It was a cold and snowy day. My mom and I wanted to warm our bones. So we made chicken noodle soup with crackers and grapes. I got to help!
During the month of January, my Aunt Julie went into the hospital to start Stem Cell Transplant.
It was very scary! The nice thing is we took care of Noah so Aunt Julie and Uncle Shawn could concentrate on healing. Mom is wearing her Hodgkin's Lymphoma awareness bracelet here. Mom, Dad and everyone here wore one. We even had the cool magnet ribbon for our cars.
One of the things I like to do to pass the time is play "Mary" the nail lady. There is a real lady name Mary who does my Grandma's nails. She also did my Mommy's and Aunt Julie's nails for their weddings and helped Aunt Julie shave her head. It was neat to watch!
So the way I play is, you write your name on my waiting list. Then I call you over and I begin your manicure. You get the works! Lotion, massage, filing, cleaning, and finish with sparkling rainbow painted nails. Call me for your manicure today!
I surprised Mom and Dad. I set up my entire Strawberry Shortcake town on the family room floor. I love playing Strawberry Shortcake!
Grandma Rosario knows how much I love play-doh.
So one day I got a surprise package and it was play-doh!
We had a little break in the winter, so Mom got Noah and I outside. We played chalk art on the side walk and ran around in the sunshine. It was still a little cold so we went in for hot chocolate.
My Mom and a very kind lady named Pam, hosted a benefit for my Aunt Julie. This was the first night Aunt Julie's system was shutting down and she was too sick to be on the phone and talk. But the party went on in her honor! So many women strangers, friends, and family came to raffle for big baskets. She sold some of Aunt Julie's hand painted art work, and Mom sold Lots of Tastefully Simple! We made all Tastefully Simple foods for the event. Over 60 people came!
These were the bags for the raffles lined up on this endless table.
To pass these cold January days, we got creative at lunch time. Mom made us all kinds of yummy foods. If we weren't eating she would tell me to pretend to be a baby bird and eat my worms and seeds. Some reason, I loved that and ate my whole plate clean.
Then we were ready for craft time! We made cards for my Aunt Julie to hang in her hospital room.
Mom would take them and hang them up for her. My mom stayed with my Aunt a couple of times in the hospital. I missed her those nights she was gone, but I knew my Aunt needed her more.
Mom said to pass the time at the hospital, she watched movies, read magazines, and when Aunt Julie could get up and walk around, they put lots of puzzles together! They were quarantined to the transplant floor so no germs could get in. It was hard for everyone!
As her blood counts went up, Noah got to visit his Mommy the last week or so that she was in the hospital. He saw a helicopter land right by her window. He liked snuggling in the bed with his Mommy and playing with his leap pad. We were all very excited when Aunt Julie's blood counts went up really fast after the 3rd week, and she got to come home a tiny bit early! At least to rest in bed at home.
