This is too cute not to share! Akemi with her best buddy, Cyrus.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Akemi's Report Card
It's truly amazing how much your little ones learn in a short time. Akemi is almost 18 month old and she's talking so much! We're lucky to have digital media to record and share such milestones.
Check out Akemi's Report Card from her first year with Susanna.
Check out Akemi's Report Card from her first year with Susanna.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Father's Day
We did our best to spoil Naveen today. The girls woke him up with presents before we headed up to the city for brunch at Chow.
We then met up with the Iyers over at Golden Gate Park for some fun in the sun.
On our way home we stopped for dinner at Calafia.
Keira convinced us that cupcakes should be part of the day as well.
Akemi thought that was a brilliant idea. :)
Play slideshow - 20
View photos in flickr
We then met up with the Iyers over at Golden Gate Park for some fun in the sun.
On our way home we stopped for dinner at Calafia.
Keira convinced us that cupcakes should be part of the day as well.
Akemi thought that was a brilliant idea. :)
Play slideshow - 20 View photos in flickr
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Little Stompers - End of Year Performance
Here's the link to Keira's recent End of Year Performance, in case you have 23 minutes and want to watch Keira and her friends looking cute. Keira even had a mini solo!
We were pretty amazed with how well all the children did learning the many songs and dances! Mrs. Louise and her teaching team did an outstanding job preparing the kiddos (as always!).
Also, if you haven't seen this Gangnam Style Preschool Parady, it's a must see!
We were pretty amazed with how well all the children did learning the many songs and dances! Mrs. Louise and her teaching team did an outstanding job preparing the kiddos (as always!).
Also, if you haven't seen this Gangnam Style Preschool Parady, it's a must see!
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Monday, June 10, 2013
Dex Pulse #12 and #13
Keira had a really rough dex pulse last month... she was sick multiple times before the dex pulse which was concerning on many levels. She had a fever, ear infection and then caught another virus just when she was feeling better. She ended up with a really bad cough that just wouldn't go away.
When we were at LPCH to see the doctors for her monthly check-in they were concerned that it could possibly be pertussis!
With so many families not vaccinating their kiddos it really puts kids like Keira at a greater risk. She had her vaccines up to 12 months, but once she was diagnosed with cancer + OMS we were told we could not vaccinate her anymore. The only way to know for sure was to do a nose swab (which is NOT fun, especially with a kid on high dose steroids).
Thank goodness the test came back negative.
Here is a picture of Keira with one of the nose swabs.
Would you want that thing stuck up your nose?! Ouch!
Sadly, even after the dex pulse Keira continued to have a rough time. She got sick again!
To make things more stressful, her behavior and sleep were off. These can be early signs of active OMS so we were worried that things might be slowly heading in the wrong direction for her treatment.
We know there is nothing we can do but hold the course... continue to expect her to follow the rules (at home and at school) and follow through with consequences when she doesn't listen.
We're grateful that things seemed to start calming down. She's still having a hard time falling asleep at night but she's not waking up (as often) during the night, and when she does wake up it's usually because she has to pee.
I know so many families deal with behavior and sleep issues and we want to believe it is all normal, but we know that we have to be careful that we don't miss something that might tell us what is going on with K's OMS.
The last two weeks have been much better. We met with Dr. E today and we're going to take that next scary step to reduce her dex pulse dosage starting tomorrow!
Keira is still not considered in "remission" because she is still taking monthly steroids. We know this is hard for people to understand because on the surface she seems like she is doing so well. She's been on pretty intense drugs for 2+ years and it's been almost a year since we've added the dexamethasone.
We do feel that the dex has been a good addition to her treatment plan. She's completely off the prednisone (which is originally why we added it) so we are making progress.
Now it's time to start the process to get her off of the dex.
We'd appreciate all the prayers and positive thought you can spare!
When we were at LPCH to see the doctors for her monthly check-in they were concerned that it could possibly be pertussis!
With so many families not vaccinating their kiddos it really puts kids like Keira at a greater risk. She had her vaccines up to 12 months, but once she was diagnosed with cancer + OMS we were told we could not vaccinate her anymore. The only way to know for sure was to do a nose swab (which is NOT fun, especially with a kid on high dose steroids).
Thank goodness the test came back negative.
Here is a picture of Keira with one of the nose swabs.
Would you want that thing stuck up your nose?! Ouch!
Sadly, even after the dex pulse Keira continued to have a rough time. She got sick again!
To make things more stressful, her behavior and sleep were off. These can be early signs of active OMS so we were worried that things might be slowly heading in the wrong direction for her treatment.
We know there is nothing we can do but hold the course... continue to expect her to follow the rules (at home and at school) and follow through with consequences when she doesn't listen.
We're grateful that things seemed to start calming down. She's still having a hard time falling asleep at night but she's not waking up (as often) during the night, and when she does wake up it's usually because she has to pee.
I know so many families deal with behavior and sleep issues and we want to believe it is all normal, but we know that we have to be careful that we don't miss something that might tell us what is going on with K's OMS.
The last two weeks have been much better. We met with Dr. E today and we're going to take that next scary step to reduce her dex pulse dosage starting tomorrow!
Keira is still not considered in "remission" because she is still taking monthly steroids. We know this is hard for people to understand because on the surface she seems like she is doing so well. She's been on pretty intense drugs for 2+ years and it's been almost a year since we've added the dexamethasone.
We do feel that the dex has been a good addition to her treatment plan. She's completely off the prednisone (which is originally why we added it) so we are making progress.
Now it's time to start the process to get her off of the dex.
We'd appreciate all the prayers and positive thought you can spare!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Picnic and Picking Nectarines
Last June we went cherry picking in Brentwood and had a blast. We thought this would be a fun tradition so we loaded up the car and headed out for a fun-filled day.
Once we arrived we discovered that it wasn't a good season for cherries and it was already over! Apparently there was not enough rain this year - no wonder they are so expensive in the store!
Making the best out of the situation we picked nectarines instead. :)
It's always good to end the day with a wagon ride.
Play slideshow - 29 View photos in flickr
Backyard Camping
This spring I learned about the Great American Backyard Campout and thought it sounded like a brilliant idea. REI and the National Wildlife Federation invite families to get out and camp once this summer. June 25th is the official day that thousands of people across the US will be camping out in their backyards or local parks, but truly you can do it anytime.
Camping with the girls has been on the list of things to do and we figured it was time to go for it. Sadly, we only have our backpacking tent so Akemi and I had to sleep inside this time. :)
BUT since it was successful we will try it again soon.
Play slideshow - 26
View photos in flickr
Camping with the girls has been on the list of things to do and we figured it was time to go for it. Sadly, we only have our backpacking tent so Akemi and I had to sleep inside this time. :)
BUT since it was successful we will try it again soon.
Play slideshow - 26
View photos in flickr
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