played around for a bit, but then just sat there.  Now, if you know anything about Allyson, you know that is not like her at all.  She LOVES the sandbox!

It was really difficult to see her that way today.  It felt like we were back at the beginning with her.  Dr. Rob said this would be a difficult month/six weeks, and unfortunately, I think he’s right.

Benjamin had a great day today.  A little friend name Noah came over today.  He’s the son of one of Brad’s co-workers.  They were here today to pick up our Infinity that we sold to them.  (We bought a Honda Element instead…cheaper and more practical…)  Benjamin did a nice job sharing his toys today.  He even gave everyone hugs.  (He’s been very free with hugs these days!)

Today we were invited to the zoo by “Friends of Kids with Cancer”.  We were hoping Ally would feel well enough to go…she was tired, but we went anyway because she LOVES the zoo - she LOVES to see all the animals.

We packed everyone up and headed straight for the zoo.  We arrived around 10:30.  “Friends” gave us all Safari Passes which allowed us to go anywhere and do anything we wanted to while we were there.  They also treated us to lunch!  (Such a nice thing!) It was an absolutely beautiful day!  Both Ally and Benjamin enjoyed being pushed around in strollers to see all the animals.  Ally was tired, but she wanted to see all the animals she could.  She would name each animal she wanted to see, and then we’d head off to find it.  We didn’t end up seeing the elephants, but that’s okay…there’s always the next trip.

Both Benjamin and Ally got to pet a guinea pig at the children’s zoo.  Benjamin was so cute…he was very gentle!  We kept trying to point out to him where the animals were…sometimes he’d see them, sometimes not.  His eyes really lit up when he saw the polar bear!  You could see the “wow” moment when he realized what he was looking at.  The chimpanzees were out roaming the “Fragile Forest” this morning.  A few even came right up to the glass.  Allyson got excited when one of them grabbed hold of a vine to swing from it.

Allyson actually showed interest in riding the carousel.  We decided to wait and do that on the way out, but by that time, she was tired and we didn’t even think to go back and give it a try.  She’s not had the best success doing that sort of thing, so trying it while she was tired was probably not a good idea anyway.   - The train makes entirely too much noise for her pleasure, so that wasn’t even an option.  She didn’t completely jump out of her seat when she heard it though, so we’re making some progress, hopefully.

Both kids were worn out by the time we left.  We lasted about two hours.

We had a great family day at the zoo today.  Thanks to “Friends of Kids with Cancer” for the invitation! - In the words of Allyson, “Mommy, I had a great day!”

Benjamin first this time…A few days ago I wrote that it would only be a few days before he’d get his leg up on the couch…Well, Benjamin is officially able to hike his leg up and climb onto the couch.  We are in big, no HUGE trouble.  I have visions of him standing on the back of the couch and jumping off.  -  Allyson’s safe haven on the couch and snuggle chair are no longer…Benjamin can now climb up and get her!

Ally had a good day at the docs today.  Ms. Jill, the education therapist (I’m not exactly sure what her title is), was ready for Ally when she and Brad arrived.  She had all new stickers and foamy paper ready to go for the Palster!  Brad said she took the shot like a champ and played stickers when it was all finished.  (We always have to wait about a half hour after the shot to see if she’s going to have a reaction to it.  She usually plays while we wait.)  Once they got home, she was pretty worn out the rest of the day.

Oh, we sold our Infinity and bought a Honda Element, SC.  We picked it up tonight.  Brad hates it when I call his cars cute, but the Element IS cute.  I must admit, I did not like them at first, but now it’s grown on me.  - I also like it is less expensive and takes regular unleaded gas!

A cute story about each kid…

Today, Ally was snuggling with Brad on the couch.  She said, “Daddy, I have something special for you.”  - just like that, in those words.  When he asked her what it was, she said with such enthusiasm, “A swing!”  She wanted to go out and swing, so she told Brad it was his “something special”.

Well, when we told her it was wet, cool, and rainy outside, she proceeded to tell me just about two minutes later, “Mommy, I have something special for you.”   Both Brad and I had to chuckle because we were both wondering what my something special was going to be.  When I asked her what it was, she said, “A Wii!”  - You have to give the girl credit, if the swing didn’t work, maybe the Wii would!

We swear Benjamin said another sentence today.  - The boy is like clock-work.  When 7:00 p.m. rolls around, he’s’ ready to go to bed; he instantly gets tired and cranky. I went to the kitchen to get his bottle ready (he still takes about three ounces before he goes to bed…hopefully he’ll be broken of the whole bottle thing pretty soon).  Brad told him, “Go get mommy…Mommy has your bottle.  Do you want your ba-ba?”  Now, I swear (and Brad would too) that the boy answered, “Want my ba-ba!” -  Maybe we are both just really tired, but that is twice now we both heard him say sentences.  Maybe we’re crazy, or…maybe Benjamin is a super-genius;-).