Swim Class Part 2

We are happy to report that Grace is really enjoying her swim class now. I ended up going in the pool with her during the second class and then Jason when in with her for the third class. We think she was just adjusting to her new surroundings. It has really become a great Saturday routine for us. It doesn't seem like she is really learning a lot, but we are all having a lot of fun doing it as a family. We are learning a lot of different techniques to use when we have Grace in the pool so at least we are getting something out of it. She isn't really swimming yet, but she is definitely getting used to the water. We sing a lot of songs and incorporate different movements to the tunes. Grace also gets a chance to practice "jumping" into the pool. Which basically means we stand her up on the side and carry her into the pool. Here are a few pictures from this past Saturday.

Above is a picture of Grace learning how to do the superman pose while reaching for the ball.

The picture above shows Grace trying to grab different colored boxes. At the end we had to put them in the correct bin.

The picture above shows Grace practicing her kicks and scooping motion.

The above picture shows Grace practicing her jumps. She really just wanted to sit on the side of the pool though.

We were practicing some sort of song here, but I don't remember which one. It may have been "The Wheels on the Bus".

On the road to recovery...

On Monday my mom went to Strong Memorial Hospital for stereotactic radiosurgery. Click on this link to learn more about it:

http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/neurosurgery/neuroendocrine/treatments/Stereotactic-Radiosurgery.cfm

It went really well, but it was a very long day. We had to get to the hospital by 6am. When we arrived they took her back and got her settle in (inserted IV and gave her some sort of sedative). Then she was transported to the radiology department for the MRI. This took about 45-60 minutes to complete. After that she was transported to another department. This was the worst part of the day. They had to numb her forehead and the back of her head. At this point Peej lost it a little bit because the pain was so extreme. I love to watch medical shows, but I thought I was going to lose my breakfast. It was the most disturbing thing that I have ever seen. After her head was numb they screwed in the headgear (which was a lot heavier than we thought it would be). They actually used a screwdriver to insert the pins into her head. It was insane. Thankfully she couldn't feel this part. Fortunately at this point the worse was over.

Once the headgear was in place we were taken to another department where the CAT scan was performed with the Medical Physicists. This took about 30-45 minutes to complete. Then we were transported back to the 23 hour unit. Peej was finally able to eat some strawberry jello at this point but of course she was still starving.

We learned that Dr. Milano had an earlier opening so instead of waiting until 3:30 for the treatment, they were able to take her at 1:30pm. We were so thankful for this. The actual treatment took about 15 minutes and then they were able to take the headgear off. The spots where it was screwed in were a little tender, but they gave her some vicodin for it. We were able to leave the hospital at 3:30 which was wonderful.

Peej is feeling really good today and she is very thankful that they were able to do this procedure instead of operating and taking the tumor out. Her head has some bruising from the headgear and her eye has a small black and blue, but other than that, you wouldn't even know what happened. She has to go back in about 4 months for another MRI to see if this worked. We will keep you updated.

First Swim Lesson...

did not go as planned. We have a swimming pool in our backyard so we have always wanted to take Grace to the YMCA for swim classes. Well she has really developed a love of water over the past few months so we thought it was time to sign her up. We have been so excited about this for the past few weeks. I went shopping for a bathing suit and cover up for Grace last week and we decided that Jason would go in the pool with her. The class started on Saturday and this is what Grace thought about it...

She literally cried for about 20 minutes straight. We couldn't believe it. She loves going in the bathtub at home and she loved going in our pool last summer. We think she may have wanted me (Stacey) to go in with her or she was just a little scared of her new environment. This is how the class ended....

Hopefully next week will be more like the second video. I'm going to try and bring my suit on Saturday so I can try to calm her down and we can switch if she gets upset. It was a great parenting lesson for us though!

Juke Box Baby

We have a new ritual in our house. Every night we have a "dance party". Grace loves to dance and she has many moves now. We were finally able to catch some of the action on video. Enjoy watching our "Juke Box Baby" bust a move!

Truly Blessed

We received some wonderful news today. My mom finished up her last round of chemotherapy two weeks ago so she had to go for another CAT scan last week. She received the results today and apparently the cancer in her lungs is gone. She has a few spots on her lungs that they believe are scar tissue or dead cancer cells, but that's it. What a miracle! Dr. Ashbury said that the radiation office at Strong will be contacting us soon to set up an appointment to start radiation on the small spots still left on her brain. We are so thankful and truly blessed. Now my mom is just looking forward to packing on the pounds that she has lost while fighting this battle.

I will leave you with a picture of our little angel. It's amazing how much joy this little girl has brought to us during our "rough" time. What blessing she has been to our lives!

Hockey Battles Cancer (In Honor of Patty Guck)

Hockey Battles Cancer (In Honor of Patty Guck)

hosted by

RYH Squirt Minor AAA Hockey

Free cocktail / hors d’oeuvre happy hour 6:30 - 8:30

Live music by “Different Every Time” 8:30 - 11:00

Saturday January 23rd, 2010

Max at High Falls, 60 Browns Race

Free Parking, Silent Auction and Raffle

$20 Individual $35 Couple

Proceeds to benefit the Interlakes Foundation, where Patty Guck receives Chemo & Radiation Treatment

For tickets contact Brian Guck at brian@maksymum.com or Patty Guck at 305-1351

If unable to attend, and would like to make a donation,

please mail check payable to “Interlakes Foundation” c/o

Ann Wall

47 South Village Trail

Fairport, NY 14450

Isn't she just adorable? She's such a little ham nowadays. Oh how we love her!

Prayers Needed

I am so thankful to have a happy and healthy child. I think sometimes we tend to take this for granted. I recently found out that an old dance friend of mine has a young niece who is dying. It is just an absolutely heartbreaking story. If you believe in the power of prayer, then please pray for this family as they are going throughout the unimaginable. You can visit little Anna's website at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/annamckinney

I think that dealing with my mom's illness has made me more sensitive to other family's battles with illnesses. We had no hope and someone how our prayers were answered. I really hope that everything works out for this family. It's just really weighed heavy on my heart lately. Thanks for reading my ramblings.

Crazy Mommy!

Here is a video that Jason took the other night. Grace is always doing something funny, but we never get it on video. We were playing before bedtime on Thursday night and finally Jason was able to capture it. Enjoy!

Grace Walks! + Halloween Dress Up

Really been slacking on the posts lately - but here's a couple new videos... Grace was a lamb for her 2nd Halloween (go figure). She didn't mind the costume too much surprisingly... We walked her around the block, but didn't go to any doors for candy... thought that would be a bit weird - but maybe next year as... she started officially walking last Saturday!

I was playing with her downstairs and stood her up in the middle of the room away from her shopping cart, and she walked right over to it (about 7 steps)! She's still trying to get a real hang of it, but is doing much better, especially when she wears her boots upstairs. She has only "ran" a couple times, but I'm sure that will be soon... we're in trouble, she is extremely active as it is!!

Anyways, enjoy the videos!