Category Archives: Mommy Adventures
Happy 4th Birthday Princess Lily!
Happy birthday to my sweetest little princess Lily! Lily weighs 29lbs (6%), and is 39.5 inches long (63%). Lily had a finger prick blood test to test her iron levels and her levels are normal! This is an improvement from last year since she was low last year. All that fish is paying off! Lily also got 3 shots on my arm and that was really tough and painful for her and she cried her little eyes out, poor baby girl. Other than that, she is doing really well and is a healthy little girl! She is definitely on the smaller side but at least she’s healthy! Lily has a very cute eccentric sense of style, it’s a mixture of comfort, colorful, and cute style. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t match, if she likes it and makes her feel good, then go for it baby girl! You be you and I strongly encourage her to explore her of style to promote her sense of self and confidence. 
Lily loves to snack, to name a few, she likes potato chips, cheesy popcorn (Pirate’s Booty), strawberry Special K Crisp Bars, cookies, butter popcorn, all things candy, strawberries fresh and freeze dried, carrots, apples, cuties, brussel sprouts, and lots of cheese! Lily likes going out and doing things like playing at the park, running around and spinning in circles, making silly noises and being silly, and her imagination is really growing and she likes to play imaginary situations all the time with her toys. Her vocabulary and speech and is so big and eloquent, she doesn’t seem like a 4 year old at all, maybe a 5-6 year old! You can see how she phrases her sentences that she puts a lot of thought into her communication, it’s just so impressive to see. I’m so constantly proud of her!!
For her birthday celebration, I had the joint party with Leo for Lily. She also had a celebration at her school where the class sang a nice around the world song for her as she walked around and showed her classmates pictures from each year of her life. We brought yogurt, animal crackers, and mini blueberry muffins for her classmates to enjoy for a special birthday snacks and her teachers provided strawberries for everyone too. Lily really enjoyed passing out all the snacks to her friends and I was so impressed with how good the kids are there and how much Lily wanted to help and pass out the snacks. Lily’s been excited for her birthday for months now and I’m so glad that this day finally came so I can celebrate and spoil her (more than usual) and make her so super happy! It’s a fun age for birthdays since she’s so aware of what it is now, and all her friends have birthday celebrations, so it’s just such a happy time. I’m glad she looks forward to her birthday, I will make sure I always do whatever I can to make this day special for her, and to show her how this day changed my life forever in the best, most wonderful way possible. For more pictures from Lily and Leo’s birthday celebrations, click HERE! Special thanks to Mieng for taking the beautiful photos of Lily and Leo for their birthdays!!
I feel super blessed and lucky to have Lily as my baby girl! She is super sweet, smart, silly, funny, sassy, kind, compassionate, and everything I wanted in a daughter and more!! She is constantly impress and amazes me with everything she does and I can’t wait to see what else she’s going to teach me in life and what other adventures we will have together! My heart is so full when I look into her bright eyes and sweet smile. She is such a sweet, caring, and compassionate big sister to baby Leo as well. Seeing her interact with him, all on her own too, is so touching to me. Even when she see other babies, she just says “awww that baby is so cute!” and she will be so warm and caring to them. Lily is so good at sharing too and is always looking out for me and making sure I am careful walking down the stairs and tells me to hold her hand so I don’t fall! She is just the sweetest and I’m so proud and humbled to call her mine! I love you more than you’ll ever know my precious Lily pad!! Happy 4th birthday my sweetest angel!!
Check out some of Lily’s adventures this past year!
Happy 1st Birthday Prince Leo!
Happy 1st Birthday to my dearest le petit Prince Leo! Leo weighs in at 19.65lbs (21%), stretches 30 inches long (56%), and head circumference is 17.5 inches (22%). At his 1 year check up, he got a finger prick and his iron level was a little bit low, so he is now going to start taking poly-vi-sol vitamins with iron in it once a day. Leo got 3 shots and cried his eyes out but took them like a champ and calmed down shortly after. It’s also so painful to watch, but it’s for his health and he luckily didn’t have any fevers or anything afterwards. Leo’s PT and pediatrician noticed some of hypertension in Leo’s legs and arms, and so Leo will be getting a full neuro evaluation and an MRI scan to see what’s going on, and if there’s anything in the brain that’s preventing him from achieving certain developmental milestones. If the brain looks good, then it’s just a matter of working with Leo to strengthen his muscles and train his mind to get him to develop. If something is going on neurologically, then we will have to go with a different approach, I’m not sure what that would be yet.
The pediatrician said he’ll probably need speech therapy later on, and I talked to his PT and usually that would start around 18 months of age. There was mention with his PT that they might add an Infant Educator back onto his early start program, but I said if he doesn’t really need it, I’d rather not because 3 hours of therapy is a lot for the little guy, and an infant educator is more broad and not necessarily specific for any particular development. So he might not have to add another hour of therapy to his already busy schedule. Leo also had to do an allergy blood test and I found out that Leo has a severe allergy to eggs, egg whites in particular. His doctor said if he gets in contact with it, I can use Benadryl to help the allergy reaction, otherwise, we will be to have an epi pen on hand just in case he gets an accident and he reacts badly. We noticed that Leo’s skin will turn red just from touching things that had eggs in it, so it’s sad that this is confirmed, since eggs are so yummy and are in sooo many yummy foods. However, it’s good to know now so that we can keep him safe and healthy! He is also allergic to nuts, particular peanuts and cashews. Poor baby Leo. He will learn to enjoy other foods though (once he starts learning to eat). Leo also got his first haircut a few weeks ago and was so cute and super ticklish too. He looks like a little boy now, where did my baby go???
I threw the kids a nice birthday party to celebrate Leo’s milestone 1st Birthday and Lily’s 4th Birthday! I baked vanilla, pistachio, chocolate, and orange blossom macarons, bavarian cream fruit custard, and Haupia cupcakes with a coconut filling. I also made a nice big 3 tier display cake in the theme of the book Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I hired a very talented balloon artist and face painter, and Khoa’s coworker, Vinh, generously set up a photobooth for us as well. I got catering from Newport Rib Company and had a lot of yummy BBQ as well. It was a very fun party and this 1st birthday means so much to me. For more pictures of Leo and Lily’s Birthday celebrations, click HERE!
Happy 1st Birthday my dearest prince Leo. You are such an amazing little inspiration. There was a time when I thought I wouldn’t even be able to hold him in my arms, to see his beautiful smile, or hear his sweet laugh. Yet here we are, it’s been a crazy long journey, from the moment you existed, and now, we celebrate you. My little prince Leo, you are such an amazing little fighter, inspiration, and miracle. I look at your sweet face, your cute sweet smile, and your innocent pure eyes, and I just can’t help get emotional and overwhelmed with feelings of love and gratitude. I love how I can just hold your hand, with your tiny fingers wrapped around mine, and you just feel safe and at ease with me. You feel like home and the ultimate sensation of comfort when you are in my arms, and I never want to let you go (except maybe when I have to pee…). I can stare at you explore this world of all it’s wonders, and listen to your sweet little voice all day! You are truly the definition of hope. You are beating all the odds, and I can’t wait to see what adventures we will continue to go on together. Keep shining bright, keep fighting, keep being my ray of hope. I love you to pieces Leo!
Check out some of Leo’s adventure from his first year of life along with his first haircut experience!
Mother’s Day 2016
Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing mommies out there! Being a mom is definitely one of the hardest jobs I have, but it’s also the most rewarding and humbling experience that I have the chance and honor of experiencing. Life has been very challenging and difficult lately, and a lot of times, it’s very easy to feel defeated, diminish my self esteem, have self doubt, and lose hope. Sometimes the dark clouds roll in and the storm hits, and you just don’t know when the sun will come back again, and it’s hard amd very scary to brave the thunder and lightning due to the risk of getting hit or blown away. Sometimes, I just want to throw my hands up in the air (like you just don’t care..jk..) and give up and just accept that personal happiness is something that wasn’t meant for me. When you become a parent, you sacrifice a lot of yourself for your children, and we often think that as long as they are happy, you are happy. That’s only true up to a certain point. In the end, we are still our own person, and if we ourselves are not happy, deep down in our soul, then how can we possibly be the best we can be for them? There’s a difference between sacrificing for the better of our children and completely losing yourself in your children. I think it’s very important to still be your own self, and have your own life, outside your kids. There needs to be a healthy balance, so that your kids not only see you as their loving parent, but also as a loving person, that would hopefully inspire them to be one day. One day, my kids will grow up and leave the nest, and create their own families, and I don’t want to be lost when that happens.
We face many difficult challenges in our lives, and are dealt with many difficult decisions to make as well. What I do to try to get past those obstacles that life throws at me, is to just think about what kind of person I want Lily to be, what kind of man I want Leo to be, and make my decisions based on that. Lead by example. If I want Lily to be kind, generous, forgiving, patient, and compassionate, then I will be all those things for her so she can witness it and experience it, as her norm. Parenting is a constant battle of patience and testing of the emotions. You have to pick and choose your battles, and ask yourself what do you value more, what’s the lesson you’re trying to teach, what do you want to achieve? I’m no expert, nor am I a perfect parents, but I feel it’s a series of trial and error really haha. So I just have to trust my gut instincts, and hope for the best… Anyways, with everything going on in my life, it’s hard to stay confident in myself. You never know if you’re doing a good job, or the right thing, or doing what’s best for your kids and yourself. However, I’ll look at Lily, and notice the little things she does, her occasion head lean on my shoulder, and hugs and kisses for no reason, and just look at what a kind, compassionate, caring, polite person she is, and that gives me validation that I’m doing something right. When things were getting really hard for me a month or so ago, I got this random message from a stranger who stumbled upon my blog. Below was her first message to me, and then a snippet of an ongoing conversation I had with her via email.
“I just want to thank you for your blog that you post about your son leo. My son also has tetrasomy 18 and i read your blog for motivation to get me through my pregnancy. It gave me hope that my son would make it and that he would be okay. He is now 3 months old and he is doing great and you inspired me to continue on with my pregnancy when the doctors told me he would never make it. 🙂 thank you”
“I think your a hero for choosing to keep Leo and writing about it . . . I am so glad i didn’t listen to the doctor and abort him because he is perfect to me . . . If it wasnt for god & his fathers faith that everything would be okay and with out your blog i might not have had Angel.”
I immediately bursted into tears when I read her message. It was like my soul was revitalized, reenergized, and I had validation from a complete stranger, to keep on being me. I felt incredibly humbled by her words, and it just felt really…good, and amazing, to know that I was able to help someone, and even save a baby’s life. Who knows if I’ve helped anyone else that hasn’t even reached out to me, but wow…I was floored and so happy, that I was able to actually make a difference. I really genuinely want to help people, and I’m so glad that I’m able to with my blog, and documenting my life journey, as well as Leo’s. This gave me a lot of my confidence back, and encouraged me that I’m doing the best I can right now, and to keep on at it. I also received a care package in the mail from a friend, thanking me for all my advice that I gave her last year, when she just had her newborn and things were really hard for her. I was again hunbled by her kind words, and didn’t realize how much I’ve affected her and helped her. I feel very happy that I was able to help and make such an impact in her life. I believe in good karma, and so I will continue to spread the love and care into the world, and hope that this world will be a better place for my kids and myself, because I can make a difference, and you can too! Sounds like a promo ad, but it’s true!
So whatever happens in life, you just have to be true to yourself, and just try to be the best version of yourself possible. I live my life for my kids, but also for myself. I’m the one who has to walk in my shoes, and so I’m the one who has to live with myself. If I’m not happy with who I am, then I try to make myself better so that I am happy, and my happiness, will be reflected on my kids. If your life is dark and miserable, that shadow will cast upon your kids as well, so let the light shine bright and guide you. Kids will bring you so much joy, pain, happiness, anger, frustration, but most of all, love. As for my babies whom I never got to hold, I live the best life I can for them. I can’t teach them anything, or inspire them, or take care of them, because they are already in heaven and don’t need any of that from me. They are the ones who’s actually watching over me, taking care of me, and inspiring me. So as their mother, I plan to be happy, and be a good person, for them, to make them proud. Thank you everyone for all the well wishes, flowers, sweet treats, jewelry, and gifts. I’m definitely the lucky one to have such amazing kids. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommies out there. <3
Leo’s not suffering I swear
Leo’s getting use to Lily’s love…haha
Mommy and Lily selfie!
Mommy with my pride and joys
Angel1’s 2nd Birthday
My Dearest Angel1,
You would have been 2 years old today. You would probably be running all over the place, talking, (and if you’re anything like your big sister Lily) eating all sorts of candy and snacks, and gifting the world with your uniquely wonderful personality. I should be celebrating this momentous day with all my friends and family after spending a good amount of time planning this special day just for you. Instead, weeks, days, and hours before this day, I spent it juggling emotions of sadness, gratefulness, loneliness, humbleness, and grief, to name a few. You should be getting showers of wonderful birthday wishes, comments on how fast you’re growing, how amazing and wonderful you are, and receiving lots of love, surrounded by lots of smiling happy faces. Instead, I might receive one or two “thinking of you” messages, and other supportive related wishes from those who are in tuned with my life, paired up with sympathetic hugs and pep talks. That being said, I’m very appreciative of any support and love I get on this day, but that’s just me, to better cope with my grief. I don’t need a room full of people, fancy party decorations, cake and presents to know how much you mean to me, and I don’t need the world to acknowledge your existence to remind me of how much I love you.
Today though, is for you, so in my heart, I celebrate you. Every year, I will try my best to spend these important dates, doing something that makes me happy, for you, to create some joy that you would have added to my life. I know your soul is watching down on my, so I will make you proud. It’s painful to imagine what you would be like at this age because it reminds me of what I’m missing, and what I didn’t get to experience with you. However, I imagine it anyways and for a brief moment, I smile and my heart feels warm and happy. But soon after, I quickly feel the pain of the dream. In a weird way though, it brings me closer to you, probably because I’m able to feel real tangible feelings for someone I never got to hold. I will never forget you. Happy 2nd birthday my angel, I know you would have created so much happiness in my life, so I wish to make myself and everyone around me as happy as I possibly can, to spread the love you have given me deep in my heart. I love you with my every being.
Love you always,
Mommy
This is a my very special DNA keepsake beaded jewelry that I got made by the super special and talented Kelly from Sacred Legacy Arts. The two outside beads are her memorial beads with the Forget Me Not flower inside it for miscarriages, for those who don’t have anything tangible to represent their lost babies. The green and blue bead has some of Leo’s hair in it, and the purple and pink bead has some of Lily’s hair in it both with gold shimmer. These beads are super special to me, because I am able to literally able carry a part of my babies everywhere with me. I’m so happy I stumbled upon Sacred Legacy Arts, it’s amazing what she does for others, and giving us this opportunity to have such a wonderful keepsake item that means so much more than jewelry to us mommies. Thank you so much Kelly, I will wear it around my neck, close to my heart, always!
Happy 10 Months Leo!
Leo 10 Months
Happy 10 Months my petit prince Leo! Leo now weighs about 18bs, and stretches about 29 inches long! Leo had his follow up check with his urologist a few weeks ago and overall everything looks good. He said to massage the two incision spots on his belly 30 second rotations each way every time he gets a diaper change and the scar should go away! He has to come back in a year for another follow up, so hopefully everything stay good and healthy. Leo is starting to play with his toes more now and he loves to roll all over the place. He is holding onto his toys a little longer and really likes to play with crinkly texture toys. His top two teeth are very visible now so his teeth count is at a whopping 4! He’s starting to drool more now because of all his teething. When Leo starts to suck his thumb, that’s a sign that he’s getting tired and sleepy, it’s really cute! He’ll rub his eyes and them use his arm to cover his eyes and fall asleep that way. He is being more vocal now too and making lots of different noises. He likes to blow raspberries now and is beginning to lick things and slowly put things in his mouth, mostly his bibs. Leo also really enjoys books and on a few occasions he was even able to turn the page all by himself! He is very curious and loves to observe his surrounds. Leo has a sweet gaze and will entrance with his beautiful eyes and sweet little smile. Big sister Lily is still the best at making him laugh, but he is always so happy and smiling, he is literally a bundle of joy!
Leo 34 Weeks
Leo Easter 2016
Leo 41 Weeks
Leo’s 1st St Patrick’s Day
Leo had his 6 month assessment from the infant education program a few weeks ago. I was actually a little surprised by how delayed he was in a lot of areas, I thought he was just a little bit behind in some gross motor skills but I didn’t realize he was delayed in other areas as well. The assessment stated that Leo’s delays are attributed to a couple neuromotor factors such as low tone and decreased strength. It was reccommended that his schedule gets changed to 3 hours of therapy a week instead of 1 hour a week, where it’s 1 hour for PT, 1 hour for OT, and 1 hour with his infant educator. The Regional Center decided to go with 2 hours of therapy, 1 hour PT and 1 hour OT and forego the infant educator for now. When I first saw the results to Leo’s assessment, I was surprised by the numbers and felt bummed, scared and worried for my Leo. I think it’s a normal reaction, since I don’t want Leo be too delayed, if at all, but after some time to process all the information, and understand the questions and tests that were involved in order to do the assessment in the first place, I wasn’t as worried anymore. I can’t get caught up in the statistics and numbers, I have to look at what’s right in front of me, and look at this from a different perspective. Leo isn’t struggling, yes he is delayed, but he isn’t struggling, he is healthy, and most of all, he is happy. Leo has his own journey that he is living and he is living it wonderfully. He will crawl, stand, and walk, when the time is right for him; he will talk and eat when he is ready to do so, and he will continue to grow and develop the best he can, and that’s all I can ask and be grateful for. Leo is my little miracle, and every day with him, every moment, every milestone, is more than a dream come true. I want the very best for him, but he is already the very best son for me!
Leo with PT Kerry
Leo started his first Physical Therapy session with his new therapist Kerry on Monday. I really like Kerry, she has a lot more activities and exercises that we can do with Leo at target and strengthen his core muscles. She really put Leo to work and he didn’t really like it, poor baby, and even started to cry! Leo hardly ever cries so it was really sad but funny and cute to see at the same time. His bottom lip in his pout is just way too cute, I couldn’t resist and have to show you all haha. It’s all good for him though, so he will thank her later!! It was a very helpful first session and I feel like as long as Leo keeps at it, he will probably make a lot of progress real faster! Kerry was very motivated as well to get Leo to reach his milestone goals, so that was very encouraging to see. Behind those tears and pouty face, I think Leo really liked Kerry though because right off the bat he impressed us all by sitting unassisted for what probably felt like 2 minutes!!
Leo chilling side sitting style
Normally he’s done maybe 30 seconds or less because he would get so excited and want to move around and he’ll lose his balance, but in front of Kerry, he just sat so stable and straight, it was amazing!! You are still doing really great Leo. Don’t let numbers and statistics dictate what you are capable of. You will push boundaries and achieve great goals for yourself, and you can do anything you put your mind to. I have faith in you my little Leo, you already make me so proud, and I know you will always be my beacon of hope and my bright light! I love you so much Leo!!
“I’d rather lay like this than practice sitting.” – Leo
Leo had his first occupational therapy session today with his new therapist Christine. She was really nice and really good with Leo. We didn’t deal too much with feeding today, more of just physical therapy so that Leo can build a relationship and trust with her. While playing through therapy, she’ll occasionally touch his mouth and face to get him to get use to her touching his mouth, so later when she works with loosening his mouth and cheek muscles, he won’t be too closed off to it. She said later one when he does start to eat, to let him be messy and explore his food, let him feel the texture with his hands, smell the aroma, point out all the different colors in his food, and then let him taste it and really exaggerate how good it taste. It’s all part of the experience of eating and she said to make the process fun for him. She seems very knowledgeable and I feel like Leo is in great hands!!
Also, Lily is so wonderfully amazing. Lily had her Children’s Night at LePort recently and once again I’m also so blown away by all that she can do. I’m very impressed with her beginning writing skills, her starting to sound out letters and trace in cursive, her dexterity with level of focus and concentration with her work too. It’s really great to see her so confident in the classroom and excited and happy to do her work and show off her skills. I’m so proud of her in every way, I can’t believe that beautiful smart silly funny little baby girl is all mine. Lily also had a field trip to the Discovery Science Center and I think one of her favorite part about field trips is being able to ride the school bus. Every time she sees one she gets super excited! I got to go with her on her field trip and it’s very nice how empty it was and it felt private and so Lily didn’t really have to wait to do anything she wanted, she got to roam free and do whatever her mind was curious about. Her favorite was this recycle game that they had on the second floor, she must have spent half an hour there! You can view pictures from her field trip to the Discovery Science Center HERE. I love you so much my Lily pad!! Check out this video of Lily at her Children’s Night at LePort back in March.
Lily continues to be such an amazing big sister to Leo as well. She’s still constantly so loving and caring towards Leo, always wanting to give him kisses and play with him and making him laugh, she’s still the best one at making him laugh. He loves her so much too and every time he sees her he loves to just watch her and gives her the biggest smile. Lily is always so happy and silly, she lights up my life. She still likes to be very helpful and likes to do a lot of things herself. She even helps me out with cooking now too, from cracking and stirring eggs, chopping fruits and veggies, to watering plants. She’s my little sous chef, my little personal assistant, my partner in crime. She really likes music and loves to sing and even makes requests to hear certain songs. Whenever a song comes on the radio that she likes, she would ask me what song it is if she doesn’t know it, or tell me that she likes this one. She also enjoys watching a lot of movies and shows on netflix, I recently took her to watch Zootopia and she loved it and watched it many times after that (handicam version at home haha). She said she loves the song in it and would watch the music video over and over. Lily also enjoys coloring and drawing, she’s very good at writing her name, and she likes to cut and glue paper, the Kiwi Crates are still a big hit with her! I like them too since it’s a great way to have bonding activity time with her that’s also educational and fun. Lily loves to play pretend food prep for me as well and play with little random knick knacks, stick them in her purse, take it out, and put it back in, and repeat haha. She has a very big imagination, is very observant, smart, and intuitive. I love you so much Lily, you are always making me proud and happy, I’m a very lucky mommy!!
Leo watches Lily go down the slide!
Lily & Leo Easter 2016
Lily Easter 2016
Lily 1st Day of Spring 2016
LIly St. Patrick’s Day 2016
Lily & Leo St. Patrick’s Day 2016
Time for some video fun of the kiddos, enjoy!
Happy 7 Months Leo!
Happy 7 months old my precious Leo! Leo weighs in at 16.15 pounds (11 percentile) and stretches about 26.5 inches long (20 percentile)! Leo is still wearing size 2 diapers but will soon move on up to size 3 probably in a couple weeks, and he has also been upgraded to the size 3 nipple flow! Leo is babbling a lot more these days too, he likes to say “aba baba aaaaaa ummm” haha. He’s very social and likes interacting with us and if you walk away and he’s not done playing with you yet, he’ll say “AHHHH!!” and pout and tell you don’t go and to come back!” How can you leave that cute little face? He also has 2 cute little baby teeth growing on the bottom and he’s starting to drool more due to teething. He’s also sucking on his thumb a lot too because of it, and he makes it look so tasty! Leo still love the floor gym and he recently started playing in the jumper as well. He seems to like it and doesn’t mind staying in it for a long period of time, which is great for his neck strength and seeing the world in an upright position. We plan to start Leo on solids now so stay tune for that update!
Leo’s old teacher from Sunny Days got a new job opportunity somewhere else, so we are sad to see her go, but we got a new teacher Megan! Leo is doing really well with his therapy but will also be getting some extra help with a physical therapist to help with some gross motor skills soon. Leo is really good at rolling over without getting stuck, and he can roll back onto his side too. It looks like he wants to start crawling soon too cause he’ll kick his feet and reach for toys in front of him, it’s really cute! Leo is getting pretty solid at sitting up and can last for a few mins now before tipping over! He is also holding onto his toys a little longer too and shakes his toys a little bit! It’s very amazing to watch him grow and progress. I’m always amazed by him and by my Lily pad, they never stop surprising me!
Two years ago on January 4th, another baby of ours went to heaven. I try my best to live a happy and love filled life for my angels. Leo does not replace what we’ve lost, but he is proof that there is hope and that miracles do happen for he is my rainbow baby. So even though I mourn for my other babies, my heart is full. (30 wks 1 day old) 😍💙🌈✨
Merry Christmas! Leo got to celebrate his first Christmas and he was spoiled with lots of love and gifts! It wasn’t Lily’s first Christmas but I do feel like she enjoyed this Christmas the most, which makes sense since she knows a lot more now and what to expect. One of Lily’s favorite presents this year was the power wheel that I got her, you can see her driving it in the video below like a pro! She’s such a fast learner, I’m so proud of her skills! Leo didn’t know how to open presents yet but he love watching all the festivities and was adored by everyone! I can’t help but get emotional that we got to celebrate the holidays with Leo this year because just a year ago, we were told that this would be impossible. I’m so grateful for my amazing Leo and I feel so blessed and lucky to be able to celebrate all these big and small occasions with my prince Leo (and my princess Lily). You can see more pictures from our Christmas festivities HERE!
Happy New Year 2016!
Video Fun!!
Happy 6 Months Leo!
Leo 6 Months
Happy 6 Month my petite prince Leo! Leo weighs 14lbs 8 ounces, stretches 26 inches long, and has a 16 inch head circumference. He is now 5 percentile in weight but about 60% in height! What a tall boy!! He totally just stretched out this last month! Leo also was a champ when he took an oral immunization and 3 shots to his thighs. He only cried for a few seconds and then stopped quickly after. He didn’t get a fever and was very chill, mellow and happy for the rest of the day, and slept a lot. Leo’s neck is getting stronger and more stable each day, and he’s able to sit unsupported for a few seconds too, maybe a minute long at most before he starts to tip over haha. He likes to roll over a lot now, back to belly, and doesn’t get stuck anymore, and he likes to kick his feet a lot like he’s trying to crawl!! Leo has also been off his medication for a few weeks now, and maybe threw up a couple time since. Leo has an appointment next week to meet with a urologist and he will then have an ultrasound to check out the progress of his southern areas, and if there still isn’t much progress, he will most likely have to do surgery. I don’t know anything really about the details of the surgery, but I know he will get through it like a champ.
His teacher from Sunny Days feels like he’s still a little bit “behind” in terms of his gross motor skills, so she recommended a physical therapist who would be more specialized and help Leo with certain things that he needs help with. His neck strength is improving but not fast enough, so that’s mostly what he needs to work on. Overall though, I feel like due to his diagnosis, we are just more aware and have the advantage of having all these resources and aids for Leo, so this allows us to give him the best care and attention he can possibly have. Many without this diagnosis could be behind in certain develop and be perfectly “normal”, every child develops at their own rate, it’s not a contest, so I don’t view these “delays” that Leo has as any fault of Leos or make him in any way “behind” in development. Leo is simply developing at his own pace, and we are providing him with all the resources we can to give him the best possible chance of success. =)
Leo likes to coo a lot and he observes my mouth a lot and it looks like he tries to copy my mouth and repeat the sounds I make. His focus is very good and he loves to smile and laugh too. He is such a happy mellow baby, we are super blessed to have two mellow easy going kids! Leo sleeps on average 12-14 hours through the night, eats 4 times a day 155cc each time, and usually puts himself to sleep when he’s tired too. He loves music and is a social butterfly. So if you quietly approach him and let him take you in, you’ll give you a sweet warm smile! He is so amazing and I still count my lucky stars at how incredible he is. I’m so proud of you my little prince Leo, happy 6 months son, keep reaching for the stars!
Check out this cute video of Leo!
Lily is also now 3.5 years old!! Lily is constantly growing in her vocabulary and her growth and maturity in her cognitive skills and mannerisms always surpris and impress me. She definitely says the darndest things but she’s also super sweet and thoughtful at the same time. I cut my finger once and she told me a few days later while I was chopping and cooking dinner again, for me to be careful because she didn’t want my to cut my finger again. She’s so sweet! She is also very clever and sometimes too smart for her own good haha. She’s constantly paying attention whether it looks like it or not, but she’s always alert. The other day Khoa asked me if I wanted to go to the mall after we had lunch, and I said it depends on if Lily is sleepy and falls asleep on the ride home, and I looked behind me to check if Lily was sleeping and she lit up all wide eyed and said “Mommy I’m awake, I want to go shopping!” haha. She is also still an amazing big sister to Leo and constantly wants to be around him and smother him with kisses. She is very good at eating new foods and is eating everything we eat now. It’s so convenient to not have to make her separate food that is “safe” knowing she’ll eat it, but instead, I don’t have to take that extra time to make her special food because now she will eat whatever we are eating! It’s awesome!
Lily 3.5 Years Old
Lily is super spunky and fun and always soooo happy. She loves to sing and dance and do arts and crafts. Starting in January, she will be continuing her soccer classes in her after school program, but she will also be starting Spanish! She already picked up the word “adios” so I figured, lets expose her to Spanish and see how she does! I hope she enjoys it! She’s still doing some signing and I try to refresh her memory on some old signs in hopes that she would retain it and eventually communicate with Leo once he starts to pick up signing as well! That’ll be exciting to see them communicate with each other soon! Lily is also a very big little helper around the house. She likes to dust and clean and whatever I’m doing, she wants to do too. Lily is very into the girly things like wearing dresses, headbands and jewelry, but she also loves “boy toys” like cars and dinosaurs and light sabers! We introduced her to Star Wars this past weekend and watched episode IV and V and she loves it and is also a huge fan of Yoda! haha! She currently is a huge candiholic yet loves carrots and apples and cuties as well..so I guess it balances out? Overall she’s still such a very good kid and although she’ll have her moments, she’s still very good and well behaved and I feel so lucky everyday to have such an amazing little girl. It’s never a dull moment with my precious Lily pad. Her smile just lights up my heart, I love you Lily!!!!
Lily’s LePort 2015-2016 Yearbook Picture
Happy 100 Days Leo!
Leo 100 Days
Happy 100 Days Leo! Leo turned 100 days old last week on the 15th and now he is 15 weeks and a day old. He weighs about 10.6 pounds. He’s only gained 0.6 lbs in the past two weeks, very slow progress but I suppose that’s better than nothing. He has also been having trouble keeping in his food and would throw up a couple times a day, but he’s really sweet and would just give you a smile to let you know he’s ok afterwards. As long as he doesn’t go under 10 pounds, then he is fine. Also, he’s been really constipated lately too due to the high calorie formula, so his doctor said 30ml of pedialyte a day should help! We upped his food a couple days ago so now he should be taking in 105cc at each feeds, that’s about 3.5 ounces. He smiles so much now, especially when I’m talking to him and playing with him. He loves any kind of mobiles and would be entertained forever by a spinning or stationary mobile! He’s very curious and alert and loves to observe everything and just take it all in. He also started sleeping through the night last week, about 10-13 hours straight, and is doing great as Lily’s new roomie! She was very excited when I asked her if it’s ok for Leo so sleep in her room and she said Yes and always gives him a kiss goodnight before she goes to bed! She’s the sweetest big sister ever! I’m so proud of her.
Leo 14 Weeks
Leo 15 Weeks
Leo had his first Early Start therapy session today and he did really great! His therapist, Amy, start to do some tummy time with him and he did the best tummy time so far! His head was all the way up and help it for a few seconds several times! She showed me a couple strategies to help support him and encourage him with tummy time so I’m excited to work with him more on that. Also, she did some play time with some songs and tested his tracking as well. She said he tends to tense up his toes and fingers, so she suggest we play with him and do some stretching and certain play activities that she showed me, to help him relax and loosen him up. I feel like Leo will be in great hands with Amy and I can’t wait to work with her and Leo and watch him grow and develop into an amazing man. He’s already doing so great, I’m so proud of him!
Leo with this therapist Amy.
Overall, it was a great first session. It seems like he is pretty well on track for the most part. He’s not cooeing as much as but his tummy time is getting there! It was a little emotional personally for me to have the therapist work with Leo, not because Leo was delayed or anything like that, I just got emotional inside because life is just so crazy. Even thought I’ve been through the first 3 years of motherhood with Lily, it’s like starting from scratch again with Leo. I do feel more prepared in certain things but the session today just made me realize how much more I can do, there will always be more that I can do for both of them. Sometimes I just feel helpless and lost and not knowing what else I can do to help Leo or not knowing that there are all these other things that I can do for him in general. So having her expose me to all these little activities and exercises definitely gives me hope and so much more of an appreciation for her and the resources available to us. Parenting will always be hard work, and I’m more than willing to put all my love and effort into giving them the best chance at a wonderful life. I’m very excited to do whatever I can. I think that’s the important thing, not just to have the desire but to have the motivation and drive to be a great parent. The smile on my kids’ faces tells me I’m doing a wonderful job, and keeps me going.
Also, can’t forget about my sweet beautiful baby girl! We took her to Billy Beez at the Anaheim Garden Walk this past weekend and she loved it!! She was so excited before we even got there. We played for about an hour and a half and there were still tons of things she didn’t get to play with yet. She even passed by an area that had steering wheels and she goes “oh, I didn’t see that yet” haha, so cute! She’s the joy of my life. I love her to pieces!
Happy 3 Months Leo!
Happy 3 Months my little prince Leo! Leo weighs 10.05 pounds now (still under 0 percentile but he’s growing so that’s all that matters) and stretches 22.5 inches long (3 percentile)! He is growing bigger and stronger each day and he developing into such a bright and happy boy! Leo is starting to smile more now and is very alert and likes to look at his surroundings and just take it all in. We are letting him sleep for a 5 hour stretch at night but we will start to let him sleep longer now that he’s gaining a decent amount of weight! He feeds about every 4 hours, and takes about 95cc per feeding. He still throws up now and then, especially when we increase his intake, and he takes about an hour to finish his bottle, but lately he’s starting to take maybe 45 mins! Leo had his hearing diagnostics a couple weeks ago and for both ears, his high and mid tones are normal but he has trouble picking up the low tones. He has more trouble in his left ear than in the right. 
The doctor thinks it could be due to fluids in his ears that prevents the ear drums from moving properly but they need to check to make sure it’s not nerve damage, and they couldn’t test him at the time since it needs to be super quiet for the test to take place and by the time it came to that portion of the test, he was already awake and feeding (to keep him from shaking the equipment off his head and ears) and the sucking of the bottle was too loud for the test. So we will come back end of September to see if it’s due to nerve damage or if it’s just fluids. If it is just fluids then eventually he will be able to hear low tone sounds but the fluids can come back. If it’s nerve damage then it will be permanent and the low tone sounds will be very soft and hard for him to hear, but it’s not serious enough for him to need a hearing aid. I think that’s pretty good outcomes!
Leo 10 Weeks Old
Leo 11 Weeks Old
Leo 12 Weeks Old (PC: Phong Truong)
3 Months Old
Check out these video clips of Leo during his tummy time, making silly faces, and some bonding time with his Ông Ngoại (grandpa)!
Overall, Leo is doing so great and it makes me super happy! Sometimes he does a vigorous head shake that’ll be on and off for 10-15 minutes, and after doing some research on the trusty internet (haha), I concluded that it could be due to blockage inside his ears and so it’s probably bothering him and he’s trying to get rid of the annoyance. I would massage his ears when this happens and he actually calms down so I feel like that could be it. He is so calm and mellow and happy, it just warms me heart to be with him. I’ve also met with a case worker from the Regional Center of Orange County and she is setting Leo up with an in-home infant program for babies with special chromosomal needs. A therapist will be coming once a week for an hour to work with Leo and make sure he’s developing on track. If he is showing any signs of delays or needs help reaching his development goals, the therapist will work with him to get him to where he needs to be. Also, if the therapist feels that Leo needs extra help from an occupational or physical therapist, then she will make that recommendation and get that set up for him as well. This will be great for Leo regardless of delays or not because this will only help Leo become a healthy strong and smart individual! Leo also went on his first family vacation to San Diego and got to go to the beach and watch his first sunset and he loved it!
Also, Lily is such an amazing big sister to him. So far, she hasn’t shown any signs of jealousy! I try to be very conscious about how I treat her when Leo is around and even when other people are interacting with Leo, I try to make sure to give Lily attention too so that she doesn’t feel like everyone is so focused on Leo that we forgot about her. Whenever she comes home from school, she always asks where her baby Leo is or if she sees him she goes up to him and gives him a kiss! She’s so super sweet! She likes to hold him and always asks to feed him and say he’s hungry and needs his milk haha. She likes to watch us change his diaper and would sit and watch him get a bath too! She amazes me so much and I cannot be more proud of my precious Lily pad.
Lily also started the new school year at LePort a couple weeks ago. She is really cute and wants to bring her baby Leo to school with her too, so I thought it would be cute to take this picture with Leo inside her backpack haha. Lily also made a new friend at school, a new student named Zoey and her teacher Ms. April says they’re inseparable! That’s really cute that she can make friends so easily. She’s still such a happy and spunky little toddler. She talks so much now and speaks in complete sentences, it’s like she’s a tiny person! You can read some of the super cute and clever things she says HERE. She understands everything I say and hears everything too. She’s always paying attention so its harder to get things past her, she’s definitely a smart cookie! She loves to draw, paint, color, and do all sorts of arts and crafts. I feel like she’s definitely my mini me! Haha! She also likes to paint her nails, wear hair accessories, dresses (no pants!), and is very into sandals now since she sees us wearing them all the time. She also still loves minions, she likes to play in her kitchen and make me a “special lunch”, play with play doh and now legos! She also likes to play with her toy cars and guns as well! So well rounded! Her favorite shows are the moment are Masha and the Bear, Octonauts, Dragon Tales, How to Train a Dragon, Cinderella, Wreck it Ralph, and the Minions Movie! She has moments where she’ll be very good at eating but then other moments where she hardly eats. She’s so easily distracted at home but when we do go out, she tends to be better at eating, probably because there’s no toys to play with haha. I love you my Lily pad, you are so wonderful and amazing, you light up my life! Happy 3 months Leo, you are such an amazing little fighter, I love you so much!
Here’s a couple videos of Lily being a wonderful big sister burping her baby brother and then another video of her at Target, and then one of our fun at the pool together!
Happy 2 Months Leo!
Happy 2 Months to my sweet little prince Leo! Leo is now 8.5 pounds and stretches 21 inches long! He is still under 0 percentile in weight but is about average in height. He’s doing a good job growing so it the percentage doesn’t really matter. Last week has been having a hard time keeping down his food and has been throwing up and spitting up a lot so we took him in to see the doctor. He said since Leo is growing, we need to up his medication dosage from 0.8ml to 1.0ml to keep up with his weight. His stomach is also small and doesn’t stretch as easily so he can’t absorb his food fast enough to keep the high volumes of food. This gives him little room for all the milk he needs to drink so he ends up spitting it up or pooping it out. So instead of increasing his formula by 5cc’s every 5 days, we will just play it by ear and see how much he can handle without throwing it all up or pooping it right out. The doctor did notice that his actions are more like a 1 month old rather than a 2 month old and so he thinks his development is related to his size. I’m not quite sure what that means in the long run, but the important thing is that he’s growing stronger each day! He is still super chill and easy going, he hardly ever cries and isn’t fussy at all. He likes to sleep all day and night and usually we have to wake him up to feed him. He sometimes does like to stay awake for a little bit after feedings, and when he is awake, he is super alert and is attracted to light. He also likes to follow my voice too! He is such a sweet little baby!
2 Months Old
Last week, Kimberly from the Regional Center of Orange County, an Early Start Service Coordinator, came to assess Leo and to tell me about their infant program for kids with specials and developmental disabilities. Normally she would have to check for eligibility but due to Leo’s diagnosis of Tetrasomy 18p, he automatically qualifies for the program and it’s all covered by the state too. She told me about how the program would work and gave me some more resources and support group pamplets as well. So in a couple weeks, Victoria, Leo’s new case manager, will be doing the in-home infant program with Leo, for an hour once a week. She will meet with me and Leo and go over his Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) and put therapy services in place for Leo. This is mainly to work with Leo to keep his developments on track and if he needs extra therapy then they will provide the help he needs. So overall, I’m grateful that they have these programs and it will only help my little Leo to succeed!
8 Weeks Old
How wonderful would it be to see the world through your pure and innocent eyes.
These past 2 months have been a crazy emotional roller coaster but it makes me so proud and happy to see my little prince grow bigger and stronger each day. I just have to mentally prepare myself that set backs happen and that they are only natural. I just have to keep on having faith in my little man and cheer him on every step of the way. He makes me so happy and I love him to pieces! It also makes me super proud that his big sister Lily loves him so much. Everyday she comes from and always asks where her “baby Leo” is and loves to watch and help whenever she can. They are my world, they melt my heart. Happy 2 months be littlest love! Mommy loves you so much!
Leo Gets Baptized!
May your life be blessed with love and joy
May angels guide you from above
May your heart be kind your spirit strong to see the good and right some wrong
May the world be a better place because you came and shared some space.
Congratulations to my precious Leo on his Baptism this past weekend on July 25, 2015! There was a time when we thought we’d had to learn how to baptize you at the hospital right after birth because we were told that it would be too late to wait for a priest to come and do it. There was a time when we didn’t even think you’d make it past a few hours of life, let alone make it to birth. Fast forward to the present, at almost 7 weeks old, we are now able to have a proper and private baptism, and celebrate your Ngày Đầy Tháng and Homecoming celebration. Thinking about the journey you’ve been through, how much you’re endured and overcome, makes me very emotional and overwhelmed with appreciation and gratefulness. Thank you so much to Father Kiet for coming back to St. Norbert Catholic Church to baptize our baby Leo! The baptism was bilingual (mostly Vietnamese) but also very intimate. I am happy that we got to have a special private baptism just for our baby Leo.
We then had a celebration at home for Leo’s Ngày Đầy Tháng and Homecoming! Before the Baptism, our family came over to celebrate with us, and our friends came over afterwards. Since we didn’t have a big fancy baby shower for Leo, I decided to go all out for his celebration. I made all the decorations myself, and bought flowers from our local flower shop at Visser’s Florist. I also made all the desserts myself minus the cake which we got from our usual bakery, Givral. I decorated the cake though, and made panna cotta with fresh strawberries, kiwi and blueberries, mini chocolate cupcakes with swiss meringue frosting, vanilla macarons, orange blossom macarons, matcha green tea macarons, and strawberries filled with whipped cream cheese frosting. I also had Leo’s announcements printed out for everyone to take during the party! Special thanks to the wonderful Mieng for photographing the amazing photos of my precious Leo!!
Special thanks to our cousin Steve for being Leo’s Godfather! We know Leo will be in great hands and that Steve will do a wonderful job loving our Leo and guiding him through his journey with God. Thank you so much for being there for our son and for all that you will do for him in the future! Thank you to all of our friends and family who came to love and support our baby Leo as well. Leo is so lucky to have all of you in his life. We love you all!
My little prince Leo, I am so in love with you and so proud of you. You are so amazing in your strength and you are such an inspiration to watch. You’re such an incredible baby and I can’t wait to watch you grow even stronger, smarter, more brave, and healthier! I know you will grow up to be an amazing man, but until then, I will enjoy you being my precious little baby. I love you so much my wonderful baby Leo, congratulations on your baptism and everything you’ve accomplished so far!
Thank you Leilani and Kenny for taking pictures for me! See more pictures from the festivities HERE.
Happy 1 Months Leo!
Happy 1 Month Leo! Leo had his follow with his pediatrician yesterday, and it also happens to be right around his 1 month as well. Leo currently weighs 6.65lbs, stretches 20 inches long and has a head circumference of 13.5 inches. He is below zero percentile in weight, 2 percent in height and average in head size. Due to his underlying chromosome disorder, the important things here is for Leo to continue to eat and gain weight and ignore the percentiles for now. So Leo will have a follow up in 1 week to make sure that he is gaining weight. Leo is currently on Similac NeoSure 24 Cal formula and feeds about every 3-3.5 hours and drinks about 30-50cc per feeding. Dr. Wang also said that so far Leo shows no signs of delays and that he has really good motor and muscle skills!! Go Leo!!
He is also a very calm and easy going baby, just like his sister Lily when she was a baby! He just eats, sometimes falls asleep halfway through feeding so that gets tough, and then burps and catches his second wind during feeding, and then goes right back to sleep when he’s all done. Sometimes he will be alert and stay awake for a little bit after feeding otherwise you can just put him in his crib and he’ll put himself to sleep! What a good boy Leo! He tends to smile the most after a feeding too, maybe because he’s full and happy from milk coma.
4 Weeks Old
Since leaving the NICU, Leo has been doing pretty well with his feeds for the most part. Lately he would slow down on some of his feeds and get sleepy and not finish, so I just let him sleep a half hour longer to give him a little extra rest so he can finish more of his feeds next time around. He has to go for his hearing check up in a couple weeks, and do his kidney ultrasound follow up once he reached 10 pounds, so that will probably be in a couple months. Other than that, Leo is adjusting to life at home very well! I am super happy to have my precious Leo home and I can’t wait to celebrate many more milestones with him and watch him grow before my very own eyes! Keep growing strong baby boy, you are doing so great! We all love you to pieces!!
Leo 1 Month Old
Enjoy this video I made of Leo’s journey during his first month of life!! He is so brave and such a strong fighter, I cannot be more proud of my baby boy. I love you so much Leo, you warm all our hearts with your presence. You are my littlest love, my hope, my rainbow at the end of a storm.
