The sweetie I know and LOVE to pieces

He has been super attached to Shell Puppy lately...

ohhhhhhh, I love him sooooooooooo much! that smile of his (all 100 versions of it)! That's my Sushi alright!

Steroids get outta my way!

The kid loves him some croutons! He

was helping me unload groceries and he discovered these. All of a sudden I heard a shrieky rant, "Mommy! You buy these?! For me?! Oh my gosh! Thank you, thank you!"

Wierdo!

Sushi meet Sushi

How helpful...

of Triston to serve Grayson breakfast one morning! They can thank Caden's need for a diaper change and mommy's lack of multiplicity for this one!

A piece of heaven

At Quiet Heroes, SuperSibs! was selling these adorable Cuddle Clouds. I passed by the table thinking how cute they were. Then I saw people nabbing them up like crazy. They were going fast and by the end of "shopping" for raffle items I decided I had to have em. The cost went straight to SuperSibs! so it was WELL worth it! I figured I would buy one of each and let the boys choose which one they wanted. Triston chose JOY and Grayson chose FAITH. Seems fitting don't it?
They have slept w them ever since. My cuddle bugs with their cuddle clouds. Love!

Cuddly Moments

These two are quite a pair! Grayson was all buddy buddy with Bryley last weekend. She was his blanket, pillow and easy chair all at different stages of his day. LOVE IT! She is soooo good with the boys. She soaks it all up! Ah, those precious kodak moments. I adore their relationship with her. G takes on his role a little too serious at times. He has no problems with his chores like fillin her bowls and giving her treats, but gets so upset when she doesn't immediately eat or drink. He yells at her to "eat it, drink it!" and runs to me crying and tattling on her. It's that immediate gratification in him, I swear! But either way, he loves her and she does he. Couldn't ask for a better sister/daughter in our family (yes, we are DONE!).

CHOO CHOO OUT OF THIS WORLD

We were not admitted to the hospital when this beauty arrived but I heard all about from anyone who knows and loves Grayson around here. This train chugged down the halls last Sunday!! Amazing or what?! G would have loved it!! I love this hospital and all they do for kiddos struggling. The train cars were filled with teddy bears followed by Santa walking right beside it. Incredible!

Dear Santa...

Grayson loves the Chia Pet commercials for Scooby Doo and Spongebob Chias. And he just saw the Chia tree with Star topper and yelled for me to "SEEEEEE THE STAR MOMMMMYYYY! The light turn on and off!"

Love,
Grayson's mommy

U British?

C'mon break out your British accent and repeat after me....HAAAAAAAHHHMMM

That is what Grayson calls any round piece of lunchmeat-ham. The past 3 weeks he has been on a bologna kick, oh sorry, "ham" kick and this is how much he loves it:

We tried not to pee our pants as he declared "Taa Daaa" in the middle of dinner last night ( a feat in and of itself for all of us to be at the table together these days, it felt right and well missed). I take a look and there he had his bologna holding high onto the edge of the table! Nut! And he was so proud of himself, the ultimate magic trick. Even Triston was laughing. Then he proceeded to kiss the bologna (see above).

I am totally grossed out by bologna so this is quite the sight for me. And to think weeks ago he was dipping it into ranch dressing. Gross. But somehow he makes it look cute, huh?

Our precautions

When I arrived home from the hospital Friday Triston had a fever of 102. Since then we added another symptom-diarrhea that began yesterday. So far none today-thank goodness.

As you can imagine, our parent brains go into overdrive when we KNOW there is a virus going around the house. It is bad enough we are always on crazy germ watch w/ Grayson but it is even more difficult when someone in the house is attacked. I have been lyslol-ing (yes, that is a word...in my personal dictionary) and cracking windows and running humidifiers all weekend. And with the boys' bday party approaching I cannot help but pray it is all cleared up and no one else is bothered with it before then.

This is what we don when ANYONE is not up to par in this house:

Gotta say-he looks really cute in it, don't he? He insists on wearing it because his "white blood cells aren't working today and I don't want to get Grayson sick."
That's my boy!

Fun Moments

Back in late September/ early October...

They love that hand-me-down castle from Grace and KC!

Grayson has been imitating T during homework time since the beginning of the school year. He is really into "colors" lately. My OT friends-take a look at that nice grasp! So happy to see it everytime considering these chemo drugs affect joint and muscle control as well.

Then one night during family movie nite Charito was working out in the living room. Grayson got on the floor to imitate. He is still perfecting his crunches!

We have also been trying our best to keep up with photos at home. Grayson wanted a hold of my camera and it is so fun watching him decide what he is gonna shoot. He walks around the room, looks around and says, "There it is!" before he takes the pic. I think this day he had boobs on the brain. He just kept following me!

The Biggest Bro

This pic was taken back in Feb/March. The bond then was unbelievable to watch unfold and NOW it is truly priceless.

I just had to share what the biggest bro, T , mentions these days when he is not feeling well-

"Mom, I think my white blood cells are not doing their job! I am not feeling well today". He really understand the science of Leukemia-the book knowledge of it all. I just wish I could protect him from the emotional swings it takes on him. Wave my magic wand and make it all go away. Anyone out there finds one can you pass it our way please!

Port

Cute little story...

Since September (when Grayson's port healed well enuf to the point he was able to have it touched without pain) he has named it. It started out one night in Sept. when he was lying in our bed playing with his shirt. His hands were rubbing his belly and chest and all of a sudden he stopped at his port and froze. He looked at me and asked, "Mommy, this?" I said, "It's your port". "Port?" he wondered. I told him "It's to fix your blood. Make it all better". His hands kept wandering around his chest and he found the top of his catheter near his collar bone. As soon as I saw him stop there and rub it I began to struggle with what to call that. He can feel a bump there. I settled on "your dot".

So, weeks following whenever he is just chilling he will randomly pat his port and tell me with pride "Mommy, my port/my dot". He really sees it as a part of him. Another body part. Kinda like he knows its a good thing for it to be there. It is so cute to hear him say 'port'. That's how I have always seen it. The tool that is saving him. I admire it and him. It truly is an amazing medical tool for such a grand job to be accomplished.

Well, two weeks ago we were lying in bed together getting ready for a nap. G was talking on his toy cell phone while lying down and it slid off his ear. It landed on his chest onto his port. I hear him say the following:

"Uh oh! Sorry, Port. You otay (okay)? Otay Port. You Otay! Mommy, Port otay!" as he patted it like he was comforting it.

I told nurse Jenny the story at our next treatment and she laughed. It is too adorable and grown up of him how he has taken ownership of his port. They arent kidding when they say how resilient kids are!

Then this past Monday I was prepping G before taking T to school. Before every chemo treatment I have to place magic cream (numbing cream) on his port and then (if necessary)additionally (depending on the procedures of the day) on his leg/thigh for a PEG shot or on his spine for a spinal administration of chemo drugs or tap of spinal fluid. And because bruises and scars or scabs take so long to heal bc he is slow to clot I can always find the right lumbar area on his spine to apply the magic cream. It needs to be on him for at least 30 min, the longer the better tho. I rub the cream on the area and then apply a square piece of Glad Press n Seal over the spot. That is great stuff and doesnt hurt to remove. Well, that Monday Grayson only needed it on his port. I finished that up and put his shirt back on. He doesnt cry over this kind of stuff anymore. He actually wants to help. As I was about to put away the Press and Seal he started screaming and crying. I asked what was wrong and he told me "leg, leg!" He insisted he needed magic cream and "paper" on his leg. I tried to tell him he didnt need it today but he would not calm down. He changed his story to his back. He lied on his stomach and screamed for me to take his pants off in order to put cream on his back. I tried to tell him that wasnt happening that day either. No use! He would not calm down. Finally I gave him a piece of Press and Seal and let him figure it out. I hid the magic cream and he had no idea it was an element missing since he had the "paper"to distract him. Wanna know what he did w that "paper"? He placed it on his leg with such precision. When he was done and patted it down, looked at me and said, "There. Better. Jenny better". He remembered it is Nurse Jenny that takes it off and preps all areas. He really does adore her!

Here is my guy taking ownership once again. Its' this fine line between being proud of him for recognizing what needs to be done for him, recognizing routine and being sad for him for doing things/knowing things that no 2 yr old should have to. And I'll have you know that he couldn't wait to show Jenny his leg once we got to clinic. She smiled so proudly. I knew in that smile she understood my struggle of recognition in his little chore he took on that morning. And something tells me there will be more of his take charge attitude to come! Just like when we are admitted into the hospital for transfusions or see Belmonte or when Jenny accesses his port each week-he tells them what order to do things in. He tells them- "Check ears (take temp)...time squeezes leg now (blood pressure cuff)...Buzz light (heart monitor on his toe that lights up red)...time for numbers (check his weight)...I drink it (take his oral meds)...I push (push the non-toxic syringes for blood work or flushing of port)...I hold red, purple (he knows what order to insert the tubes to collect the blood from his port and Jenny actually lets him bc he counts and waits long enuf for them to fill)...and so much more. He is a mini doctor. He loves to help and wants to be in control when possible. I dont blame him. It gives him comfort and I applaude him for that. I'll say it again-------he is truly amazing!