Mad Madam Madeleine

New Digs

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 02:07:00 +0000

We are no longer Californians. And that feels strange.

But, I really like it here.

We moved on New Years Eve. I flew with the girls, and then rented a car to head up the hill to Los Alamos. At the time, New Mexico had just experienced a huge storm, with way below freezing temperatures. When we got to the hotel it was somewhere around nine degrees. Nine! Coming from San Diego, where it's always around 70, this was a huge shock.

Ryan definitely had the most difficult journey. He drove, with Humphrey dog, and it took about 18 hours because of road closures due to the storm. He had been sick before the trip, but thought that he was on the mend and well enough to drive. Somehow he came down with bronchitis during the trip and barely made it to the hotel that night.

When we first arrived:
Madeleine was beyond excited to go out and play in the nine-degree weather. That lasted about two minutes.
It took a long time for our furniture to arrive, a week, so we camped out in the hotel for a few nights, and then eventually moved into our new house. Check out these icicles on the kitchen window!

Ryan was off work for a couple of weeks, so we were able to take some day-trips to Taos, Santa Fe, and Bandelier National Monument.

On the way to Taos.

This picture doesn't do this justice, but this is Valles Caldera, a volcanic crater. It really is stunning. They have cross country skiing, snowshoeing, hunting, and a bunch of other things there. There is even a half-marathon at over 8,000 feet. I'd like to consider it, but just don't think I'll be able to train for it by June.

There are our neighborhood resident deer. We see them every couple of days, just walking down the middle of the street in front of our house, or jumping the fence in our neighbor's backyard.

So, we're settling in. Haven't made any friends yet, but have started to scope out the places with other moms and kids. We're looking at a preschool for Madeleine next week, as well as dance classes in Santa Fe. She's obsessed with ballet lately.

Laurel loves her jumpy!

Ballerina girl.

Long time

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 18:21:00 +0000

I can't believe that it has been about six months since my last post! The fact is, I'm not really sure what to do with this blog. Now that Madeleine's tumor is stable there isn't much to share in terms of medical updates. We recently saw the neuroblastoma specialists in LA, and she was happy with Mad's recent scans and doesn't see any need for further biopsy at this time. She still has to be monitored, as the tumor is still active.

We also have to watch out for secondary effects from the chemo that she received, such as secondary cancer, problems with infertility, etc. My biggest fear is that Madeleine won't be able to have children. I worry about this all the time. It was very reassuring to hear that with the amount of chemo that she had, her doctors don't think that infertility will be an issue. There is still a likelihood that she could have some sort of secondary problem, but from what we've been told she may just beat this thing without any issues...except for a couple decent scars, and a weakened right leg...but I'll take that.

In OTHER life news however, there is a fair amount going on. In August Madeleine became a big sister:She loves her little sister, Laurel, and is surprisingly a big help to me.

Madeleine has been enjoying her dance class:

And logging in some beach and friend time:

Shortly after Christmas we are moving to New Mexico! Ryan got a good job at the National Lab in Los Alamos, and we are looking forward to getting out of fast-paced Southern California. We will definitely miss our San Diego friends, but I think this will be a good move.

Preschool

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:44:00 +0000

I just dropped off Madeleine for her first day of preschool. She is so excited. She wasn't worried at all, and was ready for me to leave the second we got there :)

In the picture above you can sort of see her new AFO brace on her right leg. She's had it for a couple of weeks and is still wearing it, so I guess that's a good sign. The brace is to help straighten out her foot so that she doesn't roll onto the inside of her foot so much. We've noticed a lot of improvement in her walking, jumping, and running even before we got the brace, so she's continuing to make accommodations for that weaker right leg.

And now I have three glorious hours to myself!

Medical update

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:11:00 +0000

Madeleine's recent MRI shows that the tumor is stable and there hasn't been any growth for the last six months! This is great news. Her VMA/HVA levels continue to be high, which means the tumor is still active (but not growing). We have been told that these levels can remain high for years, so while we'd like to see them dropping, we aren't very concerned about this.

The stable tumor means that we now get to do MRIs every four months (instead of every three) and urine tests every two months (instead of every month).

Madeleine's cancer diagnosis also means that we were able to secure free cord blood banking for baby #2 - a huge savings for us, not to mention the potential life-saving ability of cord blood. I am 31 weeks and feeling great!

Recent pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:26:00 +0000

Celebration of Champions

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:22:00 +0000

Yesterday was the annual Celebration of Champions that a fundraising group for the oncology department of Children's Hospital puts on for cancer kids and their families. We went last year, and it was, and continues to be an amazing event. What always astounds me is that they get sponsors to donate $1500, or more, per child that participates in the relay. There are a whole lot of children that participate, and the event grows every year. Each child gets his/her own personal sponsor family and local celebrity. The sponsors and celebrity run a relay race with the child and their family. It really is moving to see and hear everyone on the sidelines clapping and cheering. Madeleine saw some cheerleaders this year and almost stopped running (well, she was really walking) to check them out.

This year, we somehow lucked out and got TWO celebrities! The Padres' Chase Headley and Will Venable were our celebrities this year. I really don't know anything about baseball but it was fun to meet them. Here are some pictures from our day.

Our sponsors were the Deutsch family - a group of the friendliest, nicest people ever.

More sponsor family

Padres player Chase Headley and his wife.

Padres player Will Venable and his girlfriend.

The real celebrities (for Madeleine anyway)

Madeleine has a strange fascination with owls. This owl was a big hit.

Madeleine and her buddy, Cade. This year Cade (also a neuroblastoma survivor) got to be in the "suvivorship" group at the Celebration - a great place to be!

Face painting - she's a kitty cat.

After the Celebration we went home to rest for a couple of hours and then headed back downtown for the sold-out Padres vs. Dodgers baseball game. It was fun to see our celebrities playing and Madeleine and Cade had a wonderful time running around in the grass. It was a true day of celebration.

Best Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:30:00 +0000

Madeleine and Sophia

Something to Share

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:02:00 +0000

Baby #2 is due mid-August!

Scan results

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:47:00 +0000

A couple weeks ago Madeleine had an MIBG scan that shows how much of the tumor is still active. She also had her usual urine test. The doctor finally called today to discuss those results. The scan shows that she still has active tumor. Her VMA/HVA numbers are both up a bit from where they have been. VMA is at 32, and was in the 25-31 range for the last four months. HVA is at 41, the highest it's been since April. All of that means that there is still immature tumor, and that it's probably growing a little (as was seen in December's MRI). The doctor is consulting with the specialist in L.A. that we saw over a year ago, and the neurosurgeon. Thankfully no one thinks that chemo is a good idea at this time as maturing tumor does not respond well to chemo. As long as Madeleine isn't having any symptoms (tumor interfering with her ability to walk and move her leg - which so far isn't a problem), surgery to remove it doesn't really make sense right now either.

Except that the tumor may be interfering with her ability to know when to use the bathroom. I know that she is still young, or right about average, for potty training, but I just feel like something isn't right. She really wants to use the potty, but so far hasn't been able to. After explaining my concerns to her doctor we now have an appointment in a couple weeks to see a neuro-oncologist. He will be able to tell if she has sensation in that area or not. If not, surgery might be a good option, because its not like the tumor is ever going to go away, even after it matures. If it's in the way, it will remain in the way until it is removed.

So, I feel disappointed, and frustrated, and a little angry, that we seem to be in the exact same place that we were last year. The tumor is still in the process of maturing (hopefully), and may or may not be causing problems. I know that things could be so much worse. The tumor has not migrated anywhere else, and we are not currently facing chemo, radiation, or surgery. We'll see what the neuro-oncologist and neurosurgeon think, and go from there.

Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:17:00 +0000

We had a wonderful Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We also got to visit with some friends that we don't have a chance to see very often, and that was great too. Madeleine got more toys than any child needs ever, but she's happy about it.

Cookie decorating is really fun.

Santa showed up on Christmas Eve for a visit! He looks awfully relaxed here for a guy with such a busy night-before-Christmas schedule, doesn't he?

Christmas morning. The dollhouse was her big Santa gift.

Madeleine's paparazzi

Medically, there is news I haven't really wanted to share, because I'm choosing to believe that it isn't true, until we have more conclusive data. Mad's MRI in early December showed that the tumor may be growing. It's been stable for a number of months, but this measurement showed that it was bigger on all measurements. The measurement could be wrong. Her markers remain about the same, so thankfully they also are not showing growth. Instead of retesting in four months, as was the plan had this scan been stable, she will be rescanned in two months, and she will also have an MIBG (radioactive nuclear medicine scan that shows how much of the tumor is still active) in a couple of months as well. Neither of these scans has been scheduled yet, but I'm holding my breath until then...

Santa

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Shabby Chic

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 00:22:00 +0000

I finally got around to taking pictures of Madeleine's room:

I love that the headboard and the frames completely match, that was unplanned. I repainted the dresser to match the headboard. It took a whole lot of sanding and many coats of paint because it was originally stained to match her crib, which was a dark cherrywood color. I'd like to get a small night table too, and I'm occasionally scouring thrift stores for that, but haven't found the right one yet. I didn't show you the blank, white wall that faces the bed. I don't know what to do with it. I'd like to put up some children's artwork, but don't want to spend any money on that project.

Birthday pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:32:00 +0000

My big girl turned two at the end of October. Her birthday party was on Halloween, so all of her friends came dressed up. Madeleine, who insisted on wearing her turtle costume every day for the entire month of October, only wore her costume for about five minutes the day of Halloween. Of course!

The party was luau themed, so of course we had sand and seashells.

Madeleine supervises the party set-up.

Sophia Dragon

The dragon chooses an India Pale Ale, but is carded by the bartender.

That's one stuck pineapple

Amanda Mouse arrived via railway

Afraid of revealing their super powers, the Buzz Lightyears studiously avoid one another.

Humphrey sniffs out the witch (Ashlynn)

Tucker Lightyear wonders just how to get those wings to work

Cade Lightyear - To Infinity and Beyond!

Friends playing in the sand

Enjoying rainbow birthday cake

The beautiful and talented Auntie Karen (all of these pictures are taken by her, or at least by her camera).

Dressed up for trick or treating. Humphrey had to suffer wearing his bee costume for another year.

We had a great weekend filled with friends and family. My favorite part of the party was when Madeleine took a break from opening presents to look up and see everyone watching her. She said, "look at all the friends!"

No news is good news

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:12:00 +0000

I'm sorry that I haven't posted anything in so long. I'm feeling guilty about abandoning Mad Madam Madeleine, but I really don't have much to say. I never intended to be a "blogger," nor do I now consider myself in that category. If I have a picture, video, or story to share, I will continue to share it here, but I am not going to make myself post things on any kind of a schedule. Of course I will continue to share any medical updates.

Mad's latest VMA/HVA levels are a wee bit higher than they were last month, but our doctor assured me that this is still in the standard deviation for the test, and they are still considering these numbers stable. Standard deviation or not, I hate to see any increase in numbers. I'm hoping they will be back down to previous levels next month. HVA is 45.3 (up from 37.2) and VMA is 31.9 (up from 29.2) for those of you playing along at home. To be cancer free HVA should be no higher than 23 and VMA should be no higher than 18 based on Madeleine's age and weight. When she was first diagnosed, her HVA was 88, and VMA was 133. Wowza!

My friend Andrea showed me how to put pigtails in Mad's hair.

She sleeps like this at every nap and bedtime. Isn't that weird? Ryan sleeps like that too.

You may notice from the picture above that Mad is now in a big girl bed. These past two weeks I've been working on painting and decorating her room. I'm thrilled with the way it's turning out. I'll take better pictures of the whole room soon.

Stating the Obvious

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:40:00 +0000

Things have been really good lately. Madeleine is happy, our days are busy, and we are leading a normal life with very few doctor and clinic visits. Mad's physical therapy went so well that she completed her final session this week. Her therapist is positive that now that she is bending her knee, the only thing left is to continue to build strength in her leg. And we can do that at home. She is continuing to love her gymnastics class (especially since her buddy Cade goes now too!), and we have started swim lessons again as well.

Her latest VMA/HVA markers are pretty stable, not going up, but not going down either. The tumor is stable, not growing. She won't be deemed "cancer free" until her markers are back in the normal range for her age. We know that this is just a matter of time until this happens. We are continuing with monthly clinic appointments to test the markers, and MRIs to check the tumor every three months.

So, things are going well, things are moving in a positive direction. After the horribleness and uncertainty of last year, this year has been positively wonderful.

Then why do I feel so bitter sometimes? I can't really explain it. September - which is Childhood Cancer awareness month, made me angry. This happened to me last year too. The only company (that I know of) that does anything in support of Childhood Cancer awareness and funding is Chili's. Meanwhile, there are pink ribbons on my grocery store yogurt lids and mushrooms halfway through September. Mushrooms. I'm not trying to take anything away from breast cancer awareness, I think it's fabulous that so many companies and organizations are supporting and donating to such a worthy cause, but I'm a little jealous. Where is the support for childhood cancer? These are our children, and two classrooms-full of children are diagnosed every school day.

On a more personal level I've noticed that I feel anxious every time a friend's baby is at or near the four-month mark (when Madeleine was diagnosed). I can't figure it out. I'm not worried about their children, I just feel anxious. It makes me want to tell them all about Madeleine being diagnosed and what that time was like. We were at a wedding recently and a college friend was talking about how his four-month old doesn't sleep. I sympathized with him because we had the same problem for many, many months, but in my head I really wanted to say, "...and four months is when Mad was diagnosed, so...[shrug]" I even thought of the gesture that I would use to convey this message. Am I just being selfish because I want everyone to keep remembering? Am I looking for sympathy? I don't know. I don't have a better way of describing this. Also, we would like to have another child eventually, and the other night thinking about that hypothetical child as an infant brought me to tears. Not because having a newborn would be difficult (it would be), but because that baby would eventually be four months old and I would have to deal with that. Is this post traumatic stress disorder?

All of that said, I'm pretty happy. The moments mentioned above are just moments. And they aren't consuming my life, or making me crazy. I debated about posting this because I don't like to share too much about how I feel, and because I don't want you all to think that I'm crazy... maybe just a little damaged :)

I'll leave you with recent pictures to lighten the mood in here:

Early birthday present from Grandma and Grandpa!

Madeleine and her friend, Sophia, at the zoo.

Trying out the Halloween costume

Look at the progress she's made!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Going through some of our old videos this afternoon I came across this from March. This is what Madeleine's walk used to look like:

And now:

What a difference six months and a lot of physical therapy make!

September: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:13:00 +0000

You may have to click on the picture to read the text.

Once again Chili's is donating 100% of their profits on Monday, September 28th to St. Jude hospital. No child at St. Jude is ever denied treatment because of their family's inability to pay. Also, all through September you can dine at Chili's, color a pepper, and add a donation of your choice onto your bill. We ate at Chili's last night, and definitely plan on going on the 28th!

Pairs

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:55:00 +0000

This is my week:

I am watching my friend's daughter every day this week (and three days a week most weeks). This is an arrangement that I'm very happy with because it gives the girls a friend to play with, and it's also good practice for things like sharing and taking turns. Mad is having a hard time with these concepts, but I hope with practice that she'll get it. We're also dog sitting our favorite Basset Hound (don't tell Humphrey!) this week. So that makes two kids and two dogs. I like to have things in matched pairs. Today was my first outing with all four of them, and it was challenging. I have a new respect for moms and dads of multiple children!

And dog parents of more than one dog!

MRI results

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:14:00 +0000

The results from last week's MRI show that the tumor is stable, and has not grown any since the last MRI - This is great news!!
The hospital is now classifying Madeleine as "off therapy." This doesn't really mean anything different for us, except that we are closer and closer to "cancer survivor," and "cancer-free" status. It's a great place to be.

The Off Therapy Transition Coordinator that I spoke with reminded me that there are a lot of college scholarships for kids that went through cancer treatment. So, we have that to look forward to. This isn't the way that I would go about securing a college scholarship, but if it works out that way I won't complain. This, coupled with the fact that Madeleine can now count to 14 means that she is Harvard bound!

Finally

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:29:00 +0000

Sorry for the long blogging hiatus. Although you wouldn't know it from the soaring temperatures, summer is drawing to a close and I've started to get busy with classes for my master's degree, my online job, and various other responsibilities and commitments.

Madeleine had an MRI on Wednesday and we are waiting to hear the results. We've also been authorized for six more physical therapy visits, and Mad has been loving her "play toys with Brynn" (physical therapist) time. During her last PT session she did an amazing job of lifting her right leg and bending her knee. It was the most improvement that I've ever seen.

Sunning the bits in our garden.

Making dirt angels is her new favorite thing

Local park/playground

Enjoying the first tomato from the garden. This kid LOVES tomatoes!

Mad's new friend, Sophia

Race Run

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:40:00 +0000

I'm done!

The race went pretty well, and I had a good time. Mostly I'm glad to be done.

Woke up at 4:14am this morning (one minute before my alarm was set to go off, I think that's my super power because that happens all the time), had a cup of coffee and piece of toast. I left in plenty of time to make it to the parking area (San Diego Zoo parking lot), especially for 5 am on a Sunday. However, I didn't take into account that 8,000 other cars would also be trying to merge onto the 5 from the 163. I was a little worried about missing the last shuttle bus to the start line, but looking at the line of cars behind me I knew that there was no way that they would not pick all of us up. After finally making it to the parking, and waiting in a long line, I boarded a bus which took us to the start line at Cabrillo National Monument. I really wished I had a camera because when the bus pulled up to the drop off area the massive sea of people milling about the parking lot was really a sight to see.

My next immediate concern was finding a bathroom. I think I over-hydrated a little bit this morning, and I'm sure the coffee didn't help. The lines for the bathroom were about thirty people deep, and by this time the race start time was about six minutes away. Needless to say, the race started while I was in line, but this is okay because my personal time didn't start until I stepped over the start line (timing RFID tag on my shoe). I had a lot of time to chat with the woman behind me in line. She asked about my shirt and I told her a little about CureSearch, and how I had raised funds to support childhood cancer research. She told me that she was a childhood cancer survivor. Her parents had enrolled her in an experimental chemotherapy trial, and because of this she was the only child from her ward that survived. I felt like this was some sort of sign; this woman's story inspired me and furthered my belief that I was doing the right thing. So many kids lives are saved because of experimental trials that pave the way for future reasearch which then results in more kids' lives being saved. I was hoping to see her again, but I didn't. I think she was there just when I needed her.

Running a race with 8,000 of your closest friends is a lot different than doing a long training run with no one around. On training runs I can zone out and think about things besides running, and how my body is feeling. This helps the time pass. Constantly trying to get around people, slowing down because of slower runners, finding holes to slip into, it's an exhausting mental workout. By the end of the race I was physically tired, but being mentally tired had just as much of an impact. I did pretty well until the last couple of miles, which were uphill. A gradual uphill, but still, it was hard. My friend Doug met me at some point near the end of the hill and ran with me until the hill was over. That really helped motivate me to keep going. I had been running most of the hill, but was taking occasional walk breaks because I was just so tired. At the top of the hill I saw Ryan and Madeleine, and Danelle and her girls, Kassidy and Audrey. It really did make me feel good to see them cheering me on. And then I ran into Balboa Park and finished! I complete the race in two hours and seventeen minutes, which is right around the time that I was hoping for.

So glad to be done!

Ready, Go!

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 02:37:00 +0000

Tomorrow is the big race!

I added the last two names to the race shirt, and this is what it looks like:

And this is what it looks like in action! (sort of):

I'm excited about tomorrow!

CureSearch Shwag

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:52:00 +0000

Look at all the CureSearch logoed items I received in the mail today!

I know this is supposed to help my fundraising efforts, but I don't really have any idea what to do with it. Any ideas? There is a giant banner, two shirts, two water bottles, a bunch of bracelets and gold ribbon stickers (gold is the color for childhood cancer), brochures and a bag.

Give some to the next person to donate?

In other non-news: I got a call about Mad's latest VMA/HVA results. Apparently the wrong test was ordered, and they don't have the correct results. Lately it seems we have about a 50% chance of getting the correct results from these tests, or getting results at all. It's frustrating because, while it's only urine, and it's easy to collect, we do keep her on a special diet for three days beforehand that eliminates many of the foods that cause the test results to rise. Our case manager was very apologetic and offered to redo the test, but I opted to just wait and do it whenever we go in for her MRI - which is SUPPOSED to be this month, but the hospital is on some new scheduling system and everything is backed up (surprised? I'm not). I don't mean to be ungrateful, because the hospital, doctors, and nurses really have been amazing throughout this whole journey, but it really feels like there are a lot of snafus and administrative errors and holdups.

So, we're currently waiting for an MRI to be scheduled, with a possible BAER hearing test at the same time (to see if the chemo she received did any damage to her hearing), and another VMA/HVA test at that time as well. I'm also waiting for our insurance to authorize more physical therapy visits. The physical therapy office put in the request late because, again, of this new scheduling software, so again we are waiting. I should be hearing about that any day now.

Two more weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:23:00 +0000

The half-marathon is less that two weeks away. That means I only have one more long run next weekend until the actual race. And four more five-milers during the weekdays. I'm so glad that the race is almost here because I am tired of running. The weekly runs still feel good, but the long runs are trying to kill me. I get them done, but I usually always end up with a migraine a few hours later, and I've been having a pain in my lower back that has been coming and going as well. Last night, after a nine mile run, I came home with a bleeding toe. When the race is over I plan to continue to run 4 and 5 miles, but I am looking forward to dropping the 9 and ten mile runs. Now I know that I don't want to run a whole marathon!

As for fundraising, I am so thankful for the donations that you all have made. A huge thank you also for passing the cause on to your friends and family. If you haven't donated yet, there is still time, and remember, even $5 will help. I know that it's not easy to give money when so many people are out of work, losing their homes, preparing for weddings and new babies, moving across the country, and just plain struggling to get by. The money that you donate will go to saving a child's life...hopefully a whole lot of children. You can access the donation page by clicking on the orange "donate!" button on the side -------> over there.

To end I leave you with some pictures from earlier today. This is what happened while I took a five minute shower:

Doesn't quite have a handle on applying lipstick yet. The headband was her idea too, at least she got that part right.

Now I know why she was saying, "madeleine's finger IN." How did she know to pick my favorite lipstick?

Birthday in July

noreply@blogger.com (Amber) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:59:00 +0000

Madeleine's second birthday isn't until October, but at the suggestion of her physical therapist we bought her a bike, a very early birthday present. The bike is a little bit big for her, and I'm trying to devise some blocks on the pedals type of work-around, but for now she is enjoying scooting around on it and ringing the bell. The bike is a Schwinn. I love the retro styling.

The physical therapist also had us purchase insoles that slip into Mad's shoes to try to keep her from walking on the inside of her right foot. So far the insoles really seem to be helping. Of course they did not fit in her current shoes, so we also had to buy her new shoes. Shoes that are about a half-size too big just so that the insoles will fit. Expensive kid! Going shoe shopping with Mad is kind of an experience. She loves shoes, and will pick out all kinds of inappropriate shoes and insist on trying them on.

We recently bought a cheap kiddie pool, but prior to doing that, the water table sufficed in cooling her down on a very hot day.

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These last two pictures are from a recent trip to the zoo to check out their new kid's playground. The playground is more for older kids, but she still had a good time. We also checked out the petting zoo, elephants and some other animals.

Mad and I have been thoroughly enjoying the summer. Lots of beach trips, trips to pools to play with friends, birthday parties, and visiting the local park. This week we are lucky to have Nana staying with us. Mad is loving spending time with her grandmother and I'm enjoying some little breaks - like going grocery shopping on my own!