Gobily, Gobily....

If I had written this post just last night, I would have

gushed on about how his rash is looking better every day.

That is until today.  When he got off the bus, his rash

had flared and is now down on his stomach.

 It's not as bad as it was... but I'm sure discouraged that

we took a step back.  It has now been over a month

of itchiness!

We head to the doctor on Tuesday for clinic and testing...

we'll see how things look then.

 Now onto some much happier news.

Kean has wanted to detour each morning and head to Grandpa

Bodily's instead of going to the bus stop.

 He has shortened Grandpa Bodily down to "Gobily"...

and as we steer him down to the bus stop, he wails and wails

for  "Gobily".

We just laugh and laugh!

p.s.  we go see "Gobily" after he gets off the bus at noon!

Fake Snores

I know today is National Post Your Kids Back to School Picture Day.

Guess I'll jump on the bandwagon.

 I really don't know where this one gets her energy.

She started high school today-

her first class?  6:15 a.m.

And she's attending that specialized medical high school.

We will see how long she can keep up this care free look, eh?

Reese is in 4th this year (she's such a cutie pie.  Only in the 

3rd percentile for height for her age.  We sure ran out of gas 

with this one).  We constantly tell her "small but mighty".

And Greer is our tall willowy child-- starting 7th grade.

After we got the girls on the bus, we revived our tradition of taking

the newspaper into our neighbors, Grandpa and Grandma Bodily.

Kean was a hoot.

He carried the paper in, dropped in on the table, headed to 

the kitchen, helped himself to some yogurt in the fridge,

asked Grandma for some toast and orange juice

and then settled in to eat.

While I cleaned up his dishes, he and Grandpa Bodily headed

upstairs to check on the stock market.

Only Kean took a slight detour

and headed for their bedroom!!!

 He tucked himself in, started snoring and then grabbed their

bedside phone and pretended to call his grandma.

I tell you he was on one!

 We also had a belated birthday celebration. The Bodily's

kept to tradition and gave him two packages of bacon.

Perfect timing.  He has HEAVY Chemo tomorrow

and starts up again on Steroids.

 His adventures didn't stop there.

Andrea (his Physical Therapist) officially ended last week

but came by today with her toddler to go with us on a little spin.

For the first time, Kean was able to really pedal his little

therapy bike by himself.

Of course, it didn't last too long-- he was more

focused on keeping an eye on Julia.

Finally, ahem, may I have your attention please?

Kean's final hospital Chemotherapy

(the yucky one where they put it in his brain and spine)

is scheduled for tomorrow.  Once we get over that hurdle,

we just have Chemo every night at home until September 13th.

The light at the end of the tunnel is almost in reach!!!

Reunited

So Kean woke up feeling rather lousy after his big Chemo day yesterday.

But... he sure turned a corner once we got him outside.

I tell you, that boy loves the great outdoors.

We finally (don't get me started) got his new therapy

tricycle put together (thanks Trent for the help).

And off we went today.

We rode down to our neighbor, Grandpa Bodily's driveway.

Which sure brought back the ol' memories of the countless

hours we spent doing "lawn mower" therapy -- trying to

get that little boy to walk.

This time, Grandpa Bodily is on a cane and I figure

this tricycle therapy is as good for him as it is for Kean.

 Right now Kean's ankles and legs aren't quite strong enough

to pedal the trike by himself but I'm told his legs going round and round

as we push the contraption is still good for building up muscles.

Bet you can guess what we'll be doing every day from here on out.

How Wicked

Life keeps churning doesn't it?

Today marked the final day of school for the Barkette's.

Holland tearfully said goodbye to her group of friends- the ones

she has gone through with from first grade through 8th grade.

Greer successfully kisses 6th grade goodbye

and Reese, geez, she will be in 4th grade next year.

(She still is the size of a kindergartner and weighs only about 4 

pounds more than Kean).

Speaking of Kean, he had a decent day today for as much

junk as they put in his body yesterday.

He wanted me to hold him and cuddle for most of the time-

no complaints here.

Grandpa Bodily treated him to a lawn mower ride

first thing this morning.

Man, that child is spoiled (and loved)!

I still have to struggle through each day getting 

this child to eat.  

At the hospital yesterday, he was down two pounds.

But the good news is he's back on the dreaded Steroids

so his appetite should kick in big time in a few days.

For those of you who have asked, here is the video my friend

Wendy shot of Greer doing her big solo in front of her school yesterday.

She's singing the song "Popular" from the musical Wicked.

I think you'll agree she has a future on the big stage someday.

That girl cracks me up.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw83FGF9BbNdUFQwZEd1OFMwVFE&authuser=0

All About the Food

I guess the best way to describe Kean today is partly cloudy.

He had moments where he giggled, laughed, played and felt fine.

And then he had patches where he whimpered and just wanted 

to be held.

We did get a decent amount of food down him-- so that takes

away some of my stress.

First thing this morning, we dropped the girls off at the bus stop,

took the paper up to Grandpa Bodily's-- where Kean walked inside,

ditched his jacket and shoes, helped himself to the yogurt in the

refrigerator and walked over to the breakfast table.

 This morning he surprised us-- he got a yogurt out --

one for him and one for Grandpa Bodily.

 This evening we all headed over to the Moomey's house

to celebrate Ron's birthday.

Elly (an amazing cook) made a scrumptious dinner

and a dark chocolate and ganache cake.

Yum.

 So many candles-- Ron had to have some help from the Barkettes.

 Then that crazy Elly had to keep up tradition and help the

girls polish their manners at the dinner table-- with the ol'

whipped cream with dessert lesson.

 Finally, we kept Kean from focusing on feeling icky

by feeding Pete jerky treats.

It worked great.

Gotta remember that little trick.

Snow Cones Trump Chemo Anyday

Ah, are we ever worshiping the sun over here.

A perfect 71 degrees today-- can't order up one much better.

When Kean walked with us down to the school bus, he stopped

dead at the shed at our neighbor's- Grandpa Bodily's house 

and wouldn't budge.

Of course, this is the same shed that houses the ol' lawn mower

he is so very fond of.

Lucky for us, Grandpa Bodily offered to take Kean for a spin

on the chariot (so I could go vote on the school bond).

 Let's just say we had two very happy boys who tooled around

the neighborhood (put putted might be a better description).

 I do believe Kean would live outdoors if allowed.

Reese too.

 And I do believe, she'd live on snow cones

(if allowed).

Tomorrow's another big day for the warrior boy.

Sedated Chemotherapy at the hospital.

Dreading it big time-- but also looking at it

another one down and another month closer to being

DONE!!!

Practice Makes Perfect

We are all about celebrating in our neck of the woods.

Today is our neighbor, Grandpa Bodily's "38th" birthday.

We thought that sounded better than that un - dyslexic alternative.

The kids all serenaded Grandpa before school today.

 Then Kean practiced at home-- I swear about thirty times

how to say "Happy Birthday".

 He was so proud of himself

and quite the rock star today when it came to speech.

 We stretched the party out through this evening with

cake, ice cream and Kean clearly saying "Happy Birthday"

again and again.

We love these days where Kean feels good.

Can't wait to see him take off and dazzle everyone with his speech

when he's done with his Chemo!

The Trollop and the Trooper

Hands down, I have the greatest neighbor in the world.  

I love him with all my heart.

We called Grandpa Bodily this morning and told him we'd be driving down

to get a picture with him and Reese before school

and this is how he greeted us---

like a trollop hitching for a ride.

So adore him.

 He spent several hours last week helping Reese design

and build her Valentine's box.

My kids go to a math and science magnet and her box

had to be a simple machine.

Grandpa Bodily is a retired HP engineer-- and her box,

when finished, had a pulley, a lever, a wedge- you name it.

 Way out of my league. 

I can just barely handle the decorating.

But what, oh what, would we do without Grandpa Bodily!

 Kean after refusing to eat much of anything since Chemo

on Tuesday is in full Steroid mode as of tonight.

Three dinners.

He did go to therapy this morning

(yesterday he was so not cooperative)

and had a decent morning

but man, you can sure tell he feels lousy.

Here's his sweet little Valentine's he made 

during therapy today.

He's not only an angel but a trooper.

Samson

The boys in our family finally got haircuts.
Well, for Kean, I should say, he got a real hair cut-- not my typical
hatchet job, trying to give him a trim while he squirms, lurches 
and fights me every second.

You'll notice, it took a village to hold him still and get it done.

Sara (who cuts his hair) has her own salon but does him 

in her home so we don't have to take him out.  She may look

familiar-- she's the mom of one of Kean's all-time favorite

nurses on the fourth floor (Joe).

She's the one who came up and cut his hair off a couple of years ago

when he was first so sick, in the hospital for over a month

and had matted hair on the back of his head.

We love Sara and as you can see, so does Kean.

Even though he hates getting his hair cut.

As a bonus, look what Kean surprised us all and

went and did all on his own this morning:

The New Tradition

Oh my.

Grandpa Bodily has really done it this time.

The girls are getting Kean to walk with them down to the bus.

 And then once they are off-- Kean makes a bee-line for

Grandpa Bodily's house.

For the last few days, Kean has had his "second breakfast"

with Grandpa-- a container of yogurt.

 The Bodily's even made a trip to the grocery store yesterday

to stock up.

It is quickly becoming their thing--- what they do together 

each morning.

Keep in mind, he had a full on breakfast (blueberry pancakes)

at home just minutes before the bus!!!

Breakfast isn't nearly as fun at our house.

The Bum Scoot Boogie

I totally blew it today.

I had taken Kean with me down to see the girls off on their school bus.

They catch the bus at the end of our neighbor, Grandpa Bodily's driveway.

And Kean couldn't get up that driveway and into Grandpa's house

fast enough.

These two have such a special connection.

Today was the perfect example.

And I blew it by not having my camera on me!!!

Lee was upstairs in his office when we arrived.

So Kean started up the stairs.

When Grandpa Bodily heard him coming, he came out

and sat down on the stairs next to our boy.

Then the two of them scooted on their rear ends

all the way down the stairs!

It was an absolute hoot!!!

A New Baby for the Barkers!!!

Hold onto your shorts.

It's not what you think.

But we do have a new addition to the family--

and for all of you who know me as a city girl-- boy, are you

ever gonna be shocked.

But first,

we had a great, great Christmas.

 This year, we had a full house, or shall I say, a full

audience to watch the kids in all their giddiness.

My folks, Byron's mom and our beloved neighbors,

the Bodily's joined us Christmas morn.

The girls got all kinds of new bedding and decorations

for their rooms...

 Reese gave Byron some of her framed artwork

for his office...

 but hands down, my favorite gift was the one Grandpa Bodily opened.

We made him a book chronicling all the months he spent

riding his lawn mower to help Kean build up those legs and learn

to walk.  It was titled "Lawn Mower Therapy" (and it even

made him cry a tiny bit).

So worth it! 

It was a great day.

 Now onto our baby news.

Our cow Sadie finally decided to give birth today--

the day after Christmas.

I won't go into all of the gory details-- but I will say I came

pretty darn close to throwing up.

(It made me, for the first time, thankful it was me giving birth

and not my husband having to watch it when we had our children).

Sadie's birthing was well, to put it delicately, rather icky.

So if you have a wimpy stomach (much  like mine,

skip the picture below).

If you don't, look closely.  That is a little hoof

sticking out.

Thankfully, all went well, and this little guy-- yes, it is a boy

joined us. 

 We all watched in utter amazement as Sadie

instinctively turned into a mother before our eyes.

She softly mooed and washed her baby down with her tongue.

 And then little Rudy (Rudolph) got up and tried his darndest

to walk in front of us.

It took him several tries before he got the hang of it

but tonight, he's a walkin' drinkin' machine.

Ah, what experiences we are having!

The Third Boob

How's that for a headline?

But for once, you can really, really see Kean's port

(what we call his 3rd boob).

We were at the hospital for half the day for heavy chemo

(in his brain and spine--yuk).

But it went surprisingly smooth. 

Grandma Kay (Byron's mom) and my good friend Jeanie

Stidham were our Chemo dates for the day.

 And we had the easiest time ever getting Kean's port

accessed and getting the blood to flow.

(Tender mercies).

 Kean surprised us all with his vitals.

He's grown taller and gained just slightly over a pound.

His counts were even high-- a little too high-- so two of his

main drugs were upped (he's taking a higher amount).

That hasn't happened very often over the past 2 1/2 years.

 We had quite the "reunion" day.

First, we ran into two of the families we had just spent several

days with last week at Camp Rainbow Gold's Winter Retreat.

Then, Jason, one of the heads of Camp and the guy we lovingly

refer to as the Pied Piper (my kids adore him as do all children)

stopped in.

And finally, we had our favorite Respiratory Therapist,

Sabrina assigned to us today.

Her brother Joe (who we got to see today too) was

one of Kean's most beloved nurses when he was so sick

for all those months.

 The drug they use to put Kean under for his procedures

is supposed to wear off after fifteen minutes.

It took Kean a good hour to come out of it today.

I look at it as he got a much needed nap.  Too bad I couldn't join him!

He's doing pretty good tonight considering all the gunk he got

poured into his body.

We had a quiet evening at home.  Bryon, Grandma Kay and Holland 

all went out to dinner and Christmas shopping.

And Reese and Greer?  They

went with the Bodily's to a nursing home where the girls

played the elves to the Bodily's Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

The girls sang Christmas Carols and passed out--

get this, 180 candy canes.