Thankful and grateful have taken on a whole new meaning in our lives. Last year we spent Thanksgiving in the hospital, admitted the night before for an infection. We were thankful to be together and that Sofia was doing ok but we were only 16 days into treatment, with a very long and scary road ahead. Today, we are still fighting and the road is a year shorter, but we have a bit more of a handle on our life as a pediatric cancer family. It has been a crazy year, with so many tears but the happiness, laughs and smiles outweigh the sad. I can say that I truly value every single moment I spend with my kids! Today also happens to be my 40th birthday. Two years ago I dreaded the idea of turning 40. Well, I could care less now! Getting older is just a reminder that I need to take of myself so I can be a better mom. I also realize that every year is a gift, whether it's turning 40 or 4. I was lucky enough to be showered with lots of love from my husband, Kids, family and friends. And for that I am so thankful!
Now, an update on Sofia. After 3 and a half weeks of being off chemo for a second time, her counts finally recovered last Friday. We are now back on daily chemo at only 50% dosage. The doctors will now start to play with that number by increasing or decreasing to keep her counts between 750 and 1200.
She has been feeling great and we are SLOWLY getting out a little more. Though I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack when I hear someone coughing while we are in a store.
We will go back to the hospital for a lumbar puncture and IV chemo on December 5th. We will be praying that her counts are holding up because we leave the very next day for our Make-a-wish trip to Hawaii!!![...]

November 10th- a day I will NEVER forget.
This post is turning out to be much harder than I had planned.
Exactly one year ago today we were sitting in an ER with our 3 year old and 6 week old, when 7 doctors walked into our room to tell us Sofia had Leukemia. We had woken up that day just as any other, except for the sick feeling in my stomach. Sofia's coloring just wasn't right and I had been praying all day that I was over reacting. Our lives changed at that moment and we can never go back to life before Cancer.
Over the past year Sofia has been through so much! Those first couple of months were the hardest, especially because of the emotions!
We still have a long way to go but we are so lucky to see our little girl smile every day!
We talked to Sofia about why today was important and that we wanted to celebrate how well she's doing and how brave she has been. So even though I was very emotional coming into today, Sofia was excited for her "celebration day!" She, of course wanted a gift for celebration day, too!
Our day was planned! Playing games in the morning, crafts in the afternoon, dance class and out for dinner. We had a great morning with a quick visit and a gift from grandma, then headed off to the craft store. We even made a quick stop so Noni could get a haircut for celebration day! When we came home this afternoon I was devastated to find that our dog Padrino had passed away while we were out. Luckily he was in the garage on his bed so only I saw him when I went to get him. I was in total shock and devastated. I just can't believe that after almost 9 years he passed today, November 10th. He wasn't sick, and we have since found out there was nothing we could have done as his stomach had flipped.
Like I've done all year, I wiped away my tears and went back in to play with my kids. I quickly called Mike and my neighbor who both were here within minutes. Mike took him to the vet and said goodbye for us all. Sofia knows Padrino went to the doctor but we will not be telling her that he's gone.
As much as we wanted to just be sad, celebration day needed to continue.
Sofia did amazing at dance and loved going out for dinner. While at dinner she told us that she thinks Padrino is sad and that he really wants to take care of puppies. So that is exactly what he is going to do. I told her we will call his doctor tomorrow at make that happen. She asked if we could visit him and the puppies, and I said we will see. She's wise beyond her years!
November 10th is not a good day! But it is a day that will remind me how lucky we were to have 9 great years with Padrino and how amazing, strong, resilient and brave our daughter is!!!!
Thank you to everyone for supporting and praying for us over this last year! We could not have done it all without the love and support. #teamsofia #oneyeardown[...]

Below is the post that I wrote on Halloween, but it did not post for some reason. Tomorrow Sofia goes to Stanford for counts and LP with chemo. Hoping her counts are up and we can get back on track!![...]