First of all:
Ramona was approved by MAW on June 7th. We got the acceptance phone call from the wish coordinator, then got a brochure and welcome letter the next day
They used a Toy Story stamp on her letter...and during the initial interview on the phone I said Ramona's fave movie was TS. Love their attention to detail already! 
We want to go mid-November, for a little Christmas magic without the crowds. I poured over EasyWDW to pick the perfect dates, which hopefully, we will get!
We are expecting our first contact from the granters ANY DAY now. From another family, I learned here in Oregon it's usually about 4 weeks from acceptance to getting the first call from the granters. We are almost to 4 weeks and my anticipation and excitement builds every day!
Now to meet the family:
I'm Caitlin, 26 years old, SAHM, wife, book lover, English major, Harry Potter fan, gardener, crazy chicken lady. We have 5 backyard chickens and I adore them. They are just 8 weeks old, so no eggs yet, but plenty of entertainment!
Next is Daddy. Jeremy is 27, works hard, loves the garden and the chickens, avid reader and LOTR and HP nerd. He is Ramona's step-dad but you wouldn't know it, because he loves her more than anything, and was 100% ready to take on the challenges of parenting a child with special needs. He's been her dad for 5 years. Bio dad is not in the picture at all.
Ramona-WISH KID! Ramona is almost 8. She is spunky, mostly happy
, goofy and super excitable. She loves building towers with blocks, slapstick humor, Mickey Mouse, Toy Story, pirates 
, parks, pizza, helping cook, cuddling and taking naps. 
Ramona has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome aka 4p-, a rare chromosomal deletion affecting between 1:50,000 to 1:100,00 kiddos. It has a high mortality rate in the first two years, after which it drops dramatically, but major health problems remain for life. Ramona's biggest issues are frequent seizures, central diabetes insipidus and subsequent electrolyte imbalances (scary 
), recurring upper respiratory infections and kidney disease. She is developmentally delayed, and for an age reference, she has many skills at around the typical 3-year-old level. She is beautiful and tiny, as these kids are always short statured and have a heckuva time putting on the pounds! She's 35 pounds currently! She can walk and talk, which is a major feat for a child with WHS-I never expected it! And she eats 100% by mouth and has for the past 5years. 
Ezra, my 18-month-old. We waited to have a second, because of Ramona's health. We wanted things to "get easier". Well, they didn't. And they never will, really. They actually get harder in many ways! A change in perspective and expectations helped us reevaluate and we decided the time was right, and the end result of all this planning is the most adorable and hilarious kid ever!
He is super active, into everything, talks constantly and follows Ramona everywhere like a little puppy. She gets sick of him pretty often 
but overall they are so sweet together and I know he is going to be a very special boy growing up with Ramona as his sissy.
Pictures to wrap up this post, and more on "why Disney?" later
Oops, need to post a few more times before I can add links to pics. I will do that here.
Ramona was approved by MAW on June 7th. We got the acceptance phone call from the wish coordinator, then got a brochure and welcome letter the next day
They used a Toy Story stamp on her letter...and during the initial interview on the phone I said Ramona's fave movie was TS. Love their attention to detail already! We want to go mid-November, for a little Christmas magic without the crowds. I poured over EasyWDW to pick the perfect dates, which hopefully, we will get!We are expecting our first contact from the granters ANY DAY now. From another family, I learned here in Oregon it's usually about 4 weeks from acceptance to getting the first call from the granters. We are almost to 4 weeks and my anticipation and excitement builds every day!
Now to meet the family:
I'm Caitlin, 26 years old, SAHM, wife, book lover, English major, Harry Potter fan, gardener, crazy chicken lady. We have 5 backyard chickens and I adore them. They are just 8 weeks old, so no eggs yet, but plenty of entertainment!
Next is Daddy. Jeremy is 27, works hard, loves the garden and the chickens, avid reader and LOTR and HP nerd. He is Ramona's step-dad but you wouldn't know it, because he loves her more than anything, and was 100% ready to take on the challenges of parenting a child with special needs. He's been her dad for 5 years. Bio dad is not in the picture at all.
Ramona-WISH KID! Ramona is almost 8. She is spunky, mostly happy
, goofy and super excitable. She loves building towers with blocks, slapstick humor, Mickey Mouse, Toy Story, pirates , parks, pizza, helping cook, cuddling and taking naps. Ramona has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome aka 4p-, a rare chromosomal deletion affecting between 1:50,000 to 1:100,00 kiddos. It has a high mortality rate in the first two years, after which it drops dramatically, but major health problems remain for life. Ramona's biggest issues are frequent seizures, central diabetes insipidus and subsequent electrolyte imbalances (scary ), recurring upper respiratory infections and kidney disease. She is developmentally delayed, and for an age reference, she has many skills at around the typical 3-year-old level. She is beautiful and tiny, as these kids are always short statured and have a heckuva time putting on the pounds! She's 35 pounds currently! She can walk and talk, which is a major feat for a child with WHS-I never expected it! And she eats 100% by mouth and has for the past 5years. Ezra, my 18-month-old. We waited to have a second, because of Ramona's health. We wanted things to "get easier". Well, they didn't. And they never will, really. They actually get harder in many ways! A change in perspective and expectations helped us reevaluate and we decided the time was right, and the end result of all this planning is the most adorable and hilarious kid ever!
He is super active, into everything, talks constantly and follows Ramona everywhere like a little puppy. She gets sick of him pretty often but overall they are so sweet together and I know he is going to be a very special boy growing up with Ramona as his sissy.Pictures to wrap up this post, and more on "why Disney?" later
Oops, need to post a few more times before I can add links to pics. I will do that here.
I am so glad to have found this board. I'm a planner, and once I knew Ramona wanted to go to WDW, I hopped online to start the fun stuff: research! This board, full of awesome people and parents and amazing kids, has taught me a TON about WDW and the MAW process. I know it will make our trip sooo much smoother and more fun having all the pro tips. So thank you! I haven't learned everything (of course!) yet, so be forewarned I will have lots of questions as we get further along!
I actually didn't get pics because Ramona was being super shy and messing around on my phone (my only cam!) almost the whole time they were here. I knew I would have to assist with details and the favorites page, because she doesn't understand many of those types of questions, but when they asked her her wish, she did blurt out DISNEYWORLD! and did a little jump. 
Knowing what she always wants to WATCH and play with though, we picked Woody as her fave character and just told them anything Toy Story-centric would be perfect for a wish extra. Any ideas? I will post on the sticky MAW thread, too. 
We requested Nov 11-17 first choice, and the week after second choice. From my reading, Christmas decorations will be up, crowds are down, weather is good, about like July in Oregon 
