@ the pool with Uncle Chris

We love Uncle Chris!!! My brother came over tonight to go to the pool, have dinner and hang out. It is wonderful to have him in town for a few weeks.

I miss him when he is not around.

Such a Stinker!

I captured these pictures when we were waiting to see the doctor at CHOP on Monday. This part of our visit tends to be when Owen gets the most restless and fussy...right after his port is accessed, waiting for the blood counts and for Dr. Cole to check him out, just about nap time. Yesterday he was in such a silly state...he has certainly developed a strong personality! Owen kept hitting the wall and looking at me...giggling hysterically (he seems to find it funny to do things that will get a reaction out of you...usually things he probably shouldn't be doing). He also found it funny to keep smacking Joey with his turtle and then stuffing it in his mouth. Joey just adores his brother and plays right along.

Treatment went well...typical visit other than a rash Owen has developed on his legs and arms. The doctors think it might be a reaction to the antibiotic he takes weekly to prevent a strand of pneumonia. They plan on switching his meds and seeing if it makes a difference.

Pics from Sunday's race...

You did what???

"I did something you might not like" -Joe

I got back from Aimee's house the other night, to find out that Joe gave Owen his first haircut. No pictures...although he told me he saved the hair. Owen definitely needed his mullet cut...thankfully Joe is no barber so I had the chance to clean up the cut the next day. Joey was our official photographer.

Today Joey had his first race. A one mile fun run for Big Brothers Big Sisters. He completed the race in 9 min. 40 sec. Joey has two speeds...SPRINT: I call it the "angry run" because he runs with all this venom and vigor and STOPPED: bent over, hands on knees, chanting I can't do it. He repeatedly followed this pattern and still finished in under 10 minutes. So proud!!

The 5k race was held before Joey's race. It was great to have him, my mom and Owen cheering me on. I finished in 27:43...which I was happy with since my first 5k in June I finished in 31:00.

I'll download the race pics tomorrow...cranky Owen is loosing patience with me!

"Cousins"

Joey and Owen have 3 adorable cousins, Toddy (Joe's sister Eileen and her husband Todd's son) and Patrick and Findlay (my brother Chris and his wife Shannon's sons). He loves playing with them and looks forward to when he gets to visit with them.

But the cousins he constantly refers to and talks about are his NY "cousins": "When are we going to see the cousins???" "I miss my cousins." "I never get to see my cousins!"
Definition of NY cousins: My Aunt Amy and Uncle Frank's kids: Julia, Liam, Kelly and Aidan. Joey is obsessed with them!

This past weekend we were invited to Charlie's fourth birthday party in Queens, NY. Charlie and his sister Emma are my Aunt Laurie and Uncle Chris' kids. It was great to see everyone and spend time catching up. I enjoyed talking with my grandma and Aunt Amy and watching my grandpa and brother play bocce ball. The kids had so much fun running around trying to peg each other with water balloons. Joey thought the trip was "Awesome"...not surprising. ...we definitely have to work on his range of vocabulary before September.

32 more...

Owen started his maintenance phase of chemotherapy on Monday. Everything went fine except for some unexpected news. Joe and I believed that the maintenance phase would be ten treatments given over 10 months. How exactly we came to that conclusion we are not completely sure. But this is what we both believed would be the next step for Owen. Totally manageable...life would return to somewhat normal only having to make the trip to CHOP once a month. Were we wrong! Most likely when we began this "adventure" we read the maintenance "road map" incorrectly. As it turns out, Owen will have 8 more cycles of treatment which consists of 4 weeks "on" (once a week treatment for 4 weeks) and 3 weeks "off" (no treatment for 3 weeks) and repeat this cycle 8 times. Total of 32 more treatments over a span of 56 more weeks...we were blown away by the news to say the least. So now after a few days the news is beginning to settle in. Just a change in mind frame...juggling of schedules...decisions about Owen for child care when I go back to teaching in the fall...all manageable, just a little sad that Owen has to go through so much still. He'll have a number of MRIs during the cycles to assess his progress and hopefully after all of this he will be done.

So it was a long, mentally exhausting day. We dropped Joe off at work after we were finished, stopped at Wegmans for dinner stuff and to appease two cranky little boys I broke open the marshmallows on the way home. I had to get a picture, although it barely picks up the extent of the sticky, gooey mess. Totally worth it for the two smiley faces...but does anyone have any great tips for removing marshmallow from fabric???

Uncooperative

A two hour drive...a one hour wait...and surprise, surprise...Owen was uncooperative for his eye exam. It wasn't even the whole exam, just one small part (the lines test) and he has to return for the same tests in a couple weeks. Every visit we have had to the Neuro-opthamologist has been excruciatingly long and normally turns out with Owen being deemed "uncooperative" after 3 out of the 5 tests he is administered.

I felt uncooperative after that long wait.

The day dramatically improved with a visit to the Academy of Natural Sciences. What a fantastic museum, great exhibits, perfect size and very quiet (as long as you can stay away from groups). Joey was in awe of the dinosaurs and Owen loved the turtles and fish. On our way back to the truck we stopped by the Logan Square Fountain. I am pretty sure it has a different name, but that's what I've always called it. I have such great memories of goofing around in this fountain with my friends and brother. It was pretty neat to "share" my favorite fountain with Joey. His word of the summer to describe the experience....awesome.

Cool Dudes

It's been a pleasantly quiet week. Joey started swimming lessons (this was the best shot I could catch of the little fish) and he is picking up a lot. We have had a relaxing summer rhythm the past few days: swim lessons...lunch at the pool..home for a nap. The evenings still tend to be busy, but it is a fun busy: Shelby Lynne concert last night...reptile guy at the library tonight. Tomorrow Owen has his appointment with Dr. Lui at CHOP, afterward I think we'll head to the Natural History Museum. Joey has been reading the Magic Tree House book about dinosaurs so I think he'll dig it.