Suggestions?

Odette is coming up on one year of being cancer free. I really like the idea of doing something each year for the kids/family/hospital. Not exactly sure what. If any of you have some suggestions, please share! Thank you!!

Another Month

I can hardly believe that another month has gone by. Odette went in for her monthly check-up this week. It was pretty routine.

• We went in for the blood draw and this time, Odette told the phlebotomist, "Don't poke me!" as she put out her arm. This time she didn't say ouch, she just intently watched the needle, even though Mickey Mouse was on. When she jumped down from the chair, there was one big crocodile tear rolling down her cheek. However, she went straight for the prize box and this time picked a princess sticker and ball. Then, as is normal, she waved and said "Goodbye, see you later."
• Then in for the regular appointment. She came walking into the oncology office waving, saying "Hi" to everyone and blowing kisses, melting everyone's heart. She didn't want to get weighed and they bribed her with a sunflower bear. That did the trick.
• She got her treat and drank ALL the apple juice! (That is a first.)
  
• Her counts came back looking wonderful!
  
• The doctor said she needs to go and see the Endocrinologist because she just isn't growing and following the growth curve at all. (Her weight was 10.4 kg, which wasn't up by much.) There is a long waiting list and the first appointment they had was in August! They will be checking to see the age of her bones and checking hormone levels in her body.
• Odette gave her final hugs and blew kisses to her nurse friends while mom made her next month appointment and we were done. Until next month...

On the way home, she fell asleep and I couldn't help but think how absolutely wonderful and beautiful she is. I love my little angel Odette.

When there is silence in the house, I worry.
When clearing the dinner table off, Odette "disappeared".
The bowl she was clearing, the nacho cheese...

...was pretty empty when she was discovered.

How can she not gain weight eating stuff like that?!
Guess we will see on Tuesday what happened this last month with her weight.
Hopefully up it went!

Purple Tulips

I absolutely LOVE tulips.
Last fall, I decided I wanted to plant some purple tulips.
Why purple one may ask?
Because purple is a cancer survivor color.
(I know it also means a lot of other stuff.)
So I planted 100 tulip bulbs with the help of my awesome sister.
I had forgotten about this until spring and so many were coming up.
I could hardly wait for them to bloom.
They look beautiful!
However, I don't think that 100 is as magnificent as I thought it would be.
So, you know what I will be looking for this fall...
And this year, my cancer survivor will be helping to plant them!

And yes, I know my pictures are always sideways. On my computer picture program they aren't, so I guess you still get to turn your head sideways to view the pictures. :)

Grateful...

...for a very
HAPPY
HEALTHY
"TERRIBLE TWO"
LITTLE GIRL
NAMED ODETTE!
(Not to mention washable markers!)

You know you're craving chinese...

Join I Want a Bad Hair Day on Saturday April 30th at Panda Express in American Fork anytime between 11 am and 8 pm and support childhood cancer fighters. Print this flier out, and share extras with your neighbor, and bring it in to have 20% of your order donated to I Want a Bad Hair Day. Wear your Bad Hair Day t-shirt and get 10% off of your purchase! (You can buy a t-shirt there if you don't have one.) There will also be Kung Fu Panda there during the dinner hours. Come and get your picture taken! Thank you to Panda Express!

Worth Dancing for!

Took Odette in for her regular checkup.
Very brave as always and just said "owie" when getting blood.
Got some way cool prizes for bravery and cuteness.
Saw all of her awesome friends.
Ate her favorite chips - Cheetos.
Got her very own water bottle.
Had the cutest hair until "I not want piggies" occurred. I love the wild look!
Grew the teeniest bit taller.
Gained .2 kg.
Is still Cancer free!
Now that is all worth dancing for!

The song she is dancing to is What I am.
The most perfect song for Odette and me today from one of the most perfect friends I know!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyVzjoj96vs&feature=player_embedded

Odette's Wish

Many of you know that when kids are faced with a life threatening illness, they are allowed to participate in a make-a-wish program. Well, Odette was not ever old enough while in treatment to be able to participate. So, I decided to do my own wish for her and the other kids. Luckily for me, my brother moved to California last summer so we were able to have a place to stay.
For our wish, we went to California because sunshine always does the body good! (Sorry the pictures are all in reverse order of what we did and the one above is from the cheese factory that we stopped and ate ice cream on the way home.)

THE BEACH
We went three different times. It was so warm and nice. Odette was hard to keep out of the water. I thought she would be a little scared, but would keep running straight for the water. Forget building a sandcastle for her!

The bigger kids, along with Uncle Ty went in to brave the deeper water. They made it out so that Brandt was getting covered and they all loved it. The kids are not like their mother when it comes to water. I prefer the sand.

SEA WORLD
It was the perfect day for going to Sea World. Nice a sunny...I think this was the day it was snowing back home.
Hanging out on the cool Shamu Volkswagen.

The little kids enjoyed all the rides in Elmo Land while I took the older ones to ride Atlantis. Now that, was one way cool ride!

Odette at the Shamu show. She loved yelling Shamu with the audience and waving her hands like the tail of the whale.

Our favorite show was the dolphins. We sat in the splash zone, because that is cool when you are a kid and guess what? We got wet! Not just a little bit either! Of all the places the whale splashed, it was right in front of us!

MORMON BATTALION
Went to the newly renovated Mormon Battalion visitors center. It was very cool. The show they put on was very neat. Josselyn made a friend with the tour guide. We enjoyed panning for gold, "driving" in a wagon and checking out the canons. Brandt even got to be part of the show and dress up in what the men wore.

KIDS EXPLORATION MUSEUM
The kids enjoyed this day. We went to a museum that was all toys for the kids to learn and explore with. There was bubble things, one even that you could pull and you would be inside of the bubble! Building with all sorts of stuff. Lots of pretend play where the kids did puppet shows, played school and opened a fruit stand. There was even a room that you could paint on the walls! Josselyn loved this room.

MORE BEACH
Ok, so I might not like water, but some of my favorite pictures are on the beach. Kathleen spent most of her time collecting shells. She got some really cool ones. Josselyn thought that she had a shell and it ended up being a clam!

M&M WORLD
On the drive down, we stop in Las Vegas at the M&M factory. It was four floors of chocolate yumminess! There was even a 3D movie to watch there. The kids each picked out a color of candies. No matter the color, they were all tasty!

To many people, this might just be another vacation, however to me it was so much more. It was wonderful to see Odette doing things that just last year at this time she wasn't able to do and might not have ever been able to do. I absolutely adore and love my children and can't wait to go on another adventure with them!