Off to Wonderland

 Pierre and Briannahs Wedding

June 26, 2011

On a perfectly warm Saturday day in June, guest arrived at Poppa and Melissa's house in Castro Valley, Ca, were they took the leap down the rabbit hole to a land of love and fantasy to be known as Alices Wonderland.

"Begin at the beginning and go on to the end and then Stop" - the King

I ask Briannah what made her choose Alice and wonderland for a theme, and she simple told me that her and Pierre love to drink a lot of tea, it is a nightly ritual that they both hold dear. I adore how something so small could turn into such a wonderful themed wedding.

Family came from all over the country to help these two transform their Grandparents backyard into their own utopia. Plants were placed and planted with care, decorations were hung in just the right manner, every little detail was thought about and set up with loving hands.

This wedding held a special place in my heart, Briannah is like a cousin to me. When I was younger Briannah would hang out with Melissa and I, looking up to what her big cousins were doing and mimic it whether it was good our bad. I am so happy to say that I got to watch her grow up and on this day I got watch this couple promise their love for each. They took a vow to devote to each other love through thick and thin. It was truly a magically day, not only for the Bride and Groom but for the guest as well. We are all so lucky to be able to share in their special day

The next generation of Trouble

Blake, Aj Julian
Melissa, mine and Steffanie's Sons

Exploring the California Acadamy of Science

 One of the joys about living in the Bay Area is all of the amazing places and things to do at our finger tips. On this particular day we journeyed into San Fransisco to visit the California Academy of Science.

We left the hot dry weather of the suburbs and drove into the city, we could feel the tempter drop and soon realized that we did not back enough warm cloth. Luckily the baby had a sweater and a blanket, so he got bundled up for the short walk through Golden Gate Park to the museum.




We meet up with my dear Big Sis Denise and her wonderful family and Boyfriend at the entrance. Everyone was really excited to see each other and to meet the baby for the first time.  I don't get to see my Big very often but when I do it always makes my day. I was so lucky to have found such a wonderful friend and just love spending time with her and her family. Three years ago she meet Paul her AMAZING boyfriend. I love watching the two of them together, they are so cute and you can just tell how much in love they are.



Aaron and I have been to the museum once before and we both Love the rain forest exhibit. They have done such a beautiful job of putting together the Living Rain Forest you "Step inside a living 4-story rain forest, where dripping water sets the beat for a symphony of croaking frogs and chirping birds." You enter at the floor of the forest "and climb into the tree-tops of Costa Rica to find free-flying birds and butterflies." The child in us all came out in the forest, it is amazing to see this beautiful butterfly fluttering around. Their colors and size range from dull brown to vibrant pinks and blue and small as a couple inches to as larger as your whole hand.  You feel as if you are taking a mini vacation and are transferred to a whole new world with out ever getting on a plane. "Finally, descend in a glass elevator into the Amazonian flooded forest, where an acrylic tunnel allows you to walk beneath the catfish and arapaima that swim overhead."


 I love seeing the wonderment and excitement in Aj eyes as a big Catfish swims overhead or when a yellow tropical fish comes up to say hi. I can never say thank you enough to the people who make museums like these possible. With out them we would never be able to pet a star fish or see an albino Alligator swim around. The love and dedication that the employees of the California Science Academy bring to our experience is priceless and very much appreciated

#42

Tuesday June 21, 2011

Dear Aj,
What a week! We got some great news about your tumor, we found out that the tumor is a Mature Teritoma which is non cancerous. We are not out of the woods quite yet, for the next couple week we will be watching your blood levels really closely.

As always life goes on and you keep growing and developing into who you are to become. On Sunday your Daddy found you standing up in your crib just like a big boy. This is just one of the ways that you are transforming in front of my eyes. You are demanding more and more solid foods, purees that used to be your favorite you just cant be bothered. You are loving finding the new textures and taste of solids. You are letting me know the foods that you do not like, but Mommy is persistent and I refuse to let you be a picky eater. You have become quite the little mover and shaker, you are crawling all over the place exploring your new world, you are so proud of your self when you pull your self up to standing.

As always everyone is infatuated with you. When you saw your doctor they all commented on how you look like the Gerber Baby, your Daddy has been trying to talk me into putting you into modeling maybe you do have career in your future. only time will tell

Today we had to go and get your blood drawn. You were such a brave little boy, you had your pacifier and your ipod ready and you only cried once! I was so proud of you.

I will love you for Always
Mommy

Nearing the end of our Journey

We met with Aj's Oncologist on Friday and had a very positive meeting. She broke down all of Aj's test results for us. Here are the cliff notes:  Aj has a Pure Mature Teratom, which is great! The tumor was benign and the doctors were confident that the tumor didn't spread. I can't explain how relived we were to hear the confident in the Doctors voice as she explained to us the good news. The one thing that did concerned her was that Aj's AFP went up, not down. She reassured me that this could be normal but we may want to be a little bit more aggressive with our monitering.

AFP is tricky because babies tend to have a elevated levels to about six to eight months of age, doctors are finding that sometime it can take a child up to one year for levels to drop into normal range.  The reason why we keep mentioning Aj's AFP and why we are watching it so  carefully is because AFP can be used to detect certain types of cancer and liver problems.  Kaiser says that "Normal" levels are 0-15, Aj's last AFP test was 30.

We have taken Aj's AFP test for the last 4 weeks and his number have been 35-30-25-30. The raise could just be his little body doing its normal thing, BUT after everything that we just went through I wold prefer to overly cautious than sorry and so do the doctors. We will be checking his levels for the next 3 weeks as well as getting an ultra sound of his liver.

So all in all, I have to say that I think we had some wonderful Appointments and came out very hopeful that we can put this behind us and move on.

Thank you for everyone's prayers. I will make sure and let everyone know in the next months or so when we know for sure that we are out of the woods. But for now we are very happy with what we have in front of us. 

#41

Dear Aj,
All I have to say to you tonight is, you are a faker. I have been trying to get you to crawl all week. I know you can do it but you just sit and cry. I have been able to make you crawl by allowing to go after my cell phone, or Daddy got you to crawl over to your pacifier, other than that you are a sitting duck. However at daycare you are a little escape artist. You try to make a break for the baby gate any chance that you see it open. When I picked you up today I got down on the ground and you crawled all the way over to me gave me a big hug and kept on going! I loved seeing you crawl, it just melted my heart. This just in, Daddy says that you crawl all over for him!!!! Come on kid I want to see you crawl.

Much Love,
Your Mommy

Pieces of the Puzzle

We are anxiously awaiting test results for AJ to truly know what is really going on.

This is what we know so far

1. he has a mature teratoma
2. His AFP levels have dropped 6 points since the surgery but are still high

So what does that mean? 

At this point I really just do not know. I am hoping with all my might that it means good things. From my own online research (which there is not much and I am not an expert) a Mature teratoma is usually a benign tumor (happy dance) but can quickly mutate and metastasize into a malignant tumor. however in my research I could not figure out if high AFP is common in this type of tumor. So the question that I keep asking my self over and over is  "Why is the AFP elevated?" Anyone!?! I just do not know. You might be asking your self what AfP is. It is a hormone that is released in your body and at different stages in your life can mean different things. In the situation that we are in, a high AFP tends to mean cancer. This is why originally the doctors though that AJ had a yolk sack tumor (which he may still have) with each test we learn a little bit more, at the same time each test seems to also be leaving us with more questions. I feel like I am putting together a puzzle without the box. we know he has something but what it is, we just do not know. We will still have to do another blood test, get the results from the chest x-ray as well as find out further information on his tumor. We are meeting with his oncologist on the 17 and I am hoping that they will help put all of these pieces together and give us a better picture about what is going on.

I want to say Thank You again for every ones support it has meant so much to our whole family

#40

June 7, 2011

Dear Aj,

Happy Nine Month Birthday!

You are a budding little boy and are changing on a daily bases, I almost can not keep up with you. So much has happened this week and I do not know where to start so I think I am going to try something new.

TOP 3 FAVORITE MOMENTS FOR THIS WEEK

1. In the morning when Daddy is getting ready for work and at night when Mommy needs to cook dinner we put on one of two baby videos for you to watch. You are so happy every time the music comes on and you hate to be disturbed. This week you have started to interact with the videos, you will screech when the monkey puppet comes on and says high or even laugh when the gorilla claps his hands. 
2. As you know mommy has a horrible voice, but for some reason you like it. So we sing a lot of songs. This week Old McDonald has a Farm is climbing up the charts as your all time favorites. During dinner time when you tend to be tired from your long day I have found that a Old McDonald makes our dinner into a comedic routine. You are on the edge of your seat to know which animal I am going to come up with next and I am proud to say that sometimes when I make the animal sounds you laugh so hard you spit out you food!

AND MY FAVORITE OF THE WEEK
#3 My little swimmer to be! Earlier this week as you were taking you nightly bath you tried something new. You put your face in the water and blew bubbles and you came up smiling. I was so happy that I was clapping and laughing which only made you do it more!!!! My fish gene has been passed on to you. I just can not wait for the weather to get warmer so we can get you in a pool!

These were only a few of many moments that made me smile this week. You are truly are my everything.

Love you Forever
Mommy

Aftermath

Today is the first day that I am really trying to get things back to normal after finding out about Aj's tumor. Life must go on and for me this is the only way that I can deal with what our future may hold. If I keep myself busy with my household chores, work and the baby I do not have time to think about the "what if's". Last night after everything was done and our company had left I got that knot in my stomach and my mind wandered to the "what if's". That is the scary place and I am desperatly trying to avoid going there. My imagination takes over and  I have to remind my self that there is just no point in worrying until we know more. Right? This is what I keep telling myself over and over: My baby will be okay. He is not sick. Look he is laughing and smiling right know. We are just making a big deal out of nothing. I keep repeating this every time I go to that "what if" place. I remind myself that there are families out there going through worse things than I am right now. I need to be strong for them, for my self and for my child. We will get through this, what ever this is.  I am strong, my family and friends make me even stronger. I am praying for all the families out there who are going through pain that is just so much worse than mine.

I am so blessed.

You cant hold Aj down

Next time you see Aj can you please remind him that he is supposed to be recovering from surgery!
All he wants to do is CRAWL! He has not quite figured it out yet, but boy is he determined. He is up on all fours rocking back and forth. He is scooting around the TV room pulling on all the cords in the room. He is doing everything and anything but RESTING! It just goes to show you how strong this little boy is. He has been smiling and laughing with us all day today. Now if I can just get him to take a nap