Make A Wish Trip - Day 1 - The Plane Ride!

The First day of Mason's Make A Wish Trip was all about going on an AIR PLANE!!! Mason was SOO excited! He was given a special Make A Wish Button to tell everyone that he was a special Make A Wish Kid. He was sure to tell EVERYONE that he gets to go to Disney World with Make A Wish.

While we were at the Orange County Airport, we happened to run into some old friend's of ours from Elk Grove, so we snuck a few of their kids into our pictures!

Here's Mason standing in front of our airplane before we were about to board!

And here's another! (We were lucky to capture this one with a half smile! Too excited to pose MOM!)

Destination - ORLANDO!

Both of my kids were SUPER good on the plane rides. I have to admit I was a little worried but they did awesome.. Not to mention Mason was given a special backpack from Make A Wish stuffed FULL of things to do while he was on the flight!

We spent the entire day flying, and didn't make it into Orlando until about 8pm that night. After we got off the plane, we were immediately greated by someone from the "Give Kids The World" Village. (That's where the Make A Wish kids stay during their time at Disney World!) They really know how to roll out the red carpet and make every child feel special! She helped us get our luggage and then excorted us to where we picked up our Rental Car. (Which happened to be a Brand New Toyota Sienna.. just like the one Mommy has at home!)

Then it was straight back to the Village to Check in. When we arrived at the village, they greeted us with Toys and treats for the kids, and then excorted to our very own "Villa". Since it was so late and we had missed dinner, they had a Pizza Delivered straight to our little house. It was so nice! We were eager to get unpacked and settled in for the night since the very next day we were going to get up and get going to The Wild Animal Park and Epcot!

THIS Christmas...

I'm NOT going all out on decorations.

Now don't you think I'm going all BAH-HUMBUG on the idea of decorating.. I just realized I have a 17 month old.. and I'm starting to feel REALLY pregnant... Those two combinations and the idea of putting it all back AFTER the Jolly Holiday is making me think minimal this year!

My Poor tree.. I didn't hardly put any ornaments on it this year.. and the ones that did make it up have been completely pulled off and replaced half a dozen times in the last 36 hours.. Did I mention I have a 17 month old? Enough said! lol! Oh well it's the thought that counts, right?

As for other happenings in the Dahl House..

Mason:

- Mason is going to preschool and LOVING it (for the most part!).
- He still receives shots of Interferon 3x per week, but is tolerating it well. I figured out that his last shot will be about a week before his 5th birthday... I may just have to think about having ANOTHER party! That kid has been through so much this year and we can't wait to take a few things off his plate!
- I PROMISE I still have every intention of blogging about Mason's Make A Wish Trip to DisneyWorld! We took over 1,000 pictures in just 7 short days.. LOTS to sort through and so many things to write about! I'm hoping I will get to this task SOON!

Charlotte:

My Sweet sweet baby girl is turning into a toddler with a mind all of her own! This girl has an opinion, and even though she doesn't have a huge vocabulary, she STILL can communicate with us what her opinion may be!
- She enjoys carrying around baby dolls, wearing pretty necklaces, and taking off and putting on her shoes over and over again. She is a true girly girl.

Baby Dahl #3:

I'm 7 months pregnant, and things have been going really well. I just wish that we could figure out a name for this little boy! (any suggestions would be great!)

As for Shane and I, we just recenty celebrated our 7 year anniversary! I guess we have survived the 7 year itch! lol! (was anyone really worried!?)

Baby Dahl #3

It's A BOY!

(Rounding out the Dahl family grandkids to an even 20 boys, and 5 girls!)

We are so super duper excited for this bouncing baby boy! He will be making his appearance around February 22, 2011!

Playing Catch Up

So there is LOTS to report on since my last post (from JUNE!!!)

1st and foremost.. if you haven't heard.. we are expecting Baby Dahl #3 around February 27, 2011! This baby was a surprise but a HUGE blessing none the less! We have always had to try, and try, and try to get pregnant. (Mason took us a year.. Charlotte took us 21 months!!) So to have this little miracle happen without even knowing it is such an awesome blessing for us! We have been through so much adversity, and we feel like this is such a blessing in the middle of so much. This new baby and my little Charlotte will be 20 months apart. (breathe... breathe!) and we will be finding out if it's a boy or girl in about 2 weeks!

2nd - Mason has been doing AWESOME! He's still receiving 3 shots per week of Interferon, but things have been going smoothly and just as they should be. His Dr. thought we could try putting him back into preschool this month.. ANd so far so good! We had to take him out of school when he was first diagnosed earlier this year, and to be honest, I didn't know HOW long it was going to be until he would be able to go back to school.. but here we are 8 months later! He tells me every morning that he's going to miss me! (sniff!) I actually miss him too! I think I'm one of those crazy moms that actually really LOVES to have my kids with me 24-7. Maybe that will change as they get older..

3rd - MORE excitement is happening in our home!!! Mason got to Make a Wish with the Make a Wish Foundation. His wish was to go to Disney World.. So guess where we are heading too THIS Saturday??? DISNEY WORLD! We are So super duper excited and can't wait to report back on this fantastic trip! Make A Wish will be presenting Mason with his Wish tonight at the Pirate's Dinner Adventure! We haven't been told many details about this trip, and we're excited to learn more tonight!

4th - Charlotte is 15 months old now and a SUPER DUPER big girl (so she thinks!) She is learning how to be independent and doing her best to tell mommy and daddy that she thinks she is too! She's really a sweet, adorable little girl and such a joy to have around. (when she gets her way! lol!)

I'm sad that I haven't been able to report on our fun summer more.. but I can say that we had LOTS of fun! We were able to take a family vacation to Bass Lake & Yosemite, and also head up to Sacramento to visit Shane's brother, Kyle, for a few days. I'm hoping to get some pics posted of our fun summer soon! We just got a new computer and a new camera and I need to figure out the both of them to make that happen!

Mason in June!

With everything that Mason has been going through, I have decided that this kid is going to have to learn to be a hat boy if he wants to be able to spend any time out in the sun during the summer time. At the beginning I thought it was going to be a SUPER big challenge to get him to cooperate, but so far he's been a pretty good sport! And now I find myself buying a total outfit around the hats I find! (any excuse to shop, is good enough for me!)

One of my favorite finds for this summer is this surfboard Hat & T-shirt combo that he just loves to wear!
He REALLY wanted me to buy THIS hat (the Mad Hatter Hat at Disneyland from the New Alice in Wonderland!) but there was no way this hat was going to find it's way to MY house! Still cute enough to take a picture in!


And of course I couldn't say no to this cute Straw Fedora hat that he's wearing in the below pic! You can't see much of it, but the hat really does make a darling little summer outfit out of something pretty plain! We are still excitely waiting to see the rest of our Tiffany Portraits Photo session! So far we've only seen the 3, and we are SUPER excited to see the rest!
Mason has been doing okay these last few months. He's adjusting well to receiving his shots at home from "Nurse Mommy" and his blood count seems to be holding its own.. although we think it could always be much better. We have had to stop giving him the shots for a few weeks and wait for his blood count to get better. That was bitter sweat. Fun for him not to get shots, but sad that he wasn't well enough for them. Now his blood count is back to good and he's back to getting his shots.

I'm starting to adjust to my new role as Nurse Mommy. Mason is still receiving Interferon 3x a week at home via shots by none other than Yours Truly. I have NEVER liked this new role and in the beginning I often questioned how crazy I thought the Doctors were for entrusting me to poke needles into my wiggly little 4 year olds body on a regular basis. But now that we've been doing it for over a month, I will say that I am starting to feel like a pro, and last night Mason even commented "WOW MOMMY! It didn't even hurt me AT ALL!" It's amazing to me what that kid is capable of! I feel bad that he even has to go through it all. He still goes to the Dr once a week for check ups and blood draws. It's all starting to become routine for everyone! And he doesn't even bat an eye when they stick the needle into his port to do his blood draws. In fact he often is asking if he can "Help" the nurse but his own blood in the tubes! Lol! He's going to grow up to be one strong kid when he gets through this! He often says he's going to be a Doctor and help other little kids get through what he's going! I say GO FOR IT MASON! He could be the best ever since he's been through it already!

We are trying HARD to bring back a little normal into our lives. We have taken the kids to the beach for an hour or so, and also spent a few different days at Disneyland. We also are frequent park goers, and I'm hoping to get him back to regular play dates with some of his buddies that he so desperately misses!

All in all Mason is a good little 4 year old. And still as typical of a little boy and 4 year old as they come. Right now I'm listening to him play a combo of Star Wars and Buzz Lightyear. So cute! I love the imagination in that kid!

Isn't she LOVELY?

I know EVERY mother thinks their baby is just the most beautiful, cutest, and adorable thing in the entire world. So ignore my gushing if you don't mind, but I jut LOVE these adorable, beautiful and cute pictures of my pretty little 1 year old that I took on her birthday!

And I hope you do too!

Now that she's walking AND 1 she's got to prove it by getting into trouble!

"Was I doing something wrong Ma-ma?"
Grandma Nancy got Charlotte this cute little birthday t-shirt! Thanks Grandma!

We spent our morning at home so I chased her around trying to capture every little moment!

My little angel girl!

Grandma Nancy had lunch with us at Claim Jumper.

The waitress heard it was Char-Char's birthday and brought out her very own cupcake to devour!

She's such a big girl now!

When Daddy came home from work, Charlee got to open her presents and play for a while!
The mailbox was a HIT!

But I wasn't so sure about my party hats!

Need I say more?

Every time I see this picture I just laugh! Oh the torture! (but so cute none the less!)

Happy Birthday, Baby Charlee!

Happy 1st Birthday Charlotte!

My little lady bug is turning 1 today!

I can hardly believe that she has gone from being this tiny and cuddly newborn to a walking and talking toddler in just 365 days!

Where does the time go?

We had her pictures taken over the weekend to document her 1st birthday!
I'm so glad we decided to end the portrait session with her 1st cake! It was really fun and she really got into it! You can view our sneak peaks here.
(We just LOVE Tiffany! She also took Mason's 2nd birthday pics!)

You never know how they will act when they are getting dirty! My Charly Bear LOVED it! She was too cute! She kept digging her hands into the cake, smooching it around and then stuffing her face, and every so often she would look up at me like "Mom? Is this REALLY okay with you!??" Then she would give this sly little smile and go back to stuffing her face with cake! Lol!

Charlotte is such an easy going girl.
She loves her blank-y, and any kind of baby dolls or stuffed animals.
She also LOVES to walk all around the house (and up the stairs as fast as she can until I can catch her!)

Her favorite words are "Na-no-no-no-no!" or "Bra-dur" (brother) or "Dawg! woof woof!" Her vocabulary is growing every day!


Happy Birthday Charlotte! We love you!

Charlotte is WALKING!

I knew this day would come sooner than later!

Charlotte has been talking 2-3 steps here and there for about two weeks, but today is the day where she has decided she's going to let go and do it all by herself! I was standing in the kitchen washing dishes and she crawls up to me, stands up and walks from one side of my kitchen to the other. Just like that! I laughed out loud, then quickly grabbed my camera!

We can now officially call her little Miss Independent!

Shane and I counted up to 28 steps this evening! The most she's ever done!




We're so in trouble (but loving every second of it!)

She needs some face time too!

My Charlotte is 11 months old! Can you believe it?

It seems like the first year of her life has practically FLOWN by!

Charlotte has to be the best little baby girl around. She's happy, she self entertains, and she just loves to be around her big brother.

Here are some cute pictures I have captured of her over the last few months. Poor kid has kind of taken a backseat to brother when it has come to the posts! So this one is dedicated to YOU Char!
It brings me so much joy to see how those two interact. Mason is a little bit "too loving" (if that is possible) at times though! At any given time of the day I usually turn around to see Mason planting a big wet kiss on her. lol! She just LOVES it! (most of the time!)

Charlotte spends most of her days pushing around this Winnie the Pooh car or pushing her baby doll stroller. This girl LOVES to try to walk! And she's determined to do it!

I expect she'll be walking pretty soon at the rate she's going! And if she's not at home pushing around these toys, she's holding onto Mommy or Daddy's fingers and cruising around!
What a cutie!

I just took this yesterday! She had been standing there for a VERY long time so I decided to get out my camera to capture it on film and as soon as she saw the camera she lunged at me and this is what I got! My most favorite thing about her is her little piggies she sports on top of her head!

It's so fun to have a baby girl with HAIR! I spend any free evening I can coming up with new hair accessories for her to fashion with every outfit. I'm actually pretty obsessed with making bows! And I love the challenge of a new outfit that DOES NOT match any of the bows she already has. Maybe when I get some free time I will have to turn my passion into a little business. The problem is free time is hard to come by lately! Some day! Some day!

New Life

She is so inspiring to me! As a mother. As an individual. And as one who is going through so much adversity.

I think about her a lot.

Even more as we are starting our "New Life" with Mason.

How can I teach him to be like her as he goes through life?

"I am Stephanie Nielson and I am not my body".

The link below is long, but well worth watching. Make sure you go to the very end. And don't forget your tissues!

My New Life

Happy 4th Birthday Mason!

Mason is 4!

Some of Mason's favorites at 4:

Favorite Color: GREEN (or Blue, Red, or Yellow.. But usually Green!)
Favorite Movies to watch: Peter Pan and Hook.
Favorite thing to do: Dress up in his Peter Pan costume or Knight Costume and sword fight
Favorite Meal: Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Broccoli and Pink Lemonade
If you ask him where he wants to go on any given day he will usually tell you DISNEYLAND!
Other note worthy things about Mason:
He can spell his name M-A-S-O-N!
He's SUPER social! He's known to steal any and all people's attention! WATCH OUT!
Harley (our dog) is his best friend!
He LOVES singing the "Good Night" song by the Black Eyed Peas!
(or most any other song mommy has let him listen to from them!)
He LOVES his baby sister more than anything!

He started it off his Pre-Birthday weekend with a fun lunch at Islands with family where he got his own dessert with a candle to blow out!

He was so excited to have his OWN ice cream treat! Ready to dig in!

We are planning a BIG "Peter Pan Pirate Birthday Party"

(as Mason rattles off to anyone who asks!)
in May but since that isn't for another 3 or 4 weeks,
we decided to take him to the Pirate Dinner Adventure
to get into the spirit of the part that is to come next month!

Mason really got into the show!
He enjoyed wearing a bandanna, an eye patch and carrying around a sword.

He also got picked to help fight the "Naughty Black Pirate Guy!" up on stage.
He really loved every part of the experiece, and Mommy & Daddy got LOTS of ideas for his and coming Pirate Birthday Party!

Even the baby got into character!

He really thought this skeleton Pirate was AWESOME!

And me hamming it up for Mason! ARGH!

I love you Mase! I hope your 4th birthday is the BEST!

Interferon - Week 1

I really wanted to keep track of what life was like each week during Mason's Interferon Infusions so when he got bigger we had something to look back on.

For 2 days leading up to Day 1 (April 5!) I was physically ill! Every time I thought about what my Mason was about to go through, it made me want to throw up! I was so so nervous for him, none the less we knew this was the right decision for him, no matter how hard that decision was!

(The start of Day 1! Still feeling like himself!)

The first day we went to CHOC, I felt like I was taking my sweet little lamb to the Lion's den. I tried to stay positive, but inside I was going through all sorts of ranges of emotion! The nurses at CHOC are so upbeat and before long we were all skipping along with them that day! They really go out of their way to make sure the child is comfortable, not scared and having the best and the funnest time they can possibly have even though they are going through something that really does stink! He fell asleep once they got started and slept until close to 5 pm. Shane and I were shocked! Then the side effects began. His head started hurting.. not just a little headache, but EXTREME pain, tears, crying. A Fever.. that just kept getting higher. And aches in his legs. I felt so bad for him. It was rough seeing a little guy go through all of that. Once we got him to bed, he did great and by morning most of the side effects were gone.

(Day 2! Sleeping the day away!)

Day 2 at the hospital was so super uneventful! Mason has slept through most of his Infusion. They give him Benadryl to help with some of the side effects and that pretty much knocks him out for about 3-4 hours each day! That night he had more headaches accompanied by shakes & chills immediately followed by a burning sweaty hot fever. Poor guy! We couldn't keep up with his poor little body going from one extreme to the other!

(Day 3! Can you see TURKEY written across his face?!!
He went in that day with a chip on his shoulder!)

Day 3. It was HORRIBLE! Mason started to realize that we were going to have to go to the hospital every day NO MATTER WHAT! And he decided this was the day he was going to assert himself! He had to show me, and 5 nurses that he needed some sort of CONTROL over what was going on with him and completely REFUSED to take any and all types of medicines to help him with the side effects. The funny thing is that he allowed the nurse to access is port with an inch in a half needle like it was no big deal. Didn't even blink while watching the needle go in... but to get him to take Tylenol, Motrin or Benadryl... FORGET IT! Even when me, and 5 nurses were holding him down, he still didn't do it! We finally gave in (after over an hour or more of pleading, bargaining and fighting) and just gave him some stuff via IV. It was a sticky, messy tiring day to say the least! lol! What a TURKEY! Needless to say he slept the rest of the day away after the fight he gave us at the hospital!

(Day 4. Are you starting to see the trend?)

Day 4. Are you starting to see a trend here? The kid has pretty much slept away every single day that he gets an Interferon Infusion. Common phrases out of his mouth are "Mommy! I'm tired!" or "I'm exhausted... I need a nap!" (wha??? .. That never NEVER happens!).

(Day 5. Playing PS2!)

Day 5. He started off playing PS2. He never plays video games at home, so this is usually the first thing he asks to do when he gets to the hospital. He's actually starting to get pretty good at the Dora game there! But that only lasted so long and after about 30 minutes he of course quickly fell asleep!

The hardest part for me about week 1 was the extreme leg pains he would get every morning. So bad that he actually was walking on his tip toes or crawling and collapsing after getting out of bed each morning. He did fine with the fevers and chills after the 2nd day. I think he's just starting to adjust.