Long and Lean

Bryce had his 1 year check up today. He is doing great! As expected, he is between the 75 and 90th percentile in height and 40th in weight. So it appears he inherited his Dad's metabolism and body style, long and lean. I've never heard a doctor say "eat more meat and fat" but that was her advice to keep him from getting too skinny. Who would have guessed a doctor would actually recommend burgers, chicken nuggets and french fries, man its nice to be a skinny kid!

Springfield, IL

Valentine's weekend was our first weekend in awhile that we stayed at home and did nothing . But we are back to traveling every week with a trip to Springfield, IL. There, we visited my sister Amy, her husband Dan, and Shaun's college friend Ravi and his family. It was a quick visit, but Bryce got to meet Ravi and Jen's 10 month old daughter, Naya. Shaun got to reminisce about the great times Ravi and he had in college sitting outside the dorm, giving everyone who walked by silly nick-names. I guess since they don't drink, the stories were fairly tame. It was passed Bryce's bedtime so he was getting kinda fussy. Luckily, Uncle Dan came to the rescue and took him home for us so we could visit longer. Dan did a great job putting Bryce to bed, he even changed his diaper! Other than Dan's insistence on Bryce learning "french fry" while fist bumping, he was a perfect uncle. Thanks Amy and Dan for the hospitality, sorry I got you sick :(
Last week was also a treatment week, #10 of 12. So Shaun is almost done, only 1 more month! He's been doing remarkably well tolerating the fatigue and stomach ache (or at least not complaining about them). We worry about his neuropathy now that it is spreading to his hands. He hasn't felt his toes in months and now his fingertips are going numb. The nurse seems to think feeling will come back, but we will try to be proactive in preventing any further spread by reducing his dosage. Only 2 more to go, can't cause too much more damage, right?
And in cute Bryce news, he can now identify farm animals by name and repeat several of the noises. He also started walking across the room, unassisted.

Bryce Turns 1!!

Can you believe it? Bryce is 1 year old! On Feb 7, 2009 at 7:27pm, Bryce came into this world at 8 lbs 14 oz. and 22.5 inches long. He has grown a lot and has always looked older than his actual age. His name means alert and ambitious which I think fits him perfectly. He has great patience and determination to figure things out without getting frustrated. He is dexterous and strong which we can only hope will help him in some sport of choice later on. Overall, he is a sweet, happy baby with a contagious laugh and the most lovable spirit. I don't think Shaun or I could possibly love someone any more than we love Bryce. Happy Birthday Little Dude.

In honor of Bryce's birthday, we had a wondeful Polar Party!! Thanks to our friends and family who made it out to celebrate. The theme carried through to the decorations, cupcakes and even penguin party hats! The penguin cupcakes might not have turned out quite as cute as I hoped, but it was fun putting them together and were a true team effort. Like most first birthday parties, we presented Bryce with a cupcake to eat. Apparently, his dad's sweet tooth is not inherent since the cupcake went flying to the floor minimally 3 times before we gave in and let Bryce have his preferred dessert, a bowl of fruit. Bryce was sufficiently spoiled with lots of gifts and even contributions to his college fund. Thanks again to everyone who helped us celebrate!

If that wasn't eventful enough, the day after Bryce's birthday, he took his first unassisted steps!! Grandma convinced him his ball was worth lunging into her arms for and he finally took those precious first steps. We are sure to have our hands full now! Look for video of this when the walking lasts longer than 1 or 2 quick steps. Until then, enjoy the new pictures and video of Bryce on his new rocking horse.

San Diego

Wow, lots of updates. This has been a great week. I finished my first grant proposal for work and submitted it a week before its deadline. This is quite amazing considering how much of a procrasinator I am. I should hear whether it gets funded sometime in the summer. Shaun had his 8th treatment, only 4 more to go! We are counting down the days. As a treat, the family went on vacation with the Dunns to San Diego! This trip was more than just a get away with Chris, Jenny and Eliot, we got to hang out with LOTS of Dunns. Andrea, Jeremiah, Brian, Aunt Kit and cousin Diane to be exact. A big thank you to Aunt Kit for her hospitality and tasty food! We did so many exciting things but I'll focus on the highlights.

The San Diego Zoo...if you ever get the chance to go, do it! Its amazing. I love zoos in general, and this one is the best. They of course have a wide variety of animals but more importantly, the exhibits were amazing for both the visitors to get views and for the animals. The grounds are more like the rain forrest than paths to get from one exhibit to another. I really liked the hippos. You could watch them walking under water and showing off their teeth above the water. I don't think Eliot will soon forget the hippo that went "caca" in the water right near where he was standing. Doesn't compare to the rhino we saw (see video). Its like he knew he was being filmed. We also saw animals that were not excreting anything, and they were cool too.

Whale watching...this is a great time of year to go whale watching due to their predictable migratory path along the coast. But, it probably wasn't the best idea to go on the first boat out after a week of storms. The waves were a bit much for all of us, Bryce especially. Poor thing was green until he finally lost his breakfast all over his pants and my sweatshirt (actually I was wearing Shaun's sweatshirt, so it wasn't as bad). Despite this, the trip was a lot of fun. We followed one whale in particular and watched him come up a few times and show off his tail fin (fluke). Didn't get any pictures since we were all more concerned with focusing on the horizon, but it was really cool to watch.

Thanks again to the Dunns for letting us be honorary members of their family and including us on such a great trip. More pictures and video to come.

My Friend, Jen.

Today I got to see a very good friend from grad school, Jennifer Larimore. You might think this is nice, but not exciting enough to warrant a blog entry. For that I am sorry, but it was exciting for me. Jen lives in Atlanta with her husband and two beautiful daughters, the youngest whom I just met today! Jen is beautiful, confident, smart and just a lovely person overall. Her daughter, Sarah, is almost 4 months and although I only saw her awake for ~5 minutes of the 4 hours we spent together, she seems wonderful too. Jen and I agree that if she and Bryce want to get married later in life, they have our blessing.

Dear friend, thank you for welcoming me into your family and letting me celebrate your grandmother's 90th birthday with you and the entire Cox family. (By the way, your grandma is sharp as a tack and looks fabulous.) Everyone needs friends like you who make all the little problems of the world disappear and remind us to smile.

-Mel

Third Opinion

When it comes to a diagnosis of cancer, I think the more doctors involved the better. With multiple people, all with different expertise, we are sure to get the best possible treatment plan in action. So that's what we are doing. We took the advice of doctors in Birmingham and Chicago to consult a surgeon in Milwaukee about Shaun's care. Shaun met with Dr. Pappas this week and came back quite optimistic. There is potential for a surgery after chemo ends in March if the cancer grows out in the abdomen (but doesn't get into the liver). I'm not sure of the specifics and will probably need Shaun's friend Ravi to explain the procedure again to me, but the good news is it prolongs the life of cancer patients and is a possible cure. Now of course I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but I really like hearing the word "cure".

Excellent start to 2010!

Happy New Year! We are only a few days into the new year but I think its going to be a good one. Things are definitely looking up. Shaun had his scans yesterday to look for any out growth of cells and they were totally CLEAR!! This is excellent news. It means between his surgeon physically removing the tumors and the chemo attacking any remaining cells, nothing has been able to grow out. Yay!! The doctor was also impressed with how his body is tolerating the chemo. Most other patients have to drop down the dosage by now due to the side effects, especially the neuropathy. Luckily, Shaun's side effects have been tolerable and he is able to maintain maximum killing dosage! It is so cold here, especially this week, so I hope the neuropathy doesn't get worse (cold triggers it). So 2010 has already brought us some hope.

In other news, we've had a lot of fun visiting friends and family over the break including a trip to Bloomington to see an IU basketball game. We also went to Amy and Dan's house where our competetive spirits came out for a Gingerbread House decorating competition! You can vote for your favorite house on their blog.... http://lundfamilyfun.blogspot.com/ I can't tell you which one is ours, but I can say Shaun and I are in the lead! please continue to vote for us....Shaun has cancer, he deserves your vote!

More pictures and fun stories of Bryce to come. Happy New Year!