HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!
We had a great 4th of July. This was our first time in the pool this year, and it was a good day for it. It was around 100 degrees! I was truly amazed by all three of the kids. Malena was actually JUMPING into my arms in the pool. Forget about the pool, just jumping is the best accomplishment! She just wouldn't stop. My arms are sore from catching her all day. :)

Jacob was so proud of himself for "swimming".

Totally independent, he swam from one end of the pool to the other. Well, of course he had his floaties and a noodle to help out.

Josh did the same as Jake, although he was a little hesitant at first. Daddy just made sure he stayed right next to him.

At night, we roasted marshmallows (I know totally cheezy) and watched fireworks from the back of the car out front, where we could see the local park's fireworks show. There are no fireworks allowed in our area, but I didn't miss them. Nor did I miss the constant fear with the kids being too close to them. We all had a great time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAMMA!

I love you and miss you always. You will be in
my heart forever, and I pass on your beautiful
life with my children. Thank you for your love,
and I thank God every day for giving you to me.

If Tears Could Build A Stairway

If tears could build a stairway
And memories a lane
I would walk right up to Heaven
And bring you back again

No farewell words were spoken
No time to say goodbye
You were gone before I knew it
And only God knows why

My heart still aches in sadness
And secret tears still flow
What it meant to lose you
No one will ever know

But now I know you want me
To mourn for you no more
To remember all the happy times
Life still has much in store

Since you’ll never be forgotten
I pledge to you today
A hallowed place within my heart
Is where you’ll always stay

Author Unknown

How to get three preschoolers to play with their new swing set in the hot sun? Make it a waterslide!

Another Joshy Moment

Another normal day at the dinner table. Why is he sulking and upset? I have no idea. All he would say is, "It's no fair." Yes, poor thing, we were MAKING him eat pizza!

Father's Day Dinnertime
I finally bought a table that all five (mine and my sister's girls) kids can sit out and eat dinner in "peace". They really enjoyed sitting together and actually let us eat our dinner (for five minutes). :) Bonus is my fireplace hearth works as the perfect bench!

CAR WASH

Daddy decided to give the car a wash (finally), but was caught by the kiddos, so he handed them all a brush and a sponge, and let them go for it. They had lots of fun until they all wanted the same sponge (of which Daddy only had one, he'll never learn).

Last Day of School for Malena

Today was Malena's last day of school. Next school year (beginning in July) she will be going to a new school (her home school). Mrs. Hamlett and her staff have been wonderful to and for Malena. I know she LOVES school and I'm sure it's because of the wonderful environment they make in the classroom. They will be missed.

Our new (used) 5 minutes worth of entertainment. Glad I bought it used, because they played on it for five minutes and went back inside to play video games. Uggghh!

Hi all,

Just wanted to share my Down Syndrome association spotlights a child every so often. This time was Malena's turn. I wrote a little paragraph about us and made a short picture montage.

http://www.dsarcw.org/ourkids.htm

Thanks for looking!

My Little Tool Men

Daddy has never been the handiest man around, but he can get some things done when he wants to (and has time). Today was the boys first lesson in tools from Daddy. I think he's trying to hand down the title of the house ToolMan already. ;)

This morning, Daddy left for and overnight business trip early in the morning, before anyone got up. Soon after he left (of course), Malena started crying. since it was only 5 a.m., I brought her to my bed, thinking she'd fall back asleep. No luck, she kept trying to crawl out of bed. Then she got out of bed and went straight for the door. Finally, wanting to get some rest, I locked my door and put on cartoons for her to watch or play in my room. I could hear her playing with her tub toys from my bathroom. I think I slept for about 5 minutes and woke up to silence. I got worried and started looking around the room. I found Malena sound asleep in the cold, hard (yes dry!) bathtub! I know my old mattress is starting to get a little lumpy, but I sure think it's more comfortable than the bathtub! Rascal. :)

Well Joshua finally went in for surgery for his undescended testicle and penile adhesion. Although a fairly "simple" surgery, it's always heartwrenching watching them take your child away for surgery. But before that there were a couple of hiccups. We were told to be there at 12, and when we got there, we found out his surgery wouldn't be until 4! Lots of waiting, but he did good. Then we went in and got him ready, more waiting, then they took him in. After two hours (it was only supposed to be an hour and a half) we were getting worried. Then the nurse came out and asked for "Kwiat". She said the doctor has been trying to reach us, so we got scared, and went in. She got the doctor on the phone (Josh was nowhere in recovery), and then she said the doctor will be right here. We asked her if everything went okay, and she just said the doctor will be here to talk to you, so I was starting to freak out. Longest five minutes ever for the doctor to get there, but as it turns out, everything went very well, the doctor just wanted to take him to the Adult Recovery room because she thought he'd get more individualized care there. (she really took care of us). Then she said that she was able to bring his testicle down, but it is smaller, but it should be fine. She was VERY happy that she corrected the penile adhesion, because she said that was going to cause some real issues later on if it was not fixed, and the only way to fix it because it was so bad was through surgery. Then she told us that she wanted him to spend the night as a precaution due to his heart. The doctor said she would discharge him if we wanted, and I said no, let him stay. So we stayed. Alex went home with the other two and I stayed. Josh didn't recover right away. The anesthesia made him sick. He was very upset most of the night, and the nurses were concerned because he wouldn't pee. The nurse finally brought in an ultrasound to see his bladder, and there was a lot of pee in his bladder, but his diaper was barely damp. She said she'd give him another hour, and if not, they would have to catheterize him. I fell asleep, and apparently he peed, because they didn't cathetarize him. When he woke up in the morning, he was same old Josh. He said, "Hi Mommy, I love you." So cute. Then he ate enough breakfast for two grown men! We went home Saturday morning around 11 and I haven't been able to keep him down since. All is well, just gotta keep him settled, the little crazy, wild boy! :) Unfortunately, no bikes, bars, or sports for up to a month. Good thing he likes those video games. This is the first time I'm thankful for that! LOL

Here's Josh on his way to the hospital.
















Switching glasses with Zeide while waiting for surgery.















Here he is prepping for surgery, wondering why his finger is glowing.










Here he is after surgery, not feeling very good, sleeping in Mommy's arms.











Josh eats up a storm after a rough night.



















Happy to be going home!









Daddy welcomes Josh home in front of the Welcome sign Daddy, Malena and Jacob made for him.

I didn't realize that there was no dance class today, so we got up got dressed, rushed out the door, and there was nobody there. So, instead of just going home, we took them to the park. There was a "triplet" slide, just for them. :) I don't think they missed dance class one bit!

T-Ball Comes to an End

Well, this was the last day of t-ball. It didn't last very long because we started late into the "season", but the kids liked it and Jacob has really perfected his swing. Hehe. And Joshua has learned a little bit how not to hit others, :}, and Malena has learned how to be patient and work as a team (and that we play t-ball before we run for the playground). We had a blast and thought Coach Mike was the best! I really loved seeing the kids learn how to get along and socialize with all the other little kids, and not just them as a unit, but as individuals. It was very interesting. It was also very satisfying to see my boys aren't the only wrestlers. :) They really made friends and I hope we can see some of these kids in future events.

Today was Joshua's one year appointment with the Cardiologist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, and the good news is, his VSD is completely closed! Yeah! He does still have a small "innocent" murmur from the pulmonary stenosis procedure. The doctor said the valves that didn't open all the way now do not close all the way, however, it is a very minimal issue and only needs to be checked every 2-3 years. So we won't need to go back for two years now! Yippee!

Funny thing happened. Joshua and Jacob were rough housing the day before and Joshua got a bloody nose. Real bad, but he was okay after ten minutes or so. Well, just as the cardiologist walks in and asks, "So how is he doing?" and I say, "He's doing great!" only to turn to Josh and see blood pouring out of his nose! I scream, "He's bleeding" and the doctor gets a nurse to bring a towel and we get him to lay down to stop it. It stops, and the doctor checks to make sure it's all okay, but I felt like a dummy saying he's great when he's sitting right next to me pouring blood from his nose. I guess Joshua got a kick out of us all rushing around trying to stop it, because afterward he says, "I bleeding. That punny, Mommy. " :)

Oh, and my little guy weighed in at 32.6 pounds and was 38 inches tall! He's still small, but he's gained quite a bit in the last year. :)

I had a great Mother's Day! I don't remember me ever taking a picture of just me with all three of the kids (Alex has many), as I am usually the photographer, so I made sure I got a pic of me and my little munchkins. :)

T-Ball Anyone?

We finally found a place for three year olds to play a sport. (I guess we need to even out the Ballet/Jazz we have the boys joining Malena in). Jacob really wants to play soccer, but we couldn't find anything, so t-ball it is. No problem, he loves all sports. He's been throwing balls across the rooms since he was 6 months old (really), and he has been hitting a pitch(underhanded) for about a year now. Joshua always loves to throw and hit anything! LOL

The first day went great for Jacob and Malena. Joshua started saying he wanted to go home halfway through. Then they were able to play on the playground, so he was happy. I think Malena shocked everyone with her abilities that day. When the coach was going down the row to field grounders, he got to her and said, "here it comes, Sweetie." She crouched down and held out her hands just like everyone else had before her, and Coach Mike was really impressed. "She did it!" Well, of course she did. The second practice, she didn't do so well. It was after Daddy's birthday lunch and she didn't get her nap, so she through a few fits. But after a while, she saw everyone hitting the ball and running bases, she decided to give it a try. It took a few tries, but she hit the ball off the "T" and all the parents cheered. I was soooo proud of my beautiful girl! :)

I also got to see how well she will be protected in years to come. The coach threw a ball to her, and it went behind her. Another little boy grabbed it and was going to throw it back to the coach, though it was Malena's turn. Well, Joshua knew it was Malena's turn, and grabbed it from the little boy and said, "No, it Lena's turn!" and gave it to Malena. I have to work on his approach with this, but I was so proud that he stood up for his sister. He's MY hero, as well as Malena's!

So now we have pre-school, dance, and t-ball, and hope to add swimming and soccer in June, when t-ball ends. Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Daddy!

Alex celebrated his 35th birthday today. As tradition (for the past two years), we took the kids to Benihana to celebrate. As their third trip there, they are now seasoned veterans. Their first trip, at one year old, Jacob threw the menu on the grill and it melted and smelled up the entire restaraunt. Last year, they did better, but this year they all did great. Joshua was in awe of the chef and his talents, and Jacob just loved sitting next to Daddy on his b-day. Malena loved making a mess! LOL

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Ever since Joshua got his glasses, Malena has wanted them. So much so that she regularly rips them off her face and puts them on hers. Well the other day, she went overboard. I heard Josh crying and when I came in, I saw his face, with blood around his eyes. When I asked what happened, both him and Jacob told me Malena took Joshua's glasses. When I looked, they were laying in the middle of the floor and she was already on her way with her little baby in it's stroller. I've tried giving her own sunglasses, and that works, until she sees Joshua's. Just can't resist that shiny blue metal, I guess. Poor Josh. :( When I asked to get a closer look, he smiled and said, "It okay, Mommy. I alright."