Cutie Patootie

Rebecca with her first pigtails!

                                                           

Pictures from Panama

I wanted to share a few pictures from our trip to Panama. These are after Rachel was out of the hospital and we were trying our best to give her some fun and happy memories of the trip!

On Thursday afternoon we went to a really nice mall and let Rachel ride on the carousel and some of the other little kid rides.

Friday morning we went to a science museum kind of place called Explora. There were all sorts of exhibits to learn about gravity, electricity, the stars, wind, etc.... it was fun and we had a very nice tour guide lady too.

Learning how a pulley system works- Rachel liked this one alot.

Big map of Panama

Watching a 3D movie about airplanes and how they fly.

Then we headed home for lunch and took off for a quick trip to the beach. We went to beautiful resort called Breezes. There were pools, great food and of course the beach.

                                                                                               

All of us arriving at the resort.

Special thanks for my inlaws for taking us all to the beach!

We had a great time.

Rebecca's first trip to the ocean with her uncle Adan

Rachel and her Dad making a sandcastle

 Rachel's cousin-Ivy celebrated her 17th birthday while we were there. We went to a nice italian restaurant for dinner that night. Here is Rachel, her cousin, Ivy, her tia Jeanny and cousin Amy.

Rebecca and I spent some time in the pool. It was so hot and sunny, and I didn't want her getting too much sun. She loved the water and seemed to have alot of fun.

Saying "goodbye" to our wonderful weekend at the beach!

On Monday, we had to go back to the hospital for a checkup with Rachel's doctor and to finish up the never ending paperwork.  Then home to pack and then we went to local photo studio. We all had a big family picture taken.

This is before the pictures, we were waiting in the lobby. I think it is interesting to see Rebecca with her blue eyes and blondish hair in the middle of the rest of us with brown eyes and hair.

After pictues we went out for some pizza and then home to get everyone to bed.

I had to put this in- Rebecca took her bath each day in this little tub. She loved it so much.

Even though our trip didn't quite go as planned, we were thankful to see our family and spend time with one another. We made some great memories!

                                                         

Princess and the Frog

We had a nice and relaxing weekend. On Saturday, we went over to some friends for dinner. They grilled steaks and we ate lots of good food. The girls played and played and then it was time to come home.

Yesterday, we went to church. It was good to be back to church. We had only missed two Sundays, but it felt longer than that. I left a little early and picked Rachel up from her Sunday school class. I told her that I had a surprise for her. She has been wanting to see the movie The Princess and the Frog, since it arrived before Christmas. I kept thinking to take her, and then time just got away from me. Right now it is showing at the dollar movie theater, so yesterday afternoon we went. Rachel was so excited and happy to be at the movies. She hasn't been to very many movies at the theater. Of course we had popcorn and lemonade. We also snuck in some chocolate candies too! It was a cute movie and Rachel seemd to like it.

She did not want her picture taken at the theater. She thought we would get in trouble. So this was the best I could get!

And finally, this morning, I wondered why Rebecca was being soooo quiet?

Kleenx anyone?

                                                                       

11 Months

While we were in Panama, this little cutie turned 11 months old!

Rebecca is growing so fast and in a few weeks it will be her first birthday! She continues to grow and learn lots of new things everyday.  Right now Rebecca likes to:

Eat!!

Climb the stairs and open cupboard doors

Clap her hands and wave good-bye

Pull off her socks and chew on her toes

Play with her big sister

Take naps in the car

Splash in the bathtub and make a big mess

Kiss her babydolls and "talk" on the phone

Her hair is so long and tends to lose the curl in front after a nap, so I am trying a new little hairstyle for her.

Of course, most of the time she rips the hair thingy right out and has crazy baby hair instead-ha!

some pictures of her in Panama

We love you Rebecca!

                                         

Home Sweet Home!

We are back home from our trip to Panama. We arrived Tuesday evening to find snow on the ground! Just a few hours before we had been in ninety degree weather-crazy!  Our trip to Panama was an eventful one, things did not quite go as planned.....

Rachel had been sick with a cold the week we were leaving. It didn't get better or worse all week, until early Friday morning. She woke up having an asthma attack. I gave her the inhalers, had her rest, and by the time we left for the airport, she was OK.

To make a very long story short- Rachel struggled the entire flight to breath. She was using every muscle she had to take each breath. She was anxious, exhausted, burning with fever, just not doing well at all. We made it to Panama and were able to get her to a special doctor right away. He admitted her to ER for treatment. There we found she had pneumonia. We knew she was sick, but had no idea just how sick she was.

Rachel spent the next five days in the hospital. It was a long few days, but finally on Wednesday afternoon she was discharged from the hospital! We were so thankful to have her feeling better. She was still pretty weak and tired really easily, but her spirits were good and she was excited to at her abuela's house!

Just a few pictures of our girl during her hospital stay.

With a therapist- getting a treatment

The cutest balloon girl ever! From my brother and sister in law. They have a company that creates decorations for parties, businesses, etc... Rachel loved her balloons.

San Fernando Hospital were Rachel stayed

Feeling better and playing with her daddy.

Her Zhu Zhu pet -I had brought one from Georgia to give to her in Panama. She had been wanting one for awhile- she was so happy to get it. Really made our day to see her smile.

2-23-2010

A surprise birthday party for me at the hospital . My bday was on the 24th and Rachel helped to plan a party for me. She was so cute, even changed into a dress. She was very excited about the whole thing. It was a lovely party- great food, cake, and some wonderful gifts too. Really brightened Rachel's spirits to have this little get together and she could see all of her family for awhile.

February 24th! Going home day! This is Rachel with her wonderful doctor- Dr. Smith and one of the aides that took great care of her.

Another wonderful nurse.

Wheeling her out to the car-time to go home!

Just love this picture! This is right when Rachel got home.  Rachel and Rebecca just laughed and smiled and hugged for the longest time. They had really missed each other.

We are so thankful to the wonderful doctor, nurses and hospital for taking great care of Rachel and getting her well again. We couldn't have made it through without the help of Raphael's family, especially his parents. They took care of Rebecca the entire time, so I could be at the hospital all day with Rachel. I knew Rebecca was having a wonderful time with her grandparents. And Raphael's brother and his wife too. They brought us food, drove us back and forth to the hospital, and gave wonderful support. We love you all !

And of course, we are praising the Lord that Rachel was able to recover quickly and is doing so well now. I was saying so many prayers-and I know lots of our friends and family were praying too. At so many times during this ordeal, I kept thinking that I knew it could be worse. And that there are so many children who are ill, enduring daily tests and treatments, crying for their moms and dads, and that many of them will not get better, they won't get to go home after a few days. I tried really hard to keep a brave face for Rachel, not to cry in front of her, make her even more scared than she already was. We have always been blessed to have two healthy and happy little girls. This situation made us realize how fortunate and blessed we are. I knew the Lord was with us and was keeping watch over our Rachel. 

Some more pictures of our trip to come soon!

                                                 

Packing for Panama!

In just a few days we are flying off to Panama! We are all so excited to get there and see our family. I have been packing and getting all the little details finished up before we go.  Rachel can hardly stand the waiting- She loves vacations, flying in airplanes, staying in hotels(or cruise boats for us!), eating in restaurants, buying souvenirs! I know the trip will be alot of fun and we are looking forward to our first cruise!

Last Friday, it started snowing in the afternoon and didn't stop all night. The girls were supposed to have hair cuts Saturday morning, but we had to cancel. The roads were ice-topped with snow. So instead, Rachel and I bundled up and played outside for awhile. Raphael took some pictures, but they are in his camera, so I will post them another time maybe.

All the pretty snow!

Later that day, we took the girls to a wonderful babysitter and Raphael and I went for a Valentine's date. First we had lunch at a really good sandwich shop and then we went to see the movie Avatar- in 3D. It was a good movie, glad that we were able to see it in 3D. Pretty amazing- easy to see why it has won so many awards. Raphael and I had a good time together. Definitely have to do some more date nights.

Yesterday, Rachel starting feeling yucky in the afternoon and really bad by evening. She and Rebecca were both in bed and asleep by 6:30! Rachel woke up feeling better, but not quite herself, so I kept her home from school today. We have been taking it easy, eating jello, and watching lots of cartoons. And Miss Rebecca is still fighting with a runny-stuffy nose. Poor baby!

Now- off to finish packing!

                                                                

Owl be your valentine!

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and Rachel has a few parties to attend. She is having a party at school tomorrow and then off to another party after school . I decided to try and make valentines for all of her friends this year. I like trying to be crafty and it was a lot of fun to do. And a lot more work than I thought it would be. On the website it all looked so simple and quick-ha!  The process took longer than I imagined, but Rachel is happy with the valentines. And I just love the little owls- so cute.

I made some with heart eyes and eyelashes for the girls.

And an extra big one for her teacher.

And Rachel wanted some to give to the bus driver, the mail lady,

her friends at church.... so I made a few more :)

A little cutie- wearing her valentines shirt from Nana.