Sofia's counts were still low on Tuesday 👎🏼 Her red blood and platelets recovered well, but she was still neutropenic. We are checking again today, since we planned to celebrate the kids birthdays tomorrow.
We have stayed home again this week, but had lots to celebrate!
Yesterday, our sweet baby boy turned 1! It's hard to believe that he was only 6 weeks old when Sofia was diagnosed and now he's one. I feel sad about missing a lot of baby moments with him, but he's been very well loved. Having a newborn during the hardest time of our lives was overwhelming, but over the months it was clear that we all needed him. He's always smiling and giving kisses just when we need them. And no one makes Sofia smile, like her brud!
We threw a little luau last night, for what Sofia thought was her brothers birthday dinner. We invited her friend Ava and family. With Hawaiian music playing, decorations up, and all of us dressed the part, the door bell rang! Sofia's wish grantor was at the door to tell the girls that they both received their wish to go to the Aulani Resort in Hawaii!! Even better, our families get to go together! We are all very excited to say Aloha in December! Make-a-Wish is such an amazing organization and we are so grateful!!
Ok, everyone say a count prayer!!!! We want to have a birthday party and get back on our meds![...]

Wow, lots to write!
Two weeks ago Sofia went in for her LP and her labs showed that her platelets had dropped to 40,000, so we were put on a chemo hold. This means no at home chemo until her platelets came up.
Our steroid week was manageable especially since it was her only medicine to take. We stayed home the whole week so Sofia could just take it easy.
We were eager to get labs last Monday because it's nerve wracking being off chemo! We hate chemo but she needs it to keep the cancer away. We were shocked when the hospital called Monday afternoon to let us know Sofia's counts were even lower and she needed to go right to Stanford for a blood and platelet transfusion. She was also neutropenic! It was a long day but Sofia felt great the whole time. At this point the doctors don't know if it was the oral chemo that dropped her counts or the cold she got that first week of school (4 weeks ago). So, still on chemo hold and another week of being home.
We will get labs tomorrow morning! We pray all of her numbers are up and we can get back on track.
So, after 2 weeks of home we were excited to get out this weekend for some amazing events benefiting pediatric cancer!
Saturday, we attended an amazing blood drive at NCFit where over 250 people showed up to donate blood! What's even better is that this blood drive also happened at 70 other locations. This blood literally saves our kids lives.
Sunday morning I woke up bright and early to attend the Sunrise Yoga event for Pediatric Cancer hosted by The Bay Club at Boulder Ridge. It was such a beautiful and meaningful morning.
Today was Mike's turn as he took part in the pediatric cancer golf tournament at Boulder Ridge. After a long and hot day of golfing the families met up for a dinner where we honored the warrior kids and their siblings.
I'm exhausted but my heart is full!!
No rest as we have our baby turning ONE on Thursday and Sofia turning four next week! We are just praying everyone feels good for their birthday![...]

I have been so excited to share the story of our fabulous weekend away!
A little back story. I've talked before about my Warrior Mamas group, the amazing ladies who support me. Well over the course of this year Sofia has become friends with a little girl named Ava, who's mom is in my group. Ava is five and just about the sweetest thing you'll ever meet. She is so patient and kind with Sofia and they get along so well! Luckily the moms and dads get along too! A couple of months ago they told us that they were starting to work with an organization called Jessie Rees Foundation: Never Ever Give Up - NEGU. This amazing organization fills Joy Jars and sends them to kids who are battling cancer. These jars are filled with toys-items that literally bring joy to these kids lives.
All of this is done in honor of Jessie, who started the Joy Jars before she passed away from DIPG, which is a type of Brain tumor. Her parents and family promised her that they would continue filling the jars and spreading joy.
We were so excited when we found out that Ava was going to curate her very own jar as a special addition. We were even more excited when we were invited to help fill the Ava Jars! So we planned our trip to Southern California!! Now, we've been waiting weeks for this and than both kids get colds a 2 weeks out! As the days were ticking by the coughs weren't going away!! So the day before our trip I took both kids to their doctors. Both doctors confirmed it was just a cough that takes a little longer to go away, but they were cleared for the trip.
Knowing Sofia couldn't handle the long car ride, we decided to fly. I of course got pre-boarding so I could Clorox everything in our row!! Sofia was also a trooper and agreed to wear a mask just to be safe. The flight went great and Sofia was buzzing with excitement. The first day/night we stayed in Huntington Beach and had so much fun. But Sofia couldn't wait until Friday when she got to see Ava!
We arrived at NEGU in Irvine and were greeted so warmly. Our two families and the whole NEGU team worked together to fill these jars. And I know the toys inside are joyful but the biggest thing going into those jars is love! You could literally feel the love in the room.
Sofia followed Ava around, wanting to do whatever she did. And Noni flirted with all the ladies! He was quite the hit!! After the jars were filled and the kids had snack time we headed to Laguna for lunch and than to our hotel in Newport. Best thing about our new hotel? Ava (and her little brother) were just a couple doors down. We played at the beach, swam at the pool, went out for dinner and we laughed. It was a really great weekend and we are so honored to have been a part of it.
Now, back to reality! Tomorrow Sofia goes in for her second round of maintenance. Lumbar Puncture and chemo bright and early followed by a week of steroids. We pray that her LP goes smooth and that she has an ok week. Thank you all for your kind words to us and for helping me spread the word this month!!#teamsofia[...]

Last week while Sofia and I were talking about her upcoming birthday party the idea of a lemonade stand came up. I knew we still had a good inventory of Rockin Gold #teamsofia shirts, so we decided to have a lemonade stand to raise money for Pediatric Cancer Research.
On Friday I made a quick trip to Michaels craft store for some supplies and within an hour our stand was built. Sofia picked pink because it makes everything look fancy. Our wonderful neighbor let us pick lemons from her tree and we were ready to go! Saturday morning we started squeezing lemons and Sofia's excitement grew. Because she has been fighting a cold we haven't been out so she was more than ready to see other people.
We had neighbors, old friends, new friends, family and even Sofia's dance teacher, stop by. A great friend of mine, who also happens to be an amazing photographer, stopped by with her family and camera. She got some amazing shots and featured it in her blog. Go check it out to see more pictures and get our yummy lemonade recipe(link at the bottom of this post).
The lemonade was delicious and the day was a total success. I'm happy to report that between shirt sales and general donations we raised $800 for Pediatric Cancer Research!!!
Thank you all for supporting Sofia and all the other kids BATTLING cancer.
September Awareness and Action month continues on...
#teamsofia #gogold
http://www.lifestyleofme.com/single-post/2016/09/05/A-Perfectly-Pinkalicous-Lemonade-Stand[...]

So I had planned to space out my posts, but this has to be shared today!! The Bay Club is hosting two events at Boulder Ridge, with all proceeds going to Pediatric Cancer Research and Hope Totes for families of newly diagnosed children.
There is a Sunrise Yoga Class followed by a mimosa breakfast and a pop up shop with amazing vendors (beyond yoga, Jennifer Tuton Jewelry and Jan Marini Skin Research to name a few). There is also a Charity Golf Tournament followed by a family event. It's only $50 to play at Boulder Ridge!!! Ok, space is very limited and this event is going live to Bay Club members tomorrow, so you need to secure your spot tonight! Go to onelombard.com/teamG to register! Thank you The Bay Club for supporting this very important cause!
📷Cred to Jessie Salas Photography[...]