Our Week

Well, other than the huge worry with Mia, we have had a good week. We went to the Science museum with friends last Wednesday and the kids love it so much we went back with Ryan on Sunday. Mia and I did some shopping on Saturday while Bryce went to get a haircut. We want to let it grow out some, but he is just too hot.

Bryce had a soccer game on Saturday and they finally seem to be getting it and really playing a game. It is so cute to watch. He is doing really well and definitely wants to play, again.

We went to the park with our playgroup on Monday and poor Mia hit her chin and has a terrible looking "carpet burn" covering her chin. She also bit her tongue when she did it so her mouth is pretty sore. It bled pretty badly. Like she hasn't had enough going on. Then last night she woke up with a bad nosebleed, which has never happened before. I called the dr and she checked and her platelet count is fine so it should be unrelated to the neutropenia and anemia. We are supposed to call if it happens again, notice more bruising or bleeding gums. Apparently those are all symptoms of leukemia, as well, but since she doesn't have a low platelet count, it should not be the problem for her. I think I am going to worry about everything right now.

We are getting ready to go to Chuck E Cheese in a little while with a friend. The kids love it there and are excited to have pizza for dinner. We usually just go play, but Ryan is working late so I figure they might as well eat there, too!

These are some pictures my mom took of the kids at the park. We were looking for bluebonnets, but I guess we missed them this year :( Now I have to come up with a new Christmas card idea!

Bryce and I are going to see a play of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and going to dinner tomorrow night. So Ryan and Mia are having some father/daughter time. Should be fun!

Appointment

Okay, we got an appointment with the pediatric hematologist/oncologist on May 6th. I'll post an update when we get more info from him. Please keep the prayers or positive thoughts coming this way.

Lab Results

Well, our pediatrician called yesterday with the lab results and every test came back normal. This means her iron is fine and we can stop giving her iron supplements. That is the good news. The bad news is that there is some other reason for her anemia and low white blood cell count. It indicates a problem with her bone marrow functioning. The dr contacted a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and based on what he sees, he believes she has chronic benign neutropenia. It just means long lasting, non-cancerous, low white blood cells. Then there is still the issue of low hemoglobin (red blood cells) resulting in the anemia. He said her levels are not as bad as many patients and he feels comfortable ruling out cancer since she has no other symptoms and is able to fight illnesses. However, the anemia combined with low white blood cells is an indicator of childhood leukemia and we have to monitor her white blood cells closely. The next time (and everytime) she is sick with any sort of infection, she will have to have a CBC (blood test) done to check that her white blood cells are reacting. We believe they are as she has never had a long infection she couldn't shake on her own. People with this disorder are much more susceptible to infections. We are calling the hematologist today to make an appointment for a consultation to have some questions answered. We just worry about long term effects, and if this puts her at higher risk for leukemia or other cancers. We also want to rule out leukemia now. He said we could wait until she was 2 to check, again since she has no symptoms, but we need more info before waiting any longer. I'll update when we talk to him at Texas Oncology.

Scary possibilities

As some of you may know, Mia's iron levels have been low for the last 9 months or so. We have done iron supplements, iron-rich food, etc in hopes of getting them in a normal range. They have done bloodwork each month and last month, after doing iron drops, she was in the very low range of normal. However, today at her 18 month check , her levels were again, low and her white blood cells were off indicating a possible problem with her bone marrow.

We went to the lab where they drew blood from her arm. She did very well, so calm and brave. She handled it better than me. They are running five different tests dealing with her iron to rule out iron deficiency problems. The dr's hope is that it is just an iron problem and that her "normal" is low. I have always been anemic so we hope she just inherited that from me. However, if it is not an iron problem causing the low cell counts, they will have to check for hemoglobin and bone marrow problems. The dr mentioned the work leukemia which was enough to send me into full panic. She said there are may other things that could contribute to these symptoms, but after having iron supplements, eating beef, etc her levels should not still be so low and they need to think about the possibility her bone marrow is not functioning correctly. The other concern is just that her body is not absorbing iron which plays a large part in brain development at early ages. Not that low iron could cause any serious problems with intelligence necessarily, but it is important. Please send all positive thoughts and or prayers Mia's way. I will have the results either tomorrow or Thursday on the iron test and will go from there. Thanks, everyone.

Space Park

We found a great new park that is all space themed. Bryce loves it. I just wish it were a little closer. He wants to have his birthday party there, but it is just too far. He had a blast playing though and wants to go back when his friend comes to spend the night.

Last Week

This last week was pretty busy. We went to the park with our playgroup on Monday, met a friend and her daughter at the park Wednesday, went to the "space park" Thursday, and went to the bounce house place Friday. Whew. We did stay home on Tuesday and played outside. Bryce rode in his firetruck and Mia pushed her baby stroller up and down the sidewalk. Here is a picture of Bryce showing Mia how to play hopscotch. He drew it with sidewalk chalk.

Next week looks busy, too. It supposed to be such nice weather tomorrow that we are heading to a spray park with the playgroup to play in the water. Then one day we are heading to the Science museum with some friends from the group. Then Mia and I each have a dr. appointment. Fun.

We are really looking forward to the beach in a few weeks. Bryce wanted to start packing today :) We saw Ryan's grandma today. She is the one that owns the condo down there and lets us use it. So nice- we love going!

Busy Times

We have been busy lately, but having a lot of fun. I started a new playgroup in our area for the kids. It is so hard to find kids Bryce's age that aren't in day care (or preschool) full time that we were driving about 30 minutes to an hour for a group that was great, but just too far. So I thought I would try starting one here and we already have over 20 families. Bryce is so excited to go to the park and other fun places and see the same kids each time. He has made several new friends his age already and Mia has met quite a few little ones, but they are mostly boys! She doesn't seem to mind, though. We went to the park this week with the group and are going to a indoor bounce house place later in the week. He sees friends at soccer, church, art, etc, but I think he has the most fun seeing the kids at the park each week where they can just play and get to know each other.

We are looking forward to going to the beach next month. It is going to be so much fun this year since the kids can really play with each other. They get along so well and Bryce is remarkably patient with his sister. She's about the only one! I am really happy to see they are so close despite the age difference and think it really helps that they have been home together this year. We'll see how long it lasts!

Hanging Out at Home

Here is Mia trying to ride in her doll stroller. She loves playing with her babies now and pushing them in the stroller. She is getting so big and talking so much. The other pic is of Bryce rocking her. She wouldn't let me rock her the other night, (and yes, I still rock her to sleep) but wanted Bryce to. He even sang to her. So sweet!

More Soccer Pics

Scarborough Faire

We went to Scarborough Faire last weekend with my family. Bryce loved it! He thought the knights and jousting was very cool. Mia enjoyed riding in the wagon and eating an Italian Ice! Bryce's favorite part was doing the archery with Ryan. Unfortunately, he lost his Robin Hood hat on the way out so we have to find another one.

Mars

The last time we went to the science museum we saw an exhibit on Mars. It was 3-D and very cool. Bryce wanted to learn more about Mars so we looked it up online and in a science book I had from teaching. He made a book about it today and now wants to do all the other planets. It kept him pretty busy today which was nice because Mia is having a rough time with her allergies. She seems to be getting better, but it hit her pretty hard this time. We are hoping she is well tomorrow for a lunch playdate with some friends.

Pizza!

Bryce's favorite food is cheese pizza so I bought a pizza kit for him to make his own. It turned out pretty good! He really likes to help me cook.

Soccer

Bryce had his first soccer game last week and he did great. He received the "defense" bracelet and was thrilled- it's red! Mia was not too interested in the game, but found ways to entertain herself.