ALL about Caleb

Well, I was hoping not to have to use this blog anymore! ;) Back in the hospital. Caleb got sick. His counts went down. Way down. That's o.k. cause here we are in the best place we can be with (in my opinion)the best doctor we can have. It's been tough but his fevers finally subsided yesterday (he had what seemed like one long continuous fever that was held at bay by tylenol). He's taking medicine to help white cell regrowth & it's working. We're in great spirits. It's not a relapse, so that's the main thing. He had seemed to be coming down with walking pneumonia (in Del Rio), but Dr. Lazarus said the x-rays just looked "hazy", nothing significant to worry about I guess. The lung specialist checked him out & said everything sounds & looks great inside him so I'm not worried one bit. We just want to be out of here. I'll head back to work & Chris will switch out with me (he stayed in Del Rio-told him what's the point since Caleb was fine & we are just about tapped out on work days). For those that still check this blog, just wanted to let you know we're doing fine! :)

I just noticed it's been a really long time since I've posted anything. We had the twins' birthday party on Sunday afternoon. It was great! The kids had lots of fun. It was a power ranger/tinkerbell theme. They each had their own cakes of course. They wanted to open their presents from the beginning. Caleb was on the last day of his 5 day steroid cycle & wasn't in a great mood but he was better than the day before when he had a lot of leg pain & was very cranky. I think the fact that it was the day of the party that motivated him & kept him happy for the most part. What a change from last year's party! Last year is when we realized there were problems & the evening after that party we found out he had leukemia. Yuck! So this past Sunday was kind of redeeming. He was jumping away in the castle bounce with Caitlyn. They were pounding away at the star shaped pinata and sticking their fingers in their cakes. We just got the call from make-a-wish last week. Looks like we'll be heading out to Florida end of June/beginning of July. We need to work out the details. Hopefully we'll be able to fly out of Del Rio thanks to our fairly new airport. Everything has been great. I'll be walking with Caleb & Caitlyn (& maybe Chris depending on his schedule) at the Relay for Life in April. That's pretty much it for now.

Nothing new going on. As my favorite saying goes: No news is good news! Hope everybody has had happy holidays!!!

caleb lost his blankie at mr. gatti's this evening. we were so sad!!! it was like losing a family pet or something. he was crying when we tried to explain to him that it might not be returned. he's had it forever. it's actually a towel but it was always big enough to be a small blankie. it's pink & white striped. i think it actually used to belong to caitlyn but somehow he ended up becoming attached to it. we never put much weight into girl colors/boy colors or girl toys/boy toys. being twins, we have them share everything. (for the record, he prefers boy toys & she prefers girl toys!) so anyway, i left my name & number with a worker & we got a call back later that a girl found it. i was so excited!!! i'm washing it right now & caleb's gonna be so excited when he wakes up in the morning. there's like this whole thread on it on del rio soapbox. the link is in the sidebar. you don't need to register to view... my caitlyn, caitlyn, caitlyn...she's starting to display behaviors that mimic her brother when he's on a rampage. she threw some toys earlier this evening. she's been crying (actually more like screaming like a banshee) for such minor things. she's back to being scared of balls and balloons. she even freaked out with a deflated balloon that caleb was trying to blow up. i think she's becoming more confident in herself as she's maturing into a pre-schooler & while she's at it demanding more attention. i try to give her more attention. I think that's what my new year's resolution is going to be. Try to be a better parent & find ways to spend more meaningful time with the kids. I try to do resolutions that help me be a better person instead of giving something up like soda or junk food. It feels more meaningful to me that way & is easier to keep. i don't think i made a resolution at all last year.

jackpot, yay! the spinal tap was done without a hitch. caleb's back on decadron... don't know if i mentioned, but i had to put him back on a chart. he is off the wall!!! i think a large part is personality-he's just a hyper kid by nature & it gets him in trouble-and he's so loud so it attracts stares. how far away is adolescence? yikes! i try so hard to keep my patience with him. i feel like i'm always getting after him. (he told my mom that i'm mean-how sad is that?). i love our little tradition though. every time i take him to san antonio, i make a stop at sam's right before we leave & we eat pizza and share a soda. we talk about the things we see at the store. then on the way out, we stop at the last convenience store & buy white powder donuts. i love that bonding with him. it's such a great feeling!!! caitlyn got to spend the evening w/ grammy. they went to the mall. my mom said caitlyn saw a lady that resembled me (short hair, stature) & caitlyn ran to her yelling "mommy!" & got freaked out when the lady turned. my mom said she wouldn't stop crying. my poor baby girl! i hugged her alot this evening & told her she's always in my heart & to always remember i'm in her heart, that way we're always together.

counts still aren't high enough. dr said not to give him his antibiotics either. nothing we can do about it. just have to wait on his body to adjust... he's had a slight cough that sounds full of phlegm. have to go back on wednesday. hopefully that'll be the day!!!

i just realized i hadn't posted anything about the spinal tap. caleb's counts were too low. so we were rescheduled for the following monday. counts were better but still too low. we're going back this wednesday. cross your fingers! (although i'm not looking forward to the meds that he'll have to go back on). his behavior is better. i don't know if it's the chart or his not having had his chemo drugs the past couple of weeks (on stand-by until the spinal). caitlyn's doing great. they're looking foward to christmas. me too. i can't wait to see my brother & sis-in-law & any other family that come to visit. if i don't get to make any other posts before then, happy holidays & merry xmas to everybody!!! :)