Quick note

Joaquin is doing a lot better lately. After we took him to see the specialist at Duke's Children Hospital in Raleigh, Joa started doing better. It turns out that Joa has super sensitive skin. That is why his allergy skin test indicated that he was allergic to every food while his food allergy blood test revealed he did not have any allergies. So, they are redoing all his blood work once more to try to narrow down his allergies to include his allergen reaction to cats. If we are lucky, Joa might not be allergic to cats and we can keep Bonita. We drew the blood on Monday and expect the results in about 2 weeks. Wish us luck!


Jacob is doing great. He is still not crawling but he is scooting backwards. He also likes to pull himself up and stand on his legs while holding on to something. He is such a strong and eager boy. I already put up the baby gate in the play room in anticipation that he is going to crawl forward any minute. Since he can now go from his back to his belly and to the sitting position ( I saw him do it yesterday for the 1st time) , I am going to lower the mattress setting in his crib. We have to make sure he doesn't pull himself up and over his crib. That would suck.
Last week, Latrice took the boys to get some pics done at Wally Martinez (Wal-Mart). They were reasonably priced so we got a nice package of them. When we go down to Texas in late August, we are going to hand them out to our family. I am sure they will enjoy them. I already scanned it and that is the picture you see on this blog.


That is all for now. Until next time!

~Javier

Our Boys

Our boys are growing big and strong. Jacob recently hit a quiet growth spurt and he and Joa now weigh the same. They are both 18.5 lbs.
Jacob is an amazing little guy, he is strong. He is now the most active and is ready to start crawling any second. He is now on his arms and knees and ready to go forward as soon as he figures it out. Joa is very content to sit on his butt and suck on toys and has no interest in going forward.
Joa has had a lot of medical issues lately. The poor little guy has suffered some sicknesses and has been poked and prodded a lot. He recently had a urinary tract infection (UTI). He was in a lot of pain and it hampered his sleep. His asthma also flared up along with his allergies. The antibiotics gave him diarrhea and he had to get a catheter as a result of the UTI. Due to his asthma we have to continually give him breathing treatments. His allergy test revealed that he is allergic to our family cat of 10 years. He also has some strong food allergies and we are waiting for the blood test results to come back to pinpoint which foods are his trouble foods.
I am extremely disappointed that we must find a new home for our cat. Latrice and I have been married for 11 years and we have had her for 10 years. She is a part of the family and she was our initial "baby trainer". We learned how to care for her and take her into consideration when planning vacations, PCS moves, etc. Now we have to find her a suitable home. I do not have it in me to turn her over to a shelter. Especially one that will put her down if an owner is not found for her. She is a good loyal cat. I also feel bad that I have not been able to pay her the attention she needs. Ideally I would like to find her a family, that I know, so that I can keep in contact with her. She is a good pet and a part of the family, but I can not keep her around knowing she is causing so much discomfort for my baby boy. Any volunteers?
Work has been very interesting. I am now in the full swing of things and am doing what I can to support our mission while making the lives of the Marines around me better. My bosses are pleased with my work and the younger Marines seem to have a positive attitude. The hours are not great but I do get to come home every night and for that I am grateful.
My sister Jackie has been visiting us for the last month. She has been helpful and has helped Latrice out with the boys. She has enjoyed her visit with us. She now knows the hard work, patience, and physical challenges associated with raising twin boys. I know she is looking forward to returning home and catching up on some sleep!
Our new home is great. We have hosted a few friends the past few weekends. The weather here has been nice and the neighborhood is good. We have quickly adjusted to our life here and eagerly await our next set of challenges. Soon enough, Jacob will be crawling, eating better solid foods, and begin his teething. Joaquin will start to get better and maybe show some interest of becoming a mobile force of destruction.
I know it has been a long time since we posted. Latrice and I are still adjusting to each other as well as our new roles of being parents. I think we are starting to miss each other. Even though we live together and our raising our boys, we are not really together like we used to be. We used to cuddle on the couch and watch a movie and talk. Now we hardly cuddle before one of the boys needs something and we have to get up to tend to him. There is no more date night and when we do go to bed, it is a peck on the cheek and a quick 'lub ya' goodnight. There is no more holding hands, just holding babies. There is no more talks about the future, just talks about whose turn it is to get up and quiet the fussy baby. Time is going by and we are going by each other in the night as we stumble across with a baby in our arms looking for the quickest way to quiet him down so we can get some sleep. In the words of Darius Rucker's new song "It won't be like this for long..." I love being a new parent but I do miss being Latrice's pookie bear...

~Javier