Half Way!!

Three weeks ago Ave went in for treatment and the doctor told us she is officially half way!! We are thrilled Ave is doing this well and has continued to respond to the medication she is on. 

In between treatments we ended up going to Priest Lake in Idaho and Ave absolutely loved being there. It was so nice to have a break and to just enjoy the family. We went boating, canoeing, made s'mores over camp fires, and did a lot of playing on the beach. The trip went too fast and after being home just a week we had to go back in for another treatment.

This is Elliot Therapy Dog and his owner. At the center they have therapy dogs go around to cheer up the kids. We get to see Elliot almost every Friday and Ave loves him. He is so sweet and his owner will tell him to "pray for Avery" and he will put his paws up on the chair and bow his head. 

Ave is usually so good natured about going in but has started to say little things that make me feel like she is much more aware of what she is going through. She's started to say "doctor hurts me" and "I don't want medicine". It really sucks but I just keep telling myself that it is helping her. This time the doctor prescribed another medication that she will start taking every Monday and Tuesday. It is some kind of antibiotic that prevents a type of pneumonia that people who take steroids over a long period of time can get. It's been pretty easy to keep track of all her medications because she only has to be on oral medications the five days after her chemotherapy. I just feel so lucky that she doesn't fight me when giving her her medicine anymore. 

We have been talking to our social worker about referring Avery to the Make A Wish organization. One of the qualifications is that the child has to be at least 2 1/2 years old. Ave will be 2 1/2 on August 17th and I can't wait to get that going. Everything she says lately has something to do with the princesses. We watch a lot of Curious George and anything that he does, she wants to do too. The other day she asked me for a flashlight... but it had to be a princess flashlight. Or a princess boat, or a princess camera. After talking about it with Thomas we've decided that a trip to Disney World would absolutely be the best thing for her. I cannot wait to see the look on her face when she gets to meet Ariel there. She is going to be in heaven!