Kahlilla Blyss's Journey - Lil's Diary December (07)

SPARKLE'S UPDATE

SPARKLE IS A BOY!!!!!

We have seen the evidence.

Sparkle shall now officially be referred to as SPUTNIK until he exits his mother

December 31

New Year's Eve was spent along the shore watching the magical fireworks.

Kahlilla was enthralled by the splendour

Playing in the sand

Midnight swimmer

December 30

Beautiful days for the beautiful kid.

Trying to imitate Gromit, from inside the cardboard box cubby house

Lilla and kitten in the cardboard box cubby house

December 26

Boxing day is a day of rest for Mum, Kahlilla and Booshka (The girls' much adored Christmas kitten)

Christmas is hard work

December 25

Both girls slept until late following an eventful yesterday. The opening of the presents was a sight indeed, with the girls bursting with excitement.

What can this present be?

The blissful Miss Blyss

In the afternoon we travelled to Terry and Franny's house to share Christmas with the other side of the family.

More presents!!!

The girls were thrilled to bits to see their cousins again, and it was a hectic, exhausting and fun day.

The Goofy Gang of cousins

Christmas Eve

Santa's last minute repairs to the enormous horse.
PS The green object is a screwdriver !!!

Now .... shhhhhh.... ... it's time now for bed

December 24

Christmas Eve is always a beautiful time for Kahlilla. Poppy prepares an entire day of delicious food and the kids have such wonderful times with their extended family.

Last minute touches to the gingerbread house

Lill's new pet shop

All the kids love Poppy

Last minute eating of the gingerbread house

Maestro on the new keyboard

December 22

These are great days for our family. Indi is happy, Mum is glowing and Kahlilla is bursting with life and love and gorgeous good health.

Healthy Kid

Dancing Kid

December 17

Kahlilla starred in her kindi christmas play today.

Lilla the star

Followed by Santa

December 16

We have just returned from an incredible adventure holiday at Howqua in the mountains. Special thanks to Liam and his family for inviting us to use their wonderful onsite caravan.

The caravan park had an enormous playground, and a beautiful pool.

Sliding friends

What happened to Lilla's sore leg???

The Giggling Lilly

Iceblock took us to some awesome places...

Getting Iceblock's feet wet

A lovely picnic by the river

We found a place where a stream passed through a rocky tunnel...

Indi loved being inside the tunnel

Kahlilla wasn't so sure

Kahlilla preferred to stay on the outside with her Mum

We visited old mountain cattlemen huts...

Happy Family

Frightened of the ghosts of old cattlemen

And we saw the most beautiful places...

Mighty girl beside a mighty river redgum tree

Loving sisters amid the beautiful ferns growing amongst the trees burnt in the recent bushfires

We had so many special moments on our holiday and it was so precious to see Kahlilla walking, running and jumping everywhere she went, loving the natural beauty that surrounded her.

December 11

Happy days for the girls, who are playing together so well and growing closer as friends. This is probably aided by Kahlilla being able to keep pace with Indi's energy, now that her leg is feeling "perfect" (To quote the ...not so bald kid) On that note, Kahlilla's hair is the softest thing in the world ever!!

Maniacs behind glass

The Gang

December 9

Lilla spent a couple of nights with Nan and Pop as Indi has bronchitis. She was so excited as they toured the homes brightly lit with their Christmas lights. They visited their friends Fred and Chris and had a great time with their big kids Jarrod, Tyson and Nikki. They have chickens, 2 dogs, 3 horses and a swimming pool and Lill didn’t waste time getting into her bathers and taking a dip with her Nan and Benji the dog. She was so excited to have a ride on the Shetland pony with Nikki.

Lill cuddled up to Tyson and watched a DVD after dinner and declared “I love Jason (Tyson) so much” as she climbed into the car to go home and refused to leave without one last hug.

Lill and Dougal

Lill, Benji and Grandma in the pool

Lill on the horse with Nikki

Lill loves Tyson

December 7

Avoiding hospitals does have its advantages, like .... being free to go to the big Christmas party in the main street, and playing with all your friends.

Lill loves those jumping castles

Lill loves those rainbow icecreams

After a yummy pizza on the foreshore, Kahlilla turned back into a sandy mermaid.

December 6 (Part 2)

Kahlilla journeyed into town with Poppy and Colin, only to be told that they could not manufacture enough radioactive material that morning. January 10th is the new date for treatment.

This would have been terrible news had Kahlilla been limping around the hospital instead of running around like a maniac.

Luckily, Kahlilla ran straight into a pile of soft toys

She's OK!!!

December 6 (Part 1)

Kahlilla heads off this moring to the Peter McCallum Institue for her first MIBG radiation treatment. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

December 5

Kahlilla has had an incredible 2 days. She has been running and jumping and swimming and laughing and giggling and cuddling. The leg pain has gone although there is still fleeting evidence of something not quite right. Kahlilla bears up to adversity so strongly that accurate diagnosis can be difficult.

Indi's incredible underwater swimming (with Lill's legs in the background)

Kahlilla was very pleased with her new pink goggles

She is free from pain and so so happy... such a joyful little human to spend time with.

At Colin's work, Lill's friend Melloman gave her a wild ride

December 3

A tough day for Lill. Her leg is a little better but her tummy is now sore ..... hmmmm.... another possible tumour location. The soreness did not stop her from enjoying a few hours at kindy though.

In the evening, Lill was so sad because of her aching tummy, but then she had a little vomit, after which she was good to go. The pain subsided, she ate some food and she was her usual playful little self again... until she collapsed into a deep sleep beside her Mum.

December 2

Kahlilla and Indi went to Toli's birthday party today which ended up being one big water party in the heat of the day. Lill had fun, limping her way around between her friends.

The girls armed and dangerous. Lill with water balloon and Indi with cup of water

After a while, Kahlilla started to get sore in the leg and very tired so we went for a short drive to the beach car park where Colin and Lill slept for a while. When Lill awoke, she said ...

"We are at the surfing beach... can we get our feet wet?"

We had a thrilling hour, splashing in and running (yes running) from the waves. Kahlilla was beside herself with utter joy as she clung to my arms, jumping over the huge waves near the shore.

It was just so beautiful to hear her giggle and yell and laugh and laugh.

Tuck that dress into your knickie knicks and have some fun!!

December 1

Kahlilla mentioned that she had a sore leg last night as she went to bed.

This morning the pain was worse and she had trouble placing weight on it. It is her left leg and Kahlilla tells us that the pain is just above her knee. The tumour is the most likely explanation.

She has not fallen, or banged it or lost circulation for a while, and the bee sting has left no swelling or evidence of an allergy, so the tumour is becoming the only explanation.

We have seen how fast neuroblastoma can grow, yet we were totally shocked at how sudden this has worsened.

Kahlilla hobbled through the day, however, with little complaint. True to her beautiful, famous style. Once she figured out how to minimise the pain, she stepped outside to sit in her hammock with her mice...

Angel with mouse

Angel II with mouse

In the afternoon, Indi and Lill went with their friends (Kaitlyn, Bronte and Nathan) to the beach where they made an enormous sand pool and searched for crabs.

Kahlilla and her friend Kaitlyn at the beach

Afterwards, the girls had fun indoors doing ... girl things I guess.

Kaitlyn, Kahlilla and Bronte applying the sunscreen

In the evening, we had a yummy dinner at Nanny and Pop's house and the girls had so much fun riding their bikes around the quiet streets. Kahlilla managed very well on her bike, choosing to favour the other leg, then zooming her way around with a grin and a giggle.