NYC here we come!!!

OK...we are all packed and ready to go! We leave tomorrow morning and we are beyond excited!! I am going to try VERY HARD to update my blog during the convention so check for updates!
See you all in New-York!!!

so many things to do!!

Well we leave for New-York tomorrow and I feel like I have so many things to do with so little time! I have to pack!!! I know I know, I have been saying that for the past couple days and have not started yet!! I wanted to but never got to it. LOL
Anyway, our flight leaves tomorrow morning around 6:00 AM so we have to leave the house around 4:00...We get in around 3:00 PM. We are very excited to see New-York and also attend our very first LPA national convention! We loved the regional so I'm sure we'll love the national even more!
The last couple days have been pretty busy. We spent some time at the pool at the Red Rock Hotel. I love it there!

Last night, Jeff and I went out to dinner, movie and drinks afterwards while my mom stayed home with the girls. It was nice to get out. We we got home, I checked on the girls before I went to bed and this is how Anaïs was sleeping in her crib...I just had to take a picture! I swear her flexibility is INCREDIBLE!!

We are bringing our laptop in NYC so I want to TRY to blog while we are at the convention...we'll see if that happens! lol

As for now, New-York HERE WE COME!!!!

The good thing and the bad thing...

Well, the good thing about my mom being in town is that we have so much fun with her. My mom is the kind of person who just makes you laugh all the time and who is never boring!! I remember when I was a kid, I LOVED hanging out with my mom, even as a teenager! When she comes to visit, we always have a great time and we love having her around. The girls love her too because she is the kind of grandma every kid wants to have. She sits with Sam and colors with her for HOURS!!
I guess the bad thing about having my mom in town is that I have a lot less time and discipline to blog!! LOL

She brought some toys from France for the girls, here is Anaïs playing with one of hers.

Today, we just had a laid back day. We had to go to Target this morning because I was running out of diapers and then we went to the pool.

I met Katie today!!!

Today we met Katie and her husband Brooks from Texas. They came to Vegas for a little getaway and I am so glad we got a chance to meet them!! Too bad Cole wasn't with them. :)

When I was pregnant with Anaïs, Katie was the very first person I talked to about raising a child with achondroplasia. She was so nice to me and kept on telling me that things would turn out ok and that I would make it through this, I will never forget that! So Katie, thank you for helping me get through the toughest time of my life!
We met them for lunch at Rainforest Cafe because we had to do a kid friendly place since we had both Sam and Anaïs with us.
We had such a great time!! I swear I could totally see us hanging out all the time if we lived closer!! It's always nice to meet other parents of kids with dwarfism because you instantly have a connection, but it wasn't just that...I feel like I would totally get along with Katie even if we didn't have that in common!
Can't wait to see them again!

After lunch, we had to stop and look at the lions since we were at the MGM hotel...

It was a great day!

LPA bbq/pool party

Yesterday we went to a LPA event...we always have such a great time! Sam spent most of the day in the water, she loves to swim! The party was actually a birthday party and was filled with food and fun!

Here is Anaïs and her friend Destiny, they are only a couple weeks apart and both have achondroplasia. I am very excited for Anaïs to have a LP friend who is exactly her age.

The kids got to decorate visors with fun stickers. Rachel was so nice and made one for Anaïs.

Anaïs was kind of tired the whole day...probably a combination of her surgery, the heat and the fact that she didn't really nap yesterday. She only wanted to be in Jeff arms the entire afternoon!! Yep...looks like we have another daddy's girl! :)

Water, smiles and kicking legs!

A day filled with smiles and water can only be a happy one right?
Today I took Sam to a pool playdate at my friend Michelle's house. It was a blast for kids and moms! I decided to leave Anaïs with Jeff because it was so hot outside and going to a pool playdate by myself with the 2 girls can be pretty hectic since Sam wants me in the water with her. Michelle also has a huge blow up slide where the kids always have so much fun!

Sam enjoyed taking a little break for a nice lunch. The food was great...I ate so much!!!

The kids loved jumping in the water. It's so much fun because we are a group of girlfriends and our kids really all get along. It allows us to hang out with our kids and everybody has a great time.

Also, right before we went to the playdate, Anaïs was showing off her kicking skills for us. When she gets really happy and excited she likes to kick her little legs really hard, it's so cute!

Bravo!

Here is Anaïs clapping her hands today. :) Every time she does it, she looks so proud of herself!

New blog!!!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you all know about a new family joining our blogging family.
A couple months ago I met Rosie, a mom who has 4 beautiful daughters. Her youngest, Destiny, just turned 1 and has achondroplasia. They live right here in Vegas. I know they are really eager to meet other families with LP kids.
Here is the link to their blog:

www.babydestinyhope.blogspot.com

Welcome to the blogging world Rosie, you'll love it!

SO busy...

The last couple days have been so hectic for us!! Anaïs finally got out of the hospital yesterday. She was having some issues with her oxygen levels, they would occasionally drop when she was asleep.
They sent us home with oxygen to use at night, which we are not too excited about. I just don't think it's realistic considering she wants to take off the cannula and pulls on it as soon as we put in on. We have an appointment with her doctor tomorrow to follow up and this and see if she really needs the oxygen or not.
With all that, she ended up spending her first birthday at the hospital. Here is the birthday girl.
Sam was very good during all this and was very worried about her little sister. She took great care of her on her birthday.

The hospital staff was wonderful! They made a birthday card and poster for Anaïs and sang happy birthday for her. It really made the day a little better.

I can't believe my little baby is one already!! Time goes by so fast!
Anaïs has taught me so much and has made me such a better person. She taught me to be more accepting of others and she made me look at life in such a different way, a better way. She has opened the doors to a whole new world with the most amazing people I have EVER met. I am learning something new everyday with her...I am so very lucky to have her in my life, she is my little hero. I know for people who have never had to deal with being "different" or having a "different" child it seems so scary and you are probably wondering "how do they do it?" but guess what...I can honestly say that not only are we "doing it" but we are loving every minute of it and we would NEVER change anything about our baby girl...NOTHING! She is who she is and she is perfect the way she is. She has so much strength and happiness in her, I never feel sorry for her. So please, don't feel bad for her or us because I know she will have a wonderful life and we are so very lucky to be a part of something bigger, an incredible community with wonderful people. I absolutely love every second I get to spent with our new friends in the LP community. Also, to our "blogging family"...you guys are the best and I could never make it without all of you!
So thank you Anaïs for introducing us to this whole new wonderful world and for making everyone around you better people. We love you so much little girl!!!

Also, a couple days ago, Sam got to do something very special, she got her ears pierced! She had been waiting to get it done...
She did really good and didn't even cry, although I could tell she wanted to. She is so brave!


On this picture you can tell that she is being so brave...poor baby.

Surgery accomplished!

The surgery is DONE!!! I am so glad it's over!!
Today was a long day...At first, we were told that the surgery was scheduled at 3:45 in the afternoon (which was already so late considering Anaïs had to fast). We arrived at the hospital a little early, around 3:15, and they told us that the surgery should be around 5:20...5:20???? Are you kidding me? At about 4:30, they told us that Dr Park (Anaïs' surgeon) had to do an emergency surgery so we are now scheduled for 6:00...WHAT????? Remember that my poor baby hadn't eaten anything since the night before!
Anyway, long story short she went in at about 6:00 and did wonderful!
Here are the girls hanging out on Nana's front porch today, you would never guess that Anaïs was fasting, she was STILL happy and a joy to be around, what a trooper!

Here she is in the waiting area playing with all the fun toys they have there...one of the many reason why I love the Children's Hospital!

The surgery took about 45 minutes. Right after, she went to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). She is spending the night there, Jeff stayed with her. She is doing well, she is pretty sleepy but does not seem in too much pain. The doctor said that her tonsils were somewhat big and that her adenoids were huge and were obstructing her nose. She also had a lot of fluid in her ears. She really needed this surgery.


We are relieved and hope she feels better very soon. She might get to come home tomorrow if she does well. Thank you again for all the support and love.

School is over!

Sam graduated from preschool, she is now ready to start kindergarten in August! She is very excited and we are so very proud of her! We love you Sam!

Congratulations to the graduates! :)

We are driving today to Salt Lake, Anaïs is getting her surgery tomorrow (ear tubes and removal of tonsils/adenoids). I will keep everyone updated on how she does and will try to post on the blog tomorrow night. Thank you all for you continuous support.

The party!

Today was Sam and Anaïs' birthday party. We had a pink french poodle theme party at the park. Here are the invitations: The weather was nice, a little windy and not too hot. I think the party was a success, we are so lucky to have all our friends and family who love our two girls!

Here is Anaïs enjoying the party with Nana and Papi.

We had pizza and cake, I kept the menu very simple! lol

Sam was very proud to wear her special dress that my sister sent her from France, it is so cute!

I had a cake made for the party. It was SO good! I think it turned out really cute too.

Everybody was singing "happy birthday" for the girls on this picture. At this point they were ready to eat some cake!

Here is Anaïs eating cake for the first time, looks like she loved it!

Thank you so much to everyone who came to celebrate our girls' birthday with us!

Happy birthday Sam!!

Well...Sam turned 5 today!! I can't believe my baby is already 5 years old!!
Here is the birthday girl this morning on our way to school. After school, we met at Michelle's house for swimming lesson for all the kids. I swear I have THE BEST friends I could ever asked for. Look at what they had for Sam:

We have the big birthday party for both Sam and Anaïs this saturday, it should be fun!

After swimming lesson, we went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner then came home for presents and cupcakes.

Look at that face...she was so excited when she opened this present: she finally got her very first Hannah Montana CD!! She has been asking for Hannah Montana stuff for months and I kept telling her that she was too young and that MAYBE when she turns 5 we could talk about it again. This look of joy is just priceless.

Sam, I love you more than you will ever know. You are such a beautiful girl, inside and out. I love that you always think of others and that you are so accepting of other people's differences. You make me laugh every single day and I am so lucky to be your mom. I am so proud of you! Happy birthday!

Je t'aime ma belle, joyeux anniversaire.

Happy birthday Jeff!

Happy birthday Jeff, I love you so much!!!!!


PLEASE PAUSE MUSIC AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE BEFORE YOU VIEW THIS VIDEO. :)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We are in trouble...

Anaïs is not even one and look at where she wants to shop... LOL!!

Here are also a couple pictures from today, just because they are too cute!

You think I'm kidding??

When I say that Anaïs' nose is always congested...well check this out! LOL

It's so bad that she always blows bubbles with her snot, lovely huh? lol

I sure hope that taking her tonsils and adenoids out will help a little with the congestion.

The Louvre museum right here in Vegas!!

At school, Sam is in a special program called "Global Friends". They study cultures from around the world. This month they have been learning about France, which of course Sam LOVES! They have been working on a big project: recreating the famous Louvre museum in Paris. They displayed all their artwork in the school's lobby for all the parents to look at.

It was so cute, the kids went around giving out a brochure about their artwork, cheese, crackers and lemonade. They were very proud of their work.

Here is my little artist showing me one of her pieces.

Anaïs enjoyed it too...especially the cheese! lol

Great job Sam, I am so proud of you!!

Mother's Day Tea Party!

Yesterday, I went to the Mother's Day Tea Party at Sam's school. The kids had been getting ready for it for quite a while. It was very cute...when we got there each kid guided their mom to a chair and they sat us down and gave us cookies and tea. They made us the cutest little cards and vases with fresh flowers in them.

Check out the hat Sam made me!!! It is made out of paper and she spray painted it...too cute!
They sang some cute songs for the moms, here are the videos. Just pause the music at the bottom of the page before you view the videos.


There is nothing better than Mother's Day. Thank you so much Sam for all the efforts you put in for this special day, I will always cherish these precious moments that we share together!

I got an invitation...

to a VERY VERY special event. I am so excited and I feel so special.

Sam gave me an invitation to a Tea for two on Friday morning in her classroom. The invitation is the cutest thing I have ever seen. There is a little poem in it.

Thank you Sam! I can't wait until Friday to have tea with you. :)

Pictures of the Tea Party to follow... of course :)

Anaïs' first time in the pool

This morning we went to our community pool. The weather was beautiful and the water was great! It was Anaïs' first time in the water and I think she really enjoyed it!
Right when we got there, I told Sam I wanted to take a picture of her before she got in the water and she started taking all these poses...she is growing up and it's scaring the hell out of me! LOL!!!

Anaïs had a lot of fun too! She loved the water. Oh, and yes Sarah, I bought her the bathing suit you and I talked about from Old Navy. :) She looked so cute in it!!!

Look...I can float!

Jeff was lifting her up and down and she LOVED that, she was laughing and giggling. Look at that cute little face.

Then, this afternoon we went to the park and met Rosie and her daughters. Rosie has 4 girls and her youngest, who is about Anaïs' age, also has achondroplasia. It was really neat to see her and Anaïs interact.

She has so much more hair than Anaïs that I think she looks older. She was very cute and it was a pleasure to meet them! Rosie, we sure hope to see you guys at the next LPA event! :)

After that, the girls were so tired...Oh yes, I made the mistake to attempt going to Target after the park...BIG MISTAKE! I don't know what I was thinking...

LPA mini-golf!

Today we went to an indoor mini-golf facility with the Vegas LPA chapter. We had a great time, as always. Anaïs was like "you guys have fun doing your mini-golf thing, I'm just gonna chill in my stroller!" LOL Sam LOVES doing activities with the LPA group because she has really good friends and they really get along well. It's nice because they are quite a few kids.

Afterwards, we ate lunch at In & Out since it was right across the street.

As always, Anaïs got lots of attention and spent most of the time in someone's arms. I am very excited about the Vegas LPA group, I can tell that we are starting to become more consistent and that people are really willing to commit. It will be nice once we can be an official chapter...only about 4 months to go!

Tomorrow, I am meeting a mom who has a baby girl with achondroplasia. She is 11 months old, just like Anaïs. I am very excited to meet them.

Sam's first science project!

Today, Sam's school organized a science fair. Each student had to do a science project and display it for the whole school. Sam's project was about magnetism. Here she is right before school showing off her science project. Jeff came up with the idea of putting up pictures of Sam on the board, it turn out really cute!

It was a lot of fun for all the kids to look at each other's projects. We don't really do science projects in France so this was extra fun for me! I am so glad that Sam gets to do all these fun things, I can't say enough good things about her school, I LOVE it.

Oh, by the way, the boy on this picture is Kannon. Sam says that one day she will marry him. LOL

After the science fair, the school had a pizza lunch for all the kids and parents.

What a great school day!

Not much...

to tell about our Utah trip...
Anaïs' appt with her neurosurgeon went well. He just said to come back in 6 months to monitor her sleep apnea and make sure that she doesn't start having spinal compression issues again.
We go back in a week and a half (yes, AGAIN!!) because she has an appt with an ENT to talk about ear tubes and taking her adenoids out. I suspect that she has an ear infection again... she has been kind of fussy lately and doesn't sleep as well, I will probably take her to her pediatrician tomorrow.
Anyway, that's pretty much it.

That's it!!!

I want to live by the beach!!!! LOL

We went to California this weekend and I didn't want to leave!!! I love going there, Jeff's mom has a really nice condo there and I just love the area, it is just beautiful! We had a really fun and busy week end! We were lucky because the weather was absolutely beautiful! On the first day, we decided to go to the beach. We went to Crystal Cove, in Newport Beach. We went to Trader Joe's and bought food to have a little picnic on the beach...it just doesn't get any better than that!

Sam was so excited. Her new thing is to say "I'm dancing the Cha-Cha because I'm so excited!" LOL!! This is her dancing the Cha-Cha!!! I swear it is IMPOSSIBLE to be bored around her, she is just too funny!

Anaïs loved hanging out on the towel, she was really good!

After the beach, we went back to the condo to shower and rest a little.

Jeff's sisters went to Disneyland a couple weeks ago and bought a 3 day pass but only used it for 2 days so she gave us 3 tickets for Disneyland. We were not planning on going there, but how could we not???? Free Disneyland tickets? You just don't turn that down. It was so nice of them to do that!!

So we didn't tell Sam and just told her that we had a surprise for her and that we were going to spend the evening at a very special place. Needless to say that when she saw we were going to Disneyland she was SO excited!!!! We were there from around 6:00PM to 10:00PM. It was great!

Anaïs' first ride was Roger Rabbit...it was a little rougher than we remembered! LOL

But she enjoyed it!

Sam and I went on the spinning tea cups, I was so dizzy after I hard a hard time walking for 10 minutes!

After, we even got to see the fireworks. It was such a fun night!

Then, on Saturday we went to the LPA BBQ. We had a wonderful time! We feel very lucky to be a part of such a wonderful and welcoming group! Since our chapter here in Vegas is just getting started, we have been trying to attend events in CA since we have a place to stay there. Everybody there has been so nice to us!! We have met amazing people! I want to say a special thank you to Mike who always makes sure to include us in all the events!

The kids had a great time too! Sam played non stop and we barely saw her throughout the day.

On our last day, we just could not go home without going to the beach one last time. We went to Laguna Beach...so beautiful!

What a fun weekend...can't wait to do it again!!!!

Our Easter week end

A couple days ago, the girls and I went to a friend's house for a little Easter egg hunt. Sam had a lot of fun while Anaïs enjoyed looking at all the kids running around.

Last night, we went out with some of our friends to celebrate a friend's birthday. We went to dinner at a brazilian steakhouse and then we headed to Martini's, a local bar, for some drinks. Jeff and I hadn't gone out in a while so it felt really nice to get a babysitter and get out a bit.

This morning, when we got up we saw that the Easter Bunny had left some surprises in the backyard for Sam and Anaïs!! ;)

Anaïs got a cute little bunny. She loves stuffed animals.

Sam loved looking for eggs that were hidden all over the backyard. I can't wait for next year so Anaïs can be a little more involved in the whole process.

Sam got a chocolate bunny, a new plate with a matching cup and some Hello Kitty underwear...and TONS of candy hidden in all those eggs.

Later in the day, Sam did some painting while Anaïs took her nap. She loves doing any kind of artwork and never gets tired of it!

Then, the weather was so nice today that we decided to go to the pool. It was the first time this year! The water was pretty cold though so we decided it was probably better to keep Anaïs out of the water.

That's it...that was our week-end.

We leave for California on Thursday. We are planning on going to the beach on Friday and to a LPA BBQ on Saturday, it should be a fun week-end!