Hi all!

I know, I've been bad about posting. So bad, in fact, that my Mom asked me if my blog was broken since I hadn't updated since late April.

No, not broken ... just busy.

Well, the 1/2 marathon is coming up quickly, and thankfully I've been back to training again. So, that'll be likely my next post!

Joli and Jada started karate. Yes, karate. And, they love it. Jada is seriously going to be a ninja -- nothing can shake that girl in karate. She's the most serious one in the group. In fact, the Sensei didn't want to let her in since they usually don't take kids younger than 5. Imagine his concern when we told him that Jada had *just* turned 4 years old. But, he let her have a try, anyway, and she completely shocked him with her level of concentration!

Joli really enjoys karate, too. She's doing very well, and I think this will be an awesome confidence booster for her.

Evan is talking a lot more these days. In addition to the other words (our names, etc) he is saying: thank you, no-no-no, juice, nice (and then gently brushing your face), hi, bye-bye, this (while pointing), stinky (and shows you his feet).

He was (is?) going through a very need stage where he couldn't be left alone, but he seems to be slowly coming out of it. His latest trouble is climbing up our bathroom step and grabbing the toothbrushes from the sink. Then, he heads over to the stairs and throws them downstairs. Jorge also tells me that Evan has been putting things in our laundry basket and then running away laughing.

We are excited to head to Camp Sunshine soon and can't wait to see all of our friends! The girls have been asking about camp every single day.

At the local park flying kites

Joli getting her hair done

Chillin' with the Vega and Talusan kids

Rev Ev in his RUN DMC shirt

Evan had a great Exam Under Anesthesia (EUA) the other day, and Dr. Mukai has cleared him for 6 months (instead of 3). He also says we can try an in-office visit which means we don't have to put him under anesthesia! Hurray!!

here is a video from his latest visit. It was SO helpful to have Jorge there this time!

Dear Jada,

We call you Sassy, Dangy, JadaLouie, LouLou, Bear, and Sunshine.

Today is your birthday, and so here is my letter to you.

You are a happy, friendly, sweet, and caring little girl. You are so smart, witty, and funny, and you say the most hilarious things I have ever heard. When you were a little baby, you were so very quiet that we often said we "forgot about Jada!" You even were a quiet little baby -- that is, until you turned 2 years old. Once you turned 2 years old, you talked and talked and talked and talked! In fact, most people think that you are much older than you really are because you talk so well, think so much, and know so much.

At age 4, you are already reading most words, can say all of your days of the week, months of the year, and even most of your addition tables. You know the continents, states, and even rhyming words. Your favorite subject in school is math, and you're very good at math! You enjoy writing your own words and alphabet, and you've been getting much better at writing your stories in your notebook. Your teachers have said that you have excellent behavior, and you often help the class with their chores.

You also love to sing. I am always amazed by the songs you come up with on your own -- Daddy calls it a "freestyle" battle with you. And, sometimes your songs are even better than the grownup's songs! When we are driving in the car, you always ask me to put on the "Haiti Song" or "Baby are you Down" and you sing all of the words and pretend that you are acting the song.

You are a very good sister to MushyMushyGuy and to Jo. Whenever you see Evan, you always ask if you can hug him. Whenever you see Jo, you always run up to her and hug her so hard that she falls over. When we drop off Joli at school, you always make her kiss and hug you - even when she doesn't want to. But, sometimes you are irresistible and she has to hug you anyways.

I'll never understand your obsession with "flat tummy" or "chocolate milk", but for some reason, Daddy and I always give in to you when you ask for them. Your favorite thing to do is to chase birds when I drop you off at Lola's house, and you love wearing your sneakers because you say they "make you go fast."

This past year, you've learned to ride your bike and are trying to keep up with Mia and Joli. You get frustrated, but I'm sure by the time you turn 5, you'll be riding along side them! Even though you are treated like the little one, you get to do some special things. This past year, you went to California by yourself with Lola and Lolo. That was a real treat! When Jo is at school, sometimes you and I have special day. And, when Mommy has to go to the grocery at night, I take you because you help me get all of the shopping done quickly.

I can't believe you are already 4 years old, and at the same time, you've always acted so grown up! Happy birthday, dear Jada. We love you and can't wait to see what you're up to this year!

Love, Mommy, Daddy, Jo and Evan

Jada is (almost) FOUR~

How is it even possible that Jada is almost FOUR years old! My gosh!
Let's see, a little bit about Jada:

* She is certainly the "sassiest" of all the grandkids. When she was born, Jada was the quietest baby. She even started speaking a little bit late - around months. Then, out of nowhere, Jada's brain took over and she just couldn't stop thinking and talking!
* Jada has her own Twitter at @SassyJadaSays. It's filled with the most ridiculous of her sayings.
* She is a pretty awesome singer and freestyler! She often comes up with her own little songs and dances.
* She refers to Jorge as her "Butt-ler" since he's the one who has to wipe her butt
* She calls her brother MushyMushyGuy
* She always asks if she can rub my "flat tummy"
* She insists that she is Beyonce
* She can read, spell and write most 3-4 letter words
* Her favorite things to do are play dress up, play on her iPod, and play on the internet
* Jada is doing awesome at riding her bike!
* According to my sister Grace, Jada beat Grace at scrabble -- 177 points to 44 points

Jada is hardly shy. In fact, she is very outgoing, social and friendly!

I'm sure we'll have more photos later! So far, for Birthday Week, we've gone to Pho and to a photo shoot! Enjoy!

Evan had a great first birthday! We started the day with a fancy photo shoot (see below) and ended the day with a tiny little chocolate cake for Evan. So adorable! Seems like he's grown leaps and bounds since he turned 1 year old. He seems bigger, funnier, and more aware.

At Evan's 1- year doctor's appointment, he only weighs 18 lbs and is in the 1% of the weight class! I had no idea just how tiny he is! He is also in the 60th percentile for his height -- so, he's tall and very, very, very lean. The doctor is mildly concerned -- nothing too bad. But, she does want him to gain more weight. I tried to tell her that Evan eats more than most of the adults in the house. He certainly eats more than his cousin, and he doesn't gain weight. When talking to Mari, I found out that Evan and Norhanna weigh the same! Egads! The doctor suggested we give him whole milk (which we already do), yogurt (yup, we do that), butter with toast (uh-huh.. we do that, too) and offer him food regularly (yeah, that's a no brainer). If he doesn't gain considerable weight in the next few months, then we might do some tests to make sure he is processing his food well.

Check out these great photos from his birthday! :)

Evan eating his first piece of chocolate cake!

Birthday photo with Daddy
Birthday photo with Mama


Happy Birthday dance with the girls!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EVAN!

Today is Evan boy's first birthday! What a joy he has been this past year. When he was so little, we called him 'Happy Boy' (and Lolo Emil still calls him "Happy Boy"). Evie-cakes, cakie-boy, cake-man ... it's all because he's so sweet. Though Aunt Jenny complains that Evie gives her sloppy wet kisses, it's all because of love :)


We'll have more photos later, but we wanted to at least get a few up now. Happy Birthday, Little guy!

The eve of Evan's birthday!

The next morning - an early (very early) morning birthday picture!

Its hard to believe that Evan will be ONE YEAR OLD less than a week from now. He's now walking completely on his own - no more crawling for this little guy! Jorge calls him the "Little Monkey" because he can eat an entire banana in the morning, and he often wants just a banana for dinner. Evan now has such a big personality. He laughs so loud and even tries to make other people laugh by playing "ah-boo!"

I've really enjoyed this year with Evan, though I feel like it flew by much too quickly.

Jada just proved to me that she can read. She had a homework assignment (of which she gets quite a bit of homework!) and one of it was reading and spelling. "No way," I thought. There is no way Jada is reading at age 3. But, sure enough, when I pointed to the words, she told me exactly what they were (there were more than 20 words on the sheet) and she could spell them back to me. So, they weren't just sight words. She often does read something, and I find myself in disbelief that she is, in fact, reading. She also does most of the writing herself. She'll ask me, 'How do you spell ____?" and I'll tell her thinking she's just scribbling. But, again, sure enough, on her paper are the legible words. Amazing!

Joli is a reading fanatic. She loves to read. At age 6, Joli has read so many advanced chapter books, and she has taken a liking to reading to the family aloud. Again, I'm simply amazed by the amount of growth and maturity she shows.

The girls have been rehearsing for the Camp Sunshine talent show - yes, I know it's months away! Jada's favorite song is the "We are the World" song and Joli's is an Alicia Key's song "Broken Heart." I love listening to them sing; those kids have some talent!

We're getting ready for Evan's birthday, and I know this year we have been Blessed with such great love and joy in our family. We've had some tough times, too, and Evan's presence -- knowing that he's our last biological baby -- makes me thankful each day for my family.

Enjoy these photos! These are from my "52 Weeks" series, of which I only did about 1/2 of them. But, it is nice to see the changes in the kids!







"A Year in the Life of Evan"
What's happened this year? (not necessarily in order)
Everyone turned a year older, Evan was joined shortly by Kainoa, Uncle Pedro graduated from college, the girls went to summer camp, Jada started pre-school and Joli started 1st grade, Joli and I found out we were VHL positive, Norhanna was born, I decided to get my mastectomy, Jorge began the process of switching jobs, Jada went on her first airplane ride and vacation without parents, we got a new doggie, I decided to run a 1/2 marathon, the Flood of 2010 which made us re-think our basement .. and so much more!

Evan is almost ONE!
I know, I've said it before - I'll say it again: Where is the time going?? I can't believe our little baby boy is going to be ONE YEAR OLD! He's now saying "thank you", "apple" and "Mia" in addition to all the other words he has down!

Evan is also walking! Yes, folks, walking. He chooses to crawl (or to just sit and scream until someone picks him up!), but when he wants to get somewhere, he stands up and walks. Go, Evan! Kainoa, though, is running, so we think it's payback time for all the months that Evan would hit Kai and then speed away! Watch out, Evan! :)

Evan has been sick for the past few days, and he's been snuggling and clinging on to us. He even fell asleep on Joli the other day. But, with the nice weather, Evan is feeling a little bit better. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to come with us on the 5K that I ran on Sunday. Thankfully, the girls were there, and they thought it was fun seeing Mama RUN!

Today, Evan is spending a day with Teetah. Here is a picture she sent me of "Evan's First Painting."



This past Sunday was my first 5K on the route to my 1/2 Marathon and mastectomy.


Looking forward to Evan's first birthday soon!

11 Months Old Already?

How is this possible? Evan is 11 months old today! My goodness....

So, let's see. What is this little boy doing these days?

• Evan now says Mama, Dada, Dayda (Jada), Te (Ate Joli), Hiii, Byyyee, Ehh (for Tita Elma), Kai (Kainoa), Noo nooo
  
• He can sing the chorus of Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies" and sings, "Uh, oh oh, uh, oh oh..."
• He eats everything now, and his favorite foods are sweet potato fries, soup (he's already had Pho!), whole wheat toast with butter, waffles, oatmeal, bananas, and spaghetti with meatballs.
  
• Evan is standing by himself and has already started to take a step (falling down right after
• I've blogged over at my other site about how Evan is slowly weaning from breast feeding. I've officially used up all of my frozen milk, so he has formula during the day. I still breast feed him in the morning, through the night, and before he goes to bed. We'll do this for the next few weeks as we transition him to whole milk at 1 year old
• Evan loves eating yogurt! He can't get enough of it! He also loves pizza....
• Evan plays "peek-a-boo" and thinks he's hilarious when he hides from you

The girls adore Evan, and he lights up when he sees them, too. They all get along really well, and they just love each other! Evan also loves rolling over onto KO'D.

The girls have been great, too. Joli just went to her first live musical "The Lion King" on a date with Jorge. Jada has been doing incredible at school and has begun to read already. Both girls are pretty good at telling time (watch with hands) and enjoying math, too!

Lately, Joli has really been into Ancient Egypt. Her teacher brought her to the Museum of Fine Arts during the vacation and Joli just loved being surrounded by all of the mummies and artifacts. Jada, on the other hand, thought it was "the most boring adventure ever."

Before we know it, Evan will be one year old! Hard to believe!

Evan's favorite way to get into trouble is to hide the mouse that controls our television.


Our son is a drooler. All the time. He soaks through 3-4 bibs a day. It's as if a faucet is stuck in the "ON" position. Evan gives new meaning to the term "sloppy, wet kiss!" So, in order to keep this for memory sake, I'm posting an ADORABLE picture of Evan with his trademark drool....

Seriously, this little man is just too much!

The kiddies (#40 of our 52 weeks series)
Joli at The Lion King with Jorge

It's been a while -- sorry! We've had a busy winter here in our home. Most recently, Evan turned 10 months! It's hard to believe. So, let's see, here's a list of the Adventures of Evan:

• he is standing by himself for a few seconds now, and some of us even think we saw him take a step! We're sure to have a walking boy pretty soon!
• Evan is finally eating all sorts of table food - no more jars and special food for him. He's now eating oatmeal for breakfast and just about anything we're eating for dinner. I'm also on my way to slow down breastfeeding, and will likely be done around 1 year.
• He's clearly saying "Mama" and "Dada", and we think he's saying "Kai". When he calls Joli he says "Te". Other than that, he just yells at whoever is closest!
• Evan is, for the most part, sleeping through the night, though he does wake up just to look for us around 3am.
• In our house, in order to keep him in the livingroom, we've creating this thing called "The Great Wall of China", which is basically just a couple of plastic chairs to keep Evan from going into the dining area. Yeah, that lasted about a few weeks. Now, he just climbs over them!
• Evan understands "no" and will look at you and laugh when you tell him not to touch anything.
• He's certainly the kid who looks for electrical outlets and anything dangerous....
• Evan also has an affinity for our dog food bowl. He likes to turn over the water and splash in it.
• Thankfully, our dog is a good dog. Why? Because Evan thoroughly enjoys smacking KO'D on the head.
• If you let him, Evan will "walk" around the house all day while you hold his hand. He never gets tired of this game.

Most recently, Evan had his exam under anesthesia the other day and did great. The doctor wants to see him in another 3 months and then we'll likely extend the visits to 4-6 months after that.

In Jada news, she just took her first long trip without Mommy and Daddy! Lola and Lolo took her to California to see her cousins (and Mari and JP). Unfortunately, it rained the whole time so they weren't able to go to Disney or Snoopyland, but I think the two trouble cousins (Jada and Gavs) had an awesome time just hanging out. Thanks to Lola and Lolo who treated her to a nice trip! Jada was very cute on the ride to the airport - she wanted to hold Jorge's hand the whole time. We were able to iChat with Jada every day, and she was certainly thrilled to be there!

Joli had fun with some special time with us this weekend. She slept over Mia's house one night (thanks Jen/Jon), and then got to do fun things with Mom and Dad. Early Sunday morning, Joli and I took a nice walk and then played "ice-ball" hockey. We also went out to breakfast together and just enjoyed talking. It was a great morning!

I've recently started writing at www.marathonb4mastectomy.wordpress.com. I've decided that I'm going to get my mastectomy this July and have been chronicling my preparation for it over on that site. So, feel free to check in there, too!

Jorge is transitioning to a new school in a few months, and so we're very excited about that! More to come in that news!

Evan at 10 months old! We think there is a hint of curly hair in there!

Jada and Jorge getting ready for the airplane

The Gamalinda next generation of cousins. Jada just finished her "All the Single Ladies" routine, which is why one arm is out of her shirt.

Jada and Gavin sharing a boba tea

Our 37 weeks photo in the 52 weeks series. I know... I missed a few in there.

Some quick Christmas pictures!

Christmas Rambo handing out the gifts
Uncle Paul and Aunt Kirsten made the trip up from New Haven to spend Christmas Day. Paul needs to baby holding practice, me thinks!


Lolo with his favorite gift - tools!

Jada knee deep in the big snow storm!

El Santa Claus Puerto Rico

Jada's favorite phrase: "Um, can I please explain this bad word without getting in trouble?" She'll say that before saying something like, "kids say the word 'stupid'" or whenever she needs to use a sentence with a "bad word."

Joli is now telling time! We just bought her a first watch, and we ask her what time it is every few minutes!

Evan truly is a different kid when his sisters aren't around. He gets very cryish and sad. But, the minute his sisters come home, he's a different and happy little boy. He's standing more these days on his own, and you can't take your eyes off of him when he's crawling around!

Just enjoying some time off these few weeks! I'm sure we'll have more photos later!

We had a lovely Christmas here in our house! This year (and last year, as well), we made a commitment not to over spend and over indulge this holiday. I spent much of this past year fundraising for different friends who are going through tough times right now due to cancer, and it just seems and feels socially injust to then splurge on material things like gifts. Since we've been more aware of the amount of money we spend on gifts, I can honestly say that our family really embraces the true meaning of the season. We are thankful and blessed to have our health, and that's all I really want for Christmas. It made me sad to see the amount of people (on Facebook) who wrote things like, "I have so many gifts in the house!" or "I'm up to my waist in wrapping paper!". I wonder, how many more toys can kids have? What are we teaching our children, our selves, and those who are struggling financially, about what's important.

The past few years, we've bought 1 shared toy for the girls, and then 1 individual toy for them. Even this year, the grandparents (who notoriously over spend!) were so good about buying just a few items - and, most of those items are shared toys.

The best gift I had was to be home as a family, spending time playing with kids, and just relaxing. Because there weren't lots of gifts, I didn't have to spend time cleaning up wrapping paper. That was more time we could spend together.

This past week, Jada and Joli had their holiday concert! The film is about an hour long, so here is the 6 minute condensed version. Be warned: half way through, there is a classic toddler "booger picking" moment. Unfortunately, it was done by OUR toddler..... Fortunately, we caught it on tape! :)

Joli at 65 months old with Tigger
Jada at 44 months with Grover


Evan at 9 months with Big Bird
Lolo and Lola with the grandgirls at the recital

Enjoy the Christmas recital highlights!