The Pavelka Family: 1 Down, 11 To Go...

Sam is officially done with his first round of chemo. He will begin round 2 tomorrow at the University of Chicago. This past week was his "off" week, and he felt relatively good. The beginning of the week was rough, and throughout the week he had a few incidents of fatigue and upset stomach, but near the end of the week he felt normal. Once he was feeling better, we tried to cram as much family fun in as we could! Sam was able to come to Taylor's "Under the Tree" class at the park district on Tuesday, and took her to swim class on Saturday. We brought Taylor to a water park with her friend Madison. She absolutely LOVED it! In the beginning, she was too scared to even go in the toddler section; but by the end of our time there, she was going down the "bigger kid" slide all by herself!

Another highlight of our week was when we spent the day in Lake Geneva, where Sam and his friend and co-worker, Donna, went parasailing! Taylor and I, along with some other friends, watched from the shoreline. Sam was a little apprehensive going in, and got really nauseous and faint during and afterward. But he did it, and it was quite an accomplishment!

Near the end of the week, Sam was able to go out with some of his friends on Friday night. I was able to catch up with some great friends on Saturday afternoon for lunch, and then we ended our week with a child-free night away in Michigan, thanks to my wonderful aunt and uncle! We enjoyed a nice walk on the beach, and some quiet time to read our books and chat uninterruptedly with each other.

This was definitely a rejuvenating week for our family. We have not had any care-free time like this for the past 5 weeks, and it was definitely something that we needed to reconnect with each other. Although we've got a rough 2 weeks ahead of us, we will try to plan a few more fun things to do during his next "off" week, to give us something to really look forward to.

Please keep Sam in your prayers as he begins his second round of chemo tomorrow. We anticipate that, as the medicine accumulates in his body, the side effects will begin to affect him more and more. We both agree, however, that having wonderful friends and family supporting us has been such a blessing, and has truly made this whole nightmare more bearable. For those who have helped by sending cards and gifts, helping us with chores, bringing dinners (and a special "thank you" to Lydia, who organized our Meal Train website!), and visiting, calling, or emailing and being our moral support, we can't thank you enough.

This upcoming week, I will have another ultrasound to check on the baby's kidneys. I will be sure to post some pictures and information afterward!

I have realized that, with everything going on, I haven't posted much about Taylor's development lately. She is 31 months old now. It's hard to believe that she is going to be 3 soon, but she certainly acts older than she is! She has a phenomenal vocabulary, and is constantly making observations about the world around her. She asks a lot of questions, and is very interested in nature. She LOVES the show "Little Einsteins" and is constantly pretending to go on missions with them. The show has really fostered a love of music in her as well. She's also been really interested in how our family is related. She asks a lot of questions about who mama & dada's brothers and sisters are.

Here are some of our favorite Taylor quotes lately:
"Mama/Dada, I love you so, so, very much"
"Oh no, I have a big problem... I can't stop praying!"
"I can not believe it! It's a rocketship!" (she said this when seeing a helicopter flying overhead. Everything is a rocketship now, thanks to Little Einsteins!)
"Dada went up in the sky on a big kite!" (referring to Sam going parasailing)