Family Update: Just a regular year... for a change...

Hello again! I've decided that this year I'll post more regularly to keep everyone up to date on the who, what, where, when, and why of our family activities. I light of the past few years, this has been a very quiet one. Sophie tested into early admission (her birthday is 22 days past the cutoff) and started Kindergarten in the fall and Zach 3rd grade. They both are doing well - and agree on their favorite subjects of PE, recess, music and math. I'm happy they at least threw in one academic subject!!!

Sophie's been officially off treatment since last February and has had not signs of recurrence from anything!!! In December of 2009 we started in the Late Effects program at Georgetown where Sophie will be followed for the rest of her life to see the effects of the treatments. We're hopeful that she will continue to thrive as she is now. She's a big diva princess and is having a blast as Daisy Girl Scout this year - she sold over 175 boxes of cookies including a bunch that we'll bring to the Georgetown Pediatric Cancer Clinic next week to donate to the Childlife program.

Zach is getting so big, he's almost 5 ft tall now and comes up to to just below my collar bone. He is such a sweetie pie and a giant Mamma's boy! Right now he's really into Cub Scouts, Bakugan, Tech Decks and reading - he's working on several series including Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the 39 Clues and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Academically and behaviorally we're still struggling a bit. We are now seeing a developmental pediatrician at Children's National Medical Center to work through a more complicated diagnosis of ADHD than we had anticipated. We're on a new drug now, Vyvanse and are working through the frustration of finding the right dose. We are so incredibly grateful for Zach's teacher this year, she is amazing and truly 'gets' Zach for the wonderful kid he is. She sees beyond the disability and draws the best from him everyday. It helps that her own son has the same difficulties and she can see him through not only a teacher's eyes, but a Mother's.

Everyday is something new to do and learn. With all we've been through and all of the research we do almost everyday to stay on top of these kids, I should qualify for some sort of honorary Mommy MD! Heh!

Looking toward the future, we're planning a trip to Morocco this summer to see Mike's family. This will be Sophie's first trip and Zach's second - although he was only two so he doesn't remember a thing! We're looking forward to relaxing on his parent's farm and at the beach - I've already made a plea to stay out of people's living rooms and out in the country so the kids can see and absorb as much as they can of the land and culture. IF we make it down south, we may even get to ride a camel this time!

I've included some recent pics from the snow and other activities. Drop us a line sometime - friend us on Facebook or just leave a comment here to let us know you're well!

Love and peace...


Cutting up at the Circus


Helping with yard clean-up from snowpocolypse



Zach's 9th birthday party at Dave & Busters