This is the 2nd part of their birthday party (adults' time). It was great to see everybody that night!

Nurse Jasmin and nurse Claire.. 2 of the NICU nurses who took care of them when they were at the hospital. Joscel and Joshua also showed-off how smart they are with their numbers, ABC's etc...

Our late visitors!

Joscel and Joshua's 2nd B-day!

Yup, it's been 2 years!!! Can't believe these two are growing so fast. We can't imagine anymore how small they were when they were born...

This year, we are doing a 2-part birthday celebration. One for the parents with kids and 1 for the adults. We decided to do it this way because the house was packed last year and everyone had no where to sit.

Joscel and Joshua are more attentive and playful now. They can actually tell you what they like and don't like.

And here they are, tasting their cake!

Of course, amazed at all the gifts they got!

Updates about their health and development

So far, we haven't had a trip to the emergency and it's been a couple of months, thank God!

Joscel and Joshua are both nearsighted that's why they are required to wear glasses. Here's the thing about Joshua's eyes though. His left eye wanders when he tries to focus specially when he's watching tv. We were told that he might have a surgery to fix it if the glasses don't help. We just can't force them to wear their glasses all the time since they pull them out immediately.

Joscel started walking when she was 18 months old (15 months adjusted). And now, she's walking and running all over the house. Joshua is being checked by his physiotherapist and was told to have weak hips. He's gonna walk but he'll take his time. For now, he needs to exercise his hips and legs. So far, he can take 2-3 steps on his own.

And they are both talking and love to copy whatever we say!

"Sick" week

Last week was a "SICK" week for us. After our trip to Edmonton, Joshua had a cold, was coughing and had a slight fever. 2 days after, it was my turn. Flu hit me. I was in bed for hours and just couldn't get up so Jo had to take care of Joscel and Joshua. He was complaining a lot by the way... He said it's so hard to take care of 2 babies at once (hey, that's what I've been doing for almost 2 years now!). Anyway, thankfully, I got better after resting and taking tylenol. The next day, it was Joscel and Joseph's turn.

We also found out that Jo tore his right shoulder's rotating cap. Maybe he forced it when he was lifting heavy stuff while he works. So now, he can't work for a bit. He needs that "cap" to heal first.

Twins' first long drive

We drove to Edmonton to kinda celebrate Erin and Mark's birthday. It was Joscel and Joshua's first long drive.

On our way there, we made sure that it would be their nap time so we left at 12:30 pm. Joshua slept for 2 1/2 hours so he was fine but Joscel only slept for an hour and was grumpy for the rest of the trip! I gave her snacks, books and toys but she pushed them all away.

As soon as we reached the hotel, she was happy as can be.... I guess she doesn't have the patience (like Mommy!)

We didn't take pictures of our "window shopping" at West Edmonton Mall but we sure had fun there.

We also made sure that we took advantage of the pool and hot tub in the hotel.

Joscel and Joshua enjoy bath together...

And of course, they love to make a mess, not only at home, but everywhere.

Our babies can read...

We've been busy with kids' stuff lately and we're happy that they are doing really well for a couple of months now. We noticed that since we kept them home, (we used to go out a lot plus the "not so fun" trips to the emergency) Joscel and Joshua are staying healthy. It's so nice to see them in great health and condition.

Here's what keeps them busy lately.

My sister's visit...

My sister from Grande Prairie was here last week and stayed for 4 days. She had to get her medical done for their family immigration papers. It went well and we're hoping in 3 months time, her family will be joining us here in Calgary for good.

The plan is, Jo will finish the basement. Our house is a 4-level split so they will occupy the fireplace and the basement, and we will stay upstairs (as if it will always stay that way, knowing that we like to be together all the time!)

It is always fun to have her around, at least one member of my own family could experience playing with my twins. We both love cooking and her 4-day stay made us gain a few pounds! We also took advantage of the great weather. We were out in our front yard enjoying it!

Keep her and her family in your prayers so we can all be together again.....

They're wearing glasses

The time has come, they are wearing glasses now. Joshua wasn't supposed to wear them yet but we noticed a couple of months ago that his eyes drift sideways when he focuses. He is nearsighted but it wasn't that bad. We were also told that his case needs an operation of the eye muscle but don't know when.

Joscel is also nearsighted, though the left eye is the worse one. The left lens of her glasses is thick. These glasses aren't hers, we are still waiting for the right frame.

We are still having troubles putting them on since they get irritated when they wear them, I guess. It just takes time getting used to them and that means more patience from us.

All is well

Yep, everyone is doing better now. It turned out that Joshua didn't get FMD. He just had an episode of diarrhea and vomiting. Having 2 sick kids could drive you crazy sometimes but I'm glad that they are both ok now.

Joscel also had her follow-up chest x-ray today. If you recall, she was hospitalized for 2 consecutive months for pneumonia. They x-ray today showed that she still has a little fluid in her lungs but was explained by the doctor that it usually goes/clears away after 6-8 weeks. We are already on the 6th week so we're hoping that it will totally go away in 2 weeks. So far, we're not seeing anymore signs of her having trouble breathing. And she looks very active anyway. In fact, we caught a video of her giggling while playing with her new "sneezing puppy".

Here we go again..

Last week was another stressful week for us specially for Joshua.. He had a fever for 5 consecutive days and we had no idea what was going on. We took him to the emergency to be checked and the doctor said that everything was fine, maybe it was just due to his 2 molar teeth coming out. I guess she was true. He got better the 6th day. And we thought that everything's gonna go back to normal 'til Joscel took her turn. Her temperature went up to 39 so we thought she'll be fine too. But on the third day of having fever (not to mention the sore on her tongue and gum, while puking and having diarrhea), it was her turn to be taken to the emergency. We found out that those sores weren't just canker, she got "foot and mouth disease". Until now, we are still wondering where she got that from. I feel very sorry for her since they said that those are extremely painful for 3-4 days and will stay in her tongue for a week or 2. She's also not eating right now. And she just started drinking milk yesterday!

We are also afraid that Joshua might have gotten it too since it's very contagious. He just started crying this afternoon and won't take his bottle. We checked his tongue and gum, we're not sure if those blisters are already signs that he got the disease. Ughhhh ! Poor kiddos. All we have to do right now is just pray and hope that they'll feel better soon. Hopefully after this, no more having a trip to the ACH emergency.

We'll keep you posted about their health as much as we can.

Learning things...

As Joscel and Joshua grow, we continually see the differences in their personalities. A very specific example is the food they like. Joscel loves eating fresh tomatoes, cucumber, banana, apples, and other fruits and veggies. She doesn't like eggs and other meat. Joshua eats almost anything except tomatoes, apples, and other fruits and veggies. So sometimes, I have to cook separate food for both of them. It depends on what they like!

With regards to strolling, you can't keep Joscel in her stroller. She'll stay seated for maybe, 3-5 minutes and if you don't pick her up right away, she'll scream her lungs out. Unlike Joshua, he can stay seated for hours as long as you push the stroller. He basically likes going out. Whenever he sees the door, he goes straight to the closet where their sweaters are, point at it and say "bye!".

Here's a video showing how they fight over their toys, and this happens everyday! Just to warn you, this video shows that Joscel is the bossy one but in reality, Joshua is a bully to his sister!

Another Hospital moment for Joscel..

I can't believe it's been a month since I updated our blog. We've been very busy keeping up with a lot of stuff at home, specially our babies' health. And to mention that Joscel was rushed to ACH Emergency (again) last week. We noticed that she was breathing really fast, 60-70 breaths/minute and that means, she's really having a hard time breathing. They did a quick assessment on her and took her straight to a room. They gave her oxygen to help her breath and as expected, she was admitted. The doctors did an xray on her and the result showed exactly the same as the pneumonia she had last month. She recovered fast enough that they took her oxygen off the next day.

Since it's a recurring pneumonia, the doctors think that the first time Joscel had it, it didn't really go away after a month (they couldn't tell if that's true because they didn't do a follow-up xray on her). Learning from their mistake, their gonna do another xray in June. Then they'll know if it was for sure a pneumonia or it could be an obstruction in her lungs (hope not).

Because of these hospital experiences, I'm already traumatized. Whenever I notice Joscel's breathing becoming fast, I worry right away. I feel like I'm having the nervous breakdown I had when I was a kid. It's hard to control it but I just turn my hope and faith to God, and rest assured, He keeps me calm most of the time.

Recovering...

Last week we were at a familiar setting. On April 2, we took Joshua to the ACH emergency because he had trouble breathing, was vomiting, and coughing. It turned out that he had a minor case of bronchiolitis and asthma. A couple of days after that, Joscel was coughing and had short-labored breathing. We were scared she could have asthma as well. When they checked her at the emergency, her oxygen level was very low. After a series of testings, they found out that she had a slight case of pneumonia. She had problems keeping her oxygen up so she needed an extra boost. It took her 4 days to bring it back up on her own. After that, we were finally sent home with the rest of her antibiotics.

3 days after that, she had another episode. She started vomiting, 4 times within an hour so we decided to bring her back to the emergency. They gave her an anti-vomiting fluid and fortunately, she stopped puking after that. When we got home that night, Jo woke up vomiting and having diarrhea. Then we realized that they might have caught something from the vietnamese noodles that both of them ate earlier that day. My tummy is acting weird too but hopefully, i don't get it as bad as they did coz I have to take care of them all.

Best buddies?!

Everyday, we discover how these two can be good or bad friends. Though sometimes Joshua makes Joscel cry (by biting or hitting her), Joscel manages to make Joshua laugh.

Turning 1 year old (ADJUSTED)

At the end of this month, Joscel and Joshua are turning a year old (adjusted). It's hard to believe that time flies so fast.

They are not walking yet though they travel from couch to couch and very eager to walk using their walkers. They babble non-stop and try to copy everything we say and do. They love Barney and all the cartoons they watch on TV. We also noticed lately that they love playing with pots and pans no matter how I make their toys attractive!

They got their eyes tested again and Dr. Ells said that they are still nearsighted and will wear glasses in the future. And no more monthly check-ups meaning they are really doing well.

We caught Joscel pulling Joshua's ear (as always) as they watch TV. Not to mention that Joshua likes to hit Joscel (he thinks it's funny)..

We're still here!

Joscel and Joshua are 1 year and 2 months now (11 months adjusted). They are just practicing and learning to walk by themselves. They like to copy what we do and I think they are talking too (in a different/baby dialect though). It is so much fun to play with them and learn something new about them every single day.

But the sad thing lately is, the 4 of us are sick. They are saying that it's all over Calgary (flu season) and everybody seems to have it. We are all coughing and sneezing. We just feel bad for our babies coz we have to wipe their nose all the time and they hate it. Keep us in your prayers pls...

Joscel and Joshua had that NICU haircut since they came out of the hospital. Jo decided to cut and make Joshua's hair even. He did so well while daddy was cutting his hair!

Valentines 2010

It was a different feeling to celebrate Valentine's day with our babies for the first time. It was a great feeling actually!

We went to a hotel in SW with Jhen's family and we had loads of fun!

And here are Joscel and Joshua ready to leave....

And because our babies are tough enough now, we just put them anywhere!

THe hotel we stayed in had a swimming pool. It was a little scary for us to take Joscel and Joshua for swimming for the first time. They look cute in their swimsuits though...

Joshua seemed to like the pool (well, he likes being in his tub at home anyway) but Joscel seemed to be bored about it. Maybe she was too tired...

One happy family...