HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOLI!

It's official -- she's 3 years old! Joli had a great birthday! She started out the day with a suprise of balloons and gifts at her bedroom door.

Then, Mia, Uncle Jon, Gavin and Tita Mari came over for lunch. By the time Uncle Paul arrived, Joli was exhausted; however, she didn't want to be away from him, so she decided drag her bean bag into the livingroom to be closer to him and take a nap!

We then went to Lola and Lolo's house where one of Joli's gifts was a "video karaoke". The kids went wild (and the adults did some cameos, too!).

Then, it was time for cupcakes.

The kids had a great time... especially Gavin.
Let's see... year in review? Since her last birthday, we moved to our new house, went on a great vacation to Sesame Place... oh, got diagnosed with cancer... had eye removed... began 6 month course of chemotherapy.... could pronounce words like "stethoscope", "Heparin", "chemo", "Boston", "traffic", "blood pressure", "flush my tubes", ... met baby Gavin and baby Lillian ... had lots of friends and family support us with a hugely successful fundraiser... had more MRIs/Bone Marrow Punctures/Exams Under Anesthesia than most people undergo in a lifetime... got a "special eye".... received even more love and support during Christmas from total strangers... learned how to write my name! ... learned how to use the POTTY... became a BIG SISTER!! ... went to a wedding... and TURNED 3 YEARS OLD!! Hurray!! yea, it's been a good year! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOLI!!!

I'M ALLLLMOST THREE YEARS OLD!

Just a few more hours until Joli turns 3 years old! She spent her last 2-year old hours on the couch, eating popcorn, and watching Calliou. It was the episode where the power went out, which was appropriate because our power had just gone out! Wow -- remember when Tigger was BIGGER than Joli????

Joli has been lovin' that her cousins are around. Here they are at the park --Uncle Jon and Dad are being super-manly and pushing all the kiddies on the swings while Mari, Jenny and I sat and drank slushies.

Here are the girls practicing for their "monthly" photo shoots:

Jada is so happy to be Joli's little sista (Jada.. by the way.. has officially outgrown all of her 0-3 month clothing ALREADY!)!:

Fun with the Cousins!
We're so excited to finally have the cousins around! check out some of these great pictures from their rather trouble making adventures!

Gavin LOVES to snuggle Jada and sneak kisses to her. We're teaching how to be g-e-n-t-l-e, though (he smacked her in the face the other day...!)

"Get me out of this playroom! I want to see the world!!"

Joli and Mia are doing a pretty good job figuring out how to be playmates. They've spent so long being the center of attention on the different coasts, so it's a learning process! They're doing well so far as they learn about what makes the other one annoyed, etc. They're pretty smart -- they figure out really quickly what gets attention from parents and everyone. It's definately nice to have the two of them together!

There are also some great pictures of the first time to the zoo as a traveling bunch!

GOOD EUA and my "MILLION DOLLAR JOLI"

Joli had her exam under anesthesia (EUA) today, and all is well. No tumors have developed. Dr. Mukai thinks we can do the next exam just in his office next time rather than under anesthesia (we'll see....it might be tough!). Jorge wasn't able to come with me, so thankfully, Grace joined me and got to see the "joy" of these visits (extreme sarcasm there, thank you). Joli absolutely did not let them put her eye drops in. She was screaming bloody murder -- which seemed to be her favorite thing today. I mean, this child was SHRIEKING! She was screaming like I've never heard before -- so much that I didn't even really recognize her voice when she was screaming in recovery. I kept asking Grace, "Is that Joli? Does that sound like Joli?? It can't be...." Oh, yeah. It was JOLI.

MILLION DOLLAR JOLI: While Joli was in recovery, she used all of her boxing skills that Jorge has been teaching her. Yup, I said it. Boxing... maybe more like kick-boxing. She kicked one of the nurses square in the stomach, and then she punched one of the other nurses. Yeah. No joke. She was flailing so bad that they had to pad her stretcher and restrain her. She wanted no part of this. She was s-c-r-e-eeeeming for a good 45 minutes. The tough part is that there are other kids trying to come out of anesthesia, too, and there is truly nothing you can do to ease the pain. Joli is also dilated, so she's basically "blind" and waking up in a horrible way. Definately can't blame her. I guess I also can't blame her for vomiting down my shirt during her fit of rage.

Finally, after a good 45 minutes, she "sort of" calmed down - enough for Grace and me to get her into the elevator without someone thinking they should call child protective services or something. She eventually fell sleep as I was carrying all 36 pounds of her down the streets of Boston to get to our car.

JoJo seems fine now. She's still a little unstable, but she's in a much better mood.

When she was getting gassed, the anesthesia team decided to sing "Happy Birthday" to her since her birthday is next week. As a child psych major, I'm guessing this was either a good thing to do (she seemed to calm down a little when we were singing to her) or the most rotten thing ever (will she associate "Happy Birthday" with a horrible memory??). We'll find out next week, I guess!

Jada news: Yup, her first fever. That poor little fella was hot as a potato last night, and she got her first dose of Tylenol ever.

Oh, Jada!

Jada officially weighs in at 13 1/2 lbs and is 24 inches long (which is just 1 foot shorter than Joli). She had 3 little shots today and didn't cry much. You go girl!

MAKING SCRAMBLED EGGS FOR THE FIRST TIME
Okay, so we're late with the "17th" pictures for June. Here is Joli with her famous Tigger. We figured we'd now just show her holding it since Tigger is about the size of her head now! (remember when Tigger was BIGGER than her entire body??).

Joli made eggs for the first time today! She cracked the eggs (with only a little bit of help), moved the butter around the pan with a spatula (and with very, very, very close supervision near the warm stove), poured the eggs, and moved the eggs slowly around the pan for the most perfect and delicious scrambled eggs ever! She was also great with directions like "don't touch the pan" and "not too close to the stove." Great listener! After all the cooking was done, Joli actually ate all of her eggs, too!

Way to go!

WE'RE BACK!
We had a great time at Aunt Kirsten and Uncle Paul's wedding. Kirsten was a beautiful bride, and Paulie was a handsome groom! The girls loved being "princesses" and did a great job walking down the aisle.

Jada took her first plane ride, and she didn't fuss or cry at all! Joli has been on a plane a few times, but this time she was old enough to really be fascinated with take off and landing. We did lots of swimming and playing. It was great meeting all of Kirsten's family!

We're now a complete family with all the cousins, brothers, sisters, and significant others here on the East Coast (JP counts as a commuting spouse, right??). The girls are getting used to having lots of playmates around, too. Poor Jada -- as the littlest one, she got picked on by the big cousins as the recipient of all of their fake lizards and frogs!!

Even Gavin got in on the action!

All in all, we had such a fun time on vacation! Jada has really started to "talk" these days, and she seems to recognize people. She LOVES Gavin! Whenever I say, "let's go see Gavie", Jada smiles! Joli is doing a fantastic job being a big cousin and big sister to all the little ones!

IT'S OFFICIAL -- UNCLE PEDRO GRADUATED!
Not only did Pedro graduate from high school, but he also earned his Associates Degree while in high school AND he was the Class Speaker! Woah! Jorge just got home (really late) but he managed to tell me that Pedro did an great job, that it was the best graduation he had ever been to, and that lots of girls (lots and lots and lots of girls) kept wanting to take their picture with Pedro....! Wait... is that a SMILE I see in this picture??? Has Pedro truly turned over a new leaf??

Congratulations, Pedro! The girls and I are all so proud of you! Sorry we missed it... but I'm sure your brother will tell us lots of (exaggerated) stories about your big day!

Great pic!
Hi, everyone! We're doing well. We're still waiting for the results from Joli's MRI, but we figure "no news is good news." Jada is doing awesome and sleeping through the night. Hurray!
Joli is really testing the boundaries these days. Funny story: the other day, she was playing with Tita Grace when she asked if she could have a "vanilla shake" (aka Pediasure). Grace said, "You have to ask your Mom." So, Joli ran up to me, asked me, and I said, "No, Joli." But, before I could get the "li" in "Joli", she turned around and yelled to Grace, "MOM SAID 'YES!!'"

Uh.... great.

Good times...
Joli is asleep right now recovering from her MRI. It was cool - this time, Jorge got to go into the room with her. Rather than put a gas mask on her, they gave her an IV sedative that went through her port. So, there were no tears and no fighting the mask (which she hates!). She just got her port accessed and "went for a nap." The doc said it'll take a few hours to wear off, so she's sleeping while Jada and I hang out in this 97 degree heat....

This past week has been fun as Joli and Jada have spent quality time with cousin Gavin. We all went to Boston to hang out in the commons while Mari still had energy to go out (and JP was here to see Boston in the sun rather than in 4 feet of snow!). We miss you, Uncle JP!

Here are Jada's (almost) 2 month photos! Joli's will be soon to follow!

SMILE!
Hi, everyone! Sorry it's been a while since we've posted pictures. The girls and I have been spending time at my parents' house helping out with Mari as she just had her first round of treatment. We do have great pictures of Gavie and the girls swimming, so I'll post those as soon as I get home.

Jada has found her smile! Hurray! She started flashing her toothless grin 2 days ago... on her 2 month birthday. She also has found her little hand and likes to chomp on it. So cute -- when she sleeps, she likes to grab her left ear. So strange, but it's absolutely adorable!

Joli is adjusting to having cousin Gavin in Lola's house. He likes to climb on her, and he cries whenever she leaves the room. Joli's a great babysitter for Gavie - and she also talks to Tita Mari about getting a 'little shot.' Joli has an MRI coming up, so please keep her in your prayers.

Stay cool!

DEDICATION IN NY
Hi, everyone! We're back from NY. Happy birthday to Jorge! :) Jada Grace was dedicated on Sunday and we were surrounded by lots of family. Jada enjoyed her first long car ride, and both girls did awesome! Jorge and I kept saying how fortunate we are to have good "car kids".

Thanks to everyone praying for my sister Mari and her family. Mari, JP and Gavin arrived yesterday. Please keep their family in your prayers.

SCOOPERBOWL!
ahh.. the joy of ice cream!
The Scooperbowl was a perfect day, and Joli, Grace, Jada and I had a blast (and a subsequent belly ache!). Jada is sleeping really well at night and only gets up around 1am and 4am (and then up for good around 7am). We call her "Miss Serious" as she has yet to really crack a smile!

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.... :)