1 Month Old! (And other updates...)

Madelyn
It's hard to believe, but Maddy is 1 month old already! She had her checkup yesterday, and here are her current stats:
Height: 21.8 inches (77%)
Weight: 10 lb 3 oz (79%)
Head Circumference:  37.5 inches (62%)
Diaper Size: 1
Clothing Size: 0-3 Month
She is a very good baby. She is already sleeping better than her big sister did. Last night she gave me a 5 hour and 15 minute stretch of sleep. Most nights she sleeps in 3-4 hour stretches. I'll take it! Hopefully she continues this way! She is becoming more and more alert, and she is starting to make cute little noises (mixed in with her constant grunting!).

Stretching out at the doctor's office!

Tummy time makes me sleepy!

Taylor
Taylor loves having her little sister home, and she loves her new "Big Sister" role. She is very helpful and will try to calm down Madelyn when she cries. It's very sweet to see. She is always in her face, and can be very loud when she talks to her, which we are working on!
Taylor is also loving all of the Fall and Halloween related activities that we've been doing! She loved going to the pumpkin patch and then going home and decorating our pumpkins. We also spent the afternoon at Rock and Read, a Minooka High School event, where Taylor got to wear her costume! She looked adorable as a cupcake! 
She continues to make us laugh every day. She is very imaginative and has some great "pretend play" activities; some of her favorites include being a gymnast in a show, playing sleepover, trick-or-treating, playing doctor, looking for treasure, and playing in the "snow" (our down comforter). She is also developing quite a sense of humor. Her favorite joke is to call people by the wrong name - she thinks it's hilarious! 

Proud of her pumpkins!

Reading to her little sister... Maddy doesn't appreciate it yet!

Her craft from Rock and Read

Rock and Read

Hanging out with her pal Gillian at Rock and Read!

Listening to a princess story at Rock and Read

Holding her little sister

Painting a pumpkin at Mrs. Erica's

Playing in her new playhouse!

Sam
Sam began round 6 of chemo recently, after a 2 1/2 week break. During that break, he was supposed to have surgery, but things have changed quite a bit. The surgeons at the University of Chicago have decided that Sam has a better chance of kicking this cancer for good if he undergoes a radical surgical treatment that is only performed by a handful of skilled surgeons in the country. He will be going to Dr. Gokaslan at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. He is one of the top spinal surgeons in the country. The surgery involves completely removing the L4 disc in his spine and replacing it with some sort of synthetic filler. Prior to this, he will receive a high-dose radiotherapy (also known as CyberKnife) to kill the tumor so that there are few living cells before the surgery begins. It is a very complicated surgery; it will take 2 surgeries of about 10-14 hours each, and he will be in the hospital for approximately 2 weeks afterward. His total recovery will be 6-12 months. Needless to say, we are very nervous about this, but we take comfort in knowing that Dr. Gokaslan performs this surgery quite often, with very little complications. We also agree with Dr. Gokaslan and Dr. Rubin (Sam's oncologist), that this is the best option considering that both his original tumor and this relapse occurred in the L4 disc. We all believe that this will give Sam the best chance of being rid of the cancer forever. We still don't have a surgery date, but are hoping to begin everything soon.

Update!

This week was very eventful for us, as it was Sam's "off" week from chemo, and he also had his scans today. I'll begin by updating everyone on the results of Sam's scans. He had 2 MRI's and a CT scan today, and the results showed that the tumor has shrunk significantly once again! From the initial diagnosis, the tumor has gone from being 35mm x 35mm, to 25mm x 15 mm! Plus, the scan of his chest showed that it is completely clear (Ewing's tends to spread to the chest, so he always has scans there to make sure it hasn't). We are so incredibly  happy with this news. His doctor seemed very optimistic in giving us the results. They were going to give him a 6th round of chemo before surgery, but his doctor wants to try to get him in for surgery as early as next week. We don't know a lot of details about that yet, but we will most likely find out Monday morning what the plan is. So there is a lot to celebrate this week!! 

Being that this was Sam's "off" week, we tried to cram in as much family fun as we could! We spent the day at Dollinger on Thursday picking pumpkins. Taylor loved playing in the pile of hay, and felt responsible for picking out pumpkins for all four of us. We had another family movie night, which we've decided is going to be a weekly event during these colder fall/winter months. Taylor loves popping popcorn and watching a new movie with us. Her expressions and comments during these movies are priceless! 

We are really enjoying having Madelyn at home with us! She is a very good baby. Hopefully she keeps that up! Taylor loves having her at home, and is a very sweet big sister. She loves giving her hugs and kisses, and talks and sings to her whenever she can. Taylor has definitely been fighting for our attention... we are hoping that it wears off soon! 

Playing in the hay pile!

Picking out the family pumpkins

Family pic attempt... Taylor wouldn't cooperate!

Take 2... at least she is smiling here!

Petting the cow

Look how big I am!

Indroducing Madelyn Rose!

Madelyn Rose Pavelka

Born September 23rd at 12:53pm

8 lb 1 oz

19.5 inches long

Sleeping Soundly!

Meeting her big sister!

Taylor watching Madelyn's first bath!

Alert and looking around!

Ready to go home!

Taylor greeted Maddy on the front porch!

I know it's not a real smile... but I love it anyway!

Taylor loves holding her little sister!

First morning at home

 Madelyn Rose was brought into this world over two weeks early! I woke up at about 4:30am on Sunday morning with contractions. We went to the hospital and by 9:00am my water had broken right before we were checked in! She was born quickly (but painfully, as my epidural didn't work!) at 12:53pm! Even though Sam wasn't on his "off" week of chemo, we were so grateful that it happened on the weekend so that we didn't have to worry about him getting his treatments on the same day. He was able to be there the whole day, and was such a trooper, fighting the fatigue and nausea that usually come on strongly after that first week. 

Madelyn is doing great! She scored a 9 on the Apgar scale, and is very healthy! We met with the pediatric urologist at the hospital, who did an ultrasound on her one enlarged kidney and a urinalysis and determined that we will monitor her closely for any changes or signs of infections. We will go see him again in 6 weeks, where he will do another round of tests on her. We are very relieved that we don't have to rush into any kind of surgery. 

Taylor is loving having her little sister home! She gets slightly freaked out when she cries, especially when we gave her a bath for the first time. Taylor hid in the closet until we were finished! She has been having some adjustment issues, especially at bedtime. She has a hard time letting Sam or I leave her room, and will scream and cry until she finally falls asleep. Based on our history of sleep with her, I'm not surprised that the area that she regressed was her sleep! 

Overall, we are adjusting well as a family of 4! We had a lot of help during the first week, and we are very grateful for that. Sam had to have chemo during this first week home, which would have been really difficult if we didn't have our family here to support us.

2 Weeks to Go....

Tomorrow, Sam begins his 5th round of chemotherapy. Tomorrow is also 2 weeks away from when I will be induced! We are both very anxious for the next 2 weeks to go by as quickly as possible. We're ready to meet our little Madelyn!!

This past week was Sam's week off. Much of the week was spent preparing for Madelyn's arrival. I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, where I found out that I am already 2 cm dilated and 40% effaced. Hopefully Madelyn will stay put until our induction date, because we want Sam feeling healthy for her arrival!

We did do a lot of fun activities with Taylor this week, too, knowing that this was our last week that Sam will feel well where it will be just the three of us. His next off week, we will become a family of 4!

Sam and Taylor went on a little "date" last week. They spent the day at Bounce U Up in Plainfield, then went to Choo-Choo Johnny's for lunch, and spent some time looking at animals at the pet store. Meanwhile, I was busy being pampered at Mario Tricoci with a mani/pedi, thanks to my Aunt Maureen!

On Thursday, the Minooka High School NHS sponsored a fundraiser for us at Casa Maya. We spent Thursday night there with a wonderful, caring group of students and teachers! We are so grateful for all of the hard work that was put into the evening, and appreciate all of those who were involved!

We took Taylor downtown for the first time on Saturday with some of Sam's work friends. It was a blast! Taylor was amazed at the tall buildings, the noises, and everything that there was to see. We took her to the top of the Willis Tower, which she loved! She couldn't get enough of standing by the window looking at all of the tiny sailboats, cars, and people that she could see! We went out for sushi afterward, which was delicious!

Sunday, we spent the day doing fun things as a family, but also getting a few more things done for Madelyn's arrival. Taylor and I spent the morning practicing writing her name in shaving cream. We then made pizzas together, and had our first family movie night, which was "Finding Nemo". This was the first movie that Taylor ever watched, and she did well! She started getting a little antsy near the end, but really loved the movie and kept talking about it as we put her to bed!

Overall, we had a wonderful week together as a family. We can't believe that the next time Sam has a week off, we will be taking care of another baby! He will begin his 6th round of chemo on October 8th, one week after Madelyn is born. I would be lying if I said we weren't a little nervous about that, but we know we will get through it. Having our beautiful daughters home with us will definitely put a smile on our faces, no matter how stressful things might be!

Madelyn at 36 weeks! We can't wait to meet her!

Taylor at Bounce U Up

Waiting in line at the Willis Tower

At the top of the Willis Tower

Our brave little girl went right out onto the glass look-out ledge!

Watching the cars!

The group after our trip up to the Willis Tower

Shaving cream fun!

Movie night! Enjoying some ice cream & "Finding Nemo"!

Update...

I just wanted to give everyone a quick update... Sam began his fourth round of chemo this week, but with the addition of steroids to his drug regimen... and what a difference! He has had virtually no nausea, and slightly more energy. This is his double-chemo week, too, so we are curious to see how much better he is going to feel when he is only on one chemo drug next week.

When meeting with his doctor on Monday, it was decided that instead of going ahead with surgery after this fourth round, they are going to do a fifth round of chemo first so that Sam won't be having surgery around my due date. This makes everything a little bit easier to work around. I mentioned this to my doctors, who then scheduled me to be induced on October 1st, which will be the Monday of Sam's week off after his fifth round. Making this plan takes away so much stress! Plus, that's 8 less days of being pregnant! :) So the countdown begins... 4 1/2 weeks to go! Sam and I keep joking that we will have all of this planned to the last detail, and Madelyn will decide to come 3 weeks early, just to throw us off!

I will have another ultrasound on September 10th, to find out how Madelyn is doing with her kidney condition. 

I am officially done with work until January, which has made things run much more smoothly at home. I am able to take care of Sam and Taylor, and still be able to get housework done. Unfortunately, Taylor seems to be giving up her naps lately... she couldn't have picked a worse time!

Taylor has been wonderful this week. She has been a joy to be around. She definitely has her 2-year-old moments, but has been SO imaginative, creative, and caring. She is always asking her daddy how he is feeling, and everything that he does she says "Oh dada, that will make you feel so much better!". She keeps saying she wants to be a nurse when she grows up... we are starting to think that it would be a perfect fit for her!

Just as a side note, we have had so many wonderful people supporting us in so many ways. We are very behind in our "thank-you's", but please know just how grateful, thankful, and touched we are by everyone's outpouring of support. We are so incredibly lucky to have all of you in our lives!

Culver's Night!

Last Thursday evening was our Culver's Night fundraiser in Minooka. Sam and I were so amazed, overwhelmed, and overjoyed by the incredible support shown by our friends, family, and community. From 4-9pm, Culver's was packed! We couldn't believe how many wonderful people came out to support us. We have so many people to thank, but where to start?!

First of all, we'd like to thank Culver's for allowing such an event to take place. From the beginning of the planning stage, we have heard that they were very easy to work with and receptive to any ideas that Erica had. 

Thank you to everyone who came out to support us that night. We especially want to thank those who came from a long distance. We were able to spend the evening chatting with friends, family, co-workers, MCHS students, neighbors, and Minooka residents. We were even paid a special visit by the mayor of Minooka! We know how rushed a weekday evening can be, so we really appreciate everyone who took time to come out and show their support.

Thank you to everyone who made a donation into the donation jars. Most of the donations were made in cash, and so we will never know who you are... but please know that your contribution means so much to us. We are extremely touched by everyone's generosity!

There were quite a few wonderful people involved in the planning and execution of the event. We would like to thank Jen for putting together donation jars, and Elaine for setting up the raffle and making us the ADORABLE baby/toddler items!

Thanks to everyone who helped serve at Culver's that night: Erica, German, Adam, Tony, Jen, Elaine, Lydia, Ross, Tonya, Jackie H., Jackie K., Denise, Carli, Katie, Katie's friend (sorry I forgot your name!), Shannon, Julie, Amy, Christi, Renee, and Avery. If I forgot anyone... please forgive me and let me know that I forgot you so that I can edit this and add your name to the list! You all worked so hard and definitely deserve to be thanked by name!

And of course, the biggest thank you of all goes to Erica Martinez, for coordinating this event. Erica worked so hard in setting up this event, getting t-shirts made, driving around town to get gift card donations for us, setting up our fundraising website... the list goes on. You've been amazing to us during this difficult time. Truly, having you by our side during this whole ordeal has brought us so much comfort. You're an exceptional friend, and an even more amazing person, and we are so thankful to have you in our lives.

All in all, the event was one of the most incredible nights that of our lives. To be surrounded by so much love and support is something we never dreamed that we would experience. We were blissfully taking it all in that night, and will use the strength given to us by your support to get us through the rest of this ordeal. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Love you, Erica!

Some of our amazing friends who came out to help!

 

More amazing friends!

...And more amazing friends!

These guys didn't stop working the whole evening!

Special visit from the Mayor!

My wonderful parents!

2 of my favorite girls, Erica & Jen!

Raffle time!