This is amazing!

You know that feeling when you kid has been healthy for 6 weeks and it seems like a miracle? Well, some of you do, but most of you do not (thankfully). Logan has stayed healthy, and I feel like I am just waiting for him to start coughing or sneezing. Anyway, we are very thankful for this and it has allowed us to just live (mostly) normal lives recently. Logan has been just doing normal things like running errands, going to daycare and school, playing outside, riding his bike and helping around the house. He even helped us paint a bathroom this weekend, which translates to helping get paint everywhere. But he had fun and did a great job. We go in this week for labs, but otherwise just plan on having a great week.

Chemo day

Logan was a super trooper at chemo. He had a rough morning since he did not get to eat before we went for his spinal tap. He was a bit cranky and pouting, but we made it there. He did OK with his port access and sedation then we left the room for his spinal tap. Now, last time, Logan did great and just watched the TV during the tap. This time, however, I could hear him yelling when I was pacing down the hall and around the corner. After that, he took the rest like a champ even eating a pretty good breakfast afterward. Throughout the rest of the day, he wouldn't let me out of his sight, but overall did well. He was tired, so took a nap (see picture). Other than not being overly excited that he has some extra meds to take, he is doing well. We finally got a clear picture of his numbers since he has not been sick lately, and they are certainly lower. His ANC is 660 which is a bit low, so they want us to go in and do a check in two weeks. Hopefully it will not go down any further, because that would mean that he needs isolation. They do not expect the numbers to go down, instead they feel that they will level out into the therapeutic range. Hopefully that will be true.

New experiences

Logan has had a great week. He went back to Cathy's daycare after the winter break, and he started school for a couple of afternoons this week. He loved school including meeting new friends and playing with new toys. He was actually pretty sad when it was time to leave. With all that being said, it was also tiring for him. He had no trouble falling asleep in the evening and actually had a hard time waking up in the morning. He even wanted his nap to be a little longer when he was at daycare the next day. On Thursday after school, he fell asleep on the way to pick up his sister. It will take some getting used to for him, but I think it will help build up his stamina. We also found out this week after his Kindergarten enrollment, that he has a spot in the full day class for next year. This is good news! Here is a picture of Logan sitting at circle time on his first day of preschool.

Coming up this next week, Logan has school and also chemo with a spinal tap. Hopefully he stays this healthy, and is able to keep on moving after chemo. He did really well after his last spinal, and we know he is such a trooper.

Wrapped up

Well, winter break is all wrapped up and we all went back to reality this week. I am back at work, Alexis back at school and Logan is back at Cathy's. We had fun playing in the snow and going sledding for the first time. He is certainly a dare devil, and would rocket down the hill head first with no fear. It was great to watch him having fun and just being a normal 4 year old. We had a great time just hanging around the house or running errands. We had fun with friends both new and old and a trip to the Wings Over the Rockies museum where Logan saw a replica of an X-Wing fighter complete with R2-D2 which was a high point.

Logan has been feeling pretty good even though his appetite has been down. I am looking forward to a week of good health before chemo with a spinal tap next week. There are a lot of germs going around, and I hope he steers clear of them as much as possible. We would like to get an accurate blood count without it being impacted by fighting off illness.

Loving winter break

We have been having a busy and fun winter break. We have been swimming, taking treats to the doctor's office, enjoying Christmas and family, and just hanging around. Logan had asked for a "Blue Avenger's Bike" from Santa, and Santa delivered. Thankfully, Logan was able to ride his bike in the morning outside before it started snowing on Christmas. That is good, because it has snowed more and has been so cold that the snow is not melting. It is great to see Logan feeling better this year and enjoying Christmas and everything that it entails.

The antibiotics that they gave Logan at his last clinic visit seem to be doing the trick. His nose is no longer runny, his cough is gone, and he has not been complaining of headaches. Yay! Maybe it was just a chronic sinus infection, which is a relief. It was no fun with Logan being sick over and over again.

Other news is that Logan will be starting preschool in the afternoons at one of my preschool classrooms. I think he will thrive in this environment, but it will also be tiring for him. Maybe this will help build up his endurance and gear up for Kindergarten next year. He will still get the mornings and some afternoons at Cathy's, but will also have the preschool in addition.

I am making a resolution to update this blog more often in the new year, and will work hard to make this reality. Happy New Year from Logan and our Family!

Big catch up

I am getting really bad about not updating this blog. Sorry to all of Logan's followers. We have all just been super busy with daily life and getting ready for Christmas. Logan has had some fun and exciting things lately. He went to the Annual Wish Store at Children's hospital that Make A Wish does so that the kids can go shopping for their loved ones. Logan had a great time decorating his bag, meeting the Broncos cheerleaders, meeting Dinger from the Rockies, talking with Santa and Mrs Clause and, of course, shopping. It was so much more fun for him this year than last year. Last year, he had chemo (including a spinal) that morning and we went straight to the event. Logan's fabulous wish granter helped him through, but he still barely made it through and crashed in the car afterward. This year was all excitement and fun for him. We also ran into a couple of friends, Connor and Jacob, that we only know "virtually" by following their progress and blogs. It was nice to actually meet them and see them looking stronger.

Then, last weekend, we went to see Santa (again) on Sunday because Alexis had not had a chance to talk with him. We decided to go to a mall that was not very close to us because they opened earlier than the others and they had a Frozen themed village along with Santa. Well, our plans to get in earlier did not really pan out and we waited about an hour to see Santa (and Olaf), but the kids had fun. We are on the countdown to the holidays and it is so fun to see Logan feeling so much better this year.

The only bad thing has been that Logan has been battling a cold (again). It seems that whenever he almost gets rid of one cough, then the cycle starts over again. Here's to good health  through the holidays!

Smoothish sailing

Logan has been doing pretty well since his last chemo. He still has a dry cough that he cannot seem to shake, but not much else in that area. Thankfully he is mostly healthy. They thought his numbers were a little high (too close to the "normal" range), so they increased his medication dose. He now takes 1 1/2 pills on four nights instead of 1 pill of his mercaptopurine. Not too big of an increase, but we are just trying to get into the routine. They had us come in this week for a two week lab check and his numbers are coming down but still higher than they prefer. So, we just stay the course for now.

Thanksgiving went well, and we enjoyed having family here with us. This year I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful that Logan has made it into Maintenance and is doing so well with it. I am thankful for little things like his ability to swallow pills. I am thankful that he has been able to take treatment like such a champ. I am thankful for all the support and love we are shown each day. Thankful for our friends and family who are understanding and love us, and we know that they are there for us.