Happy Birthday, Jon!

Can't believe that the "baby brother" is 28 years old. Goodness!

We had a great dinner at the parents' house! Here is a funny picture of Lolo and Kainoa:



Evan is beginning to "find his hand" and has started to play a little with some of the toys on his bouncy seat.


And, a serenade from Jada and Evan to Uncle Jon!

Happy Birthday, Bro!

Butterflies, Grandkids, and Sassy-ness

Today was a beautiful day, and we went to the zoo with Aunt Jenny, Mia and Kainoa. We've been to the zoo so many times that the girls really weren't all that interested in the animals, but it was worth going to see the Butterfly garden. It was so beautiful in there, and all the butterflies just floated around all of us. The girls had a great time, and we will definitely go back again when Joli is on vacation.





The other day, Jada wore Lola's hat and was prancing around like she was on Little House in the Prairie. Today, when trying to reinact the scene, Jada was not interested. And, in fact, she insisted on punishing us by only making this face:



Now that Gavin is back from California, we took a loving cousin family picture. It's hilarious because this picture truly brings out the personalities of all the kids.




Here is Gavin with his amigos -- the up-and-coming Boys. Oh, and Teetah Grace....


Can't wait to go to Camp Sunshine! We leave in just over a week! Can't wait!!

Oh, The Cuteness!

I missed last Wednesday for our "52 Weeks Wednesday" post. So, you're getting Week 3 and a bonus one-day-early Week 4.

Week 3



Week 4


Here is an adorable picture of all of their little faces, too, as a bonus!



Evan and I got to spend the afternoon together while Joli was at school and Jada had some special time with Lola and Lolo. He missed them so much, he pretended to call them on the phone...


Evan is now 10 1/2 pounds and 22 inches long. He spend a lot more time awake these days and loves to follow Jorge around with his eyes. He loves his Daddy! We've received tons of hand-me-down outfits from some fashionable friends, and Evan has been stylin'! I would say he even dresses better than Uncle Pedro these days (who, BTW, is now a COLLEGE GRADUATE!!)

Enjoying the lovely weather outside now that it has stopped raining, and we're looking forward to Camp Sunshine!! We leave in just a few weeks!!!

A Great Park!

I realized my maternity leave is about to end, and decided to do a "trip a week" with Jada. Today, we went to this fantastic park where you can feed the animals and go on tons of playgrounds. We took along Evan, Mia and Kainoa (and Jenny!) and the kids were completely exhausted by the time we were done. I would DEFINITELY take the kids here again! Joli is still in school, so we'll have to come back when she's out. I know she'd just love it here!

This is the giant slide the girls went down! I thought they'd be too scared, but they totally loved it! Yes, it is as big as it looks in the picture!


When you walk around the park, you find these little whimsical sculptures -- dragon fly benches, butterfly sculptures, and this Unicorn!


Jada loved this swing! She kept screaming, "Look out below!!"


At this park, you can bring your own long carrots and apples and feed the animals (much more sanitary than them licking food out of your palm!)


The girls pretty much used up all of their food on this guy, though!


This little piggy was adorable! There are also miniature horses (yes, Grace, mini-horses!), llamas, goats, rams, and different types of birds.


Evan had his 2 month visit with Dr. Ringel today. He has nearly doubled his weight after that big loss in the first week. He now weighs 10 1/2 lbs! Go, Evan!! He got 2 shots today and 1 oral medicine vaccine. That was different! But, he was fine, except for the fact that he bled on his onesie! But, Mia and Jada were there to distract him.

Evan is 2 months old!

Can you believe it?? Our little guy is already 2 months old! He has his doctor's appointment in a few days, and we are eager to see how much he weighs and just how long he is. He definitely has grown so much even in the past few weeks!





We've spent the last few days at Lola and Lolo's house because Jorge had some friends colleagues over for a convention in Boston. It was fun hanging out there with them! Here is Lolo with his Talusan Vega grandkids!

Weekly Wednesday - week 2

Here is Week 2 of our installment titled "Weekly Wednesdays" where I'm going to take a picture of the kids every Wednesday for the next 52 weeks. Can't wait to see the difference!



This weekend, we went on a great hike through Borderland Park - a place I used to go often when I was a kid. The girls loved it, and Jorge planned a Bug Scavenger Hunt for them. We walked through a tree-lined trail and it felt like it was raining inchworms! Gross! But, cool all at the same time :)

Here is the family trying to move a giant boulder! (Evan and I decided to just watch!)







It's supposed to be really nice this week, too, so we're looking forward to going again! I've been enjoying my time home with Jada and Evan, and am sad to see it end soon. Joli has been having a wonderful time at school, and she continues to bring home assignments that we can't believe she is doing in Kindergarten! She's working on a reading log where she reads a book a day and then has to map out the plot, summary, sequence, etc. Then, she moves on to math worksheets where she is doing multiple levels of addition and subtraction. We're so proud of her, mostly because she really loves what she's doing in school. I even got a sneak peek at an art project she is working on, and I can't wait for her to bring it home so we can frame it (I'll scan it in when we actually get it home!).

Enjoy!

Dr. Paul Talusan, M.D.

Congratulations to Dr. Paul Talusan, M.D.! Here is Uncle Paulie giving the graduation speech at Boston University School of Medicine!



It was a big hit at the graduation - and Paul was the only one to get a standing ovation during the ceremony! We're looking forward to the formal picture where Paul give a "fist bump" to the Dean of Medicine on stage.

Dr Mom and Dr Dad got to place the ceremonial hood on Paulie. This was them marching in with the faculty.


Dr. Paul before graduating


Paul and Kirsten


Of course, we had to get a great picture of Evan in there!

Cousin Fun

We had a really fun Mother's Day with the kids and new babies (we miss you, Gavinator!). Jenny and Kainoa have come to play with us, and we hope to do more outside activities now that the weather is nicer.

I've started to follow a project called 52 Weeks, where I'll take a picture of the kids every week for 52 Weeks. I can't wait to see how it all ends up! Every Tuesday, we'll take our picture and hopefully I'll post it by Wednesday -- "52 Weeks Wednesdays!"

WEEK 1:


Evan and Kainoa chillin' on the couch


The Biggest Sisters and Littlest Brothers


Awesome picture of Kainoa on Mother's Day


Kainoa and Evie Cakes


This video is funny, mostly because of Kainoa crying and Evie's expression of "What the heck is going on here??" Yeah, we'll be showing this to them when they get older!

Oh, the irony....

Two wonderful events are happening right now -

1. May 10-15 is Retinoblastoma Awareness Week! Be sure to spread the word about Rb, signs and symptoms, and family experiences

2. May is also VHL Month! As you may know, when we got Joli's genetic testing done for Rb, we also found out that she has VHL, a genetic condition involving the abnormal growth of blood vessels in parts of the body, resulting in angiomas or hemangioblastomas (tumors). Most tumors develop in the brain, spinal cord, retinas, and kidneys.

Just yesterday, I (Liza) found out that I, too, have VHL. Jorge and I were both tested for the disesase, and he came back negative; I came back positive. So, not only do I have BRCA to deal with, I now also have VHL.

In the words of Grace, "Oh greayyyytttt....."

It's a personal choice for the rest of my family to get tested or not; really, there isn't anything one can do about it. And, in going through the family tree, no one has really had any symptoms (that we know of) related to VHL.

So, let's just pray that neither Joli nor I have any affected symptoms.

Do we get Jada and Evan tested? We're not in any rush right now, but we'll have to decide sooner than later.

Kainoa and Evan

Check out these little buggers!

Hanging Out!


The weather here has been rainy most of the week, but we've managed to have a great time!

On a warm afternoon, here is Jada giving her "I'm too sassy for you" look


In early honor of Mother's Day...

Weekend Fun!

Fresh off the heels of Joli's awesome recital, our family hosted Rex Navarette - a great Filipino comedian. We've been following his work for about 15 years, and it was a wonderful opportunity to meet him!


Here is what is guaranteed to be one of my favorite photos ever -- like father like son. Little Evan is looking more and more like Jorge - even his brown skin color is coming in fast! He still has the "baby acne" much longer than either of the girls did, but he's still adorable!




Funny story - Jada went out with Mari, JP and Gavin today. When they came back, Mari and JP said to me, "Jada just doesn't stop! That girl doesn't ever stop talking!!" And, if you know Mari and JP, you'll realize just how funny that statement is coming from them (two people who talk more than anyone I know!).

It's rainy all week, so we'll see what kind of fun is had indoors here!

"Hurray I'm cute.."


".. yup, that's enough excitement for me."

Joli's Recital

Joli had her spring recital at school, and she did awesome!

Here is a video of her singing her solo song. It's hard to hear because we were kind of far away when recording it, so just amp up your volume and see if you can get any more sound out of it (otherwise, if it sounds soft, its just the way it was recorded, unfortunately).

 It was so much fun! Great job, Joli!! 

Here is the finale -- Joli and her classmates singing "America". Here are some of the lyrics I caught her singing:

Oh beautiful for space and sky

for abroo waves of grades

and purple mountains mad jesty

above the fruity plains

America! America! 

God sheds his grace on knees

My crown my good

for brothers hood

from sea to shining sea

Fun at the Zoo!

The weather was absolutely wonderful today, so JP and I (the "stay at home gang") took Gavin, Jada and Evan to the Zoo. Jada was just there about 6 weeks ago, and Evan was in my belly. Because we went in the middle of the day/week, it seemed as if we had the zoo all to ourselves.

The kids had a ton of fun, and we are all exhausted!

Enjoy!

Jada and Gavin on the elephant - they actually got along very well at the zoo


The kids love this guy who they call 'Funny Bird'


Evan Eduardo's first trip to the zoo


Evan and I waiting outside while Gavin, Jada and JP went into the enclosed elephant and giraffe area

Warm Weather Fun!

Woah -- it was record breaking temperatures today: 93 degrees! But, as New England will have it, it will be 50 degrees tonight and then only a high of 60 tomorrow. So, good thing we got some awesome hot weather fun in today!

JP, the stay at home dad, played "tag" with the hose and the kids



Mia going in for the tackle!


Jada having Fun Dip for dessert


Tita Mari tries to get work done while holding Evan and avoiding Gavin and Jada


Jada running from the water hose



Kids Say the Funniest Things Moment:
Liza: "Jorge, I'll make salads for dinner for the next few nights. I really have to lose this weight"
Joli: "No, Mom. You're beautiful so chubby."
Liza: "I'm not so sure that was a compliment Joli...."

Jada: "Mom, let's go to the 99 and get a hot dog."
Liza: "No, Jada, I don't think we can go to the 99 today."
Jada: "Fine (pause), then can we go to the 66?"