By this time we received word that our first attempt at IVF was successful! The amazing consequence of this is that our third child, a boy, will be a cord blood stem cell donor for Oliver! We were grateful for the good news and, boy, were we ready for a holiday. At the end of August we packed up our new minivan (yes, a minivan) and took a three day drive down to San Diego. Hearst Castle, Venice Beach, and Lego Land were some of the fun stops we made along the way. San Diego was beautiful and warm and we filled our days with seeing the sights; it did much to revive our spirits to meet with friends during our stay. After our ten day southern California vacation we prepared for a fabulous trip to Kauai, Hawaii. We stayed on the south side of the island at an ideal location by the coast line. We came to affectionately call our "backyard" Teletubby Hill where the children could run out to play and explore. It was so nice to have these 18 days to spend as a family away from the typical stress of our daily life.
We anticipate that next year will be especially busy with a new baby (due February) and an impending Bone Marrow Transplant (probably in October) for Oliver. Therefore, we decided to recruit some help and have hired an au pair to come join our family in January 2011. Her name is Olga ("Ola") and she is from Poland. We very much look forward to meeting her and have enjoyed our interactions with her over the past couple of months.
The beginning of this year George began crossfit training and running. He has shown tremendous dedication to this regimen and it has paid off! He is looking and feeling great enabling him to keep up with Oliver and maintain a sharp mind for his business. His business, Sagespring Partners, celebrated it's third year in operation and, in spite of the dreadful economy, has thrived against the odds. Again, another example of George's dedication resulting in success. Comedy has taken a bit of a back seat this year but he still performs occasionally and hope's to never get too far from the stage.
Jill can often be found running after one or both of the kids. Her days are filled with taking the children to and from their activities, managing the household, and keeping up with the enormous task of managing Oliver's health care. Each year Jill learns new skills related to Oliver's care - and is wondering if a career as a nurse is in her future! She has been fortunate that her pregnancies have gone without a hitch and this time has been no exception. Our little bundle is due at the end of February next year.
It turns out that Oliver is quite the sport enthusiast. He enjoys his tumbling classes, playing soccer, baseball and golf. In fact, we were all amazed at his dedication to watching nearly all of the World Cup (soccer) and the World Series (baseball) games. He is also remarkably good at mazes - blazing through books in less than an hour when we thought they might last the week. His IV medication has prevented him from starting preschool but we have started working with the school district in the hopes of getting him into school this spring with on-site medical services. We believe that a boy as bright and energetic as Oliver will excel in an academic and social setting.
Grace is living up to her name and is an absolute delight. At birth it was discovered that she had hip dysplasia and was required to wear a hip abduction brace for a year. She took this in stride, as did we, and instead of crawling she learned to get around by scooting across the floor. As she got older and stronger it was amazing how quickly she could move from one place to the next! The good news is that the brace worked and this March we were able to remove it. Grace took a while to adjust is now walking and running all over the place and looks great. She is currently 20 months old, is learning new words all the time, and has a big personality. We think her most favorite person in the world has got to be Oliver. Everything he does she wants to do - and it turns out she is an incredible mimic!
We wish everyone a happy and healthy 2011. We are going to have our hands full, but we'd love to hear from you so please keep in touch!
