Elise's Birthday

Elise had a birthday recently......well about four months ago, but who's keeping track! I've been a little busy around here!

Her birthday was great fun, however I think Elise was a little overwhelmed. I have zero pictures of her smiling, nor did she smile for anyone that attended! We tried to do a tea party theme, the cake was beautiful- thanks to Trudenia! We had pretty "princess" dresses for all the girls to dress up in, complete with tiara's! We also had a penata, and I've decided to have one at every birthday party to keep the tradition alive as part of their heritage. Plus, it's fun to beat the candy out of something! We are blessed to have so many friends and family that love our children!

Beds and growing...

Well, we have some exciting news! Elise is now in a "big girl bed!" We decided to change her crib last Thursday, Ethan was happy, because he got to help! I thought it was time, because she never wanted to sleep in her crib. She always wanted to sleep in my bed, which was strange, because we have never let our kids sleep with us. Well, the first night was hard, she awoke every hour, I think because she was looking for the barrier of her crib wall. But the next night went well, she slept from 8-6! Now, it is good, she really likes her bed, however she has fallen out a few times and can't get back in it, because it's too high off the ground. Other than that, all is great!

Other news, I took Ethan to see the Endocrinologist again, this is the doctor that runs tests to find out why he isn't growing. So far, all the tests have shown nothing and Ethan has grown a whopping 8Th of an inch since last year. Dr. Dallas really wants Ethan to be on a growth hormone, because he is the size of a two year old and he's 4. It makes me really sad, and we have a big decision to make. This growth hormone would be given in the form of a shot EVERYDAY. It makes me sick to think that I would have to give him a shot! However, we are waiting to find out more information on the drug so we can make an educated decision. My sweet son can walk in the toddler room and he fits right in! The Dr's know that we aren't the tallest people in the world, but this should be the time that he grows the most. We will let you all know when we know! I'm leaning towards giving it to him, and Ramon still isn't sure.

Adios for now!

Flowers, Shots, and Screaming

"Flowers" that Ethan "made" me, very cute. He keeps making sure I haven't thrown them away!

The other day, Ethan was looking at a picture of Ramon and I:

Ethan said: Mom, those are my parents!
Me: Yes, that was when we got married.
Ethan: Mom, I'm gonna get married.
Me: Yes, you will find a special lady to marry some day.
Ethan: Mom, will you be the special lady that marries me? I want to marry you!
Me: yes!
I thought that was so sweet.

Today, Ethan got his 4 year shots. We were both dreading this occasion! I heard that the four year shots are worse than the others. Ethan always acts like he's going to die right there on the table after getting any kind of shot. However, today, he was absolutely ridiculous. I feel sorry for the poor nurse. I was holding his hands and upper body down and she couldn't get the needles to stay in his leg because his muscles were so tight! Finally, it was over. I felt bad for the poor guy. I was trying to get his pants on him and couldn't, so the nurse started to help me. Ethan stopped screaming looked at the nurse and said "Don't touch me!" I started laughing and couldn't quit. The nurse said .."well, I guess you don't want me to touch you!" She went out of the room and Ethan stopped screaming for another second to say "Mom, I do not like that nurser!" He finally stopped crying until we got around the corner and thought he might get sympathy from the people in the hallway or waiting room and started crying again. It was a hard day for him.

Elise is just a stinker, here lately, she has wanted her daddy more than me. She has him just where she wants him..already! Every time she hears the chime from the door open, she says "HIDE" and starts giggling. She is adorable. She has started this really annoying thing where she wants to sleep in my bed. I'm not sure how this came about. I have never let her sleep with me. But, I just keep putting her in her bed and try to explain (to a one year old) that mommy and daddy sleep in there. She isn't getting it! Now, she screams for an hour or more every time she goes to bed. Wonderful! Please tell me this will stop!

Pictures of our new place.

The kids absolutely LOVE to play outside. Ethan said "mom, we picked the right house!" What a great feeling!

Ethan's soon to be Dallas Cowboys room.
Elise's GREEN room.

They really do love each other!

I finally figured out how to work the camera my mother-in-law gave me! Thank you, Olga!

Guido eat me!

So, Elise said her first sentence today, kind of. She was in the living room with Ethan and she tends to mimic her big brother way to often. Ethan is very dramatic, I think he gets that from his daddy! If Guido, (our Akita dog) walks by him, he falls down and holds his arm like he's dying. It's very funny, and kind of annoying. Well, today, Guido was playing with Elise, it's always the same, she puts her hand in his mouth and laughs. Or jumps on him and laughs, or throws something at him and laughs. Poor Guido just looks at me like I should do something about the little person bothering him. Well, today, following her brothers take to the floor, she calls me-
Elise: MOMMY!
me: Yes?
Elise: Guido eat me!
me: What? Did you just say three words together?
Elise: Yeah
Me: Yeah, Guido eat me!

Then she started laughing and carried on. Ethan was still laying on the floor fake crying.

All kinds of new!

Finally, we are in our new house! I would post pictures, however my camera isn't working due to a bad charger. Hopefully soon, I will take care of that. We live in the middle of nowhere, TX, also known as Rhome. So far, we're enjoying that. It takes about 10 or 11 minutes to get to the nearest grocery store, so I plan on stocking up every time I go! The neighbors here are very friendly and have all come to introduce themselves. Apparently they all get together and grill, and watch certain games. Ramon totally loves it, me, on the other hand- not so much of a "talking or hanging out with the neighbors" type of gal. But, I will work on that. :) Guido is LOVING the new yard and new dogs, but he came through the fence chasing after a cat. There seems to be a plethora of cats around here, which I'm not thrilled about. And we just realized that our bushes at the front door are swarming with bees. So, if you have any ideas on how to take care of that, let me know!

On another note, I have a brand new nephew, which I might add is ADORABLE! John Eric Jr., I call him baby J. and I so wanted to put him in my purse and bring him home with me. He was 6lbs 19oz and a tiny little thing. It made me want another one so bad. I was in Killeen when he was born, and stayed with my sister a couple days. Her husband will be home from Iraq tomorrow afternoon for a couple weeks. It will be very hard when leaves to go back, so say a prayer for them.



It has been sinking in lately that I need to figure out where Ethan will be going to school next year. So, today, I started looking, again. I'm having a very hard time with the thought of him leaving me, and that a stranger will be in charge of his life and learning for 4-6 hours a day. It really makes me sick to my stomach, but it has to be done. I think I found a school for him in Decatur, which is about 10 minutes away. It's a private christian school, which is affordable, so we will go check it out soon.

Here is a story about Elise. Tonight I was making dinner and she was in the kitchen. I told her "don't touch the stove, it's hot" she said "NO"! (lately that is all she says- not so cute), she then touched the stove and started screaming and holding her finger out to me. I said, "it's HOT" so the rest of the night she has been saying "hot, hot" all while holding her little red finger out. Kind of funny, and I don't think she will touch the stove again! She used to be my sweet little princess, and lately she has been my fit throwing, no saying, hitting, almost two year old. :(

A cute story!

I have a funny story about Ethan. Yesterday I was sitting in the chair, and he got in my lap, rubbed my face and said "mom, I just love you so much" I said "I love you too Ethan, do you love me even when I'm mad at you?" He said "um...well no!" and I said "well, I love you even when you're being bad" He said.."mom, I really appreciate that!" HA! I just thought that was so funny! Where did he learn the word "appreciate"?

I sing to Elise all the time, and she really loves "Twinkle, Twinkle". The other day I was singing to her and she started finishing me "up above the world so.." and she would say "high" then I would say "like a diamond in the..." and she would say "sky". :) So SWEET! Man, she is starting to surprise me everyday!

I LOVE them!

Random updates!

My church has decided to start the Good News Club at the local elementary school! I'm very excited about this, and have been praying it would happen. However, now I'm stepping WAY out of my comfort zone and will be doing the Bible lesson each week. I'm not sure how many kids will be there, but if the Christmas party is any indication we're looking at close to 75! (We had a Christmas party to see how many children would show up, and they were begging us to come back!) So, I'm very nervous/excited about it finally happening! I also think it will be a great tool in getting children to our Awana program and then possibly Sunday School! I have been working on my lessons that I will be teaching. The first lesson is on Ruth, and doing what's right. I thought it would be good to try out the lesson on Ethan, he was excited to hear a story. So, about five minutes in, he said "mommy, you're scaring me"! HA! OK, so maybe I need to work on it, because that wasn't exactly the outcome I was looking for! I can do this, I know I can!

On another note, Elise has this horrible diaper rash. I have tried baking soda baths, Vaseline, powder, lotrimine, A&D ointment with mylanta (all recommended by the doctor) and nothing has worked so far. I'm not sure what to do, the Dr called in a prescription but it was $200! Needless to say, I will call for something different. If anyone has any other ideas let me know! I have also let her walk around without a diaper, that isn't helping much either. Yesterday, it was funny because Elise walked to the living room with nothing on, and I came in a few minutes later. Ethan didn't have any clothes on either! I said "Ethan where are your clothes"? He said "Sister is naked, aren't we taking a bath"? Ha!

The kids are so funny! Elise is really starting to have a little attitude! I'm not sure where she's getting it, I'm guessing her daddy! Her vocabulary is getting better and better, but she only talks when she wants. She has also started giving kisses, and a lot of them, especially when she is crying to get out of bed. I will go in her room to check on her, she says "up", I pick her up and she kisses me! So, sweet, and I fall for it every time! She also carries her baby everywhere she goes along with a particular blanket. It's so funny to me, because when we leave, she says "baby, baby, baby" to make sure I wont leave it at home.

A funny story about Ethan, a couple weeks ago, after dinner, he was walking funny, I said "Ethan, go to the bathroom" he said, "mom, that's not the pee pee walk, that's the silly walk"! OH! I didn't know!

Updates on Elise: She had an MRI on the 4Th, the Dr called and said her brain looks really good, didn't see any signs of CP, but they did diagnose her with Chiari Malformation type 1. We will do another MRI in 6 months to see if there are any changes. Chiari malformations (CMs) are structural defects in the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance. When the indented bony space at the lower rear of the skull is smaller than normal, the cerebellum and brain stem can be pushed downward. The resulting pressure on the cerebellum can block the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (the liquid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord) and can cause a range of symptoms including dizziness, muscle weakness, numbness, vision problems, headache, and problems with balance and coordination. There are three primary types of CM. The most common is Type I, which may not cause symptoms and is often found by accident during an examination for another condition. The Dr seems to think it will not change, but will keep a close "eye" on her.

This is all I've got for now!

I love Saturdays!

First of all, I would like to inroduce myself. My name is Ramon and I am the husband of the blogger here. I don't know why, but I find myself motivated to fill you guys in on our typical Saturday.

Saturdays are the best day of the week in my opinion. It usually starts with me getting up at about 7 am (or earlier, that's sleeping in for me). I make a cup of coffee and proceed to catch up on my local current events online. It's usually about an hour later that Ethan, our 4 year old comes into the living room to join me, usually with the greeting "Daddy, I didn't potty in my bed!" Today was a little different, a little more special. My 10 year old son, Ramon IV or Little Ramon, was visiting for the weekend. His visits are becoming few and far between. Anyway, he is the first one out of bed this morning and his first act is to give me a huge bear hug. I used to love those bear hugs until he started trying to catch up to me height wise. Pretty soon, I will be Little Ramon and he will be Big Ramon. I begin my Saturday morning ritual of preparing breakfast. I know it will only be a matter of time before Ethan and Elise are up and running around. Sure enough, just as soon as the bacon starts cooking, here comes Ethan, so excited because "bubba" is here. Shortly after Ethan's entrance, I hear Elise start laughing and calling for mama. That is usually my cue to shut the door to our bedroom to allow Kristy about an extra hour or so of sleep. I open the door to Elise's room and there is nothing like the feeling of having those beautiful blue eyes open wide at my entrance and that huge smile that she gets when I come into the room. She really makes me feel special. I bring her into the kitchen and straight to her high chair. She knows whats coming. She too is pretty excited about seeing her "bubba." As I am busy in the kitchen, I can't help but to keep watching my kids playing together. Some of the sweetest sounds on earth are the noises kids make when they are getting along. Ramon is such a good big brother. It's funny watching Ethan tackle him and pretend like he is beating up the bad guy. And Ramon plays the role and lets Ethan win. Elise is happy watching while snacking on some Cheerios. Finally breakfast is ready. Usually, I take Elise and put her on the bed to wake up mommy. Today is a little different because I had to run to the store for some OJ, milk and bacon, so Kristy is already up. We all sit at the table and just enjoy each others' company.

I look forward to Saturdays. But as I was driving Ramon back to his mom's house, I couldn't help but wonder how many of those saturdays we will have. Ramon is already at that preteen stage, about 2 years too early. It's only a matter of time before Ethan, then Elise hit that same stage. Its sad to think about, but for now, I am going to keep enjoying those Saturday mornings.

Well, since I'm on a roll...

Here is the story of my sweet angel Elise! She was definitely a surprise also! We had just sold our house and moved into a TINY two bedroom apartment. We weren't sure what God had in store for us, and what an amazing story it turned out to be! This is going to be long, so bear with me!

We were hoping this pregnancy wouldn't be nearly as hard. It started out bad, but luckily, the all day "morning" sickness became somewhat tolerable. It was scary, because we didn't have insurance and weren't exactly sure what to do. It wasn't something we planned, but God definitely did! I called my Dr. as soon as we knew, and he was immediately willing to help out where he could.

Our pastor called Ramon and I in to talk, and he told us the church wanted to help pay for EVERYTHING- All the Dr bills, and the entire pregnancy. Meaning, visits, inevitable hospital stays, and anything we needed! We were reluctant at first, but he said that if we didn't let the church do this, we would be preventing a blessing from God.

So, it started. I needed a shot of Rhogam almost immediately due to some bleeding. Rhogam is a shot given to RH negative pregnant women to help stop hemolytic disease of the newborn. Obviously, the shot and actually going to the Dr cost money..which we didn't have. I called Dennis (our pastor), I was told to go to the Dr, and it was taken care of! What a wonderful feeling to have a caring, loving church family. We don't even have the words to explain how we felt. Everyone was touched, all of the staff in our Dr.'s office, family, friends, no one could understand why a church would take on such responsibility. But, God knew!

Needless to say, I ended up on bed rest. The entire pregnancy was so humbling, we had to rely on everyone, including the wonderful teenage girls that were taking care of me EVERYDAY! Yes, every morning Sarah, Emily or Hannah were dropped off at my apartment to take care of Ethan and to do all the things I couldn't do. This was very hard for me to accept, and on occasion, the girls were "telling" on me if I was getting out of bed!

Finally, I had to go to the Dr because of my blood pressure. I knew it was bad, because of the headaches, and nothing was helping. I went to see the nurse, she took my blood pressure, then took it again, and then.. took it again! She brought me to a room and made me lay down. Dr. K walked in and said he was admitting me! WHAT! NO! I was so upset! But, I knew it had to be done. Thankfully, I was only there a few days. The Dr.'s got my blood pressure under control and sent me home! I was thrilled, and had hope that I would make it through the entire pregnancy. All of the nurses knew me and Ramon because of being there with Ethan. (It was neat during staff change to see who would be next!) We were able to tell our story about the church and what God was doing. They were all enthralled, and would just sit and talk to us, because they wanted to know more! After we got home, I started to worry about the huge bill that the church would get. Then, the Dr called me and informed me that the ENTIRE bill was taken care of! He said that he talked to the staff and not to worry about a thing! WHOA! OK, so God had this thing under control!

Within a couple weeks, it was time for another (scheduled) Dr. visit. I had been praying about this baby, along with everyone else at church. Something just didn't feel right to me. After praying, I went to the Dr visit. The Dr said he thought everything looked good, and that I could probably make it another week. However, I told him we shouldn't wait any longer, and I felt like I should have her quickly. He walked out of the room, then came back in and said "Go to the hospital, and I will meet you there." I said, "Right now?!" So, off we went, I stopped by the house to tell the girls and give Ethan a kiss. I grabbed my bag (that had been packed) and headed off. I made all the phone calls I could think of at that crazy moment.

At the hospital we were waiting, and waiting.......and waiting! Finally, I was given the spinal and the C-Section began. It was awful, and I was begging them to put me to sleep! But then, there she was, this itsy bitsy little baby! The Dr hurriedly showed her to me over the curtain. What a miracle! The Dr. said "OH MY GOSH!" I didn't know what he was talking about, scared, I asked what was going on. He said the placenta looked like a "war zone," and "if we waited a DAY longer, Elise wouldn't have made it!" That was a life changing moment for me. We thank God for His grace, and for the Dr's that actually listened to me.

We also wouldn't have the medical care we needed without our church family. We worship such a big God, and we saw lives touched by Him through Elise. My children really know how to make an entrance into this crazy world! There are so many other factors to this story, but I will save those for another blog! Thank you, God, for showing us Your glory! We are blessed to have Elise, she is a precious/feisty little thing! Elise Marie Medina 4-30-07 2lbs, 12oz 15in long!