Surrounded by Cancer

We all can agree that CANCER SUCKS. There are seriously no good sides to the equation when a cancer diagnosis is made.  There are "well that's better than..." scenarios, I'll give it that much.  But after losing Annie in April I honestly thought that was going to be the only cancer to touch my life.  Or at least for now.

This past week TWO of our friends underwent surgeries similar to the one Annie had two years ago for tumors. One was identical in that it was exploratory and a bit dangerous since they didn't know where the tumor was getting it's blood supply.  The other was a tennis-ball sized (can you imagine?) tumor removed from a lymph node.  That friend is now diagnosed as having lymphoma.  Scary.

All three of these girls are friends from Gustavus, and all are friends (good...no great friends) with each other.  Two were roommates.  We all knew St. Peter's water was a bit sketchy...but really?? (just kidding there folks...no need to sound an alarm).

But in all honesty I really thought Annie was it.  She was my link to the cancer community.  Now, my link is three times stronger than before and my desire to change so much of this is stronger too. I was talking with my older sister Anna yesterday and planning our Relay-for-Life event (ONE WEEK PEOPLE! IN ONE WEEK!!) and the best I could explain my emotions was "I'm so excited my hands are sweating".  And they were!

I think these events are so amazing.  We did them at Gustavus and I'm so looking forward to doing it again.  The support, love, and understanding everyone shows and is able to experience at a Relay is truly awesome.

So here is my plug again:  Relay for Life -- Chippewa Falls, WI -- July 30th-31st -- Click to DONATE or JOIN.  We still need walkers for the relay so if you can make it out PLEASE consider it!

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY10MW?px=17273993&pg=personal&fr_id=23126

Neglected

The only word I can come up with to describe my blog.  I'm sorry. :/ You've been neglected.  I could tell it had been way too long since I'd done a blog update because yesterday as I drove home I began listing all of the blog topics in my head and I got lost and confused along the way.  Meaning there were WAAAY too many things I'd been missing and they are now over-flowing.  That makes this hard to start, I mean, how far back do I go?! Ugh.  This feeling totally reminds me of how it felt to procrastinate on projects in college until the night before and then stay up all night just to get it done...but feeling like I'd missed so many pieces of it along the way.

After a quick review of what I've recently posted, here is an update on our Life since those last few pictures.

As noticed, Keller loves dog food.  He now crawls at lightning speed across the kitchen floor to try to grab it before Broghan or I can swoop up the dishes and get them onto the counter and out of his reach.  I've been amazed at how proficient at crawling he has gotten.  Then there is the oh-so-scary attempts at standing on his own.  This past weekend, he pulled himself up and grabbed at a sheet of paper (another favorite thing to place in his mouth) but while holding on to the paper, he stopped holding onto anything else and just stood....alone...by himself...for a good 15 seconds (like the one-one thousand, two-one thousand type of seconds).  That is exciting and intimidating all at the same time.  I love the idea of Keller walking...not so much the reality.

Outside of Keller continuing to keep us attentive at all times, I feel like life has been a bit "two-faced".  During the weekdays our home-life is relatively calm, relaxed, and we attempt to be low-stress.  On the weekends though I feel like our life goes into hyper-speed trying to fit a ton of things and people into such a short amount of time.

To do a quick summary of just the past two weekends we've spent a night out at a Phil Vassar concert, updated our living room and back-yard with home projects (painting and a new post/plants), Broghan has taken apart the boat motor to begin the rebuilding process, went on Lake Minnetonka, went to the Excelsior Fireman's dance, went out down-town for Tessa's birthday, and played in five softball games.  This weekend will add a whole other dimension since tonight we're going to the Thursday night of Country Jam in Eau Claire to see Jake Owen and maybe Jason Aldene (although Jason doesn't even START until 10PM which is so late for us), tomorrow is Broghan's birthday and Saturday we are driving up to Tomahawk, WI to honor Grandpa Reilly who passed away a week ago today.

All in all I am usually trying to re-coup Monday and get Keller back to a 'normal' schedule.

Lots of catching up to do! PICTURES!

SO I've been behind on doing what most everyone comes here to see...uploading pictures of Keller-man. We've been a very busy little family. The pictures in this post range from going to the ski-sprites show in Altoona, hanging out on the beach, and catching Keller doing what he does best...(you'll have to check them out to find out!)

Picnic at the Ski Sprites show!

Helping dad do laundry

Again at the Ski Sprites show, this time on the 4th...it was a little rainy so we watched from the car

This is still from the 4th, but now we were at the Express baseball game and trying to get a good snap shot of Keller's 4 front teeth (2 top and 2 bottom).  This picture was the result of Broghan trying to force his mouth open! haha

There they are!!

 

Off to the beach! Keller showing off his awesome tug-boat.

And chewing a shoe..

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This one just makes me laugh...gotta love the faces you capture!!

And this is where the real fun begins...notice he's being so sweet...clapping his hands..starring sweetly into the camera...

But wait! He's off! "Keller...where are you going????"

"Just over by Marvin mom!"

"hmm that looks tasty"

"Delicious!"

Keller's favorites

Ok, so I haven't blogged in a bit but this list of "Keller's favorite things" has been mulling around in my head for a few days and I wanted to get it down before I forgot about it.

As I read many other mom's blogs, they get record their children's favorite things. Like their favorite foods, toys, games, etc. I tend not to do that because Keller's list is a little.....untraditional?? I'm not sure if that is the best word, but here's a snippet of the things I can come up with.

His favorite teething toy: any cord he is able to find. Literally, any cord. He especially loves my computer cord for some reason and has figured out where it connects to my laptop. If he eyes it, you can bet he's headed that way to pull it out and put it in his mouth.

Again, another favorite teething toy: any shoe he is able to find. Particularly flip-flops. I'm guessing its the feel of the plastic or something, or the foam? But I did go buy him his own pair (in his size so he could even wear them now and again) to chew on, but he usually ends up tossing them aside and heading over to our shoe rack to find a sandal. Second on the shoe list would be tennis shoe strings.

OK, another favorite teething toy (can you tell he's cutting teeth?) AND entertainment toy: The caps to the little milk storage bottles I use to store breastmilk. This morning he was able to get one stuck in his mouth...the little creeper. If it wasn't slightly scary to see a yellow cap suctioned to his tongue I would have taken a video or picture of this event. If it happens again, it's a possibility that documentation could happen.

Favorite entertainment toy (even above the caps): Plastic bags. He loves them and will stay entertained for almost an hour straight just flinging them around.

Another entertainment toy: My purse/handbag string. I think this is similar to the flip-flop idea...he likes how it feels in his mouth.

And finally, the one that drive me nuts because he can sneak it pretty well:

His FAVORITE FOOD: Marvin's. That's right folks, my son, the exclusively breastfed boy loves his dog food. He seems to find it, tip the bowl, and get one in his mouth and then just suck on it. I am constantly finding him over at Marvin's little "food station" knocking the water bowl over (yes, spilling it all over the kitchen floor) and grabbing tiny fist-fulls of his kibble. Again, if I wasn't so nervous about the choking hazards of it all I would document.

and he has finally found the door

Broghan's mom has always pointed out that at some point, Keller is going to realize where the back door is (we've got a doggie door to it) and crawl right out! Well, he wasn't going out the dog door but he certainly keeps trying to push the door open and head outside. It's hilarious. Here are a few photos and a video I was able to capture of him in action. I just love how upset he is that he can't get it open....one day Keller...one day..

In love with Picnik!

So if you have yet to visit this website www.picnik.com....it's FABULOUS!  I love doing a little digital updating to my photos, but the photo editors that come on normal computers without having to buy a program, can only do so much.  This one is fast, easy, and with many options.

Anyways, I've been somewhat addicted to it lately and have been trying to find pictures to edit.  Obviously most of them are of Keller :).  Here are a few I've done recently..