Family Get Together at Aunt Deb's

Vinnie, I just love those big brown eyes!



Mom-Mom holding Scarlette and Aunt Debbie with Luca. These two are so cute together.



Beautiful Scarlette

Uncle Mitch holding Madilynn and Aunt Andrea with Louie

Luca LOVED his cousin Mikayla.

Jason, Andrea and the girls were in town this past weekend for a wedding. On Friday I dropped the kids off at Aunt Debs to hang with their cousins and Aunt Andrea, while Mitch took me to Univ. Penn for a doctor's appointment. I sure was glad to have my big bro with me for the appointment. I really liked this doctor but they are very far from where we live. But the good side is that they are close to family in So. Jersey. I don't really want to get into the details of the appointment but here are the highlights - They referred me to a hematologist/oncologist at Penn for a second opinion regarding the results from the bone marrow biopsy, I started on another new medication, and we are going to start the process to get me down to the National Institutes of Health in MD.

Playing Ball and Wrestling with Daddy

Luca watching on as Jason wrestles with Vin

Getting in on the action

Playtime

Here I am trying to get some baby cuddle time but Luca was having none of it. He was trying to squirm out of my arms the entire time. He likes to drink his bottle on his own. Where did my little baby go?

Too Much Bouncing Fun

I've been trying to cut Luca down to two naps a day from three. It's a pain in the neck to work around a three nap schedule and he's been waking up at 5:30 in the morning. I mean, if the guy is taking three naps for a total of 5-6 hours a day then of course he get's up at the crack of stinken dawn!! These pictures were taken just before lunch time. I cut out his morning nap and he was not a happy guy so I put him in the jumper which is something he loves. He was a happy jumping baby until everything got quiet. I went to check on him and this is how I found him. Face down asleep in his jumper. As soon as I woke him up, did he cry? Nope. He just gave me that sad look you see in the bottom picture and started jumping again. He has such a sweet spirit.

All Moved

DAY AT THE BEACH - 7/5 we took a short drive to check out our local "beach". I say "beach" because it's the bayfront which I don't consider a real beach. Still it was cool. If you squint you can see the NYC skyline behind the bay.

FOURTH OF JULY PICNIC with the FAMILY
















PUTTING UP CEILING FANS WITH UNCLE MITCH AND POP-POP

WE ARE ALL MOVED IN!!!! Since my last post we made our move to NJ. Right before we moved I ended up having a massive anaphylaxis episode that spanned a week and resulted in a hospital stay. Ja and I have been so touched by how my family pulled together to support us during a time when we really needed help. While all this was going on my parents flew up from FL and my three cousins Lori, Jenn and Mary drove from NJ to come help out. I don't know what we would have done without them. I was discharged from the hospital on Friday and we were moving on Tuesday!!! Holy cow, what a crazy time. While I recuperated those girls came in like a whilrlwind and got our house all ready for the move. Then they took the boys back to NJ with them. Jenn watched the boys for us for five days. Yes, for five days she had two toddlers and two babies to contend with and she did an amazing job. My brother Mitch flew in the day after we arrived in NJ to help us get unpacked and settled. Not only was it a huge help in getting us settled but it was such a emotional boost for me to see him and have him here with us for a few days. Then there was countless other things done for us by family - fruit baskets, dinners, phone calls, offers of help, etc. all so very touching and very much appreciated.

Going forward.... So for now life is little different. Until we can get these anaphylaxis episodes under control I can't be alone, which is a challenge for me to accept but I'm really trying to be cool with it. My parents have been with us since the move and my Mom will be here until we can get this thing figured out. I am so thankful for them! I have a new doctor here in Pittsburgh, who've I've already met and like, and she is working on researching and coming up with some different treatment ideas to address the anaphylaxis. I'm on a new medication regime and have been feeling pretty decent over the past week.

Jason started his new position and so far he is really enjoying it. His commute is a rough at an hour and a half each way so that's a bit of an adjustment to make.

The boys are doing well. Vin fractured his right index finger on Friday morning - his first bone injury. I would say overall he handled it very well. He had a hard time during the x-ray when they were trying to bend his finger this way and that to get different angles. Of course, he didn't appreciate it being bent and he really didn't get the concept of having to hold his finger still in a painful pose while they took the x-ray. In the end it took the physical restraint of myself and two x-ray techs to get the necessary images. An experience I will not soon forget. Let's just say I have NEVER heard him scream like that before. I felt terrible. He was so drained emotionally after the x-ray he fell asleep in my arms while we waited for the results. Poor fella. We have to go see a orthopedic doctor tomorrow to see if any further action is necessary to help it heal properly. I'm hoping that since it seems to be a minor fracture we can get away with just having it splinted and heal on it's own.

Louie is really bursting out of boring infant hood and starting to show his personality. He babbles constantly and can mimic quite a few sounds. His first tooth broke through this week and he has another almost out. He is trying desperately to learn how to scootch forward and shows his frustration when he only achieves a backward push.

I haven't taken very many pictures but here are some I took while Mitch was here.

Health Update - Our Hope is Built on Nothing Less...

Well, I'm happy to report that the new medication regime seems to be working. I've had no major anaphalaxis attacks or episodes and have not had to use my epipen since the last dreaded incident in May. And so for now I've been given the clear to avoid more aggressive treatments like chemotherapy. As long as I don't have any more major episodes I'm cleared from doctor visits and tests until my next bone marrow biopsy which will probably be in October.

I still have rough days - usually two or three a week. The hardest thing for me is to take it easy on those days. I have to deprogram my nutso mind to just lay low. I'll admit I still don't do that and I usually end up paying for it. Sitting still just isn't in my nature but learn I must. I think for awhile I was so relieved that I'm not in the later stages of the disease or staring down Leukemia and facing imminent death that I just wanted to shake off all that happened in April and May and go back to being Dianna before the diagnosis.

But now I'm settling in that this is something I'm going to have to fight for the rest of my life. Jason's Mom who has Lupus shared something with me that she tells herself on her rough days when you just don't feel like getting up; "Suck it up and put on your big girl panties!" I just love that! It's both humorous and encouraging. I'm fighting to keep a hold of the lessons that God has taught us through all of this. I pray that we keep relying on him and not on ourselves. It's such an easy thing to slip back into as daily life numbs.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Goodness, I love that hymn!!!


Vin's asthma has been flaring up again. He's had a tough week. Currently, he's getting four breathing treatments a day. Two of which are a half hour long each. It's a lot to ask a little guy to sit still for that long; while he doesn't like it he has been handling it very well. It is hard to watch him struggling to breath and to see him struggling. Jason was up a good portion of the night Sunday giving Vin treatments as he slept. The good news is that we were able to avoid having to go to the ER and he FINALLY seems to be coming out of it. Our tough and sweet boy!

Louie is doing great and is such a delight. This week he started waving hello and even signed "more" back at me. Of course, he has no idea what the sign means but he is quite a good mimicker.

I'm so excited that we are moving in two weeks!!! Jason will be working out of AIG's (no snickering) lower Manhattan office and we found a cute place in Matawan, NJ. It is about an hour drive from family in S. Jersey and about hour and half commute for Ja via train. The great news is that the house is within walking distance to the train so he doesn't have to contend with the crazy train station parking issues.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is well.


Dianna

Still Enjoying My Fake Flower Arranging Hobby

Here is an arrangement I made for Mom Kelly for her birthday

Hanging with the Hrivnaks

Isaac and Vin - what a pair of thugs
Anna and Louie

Photo Session: For Goodness Sakes Can't I Get One Good Picture?!

Upstaging Louie

Vinnie not wanting to have Louie touch him

Louie grabbed Vin's hand and was thrilled when Vin agreed to hold it for a brief time.

Not so bad

Photo session is over