Happy Birthday

Alice Claire Howington
born at 10:45 (ish) am
8 lbs. 8 oz.
21 1/2 inches


See how excited her siblings are to meet her?

I said I didn't want her and Lila to share a birthday because, c'mon, how lame is that?
I didn't exactly want it to be the day before either, but I guess I wasn't specific enough.

Dangers of Sledding

Transplantversary

Transplant Day: January 23, 2009

I'm certain you can just stick "versary" on the end of any word and it not only becomes a word, but also a reason to celebrate (except for maybe like "decapitationversary". Don't do that).

Today is one year since Lila's Stem Cell Transplant. Those were some rough days, but I do miss that she was actually willing to cuddle with me back then. She's way too busy for that now.


A rough day

I'm happy to report that she is doing just fine thank you very much. She enjoys having me read books to her repeatedly, twirling, watching Olivia, playing/fighting with her brother, drawing pictures, playing hide-and-go-seek (she prefers to seek), and making faces in the mirror.


Why, yes that is a Twilight Saga: New Moon crown from BK. Thanks for asking. She loved it. She wore it every day for like a week. Smart girl.

Goings on

(Note: Not our cat. Although, if it were, his name would be Mr. Meowington Howington)

Lila had another MRI that showed us there is only brain in her head. Although I hate doing them, it's an excellent reminder that I should never get too complacent. It's a miracle.

I just learned that I need to register Jack for kindergarten in about a month. What? He's going to kindergarten. Insane. I still remember him being 18 months old and saying "Dammit" for the first time. To the rescue came his good pal and mine, James, who taught him to say "Oh, Raspberries!" instead. Now he's off to school to learn a slew of bad words...

There are approximately three people in this world that I completely and utterly despise. I'm not a good person, nor have I ever really claimed to be, but I have never hated with quite this much passion before. I'm in the market for suggestions on how to deal with that.

I am having a baby. Soon. Most days I am more than ready. Some days I am terrified. Ben and I are nervous about being outnumbered. But we also know that few children could be harder than our last one. So bring it, baby.

Christmas '09er

In what seems to be turning into a Howington family tradition, I was up at 7 a.m. ready to party. I was alone. Ben wasn't even interested in getting up. Why do they pick the one day of the year when it's totally justified to be up at the butt crack of dawn to sleep in?
I took it upon myself to make some muffins (hold your applause, it was a Betty Crocker box) to kill some time. When the muffins were done and still no peep from upstairs, I went into the kids room and stared at Lila until she woke up.
Yeah, it may have freaked her out a bit, but I was tired of waiting.
"Oh, super, you're awake. Let's open some presents"


He seemed happy with his lot


The girl likes clothes

After our Christmas at home, we took the party over to Grandma's and there was more fun to be had and more presents to open.

New shades


Haircut or no? I'm undecided


It was a Merry Christmas indeed. Next year, we will be outnumbered...

December 4th: An Anniversary

Friday marks one year of remission for Lila.
Because of this and the fact that it's Christmastime, I decided to make a photo book for Lila's Oncologist, Dr. Gururangan and her Nurse Practitioner, Melody. It is Lila's journey in pictures, if you will. One for every month she has been a patient at Duke. The books turned out great. These are the photos I used:


May 30, 2008-1st brain surgery


June 2008 (photo by Patrick Stevenson)


July 2008


August 2008


September 9, 2008-2nd brain surgery


October 31, 2008


November 2008



December 4, 2008-Remission


January 23, 2009-Transplant Day


February 6, 2009-1 Year B-Day Bash (a day early)


March 2009


April 25, 2009-Angels Among Us 5K-youngest survivor in attendance


May 2, 2009-Rainbow of Heroes Walk (PBMT Program Fundraiser)


June 2009


July 4, 2009


August 2009


September 2009


October 31, 2009


November 2, 2009-port removal surgery

A year (and a half) to be thankful for.

Angel

Rosanna Porter is a good friend of my parents and she is also the author of a series of children's books. They are about a little mouse named Tofu Ling. She has had two Tofu Ling books published already. So, when she asked me if she could use Lila as a sort of muse, if you will, for her latest installment, I said sure. Lila has now been immortalized as an adorable white mouse in Rosanna's latest book, Tofu Ling and the Angel.

The book is extra awesome because it is dedicated to Lila and two other kids who have fought with a life threatening illness and won. Big time. Some of the proceeds from the sale of this book are going to charities that the three families have chosen. Our charity is The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke for obvious reasons I would think, but if you still need one, it's because they saved my kids life. In a nutshell.

Added bonus: Lila is a finger puppet. Eeeeeek. How freaking cute is that?

So, I think you should buy it. So, do it already.