Milestones

Three years ago today, around right 9 pm, we received "the call"...telling us about Dante's tumors. At the time we had a 6 week old baby, a 2 year old and life was already strained. We had NO idea. I always think about Chris hanging up the phone and saying, "I can't believe what I was worried about before that call." What a life changing thing to happen to any family. What an unfortunate way to remind you of life's priorities.

But, what an amazing three years it has been. We have been blessed with a now healthy 5 year old and 3 year old. Thank you for all of your support over the years.

Dante started school today - first day of Kindergarten. He had a great time. Over the course of the evening more stories started spilling out about his day. At bedtime, he suddenly named all the teachers he met, things they talked about, what he saw and about going tomorrow.

He told Chris, "Hey - Did you know you can BUY your lunch?! Some people had lunch they bought! Can I do that sometime? Maybe I can do it in a pattern...bring my lunch, then buy my lunch, then bring my lunch, then buy my lunch?" (I think we have a math geek on our hands!) Then he told me,"Some kids had corn dogs, with no sauce. Some had corn dogs with sauce. They had cookies...oh and green beans.. and cookies. Oh and they had milk, like strawberry milk and chocolate milk? Maybe I do that someday. I would get cookies and a corn dog, but with no sauce...." whew. I was worried about him, but I think he will do just fine.



This summer, I heard from one of our hospital buddies from 3 years ago. Sara's tumors have returned. We're thinking of them all the time and hoping for the best. She had been "cleared" right around the same time as Dante two years ago, and we all hoped that would be the last for both kids. Please keep Sara and her family in your thoughts.

Let's get caught up, shall we?

First off - best news - Dante's latest test results were all normal! Woo Hoo! We are now to just blood work and no CT scans, although in December they would like a chest xray. Germ Cell tumor typically recurs and shows up in the lungs, so they want to make sure once a year with an xray. They still want us to swicth to once a year testing, but I don't think we are ready for that long of a break yet.

Dante starts Kindergarten tomorrow! WOW! I started crying today when I told the staff at school. Guess I'm a little more stressed about it than I realized. We met his teacher today and she seems friendly and on the ball - knew who he was and had already read his IEP. He also has a speech teacher who is super cool and will be looking out for him as well. Glad I know a few people on staff, it makes it easier to navigate who to talk to for things.

Dante picked out his outfit for the first day - a silly halloween shirt that says, "Chocolate, good!" and smells like chocolate. He's all set up with the Star Wars lunch box and a new backpack.

He'll be using an FM system in the classroom. This allows the teacher to talk normally and it is amplified directly into his hearing aids. We tested one out this week - and wow. We were whispering things 2 rooms away and he could hear it all clearly. I think that will all work out well. He'll have speech therapy twice a week for his lisp. I'm sure it will be corrected soon, as he can correct it when coached.

Carina had her first day of class today. She did great, although I guess she got a little bit upset at naptime. She has Ms. Johnson this year, who was Dante's 3 year old teacher. We are a little worried about the potty training thing, but she is coming along well. She just doesn't want to grow up around me. She even says that she wants to be a baby.

The other day she was reminding us that she is still a daredevil...this the girl who is 3 and has already had stitches, broken bones and multiple xrays...

I'm always calling her a silly girl and she has started telling me that I am a silly mommy too. I would have to agree.

We had our typical summer of playing, although I'm not sure where all the time went. Between swim lessons and a couple of summer camps, the days flew by. We had our annual escape to Alligator Point, which was rejuvenating as always.

Stay tuned for more filling in the blanks and photos of the first day!