Trip to the Tuttle Dam

Today we took the boys to see the Tuttle Creek Dam! It was so awesome to see! The boys absolutely LOVED it! We are so that family that loves doing stuff like this! The water comes out of the tubes exceptionally fast,its kinda scary! Haha! They say they only have to let the water out of tubes every 7-8yrs,that it doesnt happen often! But with all the rain we have gotten,the water got really high! We have been out there looking at it with the boys 2-3 times already this summer!  Heres some pics of water rushing out of the tube:

It was such an awesome sight to experience together as a family!

Tball

Logan started having Tball practice at the end of May twice a week. They praticed throwing and catching and batting techniques. It was alot of fun to watch and be a part of. Logan really showed an interest.  Then Beginning of June his Tball games started. He has 2 games a week until beginning of July. He is really enjoying playing ball. I love to see him run around the bases,and hit the ball. I took some pictures of him

Standing on base!

My handsome ball player!

Down and ready,acting like hes going to catch the ball!

Logan keep up the great work!  You make me so proud!

Happy 6th Birthday to our Logan

Our Logan is 6!! We cannot believe it!! Time sure does fly when you are raising children and having fun at the same time! We just had a party here at the house,and had family over,and ate food,and had cake(I made) and ice cream,and opened presents.


Logan loves being outdoors,but he also loves to snuggle up on the couch and watch a big kid show as he says "mom I dont want to watch a little kid show ,I want to watch a big kid one"! Haha that made me laugh because Landon likes little kid ones,which hes supposed to but Logan isnt much into them anymore! Ha! Logan likes Scooby-Doo and Cars,and mainly long animated shows.

They climbed the rock wall together!

Logan likes to drink milk, grape juice,and gatorade. He is playing Tball this summer,which he loves!(more on that in another post). He loves to do crafts like color,paint,draw,and he likes to read. Him and Landon have such a good relationship,It makes me so happy.

Logan loves to play cars and games with his brother,loves to go hiking,and loves to go exploring. He is the most lovable boy, he always comes up and gives me a hug randomly. He just makes me feel like the luckiest momma ever! Im so thankful each and every day for him.

Logan like the movies Rio,Garfield,Horton Hears a who,Smurfs(to name a few). He has his own tablet, and he loves to watch movies,play games,and watch youtube movies on it. He also loves to ride his scooter, and battery-opperated police car. He also lost his first tooth(his two bottom teeth) 1 week before his last day of Kindergarten. He was so very excited once he found out the tooth fairy was going to come visit. ;)

Logan I am so proud of you,and so glad I was chosen to be your mother! I adore you and your sweet smile. You bring joy and happiness to all,I love you!

Landon is 3

Landon is 3! Sad I know! :) Im happy to see him grow each day and see him develope into the sweet boy he is! We just had a low key party here at the house,he really enjoyed his party! His favorite part was the cake mommy made! He was pretty tickled mom made him his very own cake. He even said Thank you for the cake mom! ;) Aww!

Landon is really into cars,trucks,farm animals,and playing games(like puzzles,matching games) he loves playing games on mom or dads phone. Even though he has his very own tablet haha! He is not a picky eater. He loves grape juice, and loves to snack throughout the day,think hes going through a growth spurt! He loves fruit like grapes,watermelon,pineapple,kiwi. He also loves his vegetables. He weighs 35lbs.

He is completely potty trained. He loves to watch team umizoomi,paw patrol,mickey mouse. He loves to color,and paint. We are working on his writing skills. He is excited to start Preschool in the Fall. He loves to play with his brother.

Still likes falling asleep next to mom

Sweetest boy I know

Eating his popcorn and icee!

Brother selfie ;)

Happy Birthday Landon! We love you! You bring us so much joy and happiness!

Logans Story Part 4

Its officially been 4 yrs since Logan had his brain surgery. He had a MRI of his brain in March 2015 and it came back great,no sign of a tumor. The Urologist said Logan has to make it 5 years without the brain tumor coming back. If he makes it to 5 yr mark ,then the chances of the brain tumor coming back are that of a child that has never had a brain tumor before,so chances of it coming back after 5 year mark is VERY unlikely.

I am very happy to hear this,I am just so proud of Logan. He truely is a strong-willed child,he handled all of this so far very well. The Urologist said Logan will have another brain scan in September 2015,then if that one comes back clear, he will have only 1 brain scan yearly for 2 years,and then brain scans will be done with.

I will be adding another part to this story with information on the specific Chemotherapy drugs Logan was given throughout his 1 1/2 years of treatments and all the info on side effects,what the drugs did etc. That way he will have all this information.

Logans Story Part 3

Daddy,Logan,Landon waiting to get an MRI of Logans brain.

Logan had to get MRIs of his Brain throughout his Chemotherapy treatments as well,so the Urologist could monitor his brain to make sure there was no new growth. Logan had to be sedated,and sometimes a breathing tube would be used to help him breath while he was sedated. Each MRI lasts about 1hr,and it takes about 30-40 min for Logan to wake up from the sedation. He usually sleeps right after,on the way home in his carseat,and by the time we arrive home the sedation effects have worn off.

At first Logan was having brain scans every 3 months for the first year,then every 6 months for the 2nd yr, and then after the second years up he will have 1 brain scan a year for a few years. This is just to monitor to see if the brain tumor has come back. Logan is usually scared of the MRI, he has just recently at age 6 become comfortable with getting one.

After Landon was born there was so much to be thankful for, Logan had a new brother,we have another baby. We clinged to the joy of having 2 children and it really brought in a positive note to Logan finishing up his last 4 months of Chemotherapy. Logan loved having his baby brother by his side.

 Being pregnant while going through Logans Chemotherapy treatments was very hard, but also rewarding. We were expecting another baby,that is a very exciting time. So it gave life more meaning,when the baby was born (Landon) Logan would only have 4 months more of Chemotherapy. I am a very joyous and happy person. I try to look at the positive in every situation and every person. Yes,Logan going through Chemotherapy was the hardest thing pysically and emotionally I have ever had to go through,but I was determined to make the best of the situation we were in. Even tho I was hurting so bad inside,I wanted to be strong and look strong for my son.

I didnt want anyone to feel sorry for me,because my son had cancer. I look at it in sense that yes,my son had cancer,but hes doing good,and hes making it through. I heard people tell me all the time how their child died from their cancer,their child has terminal cancer. I saw so many kids at the hospital that were suffering so much more than my son was,they had it so much worse. I feel you need to be thankful for every moment,breath,second,because trust me it could be way worse. I looked up to my husband,we supported eachother,and helped eachother through.

I didnt really tell any of my friends or family what exactly was going on at the time,or how I was feeling. I pretty much kept my feelings and everything to myself.But I told them just bits and pieces,like the basics of how the treatments were going. Alot of it was because Logans brain cancer and tumor was too difficult for me to talk about at the time, and I wasnt ready to talk about it,I was to weak. I figured they would understand. Its just such hard topic. I chose to talk about only the positive aspects of it. I should have asked though for some support,Im sure I would have received some support.

 But I woke up each day and put a smile on my face,because I was determined to be positive about what Logan was going through. I was going to be supportive and happy for him. I wasnt going to let it swollow me whole. With every negative that came about id make it positive. Theres a positive to every negative.

I did go to the doctor and was put on a depression medication,but it made me feel not myself, it kinda made me feel depressed, and I did doubt things ,but really tried hard to look on the bright side. I ended up getting off the medication and I felt better. But here we are 4 yrs later. I can comfortably talk about Logans tumor and his cancer because Im stronger. Im thankful. Every single time I look in his big blue eyes, I am reminded of how lucky I am,to get to see his smile every morning,and every afternoon when I picked him up from school. I am so in awe every single day. He is such a blessing.

Logans Story Part 2

Logan receiving a treatment.

So Logan continued on with receiving his treatments every month,and blood work every week for 1 1/2 years. We found out we were expecting about 6 months into Logans treatments,we definately wanted another baby,but were planning after he was finished. But thats not how it happened. But we were excited to have another baby and for Logan to have a sibling. I was also trying to potty train around when Logan was 3,it was difficult for him because the Chemotherapy would come out in his urine,which I couldnt have contact with,so i always wore gloves.

Logan would receive his Chemotherapy and then he would have to have IV fluids for like 12 hrs. So he had to pee alot. The IV fluids helped wash the Chemotherapy out of his body.But I eventually got Logan potty trained right at 3 yrs old. He did wonderful. I couldnt change his diapers bc of Chemotherapy meds were toxic to the baby in my belly, if I came in contact with it. So the nurses helped me out until I got him potty trained. The nurses were AMAZING!! Ill get more into that in the next part.

Anthony and I had just gotten married 3 months before we found out Logan had a brain tumor,and had to do Chemotherapy. We clinged to eachother during this difficult time in our lives. We had a hard time talking to other people about everything that was going on because it was soo very hard to talk about even for us being husband and wife. I couldnt talk about his cancer without crying. We didnt know if Logan was going to survive,the doctors said there were no guarantees. They said Logan could have long-term effects from Chemotherapy. Like speech problems,mental delays,deveopemental delays,the urologist was really concerned about his speech.

 Logan was talking at 3 years old but it seemed he would forget some of his skills as he was going through the Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is supposed to kill cancer cells,but the doctors said it can possibly kill brain cells as well. But I really tried hard to work with Logan,because he was the most important to me, to help him get better,and be there every step of the way,and teach him along the way. Even when your child is so sick,you still have to set boundaries and teach them right from wrong.

This whole experience was so difficult,but we were so very thankful Logan did very well with his Chemotherapy. He threw up after his treatments the treatment that had Cisplatin in it,because the side effect is nausea.  Logan slept alot throughout treatments and the time he was at home recovering from treatments. The doctors said Logan had to wear a face mask in the store so he would have a better chance of not getting sick throughout his Chemotherapy,because his white blood cell count,which is your immunity to keep from getting sick were so low,he could get sick very easily,and itd be life threatening, so we chose to keep Logan isolated for most part, because we didnt want to risk him getting Pnemonia,which he was very susceptable to getting. We washed our hands constantly. We wanted our baby to have no further complications.

He was so tired from treatment,and anti nausea meds made him sleepy.

Logan did not feel comfortable with the doctors,he was scared,bc every time he saw them they were poking and prodding at him. I would have taken his place in a heartbeat if I could of. You never want your child to have a complication,but things are not always in your control. Anthony and I wanted kids,we wanted a baby and when we had Logan he was healthy,beautiful,and just perfect in our eyes.  We had big dreams for him,which that hasnt changed. But we never thought about brain tumors or cancer in children.

You dont think about stuff like that,but when it happened we were blown away,there were so many emotions. You are looking to blame someone, I blamed myself,it had to of been something I did while pregnant with him,something I ate. But it wasnt my fault at all. Its just something that happened out of our control. Im just so thankful we found it,because if we wouldnt have things would have ended differently.

Logan was hooked up to IV machine on wheels from the time we arrived to get his Chemotherapy,until we left the hospital,which was 2-3 days each treatment. The IV machine tubing was so short all Logan could do was sit, he didnt have enough lee way to move around much. He didnt understand what the tubing was for,so he would try to run and the needle would come out of his port,so sometimes the nurse would have to re-insert the needle into his port. Which was very hard,it took 3 nurses and myself to hold him to get the needle back in,he really fought hard.

The hospital had helpers that worked for the hospital to come around to hospital rooms and try to do crafts and play games with the children in the hospital,but Logan was feeling so sick most of the time,he didnt care to participate. I would read to Logan and try to color and work with him,and he barely was up for that,the Chemotherapy was really hard on Logan.