RSV hits them!

Joscel and Joshua are just ones of the many kids who got hit with the RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). Joshua got sick first on Dec. 22 and we thought it was just a normal cold. He was terrible for a couple of days but he recovered without being taken to the emergency. Then on Christmas eve, Joscel started getting low grade fever, cold and cough. We thought it was the same as Joshua's situation. But days after, she got worse. We had to rush her to the emergency at 12 midnight of Dec. 28. We had no idea that it was RSV already.

The first 2 days at the Children's hospital was unbearable. She was just sleeping all day and had no energy at all. She looked miserable and wouldn't eat nor drink so they had to give her an IV. It helped her quite a bit in terms of rehydration but still with low energy. She just started talking and playing on the 3rd day. She had a few sips of chocolate milk, and other juices and she eats just ice cream. 4th day was waaay better. She was munching on strawberries, cookies, sandwiches and other food that the hospital offers. And she was talking a lot and we found her dancing too! 

Jo and Joshua stayed here overnight to spend the New Year together as a family and it was a great feeling to see the twins play again. I could tell that Joscel was happy to hear Joshua's loud voice before she went to sleep (At home, Joshua talks a lot before going to sleep and Joscel got used to it now!)

We are for sure not going home yet since she is still on oxygen and IV. They might wean her off today and who knows, tomorrow might be the day! Thanks for all the prayers.....

They turned 3!

Yay! Our twins are 3! 

This year, we decided to do their birthday party in a restaurant where we could fit all the visitors. It was a great idea because we didn't have to deal with the stress of cleaning up, cooking, and preparing for the place. All we had to do was go there a little bit early to hang the signs, blow the balloons and just sit and wait for the guests!

It was a different feeling for all of us especially for Joscel and Joshua since they understand the meaning of having fun now. They love looking at the bday sign with their names and all the balloons on the walls! And of course, THE CAKE!!!

Here are the big girls guarding the stuffies for giveaways, coloring books and the crayons!

It wasn't even time for gift opening yet, but since it was their bday, we just let them do it!

That day was really snowy and the roads were bad but we really are thankful that most of our guests came!

The twins are growing!

I finally recovered my password to this blog!!!

Anyway, Joscel and Joshua are 32 months (2 yrs & 8 mos.) old now. They are really growing fast and there is no way to stop it!

They are talking full sentences now and a lot of people are surprised to hear them say the words clearly. They are still reading (of course). They giggle a lot when they're playing and laugh when there's something funny in the show they are watching. They love to sing and dance and they are getting stubborn too!

This year's summer has been good to us. We've been enjoying the weather. We're happy to have a huge backyard where they can run around and play without having a hard time chasing them or worrying they could get hit by a car.

More updates will be posted soon....

Health updates

After a month of being on oxygen, Joshua finally graduated from it. But we were told to keep the oxygen machine at home for another 2 months just in case he needs it. They'll do a test again on his oxygen sats in 2 months and will decide whether to keep the machine or return it.

He's sure glad to be free from it though!

He also had his thyroid checked, (he has hypothyroidism). Everything is still the same in terms of taking his regular pill/levothyroxin and will be checked again in a year. Hopefully, his thyroid will work on its own and won't need those pills anymore.

He is also walking on his own now and loves the freedom he has.

Last week, they had their regular eye check-up at the Children's and they still haven't decided when to do a surgery on Joshua's drifting eyes.

Joscel's case is still the same, her right eye is still weak so more eye patching to do until June.

They are also on QVAR puffers until September to prevent severe asthma attack.

It may sound like that our kids are high-maintenance (I guess they are) but we already expected that when they came out a little early. We are just glad that God has been in control ever since and that they are in good health and growing normally and I would say, they are really smart!

March 7-11, Joscel's hospital admission

Joscel took her turn on being admitted to the hospital for 5 days. The doctors said she had asthma but when they did an x-ray on her chest, they found some white spots (like what they saw on her x-ray last year when she was hospitalized). They were thinking that she had pneumonia again or maybe those white spots from last year didn't really go away. Anyway, they gave her dexamethasone (steroids) for 5 days and antibiotics as well.

It was funny to see the doctors get confused who's really sick when they see both of our babies on oxygen. Some of the nurses remember Joshua and us!

Playtime with daddy.... It's a good thing that the crib was strong enough to hold them!

Fifth day,,,, they did an overnight test with Joscel on room air and she did well. Just waiting for the doctor to say "you can go home now".

She was sent home without oxygen and is doing really well.

Asthma attack!

We thought that there would be no more visits to the emergency and no more stay at the hospital this year but we were wrong. It's out of our control....

Joshua had an episode 2 weeks ago. He had an asthma attack and we thought it was just a normal one. But days passed by and we noticed that instead of him getting well with ventolin, he was getting worse and his lips turned blue when he coughed. So we decided to take him to the emergency.

The nurses assessed him and sure enough, his oxygen was down to 86 so they took him in right away. As usual, they gave him oral steroids (which I was told was equivalent to 3 years of QVAR, another kind of puff/steroid for people with asthma). He didn't get better so they had to admit him for the night. Both Children's hospital and PLC were full so they had to wait for a bed to be available. PLC had it first so they transferred him there thru an ambulance.

To make our story short, Joshua stayed at the hospital for 7 days and went home on oxygen. He'll be on it for a month and will be checked to see if he'll be ok without it.

We've learned that Joscel and Joshua were that close as brother and sister. They were looking for each other (Joscel asking for her BOBO and Joshua asking for his SISI). It was heartbreaking coz they didn't see each other for 3 days. We were in an isolation room so we thought Joscel wasn't allowed to go in. But as soon as the nurses asked for Josh's sister, we took her to see him and it was fun to see how excited they were to see each other!

Here they are, playing nyt-nyt time with their new bear.

Waiting for the discharge papers,,,,,

And back to normal! Yay!

I just turned 30!

Turning 30 is not really exciting. I guess I'm a little scared to grow old. Everybody was telling me that it's just a number. At least at my age, God already blessed me with 2 cute babies! And I was happy I celebrated this special day with my family.

We always check for restaurant deals online and we're glad to catch one from Graze Grill so we went there for a Sunday brunch. Food was great!

Not to mention that Joscel and Joshua were eating like crazy!!

After eating out, we decided to go to Cross Iron Mills....

Here's Jo showing off the bears he made displayed at the mall....

And a birthday celebration won't be complete without a cake ( I think... ). The kids were curious what an ice cream cake would look and taste like so we got one from DQ. And sure enough, they loved it!

A New Year with a Larger Family

We still can't believe that our used to be quiet house is a full-house now! At first, Joscel and Joshua were a little shocked with the screaming, laughing and giggling that their cousins were making. But a few days later, they started to be louder than them and they enjoy them now!

It also works for me coz I have new and no-pay babysitters!

Though New Year celebration in the Philippines is a lot different than our celebration here in Canada, we made sure that it's also fun for all of us!

One big happy family!

We are also praying that someday, the rest of our family in the Philippines can come here too so we can be together again, just like the old times....

Fun in the Snow!

Since snow is new to my sister's family, they loved watching and playing in it. It's a good thing we have a huge sloped backyard where they could go sliding anytime they want.

Our brother-in-law trying to be brave at -3*C.

He had no idea that we here at Calgary consider this temperature spring conditions...LOL

And a bonfire was nice in this cold weather...

They also went sliding in the park close to our house...

A Christmas to remember

The most awaited moment has arrived! My sister's family from the Philippines finally got their visas. They arrived here on Christmas eve, 1 hour before Christmas! It was emotional and at the same time exciting for all of us.....

I wasn't able to go to the airport to pick them up because the twins were already sleeping but I was at home to open the door and welcome them!!!

They requested a Turkey dinner for Christmas Eve (Noche Buena), and they loved it!