Re-induction

Brooklyn did an amazing job today. We went to my parents' yesterday, and logistically it just worked better for us to spend the night so we had a big sleepover! It was so much fun, we went fishing and both Mike and Braden caught fish so that was exciting! We hung out at the house and made s'mores over the fire pit last night. It was a great way to spend our Memorial Day all together. Brooklyn and I left about 7:30 this morning, Mike went to work and the rest of the kids stayed home with my parents. There is a lot of coordinating to do to make these days work and we definitely couldn't do it without help from our family. We got to the surgery center and got all checked in. Brookie was hungry, but I distracted her until it was time to go in. She did great. She fell asleep in my arms, the doctor did her spinal tap & gave her chemo, and she woke up in a good mood. After we left the recovery room, we went to the cafeteria for pancakes. My dad was going to make pancakes for the other kids this morning, so she wanted to be sure to get pancakes too. She was so happy to get one, but didn't finish the whole thing since it was the size of her plate! Then we went over to the infusion room. We got all hooked up there and she wanted me to lay with her to protect her from the bad guys in the scooby doo movie she watched. It was such a nice morning to just be together and snuggle. As we were leaving, I was thinking how amazing God is that He makes each person so unique and different. Have you ever just stopped to watch people walk by when you are out somewhere? They are all so physically different and their personalities are all completely individual too. It is amazing to me that God gave Brooklyn such strength and stamina to be able to endure all that she is going through right now and still be such a happy little girl. I know He has a plan for each of us and He knew she would have to endure this time in her life, so He made her with some extra feisty-ness and strength. She fell asleep in the car on the way back to my parents house, probably from a combination of exhaustion from the morning and yesterday's activities and the drugs she received. I ran a couple errands and then got the kids and drove home only to turn back around and head out for Braden's baseball game. You would never have known that Brooklyn had anything done today the way she was running around with the kids at the field for 2 hours. It is really amazing. When we got home, we had to give her her steroids. However this time, instead of liquid, they gave it to us in pill form. So, she has to take 14 pills a day - 7 in the morning and 7 at night. How many 3 year olds do you know that swallow pills? Right. I mean - do these drug manufacturers and doctors NOT have children? So, Mike crushed 7 pills on a spoon and mixed it with the chocolate protein shake like we did with a different pill she had to take another time and she drank it and immediately threw it up all over the floor. So then, he tried to convince her that she could swallow them - they are pretty small. So, he gave her one and after trying to swallow it, she threw up. I think the taste of them is really bad, like the liquid steroid was too. So then I took 7, cut them in half and tucked them all into some mint chocolate chip ice cream on a spoon and she kept it down. The pills probably crunched like the chocolate chips so she didn't notice them as much and maybe the mint flavor masked the taste. I don't know, but apparently she is going to get ice cream for breakfast and before bed for the next 7 days!! After she took it, she said "Thanks Dad for making me better." Oh my gosh, she is so sweet! I am so thankful for all the research that has been done for Leukemia to almost find a complete cure, and we, of course, want to follow every step to give her the best chance at recovery, but it sure is a lot of medication for such a little person.

Our Little Present

We had a really good week last week. After getting the next schedule of treatment, we just focused on enjoying our week off from medicine. We went to the park a couple times and played outside at home a lot. Although we did have to have some inside days because the weather was so weird again - rainy and freezing one day and then sunny the next. Brooklyn has been feeling great. She loves having Braden around all the time and now Kayla is out of school too so all the monkeys are out for summer! She has a little runny nose and every once in a while she will cough and when I ask her why she's coughing she says it's because she has her special necklace. Braden told her one day that she was sick as long as she had her "special necklace" (her Broviak), so now that is what she says. It's kind of cute but also a little sad, I wish she didn't have it at all. We got to hang out with some friends this week which is always great. It makes me so happy when all the kids are running around and laughing. Braden, Kayla and Brooklyn even went in the pool a couple times. I used the special tape cover to put over her Broviak site and then wrapped some 'press and seal' saran wrap around her whole chest. She thought it was pretty funny and yesterday said, "Me a present!" :) It worked well yesterday though and her dressing didn't get wet at all, so that is good. It stresses me out to have to worry about it getting wet all the time and changing it to avoid infection. We also went to the little Folsom Zoo yesterday. We love going there because it is pretty small so you can get through it quickly but the kids love seeing all the animals. It was a great family day and we loved having some nice weather. Brooklyn's nurse is coming over this morning to check her blood counts and then we are going to my parents house for the day. I love 3 day weekends when we all get to hang out together! Tomorrow she has another spinal tap in the morning and then we go to the infusion room for chemo and tomorrow night start the steroids again. I am praying she feels good through this next round of treatment, because there is a lot. I'm sure she will do great, she is such a little trooper and we are so thankful for the gift she has been in our lives every day.

Up and Down & All Around

Our appointment with the doctor was fine on Monday. He thought Brooklyn was looking good and is still reacting to everything just as she should be. We got the schedule for the next month however and there is a lot more treatment coming up, so we think it is probably not the best time to switch her Broviak to a port. We just don't want to cause her any more pain when she is going to have so much medication that could make her feel bad anyway. We also found out that she has to go back on steroids. It won't be 28 straight days like last time, but it is 7 days on, 7 days off, then 7 days on again. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as last time, the crazy hunger and the 'roid rages, the midnight snacks... they said that just when she'll be ramping up to be that way, we stop them, so hopefully they are right. It may be a little different though because the dosage is higher, so I suppose the side effects could come on sooner than last time. They also said that this next round will probably wipe out the rest of her hair. When we left the appointment, I cried a little. I think it was hard because we had just come back from such a fun weekend with friends and everyone feeling so well and enjoying time together, that to have such a stark dose of reality really sucked. She is right on track with everything and so I know this is just part of the process, but it is difficult because she is looking and feeling so good right now, that to make her take the awful steroids again, and possibly put on weight and be uncomfortable and have new kinds of chemo that could make her feel sick, and to have her hair fall out - is all a lot to take in. I told her last week that some of her medicine might make her hair go away but that she would always be beautiful and she said, "But me a girl, not a boy." I told her she would still be pretty and still be a girl and that we have lots of pretty hats she can wear. Ugh. It is crazy because she already has some new little hairs growing back in from when she lost so much the first time she was on steroids. Seeing a bald kid makes you know they're sick. Right now, you can't even tell anything is wrong with her. I know that she is sick, but I also like to see her feeling so good - just like any normal, healthy kid. Mike reminded me that this is the last big push before we go on maintenance - which means much less chemo and fewer visits to the doctor. It is a good thing because we are moving along at the pace she is supposed to, it just makes me sad to know we are going to make her feel bad again. I made the kids pancakes this morning and I was having flashbacks to when I was making them so often in the beginning. She probably doesn't even remember that - which is a good thing. We have this week off, with no chemo or surgery, so we are enjoying it! We've been playing outside a lot and we went to the park today. It is so much fun to just get out and play with the kids and enjoy their laughter and silly-ness. They had a blast playing on the tire swing this afternoon. This whole experience is kind of like a ride on the tire swing - it not only goes up, down, but side to side and around in circles. It's crazy and you don't know what to expect, but we can always find a way to have fun. I think our appointment reminded me to take the time to enjoy these days with the kids, and not worry about the cleaning and housework as often as I normally would. It will all still be there to do tomorrow. :)

Amazing Friends

Saturday was the Brooklyn Wine Social at the Passalacqua Winery. We were completely a game-time decision Saturday morning on whether we were going to take all the kids or not. Kayla had a fever all day Friday, so the girls and I had to miss Braden's game Friday night, but right before she went to bed, it was gone. Talk about the power of prayer!! However, I was nervous because when I went in to check on Brooklyn at night, she was at about 100, so I didn't know if we would be going to the hospital or what the night would bring. Everyone woke up feeling fine in the morning though so we all got to go! The kids were thrilled! Our good friends from college own the winery, so we've been there before and they always have so much fun running around and playing. We told Brooklyn we were going to a party for her and she was so excited and said, "A party to meeee?" :) We met up with some friends for lunch and had a great afternoon relaxing and catching up. I just found out this morning that apparently the world was supposed to end last night right when the event was beginning. It clearly didn't, and although it wasn't Heaven, I would have to say that the evening was pretty perfect. The weather couldn't have been better and the Passalacquas have such a beautiful setting, and to be surrounded by so many people that came specifically to show us their support was overwhelming. We really want to thank the Zureks and the Passalacquas for all the work they did to put together such a special night for us. My parents and aunt and uncle came along with us, and they all commented on how wonderful it was to have such an amazing group of friends. People traveled from all areas of California, but some also came in from Oregon, Idaho, and Arizona just to let us know that they have been praying for us and wanted to do something to help. We were simply amazed to have such an outpouring of support. We really have been amazed throughout this whole 4 months though. People locally are still making meals for us, people from farther away have sent gift cards and we still get cards and letters in the mail for Brooklyn every week. We also know that so many people continue to pray for Brooklyn and our whole family every day. We feel so blessed to have so many good friends and it is such an amazing thing for our children to see the community of people who care so much for our family. We are meeting with the Oncologist in the morning, and I have a list of questions for him. I am so excited that it is summer time and that we will get to do more stuff all together and be outside more, but everyone else will be doing that too. I need to find out if we can be in public places when they are crowded, if we can go to parks that have water features, if she can go to the dentist...so many questions about stuff that seems so ordinary. I also want to ask about when the best time would be to switch her Broviak to a port. A port is completely under the skin so it would make swimming and showering so much easier and chance of infection would be less as well. The down side is that she has to get poked with a needle every time she has blood drawn or gets chemo. It's hard because we don't want to make the wrong decision, so it will be good to talk to the doctor and find out what the next round of treatment involves and how often she will be getting poked. Thank you all again so much for the support and the prayers, we can see them working every time we look at Brooklyn and see her happy smile.

Uncle

Do you ever have those days or weeks where you just want to say "uncle"? And it's nothing against any of my uncles, because I've got some great ones, it's just an easy expression to use! :) You know - those times when you want to say, "No thank you, I've had enough for this week, please bring your craziness back next week."  We've had one of those weeks. Brooklyn did great Tuesday, she got an increased dose of chemo again, but handled it fine and has seemed to feel good the rest of the week so far; but...because we like to keep things interesting around here, my car broke down Tuesday afternoon. Now, there are several things I am thankful for. One, is that I made it all the way to the dealer and wasn't stuck on the side of the road in the rain, the second is that my wonderful mother had the 3 girls at home, so I only had Braden with me. (Although I did have to drop his friend off after school and at every stop sign when the car would barely start I told the boys they might have to get out and push so they would yell for the car to get going every time - it was pretty funny). I pulled in to the service area and rolled down the window and said, "My car is breaking." After sitting in the waiting room with Braden going over every scenario of how I could use Mike's or my parent's car the next couple days, nothing would work so I had to get a rental. The gal told me she had a mid-level sedan and I gently informed her that that wasn't going to work. I need a car that will fit 5 kids. Soooo, we are rollin' in the mini-van! Braden and I had to take out all the car seats and stuff from our car and transfer it to the minivan and I know the guys in the shop were just cracking up at us. I was so thankful to not have all the kids with me or it would've been much harder. When my mom got there with the girls, they were all so excited to have a van - kids are so funny! When the service guy finally called the next day to tell me it was the transmission and we probably needed a new one, I wasn't as happy. Uncle. I told him that I needed my car back by Friday, so I am hoping to pick it up tomorrow. Oh - and I forgot to mention that I thought I saw a snake coming out of my fireplace into my family room last week. Uncle!! As it turns out, I am pretty sure it was just a lizard, but I still have packing tape covering all of the grates on the fireplace. The idea of anything with scales sneaking around inside my house is not a fun thing for me. And, for some reason, Kayla has a fever again. She was fine all day yesterday and then last night it just hit her, and she had it today as well. It is stressing me out because I am excited for our whole family to go to Napa this weekend and if Kayla is sick, she probably shouldn't go, and if Brooklyn gets it, then one of us may not be able to go because we'll be in the hospital. Ugh! Uncle! But I also know we have so much to be thankful for. When we got home from the car fiasco the other night, the kids and I all started wrestling in the living room. It was hysterical because one of them would always be on top of me and the others would be trying to keep my down. We were all laughing so hard and it was one of those moments that made me so happy to have them all around me - even though they were totally beating me! We also had a fun afternoon yesterday. I went to get my hair done, and my friend Lindsay cut both Brooklyn and Kayla's hair too. They always get so excited to have their hair cut and sit in the big chair, it was so cute. I am also thankful that Braden is out of school tomorrow! I am excited for the summer and the fun things we will get to do all together. We don't have any big trips planned, but it will be so great to just be here and enjoy time off with no homework and no schedule. And hopefully the water will warm up in the pool! :) We are truly so blessed and I know that every day, there are just some days that add a little more excitement to your life than others.

Teamwork

One of my favorite things Brooklyn does these days is quote the Wonder Pets. We haven't watched the show very often, but her favorite thing to sing is "What's gonna work? Teamwork!" She says it whenever we are working on something together, if she is helping carry groceries in from the car, unloading the dishwasher together, anything. It is so sweet, it makes us smile every time. She even sang it in the hospital when one of the nurses and I were giving her a sponge bath on this handicap chair/bed thing. It is so great to hear her singing and wanting to just play and all be together when we are so concerned with keeping her healthy and making sure she stays away from germs and getting her better. It's like she is letting us know she is fine as long as we are all together. She is such a crack up - sometimes she tries to be funny and will say "What's gonna work? NOT teamwork!" and then will laugh and laugh. It also reminds me that we can't get through a time like this without teamwork, from our family and friends. We are so busy and trying to keep life as "normal" as possible for the rest of the kids that we need help from others to be able to do everything and still keep Brooklyn away from places that we feel like she shouldn't go. Saturday Kayla had a gymnastics show at the same time that Braden and Mike had a parade with the baseball team for Little League day. It stunk that we had to split up and Mike and I each missed the other kids' event, but I know it is just the beginning of overlapping schedules as the kids are getting older. Braden had a game that afternoon so we all got to go to that and then my parents babysat for us so we could go out with some friends Saturday night. It was good for us to get to go out and relax a little after a week with so much happening with our family; we were pretty worried about Mike's mom and all the craziness she went through this week. Diane got home from the hospital today and is tired, but happy to be home. Brooklyn is still doing great and her blood counts were good today so she gets another round of chemo tomorrow morning. Thank you for your continued prayers for our family.

Crazy, crazy!

Having four kids and our crazy schedule keeps us super busy without everything else that is going on with our family health wise these days. For example, Monday night we had a baseball game and I tried to keep Kayla in the car so that she wouldn't be around the other kids since she was kind of sick still.  My aunt was nice enough to come to the field after work to take her back home, but Kayla wanted to stay and ended up running around after awhile anyway. After the game, we loaded everyone in the car and tried to go, but our battery was dead. Pretty funny. We called AAA and they came out pretty quickly and we ended up buying a new battery. No more movies during games I guess!! Tuesday was a mellow one, the girls and I just stayed home and tried to rest, we had to do showers and dressing change, all that fun stuff. Mike and I got a little bit of the bug that Kelsey and Kayla have had, so we're all a little tired. Wednesday I decided Kayla should stay home from school one more time, she tested negative for strep on Monday, but I just wanted her to be totally better before going back to school. She has been sleeping in Braden's room to try to avoid Brooklyn getting sick, but the girls all play together during the day, so we have just kind of been waiting for Brooklyn to come down with something. So far, she's still been okay. Wednesday the girls and I went to go see Brooklyn's gym teacher from My Gym. She is moving and so even though we are hoping to go back to class someday, she won't be there and we will miss her! It was great to see her and for her to get to see Brooklyn since the last time we were there was the day Brookie was diagnosed. It is crazy how much our life has changed since that day. Today we had a fun day at home, I painted the girls nails and they had fun playing with eachother. For awhile, Kayla and Brooklyn were sliding down the stairs on a cardboard box. Who needs toys? :) Everyone seems to be feeling better, except for Mike's mom. She went in yesterday for a post-op check and mentioned that she was having some chest pain so they made her stay overnight. She had four stints put in this afternoon and they are pretty sure she had a mild heard attack. She will be in the hospital through the weekend and we are all praying for a speedy recovery. In a weird way, it is blessing that she got cancer so that she was able to tell the doctor she had pain before the blockage got too bad. We are thankful for the doctors who have helped her through all of the craziness she has had to endure the last few weeks.

Brooklyn Frank Wine Social!

Hello!  Just a reminder about the Brooklyn Frank Wine Social, coming very soon!  On Saturday, May 21st, from 6 to 9pm we will be gathering in Healdsburg, CA at the Passalaqua Winery to support Mike, Kristin and Brooklyn.  All proceeds will help with the medical costs that will arise as the Franks continue treating Brooklyn's leukemia.  Cost per person is $125.  The event will also feature a small silent auction with items from the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's.  Everyone is welcome to attend!  It will be a wonderful evening to support a great cause.  Use the paypal link below to register.  If you cannot make it to the social, but would still like to support this cause, please make a donation through the same link.  If you have any questions, please e-mail tcpettigrew@cox.net and I will forward them onto the event coordinators.  We hope to see many of you there!  

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=UZ2HUBE8E2PRC

Mothers

Brooklyn, once again, did amazingly well on Friday. We went to the infusion lab first to get her next round of chemo. Brooklyn watched a movie and was pretty content, but wanted to eat the crackers we had brought with us. As the morning went on, and she got hungrier and hungrier, she wanted them more and more. It was so hard because she would say, "just one momma, just one cracker?" Then she got mad at me because I wouldn't give them to her, and threw a little fit, but I couldn't get upset with her because I knew how hungry she was and I hated that she couldn't eat. We had about 45 minutes between the time we left the infusion lab and went to the hospital for the surgery and she actually fell asleep in the car. The poor thing was just exhausted. And starving. I carried her into the hospital and as she woke up, she recognized the hall we were walking down and said, "Maybe the music girl will be here." She wasn't, because she got into grad school back in Chicago, so we read a book while we waited. They actually got us back into surgery before our 1:00 time, so that was great. The doctor got the needle into her spine on the first try and took the sample and gave her her chemo in just a few minutes. We wheeled out into the recovery room and when she woke up she was ready for food! The nurse gave her a popsicle and she was so happy to have it, it was just what she needed. She ate a few crackers too and then another popsicle.

All of the nurses in the surgery center are so sweet and loved Brooklyn's dress and her bright smile. She always seems to bring smiles into a room, wherever she is. She felt good enough that we all got to go to Kayla's performance at her school Friday night. Our preschool director is amazing and let us use the cry room in the back of the church so that Brookie could still go watch Kayla sing, but wouldn't be in the sanctuary with so many people and exposed to so many germs. After the program was over, the kids all ran around outside, chasing each other and playing tag. It was amazing because if you didn't know it, you would never have guessed that Brooklyn had had 3 doses of chemo and a spinal tap earlier that same day. She was running around with all the other kids, happy as could be, and that made us all happy. Yesterday we had fun going to Braden's game, and it was great because they won! Brooklyn fell asleep on the way home and slept for a few hours before we had some friends over for dinner. Today, on Mother's Day, I was once again so thankful for the mothers in my life. My mom and dad met us after they went to church and took the kids back to our house so that we could go. We let all the kids go back home because Kayla has a fever and is sick now, Brooklyn and Kelsey usually don't come, and so we said Braden could stay home too. As soon as my parents got home with the kids, Brooklyn threw up all over the floor. I am sure my mom didn't imagine she would be cleaning up puke on Mother's Day, but she was, as always, amazing and didn't mind at all and just took care of everything. My aunt and uncle came over later in the afternoon and we all got to spend the day together. The three of us moms got to spend an hour upstairs in my bathroom painting our toes and I felt so blessed to have such amazing, selfless, giving women in my life. Mike's mom spent the day with the rest of the family at home and though tired, sounds great and is happy to be home with everyone. We are so happy she is doing so well and grateful to have her as our mom/mother-in-law/grandma. Happy mother's day to all of the amazing women in our lives who keep our family in their thoughts and prayers. We truly appreciate you.

Spunky Spitfire

We had kind of a long one today. Kelsey still has a fever so I tried my best to not have her get too close to Kayla or Brooklyn, but it is hard when they all want to be together and I am trying to get stuff done in another area of the house. Kelsey didn't feel great so she wanted to be held a lot and Kayla and Brooklyn tried to help her feel better however they could. Brooklyn's nurse came over to draw her blood, and everything came back good, so that is great! We go in tomorrow morning for her chemo and then head over to the hospital for another spinal tap. I am really not looking forward to it since her surgery isn't until 1:00 and she can't eat until after it is over. It will be a long morning. I know we will get through it though because as I am writing this, we just got to see a little of Brooklyn's spunk back in action. I thought I heard something upstairs so Mike went up to check the kids and Brooklyn was soaking wet. She was "getting a drink of water" yet somehow there was an inch of water covering the entire bathroom counter and all over her nightgown. She was having quite a bit of fun up there! So, we just had to change her dressing again which we had just done an hour ago since she took a shower tonight. Even though she can exhaust us, it is good that she has that spunk. I think you have to be kind of a spitfire to fight a disease that is trying to attack your body. We are so happy that she is such a strong fighter. Mike's mom had another surgery today and it went well so she gets to go home tomorrow. I'm off to crash on the couch!! Happy Cinco de Mayo! :)

Where A Kid Can Be a Kid

That's right! We did it today - Chuck E Cheese to celebrate Kayla's birthday! Kelsey stayed home with my dad because she had a fever, so hopefully she will be better tomorrow and no one else will get sick! Of course I was nervous to take Brooklyn along but we planned it for today because all the school districts were back in school after spring break and we figured it wouldn't be too crowded. Aannnd, we were right! It was great! We were the only ones there. A few other people came in about half way through our party and it almost felt like they shouldn't be there because we had the whole place to ourselves. :) If you think about Chuck E Cheese, you of course think of germs. I know I do. But I also think of my kids faces and how it is their favorite place on earth. And Brooklyn hasn't gotten to do stuff like Chuck E Cheese for a long time, so I wanted her to be able to go and just have fun. I want her to be a kid. We all want our kids to enjoy their childhood and not grow up too fast. Sure, there are times when we look forward to the day when the kids can get dressed themselves, feed themselves, go to the bathroom themselves, not cry about every little thing - but we also want them to cherish the time when they don't have to worry about the concerns of the world, about paying bills, about what others think of them, about someone in their family getting sick. We want them to be innocent as long as possible and that is part of the reason I wanted Brookie to be able to go today. Her blood counts have been good and she's been feeling great, so we felt confident with her going. I thought it would be a little bit of a "defensive mechanism" if she would wear her gardening gloves when she played the games to protect her from germs and she was great with wearing them.

She had the best time. My mom came with us since Mike is still out of town and she followed Brooklyn around and helped her play the games. She was most excited when Chuck E came out. She chased him all around the restaurant and kept giving him high fives, just like she did with the mascot at the baseball game we went to a few weeks back. It was so good to see all the kids having so much fun. Brooklyn has been sleeping really well lately, but last night she woke up twice crying that her feet hurt. It helped her when I rubbed her legs and she eventually fell back asleep. The leg and foot pain is a side effect of the chemo, but she hasn't had any trouble with it since that time when she couldn't put her heals down a couple months ago. Hopefully it won't be a problem for her again. Mike's mom's surgery went well yesterday. She came through it with flying colors and found out that the cancer hadn't spread to her lymph nodes, so we are all so thankful for that. We so appreciate all of your prayers for our family and feel so surrounded by love and support.

Let's Eat Cake

We had a fun and pretty mellow weekend. It was Kayla's birthday on Saturday so we had a relaxing morning with pancakes, bacon and eggs and presents! We went to the park for a little while and then my parents and aunt and uncle came over to celebrate. Kayla wanted to frost her own cake, so Brooklyn and I helped her mix everything together, but then she frosted it herself - such a big 5 year old!  The kids and Mike decided to go in the pool after we got home from the park, but I decided to be the towel holder again. :) It was still pretty cold and the girls' little jaws were shivering, but they were loving it. Brooklyn's favorite part was telling her dad to do a "twity whip" - a twisty flip - off the diving board. He did quite a few, and is actually a little sore today as a result! :) We had to change Brooklyn's dressing twice yesterday because she took a bath in the morning and then she went swimming in the afternoon. I am so glad that she is doing so well, and I would do anything to make things good for her, but the whole dressing change and flushing and medicine is a lot to remember. It is kind of exhausting. I am looking forward to this summer so much and having a pool that we can play in, but I know it will be a struggle with having to keep Brooklyn out of it or changing her dressing constantly to make sure she doesn't get an infection. When the time comes for her to not get chemo quite as often and blood tests less frequently, we can have her Broviak taken out and put a port in, which is completely under the skin, so that will be nice. She is still loving to wear underwear, but has had a few accidents when we have been out running around and it is harder to remember to go to the bathroom as often. We had a great weekend enjoying the sunshine, cake, and each other.