Birthday... Day 275 14AUG09

Today was my mother's birthday so we all headed over to her house to celebrate a little. I only stayed for a wee bit because I had to run off to work but the kids and Renee stayed for quite a while. Joshua and Jarrod took their new Wii Resort game to show to Grandma and Grandpa. Renee tells me that they had a good time and showed them all of the games they can play.

Joshua is getting stronger and he is very pleased. He still has problems with his feet but his upper body strength is on the mend. Before long I imagine he will be back to climbing everything in sight all the while making us really nervous :)

Tadpole day 2... Day 274 13AUG09

Joshua spent another day playing in the pool and hanging out with his friends. We went over to the pool this afternoon with Jim, Sally, Cameron, and Jayden. It was a great afternoon. Joshua is doing okay and felling pretty energetic right now. The good days help push the bad thoughts back into the shadows, they never completely go away but it is much easier dealing with them while watching Josh swim and laugh. Lets hope more bright days are in store for him.

Tadpole... Day 273 12AUG09

Joshua spent another day playing in the pool and hanging out with his friends. He loves to swim and I am sure he would grow gills if he could. The exercise is great for him and will definitely help him regain his strength.

This morning he swam with Hayley and Rylee and this afternoon with Cameron, Jayden, and Rinaldo. After swimming he went over to play at Cameron's house. Jarrod designed a cool Geo-trax layout for all the littler guys to play with, he is becoming quite the engineer.

Tomorrow is more of the same. Joshua has lined up another play date that includes swimming. He is definitely making up for lost time.

Friends are awesome... Day 272 11AUG09

Joshua had a special visitor this morning. Carly and her mom came by and she got to stay and play for quite a while. They had a wonderful time doing all kinds of stuff. I managed to catch a video of them playing Wii tennis. Carly is quite good at the tennis that involves real rackets and running around in the heat and no less good at the Wii version. Check out the great moves they both have.

Carly's mom brought over her camera and I got a video of the kids swimming at her house yesterday. I wish I could have been there, it looked like a lot of fun. I particularly like the singing :)

Today felt really good, it was the sounds of kid's laughter and seeing Josh and Carly having so much fun just being kids. We have missed that these past long months. Josh is doing well and tolerating the Methotrexate he took on Monday so far. It will take a while for him to settle into the groove but he is doing great right now. We are looking forward to more good days and watching Joshua enjoy being seven.

Counts are good... Day 271 10AUG09

Joshua went to the clinic this morning to get a CBC to check his counts. I am thrilled to report that his counts are up and looking pretty good. His ANC was 2400! The next few months the doctors will keep modifying his meds until they can put everything in balance.

Later Joshua got to go play with one of his oldest friends Carly. He went over to her house to visit and Renee said he had a wonderful time. It is really wonderful that Joshua is able to be a "normal" little boy for a change. It does him a lot of good.

Just plain hot... Day 270 09AUG09

Joshua had a wonderful time staying over at Jamie and Christian's. He and Christian got a little fishing in yesterday evening. He got them up early which is good practice for about a month from now.

He got home at lunchtime and spent the afternoon playing inside because it is just plain hot outside. I mean melt your shoes to the pavement hot. Like iron in a forge hot. Its hot. After Jamie and Christian left we did our normal sushi sunday dinner and then played on the Wii for a while. Josh is so good at all the games and is darn hard to beat. But he is a good sport and is always fun to play with.

While he was waiting his turn to play next Joshua wandered in and asked if he could make some music with my theremin. It is something I built while the kids were up at the beach house. Joshua really likes making music and he has a knack for it. I look forward to playing music with him for a long time. He graciously allowed me to film his performance.

Tomorrow Josh will head back to the clinic for labs to check and see how his counts are holding up. Let's hope they are still high and hanging in there.

Semper Paratus... Day 269 08AUG09

While Jamie was doing girlie things this afternoon us boys went over to check out USCG Air Station Clearwater. Christian gave Jarrod and Joshua a wonderful tour of where he works and the helicopters he works on. It is a very impressive place and both the boys had a wonderful time. We are all very proud of what he does. Afterwards we went over to Christian's place and did a little swimming in the pool, played a little Wii, and put together baby furniture. All in all a wonderful afternoon.








Jamie's baby shower went great according to several eye witnesses in attendance. She was pretty tired out when she got home but she was all smiles. We managed to get most of the spoils unpacked and put away before we all headed home.





As promised here are a few pictures of some of the boy's things from Kite Camp. They had a blast making the spatter paintings and they will be hanging on the wall in our living room for anyones perusal.





As a special treat Josh is spending the night with Jamie and Christian. Hopefully he won't beat Christian too bad on the Wii.