just for fun!
Here's a sweet picture of Jorge and the gals after a long day! We all went to a birthday party and came home totally exhausted! Jada is growing bigger each day. She's about 10 pounds and a totally solid little girl. Joli is super helpful as a big sister. As you can see in the pics, Joli's hair is growing back so fast! We can wait to start putting her hair back in "puffs" again!

IT'S JADA'S TURN!
Here are some great pictures of Jada! The girls are both doing great, and we're eagerly waiting for Cousin Lillian, Aunt Marie and Uncle Andy to arrive!

Happy 1 Month, Jada!
Jada is now 9 lbs, 10.5 ounces, and 21.5 inches long! Hurray!

Jada has been doing awesome! She alternates between days that she really sleeps and days where she's completely awake! She's now smiling and holding her head up quite steady. She also makes this adorable "hoot owl" face (which I've been trying to get on camera for you!) that makes us laugh. She LOVES riding in her car seat and in the Baby Bjorn - Joli calls Jorge a "kangaroo" when he wears it. Joli is also a great helper with Jada, and she calls Jada her "little fella!"
Jada is getting super spoiled because she loves being held. You think she's completely asleep... until you try to put her down. Then, miraculously, she's awake and ready to play!

RESCHEDULED
Well, thanks to good old traffic (and a stand-still HOV lane), we didn't make it to our MRI. When we got there, they also said that Joli seemed too congested due to allergies (we think it's allergies because she's had a cough/runny nose for about 4 weeks now) to go under anesthesia. So, we've rescheduled. At least we got a good breakfast out of our early, early morning trip!

MRI tomorrow!
Yup, yet another MRI tomorrow. We'll let you all know how it goes.
Happy Belated birthday to Aunt Jenny!! We can't wait to see you!

34 months!
That's right! Joli is 34 months old -- I can't believe she's almost 3 years old! Here's also a great picture of Jada, too! Notice the awesomely growing curly hair on Joli! It's growing back really fast!

happy mothers day!

some lost pictures
I found these cute pictures on Lolo's camera...

We're doing well, although cooped up in this rain. Jada has now turned the corner from sleeping all the time and is now awake more (read: we are sleeping less, too). Joli is doing awesome and is still so helpful! We can't wait for Jon, Jenny and Mia to arrive in a few weeks! We're also looking forward to our visit from Aunt Marie, Uncle Andy and cousin Lillian, too!

A DAY AT THE PARK
Wow... two posts in a row (oohh.. ahhh....). Today was perfect weather, so we went to the park. Here are some great pics of Joli, and a rare photo of Jada smiling (but still asleep).

The ultimate back seat driver...



Jada loves the nice weather

Great Jada News!
Sorry we've been out of the loop lately, everyone! We've had our hands full! Thanks for all the messages on our voicemail and all the nice emails, cards and gifts. We'll try to get to everyone as soon as we can! Right now, we're just trying to catch up on sleep (yeah, right), laundry, doctors appointments, and work!

We've had a really busy week! Just after Jada was born, we had 2 pediatrician visits for both girls (Joli has a major cold and Jada went for her 1-week follow up), a bridal shower for Kirsten, then a clinic visit to have Joli's port flushed in Boston, and then the big Jada visit to the retina specialist in Boston. Here's a GREAT picture of Jada with Lolo, complete with "red eyes" which is EXACTLY what we want to see! The doctor did not find any signs of retinoblastoma in Jada today, and we'll return for (get this...) exams every 3 months until Jada is 2 1/2 years old. The next visit will be under anesthesia.... So, yes, we'll be at the doctor's offices every single month between the two girls (MRIs, port flushes, pediatrician, exams under anesthesia, etc). Who said this was a summer "vacation??"

Joli is doing awesome with Jada! She's a great big sister and constantly wants to be near her. She spent the day today, though, with Tita Grace and Lola in Boston. That picture is of Joli holding a crab (aka.. dinner...) they bought!

Okay, hopefully we'll be better with updates... once we get some sleep.... :)

Doing great!
We've been doing well these past few days. Jada basically sleeps... all the time. So, we're counting our blessings knowing that it could change any day! She goes about 3-4 hours without waking up, then nurses, then sleeps for another 3-4 hours. Joli is a huge help - she helps us change diapers, comforts Jada when she cries (which is rarely happening), and holds her when I need to get something. Awesome big sister! Jorge goes back to work on Monday, so I may be singing a different tune next week, but so far so GREAT!

Jada already went to the pediatrician, and she now weighs 7 lbs 10 oz.. still big and healthy! Joli got to sit up on the table with her, and she was such a pro! After the visit, Jorge and Joli spent a nice afternoon at the movies and saw "The Wild."

Next week, Jada has an exam with Joli's retina specialist at Mass Eye and Ear. Joli also has an MRI coming up at the end of May, too, so we'll keep you posted on those medical things. But, it IS nice to be focusing on the fun we're having with Joli and Jada rather than all the hospital visits and doctors appointments!

3 days; 33 months
Here are the girls at 3 days old (exactly at 1:06pm on Tuesday) and 33 months (Joli was 33 months on April 17th).

Doing well, despite doing 2 hours shifts all night... Joli is at the park with Jorge. Jada, Lola and I are going to find a reclining chair. Yup, nothing like going shopping when you are 3 days old!

The Talusan-Vega sisters meet!
I'm gonna take this quiet opportunity to blog real quick! We're finally home - Jorge is out buying "feminine supplies" (what a good man!), Jada is sleeping, Joli is watching 'Annie', Gordon is trying to get some lovin' time and is snoring at my feet, and I'm sooo happy to be home! Jada is doing great and already nursing well. Joli LOVES Jada! Here are some pictures while still in the hospital of them meeting. Labor, as Jorge wrote earlier, was fast and good! Jorge's trying to get our new blog up and running, but for now we'll use this one for the two girls. Enjoy! Thanks for all your nice comments and for checking up on us!

INTRODUCING JADA!

Jada Grace Talusan Vega, or "Baby Sister" as Joli calls her, was born yesterday afternoon at 1:06PM. 8lbs and 7 ounces! That's a BIG baby.

Liza was AMAZING-- pushing for only 26 minutes because she refused to let up. With every contraction she grabbed me and the nurse and said "Let's go!"

More details later cause we all know what we're here for... the pics!

2 cm and counting...
I'm going to hog the blog today - went to my OB and he said I'm 2 cm. I couldn't feel baby sister moving today - even after I had eaten both breakfast and lunch, so I was sent in for a Non Stress Test (NST). She was, in fact, moving, and I'm having some strong (but irregular) contractions. They sent me home and the OB who was at the hospital thinks it's gonna happen in the next few days (let's not get our hopes up, though). I've taken a new Zen-like approach of "it'll happen when it'll happen" rather than "it's gonna happen any day now!" I'm feeling HUGE, swollen, tired, and heavy.... when they took my blood pressure, I felt like my arm was going to explode from all the water retention I have in my hands!

Will keep you posted!

MARATHON DAY!
Okay, we admit.. we watched much of the marathon from our couch.. in our pajamas... while Joli's runner (and 22,000 others) were making their way through the first half of the course. We did finally head into Newton and actually saw Nirali on the course! Congratulations, Nirali! Team Mass General was awesome and we had such a great time!

Happy Easter and Boston Marathon Fun!
Happy Easter everyone! Joli had a fun and busy day! First of all, we let her pick out her Easter outfit, which consisted of a fuschia Polo dress, ONE lime green sock, ONE faded pink sock, a purple hooded sweater, and purple/pink sneakers. She was adorable!

We also went to the Boston Marathon Mass General Hospital pasta dinner where we met the runner who was running in honor of Joli. She is so great and running the marathon for the first time! I'm feeling some irregular contractions, so Jorge and Joli will be the ones at Mile 20 to cheer her on with our huge signs! Way to go, Nirali! The pasta dinner was awesome because there was a huge awards ceremony where each cancer patient was given a personalized gold medal. More after the race tomorrow!

GOOD EYE EXAM
After being in the hospital for hours, hours, hours, and hours, (we left at 8:30am and just got home around 4:45pm) we are finally home. Joli's eye exam went well. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to get her bone marrow and spinal tap because of the delay in one of the doctor's schedules (which means we need to go back.. again.. and do it), but her eye exam showed no tumors in her socket nor her good eye. Hurray! We'll do the spinal and bone marrow as soon as we can schedule it (oh, joy) and she returns back to Mass Eye and Ear in July (3 months).

Baby Sister.. still snug, although this was the milestone we were trying to get through before delivery. Thanks for checking on us!

PARTY TIME!
Joli went to her friends Leo and Lucky's birthday party this weekend and had a great time! Deirdre and Chase held it at TotGym, which is this great padded fun gym place where all the kids could run around and climb like crazy! Soooo much fun! Thanks for inviting us!

STILL PREGNANT....
Thanks for checking in, everyone, but yes, Baby Sis is still snug as a bug.

Joli had her hearing test today at Mass Eye and Ear. She did experience some hearing loss in her right ear in the highest frequency range. The doctors told us to expect slight hearing loss due to the carboplatin, so we weren't surprised. The good news is that, once she's off carboplatin (which, her last dose was in February) there isn't any residual once it's done. She'll pass any school hearing test, etc., and the MEEI really is a refined, highly detailed test. The actual make-up of Joli's ears are fine (they took pictures of her inner ear!), so the hearing loss is due to the chemo rather than to anything structural.

She did so well during the test, and I'm constantly amazed at how much she's grown and matured over the past 9 months. When I took her for her baseline in September, she was kind of shy, didn't want to do the tests, anxious, etc. Of course, after all that she's been through, this hearing test was nothing. She introduced herself to EVERY person she met, even ordered her own food at the hospital cafeteria, and was talking to people in the elevator. She's also so patient (no pun intended). We waited in the hospital for over 45 minutes, and not once did I have to say anything to her about behavior. She just sat quietly. People are pretty shocked when I tell them she's only 2!

A very strange Bunny Day
The Easter Bunny came a little bit early this year... while playing outside today (which, for the record, it was warmer here today than it was in Los Angeles!), Jorge and Joli discovered a little nest of baby bunnies underneath Joli's slide. Joli actually heard the little bunnies squeaking when she was on the slide, and she made Jorge go check it out. Unfortunately, Gordon (our dog) also decided to check it out, but Jorge caught him just in time. They discovered about 6 baby bunnies in a little nest. To keep Gordon out, Joli and Jorge constructed a wacky (yet functional) cage out of scrap from our neighbor's yard. Very cute!

While the bunnies may be multiplying, Baby Sister is still sitting tight! That's alright with me because Joli has 3 doctors appointments coming up in the next 2 weeks -- 1 of which she needs to go under anesthesia again. She has a pediatrician visit next week (since we started chemo, her oncologist was considered her "primary care" until we were done), a hearing test at Mass Eye and Ear, and then a bone marrow/spinal tap/anesthesia visit the following week. Hopefully Baby Sis will stay put until Joli's done with those procedures because I'd hate to miss all of that.

Later!

Having Fun with Daddy
Jorge has been on school vacation and hanging out with JoliJo. They ventured out to the New England Aquarium the other day and had an awesome time! Joli's been there before, but he said this was absolutely the most fun they've had because Joli is just so much more interactive! Hurray! ( he also said she was the best behaved kid in the E-N-T-I-R-E place... unbiased opinion, of course).

We're on to week 36 now... and feeling lots and lots of mega Braxton-Hicks contractions. Ouuuch.

Joli loves baby sister....who is still in my belly
I'm measuring 35 weeks now... Joli was born at 35 weeks, 4 days; so we'll see when Baby Sis will arrive! Note the Big Girl underwear on Joli!

32 months old!
Joli is having tons of fun with Grammy here! Grammy has completely transformed our house into something that looks organized! Wow! That was a huge job! Also, here's the general announcement -- please, no more toys. We can't hold anymore toys, and we actually started giving lots of them away. No more toys. Toys have taken over our house.... oh, and so have books. Too many. No room.... wanna get her something? How about a little gift for her savings account..!

Grammy has also gotten all the stuff ready for Baby Sister. She's cleaned the bassinette, pack and play, toys, clothes, etc. We're ready for you Baby Sis!

Joli is also well on her way to potty learning. She pretty much stays dry and uses the potty at least 3-4x a day! Hurray! Our goal was to only have 1 child in diapers at a time!

Enjoy!

Clinic visit
Joli went to the clinic today to see Dr. Grabowski, and she did great! They were pretty amazed at how much she's grown (matured) since they last saw her - which, was only 5 weeks ago, by the way. She was super social and seemed to really have fun there. It was also nice to NOT have to check into the hospital after clinic!

Joli and I battled the horrible stomach bug that was going around. Urgh. That stunk... on many levels. Thank GOD Grammy Vega was (is) here to help -- THANKS GRAMMY! She's been awesome...!!! And, Joli is having tons of fun with her!

Somehow, I think we all convinced ourselves (foolishly) that we were "done" with doctor's appointments, and today was a big old wake up call. Joli has been scheduled to go under anesthesia for an MRI, bone marrow, and spinal tap in 3 weeks. Then, a hearing test 2 weeks later (to see if the carboplatin has affected her hearing). Then, shortly after that, she'll be in to have another eye exam under anesthesia (EUA). We'll probably bring Joli about 2 weeks after Baby Sister is born, because Baby Sister is going to follow a similar check-up schedule (oh.. joy). Her port-a-cath won't come out until September -- in the unlikely event that any further treatment needs to occur. We're going to start up our nurses visits at home again to have her port flushed every 4 weeks. We had the option to drive into Boston, but I told them that would be hard either being super pregnant and/or with a newborn. So, we've arranged to have Nurse Pat (yeah!) come again to see Joli.

Alrighty... more pictures tomorrow when she turns 32 months old!

BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE ASKED...
Okay, here are the pictures of me at 33 1/2 weeks pregnant. Whew.... Just 1 1/2 weeks shy of Joli's gestation period. But, the doctors keep checking me, and so far, I'm still a while away from delivering. But, we're getting ready in case Baby Sister does decide to make a guest appearance early. We're ready for her!

Joli heads back to the clinic this week to have some tests done and to have her port flushed. Gramma Vega is arriving tomorrow to play with her (and staying for a week) so we'll have lots of pictures to post after a week or so.

quick pics
Hi, everyone! I'm writing this as "Baby Sister" is truly kicking me in the butt. We'll just leave it at that reference and say, "I'm really eager to deliver and get this all done with." Ouch. I'm incredibly uncomfortable at this point.

Physically, Joli's doing great. She and Tita Grace spent an entire day at IKEA in the playroom (which, I didn't realize they had, until Grace said, "Oh, they don't. We just played in the children's furniture section -- for 3 hours." Hmm... Free. Creative. That's usually what we expect when Grace babysits. We actually went back to the Childrens Museum for the first time since Joli was diagnosed. We braved it for the first time in 7 months. Joli was a little hesitant at first, but she seemed to enjoy herself after a warm-up!

Okay, Baby Sister's leg has moved from kicking my butt to kicking my rib cage..... But, she's healthy and growing, which everyday, I am thankful for! It's also cute when Joli talks to Baby Sister. Today, I told her she could not watch Go, Diego, Go for the 3rd time today -- so she said, "Mooomm, but Baby Sister wants to watch it, too!" Right before bed, she also says, "Good night, Mom. Good night, Dad. Good night, Baby Sister." Or she'll randomly pull up my shirt to show my belly and say, "Baby Sister, do you want to play with me?" Oohhh....