Kaleb's CASL Competition at Simi Valley - 2nd Place

I am so proud of my big skaterguy, Kaleb. He had a competition at Skatelab in Simi Valley, one of his favorite skatepark and got second place! His run consisted of his favorite trick pop shuvit up the two stair euro gap. Now, don't ask me how I know the term but now I'm going to have to admit I've become a huge skate fan and my favorite skater is yours truly the great Kaleb Van Niel.

Olivia's First Sleepover

Tonight Olivia is having her first sleepover with her dear friend Satya in Sherman Oaks. We were both so excited for the sleep over because Satya is my best friend's daughter. Susanna and I have known each other since we were in second grade and we've shared so much together. We used to have sleepovers all the time at each other's homes. It's incredible to us that now our girls get to experience this together. Susanna has reported that the girls are getting along really well. They first had dinner together, then played and were excited to go to bed at 8pm. Funny thing is that at 10pm I got a text from Susanna telling me that the girls were still chatting. What a wonderful experience for the girls and for Susanna and I to be able to have our girls together. This is something that we used to talk about often when were in high school - our families sharing time together and experience the same great friendship we've had over the years.

Natural History Museum

 






Olivia fell in love with dinosaurs several months ago. She has learned so much by watching one of her favorite Nick Jr shows Dino Dan as well as doing research on the Internet. She is a true "Dino Lover" and can name over 15 different dinos as well as tell you if they are meat eaters or not. At this point she hopes to become a Paleontologist when she grows up. This love of Dinosaurs has bought us a membership at the Natural History Museum and now our family visits quite often. This particular visit was extra special for Olivia and Nathaniel because we went with our favorite friends Sophia and Paloma. It was the girls first time visiting the museum so Olivia acted as our tour guide. She showed the girls all her favorite areas. We slowly made our way throughout the whole museum as the girls curiously explored and learned about different animals and their fossils, the earth and different climates as well as how the earth shifts. The girls were so sweet sharing the day together and of course Nathaniel followed along and wanted to participate in all that the girls did. What a fantastically fun day of friendship and learning.

The Science Center

Today we set off to one of our favorite San Diego hangouts - The Science Center. It was the first time Nathaniel got fed through his tube in public. The task was a bit challenging because he was connected and wanted to get out of his stroller but we managed. I let him get out for a bit while I followed him around with the pump in the back pack. We did get a few curious looks which did not bother me at all. The kids had a blast learning about tornadoes. Kaleb even went into a tornado booth where he got to experience 70 mile an hour winds. He said it was cool and a bit scary. Kaleb also wanted to watch the IMAX film Tornadoes - I was brave to agree since it was just me and my three kiddos. It was amazing to see Olivia and Nathaniel sit through the 30 minute plus film pretty patiently and quietly. We did this all for big brother Kaleb. After the film, we went to Kid City where all three kids had a blast playing and exploring. What a fun day for us.

Nathaniel is Walking

Nathaniel has been taking a few steps here and there for the last few months. And finally April 1st he decided to take off. I counted 23 steps and had my camera on!! He was so excited of his new achievement. I was thrilled he had reached such a wonderful milestone! I'm so proud of my little man.

PEG Surgery

After much thought and prayer and many doctors recommendations I have decided to go ahead and get a feeding tube (PEG) placed in Nathaniel. I have struggled and worried for 21 moths about his eating and his failure to gain adequate weight. My little guys is 21 months and only weighs 14 pounds. In fact, he has weighed 14 pounds for months. The surgery was scheduled for March 16th then an estimated 7 days of hospitalization to get used to eating.

Thank God the surgery was a success. It took about 45 minutes to get the PEG in place and then about an hour or more for Nathaniel to wake up. When he first woke up he was extremely upset. He was given pain medication and then he went back to sleep. We then were transported to room 3135 where he was to recover. The first few days were especially hard. We were away from our family and the only visitors allowed upstairs because of the flu and cold season were parents. JJ had a volleyball tournament and he left the day after surgery and didn't return until Sunday night. I was on my own doing 24 hour care in the hospital while my sweet mom in law took care of Olivia and Kaleb at home. What a blessing for me not to have to worry about my other two. I was able to focus my 100% attention and time to Nathaniel's care.

Day 2 Nathaniel caught pneumonia and was having a hard time recovering. Poor little guy had to have labs drawn every six hours. We started a slow and steady rate of feeding on day 2. Once the feeding began his body got shocked from the calories and nutrition and thus got re-feeding syndrome. This is common for children who are malnurished. His phosphorus levels dropped dangerously low. This took a few days to get used to but once his body was balanced and became adjusted he perked up and was himself again.

Day 3 We discovered a new fun way to entertain ourselves while feeding- a little red car that Nathaniel quickly became way too attached to. In fact, we clocked in 25 laps around the floor in the red car while he received his feeds.

Day 4 we finally were able to take Nathaniel downstairs in the red car to the lobby where he was able to visit with Nana, Olivia and Kaleb. Nathaniel was thrilled to see his siblings. I was so happy to see the kids together again. 50 laps clocked in on the red car.

The rest of the days were pretty routine - feedings, bloodwork, doctors visits, downstairs visiting with our family and many more laps around the 3rd floor.

Day 6 he was discharged. Nathaniel was so happy not to get poked anymore and to be going home.

Overall, the surgery and hospital experience was not so bad. It was a great time for me to bond deeply with Nathaniel and give him my 100% attention. There was no housework to do, no kids to take to school or pick up. All my time was just devoted to him. We sang all his favorite songs about 100 times, played cars, cuddled, slept together, and just loved each other.

Selling our Home

This is such a hard post to write but I feel as if I have to write about it - therapy. We moved into this house four years ago it closed March 31st 2007. I was in my second trimester pregnant with Olivia. During that time buying a house represented so much for me. It meant a new beginning for JJ and I, a renewing of our commitment to our relationship after two and half years of being separated. A fresh new start. During the last four years, we've built a life together in our home. We've been pregnant five times - we've lost three precious angels and two babies have been brought home. We've shared many holidays, birthdays, and family events. So many memories and traditions have been built together in our home. Yet, we've come to the point where we have to sell the house - our home. It's so hard for me to let go of the house mainly because of the meaning built around it and the dreams I once had that are now lost. Friends and family have tried to comfort me by saying, "it's only a house." Most the time I would agree with this statement because truly it doesn't matter where you live as long as you have your family healthy and happy, however, I don't think they realize how much meaning the house had for me. It's not so much the value of the house, the walls, the rooms or anything like that but rather the commitment that was made from purchasing the house after such a devastating separation. And now watching this dream of our home come to an end - knowing that very soon it will no longer be ours makes it so very hard for me. So, here is the official "for sale" sign and the little angel that brought all this together for us. Our little princess Olivia hugging the sign that is advertising the selling of our home.