Happy New Year!

I love this picture of Jada... she always chooses the darker skinned babies whenever we play.

Joli and Mia were, by far, the most dressed up people on New Years Day.... fancy black dresses along with lots and lots and lots of lipstick!!

Each year, the Pediatric Hemotology-Oncology clinic that Joli goes to hosts a Winter Party. We love going! It's always nice to see people we haven't seen since the hospital days. For the staff, Joli looks entirely different! She left the hospital in '06 with her hair barely coming in. Last year, they saw Jada as a little baby. So, many of them commented on how much both of them have grown! It's also so nice to see some of our former roommates (you may have read about them if you've been following the blog for a few years now). Unfortunately (or fortunately?), some of them are still in treatment. Also, today, we saw a new person - someone my sister went to high school with.

By far, the favorite part of the party is the room where the girls can get manicures! This year, we brought along Mia and Aunt Jenny for some fun!

Here's Jada after her manicure. The woman said, "I think she may be too young for it." And we said, "uh, yeah, she's been getting manicures since she was 1 year old....." Jada was very still, and even at one point, she began to take her shoes off for the woman to do her pedicure! Ha ha ha!
Joli and Mia enjoying their manicures. The real treat was the woman who was doing Joli's -- she is the child life specialist from the hospital, and she hadn't seen Joli in a REALLY long time! Ashley was so incredibly helpful and kind to us when we were in the hospital! Joli really loved seeing her again!
Aunt Jenny ... the nutritionist .... scarfing down a sugar cookie with green frosting, M&Ms, gummy bears, and sprinkles that Mia made. Oh, what we do for our kids!
Okay, if this doesn't make you smile... I don't know what does......





ps.. Congrats to Baby Bennett Menghi! Welcome to the world, New Years baby!

English professor retells story of niece, wins $500 - News

English professor retells story of niece, wins $500 - News

Just like Grace not to mention yet another great article about her! Go, Grace!

Happy New Year!

Last few days of 2007
We've had a fun filled past few days here as we count down 2007.
Joli, Mia, and Mia H. all went to see Nemo on Ice. We had great seats (thanks Lola!), bags of cotton candy, and fun with our Nemo hats.

On Dec 31st, I took Jada and Joli to Chuck E Cheese so that Jorge can get some work done. We had a crazy fun time!! Jada rode this carousel about a dozen times and refused to get off.
Joli and Jada loved the slides in the small kids area. Joli was super about helping Jada up and down the slide.
Joli was big rollin' in this hydraulics truck. She loved it!

Brief summary of 2007 in our family
January: Joli went with her cousins to the annual Pedi Oncology party and Jada got her first portrait done to be put up on Lolo's wall.
February: We said goodbye to Mari and Gavie as they returned back to California.
March: Joli hung out with Grammy, Ped and Pops in NYC during Spring Break.
April: Jada turned 1 year old! Joli had her in-office exam and was cleared for 1 year.
May: Jorge entered the Platinum Studios contest.
June: Liza presented at regional conference for an innovative program she initiated at work.
July: We are in Oregon for Jon and Jenny's wedding! Joli turned 4 years old!
August: Joli was a special guest at Sesame Place, and Jorge won Platinum Studio's challenge!
September: Liza was promoted to a new position. Jorge begins to be a featured guest at comic conventions. Joli started pre-school!
October: Jada begins singing clearly! We visit old friends in New York. Liza finds out she is BRCA1+ and begins lots of screening. We find out there will be another Vega (Andy and Marie) cousin!
November: Thanksgiving and the Vega family visits us!
December: Jada's EUA's have been pushed to 4 months! We're eagerly awaiting 2008 for even more great life events!

Feliz Navidad!

We had a great Christmas here in our house!

We started the night off at Lola's house making gingerbread houses....

Then, made our way over to church where Joli and Mia got to sit at the grand organ! They LOVED it!
Then, Jorge and Joli (Jada snuck in there for the picture) stayed up as long as possible waiting for Santa to come down the chimney. You can't tell in this picture, but they moved all the living room furniture and camped out next to the fire place! So cute!

While waiting to open gifts, the girls passed the time by beating up on Uncle Paulie.

After opening presents at our house, we then went for the flurry of presents at Lola's House. Jada got some new clothes for her American Girl doll that was given by the Dreizen gals!

But, no matter what, I think that Lolo got the best Christmas gift of all -- courtesy of Joli and Jada. Look at the smile on that man's face! What joy!
Happy Holidays! We're counting down the weeks until cousin Gavin comes to join us on the East Coast!!

Vacation Fun!
Jorge is on vacation this week and he brought the gals to the aquarium. They had tons of fun with Daddy!

We went to Lola Lucy's retirement party, and Mia Jewell was all decked out and ready to party. We took this picture because we want to compare it to her future prom/semi-formal picture in 14 years......
The two "Grace's" -- Grace is doing very well 2 1/2 weeks post surgery. She had her double mastectomy and reconstruction and is hanging out at our house while Alonso is in Kentucky. Thanks for all your well wishing to Grace!

Oh, Jada. She wouldn't give back Mia H.'s pink tutu skirt. She was soooo mad when we took it from her! When you ask Jada what her name is, she says, "Louie." How cute!

Happy Holidays!
(It's small on the web screen, but you should be able to enlarge it)


Happy Holidays! Here is our year in review!

Can YOUR 18 month old do this??
The TV was playing and Jada was not just repeating the alphabet, but she was often AHEAD of the alphabet! Go, Jada!





Also, as I add to this post (10 hours later), Jada is now singing "Who Said, Who Said, Icabesuppahmenan" - which is from Hannah Montana. Also, in addition to repeating the word "NO" all day, Jada also yells out "Ate" (which means "Big Sister") all day. Or, "Mama", "Dadddy", "Gordie", "Elmo", "Elmo wait!", "I want that", "I want book." and, I'm not lying, Jada can "recite" the entire "Goodnight Moon" book and spell all the letters on the cover.

It's snowing... again!

There is a whole lot of snow here in the East Coast! I'm sure Tita Mari is screaming while looking at these pictures ("Liza! Those girls look freezing!!") But, that's how we do it when it snows -- you don't have a choice but to go and play in it! Betcha can't wait to move to the East Coast, Mari!!! :)

Enjoy....!

Jada attempting to stay warm!

The girls... not sure what to make of all this snow!
Joli attacking Jorge!

Impromptu Sleepover

Due to the massive snow storm we're having, Mia is sleeping over! Here are some cute "monthly" pictures that Mia got in on, too! Enjoy!

Joli at 53 months old

Jada at 20 months! (egads, really????!!???)
Mia Jewell -- the honorary Vega -- at almost 42 months

Back home~

Hi everyone! Jorge and I are back home from a lovely trip to Miami. We celebrated our 7th anniversary there (7 years married, 11 years together!). We caught up with a few friends from both Conn and NYU, and enjoyed being surrounded by great Latino/Hispanic culture in Miami! Awesome food.....

Thanks to Grammy who stayed with Joli and Jada (and Lily) for a few days. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures, but there is lots of evidence of FUN -- cookies, beaded jewelry, arts and crafts.

For the first time, Jada slept in her own bed!


Unfortunately... so did Gordon!! ( I woke up early, early Saturday morning and found him in her bed! Guess he figured, "Someone might as well use it!")

Attempting to recover from the trip, a horrible cold, and two girls who missed their Mama, I took the girls to the Children's Museum where they had a blast!

My cute girls!

Thanks to the Dreizen gals who sent Joli and Jada 2 packages of endless fun! See the evidence below.





The gals also made beautiful bags for each of the little ones AND for me and Grace! how sweet! Shout out to Liv and Jenny!

Fun Fun Fun!

This weekend we had lots of fun! We had our monthly Dim Sum outing (the girls LOVE when we go "to China")

We had Tita Grace over for dinner prior to her bilateral mastectomy this week (note that the cake says "Breast" Wishes!)

The girls got to set up the Christmas Tree

And, this morning, IT SNOWED!! HURRAY!
Jada and Jo are reaching that "friends" stage with each other. Some cool things they do:

• They both LOVE Hannah Montana songs, and even Jada can sing along with it!
• They love hiding together and playing hide-and-seek
• They both love playing Wii with Daddy
• They always want to hold each others hands when they are outside
• Joli lifts Jada up when they are finished brushing their teeth so that Jada can spit in the sink
• Joli likes to soap and shampoo Jada when they are in the tub
• In the morning, the girls 'race' to see who can get ready the fastest -- Joli always wins but she always says to Jada "I love you Jada. One day, you'll get dressed fast, too!"

The girls are so sweet to one another. Jada's favorite thing to say is "NO!" and Joli just laughs at her. Jada is talking more and more these days. She can tell you exactly what she wants (milk, book, light, eat, egg, doggie, sleep, etc) and if Joli forgets to say "good night" to Jada, Jada will sit in bed and yell "A-a-a-a-ateeee!! A-a-a-a-a-teee!! Louie nigh-night!! Aaaaateeee!!" and Joli comes running in to give Jada a hug and kiss. Then, Jada is all set for bed.

Jada peed in the potty today!


Rock on, girl! Jada peed in the potty for the first time today! Officially 19 months + 2 days, Jada enjoyed a nice little "pee pee parade" from Jorge, Joli and me after it was all done. Jada woke up with an entirely dry diaper, so I stuck her on the toilet, gave her a cup of water to drink, and the joyous sound of tinkles soon filled the air ... followed by the rowdy noise of the "PEE PEE PARADE". Needless to say, Jada giggled with glee...!

Hurray for Jada!

Cancer and our Family
Of the 4 people in this picture:
2 have been diagnosed with and treated for cancer (Mari and Joli)
1 has pre-cancerous cells and is having a double mastectomy (Grace)
and I am at a very high risk of developing it within the next few years

My sister Grace
It's two weeks until Grace's surgery, and I can't help but feel both sad and proud of her at the same time. For those of you who don't know Grace personally, you certainly know her through this blog. Other than Jorge and me, Grace has been the most stable and constant force in Joli's life. Joli is a free spirit because of Grace. She is creative because of Grace. She is aware of feelings, emotions, love, joy, pain, and sheer freedom because of Grace. Why? Because Grace models the purest form of love I have ever seen. No matter who you are, Grace is your friend. No matter who you are, Grace is your biggest cheerleader. No matter who you are, Grace loves you.

Grace and I didn't grow up the best of friends. In fact, my memories of Grace are of me being horribly mean to her. After every mean thing I would do as a little sister, Grace would leave me a note on my bed or go so far as to drive her 16-year old self to a card store and buy me a card that says, "I know you hate me. But, I'm your sister and I love you." I still have that card somewhere.

When I had Joli and went through a tough transition time, Grace received the brunt of my exhaustion. And, yet, she still loved me and Joli more than I could ever imagine. On days when I couldn't take another trip to the hospital, Grace would stay by Joli's bedside so that I could have a break. Aside from Jorge and me, Grace was the ONLY one who went to the hospital each and every time Joli did. In fact, when Joli had her surgery, Grace was the only one who thought to bring food to help us stay nourished during the 15 hour ordeal. And, she not only brought "food", she bought the most gourmet treats we could ever have imagined!

I would actually argue that Grace has, at times, spent more time with Joli than I have. Prior to this year, Grace brought Joli to weekly music lessons, weekends at the Children's Museum, and lots of explorations to places I never would have gone - a pet sanctuary, a blueberry farm. Grace is responsible for allowing the girls to color on the walls, get soaking wet in puddles in the middle of winter, and ruined their clothing in paint. And, while I probably said things like "How could let them do that!", I should have said, "Thank you for letting them be children."

So, this is in honor of Grace -- a long over due tribute to how much I love you, how much I appreciate you, and how little I often tell you. Grace, you are a strong, brave, beautiful woman, and we are praying for your successful operation and quick recovery. I admire everything you do, everything you have done, and everything you are destined to do. I am proud to call you my sister.


Grace on Joli's 2nd birthday - just before diagnosis. Yes, she is sitting in a swimming pool fully clothed.. a typical "grace move"Grace with food on the day of Joli's surgery, Aug 2005

Grace at Joli's first chemotherapy stay, Sept 2005
Grace with Joli on the Toys R Us ferris wheel in NYC. Grace often put her life on hold and selflessly came with me for a week each year - for 2 years - so that I wouldn't be alone.

Mother's Day, 2007 - while Grace isn't a mom, she is typically found surrounded by all the nieces and nephew. It's because of her love of children that we named Jada after Grace.

Jorge is sweet.....
So, I had to google myself (yes, narcissitic, I know, but really it's just good professional practice to see what people are saying on the web about you), to find this post written by a certain Jorge Vega:
Friday, October 5, 2007

Liza's Testing
So, some folks already know this about me and mine but we've had the house guest from hell set up residence in our family guest room. Cancer. It started with my mom's breast cancer years ago (leading to a lumpectomy), then my daughter's bout with retinoblastoma (leading to the removal of her right eye), my sister-in-law's double mastectomy last year and my other sister-in-law's mastectomy (scheduled in two weeks).Well, the hits keep on coming... my wife, seeing all that's gone on, decided to take a proactive approach and went in for genetic testing a few months ago. Not surprisingly, she tested positive for the BCRA1 gene. Statistically speaking this gives her a greater than 80% chance of developing breast cancer in the next few years. This afternoon she begins a battery of test that will continue for several weeks, to determine the presence of even minute cancerous cells in her body. It's the ultimate early warning attack. My sister-in-law, Grace, did the same thing months ago and it alerted her to the presence of the danger cells in her body, leading to her decision to have surgery.Liza is walking into this with her eyes wide open. Our fam's got a long history of laying the smack down on cancer and, by going through with the testing, she's basically ambushing the hell out of it (cancer will never see her coming). So, if it sounds like we're being kind of casual about it... we're not. These next few weeks are going to be hard on her. The tests are uncomfortable, downright painful, and the results may lead to difficult decisions.But here's the thing about my wife... she doesn't mess around.Cancer. Has. No. Chance.I love you, babe.
Labels: cancer, family
posted by Jorge Vega at 9:17 AM

Visit to the Oncologist

This time it was Joli's turn to go to the oncologist. She had not been seen by Dr. Grabowski since April 2006 (right when Jada was born), and I was thinking it was time to go and see him. He scheduled her MRI (last week) and the results were free and clear! It was interesting to go back to the oncologist with Joli -- I mean, she was still only 2 years old the last time she was there. It's so weird to think that way!

Joli, of course, remembered absolutely everything about the clinic. She ran into the waiting room and yelled, "MOM! It's my friends... Nemo and the Puffer Fish!!" Gosh, those were the only 2 things that helped her feel good when we went to clinic. Joli did great with Dr. Grabowski and he was amazed how much she has grown. She was having a fun time... until Dr. G said, "Okay, we have to draw blood." "GULP!" I said. Uh oh, the last time Joli had a blood draw in her arm, she was barely 2 years old and was restrained by 3 nurses -- that was a few days after her enucleation. What was going to happen now???

Well, Dr. G recommended that we put some Emla cream, but I had to get back to work and didn't have 30 minutes extra to just hang out and wait for the cream to take effect. So, I told Joli she just had to be brave and do it. Yikes.

Joli was a trooper, though! She did cry, and I watched the needle painfully wriggle around in her arm (poor thing!!). She was very upset WITH ME after it was done. Her exact words were, "Mommy!! I am SOO mad at you. You upset me. Even GOD is mad at you, MOM!" Great....

The good news is that Joli was the only patient in the waiting room when we left, and the music therapist was just coming in. So, rather than rush out in tears, and with Joli screaming about how much God is mad at me, I let her hang out with the music lady. Thankfully, she got her laughing and singing, and we left in good terms. Until... the elevator.... where Joli turned to me and said, "MOMMY. Just because I look happy does not mean that I am not upset at you. Oh, and God is upset at you, too." Nice.

Anyways, Dr. G wants to see Joli again in April because of my testing positive for BRCA1. There is a weak association between Rb and BRCA1, so he wants to see her whenever she sees Dr. Mukai.

By the end of the day, Joli said, "Mommy, I'm sorry I was so upset with you. God loves you Mom. God loves you."

Bless her little heart.

Joli's first day of chemo: September 20, 2005

Last day of chemo: February 14, 2006

MY KIDS DEFINE "SINGING IN THE TUB"
Jada's new favorite song is "No One". Notice her rock star facial expressions as she sings. She even blows kisses to her adoring fans! Joli is her interpretive dancer...

When Jada wants us to play it, she says, "Mooommmy. I want "No One" please."

Joli did great yesterday!

Joli did very well yesterday at her MRI. We left the house early and made it to radiology with plenty of time (I mention that because we are usually horribly late!). Joli was very relaxed and was very social with the nurses and doctors. Once again, Joli walked herself to the room and was very cooperative. She even put on her OWN mask (which, in the past, we had to restrain her to put it on) and inhaled dee-e-e-e-e-ply and fell asleep. Even at recovery, Joli kept trying to be independent and sit up (only to fall back down from the anesthesia still in effect). Overall, we were at the hospital for 7 hours. We have an appointment with her oncologist next week, and then we need to schedule a visit with the ocularist in December. Oh, joy.On a different note, here's a cute picture that Aunt Marie sent me of the gals. Too cute!

Joli's MRI today

It's 5:30am and we're getting ready to go the hospital soon. Joli has an MRI - her first since April 2006. Don't worry, she got plenty of Hannah Montana treats to make her happy before going to the hospital.

It'll be interesting to see how she reacts. She's now a year and a half older since the last time she went under anesthesia, but she's also "out of the routine" of the whole anesthesia experience, too. I know she remembers all of the details -- the smell of her mask, the order of tests blood pressure/heart/lungs/etc, putting on the operating room pajamas. But, it's been a while since we've actually had to do it.

I'll sure I'll have stories for you when we get back. Pray for Joli!

If there was any question..

If there was any question whether or not Jorge and Joli were related, here you go:






She was in her room and said, "MOOOMM! Don't look at me! I have a surprise for you!!" And, then she ran into the kitchen, put her hands on her hips and said, "Ohh, yeeeahh. I AM UNDERWEAR GIRL!!"

Yeah, apple doesn't fall far from that tree....