We've been enjoying our little holiday vacation! We had a fun Christmas and celebrated it (at least at one point) with all the Talusan siblings - a very rare treat that hasn't occured in about 8 years or so. After Christmas, the Vega fam came up from NY. Joli and Jada had a great time, and Joli even got her hair done by Grammy! Hurray for braids! Jada has cut a full tooth now and has 2 more on the way. She and Liza got a little sick after Christmas, but snuggling in bed for a few days was certainly nothing to complain about! Lots of fun with family this week!





Ouch... here's a girl with a conflicted identity.... Yankees or Red Sox??


Miss Jada in her new Pinay Princess shirt!

Beautiful picture from Uncle Alonso (who is available for photos, if you'd like to schedule a session with him!)
Merry Christmas! Maligayang pasko! Feliz Navidad!

the joy of swimming!

The girls just got back from an hour at the pool and they had a great time! Jada LOVED swimming! In true Jada form, she paddled twice, then stuck her thumb in her mouth; then she paddled twice, then stuck her thumb in her mouth! The girls even have their own membership cards! So fun!

Here are some super cute pictures of Jada from the past few days. We just enrolled at the local gym and will be taking Joli swimming on Saturdays, so I'm sure we'll have more pictures from that adventure real soon!

On Jada news, she's now in her big girl car seat (although, it's way more convenient to put her in the infant carrier, but she's getting too big for it).

Here is Jada doing her own morning "bible study" (this was hilarious in real life!)

A LONG morning in Boston
Today we attempted "double duty" in Boston. Whew...
Jada had to be at MEEI at 6:00am, which of course meant we had to leave the house before 5:00am to get there. I went and brought Jada (who was starving by around 6:30am but couldn't have anything in her stomach) while Jorge brought Joli to meet me there a little later. Jada is still tumor free, and she was quite amazing at the hospital. She didn't even cry when they put the drops in! We were the only eyeball people there and there were about a dozen "ear tubes" kids there. It was a zoo!

Joli and Jorge then met Jada and me at the ocularists. By this time, I was already exhausted and Jada was groggy and upset from anesthesia. Hmm... so I have no idea why I thought it would be a great idea for Jorge to just go to work... I think it was my lack-of-sleep brain taking over.

Anyhoooo, Joli was pretty impressive as she wanted to remove her eye all by herself. But we ran into mega problems when it was time to put that little guy back in! She screamed and cried for a few minutes (although loudly), and finally we just had to force it back in -- not a fun nor exciting time. In the end, Joli was fine and everything was fine.

Oh what fun!
Joli loves to cook. She has a great time with her Easy Bake Oven, and misses her Grammy a ton! but, for now, Daddy the Chef will have to do!

Jada is doing great. She's onto solid food 2x a day and has had cereal, sweet potato, squash and apple sauce. She just had her 6 month visit (yes, yes...she's 7 1/2 months old...we're a bit behind) and Jada weighs 17.3 pounds and is 27 1/2 inches long. Where did these girls get their height??

Jada sits up independently and is getting ready to transition to her non-infant seat soon. Coundown to Christmas!

This was exhausting... here is our attempt at a "grandkids" Christmas photo. Jada is crying because we had to wake her up in order to take the picture.

Here's Jada on Gavin's toy! When did she get so big???

Having a fun time this weekend!

The weather has been so nice out here on the east coast! Joli and Jada love hanging out in their room at night before bed. What great sisters!

Don't you love this family picture??

Jada at 7 months old
Joli at 40 months old
Daddy and Jada.. 2 different shades of cuteness!

Yummm!! Delicious turkey!!

Happy Thanksgiving!
We had a very full thanksgiving this year (and every year!). Happy 60th birthday to Lola, too! We have so much to be thankful for -- Joli's end of treatment, our wonderful little Jada Grace's arrival, Mari's continued recovery, our family, our supportive friends, and all those who prayed and prayed and prayed for our family this year. Thank you so much!

LEAVE A MESSAGE AT THE TONE...

Yo. Jorge here.

Haven't posted in a while, I know. Liza's the blog queen these days, but I just got the most hilarious message from Joli on my phone at work. Now, mind you, Joli is pretty phone savy-- she calls me, her uncles, aunts and grandparents all the time... but she's never really had to deal with voicemail before. It's a completely foreign and ridiculous concept to her.

Listen to her message.

The frustrated voice in the background is my lovely Liza, struggling to explain voicemail to a three year old. Hilarious.

Peace! And I'm out...

Surgery Day

Joli is home after a long day at the hospital. It was really quite emotional for me, and I'm sure for her, too. The last time we were in that same pediatric surgery ward at MGH, Joli was only 2 years, 2 months old and getting her port-a-cath placed in to begin chemotherapy. I just remember being in the waiting room and thinking, "Oh my God. My child is going to begin chemotherapy." We had already "recovered" from the trauma of her enucleation, and the news of chemotherapy came as such a surprise to us. A year ago, we brought in a toddler who was terrified of standing on a scale to be weighed, was petrified of "drops" and "masks", and who didn't even want to go near any doctors.

This time around, for better of for worse, a very confident, older Joli walked down the hall, greeted each and every single nurse with "Good morning. I'm Joli. What's your name? What are you going to do to me today?" I remember vividly the nurses explaining things to Joli in child friendly terms like, "We're just going to give your arm a little hug". A year later, Joli replies with "Yes, I know. That's for my blood pressure." When the nurse put on the oxygen reader onto her toe, she said, "This is my little orange light and bandaid to place on your little finger." To which Joli confidently replies, "Yes, I know. That's so you can check my oxygen when I'm sleeping."

I remember the first day we finished chemotherapy and we were leaving the hospital. Our little 2 year old Joli grabbed her Dora rolling suitcase and insisted she walk her self all the way from her hospital bed to the parking garage (quite a walk,I might add!). This time, Joli insisted she walk herself into the operating room. The nurse wasn't really sure how to react because I think it's pretty rare she gets a 3 year old (or any kid) to walk willingly down the long hallway, past all the surgeons looking as intimidating as possible, into the surgery center, and into any operating room. But, not our Joli. At one point, as we were walking to the OR, I had to choke back tears. She was walking a few steps ahead of us, and then turned and said, "Where's my Dad? I'd like to hold his hand. " So, Daddy and Joli walked hand-in-hand to the OR. I almost felt as if she was trying to comfort us rather than the other way around. There are a few moments in life that you never really forget. I know I'll never forget that one....

Also, as every good nurse says to us whenever we bring Joli in for anything, they always say, "Don't worry. She probably won't remember any of this." They are wrong. Completely wrong. Joli can tell you every single minute detail of every single experience she has had. She remembers , better than we do , the names of almost every nurse she has ever had (or at least every conversation she has had), her different roommates from the hospital, certain quirks that each doctor has, and even the anesthetic flavoring she's had on her masks (banana last time, bubble gum this time).

Well, to make a very long and very emotional day short, Joli is now resting in bed. She has a few internal stitches in her chest, a huge bandage covering her incision, and some soreness. Her recovery shouldn't be too bad, though. All week, she's been anxious about having her Port removed, but she does understand that removing the port means no more chemo.

It's late. I'mgoing to bed to snuggle my brave, incredible, wonderful 3 year old survivor. Yet another chapter -- or milestone -- of our crazy year has been achieved.

Daddy's Girl the day before surgery

On the way to MGH!

Joli's oxygen levels were low during recovery. She wasn't a fan of me sticking this tube in her face....

After a few hours in the recovery room, Joli was feeling a little bit better. Jorge even got her to "flex her muscles" and show off her sans port chest!

* Jada says, "You mess wid my sista, you mess wid me and my entire cribbb!"

Joli's Surgery
Hey everyone! Please keep Joli in your prayers as she heads into surgery tomorrow morning. She's having her port-a-cath removed! Hurray!

While the rest of us went apple picking, I guess Jada went "bird watching". The best part about this picture is that it is entirely NOT staged!!

CANCER FREE MARI!!
Hi everyone! We just got the news at 8:30am that Mari is officially cancer free! Her pathology reports came back, and her tumor was completely dead (not re-generating) and her lymph nodes were clear! This is great news -- especially because her doctors thought she would need to do A FULL YEAR MORE of chemotherapy! This of course interfered with her "normal life" of living in California, working next semester, and being a mommy and wife. So, hurray for Mari! I know that all of the people praying for her has made this difference, and we're all very thankful for your support. While I'm personally bummed out that Mari will be returning to the "west side", I know her good health is exactly what we've all been praying for.

Mari does have radiation still to tackle over the next 2 months, so please continue to pray for her strength during this time. She is also still recovering from her major surgery, so please keep her in your prayers for that, too.

YIPEEEE!!!

Halloween Fun!

We had a fun time trick or treating with the cousins! Even Jada got in on the action! Enjoy little Darth Vadar, Little Flying Unicorn, Senor Vampire, and The Red Hot Chili Peppa!

These are the blankets that our friend Tyra made for the gals.

Happy Halloween!

What's been up!

This past Wednesday, Joli, Mia, Tita Grace and Lola all went to see The Wiggles Live! While there are no pictures, I hear the gals had a great time! I had to work late that night, but Joli woke me up at 4:30am and wanted to tell me all about the concert. It was so cute!

Joli turned 39 months old, and here are her tigger pictures for the month! Check out the HAIR!!! This past Sunday, we went to the clinic for some arts and crafts - that was totally fun! We even saw one of our old roommates (he has leukemia) and he looks awesome! Very healthy! Joli had a great time seeing all the nurses and playing with the other kids. She rocked out with the music therapist, too!

Jada has been kind of sick lately -- just the common cold. So, we waited a few days until she had her REAL FIRST 'BITE' OF FOOD! Hurray, Jada! Here are some cute pics of her eating rice cereal for the first time. She completely was not interested at first, but she eventually was grabbing for the spoon. We also celebrated Jada's 1/2 birthday with our "1/2" birthday cake tradition! Of course, she was asleep through the whole thing!

Jada's first taste of "solid" food - didn't like it at first, but she soon realized how yummy it was!

Jada turns 6 months old -- here is her Grover Picture!
Mari has been doing a little better. She had to stay in the hospital a bit longer than expected due to a high fever, but JP kept her entertained... with all his stories.. and talking...! Good man!

Shout out to Mari!

Hey, Mari! We're all thinking about you today! We love you!

"It'll just be a little shot...."

Trick or Treat at the Zoo!
We had an awesome time at the zoo with the fam and the "downstairs neighbors." Marie told us of this whole trick-or-treating event at the zoo, so we all headed down there -- complete with 2 little "orange pumpkin" babies and 1 Darth Vadar! It was so much fun! Throughout the park, there were "trick or treat" stations. The best part of the day was when "Darth Joli" encountered a little boy dressed as Anakin Skywalker.... and as soon as they saw each other, the little Anakin Skywalker pulled out his lightsaber and Joli drew hers as well! It was hysterical!!

We've been to the park about a dozen times, but this time Jada got to really see it! She went into the backpack for the very first time and stayed awake! She loved it!

Yes, this picture is totally staged....

Darth and Daddy

Darth and Uncle Andy

Joli checking out the crane... and the crane checking out Joli!

What great hair!
It seems like Joli's hair is growing at a breakneck speed! One day, I put her hairband in and realized just how long it had grown! In no time, we'll be back to the old "afro puff"!

Joli also had her first exam without anesthesia today! She did awesome! We had to put her drops in at night and then again in the morning. She was completely asleep when we did her night time drops, so that was fine. But, the morning was a different story. Jorge and I tried everything in our Child Development handbooks -- having her do it to take ownership and not be so scary, bribe her.. (okay, so that's not exactly good child development, but we did try and do a rewards system), praise her, etc. None of those worked. We ended up just having to restrain her. It only took about 5 seconds, but it was a difficult 5 seconds! Joli cried through it, and then got over it. These drops don't sting (unlike the ones she gets in the hospital), so that was good. Joli was amazingly cooperative at the doctor's office and let them look into her eye as much as they wanted. She definately was not into having her prosthesis taken out, so Dr. Mukai said we'll just do that next time.

Oh, and Joli's next visit will be in SIX MONTHS!!!! (not three months!). Hurray!!!!

We also had our last visit with Nurse Pat -- we love her! She visited us 2x a week for 7 months during treatment, and then came 1x a month. She's the best!!

SAY "CHEESE!"

So, we bought Joli a Kid Tough Digital Camera. It's a camera that can take a pounding and it's really simple to use. We all went out to an apple orchard yesterday and here are some pictures "Peter Parker" took with her new cam-- can you figure out who's who?