Thank You

Getting close to the end of the second long stretch in the hospital. Mom and Dad wanted to share a sincere thank you with everyone that's been sending thoughts, prayers, cookies, meals, toys, hugs, rides, guest rooms and big love our way. No words to describe our gratitude...

Love,
Jason, Courtney and Raina V

Purse Party

Raina digging in Granny Diane's purse...

International Affair

Aunt Charu is here, all the way from China!! Mom, little V and Charu playing with the firetruck. Raina is in a great mood. Dad will set about documenting with the SLR, stat.

Playing!

Raina and momma getting some quality time on the play mat.

Groggy

Raina and mommy an hour after we started chemo tonight. Raina is grumpy and very sleepy. She still laughs at our stupid jokes though! Wagon ride coming up shortly!

Close Up

Close up of little V before chemo started this week. Looking a bit more peppy than today. Hopefully we'll be back in shape soon!

Tired Baby

Raina snuggling in. Awesome leg-warmers, Mom's idea.

Hugs

Raina giving Gon (pronounced "john") the Giraffe a hug on her last
wagon ride of the night.

Binky Storage

Third binky has been MIA the past 24 hours until Dad stumbled across Raina's secret stash...

Raina and Julia

The nurses were kind enough to give Raina some time off of her IV to play with her buddy Julia. Thanks for visiting Jules...R sends hugs and soft kisses.

Daddy and Little V

Daddy and Raina snoozing this morning. Mommy loves this picture.

Wagon Ride

Dad and Raina on our second wagon ride this morning.

More Naps

Raina, passed out on Mom...

Art Class

Debbie brought a super fun drawing mat for Raina to play with today!

Debbie, Dad and little V collaborating on a masterpiece...

Geek Glasses

Raina modeling her geek glasses for Dad and Debbie. What a ham!

Morning Nap

Playtime

Raina's makeshift play area in the clinic.

Coloring

Raina and Mom coloring together in the Art Room. Still waiting for a room. Boo!

Raina and Mom

Raina and Mom caving to Dad's request for ANOTHER picture. Get used to it guys!

Waiting

We are getting very good at waiting! Raina clowning around at the
hospital to kill time.

On the Way

Raina being escorted to the hospital by pink and purple balloons.

Coffee

Daily trip to get coffee. Raina in her cosmonaut hat slurping foam.

Sour Puss Face

Raina and Mom making the sour puss face.

Raina and Dad

Relaxing at Starbucks with Dad.

Aunt Kimmer and a Tutu

Eating cookies with Aunt Kimmer, in a tutu!

Baked Goods

Dad making good on a promise to make apple pie for little V after she got out of surgery... and it's a doozey!

Recovering

Raina was wiped today from the surgery this am. Went for a wagon ride and she passed out on Raspberry the cow, which is becoming the norm. Awesome.

Surgery

Raina had a scheduled trip to the hospital this morning for two minor procedures.  Happy on the way in and more or less happy on the way out.  What a little champ!  Some pics...

Surgery

Thank you Crick and Kate

Today we had a photo shoot with Amber of Little Moon Photography.  She did an incredible job with Raina and was kind enough to rearrange her schedule to fit us in before Raina starts chemotherapy.  There's a post out on Amber's blog with some of the photos from today. Very cool.

Thank you Crick and Kate (and Grey) for an amazing gift.

Bonus photo of Mom and Raina at the zoo clowning around...

From Zoo

Raina and Mom

Raina and Mom looking nice this morning.

Reading

Raina doing a good job pretending to read Night-Night Little Pookie on the changing table.

Marshmallow Madness

Raina dumped a bag of mini-marshmallows on the floor. Cute until it was time to clean up. Note to self, marshmallows that have been slobbered on develop annoying tendency to adhere to pretty much everything e.g. skin, clothes, carpet/floors, hair ...

More Wagon Rides

Raina fell in love with the wagon at the hospital.  After test driving a few at Toys R Us we settled on a nice blue one that turned out to wobble something awful on our uneven sidewalks.  Mom and Dad displayed some adaptability by employing a bungee cord to resolve the issue... though unfortunately reverse is no longer a viable gear.  Pictures of an excursion around the neighborhood...

Wagon Ride

Hugs

Raina getting a hug from Grey in the bathtub.

Test Drive

Raina testing out a new ride at Toys R Us. We went with the plastic tub wagon but this Mustang was definitely the most stylish option.

Addiction

Raina, Aunt Kimmer and another chai tea lid.

Sprinkle Method

Raina loves her binky at bedtime. Mommy has adopted the sprinkle method to ensure a pacifier is always within reach. Wer'e not sure what to call Raina's method of collecting binkies and or balancing them on her head (not staged!)...

Sawin Logs

Raina and Murray napping on the way back from the hospital.

Happy Valentine's Day

Raina helping momma shop for a new pair of shoes. Super festive valentine wear courtesy of Aunt Sharon.

Chai Tea Connoisseur

Blow Pop

Raina discovered Blow Pops today. Here's a picture of her working on mom's.

Lunch

Went to lunch today with Uncle Kev. Raina eating my potato chips...

Wagon Rides!

It turns out that Raina is a HUGE fan of wagon rides. Here's a pic of her and BFF Ashlyn going for a ride in the hospital last week...

...

I have been delaying this post for the better part of two weeks... attributable to equal parts fear and disbelief I suppose.

Following eight days of otherwise symptomless vomiting, we learned during a visit to the ER that Raina has a brain tumor. She underwent surgery following the diagnosis last Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, the neurosurgeon was unable to remove most of the tumor, and the pathology has all but confirmed that the tumor is of the aggressive, malignant variety. The prognosis for infants with malignant brain tumors is not very good. However, if any child can beat the odds, we are convinced our little bruiser is the one to do it.

We have been humbled by the outpouring of sympathy from our friends, family and coworkers. Thank you to everyone that has been, and will be, there for us. I apologize if this blog post is the way you receive this terrible news, but it has proven painful for Courtney and I to personally contact and explain this development to all of our friends and family.

Toward the end of keeping a positive attitude we will be posting here the happier pictures and moments as Raina continues to grow and learn about this crazy world. I will be posting related thoughts and details from a Father's perspective on another blog.

-Dad