When a child is born, so is a grandparent...

Max loves his Nana...I think it's reciprocated. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

Gotta Check my Email More...

So there was an automated message from the doctors office in my email box. They send messages out when you have an appointment to remind you to show up. So, I ignored it for a couple of days.

So last night, I was cleaning out my in box, and I opened it up.

It had a message from my urologist saying that the CT scan showed no signs of cancer.

A four minute sigh of relief followed...

C-A-T, Yeah, you know me...

I had the first of what will become many surveillance CAT scans this past Tuesday. I'll go over the results with the oncologist on Monday.

For anyone who hasn't had one, CAT scans are not so bad, I suppose. You have to pick up a small jug of barium contrast the day before your scan. Some people don't mind the taste, some people can't choke it down. I think it tastes like a combination of orange push-up, suntan lotion, and iron filings. But I still drink it down. 'Cause that's me. You have one glass between 8-10 pm. Then you can't have anything to eat or drink after midnight. You drink another glass an hour before your scan, and then you have the last cup right before they put you on the machine.

The machine looks like a stargate about the size of a manhole cover. There is a long bed that moves back and forth through the hole. It has a bunch of numbers on the top and two cartoon faces, one that's holding its breath, and one that grinning rather sardonically. This is because, you guessed it, you'll be holding your breath as you're passed through the stargate.

One they've taken a couple of scans, they'll put an IV in your arm and inject you with another dye, and let me tell you, this stuff is weird. It heats you up in the strangest places...your sinuses, the heels of your feet, and your groin, so that it feels like you've wet yourself. Very disconcerting the first time you experience it, but then you kinda look forward to it. After they take a scan, they wait 6-15 minutes to scan you again. This time, they're making sure that the dye has made it into your bladder. It shows up as a metal blob. And they your sent on your way with the instructions to drink a lot of water, because you need to flush that dye out of your system, or else you can develop kidney problems (I literally drank a gallon of water that day...and I don't really drink a lot of water.)

So, this time around, I was really nervous. It's been too quiet around the household. It seems we were dealing with so much at once, I almost expect to have a crisis now. What if they find cancer in the lymph nodes? (that's the whole reason for the scan, by the way) That's a major surgery that takes months to recover from and has many complications. Or even if it has shown up in the other testicle? That's a whole other issue.

I think that I haven't dealt with the cancer thing really completely, as far as my emotions about the whole thing go. I've been busy with school, family, and everything else. Maybe I'm avoiding it? Afraid of what I'll find? Perhaps I haven't grieved. It wouldn't be the first time I've had issues with that. Am I angry at myself? This is the point...I'm not sure I've resolved and reconciled what being a cancer survivor means to me. I know I'm gun-shy about the doctor now. It's sort of like the dog that's been kicked...I'm not sure if the next time I come when I'm called, I'll get a boot in the ribs (or a knive in the gut). Maybe I should look into a cancer survivors network in my area. Chat room forums are nice, but some face time with people might be helpful.

So those are my thoughts for this evening. Now it's off to read what other people have written about theatre, and to write about what they wrote about...crazy. No wonder I'm always tired.

Salvorious Slobberpuss and the Little Blue Plums

Max has begun eating solid foods recently, and he's already opinionated about what's good and what's not so good. But, true to the family name, this doesn't really make a difference when it comes dinner time. He'll eat it all. This was a good reaction...I think.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This little guy is Korean, Swedish and 1/8th Irish. Guess that makes him our Scanda-Asian Leprechaun?! Wishing you all the luck 'o the Irish today!  

The Sauce

Aaaaaaand we've added the sauce! Apple, that is. The Boy seemed a bit surprised by the taste at first, but then couldn't get enough! We've got an eater on our hands!

Spring Break...blech...

So, our spring break started well enough.  We saw our friend Shawn in The Melville Boys Saturday night and planned on having lunch with some friends on Sunday. Well, late Saturday night, Angie wasn't feeling well. Sunday morning, she was worse. Enter: the Flu. Shortly there after, Nana got it, and then me. Fortunately, Max was spared, but he's been dealing with the vaccinations he got on Friday and his teeth. So, really, everything I hoped to get done over this break is quickly going by the wayside. Today was the first day that we all have felt half decent, so maybe we'll be able to catch up with stuff in the next few days. But really, it's kinda like we went to Mexico for spring break and drank the water, or had an ice cube, except we didn't spend nearly the money...

Max is doing well with the rice cereal. He knew right away what to do with it...smear it everywhere. But, all in all, he's doing much better with it than we hoped. He finished a whole bowl this morning! And at his check up on Friday, the doctor confirmed what I suspected...he head IS huge. Apparently, the head of preemies will catch up before the rest of his body, so right now, his head is in a larger percentile than his body. So yes, indeed, our son cries himself to sleep in his great big pilla!

There was something else I was going to write about, but I can't remember what it was. I guess I'll have to write again later.  

A Rice Day!

We received the go ahead to start the Boy on rice cereal at his 6 month check-up last Friday! (Here's a pic of our first attempt on Sunday) He weighed in at 14 lbs 14 oz at the appointment!

And...break.

Well, my first spring break in 14 years is upon me and I couldn't be happier, because boy, can I use it! 

While the semester feels like its flying by, there is sooooo much work involved that I kind of feel like an absentee parent. Like right now, it's 3:30 in the morning, and I'm printing out my notebook to turn in tomorrow for my Period Styles class. (The notebook is comprised of hundreds of color photos which is why its taking so long.) I'm cross-eyed, yawning, and wondering if I need my diaper changed. Spring break will be filled with work on my research paper. I did my last one over thanksgiving break and it turned out pretty well. We will of course be going back to Nana's. More Max and Nana time...

Talk in the department has already turned towards summer and of course, the big London trip. It's only 4 months away! You better believe there will be pictures posted during that time!

Also, thank you to everyone who has donated to my Relay for Life fundraising efforts. I'll be thanking you individually in the very near future.

Half a year?!

It's hard to believe that our little man is six months old today! (Well, technically 4 months adjusted, but he's been 'out and about' for 6) He is *definitely* not the same boy who entered the world so horribly ill six months ago and we are thankful for every day. His latest milestones include realizing he has a tongue, a voice and the drooly beginnings of teething! The other night he spent a good half hour shrieking just for the sake of shrieking. He wasn't upset or anything, he just felt like squealing! Needless to say, for parents who witnessed their preemie screaming at the top of his lungs in the NICU, but weren't able to hear a sound because of the tubes down his throat... well, the screams now are like music to our ears. (Ask us again about this a few months down the road- haha!) The other biggie is that yesterday during physical therapy he rolled over by himself 5x on his own! His therapist says he is right on schedule for his adjusted age, so we're thrilled. Every day is a new adventure with him and we're so blessed for his improved health!

Teddy Bears

I took Max with me to a doctor's appointment on campus today. It was pretty blustery, so I had him bundled up in a fuzzy snowsuit that makes him look like a little bear, but really it's supposed to be a puppy. As I was pushing him in his stroller to find a seat in the waiting room, we passed two big burly football player types. 

And guess what came out of their mouths?

"Awwwwwwww!" (You know the sound- the kind of 'awww' you hear when one sees... well, a really cute baby dressed as a little bear/puppy!)

It got even better when we had to pass them again once my name was called. One of them actually started talking to me and said "He is soooo adorable!"

It's kind of fun to watch big grown men turn into jello, but then again, I should be used to it with Michael and Max's Uncle Dave already. =)