Daddy Day Reloaded…

I got to spend the day with one of my lovelies yesterday. They say it could not be done but we shattered the theory. Yes, it is possible, a 23 month old can go wade fishing for bonefish!!! What, you say impossible… I say it was inevitable.

I prepared the night before making sure not to leave anything behind. I did not want to have a disaster on my hands. Diapers…check, butt cream… check, sippy cup… check, snack… check, toys… and the list went on and on. Kind of felt we were moving. I get up at around 5:05am and get everything ready before I get Mia. By 5:45am I am in her room changing her. She was in a daze. I did things quickly so that I could get her into the car seat without her really waking up. Mission accomplished. We drove silently to the bait shop and being that it was still dark out, she was lucid.

As soon as I got the shrimp and got back into the car, I handed over her warm milk that she usually drinks in the morning. I began to talk to her about what we were going to do. She looks at me and smiles. Anything sounds good when you are drinking warm milk.

I park and get the gear ready. I put her into her beach stroller and we head for our mile hike to the “Hole.” Still dark, still lucid. She hasn’t really said much so neither do I. It’s around 6:30am and the sun has begun it’s ascend. The water is flat calm and there is no breeze. 10 years of fishing memories at this place flood my mind and I stop and thank God for yet another beautiful day. It is as He has reserved this special spot for my friends, my family, and me.

As soon as Mia sees the beach, she let’s out a strong… “agua?” I said… “Welcome honey, to daddy’s favorite place… the hole” Now, for secretive sake, all I can tell you is that “the hole” is somewhere in Key Biscayne but that is it. My mom told me the other day that it’s been my favorite place to go since I was a kid. Anyway, I try pushing the stroller through the beach but that wasn’t a good idea. I turn the stroller around and pull it. Thighs are burning… was this a good idea? We arrive… finally. I put the gear down, grab Mia, the rod, the shrimp bucket, and head for the water. I put her up on my shoulders and I go into the water to wade. For all of you who don’t know about the hole. It’s a really shallow area that I fish for bonefish. During low tide (which it was), the water is no more than ankle deep in most parts. By the 10th cast, I hook up. The reel starts screaming and Mia is focused on what seems to be a rocket that I have apparently hookup on.

Now picture this… I am out about 100 yards from shore (in ankle deep water) , the sun is beginning to rise, not a soul in sight, Mia is on my shoulders holding on to my hair, a shrimp bucket is tied to my hip, and my reel is screaming “zzzzzzzzz…what am I hooked on to…zzzzzzzz.” And I got a huge smile from ear to ear. Is this life of what? Mia is laughing away watching the fish rooster tail across the flats. Now, try landing a bonefish with a rod in one hand, ankle deep water, and a 2 year old on your shoulders.

After landing the fish, Mia asks to be let into the water. Watching her face as she felt the cool water and sand was priceless. To make a long story short… I know… too late, we caught about 10 more fish and we retreated back to the beach where we spent another hour and a half just playing on the beach.

After, we went to La Carreta for some breakfast and then we went to go see the big homes on Key Biscayne. I am gonna live there one day… on the water. I can go into much more details but I will let the pictures do some talking. Obviously, I couldn’t take any pictures of the fish we caught. But I did catch them… ask Mia.


Mia praying that we have a successful day at "the Hole."


Could I be any happier?


Ain't she a cutie?


Just having fun.


The house I am working on... it's just going to take a few years...


The boat that Mia wanted... March 2008


She was a little exhausted!

New picutres...

Chillin' at home
Too Cuties at the Beach
Mia and Daddy... looking for fish.
The reason I work so hard...
Our new Ms. Yummi. She is getting soooo big and lovely. Still feeding through a tube but she's beginning to eat through her mouth. We are sooo in love with her and she's so much fun.

By the way...

I forgot to let everyone know that this blog is to be read from the top down. I did this in backwards fashion so that you could read it like a normal story. So the story starts from the picture with her by herself and ends with her in my arms. I hope that I didn't confuse anyone. Also, I wanted to give a special thanks to Noemi's family at Jackson Memorial Hospital. They helped us understand more of what Madie was going through... Lot's of love.

Madie's Crazy 44 Day Ride...

Hello again... You are not going to believe this story. For the sake of time, I will only post the short version of this story. If you chose to read the whole enchilada, let me know and I will send you the whole story through email.

The last time that I posted, Madison was beginning to develop a bit of a cough. She probably caught it from me but what was to transpire over the next six weeks, no one could have prepared us for... (except God, of course). On May 25th we took this picture. The next day, we rushed her to the emergency room at Joe DiMaggio's Children Hospital because she looked like she was turning blue from her coughs... When we get there, her first diagnosis is RSV, a viral infection that is deadly.

Week 1

It first started off just getting support for some oxygen. We didn’t want to take any evasive actions because of her hemangioma. People ask me when she’s going home… I say “oh… next week. For sure.”

Week 2-3

Her situation kept getting worse. She didn’t want to eat and her oxygen saturations were getting worse. The doctors recommended to intubate. Things are not good! Here she is on the Oscillator, a ventilation machine. In order to be on this she had to go on heavy sedation and paralytic medication. To say the least it was a little freaky. But I knew that God had his hand in this… so… no problem! People ask me when she’s going home… I say “oh… next week. For sure.”

Noemi and Noelia’s sleeping conditions.

Two mother’s who can’t leave their child alone… amazing. They both slept on this for 44 days… yes BOTH! I tried for about an hour. I ended up staying up that whole night watching TV. Needless to say, I was useless for a sleepover. People ask me when she’s going home… I say “oh… next week. For sure.”

Mia...

A concerned Mia with Kuma (my sister, Sandra).

Week 4

The doctors got her off the Oscillator and on to a conventional ventilator. Madie begins to gain. Slowly but surely. People ask me when she’s going home… I say “oh… next week. For sure.”

She's off the Vents.

She’s off the vents!!! Now, back to the tent! Only problem now was that since she was heavily medicated, her eyes were doing this freaky roving motion. That was “way” crazy!!!


Mommie and Madie... together again.


I can’t take it anymore. So, I convince Noemi to go out for one night. We saw Superman. How fitting.


The ICU staff, which by the way is the best in the whole wide world, helped us celebrate Madie’s 5th month birthday.

She's looking GOOD!

She’s coming back with a vengeance. People ask me when she’s going home… I say “oh… next week. For sure.” I am going to be right one of these weeks!!!

Grub time!!!

We had to put a tube in her stomach so that she could start eating. Here is Madie and Mia drinking milk together. Our new family dinner requires tubing and machine's but at least she's eating!!!

Daddie and Madie

I told you last week she’d be home… right? 44 day's later. Quite weak, but happier. She’s always smiling now. Okay, so she still on some narcotics but that’s not the point. She’s lovelier than ever. I am glad that Madie and Mommie are back. Mia and I missed them. And yes... those ARE bags under my eyes. Sleep more you say? Uh, what is "sleep."

I just wanted to thank everyone out there who thought of Madison during these tough times. It meant the world to us. And again... Thank you Joe DiMaggio PICU. The bestest, most wondefullest, greatest, coolest team in the whole wide world. Without you, this would have been a lot tougher. And most importantly, thank you Abuela and Ama (Noe's mom and mine, respectively). They probably won't read this, but I wanted to recognize! Without them, it would have been impossible.

As for Mommie... no words can explain... none!


but pictures can... ahhhhhh! In my arms again.

I am back!!!

Talk about procrastination... I have been meaning to do this for the last 4 weeks. Everyone keeps asking me for updates so here we go...

Mia...

She is too much. Her vocabulary revolves around food. For the most part, it all sounds the same, you know, kind of like Chinese does for you non-Chinese folk. So we spend a lot of time trying to figure out what she says. She understands a lot. She loves playing with her sister. And I don't remember life without her. She is my little egg roll. My favorite thing about her... the way she says "pa-pa" when she sees me.



Madison...

Wow! That's all I have got to say. She is getting so big. Because of the meds she is taking her checks are at an all time high. She laughs and cries and laughs and cries and cries and cries. She is sleeping through the night already so congrats to Noemi. She did it. I am not able to toss her around as much as I do Mia but I am beginning to have a lot more fun with her. Her ulcer has begun to disappear and the hemangioma has stopped growing. All is good. Now if we can just figure out the formula thing. She is my little Mu-Shu. My favorite thing about Maddie is how she gazes into my eyes...



Mommie...

What a trooper. I am soooo proud of that woman. She has this "mommy" thing figured out. She will tell you that it's been tough, but she is tougher. She has taken Madison to the doctor almost twice a week (sometimes even 3-4 times), takes care of the house, has fun with the girls, and cooks dinner. I am sure that I am missing a bunch of stuff but you get the point. She is running it at home and still looks hot! Her birthday was on Mother's Day so she got a double whammy. She is my Pu-Pu Platter, if you know what I mean. My favorite thing about her... she takes time to make sure the girls play with each other!



Me...

I have never been this excited about my life and where it is heading. Life is good. Is it a little hectic and very challenging? Sure, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I got my girls by my side and a whole life ahead of me. I spend a lot of time with the family but I am on my "A" game in the biz. I am the Quart of Special Fried Rice baby!!! My favorite thing I like about me... I am still the Wassa Slayer!!! Oh, and I am soooo modest ;)


Wassa Grouper 25lbs a.k.a. Goliath Grouper

Oops... I almost forgot to show you our favorite picture (for now)...

It's Getting Better...

I never thought that I could actually be productive with massive sleep deprivation. Well to be quite honest, I do get to sleep a lot more than Noemi does but I don't believe that I have slept anymore than 4 hours straight at a time. One thing I can tell you though, I have never worked more than I have in my life. I am loving every minute of it. I can't believe that we actually have 2 kids. WOW...

Here is the update...

The kids are doing great. Madison is beginning to get into the groove...okay... she's not even close to any kind of groove. BUT, we are handling everything a lot better. I have a friend, Bill Teck, that told me that the first 3 months are just shear hell, but that it would get better. I hang on to those words every day! I repeat it everyday. The hemangioma's growth has almost halted and her lip is getting much better. I think it hurt's us more than it does her. She is growing so fast...

Mia has found her legs. And her arms, and the edge of the sofa, and the garbage on the floor that she wants to eat, and every possible thing that we don't want her to get into. She has a way of getting into everything. But man is she a blast! I really have a great time with her. I have been teaching her how to do back flips from my arms, to my in-laws dissapproval (of course). And just the other day, she was at the arm of the sofa. She gently reached over the edge, and flipped right over the side. But see, because of my tactics, she landed on Madison's vibrating chair head first, bounced, and landed almost right on to her feet. Ta-Da!!!

Needless to say, I am not allowed near Mia anymore! hee hee ;)

As for the Noemi, her OBGYN has put a chasity belt on her. No babies for quite sometime he says. Apparently he doesn't remember that it took me 10 years to get her pregnant. I know, I know, she's much more fertile than before... yada yada yada. She's a great mom. I have got her and her mom doing spring cleaning at the house. It's actually spring, summer, fall, and winter cleaning but who's counting. I am getting the garage ready to convert it to the girls playroom. It used to be where my boat lived but it has been long replaced with two little beautiful girls. I now live in a closet with my fishing rods. I am actually greatful. The closet has it's own lights. I like to look on the bright side, getting dressed in the morning is much faster.

I hope you are all going great. The four of us send you our hugs and kisses.

My day with Mia...

Sometimes, pictures can say a thousand words...

Today, I stayed with Mia while mom and Madie went to the doctor (again...). She is just too much fun. I went to get her a haircut that I believe was a little unsuccessful due to her meltdown on the chair. Scissors next to a crying baby is not good.

We were playing in the backyard having a blast when I decided to try photography. I wanted to capture what a beautiful day we were having. And that I did... enjoy!


Being Chinese... she's figuring a better design for the tripod...


Yup... she's a heartbreaker...


It's Friday at 1:30pm... the benifits of Primerica... waaaasssup!


Just hangin' in the backyard!

A day at the hospital...

Today we took Madison to get her tests done. They did a CatScan, MRI, and a MRA. I knew that it was going to be tough when Noe let me know that the doctor said that Madison could not eat past 4am. Do you know how a baby acts when you don't give her food every 2-3 hours? We weren't able to give her any fluids past 7am and the doctor requested that we keep her awake from that time till we got there at 10:45am. Oh the joy...

As you all well know that during these exams, it's important that you don't move. So, they had to sedate Madie. Of course, the amount of drugs that they gave her didn't do the job completely (Noemi blames me... why? I don't know). But, we managed. Both Mom and Madie came back home unscathed. Now, the doctors have to review the exams and see what's going on. Noemi and I are sure that God knows what he's doing so we are just waiting to let the doctors find out for themselves. All in all, Madie is doing great. She's doesn't do much but just lay there, eat, poop, and cry. So I am patiently waiting till Madie is ready to come out and play!!!

As for lil' Ms. Mia, she's growing and amazing us everyday. I got her doing front and back flips. We are getting her ready for the baby Olympics. She's so much fun right now. She does get into everything, but I wouldn't have it any other way. She's yummy.

Noemi just wants a vacation... I told her that I am working on it!!! All the grandmothers are helping extensively. The estrogen levels at my house continues to rise. So if you can, please send testosterone...

Back on the blog...

It has been quite an eventful few weeks. While I was in Hawaii, Madison developed a hemangioma. Basically, Hemangiomas are abnormally dense collections of dilated small blood vessels (capillaries) that may occur in the skin or internal organs (by the way, I just copied that from a website... did you actually think that my english could be that good???). It's not anything serious except for the way it looks. Unfortunately, she has also developed a little ulcer on her lip from the hemangioma. All the meds are in place and we are beginning to see progress. We like to think that God kissed her on her face. At least, that's what lil' Mia thinks.

As for sleep... it's really just a figment of our imagination. Well, not really. It's tough, but we have a lot of help. Mom and mother-in-law are really chipping in. Noemi is taking this like a champ and Mia is just happy to be around.

Here's some pics... enjoy...


A bird's eye view...

A face to face conversation...

Life is good!!!

Hawaii...

I was able to fulfill one of the dreams on my list... LEARN TO SURF...

Doctor Day...

Today we went to go see Dr. Triana to check up on Noemi. Although she is still in a lot of pain, all is good. He sent us out to do a bunch of exams to double check but everything seems to be good.

Then, we went to go to an "age specialist" to see what Madison might look like when she get's older. The result's were much poorer than we expected...


What is that?

Nice... uhh... abs?!?

Hopefully, Noemi's style and flair will add to what could be quite ugly.

I'm in trouble...

The family was all together for the first time today. So, I was at work with the camera taking pictures of the girls. Noemi doesn't want any pictures just yet. The swelling has gone down a lot but not enough. She is still feeling a lot of pain because of the surgery. Also, the breastfeeding is kicking her butt. But, she is recovering fast.

Although we had both grandmothers with us today (all day), I can see how this is going to be quite interesting. There were diapers flying everywhere. Here are some pictures of what I have to look forward to. I just put a down payment on my own lie detector test and human GPS systems for both my daughters...


What am I to do?

Mia and Papi

I'm too sexy for my clothes

No I am not giving that to you... and stop looking at me with those eyes!!!

Finally... Pictures...

Ain't she a cutie?


Madison, Mommy, and Dad











Well, we get the call early in the evening to let us know that we could pick up Madison from the hospital. She's home now with us and all is good. I am very tired so I just wanted to let you all know that she's home with mommy.