Day +555: Halloween pictures!

I know it's been forever since I posted any pictures of the kids, but our friend Christine helped make it finally happen. She was here last weekend and had a digital camera, so she uploaded her pics to my computer before she left, and I just went through quickly and made a photo album. Here's the URL: http://picasaweb.google.com/arneolson/102006Small.

The first pics are from our trip to the Sonoma Coast, around Jenner, California. The rest are from Halloween. There's a street in our neighborhood that has a big bash every year. Almost every house does something spectacular, and kids come from all around, so many kids that it's almost shoulder to shoulder. You can't lose sight of your kid for an instant, or you might not get them back. It was all a bit overwhelming for Isaac; he was pretty solemn-faced for most of the night. He said he had fun, though. We didn't really have a costume for him, so Keri just put on an apron and a stocking cap and his Halloween themed sweater from Suzanne. It didn't matter much to him anyway. Mina dressed as a fairy princess. She had said a few weeks ago that she wanted to be a leaf or a tree, which Keri was pleased about. But later she changed her mind and wanted to be a princess. Keri was wondering how she even knows what a princess is, but I'm afraid we can't escape the 21st Century that easily. Mina loved going up and getting candy, not for the candy itself but just for the experience. She wanted to linger at every house, and she didn't want to skip any, either. She could tell at a glance which houses had candy and which ones didn't.

Grandma Judy and Grandpa flew in Thursday and are staying until Tuesday morning. The kids have been having a great time. The kids are old enough now and have spent enough time with them that the kids gave them big hugs when they first arrived and haven't wanted to leave their sides. Grandpa has even been reading the goodnight books! Mina still wants Daddy to lie down with her until she's asleep, but Grandpa filled in on Saturday when Keri and I went out for a date. The kids had been cranky and hard to deal with on Saturday so we were a bit worried about them. But Grandpa said they were on their best behavior and didn't shed a single tear. Keri and I don't get many dates, so it was very nice to get out on our own, even if we did end up going to the bookstore.

The kids have learned to say "I love you!", and they got a lot of positive feedback for saying it, so they say it a lot. Isaac especially. Sometimes he comes up to you and says "I love you too!" It's very endearing, even if you know they're doing mostly because of the feedback. The other day Mina told Keri that she loved her, and Keri said "Why?" (turning Mina's favorite question back on herself). Mina thought about it for a minute, and said "Because you are kind."

Mina has been very sweet and thoughtful lately too. The other day Meghan, their babysitter, had made blueberry smoothies and there was some left in the fridge. Keri was at her class, so I had the kids alone. I poured the rest of the smoothie into our glasses. Isaac and I drank ours up, and Mina had about half of hers left. She said something about wanting to save some for Mommy. I told her the smoothie was all gone, and there was none left for Mommy. She got really upset, and began to cry because she really wanted to save some for Mommy. I asked if she wanted to save what was left in her own glass, and her face brightened. So we took her glass to the fridge and put it there for Mommy to drink when she got home. Mommy was very touched.

Another time, Keri's friend Liza had us over for brunch, and as we left a little book and a slinkie that belonged to Liza ended up in Mina's backpack. She was very upset a couple of days later when she discovered Liza's things in her backpack. Again she started to cry, and was wailing "I want to go back to Yiza's!" She finally got calmed down when we told her that Liza has other toys to play with. But she still didn't feel right until we got Liza's stuff back to her.

Mina had a doctor's appointment on the 31st, which went well. Dr. Loh noted the 18-month anniversary, though she's not relaxing yet. Mina has had a red rash in her groin area for months, and we've been trying to treat it with antifunghals. It seems to help sometimes, but it had never gone away completely. Dr. Loh said it could be a little GVHD, and prescribed 0.5% hydrocortisone cream. It cleared up in about a day and half! I don't know if that means it's GVHD for sure or not. We're still using the hydrocortisone, so we don't know if it will stay away when we stop it. It's pretty common to have minor skin rashes related to GVHD that are controllable with steroid creams. I don't know if there are any therapeutic benefits to GVHD at this time or not, but I'd rather her not have to deal with it at all if possible. Otherwise things are going fine, which we continue to be extremely thankful for.