Michael is officially a kindergartner...

Yesterday we went to Michael's school for orientation and he wasn't too thrilled. Even though there were a bunch of his friends from last year in his class, he was uncomfortable. So, when he woke up this morning, he said that he didn't feel good and didn't want to go to the first day of school.

Once he got up and started getting ready, his excitement started increasing. By the time the bus came at 8:50am, he was ready to go. While we waited for the bus, Michael picked some flowers for his bus driver, Debbie. When he got on the bus, he expected to have to sit in the first row since that is where he had to sit when he went to Pre-K last year.

Debbie told him he was a "big kid" now and could sit anywhere he wanted. He went back a couple of rows and took the first empty seat. Then when his friend from across the street, Jarrod, got on the bus, the 2 buddies rode to school together.

When he got home this afternoon, around 4:05pm, Daddy was home waiting for him and Michael called me at work to tell me about his day. When I asked him how his day went, he told me "better than I expected". He said he had a LOT of fun and that he can't wait until tomorrow to go back. He is a character!

Michael has still had a cough since we came home from the hospital but hasn't had any fever (whew!) He's been a little cranky and hasn't been eating and drinking as much as I would like. But, he did do better tonight. The Vincristine has made Michael's mouth sore and sensitive and difficult to eat or drink. I am going to talk to Dr. Kennedy about anything we can do to make him more comfortable this week.

We have to go to Syracuse Friday to have his counts checked and a check up but no chemo. (This is week 1 of his 2 week break.) His appointment is in the morning, so hopefully he can be to school by early afternoon. Friday is art day and they could do some painting...speaking of which....

I forgot to tell you that while Michael was in the hospital last week, there was a professional artist that visits the children's wards once a month and she helps the pediatric patients paint. She happened to be there Wednesday night and the nurses took Michael and his roommate downstairs to join in the fun. Here is one of Michael's masterpieces:

Isn't is awesome? He started with the green and yellow item near the bottom - it is a tractor with a caution light on top. Then he added the black road and the beautiful tree. The blue dots are the rain coming out of the black cloud (and that is why the tractor had to have a light on it). He was telling us this story the whole time he was creating.

The artist was pretty taken with him. She said Michael has quite a vivid imagination. And she was impressed with his painting ability. When I told her that he loves to paint - but hates to color, she wasn't surprised. She said coloring with crayons isn't "tactile" enough for him. Paints allow him to be creative at a quicker pace that allows his artwork to keep up with his imagination. Once she said it, it made sense to me and I was glad to have that little bit of insight into my special little boy.

He also made another painting, which he did with his fingers instead of a brush, and he painted a little ceramic dog, both of which he did for Jen (his special nurse from 5C). Jen came to visit Michael every morning when she got to work and again every afternoon before she went home. She also brought Michael a stuffed alligator that is green and yellow (his 2 favorite colors) that Michael has added to his bedtime menagerie.

I will post Friday night and let everyone know how Michael's doctors appointment goes. Please keep Michael in your thoughts and prayers, JoAnne.

P.S. I have one more picture that I have to share with everyone- it is Jenny pinning Michael's boutonniere on him before he walked her down the aisle at her wedding. Everytime I see it, it brings tears to my eyes.