Some cute pictures

*"I heal you in the name of diapers and drool...."

*Jada is wearing our favorite "candy cane" pajamas that were once Joli's. We loved these!
*We caught the girls making this funny face! Jorge called them "The Dorkenstein girls". It's so dorky that it's cute!

I love this picture of Joli....

Can't believe, this time last year, she was in the hospital with her first round of chemo. A year ago, I never imagined that she'd be running her first race!

38 months and 5 months -

Gosh! It's all going by so fast! I can't believe Jada is already 5 months old! She's doing great- is eager to sit up, and we're going to start some rice cereal soon. She drinks about 6 ounces every 3 hours. She loves when Jorge makes "farting" noises --- with his mouth -- and she has the most contagious belly laugh ever! Jada loves to bat at Jorge's face and grab his facial hair, too!
Mari always jokes that Jada looks like she's "hanging on" whenever she gets carried. It's way cute! Jada continues to be such an easy little gal. She goes to bed around 8pm and doesn't wake up until 6am. This is a pretty typical schedule, and I think she's been doing this since she was born! We really never had a tough time with "nighttime wakings" at all.


Joli is having fun going to Lola's house and hanging with her cousins. She does 1 day a week with Tita Grace, and hopefully they can start going to music class again soon. Joli used to go to music class but stopped once she got sick. Joli also just discovered how long her hair is getting -- she spent a good 10 minutes in front of the bathroom mirror just combing her hair.



We're going to try Joli's next eye exam without going under anesthesia. This will be an all day office visit, and we really hope she'll cooperate. Otherwise, it's back to anesthesia for her! We also have her appointment scheduled to remove her port-a-cath in 2 months. Can't wait!

We're also having fun with our "downstairs neighbors" -- Cousin Lily, Uncle Andy and Aunt Marie. Tons of fun!

Team Mari!
We had an awesome time at the Susan Komen Race for the Cure on Sunday, Mari's birthday (we won't mention how young she is!). We had a huge team of people -- thank you to everyone who walked and supported the team! Even the little kiddies joined in (and actually ran circles around us). We had Joli, Mia, Lily, Clare, and even Jada joining us for the walk. At one point, Jorge (aka SuperDad) was walking and feeding Jada her bottle! Woah!

Team Mari's finish

We're having fun!
Seems like every single day is action packed! Joli is having a blast with her cousins, Jada has decided that she wants to be a big girl and sit up at 4 months, and baby Lily is crawlin up a storm!

Put 'em up! put em up!



Eating Gavin's leftover birthday cake! We had Gavin's eventful party on Saturday, my birthday on Sunday, and then Gavin's real birthday on Monday. Lots and lots and lots of cake!




Rare photo op with Mama and the gals on her birthday



Walking all over Lolo!

Gavin's birthday.. and MINE, too!
I guess it's true...once kids show up, grown ups no longer get a birthday. Well, even so, my birthday wish is to have a little bit of good health go to all of my family members. I think we're due for some.

For those of you following, Mari is doing better. She had a seizure during Gavin's birthday party today (I guess it was technically "yesterday" since it's now just after midnight... it's been a long long day....). Quite an event - ambulance and everything. She's home now after 6 or so hours of being in the hospital.

Oh, and as I was driving home just before midnight after a very eventful day, a car decided to drive head on in my lane and nearly crash into me and Jada. I honestly can't remember what happened between me leaning on the squeaky little Hyundai horn and realizing I couldn't swerve into the next lane, but that car decided to pop back into the correct lane at the last few seconds. "Happy Birthday to Me."

Can't we just catch a little whiff of straight up easy livin' for a change? Is that too much to ask?

Wonder Pet
Oh, great. Jada really DOES look like Linny from the Wonder Pets....

the gals are gettin bigger!
Yes, I've fallen a bit behind on the monthly growing pictures. Jada has decided to ditch the Pooh doll and opted for Grover. She loves Grover (Joli picked it out for her). She snuggles him at night. My sister Mari has also decided to nickname Jada as "Linny" -- why, you ask? Well, she thinks that Jada looks like a little gerbily-guinea pig, and there is a little guinea pig named Linny on Nickelodeon. In truth, Jada does tend to look like she has a storage of food in her cheeks, and she does hang on with her little hands when you carry her. We luv her!! She's so cuddly!

One Big Happy House!
Andy, Marie and Lily just moved in with us this week, and we're so thrilled! The girls are having tons of fun, and even Lola and Lolo came to visit and see them! You can be sure there will be lots of pictures of the two families soon!

Here is a cute picture that Alonso took of Joli and Mia at Paul and Kirsten's wedding... aren't they adorable!


Jada news: Jada is now 14 pounds 8 ounces and 28 1/2 inches long. She's so amazing and sweet! Hardly ever makes a peep! She can steadily hold her head up, and she even chills in the Exersauser! Woah! She loves the Grover doll that Joli picked out for her. Grover helped to comfort her when she got her 3 little shots yesterday!

Even more..
Our pal, Matt -- he's James's dad.

Joli wearing her "Survivor Girl" t-shirt! Yes, hija, you certainly are!

Mia Jewell was not a fan of the Elmo ride. Jon did a sweet job trying to soothe her, but she was just not havin' it. We'll try again next year, Mia!

More pictures!

Big yawn after a long day at Sesame Place! Joli's on a park bench with her little buddy, Dylan!

Despite having packed tons of nutritious snacks like carrot sticks with hummus, sandwiches, water and juices -- everyone still wanted McDonalds....

"MOM! Look!! It's ELMO!!!"

Family picture with Cookie Monster! Oh great... where's Jada???

Toddler friendly water slides with Cousin Mia!

Yay! Junk food!!

Mia, Joli, Jada and Jorge hangin' with Ernie and Bert!

It takes a real man to ride the Elmo Flyin' Fish ride! Joli loved this ride....

Sesame Place -- woo hoo!!
Just arrived home from Sesame Place after a painful 7 hour car ride there, and an 8 hour car ride home! But, thankfully, the kids were amazing in the car! We had SO much fun this year -- we were joined by Mia, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Jon, Tita Ligaya, Mia H., Dylan and Melissa (oh, and JADA!). I just checked last year's blog, and Joli was only 34 inches... this year, she popped into Sesame Place at a whopping 39 inches ( 40" if you count her afro!):


Alright, it's going to be impossible to post all these pictures and tell all the stories, so here are my highlights of the busiest trip ever!:

First of all, you all probably realize that it's Joli's ONE YEAR anniversary of being cancer free (cancer diagnosed? I have no idea how to really phrase this.). We met up with our friends Matt, Melinda, Ellie and James -- a very dear family to us who happens to have had a similarly challenging year. Their little guy, James, was diagnosed with cancer around the same time as Joli. He had a few surgeries, did the whole chemo thing, had a port, etc. etc.. So, where are the pictures of James - aka, "sick cancer boy"?? Well, that little fella recovered so well, he ran circles around everyone!! He moved way too fast for me to even take a picture of him!!! Anyways, if you saw him, you wouldn't even realize he had the type of year he had. GO, JOLI AND JAMES!! James is coming up on his 1 year, too. The two of you are amazing!!

We basically hung out at the park for a day and a half. Jada rocked -- she was all about hanging out in her stroller and watching her friends and cousins run around the park and splash all the adults!

Jada loved the parade!

Joli hates taking a shower, yet she loved this "watering can" area!

* for some reason, blogger won't let me post more pictures... so you'll have to enjoy these for now!

HAS IT REALLY BEEN A YEAR????

Tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary when Joli was diagnosed with cancer. And, while, of course, there is so much to be thankful for, it's hard not to feel a sense of sadness. So, we're outta here! We're going to go have some fun for a few days to take our minds off of it. It's just amazing to think about our journey this year -- it seems so long ago yet just seems like yesterday when we were at Mass Eye and Ear. Has she really been without an eye for a year now? It seems so far away, yet when I think about hearing the news from the doctor for the first time, all those raw emotions come flooding up from my gut to my throat to my watering eyes.

Now that we're facing a similar journey with Mari, I want to give a huge shout out to all the people we know -- and the many that we don't know -- who helped us this year with emotional, parental, spiritual, and financial support. I can't imagine having to go through this year without our family and friends and even strangers helping us. As a family, we always donated to "fundraisers" and such, and we even sponsor 2 young girls over in Africa, and I never really thought about how that help impacted those people. Well, it does.

Donating money to organizations means so much more to me now. And, when I don't have the money, I try to donate my time. From the receiving end, I know how much each dollar, each penny, helps a family in need. So, please, if you're faced with information that a family needs help, please help them. Please try to donate a dollar (ideally more!) or services or something! It makes a difference... it made a difference to us.

So, more pictures when we return! Thank you for all your love and support this year!

JOLI AT THE BEACH!

We miss Joli terribly, but she's having a grand old time Grammy, Pops, and Uncle Ped!
Enjoy, Joli! (thanks to Pops for sending us these pics so quickly!) We can't wait to hear all about your adventures!

Hangin' with Jada!

We're doing well here. I went back to work and felt very teary leaving my gals! Although, once I got to work, I realized how MUCH there was to do, and before I knew it, I had worked through lunch and it was 3:45pm!

Here are some great pics of Jada recently! Joli is loving hanging out with her cousins, but she needed some quality NY time, so she's getting spoiled over there. It's been so much fun with all the cousins and seeing how everyone is changing so much!

Please keep Mari in your prayers as she heads in to chemo... yet AGAIN.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARTY!
We've been having tons of fun these past few days celebrating birthdays! It started with lots of presents being delivered for Joli (and Jada!)

Then, Jada surprised us all by discovering that her hands were actually tools -- she started grabbing the toys on her swing! Now.. she's trying to grab her feet.


The cute thing is that now she actually sucks her thumb! How cute!


Joli picked out her special "party dress" which happened to be 3 sizes too big, but we let her wear it anyways:


The kids had lots of birthday cake (again)

And even Superman delivered the cake to the girls!! What a surprise!!

We had so much fun! Thanks for coming to the party, everyone!

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!!!