Surgery

Lucas had his eye surgery on Monday. He was scheduled for 1230. Honestly, the part I was worried the most about was keeping him NPO. The child loves to eat. We fed him two dinners the night before because we didnt' really want to wake him at 4am to eat. When he woke up that morning he didn't even ask for anything. No one ate in front of him, we covered all of the food on the counters, and he was just so sweet and calm all morning. He was able to have clear liquids all morning, so he had his gatorade, applejuice, and water. When we got to the hospital he couldnt' have anything else, he asked for water a few times when we were checking in with a convincing "please" attached, but carried on when we told him that he couldn't drink right now.

Luckily they got him right back and had toys waiting for him in his crib. They soon gave him the magic Versed and he was an even more happy camper. He still didn't want us to leave when they were wheeling him into the OR so they let us in a bit further than usual so he could see us until he got in the OR. He did great..as long as he could see us he just smiled all the way down the hall. I hate watching him go into surgery, but it helps when they go in happy.

The procedure took less than two hours. He was really nauseated and groggy for the rest of the day, but is now back to his normal self. His eyes are really bloody, like out of a scary movie, but they aren't seeming to bother him at all. Lucas' resiliency is astounding.
Pre-op, playing with the toys...getting sleepy from the Versed.
Pre-op with Papa...very sleepy!

Waking up after surgery.
One day post op- getting his appetite back.
Six days post-op

Is this not the sweetest thing?

Potty

This seems to be the word used most around our house right now. Peter and I had no intention of even starting potty training until closer to 2.5 or 3ish. We actually had even contemplated holding off until after Lucas' next heart surgery. But, Lucas has been showing an increased interest over the past several months. He often tells us when he is going (good to know) in his diaper. And he is very interested in the toilet, exciting stuff I tell you. On the plane ride home from Hawaii Lucas became even more interested...yelling POTTY POTTY with urgency. We weren't about to start potty training on an airplane. So when we got home we went and got a fun little toilet for him. He has gone in it a couple times and has just missed WAY too many times to count. I have special towels now just to clean up the bathroom floor. We know he is super young, and we aren't expecting miracles here. But we also didn't want to ignore his interest. Honestly, we will be surprised and excited if he is potty trained by three (and he isn't two yet). After we now have his special big boy potty and such, he isn't that into it, but anytime we are out and about, say at Home Depot, he acts like he desperately needs to go to the restroom. OH well.. one day we will get there. No rush! But, we now find ourselves singing songs such as.. "We're going to potty like it's 1999" and "Potty over here, Potty over there" and "Potty people." Weird I know!

Aloha 2011

We brought in the New Year Hawaiian style this year, bummer I know! Tropical, beautiful, and relaxing! We were lucky enough to get to go to Kauai with the Rietkerk side of the family this year. Not a shabby way to spend the New Year, right? Lucas is one spoiled one and a half year old. We were a bit concerned about the long plane ride with a VERY active little boy, but he did fabulous both ways. He took at least a two hour nap each direction. On the way back we were lucky enough to have three empty seats next to us so we moved over and had much more space and Lucas was able to have some wiggle room.

We had a wonderful trip, but as always it goes by way to fast. And the tan fades just as quickly :(. We spent a lot of time on the beach, sight seeing, relaxing by the pool, hanging out at the condo, and listening to Lucas say "loodle doodle doo." Lucas loved the roosters on Kauai, and is pretty disappointed that we don't have one of our own. The first thing he would say every morning when awakening is "loooodle dooodle dooo" and point outside. The roosters were by far is favorite part of the trip.

Lucas loved playing in the sand and water, he preferred the more peaceful water areas.. waves are not his thing!
Mommy and Lucas right after a tropical rain. Lucas didn't know what to think, rain and sun at the same time, how does that happen?
We should start counting how many crayons we pick up at each restaurant. There is usually about 30 seconds of coloring, followed by dump all of the crayons on the ground.
Cutie pie.
Grandpa and Lucas playing in the sand.
Waimea Canyon
Coffee and sugar cane plantation. Lucas looks so much like his daddy these days!
The whole gang after snorkeling!

Happy New Year! 2010 brought our family a lot of changes that we are thankful for. We hope 2011 is a happy, safe, and healthy year! Next year at this time we will be chasing two little ones!!

Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! The three of us went to Christmas eve mass and came home and had a quiet evening with enchiladas and one present. We have the tradition of getting a new pair of pajamas to wear on Christmas eve, so Lucas woke up in his reindeer jammies! We got to wake up in our own bed and open gifts at home. It was absolutely wonderful. Lucas was so kind and patient opening his gifts. He loved all of his gifts and said "wow" when he opened them. Of course he wanted to play with each present right away. We have learned that kids toys are packaged so securely that possibly in the future we will wrap them without the packaging. After eating a nice breakfast we headed to Roseville to spend the day with my family. Lucas was spoiled with more gifts, but he loved every one. He was actually more interested in handing out the gifts to each person than he was in opening his own.

The Monday after Christmas we had our 29 week prenatal apt. Things are still fine, but they decided to take me off of work because of some changes I have been having. It is just preventative at this point, but better to be safe in this situation. I feel pretty good overall. It is definitely true what they say, your body knows which shape to take the second time. And it wastes no time assuming that shape! We have some decisions to make regarding our delivery since Lucas was a C-section. Lucas was born urgently by a C-section at 35 weeks because he was very tangled in the cord. This was discovered during a non-stress test. I was having these tests bi-weekly due to his heart condition. So, I believe in a way, his heart condition saved his life!! Given the circumstances I now have been given the choice of which way to deliver with this baby. We pray that we make the right decision in this situation! It is not an easy choice and both ways have serious risk factors. Following our apt. we drove to the bay area to visit more family. We had another great Christmas dinner and Lucas had a wonderful time playing with all of the other kids! What a whirlwind but wonderful Christmas. We had just one day to get home and get ready for our tropical new year.....