When one thing ends, another begins :)

Well, things have been wrapping up for the school year, and we are into the summer of 2010.

Gr. 2 has ended - I can't believe that our little girl is finished Gr. 2!  She has done so well and worked so hard during the year.  It has been a year of struggles and challenges, and she has improved with so many things.  I am so proud of her.

We went to her year-end awards ceremony and a tea party afterwards, hosted by a classmate's grandma.

Also, ballet ended for the summer (she is insisting on trying tap in September, and we will be keeping her in ballet as well).  Ballet has done wonders for her balance and co-ordination and her strength has also improved a lot.

Brownies wrapped up with a ceremony as well.  Jaymi is now officially finished her 1st year of Brownies and will begin her 2nd year in September.  She has earned lots of badges, done some very fun events, learned a lot and made good friends.

Of course, we also celebrated Father's Day recently.  We made chocolate Corvettes (and other cars) for Mark, as well as a delicious rib dinner followed by a dessert that we created (brownies/ice cream/whipped cream/caramel sauce).

Now, we are beginning the summer of 2010.  She has already had fun running through the sprinklers, fully clothed, of course (now that the weather is finally co-operating), and we have lots of fun stuff planned for the summer.

MRI Results from 1-year-post surgery

We just got back from our trip over to Vancouver, to BC Children's Hospital, for Jaymi's 1-yr-post-surgery MRI, as well as an ophthalmology appointment and a follow-up with her neurosurgeon.

We made the trip lots of fun, including two ferry rides,  a Brownie event that happened to be the day before Jaymi's MRI (at the border of the US and Canada with thousands of other girls),

 
learning how to geocache together (the three of us),

Dairy Queen,

lots of hotel fun,

and a trip to the aquarium (thanks to the Granna, who got us free passes last year, and also paid for a gift for Jaymi in the gift shop).

Jaymi did fine, as she always does.  She thinks the trips to Vancouver are fantastic, including the MRI experience, for the following reasons:
#1 - she is asleep for the MRI
#2 - she gets a popsicle afterwards
#3 - they blow bubbles while putting in the IV
#4 - the IV doesn't hurt because her hand is numbed first
#5 - she gets a ferry ride to get there and back

Unfortunately, the results weren't what we had hoped for.

The MRI showed some re-growth.  Not a lot, as this is a slow-growing tumour, but enough that we cannot wait a full year for her next MRI.  We have to go back in December of this year.
As of right now, I guess the tumour isn't causing any problems, which explains why Jaymi has no symptoms at all.  She is completely fine!  So, in December, the doctor says that if the tumour stops growing, they do nothing, and MRI again a year from December.  If it keeps growing, at some point, they would have to go back in and do more surgery.  And of course, there is always the possibility that it will begin to shrink again.  That, obviously, is what we are praying for.

So....not the results we were wanting, but like I said, Jaymi is totally fine right now.  She is 1 week away from finishing Gr.2 and is looking forward to a summer full of fun!

Fashion Party!

And yet another friends turns 8, and this means - yes....ANOTHER birthday party.
They never end! ;)
Here is the birthday girl.

This one was fantastic.  An all-girl party this time, at a new place downtown that does haircuts, nails, facials, and parties for little girls.  They had a Fashion/Dress-up party complete with......

dressing up their friends,

wild and crazy up-dos for their hair,

with glitter too!

nails done,

and a fashion runway show at the end!

It was a hit!

And we just HAD to let Jaymi keep her hairstyle in for the next day at school.  They got to keep the coloured hair scrunchie/extension too!

Here are some before and after pictures....

It is definitely a whole different generation, isn't it?

Track Meet

This week, Jaymi's school went to the annual track meet.  This was the first year she could go, because they only allow the Gr.2's and up, to go.
She had a lot of fun and worked very hard.  They did a few races (50 metres, 400 metres), ball throw, long jump, and a 4 x 100 metre relay race.
The older kids also did a high jump, shotput, a 400 metre race, an 800 metre race, and a 1500 metre race for the teenagers.