Happy New Year!

Yes, we are still here! We were just having so much fun doing a lot of nothing during Roberts' 3 weeks off that blogging kind of took a major back seat. But we've got lots of catching up to do so grab a cup of coffee and sit a spell if you can.:o)

Christmas, as you can imagine, was a wonderful time. I actually got a bit of a head start so it didn't seem to get too overwhelming. Robert and I vowed to keep things simple this year, however, I think we forgot to pass that message on to the rest of the family! Christmas Day was, I think, a bit overwhelming for Lily. This is one.spoiled. girl (and I mean that in a good way!). I knew it was going to be interesting when she looked at the tree and said, "Too much stuff." Ha! I can't wait to see what she has to say next Christmas!

We had 12 people over to celebrate including: us, of course, Robert's mom and sister, my mom and grandma and our dear friend Martin and his sweet daughter. As a last minute surprise, we found out my cousin Teresa's husband was home early from Iraq. Since they are stationed in San Diego (not too terribly far) we invited them along with their 4 month old son Bryan, to join us. Our little house was quite full and I wouldn't have it any other way! Lily just loves "Baby Bryan" and I'm so glad they were able to join us. It made for a very full, perfect day.

New Year's was spent with our friends Mike and Kerry at their annual New Year's Eve party. Lily managed to stay up until midnight yet again this year while Robert and I were both doing the "head-bob" trying to make it to the ball drop. Another friend of ours was very smart...they watched the live east coast feed and were in bed by 9:05! I'm totally trying that next year.:o) Anyway, Lily had a great time playing and entertaining the other guests. She can be quite the ham when she wants to be.

During the last week of Robert's break, we had our appointment to take Lily in to the specialist regarding her Nephrotic Syndrome. We had to make the trek out to Ventura by 8:45am. It's about a 45 minute drive for us. (Never mind the fact there happens to be a Nephrotic Specialist across the hall from Lily's pediatrician...10 minutes away. But they are not on our insurance plan....grrrrr.) But the appointment went great. She said our pediatrician had done everything right and even though protocol said to keep her on her current dose of prednisone until the end of January and then reduce from there, she thought Lily had responded incredibly well and that we could go ahead and lower her dosage by 2 ml's every other day. I am very happy and relieved to say, yesterday was her last dose of prednisone! While that is good news, we are also very aware that only 30% of kids have only one bout with this. That means 70% of kids will have at least one and maybe several relapses. We will still need to check her urine once a week to see if she starts leaking any more protein. Often times relapses can occur when a child gets a cold, flu or even an ear infection, so we will especially be on the lookout should she get sick. The good news is that if she does relapse, we can catch it quickly and start treating it before she blows up like she did the first time. The specialist also said that the kids aren't on prednisone for nearly as long as the first time, so they usually are weaned off much more quickly. Obviously we pray that she won't relapse, but at least now we know how to handle it. It's hard to believe this has been a 3 month process. I also know how blessed we are that Lily responded so well and so quickly to the prednisone. I've read many stories of families who have had so many problems with their kids not responding to the prednisone, or even relapsing the minute they start weaning off of it, making the process many months longer and a difficult struggle. We are thankful God answered our prayers and got Lily through this relatively quickly.

Now Robert is back to work and we are back to our regular schedule. We sure did love having him home for so long. Lily has asked every morning if daddy is home. I'm sure she'll be happy come Saturday! I am so grateful for the bond they have formed, especially over the last few months. She is finally and truly becoming a daddy's girl, just like I knew she would. She's not quite ready to push me away just yet, but she loves.her.daddy. We will be making him some extra special Valentine's this year.:o)

Well, I think that's about it for now. I hope your New Year is off to a great start so far. I can't tell you how excited I am to have "American Idol" and finally "24" back! I'll try to keep you updated more frequently now that the holidays are over. Robert and I are both on facebook now too, so you can catch us there from time to time if you want to say hello!

Lily and panda in front of our Christmas tree. She just LOVED Christmas trees this year. Everywhere we went, all she wanted to see were Christmas trees.

She had a blast putting panda in the empty train car and watching him go for a ride. This was not so last year. We tried it then and she just cried as she watched her precious panda disappear around the corner!

Lily and her daddy with Mantha and her daddy. Mantha and Lily just adore each other. This family is one of the best things that happened to us at Lanai. We love you guys!

Look who got a new tricycle for Christmas! She was so excited...when we went into the living room Christmas morning, she saw it and just ran right to it and tried to get on! It's still a little bit big for her, so for now Robert and I help her by pushing her around on it.

Later on Christmas Day. She is looking a little tired here. Actually, I think daddy is looking a little tired here too! We had a great, but exhausting, day.

Lily trying her new bike at the park.

I just had to get a picture of this. Lily loves books and loves to "read" them to her friends. She is just way too cute.