They say it's your birthday!

Ok, technically it was Monday, but I haven't really been feeling up for much this week.

Here's a recap:

Sunday was a horrible night. Then Monday night got even worse...with kind of a big deal in between.

Monday morning around 10am my stem cells were transfused back to me. It was actually all very anticlimactic, and only lasted for about 30 minutes. I was completely exhausted and nauseated, but still managed to take my new "self" for a little stroll around the halls with Todd before going back to bed.

As Monday went on, my nausea got worse and worse. Nothing I put in my mouth ended up staying in and non of the anti-nausea medications seemed to be touching it. Monday night when they came to do vitals, they discovered a fever of 101.9, which set into action a flurry of blood work, chest x-ray, cultures, etc. and a phone call to the on-call physician.

After all that, Tuesday was a very slow day. I did nothing but sleep, or at least it felt that way. I've honestly never felt so just sleepy before! I am now on two different anti-biotics, an anti-fungal, anti-nausea, a scopolamine patch, and steroids, too. Along with another handful of pills...not wonder my stomach is so queasy! My temperature is back down to normal, and (knock on wood) today I've not needed my puke bucket at all. Not to say I don't still keep it close by, but these things take time.

It's been a week now of being in the hospital, which seems to have gone by fairly quickly, probably because I've been so miserable the whole time...and since today is only +2 (day zero is transplant day) I've got at least a good week left.

My counts this morning still show that I'm totally depleted of white blood cells, and the guess is that tomorrow I will probably require a red blood cell transfusion, which seems to be right on par with what is expected. Now is time to shower while I'm still unhooked from my IV pole and maybe take a little pre-dinner nap :)

Gotta pass the time in some way

My dad, uncle and cousin took a quick detour on their
motorcycle trip to visit me on Sunday morning

It's happening!

This is the stem cell guy. He basically brings them in and
thaws them. Big job, I know.

My new cells going in

My BFF never left my side

Todd and I during the transplant

So now I have two "birthdays". October 8th, 1979 AND June 11th, 2012!

Happy #5!

My nephew, Landon, turned 5 this month. We met up at the bowling alley and then headed to Nana's house for cake and presents. I think he had a great time, and so did Mason. They are such good buddies, it's fun to see them grow up together.

Waiting to see how many pins got knocked down

The crazy birthday boy

Mason waiting his turn to bowl

Daddy helping Mason

Present opening is always a group activity with these two

They move to fast, it's hard to get everything in focus!

Spiderman cupcakes...made by Nana, of course

Sarah, Landon and Cameron

Nana and Papa got Landon a huge box full of costumes and
dress up stuff. They had fun trying them all on.

Cowboy Woody

Party time

We have had such a busy weekend, and I am exhausted! Between Thanksgiving and Mason's birthday, then Mason's birthday party...phew!

Saturday was Mason's party, and he had such a great time. His party was a construction theme, complete with "hard" hat party hats. Todd and I got him a new "big boy" bed (a twin) and got rid of his crib/toddler bed. Then he was of course spoiled by family and friends at his party. He has so many new, fun toys to play with now, and to think Christmas is right around the corner!

It's so crazy to think that my baby is already three!

Another amazing cake from my mom

The birthday boy

New quilt from his aunt

Fire station

Landon helping Mason with a present

Pinata time!

Happy kid

New excavator toy

Showing us how old he is now

The Best of Intentions...really

I really do mean to update this blog more than I actually do. I really mean that. But, like with most things, it gets pushed aside. The problem with putting off posting things, is that by the time I get around to posting them, well, it isn't really current information anymore.

For instance, Todd and I went to the opening night of the Anchorage Symphony...OVER A MONTH AGO! I have been meaning to go on and on about how incredible it was. That it was probably the most enjoyable ASO event we've been to in a really long time. That the pianist was breathtakingly amazing. Oh, and of course, that Randy's hair was shiny and beautiful as always.

We also took a quick weekend trip up to the cabin, also about a month ago. It was mainly to get things cleaned up and ready for the winter. We don't heat the cabin, so we have to bring back anything in the refrigerator or cupboards that will freeze and/or explode. I also changed the sheets and made sure there was a good stack of wood inside that would be nice and dry for whoever heads up there first this winter. Mason had a good time, and enjoyed playing outside even though it was definitely a lot colder than it had been on previous visits. I'm hoping we'll make it up this winter, but it's hard with a little guy. It gets so cold someone almost has to go up the night before to get the fire going and get the cabin comfortable. We'll see.

Todd and I both celebrated birthdays. Todd on 9/30, me on 10/8. We kept it pretty low key, which was fine. Next up is Mason's birthday...I can't believe I'll have a 3 year old!

This weekend Todd and I are heading down to Homer for a few days. We both realized we haven't been anywhere together, without Mason, in a REALLY long time. It will be nice to just relax and reconnect.

I promise to post picture to catch you all up, as well.

Happy Birthday, Nana

Today is Nana's birthday! I am so incredibly lucky to have such an amazing mom, and I cannot imagine how my life would be different if we weren't just right down the road :) It's so special to me that my son has this close relationship with his Nana and Papa! You're the best, Mom!

Mason and his Nana on the train

Helping Nana eat her birthday cake

That place is still open?

Last weekend my little Bug turned 9! She had her birthday party at Dimond Skateland this year...much to my surprise, yes, it is still open. Even more to my surprise was that I strapped on some skates and didn't fall on my butt! It kind of came back to me, even after all these years. Even Mason put on some skates for a try.

Happy birthday, sweet Bug! Hope 9 is the best year yet!

Here we go!

Look at me! I skate, Daddy!

Having fun still

My little ladies man had to sit next to the birthday girl.
And, as you can see, with ALL the girls!

We don't let Mason have soda, but I'm not sure a slushie
is much better. At least there's no caffeine. Of course,
he wanted a green one. Everything has to be green lately.

Welcome to the World!

Our dear, dear friends (who also happen to be our neighbors) had their beautiful baby girl! We've been waiting for a playmate for Mason, and of course we're all sure they're going to be the best of friends. It will be fun to watch them grow up together. Two years apart is just like Mason and his cousin Landon are and it's been great. We went over the other night to meet the newest member of the Robinson family. Mason was curious about the baby, and wanted to hold her...but he had a few problems being as gentle as I wanted him to be. He also was not a fan of his mama holding the baby for too long. He kept telling me to put her down and then he'd crawl up in my lap. It was actually pretty cute.

Here she is...my future daughter-in-law! Atalaya, born December 30, 2010, she weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces. Congratulations again, Tim and Cheska! Welcome to the wonderful, wacky, insane world that is parenthood. Glad we have someone to share this awesome journey with.

"Want this. Want this."

"What baby doing? Kiss it"

Four

My nephew Landon is now four years old! Happy Birthday, Buddy!

We had a fun time neon bowling and then went to Nana and Papa's house for cake & ice cream...and of course presents! It was a fun time and I know we were glad to be able to share it with him.

Birthday Day!

Mason's birthday was so fun. All day on Thanksgiving (his actual birthday), he went around telling everyone that it was "Birthday Day!" and I'm pretty sure he thought Thanksgiving dinner was all for him. My mom made him his own mini pie that we put 2 candles in after dinner, which he completely devoured. Then on Saturday we had his birthday party. As I've said before, birthdays are a big deal in my family, and I love it. We invited family and a few friends to the house and Mason had a blast...he can be a little quiet at first, but once he decides to turn it on, look out...he is a little ham! It should be no surprise to anyone that knows Mason that he had a "choo choo" party. Thomas the train was everywhere and Mason was in heaven! What a fun day. For two or three days after he kept asking for his friends to come over and have more choo choo party. He is definitely ready for gift opening at Christmas! What a difference a year makes!

Here's a few pics from his big day. Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures of him opening his presents (I was a little busy during this time). Luckily I know my mom and aunt have lots of pics, so I'll just steal theirs eventually.

 My mom makes the most amazing cakes! This one had a tracks in a giant "2"

complete with new Thomas characters. Mason was thrilled with his cake, and 

kept talking about the tunnel and loved pointing out and naming all the
characters. Mom even made train candies that went around the sides of the cake. 

Mason showing everyone how old he is now!

Getting ready to blow out that candle and dive into that yummy cake.

Frosting face. Always a good sign the cake was a hit!

Terrific Two!

Ok, I know, it's normally the "terrible twos", which some days is definitely more accurate, but today I feel like celebrating all that is terrific about Mason being two. He is such an amazing little boy, and every day I feel so incredibly lucky and blessed to have him in my life. He is going to be quite a character as he gets older, I can already tell he has such a personality and fun sense of humor. I'm eternally thankful that he is (generally) healthy, and hope to never take this for granted. He is kind and sweet, but definitely all boy!

It's crazy to think that it has already been two years. Time really does fly by (although, to be honest, there are days now and then that one day can feel like two years). It seems so cliche, but it is so true! Everyone told be how fast it would go, but now I really know for myself. It honestly feels like yesterday that I was pregnant and counting down the days until my c-section, when I would finally meet Mason. What an awesome day. I thought my heart would burst I loved him so much, and that feeling has only grown since then. (Click on the links to see me super preggo and also pics of Mason's grand entrance)

Happy 2nd Birthday, Mason! I am so amazed and awed by you every day, and I am so thankful that you were brought into my life. If you were the only thing I had to call my own, I would be, by far, the richest person in the world!

 In the car he is now very aware of everyone having their seat belt on. And now, as you can see, his friends have to wear their seat belt as well.

Dr. McCutie here, getting ready to listen to his thump thump. Having asthma has to have some perks, right? Lucky for us he still thinks the stethoscope is cool.

Different Strokes

Let me start with my apologies to anyone in my husband's family who may actually read my blog. Not sure if anyone does, but just in case, this is not meant to offend. Maybe, actually, someone could leave a comment explaining this strange phenomenon to me.

That being said, I do not understand the birthday situation in my husband's family. I grew up in a family where birthdays were (and still are) a BIG deal. It's your one day a year that is YOUR DAY. As a kid, I loved when my birthday was coming around. My mom has always made the most fantastic birthday cakes, and I would spend hours looking through her cake decorating books deciding what kind of cake I wanted that year. Between my brother and I we have had flowers, cars, wrestlers, teddy bears, dinosaurs, barbies, skulls, penguins, etc. She still makes cakes for us, and now for her grandchildren. They are seriously amazing. We also got to pick what we wanted for dinner on our actual birthday (either something our mom made or a restaurant).

Along with the cakes, we always had a birthday party. Actually, a lot of years we had two (a family one and a friend one). They weren't always huge, expensive events, but they were our party, on our day, and were what we decided. What kid wouldn't love this...a party with your friends, family, your favorite dinner and, of course, a super yummy cake.

I'm sure you're guessing by now that this is not the experience I'm having with Todd's family. Like, not at all. Every year, when birthdays come around for the younger members of his family, I wait for a party invite...and they never come. This leaves me thinking "WTF?" as well as feeling bad for them for what they're missing out on.

I understand that it is unusual that even now as I have entered my 30s that my mom still makes such a big deal over my birthday, but it is totally weird to me that the CHILDREN on his side don't get their one day. I'm trying to be good about not saying that it's "weird" and remember that it's just "different".

So where does this leave us with Mason? He will be having birthday parties...of course, right now he's not even 2 so he doesn't really have any friends, but trust me, he will have the childhood birthday party memories that I have. And he'll probably make his cousins jealous. As my mom told me, sometimes, when you're a parent, you end up doing things that you never thought you would do, not because you want to, but because it's what your child wants, and what will make him happy.

Happy B-day, Bug!

We also spent some time last weekend at our favorite little girl's birthday party. I can't believe my little Bug is already 8! Mason had a blast at her H2Oasis party!!!

Slacker!

Sorry I've been so late posting pictures...maybe my New Year's resolution should be to update this darn blog! We're leaving for Hawaii tonight (wish us luck on the flights with Mason). I'm sure we'll have lots of cutie pics and stories to share when we get home. Until then...here's a peek at our wonderful Thanksgiving and Mason's 1st birthday.

         Mason's 1st taste of cake...yummy!

Thanksgiving dinner is pretty messy

First taste of deviled eggs...so good!

Counting sheep and catching up

Oh my goodness...where has the time gone? I cannot believe it's almost Halloween. Sorry that I'm such a bad blogger lately...life is just, well, busy!

Where should I start? Todd and I managed to find one weekend to get the boat out. We dropped off Mason and headed down to Whittier. Typical weather (awful) but we still managed to have a pretty good time. Hopefully next summer we will get the boat out more and I will feel like it was a good investment.
Typical rain and fog in Whittier.
Even in the rain, it's still so beautiful.
Me...wet and cold and trying to still smile.

Todd and I also had our first long trip away from Mason. Until this point, one night was the longest I'd ever been away from him. I had a seminar in Portland for work, so Todd tagged along for a long weekend. Since we were there for Todd's birthday, I got us tickets to the Jason Mraz concert too. The weather was fantastic and we got in a lot of shopping...including OUTLET SHOPPING!! Todd was able to meet my Uncle & Aunt and 2 cousins that live in Vancouver, WA finally. It was so great to see them...it's been way too long! It was wonderful to get back to Stump Town, and sleep without having to have that extra ear open for baby noises...but I missed Mason like CRAZY and was so glad to see him when we got back. Five nights was a long time for this mommy to be away from her baby.

My uncle let us borrow the "clown car". It was so wonderful being able to have the freedom of a car.
At the concert.
Ahhh, this must be what heaven is like.

I know there has been more going on than just that, but that's the problem with being a bad blogger...if you don't write about the super exciting things when they happen, well, months later they don't seem to be so exciting (or you just plain forget them)

Oh ya, there is one more thing that happened. I turned 30. I have been freaking out about 30 since I turned 23 or so. Now that it's here, it really didn't bother me. Todd invited a bunch of friends and family over for a "surprise" party...that's in quotations because it wasn't really a surprise (oops). It was a great time and my parents did actually surprise both of us by stealing Mason for the night so Todd and I could relax and stay up "partying" with our friends. In truth we did manage to head out to an actual bar...but had 2 drinks and came home to get some sleep. Actually, the best part was the next morning when I got to sleep in!
Mason helping me blow out my candles.


There is so much changing and happening every day with Mason that I will have to save all that for another post. Which I promise won't take as long as this one did to do. I also have lots of new pictures of the little monkey to share!