We BLINKED.... and Edward is turning TWO!

First off, Edward had another EUA(exam under anesthesia) at Will's Eye on Wednesday and we received fantastic news.  Both tumors were stable, nothing changed, meaning nothing grew or produced any seeds.  The tumor in his right eye is still off to the side, allowing him to have full central vision.  The tumor on the left side is half scar tissue already.  The tumor is blocking a good portion of his macula, making his central vision somewhat compromised.  We are going to keep patching and keep trying wear our glasses (Remember, he has glasses.... if only he would keep them ON!)  Dr. Shields was pleased that there were no signs of any fluid or recurrence, and so they did not need to perform any laser treatment.  Thank goodness! AND, Dr. Shields said that we could come back in four months!  I nearly fell out of my chair when she uttered those words, because I couldn't believe it! Four MONTHS!  It actually makes me a little nervous!  Four whole months without an eye exam?  Edward will have his six month MRI is March, but still!  I am used to seeing doctors weekly, for many months of the last two years.  If it is time, then I guess it is time, because this child is turning two, and he is on the move.  A home wrecker, always on the go, a polly parrot, my little shadow, a go go go until you drop, kind of kid!  He doesn't miss a thing, and he loves being around people, being the center of attention, and being silly.  Did I mention he is SMART too?  Okay, I know I am biased, and I am bragging, but the past two years have been the most difficult, ridiculous, crazy two years of our lives, and now that we have been given a little bit of breathing room, we are going to ENJOY every minute!

We had a little family birthday party for Eddie at my parents house yesterday to celebrate the good news....Sesame Street Style!  And thanks to Pinterest I found decoration and cake ideas! Next weekend we are going to Augusta, GA to see Michael's parents and it WILL be his actual birthday (the 19th) and I know there will be more clapping, singing, and cake and ice cream.  Thank you so much for all of your support and encouragement, prayers and positive thoughts, emails and cards, phone calls and text messages, facebook posts and comments.  We are blessed with AMAZING support from each of you.

 Cake turned out beautifully!  Lots of blue dye and lots of patience!

 A party is Philly isn't complete without pretzels spelling your child's name! Haha!

 Swinging in Pop-Pop's arms!

 Sitting with Pop-Pop with his Cookie Monster shirt on!

 Edward with his best friend, Daisy girl :)

 Sesame Street decorations everywhere!

 The cake, with a big # 2 candle!

 Oh Yum!  He ate, and ate, and ate his cake yesterday!

 Opening presents!

 A Sing-a-mi-jig!  I think that's what it's called!  So funny!

And a Cleveland Indians jersey for next year! Woohoo!

Family Photos

My sister Amy was kind enough to give us the gift of a family photo session when Eddie was finished chemotherapy.  These pictures were taken on November 17th, roughly 2 months after his last treatment, and his hair is definitely growing back, however very thin and blonde!  Our wonderful  photographer was Denise Feagans and she works out of Louisa, VA.  She is a mother of five children herself, while managing to take precious family moments and turning them into beautiful photographs.  We had a blast! And we will treasure these photos for years to come.  I know many people already saw some of these on Facebook, but I want to post them all.

Pirates!!!!

Our favorite friend from ND lovesssssssss pirate jokes.  Well actually, he loves ALL jokes.  ANY type of joke.  And he especially has a thing for puns.  But one silly joke that he would use over and over again was:

Brian:  What is a pirate's favorite radio station?

Me:  I don't know... What?

Brian:  NPRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! 

I always get a crack out of that one.  But I wish Eddie could understand some jokes.  Or, I wish I could reason with Eddie.  Or, I wish he would understand that this patch that he has to wear is going to help him, it is going to help him use his very weak left eye, and it will make his left eye stronger.  I wish we could pretend he was a pirate sailing on a voyage to some new adventure.......

Actually, I wish I didn't have to do it at all :(

Patching.... stinks! (Or, I guess a pirate would say it SINKS!) Muahahahaha....

And do you know what......of course it does!  I can't blame him!  He has some vision but we have no idea how much vision, in the left eye.  So, patching entails covering his right eye, the good eye, his seeing eye, so he and his brain are forced to exercise the muscles to control his left eye.  Studies have shown that patching can improve vision in one's eye, and it can help the eye from straying away and becoming a lazy eye.  So of course I want to do it, if it will help him.  But, I must say, it's awful.....He can barely see.  When I wave to him, all I get is a blank stare.... and that makes me sad...... But, a minute later he will be navigating his way through the house wonderfully, stepping over the baby gate without tripping and picking up his milk and taking a drink. I try to patch his eye everyday at the same time.  So, we have built up a routine.  Everyday when he wakes up from his nap, we get a snack, play a little bit, and then, BAM 4:00 p.m. is patching time. 

I HATE THE HOUR THAT EXISTS FROM 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.!  But I must say, we are making progress.  For the most part, we are patching for that entire hour.  BUT Eddie must be extremely distracted, or he will try to rip it off 47 million times!.]  So we take Winston for a walk around the block, then we walk to the play ground (in our little neighborhood) and we run around a bit.  But he has NO peripheral vision!  I don't need a doctor to tell me that, because he is DANGEROUS!  I am running around chasing him/diverting him from whacking his head on some toy or playground device.  Everyday from 4-5:00 p.m. I am running around the block, then the playground, then our house, trying to keep him from hurting himself :(

By the end of the hour I am sweating like crazy.  But, most people that know me, already know that I have a sweating issue..... not exactly a problem if you wear all black, just an issue :)  This is Michael by the way..... hahahah just kidding. Obvi......

Now, there are some days when he is absolutely, positively, 100% NOT going to allow us to patch his eye.  He will rip it off in 30 seconds.  But, most days we are hitting the 1 hour mark.  Dr. Shields would like us to be patching for 2 hours, and we are hoping to get there, some day, but right now, we are happy with Edward's cooperation.  Thanks buddy. I love you!

 Having fun, not minding the patch at all!

ANGRY!  This eye patching session, was not as successful, even though I gave him a lollipop!