March & April 2015

March of this year started out well. We took our annual March trip to Florida and were able to share some of the trip with Stephen's brother, sister in law, and niece, which always makes for a fun trip. We spent time at the pool, at Lego Land (Ben's favorite place in the world), and went on a new adventure to a drive through safari which the boys absolutely loved. Nate, behaviorally, did well on this trip...sleep patterns were the same, and he started to refuse peanut butter sandwiches, which was one of his staples. This was a little disheartening as he eats approximately 10 different foods so taking that out of the diet was tough to watch. Looking back, the one thing that sticks out in my mind was driving to the Vero Beach outlets. It started out like any other morning. We were almost there and I heard a funny noise so I turned around to look in the back seat and see Nate throw up all over himself. He never said he didn't feel well nor would I have ever thought that he would get sick. So, we pulled in and I went straight into Carter's to get a new outfit for him. Poor kid! He didn't get sick the rest of the day so we just kept a watchful eye on him and he seemed fine. Oh, the thoughts that go through your head when your kid with a brain tumor and hydrocephalus throws up randomly.

Nate decided he wanted in on the action too!

Safari waterpark

  

Nate actually wanted to go on rides this time! Yeah!

The rest of March was full of only good things! A friend approached me to do a fundraiser for Team Nate the Great (PLGA Foundation) and I was beyond flattered. Through her sales, she ended up raising a good amount of money that we were so proud of! We also were able to conduct a paint night fundraiser at a local elementary school. Stephen's cousin came to us in February and wanted to run this fundraiser in conjunction with her school's yearlong compassion theme and raise money for Team Nate the Great. She had such lofty goals and did not disappoint. Through the help of friends and family, local businesses donated raffle prizes, and we were able to raise over $2500 for Team Nate the Great and the PLGA. It was an absolutely amazing night and one that I'll never forget.

our sign

We had just under 100 painters!

To top off our good news, my Mom was recognized by her local church and the archbishop of CT with the St. Joseph's medal of appreciation. I couldn't be more proud of someone in my entire life. If you have met her and spent any time with her, consider yourself lucky. She is beyond special.

the medals

April of this year was interesting. After a brief trip to Connecticut with the boys while Stephen was in Florida, I woke up to Benjamin in my room telling me his arm hurt. I quickly looked and found a large blister on one of his forearms. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen! Then, as I was putting his shirt back on, he said his other arm hurt too. I look, and there was another blister, except this one was bigger! What the heck! The blisters looked like something you would see after someone was burned, except that he was sleeping when it happened. I texted some pictures to my sister and Mom; they thought it was weird too. I ended up just covering them up so they wouldn't pop until the pediatrician's office opened. They took him right in and decided to pop them and test the fluid since he hadn't been near anything hot that would've caused them. The tests came back empty and the doctor thought it was just a one time thing. If it's a strange and weird health issue, it happens in our family!

blister #1

blister #2

tough guy!

The anniversary of Nate's diagnosis (4/12/13) came and went. It didn't hit me as hard as it did for the first one. I feel like he's doing well, looks good, and has come so far that it was something to celebrate, not something to be sad over.

I was thinking it might be time to start potty training. If I've learned anything about Nate, is that he does things on his own time, in his own way. I knew it was going to be tough, but man, this kid is stubborn! :)  The beginning of potty training was interesting, to say the least....he wasn't going to be one of those "3 day" kids, that's for sure.

Easter egg decorating

Nate thinks he can drive the ranger

silly boys!