Cleveland news, and then on to something else.

So the news from Cleveland Clinic was that her tyrptaste level was normal (4.something ,with above 11 being abnormal, and above 20 being systemic masto-I think).  She also did not have the c-kit mutation.  This means, no bone marrow biopsy (woo hoo), she will likely outgrow it (woo hoo), and we still can't be sure if belly stuff is masto related or not.  The doctor was still waiting on the slides from her tumor that was removed in April, and will call us back after he gets those and is able to put some more puzzle pieces together.  We mostly are just elated for some good news.

Moving on....

Saturdays, in our house, usually consist of someone getting up with Abigail to take her potty, and then all three of us hanging out in our bed to be silly for a while.  This morning was no different.  Abigail steam rolled us, she tried to steal Papa's pillow, she gave me a couple accidental elbows to the kidneys.  She also went and got a book to read to me.  It's an old book, and a very simple one called 'My Red Umbrella.'  The premise of the book is that a little girl has an umbrella, it begins to rain, all the animals come under it with her.  It stops raining and they all leave.  Boring really.  So Abigail reads it to me today.  She started with 'Once upon a time,'  which is funny since we haven't read fairy tales, we don't do Disney movies, and I am unsure of where it came from.  None the less I was giggling while she layed there reading it to me very seriously.  The conversation that ensued afterwards though, was the icing on the cake.

Abigail-'Mama dere's a owl in dis book.  Hew, I find it and show it to you.  You hab to be caweful of owls.'

Me-'You have to be careful of owls?  Why do you have to be careful of them?'

A-'Well a owl came and took my eye off.  He took my umbwella too.'

M-'Oh my.  What did you do?'

A-'I asked him nicewy to gib it back.  He did.  I put my eye back on, and him gabe me my umbwella too.'

I really love my daughter and her imagination.  I am looking forward to all the upcoming stories that are forming in that little brain of hers.

Be careful of owls,

...and today she danced.

This week has been filled with the craziness that often accompanies Abigail being sick.  Things started out looking like a stomach bug, she added in some photophobia (light sensitivity) and then continue to have intermittent vomiting even after she was 'better.' 
The hard thing about the disorders that Abigail has, is not so much in the having them.  It's in the not knowing when to write things off.  Stomach virus, normal.  Check.  Second day lethargic,normal.  Check.  Photophobia, not normal, call the the opthalmologist.  Reassurance, check.  Vomiting once a day Wednesday and Thursday, despite being back to herself, not normal.  Trip to the doctor, check.
I really have no idea what to think.  I know I've said this close to 6 million times, but we have an amazing family doctor.  She is so reassuring when I come in, and never seems annoyed.  She agrees that there are some things we can't just 'write off' like you might with a typical child, because it's too high risk.  So the thought is that the stomach virus Monday, caused a headache with photophobia (and it got better by Thursday some I'm guessing this is true).  It also caused some inflammation and flare up in her belly from her GERD and masto belly issues, causing her to have the intermittent vomiting.  If it's not better by Mondayish she will start an oral steroid to help calm down the inflammation.  If things still aren't improving we will see a G.I. doctor.  I REALLY don't want her scoped.  So we are just continuing to pray it gets better.
She didn't get sick at all today, although it's not a fair assessment because she took benadryl this morning to prevent car sickness.  And benadryl also helps tame mast cells.  She also went all of Tuesday without getting sick. 
However, this evening, she danced.  She put on a dress up dress, and spent quite some time swaying and spinning.  'Watch Mama.  Watch Papa.'  'Clap.'  She seemed to be herself tonight.


I also have to end this post with some mad props to my husband.  I woke up in the middle of the night with Abigail's stomach virus that I had caught.  She was supposed to have a pulmanologist appointment today at Riley.  It's an easy appointment, just a following up every few months to make certain asthma meds work.  Jason got up this morning, went into work for about an hour, came home and took Abigail to Riley, brought her back and put her down for a nap, went back to work, came home and fixed her dinner, settled her in with some play-doh, and then went back to finish up everything at work.  I am so thankful to have a wonderful, loving, and compassionate husband.  I spent the whole morning on the couch watching netflix and drinking ginger ale.  I took a nap.  I am already feeling much better!!  All because I was able to get the rest I needed to recover quickly.

I have some test results from Cleveland Clinic, and plan on doing a post on it tomorrow. 

A new test for Down syndrome.

What if there was a test during pregnancy that let you know that your child would later be in a terrible car accident and become completely incapacitated?  That's unrealistic right.  Well, would you want to know if your child was going to struggle with depression and suicidal issues in the future?  What would your choice be if you could know that down the road your little one will have MS, ALS, Alzheimer's, cancer or the other host of disorders and diseases that abound?  Would you choose to continue the pregnancy?  Would you end the life growing inside of you because that child was going to 'suffer' in 30, 40, or 50 years with one of these disorders?

My daughter has a genetic disorder.  NF1 is a genetic mutation of the 17th chromosome.  While it can mean some hardships in her life, it is also her genetic make-up, and effects who she is, and what she looks like.  I am extremely thankful that this wasn't known about before birth, nor is it common to test for it (a parent who already has it can request the testing).  I like my daughter.  I like her genetic make-up.  I DO NOT believe that her 17th chromosome being different than mine is something that needs to be 'fixed.'  I hope and pray that some of the things that can come along with NF can be treated or cured.  I don't want to change my little girl.

Recently a study came out talking about how parents, sibling, and people with Down syndrome perceived their lives as a result of Down syndrome.  You can read through the numbers on the links I provided, but I will sum it up for you:  these families are happy.  Divorce rates are lower.  Siblings, overwhelmingly, said they were better people as a result of having a sibling with Ds.  The study showed a great picture of joy that often surrounds the families of children who have Ds.

On the heels of the release of this study, comes a new test.  In general when a woman is pregnant there is some basic measurements and such done at an ultrasound that can look for markers of Ds.  There is a blood test they offer as well that assesses your risk through some hormone levels and factors in your maternal age and the like.  If you come back as higher risk in this category, or have some soft markers in the ultra-sound, but nothing definitive, you can, from there, choose to have an amniocentesis.  There is a risk of miscarriage with amnio though so it is often a hard decision.  However, as I've mentioned before, the abortion rate for people who find out they are pregnant with a child with Ds is 90-94%.  That means that for the 6-10 people you might meet that have Ds, 90-96 of their peers are not here.
But because amnio is risky, Sequenom developed a new, more accurate, blood test for Down syndrome.  This testing will increase the amount of woman who have genetic testing done for Ds, increase the amount of Ds diagnoses inutero, and therefore increase the amount of these precious little ones who are being aborted.  The test is supposed to help prevent people from having to have a 'risky' amnio on a 'healthy' child. 
Instead it exacerbates an already large problem to greater proportions.  We have an epidemic on our hands; a genocide that is taking the lives of children, who, if they were allowed to live, would most likely be happy in life, and cause their parents and sibling to feel similarly.  We fight to protect an endangered species of animal.  We fight against the killings and maiming of people in Tanzania that have albinism.  Both of those things are great things to stand up against, but  right here, in our front yard, we do all that we can fight for the 'right' to wipe out a whole people group because of their genetic make-up.

Doctors are known to lean towards the abortion route for expecting parents.  They give this grim diagnoses of what life is like with a child with Down syndrome, DESPITE the fact that studies clearly show that it is not the doom and gloom that most people are lead to believe.  People with Ds are active, wonderful parts or our society.  They grow up to have jobs, some go to college, and some get married.  JUST. LIKE. YOU.  People with Down syndrome have hopes and dreams, they have feelings, they have likes and dislikes.  Yes, they also have an extra chromosome, something many of their parents refer to as being 'chromosomally enhanced', not chromosomally challenged.
Matthew 25:40 states, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'  We are taking a vulnerable population, unborn children, with Down syndrome, and trying to prevent them from ever experiencing life outside of the womb.  That's what we are doing for Christ.  We are killing, because we see what we perceive as a weakness; a weakness that the families who experience it have shared does not cause the breakdown of their family.  A weakness, that some families, after experiencing it, go on to adopt another child with Down Syndrome.

'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' (2 Corinthians 12:9)  What if we are wiping out a whole group of people who show us Christ in a new and different way; a group of people who are made perfect in their imperfections?
What if we are so excited to see a new and better genetic test that we forget to see these beautiful children?

Emmie.  You can read about her here.

Liddy.  You can read about her here.



Verity, and




Katerina (Katie) are sisters.  You can read about them here.



Jackson.

These children are loved greatly by their families.  Their families are happy, active, and 'typical' families. 

Tiny Dancer

Abigail woke up from her nap yesterday with soft songs coming through the monitor.  I listened for a few minutes and then climbed the steps to her bedroom.  When I opened the door her boundless energy began pouring out. 
'Mama I awake.  I took a biiiiiiiig nap.  I hungwy.  Where's Papa?  I gonna watcha Pudue wis Papa nother gain.'
I layed down next to her and kissed her face.  She moved away, 'No sank you Mama.'  So I rolled over top of her and declared, 'steam roller!'  She giggles and steam rolled me.  After determining I was 'flat like a pancake' she poured syrup on top and ate me.  The giggles continued to flow out of her as I wiggled and begged her not to eat me.
After she got up we made our beds and I sat in the rocking chair in our bedroom.  I turned on some music and for the next twenty minutes Abigail danced.  She twirled and jumped, curtsied and skipped.  And I sat quietly and drank it all in.
Sometimes I feel like I just can't get enough of her.  Her beautiful face, her curly hair, her big brown eyes, and eyelashes that go on forever.  I am completely mesmerized by her, and just get lost in her beauty.  I can't believe that she's my daughter.  How did I end up with someone so wonderful as her.
She giggles as she sways and declares, 'Mama watch dis.'  I watch.  I stare.  I don't want to miss a moment of it.  I feel like I can see her getting bigger as she dances, those moments of toddlerhood are passing before my eyes.  I don't want to look back and feel like I wasted them cleaning my house or rushing her along.

It's good to be reminded of those things, so when you are awake at 5 a.m. changing sheets because your three year old has her first stomach flu, you don't see the work and the sickness.  You see a little dancer who needs to be nursed back to health, because her audience misses her dances.  So you diligently scoop her up and do everything you can to make it all better.  And this time she doesn't say no thank you as you kiss her soft skin all over and 'swuggle' her.  She just melts in your arms and you pray over and over again that she will return to dancing soon.

Homewrecker.

A while back Abigail and I were sitting at the table eating together.  She asked to listen to music and so I turned some on.  She then proceeded to say something to the likes of , 'Papa hab secwets.'  I nearly freaked out, but like a good Mama stayed calm and told Abigail that she should always tell Mama if someone tells her something is a secret.  'What is Papa's secret?' 

Her response, him wisten to ipod with his secrets.  Now I'm sitting there thinking what the heck are you talking about, until she made a motion with her hand and it all made sense.  These my friends are secrets.  They go in your ears and tell you stuff.

Papa's secrets.

Phew.  I mean I trust my husband completely, but that was a little scary you know.

So yesterday morning we are sitting at the table again and Abigail chimes in to tell me about Papa and Mabby playing together.  I assumed I heard her wrong and asked, 'Who's Mabby?'  She went on to explain that Papa and Mabby played while I was at my meeting the other night.  I didn't jump to any conclusions because Abigail has imaginary friends.  I tried to get more out of her, but she just kept talking about Mabby and Papa playing.

So last night we are all in the car together and I asked Papa who Mabby was.  He was thoroughly confused and so we tried to get more out of Abigail.  Turns out that this is Mabby.



Mabby.



I imagine you recognize Mabby.  Mostly because it's Abigail.  The other day we were somewhere and someone asked her name.  Despite the fact that I said, 'Abigail' they responded with 'Hi Abby.'  For some reason that stuck in Abigail's head, and she heard Mabby.  (A little tidbit for you, if someone tells you their kids name is a full name, like Abigail, Joseph, Patric, etc, it's probably because the go by the full name, so don't shorten it).
While there have been two crisis averted at our house now I am more on guard against my little girl who seems to want to cause some wreckage at home...

Second time around.

We had our home visit to complete our home study tonight.  It's been sort of funny to me how differently I feel this time around.  The first time though I moved all the furniture and scrubbed the floor by hand. I laugh when I remember that I also got a grout brush and cleaned the grout lines on the tile floor in our bathroom. We made certain the bedroom was set up and ready to go. Everything looked just right.
While there have been things in our home that needed done (like pictures that have been waiting to be hung for months) that we finally did, it's not nearly the extent that it was for our first home visit.  Matter of fact I was putting laundry away when she got here.  Whoops, probably should have timed that better.
I also can't believe how much faster the nesting has come on.  While it was there the last time, it didn't get strong until we actually found out about Abigail.  Not this time.  I have been picking up clothes here and there, making a blanket, washing some diaper stuff that got handed down (we cloth diaper), and trying to stay on top of the house so we are ready whenever the time comes.

So for now we are officially home study ready, and are currently breaking it down at our house to the song 'Dynamite.'  It's Abigail's new favorite.  I need to go throw my hands now. 

One smart....cookie.

Papa and Abigail making cookies together.

Abigail had been begging to make cookies for days.  So Friday night Papa and Abigail rolled up their sleeves and got to it.  She got to eat two that night and has of course asked for them every day since then (I won't mention the five or more at a time how many Papa eats in a sitting).

So this morning my very smart little girl decided to make an attempt for a cookie at breakfast.

A-'Mama my mouf huwts.'

M-'It does?  I'm so sorry.  Do you think you need to take a drink of water?'

A-'No.  I don't fink water would help.  I can't eat my yogurt 'cause it hurts.'

M-'What can I do to help your mouth feel better?'

A-'I sink that a cookie would make it feel bettew.'

Seriously.  When did she become smart enough to try to manipulate her mother into giving her a cookie.  She did get one, after she ate her yogurt and breakfast bar.  I have a feeling that I might be in trouble with this one.

Heartsick.

Before you read any further in this post please go read this blog entry.  It's beautiful isn't it.  I read it tonight, and it seemed like a good jumping point for some thoughts I wanted to share.

What seems like forever ago, we were waiting on a baby.  God had told us that He was bringing us a little girl and her name should be Abigail.  During that time period, I watched a neighbor girl have her fourth, fifth, and sixth kid (she has eight now).  I also watched her not doing much parenting, and leaving it all to her oldest, who was around nine at the time her sixth was born.  I became slightly indignant and made certain to let God know how unfair it was that someone who didn't want kids kept having them, and someone who did couldn't.
On a warm day my husband, our dog Maggie, and I were our for a walk.  Some friends were outside.  They told us that they were pregnant, with their second.  During this time in my life the announcement of someone being pregnant always left a little sting.  However, this particular pregnancy was unexpected, and they seemed a little more exasperated than excited (they did eventually become excited, and they definitely love this child).  I was both heartbroken, and pissed.
I came home that day and went to my bedroom.  I sobbed as I told God just how unfair He was being.  I let Him know just exactly how I felt about people who didn't want to be pregnant having multiple children and on and on.  I carried on with my little fit for a while before I just layed there and cried.  God allowed me to cry and whine for a while (much longer than I allow it from my daughter).
And then,tenderly and firmly, God let me know a couple of things.  He first let me know that He could make it so that I could get pregnant.  That wasn't too hard for Him, and was something He would be more than willing to do.  He also clearly let me know that IF I got pregnant, it would not be the child He had promised us, and it wouldn't hold the same promises as our Abigail.
I won't say that the wait wasn't painful from there.  This was revealed to me at the very beginning of our process so we still waited over two years from that point before we heard about Abigail.  However, there was something about knowing that God really did have a plan that instantly took the bitterness away.

Like the blog I posted above talks about, it's really easy for me to look in the rear-view mirror and see how smooth that all was.  A long wait ended in a beautiful relationship with Abigail's tummy mommy, and one truly amazing little girl.  Our lives have been so full and rich, not only just being parents, but learning so much from God, as the result of getting to be Abigail's parents.  The trip felt scary, and I white knuckled it for sure, but here we are.
And like any crazy person along for this ride, we have decided to travel that same scary road again.  Most people would think that the second time around wouldn't seem quite so bad.  You know where most of the bumps are, and you know what the end result is.  I, at least, have been trying to tell myself that.
In reality though, I am just trying to keep from feeling the pain again.  Silly, I know.  So last night as we watched a show together, and a couple finds out they are chosen to adopt a baby, I felt it.  That ache that sat in my chest while we waited for Abigail.  That feeling of longing for my child, and knowing that all I can do is buckle up, and hold on.  I have been fighting it for a while, but couldn't control it any longer last night.
The truth is, despite that I have been on a very similar road, and despite that I can scoop up the most beautiful results in my arms, and kiss her repeatedly until she says, 'no sank you mama,' I am scared.  I spent three years walking around with that pain.  It just sat there, day in and day out.  Sometimes it got worse, but it never went away.  And honestly, I don't want to feel it again.  I especially don't want to feel it again for three years. 
It's that feeling of being heartsick, the feeling of hope being deferred; the reason that Abigail's middle name is Tohelet.  'Hope (Tohelet) deferred makes the heartsick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.'  Proverbs 13:12
I don't want to live heartsick.  Yes, it's different this time, because I already have my first Tohelet upstairs sleeping right now.  That doesn't make it easier.  So we have buckled ourselves in, my knuckles are white, and I have tears streaming down my face.  But somewhere in me, just like before, I know that one day, I will get to look back, and realize that this road wasn't so scary.  And the company, the smiles, and the conversations I will get to have with the driver, will make the memory of this road even sweeter.  There will be much laughter and celebration when we arrive at our next destination as well.

Longing for our next child,

Announcing....

With my sad face.

With my happy face.

And finally my excited face.

That's right my friends, Abigail is going to be a big sister.  When?  I don't know.  We will see what God's timing turns out to be this time around, but we are 'expecting' for the second time.  Our home study is extremely close to being finished, and from there, a baby can come at any time.  So won't you join us in praying for the next little one that God has lined up to be our child.

With joy,

The run down...

So after some chaos, stress, and an extra night in Cleveland we got to talk to an expert in the area of Mastocytosis.  I'll give you the run down of what the last few days looked like and where we are with all of it.
We drove to Cleveland Sunday night and stayed in a hotel.  Monday morning we got a phone call that the doctor we are scheduled to see had hit a deer on the way to work and needed to reschedule.  We kindly explained that we were already in Cleveland and needed to see someone.  However, our big dilemma is that the doctor we were supposed to see had masto listed as a specialty and none of the other doctors.  The lady I talked to continually reassured me that all of the doctors are capable of handling the same things.  So I relented and we made an appointment with someone else.
So we ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed over to this awesome park called Preston's Hope.  We spent lots of time playing, and left with plenty of time to get to the clinic and eat lunch before the appointment.  Well, accept that all of the roads in Cleveland Y into three roads, turn into a different road, and we ended up taking much longer to get there. 
We pulled in the parking garage and drove in circles going up and up and up.  We parked at which point Abigail let us know she was going to get (car) sick.  So by the time we got inside she had puked, we only had enough time to get to the appointment, and we were all grumpy and hungry.  Deep breaths.  Deep breaths.
We do all the check-in stuff and the doctor comes in.  He is an amazing doctor.  He was kind, knowledgeable, and extremely helpful.  He knew very little about masto, and actually shared the other doctor we had an appointment with wasn't really an expert either.  So two hours later we leave his office to go eat something.  At this point we are waiting to hear if yet another doctor will see us today, and if we can stay at the Ronald McDonald house for the night.
So after lunch we find out that we were on our own for a place to stay, and that if we stayed we still weren't guaranteed an appointment today.  We contacted a friend's parents and decided to stay with them in hopes of meeting with another doctor who could answer questions and point us in the right direction.
After a much better night of sleep, and people familiar with the area who could explain how to get where we were going (plus a personal phone call with the original doctor we were scheduled to see yesterday) we got to see an expert in mastocytosis today.
It was SO worth the extra night.  He answered tons of questions, explained things very thoroughly, and gave us a plan of action as to where to go from here.  Our biggest questions at this point are whether Abigail's masto is cutaneous (only on her skin and she will likely outgrow it) or if some of her belly issues are from systemic masto.  I knew there were a couple of blood test that some people have done to check a tryptaste level, and to see if there is a mutation in the c-kit in the mast cells. (You don't need to understand that, just helpful for people who are familiar with masto already).  So he said that we would check these two things and that would help us decide if further testing needed done.  He is also going to look at the sample slides from her tumor she had removed from her leg.  So in essence we understand a little more, but still don't know anything definitive about Abigail. 
However, we are extremely grateful that after two crazy long days we are on our way to getting some more answers.  Abigail is in bed, and we are resting, as well as looking forward to a night in our own bed.  I will do another post after we get more test results back.  At this point there is no talk of seeing a gastro doctor, no bone marrow biopsy scheduled (her results we are waiting on will determine if she needs one or not), and no need to limit any foods! 
You learn a lot when dealing with unpredictable disorders.  The biggest lesson I have learned thus far is definitely that you enjoy the here and now.  So we are celebrating not seeing a gastro doctor, no biopsy needed right now, and not limiting her food.  If things change we will roll with them as they come, but for now, we are thankful.

Masto appointment.

I mentioned a few post back that we would be having an appointment with a masto specialist.  It is rapidly approaching (this coming Monday-the 10th).  I thought I would try to fill you in a little bit on thoughts on it and some ways you can be praying.
Mastocytosis is an extremely rare disorder.  Less than 200,000 in the United States have it.  So there isn't tons of information available.  Thus far, for Abigail, we know that she has it dermatologically, and that she has had a mastocytoma tumor from it.  We suspect that her GERD (gastro reflux) is from it, as well as some other belly issues she has, but have never had this 100% nailed down.
So the doctor we will be seeing is a pediatric oncologist and hematologist.  I don't know what all to expect from the appointment.  I am suspecting that we may end up with a referral to a gastro doctor.  I had wanted to avoid this because it will likely mean being put under again to be scoped.  However, I also know if Abigail is have mast cell issues in her belly we probably need to know and react accordingly.
My second thing that I am a little uneasy about, is that sometimes they do bone marrow biopsies on masto patients.  I am not going to allow myself to be bogged down with all the reasons they do this, and I'm not certain that they will or will not do this for Abigail.  But none the less, the thought of a bone marrow biopsy in and of itself is a little overwhelming.
My third 'fear' is dieting restrictions.  Abigail has a nut allergy (peanuts and tree nuts) but we have been able to manage this.  Some people with mast cell disorders have issues triggered by foods with high histamine levels.  (seriously if you didn't go look at this list of high histamine foods, you should.)  I think pretty much every one of Abigail's favorite foods is on there.  Although we definitely indulge sometimes, we eat, overall, really healthy.  We eat very little meat, and do lots of whole foods as well as organic stuff.  The idea of having to limit lots of things from a little girl who loves brussel sprouts, eats tomatoes straight out of the garden, and thinks fruit is dessert is disheartening to me.  I would absolutely be willing to do it to keep her healthy.  It's just a hard thing to think about.
Overall I am just ready to do this appointment and figure stuff out.  But like with so many other medical things, it's hard to suppress some of those 'what if's' that like to swirl around in my brain.  I have taken it to God over and over again, not allowing the fears to swallow my joy.  It's a battle though.  Mastocytosis has so many unknowns and is completely unpredictable (not much unlike NF really).  So in reality I have no idea what to think or expect.  With NF I can say, Abigail will likely get tumors.  Where and when isn't known, but we know what we are up against.  Masto ranges from the dermal kind that can be outgrown, some that causes anaphylaxis over and over with no triggers (I can't say that I haven't lied in bed before wondering what would happen if she went into anaphylaxis in the middle of the night and we didn't know) all the way to mast cell leukemia.  I am truly hoping to hear that hers is still only dermal and there is some possibility that she could outgrow it.  However, I want to be prepared to hear what I need to hear to take care of my daughter.
So if you all would once again join us in prayer as we get ready to learn more about our daughter's masto I would be extremely grateful.  I will update sometime after the appointment.  It is out of state, and Jason will be making the trip with me.  We have also found a really fun (free) park nearby that we are looking forward to checking out with Abigail.  Mostly though I want my days before the appointment to be filled with joy and not fear, and I want to call on Christ when I start to feel scared or overwhelmed.

'The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”'



Crying out to my Abba, Father,
 

Abigail's football philosophy.

Friday night was our local school's homecoming game.  We decided to go because Abigail has been asking to watch the marching band [after taking her to see a performance this summer].  I got Abigail all decked out in the school colors, and we headed to the game.

I can't get this child to stand still.

So all our pictures turn out, well....

Papa managed a good one though.

So we arrive and she sits under a blanket mesmerized the whole time.  We only stayed until half time because it was extremely cold and our daughter was asking to go home and go to bed (I know, lucky parents huh).
Since then we have heard lots of talk about the football game, the friends that we saw there, and her take on what was going on, on the field.  So without further ado, my three year old's interpretation of her first (live) football game:
-the cheerleaders wanted to be playing football.
-the football players were all tackling each other because the wanted the ball.
-if they wanted the ball all they needed to do was say, 'could I have the ball please.'

And there you have it, jealous cheerleaders forced to cheer instead of play, and a bunch of guys who are tackling each other instead of using their kind words.

Enjoying my three year old's perspective,