May 20th Friday: Family Photos at Fort Steele

We were very spoiled this week by some of friends who treated us to a photo shoot with Ryckman Photography. We had a fun afternoon out at Ft Steele and Ryckmans captured some wonderful pictures. For a few more pictures check out their blog http://ryckmanphoto.com/blog/?p=4568

This girl melts my heart, what a beautiful little lady. I keep wondering, when did she grow up so much? Here we are getting her registered for Kindergarten already! Maybe it’s because we missed so much of her this past year, maybe that just the way kids grow up anyways- too fast. We are so proud of what a wonderful big sister for Charlotte she has become. She is so patient and forgiving; and she always keeps an eye on her- ready to give me a full report if I should miss something. Haha, I'm a little surprised that we were able to get a picture with her mouth closed; she has become such a little chatterbox!

And look at this girl! The life and spunk in this girl is growing every day. Being at home so long has done wonders. She has finally gained some weight... for the first time she weighs more that she did a year ago when she was first diagnosed. With every gain in energy she also gains some cheekiness though, we get glimpses of what having a redhead two year old might have been all about. She is getting around much better too, trying her best to keep up with Yolanda. If Yolanda gets too far ahead or out of sight she gets a shrill reminder of "YA-LA" and she will wait up. About a month ago she started to try going up and down the stairs again- a little scary for us, but she was quite confident in no time at all. That was a nice step in her independence since she didn’t have to sit at the bottom (or top) and holler "mam....Mam.....MAM!...." until mommy finally got the hint. Her language is slowly growing as well, at least to us it is- I’m not sure how much someone else would understand. She is still not quite putting words together, but her vocabulary is growing. Next step we have been told to work on two word combinations... that should be interesting as our other daughter tends to speak in one run-on sentence from the time she gets out of bed until night.

See that cheekiness? Those "redhead" traits, stubborn determination... They have served her well this year. I love the picture above, she seems to have an air about her. "Don't mess with me, I don't have to prove anything. I know how tough I am." Her scar is fading a bit, and some of her hair is coming back. There is still quite a big bald spot where the concentrated radiation was, we were told that it may never come back there. I guess we will have to keep an assortment of fashionable hats around!

... ...Speaking of hats (off on a tangent for a moment here) do we have any talented crocheters out there who would like to tackle making a hat for Charlotte?  I found a couple of cute ones with little brims and flowers...

And now back on track here with our picutres.... with still more sas!

I would like to let you know that YOU have a chance to have your own family photo sitting with Ryckmans this year. In a wonderful gesture to help support us in our journey the Ryckmans have offered to auction off a sitting package worth $375. The auction will take place on May 25^th & 26^th.  For more details please check out their blog http://ryckmanphoto.com/blog/?p=4568 Here is some details off their blog: "The bidding will start at 9am on May 25^th and end at 5pm on May 26^th. The auction will take place on our Facebook site – please click this link here – FACEBOOK. We will post a picture of Charlotte on our Facebook page wall and you may bid directly under it in the comment box."

The previous two are Yolanda's favourites, she likes the one where she is a flower.