Can't wait for tomorrow!

Since I am on a part time schedule, working Tues-Thurs., We have been making a point to do a family outing on Fridays. The first Friday we went to Lincoln City and had fun at the beach. The second Friday we went up to Portland Ikea, Old Spaghetti Factory, and Fry's. Now this Friday we will be exploring more of downtown Portland. Our first visit will be to Voodoo Donuts. This place is well know for their outrageous donuts. I am thinking of the maple glazed donut with bacon on top, the complete breakfast but I want to have a glance over the menu before my final decision. We are planning to meet up with Justin, our friend from TCCBC. He is up in Portland and I just found out about it while checking out Albert's FB. (Albert gave up FB for lent so he has been out of the loop). Next we plan to make our way to OMSI, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. After the kids wear themselves out here we will head to Lloyd Center Mall. This mall boasts 3 levels with an indoor ice skating rink. I don't think we will be doing any ice skating. We will let you know how our day goes and post some photos tomorrow!

Emma Update

The doctor said:
Emma has a facial tic probably related to stress. There have been some major life changes in our family life that could have caused this: Baby Sophie and moving to a new house. The doctor also said that she probably does it more when she is watching TV because she is straining her eye to watch. This is not uncommon in toddlers but it is also not common. She said it could last anywhere from a few months to a couple years. If we notice her twitching other parts of her body such as her neck, shoulder, arm, or leg, we should bring her back in.

We are going to dramatically reduce the amount of TV she watches. If she is going to watch a show, it will be only 1 show and then a break instead of watching shows back to back. We are limiting her DVD watching in the van to long trips (1 hour or more of driving) instead of having it on all the time.
We will make it a point to spend extra alone time with her so it might minimize her "stress"
I hope this will help and I will keep updating you on Emma's progress.

Sick... sick... sick...

Emma is on her way to a doctor's appointment for her eye. Lately she has been blinking her left eye excessively for no reason. I noticed this after she woke up from a nap in the van and started watching a movie. I thought her eye was just sleepy and she just needed to rub it. Then I started noticing it more throughout the day but worse when she would watch TV. She has been blinking it so much that she has lost the fold in her eyethat makes them look big like Daddy's. Now she has one of Daddy's eyes and one of mine. I did some reading online and came across several things. It could be a vision problem, a facial tic, or a magnesium deficiency. Who knows. I hate reading up on medical things online because you can't trust its sources but living in the day and age of instant info, I couldn't resist looking for an answer. Her appointment is at 12:15 today. I will update you later.

Sophie has been having a hard time eating lately. When we would feed her her formula she would either throw up or spit up a lot. She is breastfeeding and we supplement with formula since I don't produce as much as she needs. She started out with Similac but then changed to Kirkland (Costco) brand. I believe she is having a hard time digesting the generic brand and so I put her back on Similac Soy version. This is more sensitive on the tummy and easier to digest. She has been on it for 2 days and no more throw up or spit up. I hope this was the cause and that she doesn't have anything serious. Her next appointment is on April 3.

Eden has gotten rid of her cough but is still congested. With all this wet and cold weather it is hard to get use to. I am hoping that the weather will get warmer and no more rain for awhile.

Albert is better from his cold/cough. He had a really bad cold about a month ago that left him with a nasty cough for a long time. He is feeling back to normal but now he has a chest/muscle pain. Maybe from carrying Emma and Sophie a lot.

I am fine. I can't remember the last time I was sick. I must still have my super immune system from being preggers. I am fully recovered from giving birth and 100% back to normal. I am back to work and resuming my life before I got pregnant. It has been a long time (9 months) but am glad to have my body back.

Random Update of Stuff

My parents came up last week to spend more time with the girls. On their last day we went to Lincoln City and went to the beach! Here are a couple of pix from that:

Eden and Emma playing in the sand.

It was really windy that day, if you couldn't notice from Eden's hair. :)

Isn't she just adorable?

My parents left on Saturday the 14th, which was also the same day as Eden's Battle of the Books regional competition! She was able to go to this because her team beat all the other teams in her school! Woohoo! We got there early and waited for her other teammates to arrive.

From left to right: Vivian, Marisa, Olivia, and Eden

The teams were divided into 3 and put into a classroom where they did round-robin battles against each other. The first set of questions were about the book and you had to guess the name and author of the book. The second set, you were given the name of the book, and had to answer questions about what happens in it.

There were 3 rounds, then a championship round after that. Unfortunately, they couldn't get past the first round. I honestly think the moderator was against them the whole time! There were times where they answered correctly, but were turned down because they were called for time. They all still had a great time, and it was a wonderful experience to watch Eden compete. Good job E!

Emma's response. We had to wake up really early, since the competition was an hour away. Emma couldn't make it past the first round either. :D

The same with Sophie.

That's pretty much it for now. Now it's just adjusting to Joy having to go back to work and getting back to our groove! I'll leave you with a little video of Emma taking care of Sophie. Thanks for reading!

P.S. In regards to Sophie sleeping in a laundry basket... We have a bassinet in our room, one downstairs, and her crib in her room, but I can't hear her if she cries in any of those places. So, I have to get creative! It's not laziness... it's INGENUITY! :)

Albert the house Dad

This is what happens when Mommy goes to work and Daddy has to take care of Sophie...

Yes, she is sleeping in a LAUNDRY BASKET!

Sophia's attitude

Ohhh...

Are you taking a picture of me?



I'll give you something to take a picture of...

@#!%*

LOL... I know she is not really flipping the camera off but I took these action poses and it just came out this way... Too funny not to post with captions!

5 Hours of sleep! Time to celebrate!

Sophie has been only waking up once in the night for feeding the past few days. This is a huge cause for celebration! We feed her around 10 p.m. and she wakes up around 2:30/3 a.m. to eat and then is up for breakfast around 6/7 a.m. This is just in time since I return to work (part-time) on Tuesday and need as much sleep as I can get. She has increased her feedings to 3 oz. and stretching them out to every 3:30/4 hours. She is due for her next appointment in April.

Nanay and Lolo are back up this week and they will be helping with Sophie and Emma as I return to work and we get back into the groove of everyday life. Once they leave I will be dropping the girls off with my Mom Tues. thru Thurs. and Albert will be watching them on Mondays and Fridays. We will see how this works out since Albert doesn't have that much work to do.

Emma is being a great Ate (older sis in tagalog). I was worried about jealousy setting in but she loves Sophie and doesn't mind sharing Mommy and Daddy. I think it helps that she has an independent attitude and that she has Eden to entertain her as well. There are times she doesn't like sharing Daddy because he carries Sophie and she is used to Daddy carrying her. She has started to talk even more using complete sentences. She identifies things she wants with colors if she doesn't know the word. She had her 2 year check up and impressed the doctor by counting to 10 with a book and by memory. She is 35 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds. She is tall and skinny like Daddy! ^^

Putting her to work early... Helping wash dishes

I was sitting on the floor of her room and I asked her to "help" me up. She took my hand and grunted as she "pulled" me up. She let out a huge sigh, wiped her forehead and came up to me and said... Mommy HEAVY! I didn't even know she knew what the word HEAVY meant let alone know how to imply it to me. I know its true and it is funny because kids will speak the truth without regard to feelings! haha...

Eden has made it on the Honor roll again with a GPA of 3.56 and perfect attendance. She is really taken responsibility of her studies and didn't even want to miss a day even when I had the baby. She has finished reading all of her books for her competition this weekend (March 14th) and is even rereading a few. She was also invited (1 out of 4 students) to participate in a presentation on sustainability on behalf of her school. She has also had a few friends over for a sleepover and made new friends in our new neighborhood.

The other day as my girls were playing outside, I felt so contented watching them. There were no words, just pure satisfaction. This is what I have been searching for, this is what I have wanted, what I wanted to give my family. We have been working so hard to be able to afford a house but not only that, a place where our kids could play without worry, a place to raise our family, a place to call home. We are truly blessed and thank you to all who have helped us make this a reality!

Sophia is 1 month old

Sophia turned 1 month old today. I can't believe that time has gone by so fast. She is still waking up to eat about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. She is staying more active during the day time and can track with her eyes. The last time she was weighed ( 2 weeks) she gained a whole pound (7.3 pounds). To celebrate her being 1 month old, we ate noodles as we did with Emma.

Sorry our posts have been far and few between but February has been a hectic month for us. The first week, I gave birth to Sophie, 2nd week signed papers and moved into our house, 3rd week in laws and Nav's came to visit, 4th week more unpacking, sorting, and cleaning. My in laws will be back up again next week and I will be returning to work part time. Its seems like there has been no break but we have got a lot done.

Tomorrow will be our date day. We haven't gone out as a couple in awhile and we are quite excited. We love being parents but once in awhile we like to get out and act like adults. ^^