Just a quick update to say that everything has been great at our house.
Since our last post, AJ had his 6th birthday, which we celebrated at the Pacific Science Center with a dinosaur-themed party. AJ still loves school and has started reading, in both English and Spanish. Before starting kindergarten he was sounding out and starting to recognize words. Once he started the Spanish-immersion program, it seemed to set him back a bit because all of the sudden he was learning to read and write words in Spanish. However, something seemed to click over the past couple weeks and he now is reading in both languages, although mostly using the Spanish phonetics (it’s actually easier to read in Spanish because there aren’t all the complicated rules and exceptions that we have in English).
Not much new with Camille, except that she finally moved to a “big girl” bed (yes, she had been sleeping in a toddler bed for over 2 years!), and her room has been made over in a very pink and girly fashion. She finished up her ballet classes and will be taking a break until later in the spring.
Merry Christmas!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at home with Brian’s parents and family friends in attendance, and our Christmas was also spent at home, with Sarah’s family in town. Sarah’s sister Laura and her 2 kids are still in town this week, so it’s been non-stop excitement with 4 kids in the house. AJ and Camille really enjoyed Christmas this year – and all the fun leading up to it with their Advent calendars and the Elf on the Shelf, and of course visiting Santa. They both got a lot of gifts, so good thing we purged/donated some of their old toys before the holidays!
AJ’s treatment continues to go smoothly. He had his monthly check-up on Monday, and had his medication doses taken up (given his good blood counts, and also because he is growing). We still have 20 months of treatment left, but it’s a good feeling knowing that we’ve completed 18 months already, so we are almost halfway done. We are heading off to Maui in mid-January, our first time back since his diagnosis. It’s a little nerve-wracking going to an island where there is no Children’s Hospital, but worst-case scenario if AJ were to come down with something he would be flown to Honolulu. Keep us in your thoughts, we’re hoping for a fun-filled, healthy vacation. We’ll give an update when we’re back in town.
Happy New Year to all, and thanks for your continued support. If anyone is looking to make charitable donations before the end of year, please consider one of the following worthy causes:
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (they are matching donations through 12/31).
CureSearch (the world’s largest childhood cancer research organization comprised of the Children’s Oncology Group and the National Childhood Cancer Foundation with the mission to cure childhood cancer).
Seattle Children’s Hospital (you can specify that donations go to childhood cancer research).
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