Tonight we headed downtown for the Jingle Bell Run for Kobi’s last night with us as the nanny as Nana is in town and quickly taking over nanny duties.  Not sure if you all remember or not, but Kobi was fortunate enough to serve as Cutler’s nanny ever since he was released from the hospital.  I think I introduced her to the blog followers and promised that she would do a series of posts from the nanny point of view, but maybe I am just dreaming all of this up as I can’t seem to find anything on here from her in quite some time.  🙂

So back to the point of my story.  After the “race”, it was only for a mile, we decided to swing by Sal’s for some pepperoni pizza.  Being the pepperoni fan that we all are I decided to ask for double the pepperoni and for good artery clogging measures let’s go ahead and double the cheese.  What I have now discovered is that if you like double the ingredients, Sal’s is not the place for you.  Now, if you like quadruple the toppings, Sal’s is definitely the place to go.  I have never seen such a careless disregard for the bottom line.  Sadly, Kobi chose to eat only a salad as she tries to fit into a dress for some wedding in boring old Mexico in a few weeks.  Fortunately for me and the boys, we do not have a dress to fit into nor do we care too much about our bathing suits right now so we fully enjoyed the pie.  Almost as much as I predict I will enjoy having my tv back in my office in a few days when Kobi hits the road for a much needed vacation back home.  Below are a couple of pictures from the “last supper”. 

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Oh and don’t worry, Kobi will still be living with us while she…searches for a job?  So my joy of the return of the tv will be short-lived and I doubt her idle time will encourage any posts.

And one final video treat of Mason dancing with the “animals” prior to the jingle bell run.  By the way, he ran almost the entire way.  Fortunately Kobi chased him the first half and then I only had the second half to go.

Naturally I want the boys to grow up a Blues fan, but ever since Mason saw his first game he has been a die hard Stars fan.  I guess that is one of the perils of raising your kids in a town other than your own hometown.  Either way, I will be happy when he skips college to play in the NHL.  Mason got his first set of equipment last night and of course Cutler wanted to wear the helmet as well.  Here are a few pictures of the future enforcers.

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We finally decided it was time to accept that Cutler’s thick hair would not go away if we had it cut and that he wouldn’t lose any of his magical powers so tonight we took him in and got it cut…but just a bit.  It was getting pretty long in the back, so long that it lost its curl.  Below are a couple of photos from the process.  He did pretty good all things considered.  The only photo I forgot to include (take) is of the finished product.  But trust me when I tell you that he looks just as cute as ever.

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Every year Mason’s school puts on a World Day where each classroom represents a country.  Last year it was China…you may remember the photos of Mason with a “fu manchu” drawn on his face.  This year it was Japan where we were able to recycle the dragon tshirt.  🙂  Each year they also learn a song that apparently originates from that country.  Below is a video from this past Saturday’s celebration.

It is hard to believe that one year ago tomorrow, Dec. 3, Cutler had his bone marrow transplant.  As I think back to the months leading up to the transplant, I recall being so frightened and unsure of the future.  But thanks to the doctors, nurses, Prayer Warriors, and especially God, we are here celebrating Cutler’s good health. 

We had our monthly oncology appointment yesterday, and I’m pleased to report that all of the blood work shows Cutler to be a perfectly healthy little boy 🙂  Praise God!  We will now go back every 2 months for checkups, and continue to see our pediatrician for any routine illnesses.

Speaking of routine illnesses, Cutler will begin attending Heritage Montessori Academy in January.  Because his daycare, North Star Learning Center, doesn’t have any openings, we are going to take advantage of the 5% discount and have him attend the same school as Mason!  Our dear Kobi has decided it is time to look for a “real” job and will pursue such after a whirlwind trip to Wyoming, Denver and Mexico in January.  We are very sad to lose our live-in nanny, but are thrilled that she has decided to continue living with us until such time as we either kick her out, or she decides she needs her own space 🙂

Mason starts back with indoor soccer on Saturday, so we should have some cute pictures in the next few weeks.  We will see what classes Cutler can get signed up for once he’s in school full-time.  We have a feeling he’s going to have a little trouble adjusting to not being the only child in the classroom…

Our family has so much to be thankful for – healthy boys, great family and friends, jobs, health insurance, and a Loving and Merciful God who never gives us more than He knows we can handle. 

I saw this quote not too long ago and it speaks to me now that I am able to reflect back to September 11, 2009, when our little 6 month old baby was first diagnosed with AML – “you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.”

Thank you for all of your prayers over the last year, and thank you in advance for your continued prayers that Cutler never relapses.