Lucas Peter

Mr. Sensitive

2012-01-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

Lately Lucas has been Mr. Sensitive. I am not talking about the kind of sensitive that you see on The Bachelor. No, this little man is not one for calm, collected, or roses for that matter. He is a ball of fire and keeps us always on our toes

Recently he has gone through a bit of a growth spurt he is almost at 33 lbs on our scale, which is the magic weight for his Fontan...which is coming way too fast. Our scale has always been lighter (I personally ignore this fact) than the scale at the doctor's office, so he would even be more like 34-35lbs on their scale. I am not sure if it is the fact that his body is ready for the surgery or what. But, lately if you even look at him wrong he breaks into tears and he is constantly telling me he is tired...and he is getting more and more blue. Not only is he super emotional (I am talking majorly) he is also VERY tempermental. Now, I understand he is almost 3 and we fully get the tantrums and all of that business. But this seems like more than that, which breaks my heart.

A few times recently we have been playing out front and he can't do exactly what he wants to do. Last week he was playing with the 4 and 6 year old that live across the street. The 4 year old took off running and of course so did Lucas. I try not to be over limit him because the doctor's have always told us he will do that for himself. But he took off running, or should I say sprinting...he got about 30 yards before he stopped in his tracks panting, and literally the 4 year old was almost carrying my blue little boy back to me. She was so sweet, she said "I think he doesn't feel good" and indeed he didn't. He immediately asked me for some water, which has sort of been our code talk for "mommy I need a break." We have talked about that whenever he is out of breath or tired he can just ask for some water. When we came inside to get his water he was really tearful and agitated, because I know that he really did want to play.

This morning about an hour after he woke up, he had sprinted, in true Lucas fashion, to the bathroom and when he came back he said, "mommy I am tired, I just want to rest on your shoulder and take a nap." Now if you know this little man, that is not like him...AT ALL. During waking hours he rarely sits still. He also has been very irritable, little things are bugging him right now. In my nurse mind I have to think that it is his low oxygen. Those patients who have emphysema/copd are usually always irritable and it makes sense because they are living without adequate oxygen. I just have to wonder if that is the same type of thing that is happening to Lucas.

This is hard. It is hard to watch your child decline. If there is one thing that I have learned in the last three years it is that everyone walks their own journey. Everyone's trials in life are different and unique. None of them are easy! As we are dreading Lucas' upcoming surgery, we are praying it helps him feel better. Praying for a smooth recovery. And praying that one day we can let him play and run outside without worrying about him over exerting himself.

Free Ride

2012-01-18T14:30:00.000-08:00

Stepped away for a second to put in a load of laundry and Lucas was saying "all aboard" and catching a free ride on his sister. Disregard the blackberries that are all over his face. :)

Happy New Year

2012-01-08T15:04:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I apologize for the delay between posts, as Claire gets more active, I have less time to actually sit down. She celebrated 10 months this past week on the 6th. On Jan 1 she decided to start the New Year off by showing us what's in store...she took four steps. She definitely is still crawling, and getting much faster every day, but will take a step here and there when she feels like showing off. Of course after we get excited for her accomplishment Lucas has to demonstrate how he can carefully walk too... he can't let her have a moment to herself :). I remember with Lucas the whole process of actually being a steady walker took quite some time and I am perfectly fine with that.

Both of the kids have had a nasty GI bug this past week. We again are dealing with massive amounts of laundry and disinfecting. We are on day four and hoping it is coming to an end soon. Both have been in good spirits despite all of it.

We hope you have a wonderful New Year. We are looking forward to 2012. We will celebrate Lucas turning 3, Claire turning 1, and me turning "too much" as Lucas would say, and five years of marriage. We are so thankful for our sweet little ones.

We are REALLY looking forward to having Lucas' surgery behind us, the anticipation is harder than I would have ever imagined. We are thankful for all of our family and friends who have already stepped up and offered to help. Believe me we are going to need A LOT of it come the last week in March. Please keep Lucas and our family in your prayers as we figure out how to best prepare him for this endeavor. Every time I try to mention it lately, he says, "mommy I don't need surgery, I don't need to go to the hospital" Then followed by (which breaks me heart) "It won't hurt mommy???????"

Happy 2012! We hope it brings happiness to each of you! Here are a few sweet pictures from the kids favorite time of the day!

Look at those sweet rolls. I know it isn't very accurate but on our little scale she weighs over 24lbs. We'll see in a month or so when she has her next set of immunizations. Happy 10 months princess!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-29T15:05:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. We could not be more thankful for all of our wonderful family and friends. This year Christmas was riot because Lucas was SO excited for Santa. He was really into the idea and couldn't wait. We really tried to focus on the real meaning of Christmas and I think he started grasping that too. We spent Christmas Eve at my parents and it was the cutest thing because before he went to bed he cracked the fireplace doors and looked up as if half way expecting Santa to be on his way down. He was thrilled in the morning when Santa had eaten the cookies Lucas and Claire had left for him and Santa even left a note. Lucas is still talkin about the note. Such an amazing thing to see the miracles of Christmas through a child's eyes.

Picking out our Christmas tree, we had the perfect one in about three minutes. It is possibly the most beautiful tree we have ever had. Coming from the people who several years ago spent from dawn till dusk traversing the foothills to find the right tree all while our dog was getting invested with ticks...picking out this tree in a few minutes was just perfect!

Christmas excitement. We didn't get to spend Christmas with the Rietkerk's this year so we made a big deal of opening the kids gifts from them two days prior, we didn't want them to be so overwhelmed on the day of. We got them all dressed in Christmas jammies and had festive music playing. Lucas thought Santa had already arrived.

A Christmas Eve tradition, the kids get new special jammies to get ready for the big day! After Christmas Eve mass we always come home and have lasagna, get new jammies, and play a game or two.

Opening their gifts from Santa on Christmas morning. As you can see Claire is cutting four teeth right now so everything is in her mouth.


Opening stockings!

Chewing on ribbon, must feel good on the gums.

Merry Christmas.

Nine Months

2011-12-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

This sweet little thing turned nine months old on December 6.

Disney II

2011-12-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed two days at both parks before Peter started his conference. We had a blast. We spent two FULL days having fun and riding every ride we could. When we left home it was in the 50's so I didn't pack us any clothes for warm weather, or sunscreen. We made several trips to Target to get a quick Summer wardrobe and some sunblock. Wasn't expecting nearly 90 degree temperatures, but it was a nice change.

Lucas is a bit afraid of the dark right now...so he wasn't a fan of the dark rides.. but he managed. His all time favorite ride was Autopia. He was in heaven. Enjoy the pictures!
Claire and I waiting in Santa's village for a moment with the big guy. In his village were all of his reindeer. Amazing. The wait for santa was maybe ten minutes. Shorter than any mall!
Unfortunately, Lucas had wiped his eyes with his hands while waiting in line for Santa and got sunscreen in his eyes. His eyes were tearing and burning. He was a good sport about waiting until after we saw Santa to fix the situation. But, note to self. I probably should use the sensitive faces sunscreen on his hands since he is constantly touching his face.
Even Pluto was festive!

Playing the piano in Mickey's house.

Mikey's birthday cake.

Meeting Mickey. When we finally met Mickey (after much anticipation and exicitement) Lucas says, "that's not Mickey Mommy, that's Minney, he's wearing a dress" He said this very loudly mind you. I hope Mickey wasn't offended. Even for a few days after, he didn't think we had met Mickey Mouse because of Mickey's outfit. I think Lucas was a little disappointed at what Mickey chose to wear that day.

California Adventure Park.

Happy Guy!

We had dinner at a fabulous restaurant on my birthday. A friend recommended it to us and I am so glad we did it. It was amazing food and a great spot to hang out for a few hours.

Desert was phenomenal! I didn't' even eat the brownie they brought me because the spread of gourmet deserts was amazing. Everything on the plate was edible. Even with Lucas' sweet tooth we didn't come close to finishing it all.

Me and the little lady.

Back in Toon Town, Lucas' favorite spot...in a car!

Photo shoot with Lightening McQueen and Mater!

In a Bugs Land.

Driving the Bug Cars.

Driving in Autopia, according to Peter it was anything but a smooth ride.

First of many rides on the carousel.

We had a really fun week, can't wait to go back in a few years.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....

2011-12-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

...to go to DISNEYLAND!

I could have never imagined how much fun it would be to take the kids to the happiest place on earth! I am going to have to split this post into two parts because there is so much. We spent two days as a family at the two parks and then I took the kids (I am now realizing this was a brave endeavor) to Disneyland by myself for day three. During all three days we only waited in ONE line at either park and that was for 15 mins tops. We WALKED onto EVERYTHING. This made it so nice because it allowed Peter and I to go on some of the fun rides alone (not that Winne the Pooh's Adventure isn't thrilling) and we were only gone for less than five mins. Unfortunately, Lucas was sick the whole time with a fever, but he was such a good sport and didn't even complain. I think he thought he would miss something or we would stay in if he admitted his illness. We just took it easy and rested a lot. We let him guide us in what he wanted to do...which was A LOT! Poor buddy is such a little trooper.

This post captures the days I was solo with the kids. We spent Monday Tuesday with Peter at Disneyland/CA Adventure then we took a day off (we all needed a little break). Wednesday, I took the kids to Downtown Disney. So, I loaded the double stroller and headed out...easy right? I asked the concierge the fastest way to get there. Little did I know at this time there was a shortcut that he neglected to tell me about. So, I set off. Nearly an hour later we finally arrived to Downtown Disney.. I was diaphoretic, parched, and exhausted. I found my own way back in less than half the time. Oh well. We made it. We walked around, played, and looked at all of the fun stores. The whole Disneyland area is so amazing this time of year, not a detail left unnoticed. Every window and street lamp is perfectly decorated and Christmas carols are always lingering. LOVE IT!

I was looking for a fun place to have lunch, but didn't want it to be too much for Lucas since he still wasn't a 100%. I just happen to stumble upon a restaurant in the Disneyland hotel called Goofy's Kitchen. AMAZING! I was a bit hesitant being alone with two kidlets in a restaurant and one of which had had a few bouts of emesis (Lucas), but again they loved it. When I showed up, the hostess kept looking behind me.. as if looking for another adult to accompany me...I think they thought I was nuts. Little did I know when I picked this place out, it was a buffett. So, in order to get food for everyone I had to go get it....with EVERYONE. So, I decided to again load up the double stroller to head to the food area. I ended up balancing Lucas' plate on top of the stroller shade and holding mine, and pushing the hard to steer double stroller back to the table around Chip, Dale, Cinderella, Captain Hook, and Aladdin. No biggie, we made it...somehow. Each character came to dine with us for a bit. We had such an awesome time.

Goofy met us at the door in his chef's garb! They had this amazing mural of a kitchen that we got to get a photo taken with Goofy (we could have purchased it a small fee of $59.99...or something) we passed on that but had an amazing lunch with SO many of the Disney Characters and Princesses.

Claire trying on some ears.
Chip was definitely the favorite, Lucas is still talking about him.
Hanging out with Pluto.
Both of the kids HATED Captain Hook. I have to say after looking at this picture I can kind of see why. What is he doing to Claire's head? Lucas tracked him around the restaruant and if he even started to step towards our table he would get quiver lip and say.. "mommy you don't like the pirate, get him away."
Aladdin redeemed things.

On Thursday we headed to Disneyland...I decided to take the shuttle :). But, little did I realize that I would have to fully empty the stroller, kids, and luggage and completely collapse it down in order to ride the shuttle. Luckily there were some very nice people to help us out and Lucas chatted with them the whole way, so I think they enjoyed it. I didn't get to take many pictures this day but we made it on a lot of rides. Small world, several trains, the carousel (Claire loved this, wish I had a picture), jungle cruise, Mark Twain's ship, and a few others. We had a great day together!
Claire loving the train ride.
Toon Town, if it would have been up to Lucas we would have never left Toon Town. He absolutely LOVED it.
AWWW Goofy.
Another car in Toon Town.
WE took the horse drawn carriage ride down Main Street and then got an antique fire truck ride back. I had never know about it before, but they have an antique fire station, Lucas loved playing on the horse drawn fire truck. We spent A LOT of time in here.
The obligatory picture at the entrance to Disneyland, this was taken at the end of day #3, they were pretty much ready to go.

Amazing trip! To be continued...

2011-11-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

March 29, 2012, that is the surgery date. Until then we are going to have A LOT of fun and try to stay healthy.

ER

2011-11-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, unfortunately we had to take Lucas to the ER last night. He has had several colds (feels like a few a month) and most of them at some point turn into a croupy cough, which we are getting pretty used to. When Peter took him to daycare yesterday he was totally fine not even a runny nose. But at some point during the day he started getting a cough. He coughed so hard during his nap time that he woke up to throw up...poor buddy.

By the time I had gotten home from work he was really hoarse and coughing very frequently and he definitely was not himself. Peter gave him a steamy shower and I gave him some motrin to help with the inflammation and we got him to bed. About an hour after he went down, I went in because he was coughing so much. When I got in his room he was sitting up gasping for air, when I picked him up he puked all over me and his room. He was really struggling to breathe. I was so scared I almost called the ambulance (not like me). I got him in the steamy shower again to get him clean and most importantly to help his airway. In the shower he was still coughing a lot and working pretty hard. At this time we loaded Claire in her car seat and we were ready to go just in case.

When I got him out of the shower and warmed up, he literally passed out in our bed. We were watching him very closely and he seemed to be working pretty hard to breathe. After a bit he started retracting and using his accessory muscles and he couldn't settle down to fully fall asleep. It was time to go. He was not only having a horrible barking cough but he had inspiratory stridor and that I am not ok with.

Being that I am an ER nurse I see parents bring there kids in so often for simple things that really could wait until morning. I told myself I would never be a mom to bring a sleeping child to be seen in the ER, but by the time we got to the ER Lucas was sound asleep in his car seat...I was that mom.

I ran in to ask one of our docs what he thought and he told me to get him in there because it would probably get worse as the night went on and he told me not to second guess myself. I am so glad I did take him because when we got there he started having a horrible coughing spell and was sort of dusky and lethargic. UGH. He got a nebulized racemic epinepherine treatment, steroids, and some cough medicine and within thirty minutes he literally had flipped a 180. He started telling everyone that we are going to disneyland soon and how we are headed to the beach in a few days. Thank the Lord.

On the way to the ER Peter and I both saw an amazing shooting star right in front of us. Amazing! I felt a little bit calmer after that. We got home really late but we all got a bit of sleep. Lucas is still coughing a lot and keeps throwing up his steroids (I don't blame him it is disgusting). But hopefully, all fingers crossed, tonight is much better.

Lucas

2011-11-18T15:48:00.000-08:00

Octobr 2011
June 2011

Can you believe what has happened in just a few months? My little love is turning into a little boy. I can't believe the growth when I look back at pictures from the beginning of Summer. Raising a boy is quite interesting, right? Never a dull moment! There is nothing starkly different you do with a boy and a girl, but they are so inherently different. Lucas is such a boy it makes me laugh sometimes. Something like a leaf turns into an airplane, and a rock is suddenly a fire truck of police car...and he just can't help but jump/fly from every curb and step. Ha! He keeps us on our toes every day and has made us grow in ways we didn't know we could, but he is absolutely the best.

The call....

2011-11-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Ugg, yes we got the call from Stanford yesterday to schedule Lucas' cath and surgery. How are we already to this point, I just can't believe how fast time has flown. Which scares me because I know time will keep chugging along just as quickly and we'll be heading to Palo Alto for our little guy's surgery before we can blink. Ugh.

Peter is out of town this week so we will sit down and discuss dates and times when he gets home. We are shooting for late Feb/March. Hopefully to coincide with Spring break so we can have some help with Claire.

The potential surgery date means that Lucas (and Claire by default) will have to not be in day care early next year in order to keep him germ free for surgery. Any tips, advice from other parents who have gone through this? Hard to isolate a 2.5 year old, but I know it is what we'll have to do.

Eight months

2011-11-15T14:40:00.000-08:00

Happy little one!
Look mom, I am standing with no hands.

Claire's personality is just blossoming these days. So fun, but as she is getting more 'independent' we are beginning to feel like we don't have a baby any more. I remember this feeling with Lucas too. She is cruising around the house, holding onto whatever will support her. And more and more these days she will let go.

She is cutting four teeth simultaneously, the top middle two have popped through and two more are close behind.

As much as I have tried otherwise :), "dadda" is her first word. Lucas and I are trying to teach her "momma" but she just says "dadda" in reply I think that is her word for both of us. It is actually working out in my favor though because when she wakes up in the middle of the night, she says "dadda daddda" and I lean over and tell Peter, 'she is calling you, you better go get her' and he does. LOVE IT, it gives me about 10 more seconds to snooze before feeding her, hey I will take all the seconds I can get. Love our little lady!!

Twins?

2011-11-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

I always ask Peter how it feels to have a twin that is 26 years younger than you? Seriously, these two are identical sometimes. I just happen to be sorting some pictures and came across this one of the boys making homemade pizza the other night.

The dreaded words....

2011-11-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

On Friday both of the kids had appointments. I will start with Claire. She had her next set of immunizations. She is growing like a weed. Weighing in at 21 pounds 4 ounces still in the 90th percentile. I didn't catch her height because she was trying to roll off the table, but her head and height are 75th percentile. She is doing great. She got four immunizations and is doing great. She is a little trooper.

Onto Lucas, who's cardiology appointment was actually first in the day. Lucas was such a big boy, he always is so interactive and talkative to his friends at the cardiology office. He is quite the ham.

First he got measured and weighed, then he was great for his BP (90/60) and pulse ox 86% and heart rate of 102. Right before the BP cuff was placed on his arm, he bravely looked at me and said "no owies Mommy?" I said "Nope" and he let them proceed. When Dr. Wright came in the room he just smiled, he said "gosh he is getting to be such a big and handsome boy."

He listened to his lungs and heart which he said sounded great, and then he said the dreaded words which hit me like a ton of bricks falling from the sky...."we should probably schedule his next surgery." It was at that moment I felt like I got hit with a Mack Truck. I TOTALLY wasn't expecting that. He said on their scale he weighs 15kg (33lbs) and he is doing so well we should get it scheduled. He said no emergent rush, but he is doing very well and he is right where we need him to be.

I couldn't help the sudden tears falling down my face. I have to face my denial and come to terms with the fact that he needs this surgery and it will be best for him. My dream is that after the surgery he will be able to run around and chase his friends without having so stop because he is out of breath. Or he will be able to run from one side of the house to another without panting. In our hearts we know it is what he needs and deserves but there is nothing harder to me right now then imagining Lucas having to have that surgery.

Peter and I knew it was in our radar but were thinking of more in the realm of next Summer or Fall. So, after the doctor said that we should start thinking about it I was trying to internally console myself with the idea that we had 6-10 months before we really had to confront reality of Lucas having heart surgery then he says..."well if you would like we could wait until right after the holidays"....WHAT????

So, this is where we sit. We are now waiting for THE CALL from Stanford. I had NO idea that we would be talking about surgery so soon. Lucas is full of life and trust me A LOT of tenacity...it is hard to fathom he actually needs this.

In life, at least my life, I find it so easy to use denial as a coping mechanism. Not that I am in denial that he needs it, I just deny myself from thinking about it often. It is how I keep positive and happy for him. I want to enjoy life, not dwell on the scary stuff. But now that it is staring us in the face. I am scared.. I am nervous... and at this point I am still choosing to stay happy for Lucas. He will do great. I just can't believe it is already time to start planning for his Fontan.

So now we wait for the call to get him scheduled....

Halloween 2011

2011-11-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Halloween. As is our tradition, we made Butternut squash soup and then went trick or treating in our neighborhood. Lucas was a Duck and Claire was a chick. Lucas was much better at trick or treating this year, and he really liked handing out candy too. Peter wasn't that excited about Lucas' costume, he wanted him to be something more manly:). Ok, he is only 2.5, right? I know I won't get to dress him for many more years.. so I didn't look too hard for another option. Loved our little birds!

Two and a Half

2011-11-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true! On the 23rd of October Lucas turned 2.5 years old. I can't believe our little man is that old. We find ourselves talking about pre-school all the time.. how can that be? He is the sweetest little guy. Unfortunately, he has been sick a lot of the past six months due to me going back to work and subsequently he and his sister being in day care. We have battled numerous ear infections, coughs, and a few bouts of emesis. Hopefully we can get through the winter without too many more illnesses. What Lucas is up to these days.
-Loving his sister
-Wears mostly 3T clothes still in some 2T
-Loves helping around the house (especially if it is bossing his sister around)
-Can count to 15
-Sings multiple songs his favorite right now is Barney "I Love You" and He loves the song "chillin on a dirt road" by Jason Aldene.
-Loves anything trucks or airplanes
-Loves books, we can't read to him enough. We are thinking about starting sight words with him soon, because he tells us he wants to read.
-He loves to help in the kitchen.. the pictures below are from when he made cupcakes for his friends in day care for halloween. He really did do most of the work, I just directed him, cracked the eggs, and of course dealt with the hot oven. He is quite the master chef!!

Claire looks up to him and wants to do everything he does.

Date Night

2011-10-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

Peter and I got to go on a date a few weekends ago. It doesn't happen often enough so we might as well take a picture when it does. My parents drove down after work one Friday to help get the kids to bed so we could go enjoy a nice meal. The next day my mom, Claire, and I got to go shopping while the boys watched football. Doesn't get much better than that. We went to a really nice restaurant that takes your picture and gives you a bottle of wine for special occasions. So it was our "anniversary" and after we thought about it, it sort of was. We started officially dating in October of 2002. So it was our nine year anniversary. Fun Fun!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-28T13:52:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we went to the pumpkin patch with some great friends. We always love this time of year and all of the festivities it brings.Handsome little man.
Our pumpkins.
When I look at this picture I can just hear Lucas saying "Cchhhhhheeeessse" while having his eyes closed! He's a very predictable photography subject.
Sophia wondering why Claire is eating Hay?
BFF. Between these two girls they will never have to worry about not having enough clothes.
Us and our munchkins!

Eye, eye, eye

2011-10-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

Lucas had a six month follow up with the pediatric opthalmologist this week. We have been noticing some mild crossing once in a while, especially when he is tired...so we were concerned about the upcoming appointment. The report: she said he does still have some mild crossing up close.. and it is most likely accentuated when he is tired. Unexpectedly she wanted to dilate his eyes because she said sometimes farsightedness (which is very common in kids) can cause crossing, and 1 in 3 kids need corrective glasses after the strabismus surgery...I was trying not to show my internal feelings of being overwhelmed with the idea of trying to get Lucas to wear corrective glasses at this age. I knew we could get through it if we had to.

So she dilated his eyes which requires either being in very low light or wearing very dark glasses after...well all fine and dandy if Lucas' hadn't been REALLY excited about going to Fairytale town after his appointment. She said not to worry that she had some glasses for him, sweet:). The good news is that he is not farsighted and his vision is great. They even did a really cute eye exam using little pictures that he did great at.. so cute! He was such a big boy sitting in the chair all by himself.. so proud to know the names of all of the pictures! She feels he is progressing well and she wants to see us again in 6months. She said hopefully as he gets bigger and keeps using his eyes more they will continue to get straighter.Super!

So...back to that dark glasses part. I am not sure why but I was expecting a little cheap pain of normal looking sunglasses.. not large face shielding glasses that resemble Stevie Wonder.. but oh well. Lucas actually did fairly well at keeping them on at Fairytale town. It amazed me the looks he got from other kids and parents. I am so conscious of that because I know Lucas will always have something a little different than other kids...his scar, so I was a bit frustrated by the looks and stares that he got due to the glasses. But, I didn't make a big deal of it.. and Lucas just played and carried on happily like normal!

7 Months

2011-10-09T20:37:00.001-07:00

Claire turned 7 months old on October 6. She is the sweetest, and we are loving every second with our two little ones. Everyone always says that your kids will grow up so fast, and it is true. We can't believe that Lucas will be 2.5 this month and Claire is changing so quickly. Even though sometimes life with 2 small kidlets is crazy, I try to take it all in, because I know all too soon they will not need me as much. I cherish them so much!Big girl. Yes, she is in Daddy's old Cal Poly Shirt. We are sending her sublminal messages just as we did for Lucas. Gotta love that daddy wore this when he was a little kid. One of my favorite shirts.

This is as about as good as a 'group' shot gets these days. I am lucky if I can get both of them to look at the camera in the same time..now eyes open and smiling... that just may be asking too much :)!

Claire is changing so fast these days. Peter and I just had to laugh because the other day when he was picking up the kids from daycare.. our sitter said "man you guys really have your hands full" Peter automatically assumed she just meant with two little ones or because Lucas is so active.. but she goes on to say "with Claire, she is everywhere...and she is already trying to pull up to a stand." She pulls up on anything that she can reach..Oh yes, that is our daughter I am convinced she is trying so hard to get up and chase her brother.. I keep warning Lucas that one day soon she will be able to carry her own!

Right now her favorite entree is either blueberries with peaches, or spinach with pears.. she really enjoys most things we offer her, even peas and zucchini.

She is mainly wearing 12month clothing. She hasn't been weighed recently so we don't know her stats, but let's just say in some things she could use the next size up. I am not even going to talk about the sleeping because I don't want to jinx anything :).

Love this little munchkin. What a great 7 months!!

Family Tidbits

2011-10-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. Here is a quick catch up on everyone.

LUCAS
-officially in a big boy bed for about a month now. It was a REALLY rocky start. Peter and I found a little sweet almost 2.5 year old in bed with us almost every night. We knew that we didn't want him to get in the habit of sleeping in our bed, so every night after he crawled up in between us we would get him back out (several times nightly) and get him back into his bed. Then he would want us to lay with him...again, not a good habit, so I would sit on the end of his bed until he was again ok for me to leave. It is hard when they can get out of their bed at will. Between this bed transition and Claire not sleeping through the night at that time.. we were zombies. He is still waking up really early..about 5am..but it seems to be getting better.

-Doing WONDERFUL with the potty training. He is in all big boy underwear at home, and uses pull ups in public. At night he still wears night/nap time diapers. We switched to Goodnight diapers because I was literally changing both of the kids' sheets daily. They both sleep on their tummy which allows for more leakage I guess, because their diapers are practically dry, but the bed on the other hand is a reservoir.. The Goodnights have helped a lot and significantly cut down on the laundry. Potty training in public is a bit comical, and (almost) makes me miss diapers...It was quite interesting when he asked to go potty in Trader Joes today. Again, trying to maneuver that double stroller into a very small restroom and get Lucas on the potty, while not touching anything, and then actually getting him to aim in the correct direction.. and not fall in... In my little world it is a HUGE accomplishment.

-He is currently sick again. He just got off of his last dose of Antibiotics about ten days ago for an ear infection and here we go again.. he seems to be fighting this one on his own.. hopefully no meds needed! Claire has caught this one from him.. gotta love day care and MOM's groups.

CLAIRE
-Crawling everywhere. She has been officially crawling for about two weeks. But had been army crawling (very quickly I might add) for about a month or so before that.

-Sitting on her own. And going from crawl to sit to crawl.. etc.

-Pulling up on everything. Today she crawled over to the pantry and pulled up to her Knees in front of the pantry... HA!

-Loving food!

-We think she may be working on another tooth or two (she has two fully in) because the water works (drool) is back with a vengance.

-Babbling and screeching like a bald eagle (at least that is what it sounds like to me)

PETER
-So proud of Peter for all of his accomplishments lately. I won't go into detail, but he recently finished an amazing project at work that he has been so focused on for the last year and a half, and had a very successful opening ceremony. His speech was amazing, and the amount that he has grown both personally and professionally in the last year and a half is amazing to me. He has taken on so much yet is still such a wonderful daddy and always present for our kids.. Ok I will stop.. but I could go on and on about how much I respect my husband!!

ME
-Due to the fact that I have an amazing husband as mentioned above, I got to have a girls weekend away in Vegas with my college roommates. I was hesitant to go because I didn't want it to be too much for him to be alone with the kids all weekend (believe me it is NOT easy) but he really encouraged me to go and have fun! And that we did!! Even though we were in Vegas, I actually got solid, uninterrupted sleep and came back feeling rejuvenated and rested. I missed the kids and Peter so much. But, had such a great time catching up with some great friends. The girls and I laughed about how old we felt this time around (it had been 7 years since we had been there together)! Pumping for two days straight was not the greatest, but you do what you have to. What a wonderful weekend!
Yes, she crawls up under the coffee table!

Pizza Pot Pie

2011-09-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before Lucas LOVES pot pie. I thought I would do a little recipe blog about what pot pie he is referring too. It just so happens that Lucas also LOVES pizza.. so one day I thought I would combine the two loves of his life.. and little does he know it is packed full of veggies (literally that is almost all it is composed of). I am always looking for great veggie recipes and thought I would share one that has the 2 year old seal of approval. Saute one small red onion in a few tablespoons of olive oil. I usually add garlic, pepper, and thyme. We don't cook with salt generally but you could add that too if you'd like.
I usually use all of the veggies that may be going bad in a day or too. Really you can use whatever veggies are in your refrigerator. This time I had two heads of broccoli, a bundle of mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini. In the past I have also used artichoke hearts, olives, bell pepper, and tomatoes. I honestly just use whatever is left in the refrigerator at the time I am making this. No need to go out and buy special veggies. It is good with any and all veggies you put in it.
Saute the veggies until they are about half done (not too done because it will finish cooking in the oven). Put in a mixing bowl. Add 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese.
Add a half to a whole jar of any type of marinara or favorite red sauce, just depends on how saucy you are feeling... I highly recommend the Tomato Basil Marinara from Trader Joes, it is amazing and so cheap. This one was great too... I buy the three packs at Costco because we go through so much of it around here.
Lay one layer of chilled pie crust on the bottom of a pie pan. If you want to be really amazing I suppose you could make your own crust. I myself am not striving for that type of amazingness so I buy the pre-made stuff.
Fill the pie dish with the veggie, cheese, sauce mixture.
Cover with the second pie crust and seal the edges. Cut some small venting holes in the top crust.

I place on a cookie sheet (in case it leaks) and bake covered for about 45 mins on 400ish degrees and then I take the tin foil off for the last 15ish minutes until the crust is golden brown.

I usually make this ahead of time during the day and pop it in the refirgerator until I am ready to bake it. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the final baked product because Peter baked it the other night when I was getting my haircut and by the time I got home it was half gone. See, it is that good! And VERY healthy.

Heart Walk 2011

2011-09-19T14:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we did Lucas' second heart walk. We had a blast. Thank you SO much to everyone who took part in this day. We know everyone is so busy and many of you had other things to get to later in the day. We REALLY appreciate all of your support and kindness for our son! Thank you for taking the time to spend a few hours to support Lucas and his journey!Our Hero!
Boys will be boys.
Claire's first heart walk. Last year I was newly pregnant with her!Uncle Matt and Lucas warming up.

Team Lucas 2001! What a good looking bunch! That is Lucas under the large balloon structure.

Thank You for supporting our family, it means the world!!

Chores

2011-09-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

No longer can I nonchalantly just change some sheets. It always turns into some sort of play time. Today it turned into some good sibling fun...a two minute job now takes a good thirty mins. Can't help but love it! But no wonder I feel like I can never get anything done.

SIX MONTHS

2011-09-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

Our princess turned six months old this week. It is hard to believe that it has been that long, but it also feels like she has been here forever. I can't really recall what it was like without her around. Here's a little of what she is up to these days...Eating solids is going really well. There was never really a doubt in our minds that she wouldn't just love it. I have been making all of her food, it is so easy and I just love doing it. So far she has had Butternut squash, sweet potatoes, zucchini, apples, and pears. She eats a "meal" once per day and still nurses several times per day and usually once during the night.
She is on the move and REALLY into all of her brother's toys. Not formally crawling yet, but very close. She can scoot anywhere she wants to go. She also gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. Lucas and Claire are really starting to share and show love for each other...I can also see the antagonism beginning.
Still very happy! We love her sweet smile and patient demeanor........because this is what we are dealing with from our little man. The other day I thought Lucas was quietly playing in his room. When I went in to check on him, this is what I find. Face covered in diaper cream and medical tape wrapped around his "owie" on his leg. I didn't think he could get to these things, but he never ceases to amaze me. He smelled like Desitin all day, even after a shower.She is such a trooper through all of the "love" that her brother shows her. He is always wanting to hold her, and she is a good sport.

Happy 6 months little miss! We love you!!

Labor Day

2011-09-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful relaxing weekend on the central coast with family. We didn't really have an agenda or any plans other than to relax and have fun and let the kids enjoy the wonderful weather and company.1st trip to the ocean! Soaking in the cool air.
Enjoying the scenery on the pier.
Playing at the park!
A close second to swimming with a real dolphin right?
Big boy.Having fun feeding the animals at Avila Barn!
Hanging with daddy.

Getting ready to head to downtown San Luis Obispo
A moment away from the kids..ahh!Having fun at Kelsey winery.

Peter and I were also able to go out to a nice dinner at Old Port Inn thanks to Grandma and Grandpa and the rest of the gang! We enjoyed each others company. It is nice to get away for a little bit once and a while.

If you notice Lucas' face in most of these pictures...you'll see a trend. He is in a bit of a dramatic picture taking phase. So cute though, you can't help but love this cheesy smile.

2011-08-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Oh my sweet sweet girl. Claire now officially has one tooth popped through and the second bottom one will be any day now. So.. off she goes on solid food. She had her first "meal" last night. She LOVED it. I accidentally made too much, or so I thought, but she almost polished off all of the yummy rice cereal. No surprise to us, this girl is an eater. I can't wait to start making her some yummy food this week!

This my friends is the sweet face of insomnia. Claire is NOT sleeping very well AT ALL! Day or night it is so hard to get her to sleep and staying asleep is not her favorite thing either. This is a work in progress. At least she is a happy (most of the time) insomniac.

2011-08-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took the kids to a local zoo. I just have to laugh because on our way Lucas was so excited. He was talking all about lions, bears, zebras, elephants and giraffe's that he was going to see. Ha! Not so much it was a small zoo...so he was slightly disappointed at the lack of safari animals. He settled into the accepting the birds, monkeys, and turtles.

Yesterday Claire had her second set of immunizations. She did great. Her stats are:
Height 25.5inches
Weight: 18 pounds

I knew she is big, but had no idea she was THAT big. The doctor said, "oh wow she is really growing well, I bet she sleeps so well." Yea, not so much! She is going through a bit of an insomniac phase. Still up once or twice per night and not sleeping well during the day. I am convinced (and praying) it is just a short phase. She is cutting her first tooth, so that may be it.

Imagination

2011-08-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

I am loving Lucas' use of his imagination lately.. it is so sweet.. here is an example of a few conversations that occurred over the weekend. I just never want to forget these sweet conversations.

Lucas: Mommy I need some keys.
Me. Why?
L: I am going to run some errands.
M: Oh really, where are you headed? (handing him some keys)
L: Target.
M: Oh yea? What do we need at Target?
L: Potatoes, Pedialyte (he had just gotten over being sick), and pot pie.
M: Wow, that is a lot of stuff, are you sure it will all fit in your car?
L: Ya (taking off on his plastic tricycle), bye mommy.
L: Tell me to drive safe mommy!
M: Ok, drive safe sweetie, love you.

He returns 3 seconds later....after circling the back patio.

L: I am back mommy...I got you diapers and pedialyte. You want some pot pie mommy?
M: Yes please!
Lucas pretends to grab a hot pot pie out of the back of his tricycle and blow on it and gives it to me to eat...and says, "is it yummy mommy?"
M: Mmmmmm so good! Thank you!

This continued on for several trips to target, then I think he went to get Cooper some dog food and look at the fish at Pets Mart, and then he finished up his errands by getting me butter at the grocery store. Love love love this boy!

He has also been asking me constantly what I want to eat? This conversation happened on Saturday.
L: You want me to make dinner mommy? (Putting on his apron)
M: Sure!!!!!!
L: You want pot pie (he is really into pot pie.. maybe I should start making it more often seeing how much he thinks about it)
M: I would love pot pie.
-He runs into the kitchen and pretends to open the fridge and then stir his imaginary bowl by the stove. Then runs back over to me and says.. "is it too hot mommy?"
M: No, it's perfectly warm.. and so good.
L: you want some butter mommy (also really into butter for some reason)
M: Mmm, I don't think I need any butter.
L: On your bread?
M: Ok, on my bread I will have butter.. and he runs into the kitchen to make me my bread and butter.

Again, this went on for several courses. I think I had everything from a bagel and eggs to fish and ice cream. So sweet.. and so glad he is feeling better.

2011-08-06T13:18:00.000-07:00

We have been a tad on the busy side lately.. but that is how we like it. I am officially back to work full time and it has it's good points and not so great points. I am enjoying getting back to work, but it means the kids are in day care more than I would like. The great thing about nursing is full time means three days a week.. not too shabby! Once I am done with all of my orientation (mid Aug hopefully) I am hopefully going to cut my hours back just a bit so the kids don't have to be in day care quite so much.

Along with day care comes illness. It seems the two come hand in hand. GRRR. This is so hard for me to swallow because of how careful we have been with Lucas. But, after many conversations with our cardiologist and pediatrician.. it is OK that Lucas get sick once and a while.. we just have to keep a close eye on him, but he NEEDS to get to be a 2 year old.. and that he is :).

But last Thursday he came down with a nasty stomach bug. He projectile (and I am talking PROJECTILE, think fire hose) vomited about once per day. It was so scary to me because he acted so normal up until the explosion. We thought he was doing better so we decided to take the family camping with my parents and nephew, but Lucas continued to projectile vomit. I was concerned about a concussion because he seriously had hit his head about a week prior...and of course I always worry about his heart as an issue as well.

Luckily he only had one massive explosion in the camper as Peter was reading him books one night. The vomiting stopped on Saturday and then we started to have explosions of other sorts. While camping Claire had a nasty cough and congestion. As Peter put it "I feel like all we have been doing for the past week is cleaning up our kids' bodily fluids". On Sunday when we got home I was blessed with Lucas' illness. Luckily so far no one else has gotten it. I have never done so much laundry in my entire life to get this place rid of this nasty bug. A week later, we are all on the mend

We really did have a great time camping. A bit interesting to go camping (i.e. no walls) with an active boy. He LOVED it. He wanted to step on every rock and pick up every stick. Claire was an easy girl as usual she just laid on a blanket and chewed on her toes. Overall the camping trip was a success. When we got home our neighbors looked as us like.."are you crazy for taking two very little kids camping?" But, we survived and the kids' first camping trip was a success... no pictures due to the constant chasing and cleaning up bodily fluids.. but we had a great time!!

Claire is 5 months today, where does the time go?

Lucas has decided he wants to try out to be the lead singer of the band KISS
Doesn't he look old.. he is getting to be such a big boy.

Lazy Sunday

2011-07-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

We decided to have a lazy day on Sunday and take the kids to a local park we had heard about, so we picked up lunch and headed out for the day. Of course any time ducks and slides are involved it's a sure hit in Lucas' opinion. I would prefer lounging by a warm pool with a tropical drink and palm trees in the distance, but ducks and slides are a VERY close second so it all works out :)This little gal LOVES being outside just as much as her brother.
Playing on the awesome playground.
I zoomed out on this picture so you could see the few hundred ducks making there way across the pond for some very fine whole wheat bread.

We love getting outside and letting the kids enjoy life. I have to give a little update on Claire because she is changing so much these days. She has now moved into 12 months clothes. I was so sad that she was only in her 6 month clothes for less than a month that I decided to bypass 9 months (except what we already had) and go straight to 12. She didn't even get close to wearing all of her 6 month wardrobe, such a bummer, but the circulation to her extremities was being compromised so we moved on (by the way she is not even 5 months old yet). She is getting so big. I affectionately refer to her as "my little bakery" because she has so many rolls she could open her own pastry shoppe! She is so giggly. She is starting to really realize when she is being cute or funny and she'll just bust out laughing. Her hair is still coming in in a mow hawk like fashion.. very stylish! She is also mobile. Not only is she rolling all over the room but she can army crawl just about any where she wants to go. Last night I walked out of the room and panicked when I came back and she had moved about six feet away to the other side of the table. The blissful stage of stationary play is now over.

Hi Ho...

2011-07-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Ho...Hi Ho....back to work I go.

I started back at work last week on July 11. It has been nice to get back to one of the things I love doing. but it has been really hard to leave the kids. Luckily we have had some wonderful grandparents that have helped us get settled into this craziness. Grandma R came Mon-Wed last week and Grandma and Papa S came the last part of the week. Needless to say the kids have been very spoiled and well taken care of. I love leaving the kids with people I know love them!

Lucas is in a stage of "needing" band aids. He somehow always "needs" them on his forehead... whatever, there could be worse things :). We joke around that by the end of the summer he is going to have tan lines in the shape of a band aid on his forehead.

Picture Update

2011-07-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

Good times in the back seat

All American Babies

Family Picture in Yosemite valley

Sweet

2011-07-05T14:12:00.000-07:00

Another busy weekend. July 1, my grandma turned 95. My parents had a wonderful party for her to celebrate this huge milestone! It was VERY hot, but we had a great time visiting with tons of friends and family.

Sunday I worked my last shift in Roseville. It was sad to say goodbye, but I know I needed to move my job down closer to where we live for the time being. I have experienced so much at that hospital. I did my nursing internship, got hired on as a new grad, and have spent the last four years there. I have learned SO much, seen SO much, grown as a nurse, and most importantly have worked with AMAZING doctors and nurses at that hospital.

On the 4th our court always has a huge block party. It was again VERY hot. The families in the court rented a HUGE blow up 'bouncy house' water slide (the thing was taller than the roof lines in the court, no joke). When I saw it I thought for sure Lucas wouldn't want to get near it. But, this boy is fearless. He let both Daddy and Uncle Spencer take him down. I knew secretly both Peter and Spencer wanted to go on it much more than Lucas.. and Lucas was merely an excuse to get on it. The highlight of my night was when both Peter and Spencer and some kids from the neighborhood were on the stairs to get up to the top of the slide and the whole 'bouncy slide' structure started tipping over. The "big kids" (Spencer and Peter) had to quickly go down the slide while some of us other adults held the slide to keep it from tipping. From then on out any time Peter or Spencer were on the stairs they had to stop the line and all of the kids had to wait in the pool at the bottom...but it didn't stop them :).

Claire was done once the fireworks started. I took her back to the house and got her to bed then watched the amazing fireworks show from our driveway that our town put on. Probably the best and longest fireworks show I have seen, (besides the fireworks for New Years in Kauai, because location trumps the show)... but seriously this little town can rival the big boys. Lucas was wiped after the "piea works owie" (fireworks finale)! Happy 4th of July!!
Lucas always loves Claire's bows. It is a challenge getting them to both pay attention to the camera if she has a bow in. "Ok, mom this is hard not to touch the bow...hurry"
All smiles because she's finally sleeping again...love the drool action shot!
Lucas and Uncle Spencer loving the slide.Who's more scared?

2011-06-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Today I took the kids berry picking with our Mom's group. There is a local farm that does u-pick blueberries and strawberries. It is all organic so they encourage you to sample and eat the berries right off the bushes...and believe me Lucas took them up on that! Is there anything better than fresh berries in the Summer? Lucas "helped" me pick but I am pretty sure all of the ones he picked went straight into his mouth and never made it into the bag.

Claire is not pictured because she slept through the whole thing. Hey, I would sleep all day if I could too! She is a bit under the weather fighting the random fever like Lucas did a week or so ago. Hoping it passes quickly!

We also went to Yosemite this past weekend. Pictures are on the wrong card to be able to post. We had a nice day, Peter and the kids had never been so we had to make the trip. Yosemite is SOO busy these days, we felt like we were waiting in lines at Disneyland but to see waterfalls. The kids did not overly love being in the car so much, next time we go back we'll not go during peak season. Nonetheless, you can't surpass the beauty of Yosemite

A few pictures

2011-06-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

I discovered that one of our photo cards works on this computer.. so here are a few pictures of the little Rietkerk's!

Lucas wanted to keep his helmet on while playing at the park!

Tummy time.

Sibling love

Claire at three months! Getting so big.

Amazing

2011-06-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

I just have to write this down in the history books because it is always something I tried to get Lucas to do with no avail.. and Claire at 3.5 months pulls through! Yay girl!! When I knew she was getting sleepy but still happy this afternoon I took her into her crib and laid her down. She was giggling and cooing and playing with her hands, went back five minutes later.. she is fast asleep! So proud of you little Miss!

In other news it has been a bit of a dragging week. We had a nice weekend but with a sick little guy. We were supposed to head to Yosemite this weekend for Father's day but on Friday I noticed a bit of a weird rash under Lucas scar. That night he had a low grade fever and wasn't feeling so hot. On Saturday the rash had spread over his entire trunk and he had a steady fever. No real other symptoms though. I know as he starts getting exposed to more and more kids he is going to get weird stuff, but I can't help but hate it when it is sick!

On Father's day my sweet parents made the trip to see us so Peter and I could go to dinner.. JUST THE TWO OF US! We haven't done that in about a YEAR! Moving away from our family and most of our friends has been hard because we miss them so much, but it has also been really hard because we never get a break to just enjoy each others company in peace. We are so grateful that Grandma and Papa went WAY out of their way on the way to Bodega Bay to let us have a few hours to talk without getting interrupted a hundred times. So wonderful! Thank You!! We had a wonderful yummy dinner, and even better because I didn't cook it :).

The lack of pictures recently is because our computer that we can download pictures onto has decided it is tired and doesn't want to turn on any more...we are dragging our feet on getting a new one. But, when we do.. I have a ton of really sweet pictures to catch up on! Lucas and Claire are starting to play together better each day...so sweet!

One last thing that I want to share because it is pretty amazing in my opinion. The last week or so has been trying, only because we have been busy, it has been hot, and Lucas hasn't been feeling well (oh yea.. and he is 2). So, I was having a really rough morning one day and nothing seemed to be going right. I called Peter and asked him to please pray for me to have patience through all of the craziness. When I was getting Lucas ready for nap time that day I asked him what book he wanted to read and he said the "Je Je" (his word for Jesus) book. At first I didn't understand because he hadn't mentioned Jesus in a few weeks. So I picked him up and asked him to show me and he grabbed the Children's Bible out of the huge library of books we have! AMAZING! I knew at that moment that I was not alone in this craziness of a day, thank you Lord for your beautiful Grace!

Double the Fun!

2011-06-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

As I sit down to write I can barely keep my eyes open because I am thoroughly and utterly exhausted from what should have been (and used to be) a simple shopping trip. Those of you who have dealt with the issue of double strollers will probably totally be able to relate to the "fun" they provide. The reason I write about such a silly thing is because for me the adjustment to two kids has been a challenge. Trying to work around everyone's schedules and needs..is hard..but I know one day soon I will look back on it and think..that was easy, what was I thinking? Having two very little kids is so wonderful, but more like quadruple the work :).

As if getting two kids out of the house, full, happy, diapered, and semi-clean and .. oh yea all of this scheduled around nap times... isn't a chore enough.. then you deal with the greatness that is a double stroller when you finally arrive at your destination.

We researched a lot of different strollers and decided on the front/back type rather than the side by side. With the side by side I have heard you are unable to get down any isle or through any single door way.. they both have their issues I am sure!

We needed to run two simple errands, the bank and Macy's to get Peter a little something for Father's Day! I decided to park at the mall and walk with the stroller to the bank (just a few hundred yards) to limit the number of times getting the kids in and out of their car seats. After nearly breaking my back getting the stroller out of the car I got both kids loaded into what I know refer to as the limousine (seriously the thing is 5-6 feet long), we started off towards the bank. Well I have now learned that the limousine does not hop curbs and essentially has no steering capabilities. And just our luck the wheel chair ramp was clear on the other side of the building. I was trying to (not so) gracefully maneuver this monstrosity of a stroller through the parking lot meanwhile Lucas drops his sippy cup and it goes rolling away. I am trying to chase after it with a stroller that doesn't turn, in the middle of a parking lot mind you. Finally retrieve the cup and get to the door, where I learn that the only way to enter is backwards, seriously? The thing should come with back up sensors and mirrors. I am short ok, so my arms are not long at all, so I can only hold the door open to a certain point as I back the Limo through the door and then I have to warn Lucas who is in the front seat.. "ok buddy the door is going to fall on you be ready" he looks at me like I am crazy then smack.. the door lands on him (not hard) and I gently pull the limo the rest of the way backwards through the door. Thankfully on the way out I think one of the loan officers felt bad for me and made a point to get up from his desk and get the door for me.. thank you!!!

Finally maneuver back over to the mall, once you get some momentum going the thing can cruise at a nice clip, I am feeling good... so thankful the entrance has automatic sliding doors, but I now realize the merchandise filled walk ways are a recipe for disaster.. I don't care about the buy 3 get 1 free special on tires or the half off tool sale Sears was having, why do they have to be located smack in the center of the walkway.. don't they think of the poor moms with huge double strollers, who are barely unable to steer around other shoppers let alone this sale paraphernalia! We finally made it to Macy's with only one near catastrophe when a small girl walked right out into the aisle right in front of me. I had to almost roll the stroller over because as I mentioned it doesn't steer and it stops similarly to a Semi truck on the freeway.

Once we FINALLY reached Macy's Claire goes into a total meltdown. I guess the ride wasn't as smooth as she had hoped and she was unable to fall asleep. As I again work my way around the "One day Sale" merchandise (Doesn't it seem like Macy's has a one day sale every day) placed strategically right in the middle of every single isle, people are starting to stare because of the screaming child. Meanwhile Lucas is going through a stage of asking a ton of questions... "What's that mommy" "What's he doing Mommy" "Mommy, look at that" "Mommy turn that way" "Mommy remember when..." But like I mentioned before he is nearly 6 feet away on the front of what feels like the Titanic, so we are having to shout back and forth these questions and answers all while Claire is amping up more and more.

After realizing that the stroller pretty much takes up the entire elevator.. we have to wait several times to get the ride all to ourselves to make our way to the second floor. Then I realize that when you have a double stroller you can only shop the perimeters of the store. Trying to get to center racks is virtually impossible without taking out a rack or one of Lucas' limbs, so needless to say Peter's gift is a quickly chosen perimeter gift (it's the thought that counts right).

Upon checking out there were two sides of the register.. of course when it is my turn the girl at the very back register who is nestled in a bunch of racks and tables of clothes says, "next please". I didn't want to be rude so I somehow made it back there, but there was no way to park the stroller with the clothes out of Lucas' reach.. oh well, you can only do so much. I just ended up folding all of the clothes and putting them back on the table before we left. Ahhhh what a trip.

At least I learned A LOT about shopping with two kids, and I think the most valuable take home lesson is.. online shopping is the way to go! In my opinion a double stroller is not double the fun!!

Well Checks

2011-06-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

On Monday both of the kids had their checkups. Here's the low down on how they are doing...

Lucas was seen for his two year old checkup (he was 25.5 months at the visit). He is weighing in at 30lbs and 34.5 inches tall. He is maintaining at the 50th percentile for both height and weight. He got one of his last vaccinations, so now he just needs his boosters before Kindergarten.

Claire is growing like a weed. She was three months old on the day of the appointment and was 14lb 2 oz which is slightly over the 90th percentile for weight. She was 24 inches long which is about the 50th percentile for height, her head was also in the 50th percentile. She is growing so fast. She got her first set of vaccinations. She did wonderful. She obviously cried for a minute or so but then was easily consoled. She was her happy self the rest of the day, maybe slightly more cuddly then usual. She is doing great and getting herself onto a pretty good little schedule. She wakes usually once per night, usually due to a blow out diaper. She is awake for no more than 2 hours in the morning, then sleeps again in her crib for anywhere from 2-4 hours. She is awake again and plays for another few hours then takes a few hour or so naps in the afternoon.

She is a thumb sucker, I have to say I am not thrilled about this. We have tried to stop this, but not sure we can. She sneaks it up when we're am not looking and definitely prefers it over the pacifier. I am VERY thankful she can self soothe but wish it wasn't wish her thumb, hopefully it will just be a short stage. She loves nursing..hence the weight gain, and she is doing better about spreading out her feedings. She is very close to rolling over.. most likely to get away from her brother who antagonizes her. I have been told that will never change :).

Both of the kids are doing great...happy and healthy. I often wish I could freeze this moment in time. They are both at such sweet stages, I try to take as much video, pictures, and mental pictures as possible because this is too sweet. Lucas is loving that Claire is becoming more interactive and reactive. It is so sweet to listen to him "read" her books every night. What a love bug!! Love these two!

In other news, I am very excited that I am close to getting our family blog printed into a book. I am excited to have all of these memories and pictures in a book on our shelf. I can't wait to share them with Lucas soon, he is excited for "His book" to arrive!

Anniversary

2011-05-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

On Friday May 27 Peter and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary! It is also the 2 year anniversary of Lucas' first heart surgery, a day we certainly will never forget. We had a nice evening at home with the kids. We would have loved to gone to dinner, but we don't have many sitter options in our area. We watched our wedding video with Lucas, he loved the "mommy and daddy Moondie" Moondie is his word for Movie. I am so grateful to have our wedding video, it is amazing to get to experience the whole day again and to share it with your kids. It also gives us some pretty incriminating footage of our friends and family.

I could not have asked for a better four years. A lot has happened and we have grown in so many ways. Peter said he can't wait for the next 55.. I am hoping for more than that. I love my husband and our little family. Life is so great!

Cardiology X 2

2011-05-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, May 20, both of the kids had a much anticipated cardiology appointment.

It had been a VERY long time, too long (in our opinion), since Lucas had had a decent echo due to a variety of reasons. The last attempt he had a double ear infection and the time before that he had just gotten a set of immunizations a few days before, so he feared pain I am sure, and would not cooperate. So, needless to say we were anxious to hear the results of a decent echo and prayed we would get that on Friday. Lucas is really understanding things now and we can pretty much talk to him about anything so we had been prepping him for the visit for a week or so. We practiced taking pictures of his heart (echo), putting a sticker on his finger (pulse ox), seeing how big he was (getting weighed), and squeezing his muscle (blood pressure). I am so happy to say that he did EXCELLENT! He was sweet as can be laying on the table by himself for his echo and just talking with the tech, and was an angel for all of the other tests. His sats were 88% and he is still hanging around 29 lbs and 34 inches. His echo looks stable. The doctor said there are no changes and that everything looks pretty much the same. The same is GOOD!! He did mention he saw a collateral vein (which is to be expected at this point) but it explains his higher oxygen saturation. He told us we could try Lucas off of his Lasix. He has been on such a small dose that hopefully he will be fine coming off of it. We would like to potty train Lucas in the next six months or so (that is the goal at least) and the Lasix obviously creates some obstacles to that. Our cardiologist still wants to get Lucas to that magic 33lb marker (15kg) before his Fontan. We are thankful that he considers Lucas stable enough to wait until he reaches the optimal weight for the surgery! He said we may discuss a cath after the next visit in six months...we'll see! I hate to even think there is a heart surgery in his future but it is our reality. Ughhh. So thankful for a thorough and positive appointment.

We wanted to get Claire double checked. I had a fetal echo when I was around 18 weeks pregnant with her and were told everything looked good at that time but there were a few CHDs that aren't able to be detected that early in development. Our pediatrician didn't feel overly concerned that we needed to have a second echo because she looked and sounded great but we wanted to follow up for peace of mind, and I am happy we did. She was also an angel for her echo. She laid in my arms and cooed and blew spit bubbles! Couldn't ask for better than that! We got confirmation that her heart is perfect and everything looks great!! Thank Goodness!

Her BIG news is that she is 13.5 lbs and 24 inches long! I knew she had been packing on the pounds but didn't realize how much. She looks so petite in my eyes, then again I compare her against Lucas who is Mr. Bear paws!

We promised Lucas a fun day if he was a big boy so..we met Papa at McKinnley park to play on the play ground and feed the ducks. We had a picnic lunch! Then we headed to Funderland and William Land Park for some good times! Lucas was really tired but he loved the rides.

We are so proud of what a big boy he is becoming.

Mother's Day

2011-05-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

I had a great Mother's day this year. My first with two little ones. We spent Saturday in Lodi having a nice picnic at Lodi lake and letting Lucas play at the park. Sunday we just relaxed and had a wonderful breakfast prepared by Lucas and Peter.

Claire is 2 months old!
All smiles.

Our attempt at a picture with me and both kids. Picture taking is no longer a simple task!

Easter 2011

2011-05-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great relaxing Easter this year. It fell on Lucas' birthday weekend, so he had quite the fun weekend. He loved everything about the day from breakfast, easter baskets, egg hunts, and church. Note to self (and to Peter) please don't give Lucas jelly on his toast before church on a day he is already really ampped up for. I guess the jelly was a little Easter treat that daddy thought would be fun, but it was not fun when Lucas was shouting very excitedly about the "Easter bunny wabbit" in the middle of church. A second good lesson learned: Do not tell Lucas about any of the days fun activities prior to when you need him to politely sit through church. Needless to say church was the big hurdle of the day with all of the excitement (and sugar) going around. We headed to Grandma and Papa's where Claire got to meet another Great Grandma and Grandpa. Lucas, as always, got A LOT of attention and fun times in with family. Our kids are so lucky that they have so many people who love them. Family Photo!
There is no messing around here, this hunt is serious people!
The Easter Bunny left these baskets for the kids!
Sweet Girl in her Easter dress and bow!

The egg hunts!

Cute Conversation

2011-05-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

Lucas is loving this weather! He is such an outside guy. No real agenda when he's outside he just loves hanging out out there. Yesterday evening he was just standing staring at the shed in the backyard where Peter keeps all of the yard equipment, and this is how the conversation went from there...I just want to write down these cute conversations because I don't want to forget how sweet he is right now...

Me: Hey buddy, what are you doing?
Lucas: Mommy, I wanna Lawn Mow (his words for lawn mower)
Me: you have your own lawn mower that you can use (the little plastic one that sings)
Lucas: I wanna use daddy's lawn mow.
Me: Well, maybe in a few years you can help daddy
Lucas: When I get bigger?
Me: Yep, when you're bigger!
Lucas: Use daddy's lawn mow when I'm bigger??? (He was very excited at the prospect of using daddy's lawn mower)
Me: Uh huh
Lucas: And make money???
Me: what?
Lucas: I wanna make money, and lawn mow!
Lucas: and use earplugs and sunglasses like daddy(Ha)

So, I thought maybe Peter had talked to Lucas about mowing some neighbors lawns to make a little money when he is older, but Peter says they had never had a conversation about it. So, whoever is the person who told Lucas we will pay him to mow our lawns could you reveal yourself :), we need your bank account information :)).

In reality we had been to the bank earlier that day and the teller handed Lucas the cash back, he had never held money before, and she said "this stuff is good, you will want this when you get bigger" so I am guessing that is where the money idea came from. I think we may have an entrepreneur on our hands...

Such a crackup how he puts all of this stuff together. Peter wears earplugs and glasses when working in the yards and of course Lucas wants to be just like his daddy.. such a sweetheart!

Lucas is 2!

2011-04-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

Lucas had a fabulous birthday week. He is one loved little boy and we couldn't be more proud of him. He was so excited and amped up for his birthday. For a few weeks leading up to his birthday he would sing happy birthday to himself and tell me, "I'm 2 mommy!" Grandma Tina came to stay with us for a few days the week prior to his birthday. He definitely was having a blast with all of the attention and fun. Unfortunately he was acting sort of off all week with an intermittent fever so I took him in on Friday and he has yet another double ear infection (His third one since late Dec.)

On Saturday we had a BBQ to celebrate Lucas' big day. He had a great day that started off with a community Easter egg hunt in the morning and his party in the afternoon. Luckily we snuck in a nap in between. Grandma Joan made him a special car cake, which he was very proud of. He still asks for his "car take" every day. We had such a nice time celebrating our miracle man!!Mr. Cool on his new power wheel.
Lucas' fan club (minus Josh who was taking the picture)
He didn't know what to think of it when we were singing to him.

Loving opening presents!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BOY!

So Big...

2011-04-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Can't believe how big these two are getting...Why is it that he likes all of these toys more now than when he was a baby?

I just love these sweet overalls!

Almost 2

2011-04-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that our little man will be a whole 2 years old this week. These past two years have challenged us in so many ways, they have been the best years thus far. This year Lucas has gone from a baby to a little man and watching him grow and learn this past year has been astounding! He went from a crawling babbling baby to a running, non-stop talking two year old boy who we couldn't love more!

Some of what Lucas is up to these days.
-About 30 lbs
-I wish I could count the number of words he knows I would guess easily over a hundred. (Some are still spoken in Lucas dialect, only understood by us)
-Speaking in full sentences and paragraphs. It is fun to have (simple) conversations with him. He understands pretty much everything we say!
-Counting to ten.. sounds a little something like this "one, two, pee, pour (with his cute two year old "R" sound), pibe, seven, nine, ten!
-Sings ABC's, he makes to 'H"
-Knows most of his colors (often confuses red and green, we're keeping an eye on this)
-Can recognize most animals and tell you what sound they make.
-Very polite, saying please and thank you most of the time. Although sometimes I am convinced please translates to NOW!
-Loves books.. he asks to "read a boot" many times a day.
-Napping much better these days. About 1:15 every day he asks me to make his room night night (aka close the window and the blinds) and we 'read boots' on the couch and he goes willingly to bed for anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours (I love the 3 hour nap days)
-Asks to call people on the phone. He asks to "call papa" most days. I think he just knows papa is home during the day and is always willing to chat for a bit.
-Very sensitive soul. Although he comes off ruff and tumble most of the time, he is very aware of others feelings. Often times he bursts into tears if he knows he really hurt someone or something.
-Idolizes his daddy. (What little boy wouldn't, he's pretty amazing). Lucas wants to do everything that daddy does (I think we will use this in our favor for potty training).
-Uses the potty several times per day but definitely not close to being trained. I would love to get off of the Lasix before we take the full plunge :) into potty training.
-Can sing several songs
-Growing out of 2T clothes
-When asked how old he's going to be he proudly says "I am 2." He has been TWO for a few months now if you catch my drift, we are working through it :)
-He says he wants a "dog party" (ha) for his birthday, just happens to be one of his favorite books!

Lucas is at an age where he is really starting to understand more about his body. We have been more successful with Dr.'s visits if we explain and act out what will happen before we go. Next up is cardiology.. I have been pointing out his scar and prepping him for his next cardiology apt. We can only pray to get a good echo this time. With the next surgery approaching at some point in the next year or so we need to get a good look at what is going on. He continues to get out of breath with exertion. We just have to remember he was made exactly how he was supposed to be.

Lucas has had quite a year! We are so thankful for his health and happiness. He is shaping up to be a great big brother. I wish he knew just what he means to us. But, when he gives me an unprompted kiss and hug and says "lub you mommy" I think he may have an idea.

2011-04-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

We are thankful for the warming weather. It makes for LONG days when Lucas cant' get some energy out. I think his little sister is going to be tough, he is giving her (and mommy) a run for her money. He will be two this month and there is such a paradox with this age. He is the sweetest, smartest, and most intuitive that he has ever been. But, also due to his amazing intuition, he knows how to push it right to the limits!! We are so lucky to have these two beautiful babies!!

This little gal is one month old!

Loving being outside!
He will finally smile for the camera!

2011-03-29T15:10:00.000-07:00

We are still settling into life with two kids. We have had a lot of company (which we love) therefore Lucas has been getting A LOT of attention (which he needs). But come Monday when it is just me and the kids he still wants my undivided, un-interrupted, full, attention. Unfortunately there is only one of me. So, we are still working on it...I knew it would be hard on him, bless his heart! Praying that every day gets easier on him!

I can't believe Lucas will be two in less than a month!

Love these two!

2011-03-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

Lucas LOVES this little gal. Although it doesn't look like it I am sure the feelings are mutual!

1 Week Old

2011-03-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

I new as soon as the baby arrived Lucas would seem huge.. and he does. He is adjusting well to his new sister. We are working on being gentle. His bear paws of hands don't land softly. We are working on it! Claire was one week old on Sunday, where does the time go? Thankfully my dad is here this week helping us with the transition of Peter going back to work.

And then there were four!

2011-03-08T12:00:00.000-08:00

Claire Mikayla Rietkerk was born on March 6, 2011 @ 12:32pm. After 43 long hours of labor she made her grand entrance. 8lb 10oz and 20 inches long. Thank you to all of our wonderful family and friends who were there supporting us and encouraging us through those laborious few days. Claire is one lucky little girl!.Attempt at first family photo!
Big girl!
Love at first sight.
Proud grandparents.
My two love bugs!
Sweet girl!
Ready to go home!!

Busy Day

2011-03-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday turned out to be quite a busy day for us. We had several appointments.. thank goodness for my parents to help us shuffle everything so we could make it on time to all of our commitments. We started the morning, well at 2am actually, to a screaming child, and no the baby hasn't arrived yet.

Lucas had been battling something since Thursday. On Thursday I actually almost took him to the ER. He was perfectly fine in the morning and suddenly when eating lunch became really out of it and had rapid breathing. I called his Dr. and he wanted to just watch him carefully at home. I listened to his lungs and heart about every ten minutes.. I hate it when he is so out of it! Anyways, we thought maybe Lucas had a virus of some sort so we just waited it out over the weekend. He had a fever from Thurs night through Sat morning. We could barely keep it under control with round the clock meds. Sunday evening he seemed to be declining again but I was trying not to be the over paranoid mom and rush him in...but in my head I always paint the worse case scenario when he is sick.. I can't help it, I think it is the curse of a heart mom! After Peter and I got back from our first appointment of the day yesterday Lucas was screaming and grabbing his ears.. so we took him in and it turns out he has a double ear infection. This is the second double infection in a few months. He continues to have intermittent fevers but we are praying the antibiotics keep getting him better and better. Needless to say, it is so hard to see him sick. Especially because he is just not himself.

Following the pediatrician appointment I had my (almost) 38 week OB appointment. Not much change.. but my doctor estimates the baby to be eight pounds right now. She said that some babies continue to gain a half a pound a week at this point and some just plateau.. we shall see, sorta hoping for the later! Everything continues to look good. It just appears as the baby is nice and comfy in there and has no plans to make her entrance any time really soon! This is actually a blessing because we need everyone to be healthy and well rested before her arrival. And, it gives us more time to figure out a name for our little miss!

The final appointment of the day was Lucas' six month cardiology appointment. We had been really nervous about this, especially because Lucas hasn't had a full echo in a long time. He has either been too tired or afraid to sit still for the duration that is needed. So we were praying yesterday would be the day. NOT SO MUCH. He fell asleep on the way to the appointment and given his pain and discomfort didn't want to wake up. He wouldn't let anyone near him, he was too sleepy. Bad planning on timing on our part, but you take what appointment you can get. Needless to say we didn't even get a pulse ox reading or an echo. We will try again in a few months when he is feeling better. Grrr.

We headed home and by the time we got back home Lucas had spiked another fever and refused to eat dinner. Poor little guy! He seems to be better today! We need him healthy and sleeping through the night before his sister arrives.

Snow Day

2011-02-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

We decided to take advantage of the extra day that Peter had off and head up to the snow. Lucas has never been to the snow before and we wanted to take him before the baby arrives. He had a great time and it was fun to get out of the house for a nice day in the snow!Mr. Cool, and me almost 37 weeks pregnant!
Not sure what to think of this white cold stuff!
Kissing a snowman.
On the way home we stopped at one of Lucas' favorite parks in Murphys. He loved the swings as always!
Pure joy!

Loving the slide!

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Valentine's day. We celebrate Lucas on Valentine's day in our family. This year we celebrated with a nice dinner at home. The boys surprised me and got dressed up for our fancy meal. Lucas got some great new toy trains and new crayons and lots of other fun stuff. What a wonderful day. I love my two handsome valentines!

Say What?

2011-02-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

Lucas is in a very verbal stage right now. You better be careful what you say because he WILL repeat it! There are some great and not so great things about this.

One of the absolute greatest is that he told me he loved me the other day.. totally unprompted and without any warning. Most mornings we practice his letters. There is this one wonderful computer program that he loves, and he is really learning his alphabet. We have done it SOO many times I could recite the entire website and navigate through it with my eyes closed, but that is not the point, Lucas loves it. So, the other day I was sitting him on my lap to start our letters and he looks back and says "Wub you mommy!" That has got to be one of my top ten moments of parenting thus far! What a sweetheart. Then last night when we were putting him to bed, Peter said, love you buddy, Lucas said, "Wub you too buddy."

Another really cool thing is that he is learning sentence structure. He will say a sentence or two at a time. He will clearly say the words he knows, but other words that he doesn't know he will insert a sound of some sort that matches the syllables of the unknown word.

The not so great..NO. We have been dreading the appearance of this word. We have tried REALLY REALLY hard not to say it. When he is into things he shouldn't be we use the term 'off limits' or just try to redirect him.. but he has picked up the dreaded NO word. Could it be the fast approaching age of 2? He uses it so nonchalantly, when I ask, buddy let's change your diaper.. he says "NO" and carries on playing without even looking up. I get the feeling that he feels empowered by it, by the ability to "make his own decisions." I am trying to not make a big deal of it and hoping it will pass soon, but I am afraid it may be here to stay.

My Sweet Sweet Boy

2011-02-09T15:18:00.000-08:00

Lucas, you are the light of our lives and the highlight of every day. You are in such a sweet and sensitive phase, yet you are ALL boy. You love everything to do with cars, trucks, buses, garbage trucks, and especially trains. As we wait for your little sister to arrive, I just want to remember how it was when it was just the two of us every day.

We cuddle almost every morning, until you promptly and urgently pop up and ask for cheerios or oatmeal, and state that "daddy at work." We walk to the mailbox every day and you like to point out every truck, car, airplane, helicopter,and dog poop that we see. You love learning your letters, colors, and numbers, and you tackle the dog at every chance you get. You can sing wheels on the bus. You love to be read to several times a day. I love how you say "love you" and "bless you" when someone sneezes, and when I ask you if you're my favorite little guy in the world you proudly shake your head yes and smile. You are starting to put four words together at a time. This is amazing, but not always comprehensible to others other than your daddy and me. Every night you wait by the window for daddy to come home and you light up when you see his white car come around the court. You are the absolute sweetest and I know you will be a great big brother, but I also know it will be hard on you at first.

Lately I have become so aware again of everything that you have and will have to endure. It seems that when I think I have finished grieving, it starts over again. It breaks my heart over and over. You are such a strong willed little guy and you go through life with a smile on your face. At times it just doesn't seem fair. But, we know you were chosen for this journey. You are happy, healthy, and vibrant and we are so thankful for you. We couldn't be more proud to call you ours. I just pray that we can always show you how incredibly special you are.

This week I am 35 weeks pregnant, this is the week in my pregnancy that you were born. We weren't totally prepared for you to enter the world that day, you took us a bit by surprise, but you have done nothing but bring light into our lives since that moment. You will be a great big brother and you will always be our little buddy. I know in a few years it will be hard to remember what it was like with just one little one around, so I wanted to remember all of these special days. I cherish every moment with you Lucas. You are my sweet sweet boy!!

Surgery

2011-01-26T13:50:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

Is this not the sweetest thing?

Potty

2011-01-16T13:59:00.001-08:00

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

2011-01-11T14:16:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-07T17:04:00.000-08:00

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.....

Santa

2010-12-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

Santa Clause has not been well received this year. Lucas loves looking at him from afar and says "ho ho ho" whenever he see's Santa. But, come within 5 feet of Santa and Lucas is running the other direction. My mom was recently watching Lucas in a store while Peter was trying on some shoes and there was a manikin wearing red pajamas and a Santa hat, Lucas took off in the opposite direction crying after coming too close for comfort. We aren't going to push the issue. We have tried seeing Santa twice now. Maybe next year he will want to sit on Santa's lap, I can't really say I blame him. To an almost two year old, Santa has got to be a bit frightening. But, Lucas does love wearing his own Santa hat around the house. He is loving the Christmas decorations, he says "ooohhh" "pretty" most every time he sees any Christmas lights, and he calls reindeer horses, love it!! .

Palm Springs

2010-12-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

We haven't been home much recently, we have been on the go! We recently spent a week in Palm Springs. What a beautiful place. Neither Peter and I had ever been there before and it certainly is a nice place. Although the location was beautiful, the experience of traveling with a 19 month can make things interesting. When we finally got back into the shuttle at the San Francisco airport we were laughing hysterically. It really is comedic watching Peter carry six bags including a huge car seat (luckily we have the carrying backpack) through the airport. With all of this bulky luggage getting through security is interesting. Then our bags always have to be inspected due to Lucas' liquid medication. Once we are redressed, Lucas is back in the stoller and re-shoed, and Peter is loaded back up again with all of the luggage maneuvering through the crowds with his 'double wide' load is a challenge. The actual one hour plane ride was a lot for our little active boy. He learned how to manipulate the window shade up, down, up down...(you get the picture); same with the tray table. Then he wanted to run the aisles. He always wants me to hold him, but I am quickly running out of lap space and he doesn't like that very much. Luckily we had some pretty patient people on the flight with us. The hotel room in Palm Springs was beautiful, but had stairs in it. I have never seen that before.. Lucas only fell down them a few times when he was trying to roll the suitcase down them. The minibar, now that was another story. Apparently when you check in they "unlock it for your convenience." Well we didn't' realize until the last day that it was an 'automated' mini bar so every time you lift or move something in the refrigerator you get charged. Luckily we discovered this before we checked out because Lucas had racked up quite a tab. Needless to say, Lucas and I tried to keep ourselves busy and out of the hotel room while Peter was at the conference during the day. We found a fabulous mall, park, and museum. The museum had adult things like a pizza parlor and grocery store in kids sizes. Lucas loved playing with the carts and the cash register. So fun! So all in all, a fun trip, but you just have to laugh at the end at how exhausted you are at the end of a 'vacation' with a toddler.

Prior to our trip Lucas had a pediatrician apt. He is holding steady in about the 50th percentile for weight and height and 75th percentile for head circumference. He weighs a little over 28lbs and I can't recall his height. He is doing great, but his fear of the doctor only seems to be getting worse. Hopefully this will reverse itself at some point.

I am hanging in there. Second pregnancies are certainly a lot different. Between all of our traveling, working, holiday party's, etc. I am exhausted. My doctor is a bit concerned that I may be over doing it. I had an apt. this week and she did a quick ultra sound and said, I had better start taking it easy. The baby is doing well, it is just my body is not liking all of this stress and activity. It is cute, she really kicks when Lucas or Peter talk to her. We are enjoying being back at home for a few days until next week!! There is no place like home!!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T16:10:00.000-08:00

Thankful does not begin to describe the deep feelings of gratitude we have during this season. We have had such an amazing year. One year ago we would have never guessed all the changes a year could bring for our family. During this time of thanksgiving we are giving thanks for Lucas thriving and doing so well and for a healthy baby #2, not to mention my pretty amazing hard working husband. Every day we laugh and are amazed by Lucas, he shocks us daily with his new words and funny personality. Today is his 19 month birthday and I was singing him Happy Birthday and he said clear as day "happy birthday," wow. That is probably normal, but I just love each new word and phrase. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We took a day trip up to Murphy's CA to enjoy the Fall season. My secret motive was to get some great pictures with all of the beautiful colors. I don't want to spoil our holiday pictures so I have only posted one! Lucas is sharing his leaf!!

Hi Buddy

2010-11-10T13:46:00.000-08:00

I just had to document this. When Peter comes home from work Lucas is usually waiting at the window for him to pull into the court and then when Peter is approaching the front door Lucas runs over so he is right there when the door opens. He loves his daddy. Usually when Peter sees Lucas he says 'Hi Buddy' and picks him up to give him some love. Well yesterday when Peter walked through the door Lucas beat him to it. In his most excited voice Lucas shouted "Hiiiii Budddy." So wonderful! It is one of those things that Peter says subconsciously everyday but Lucas obviously has noticed a trend. Then last night we ran an errand after dinner and when Peter went to get Lucas out of the car seat Lucas again said "hi buddy!" This morning Lucas actually slept in a bit past the time Peter had left for work (that is rare), when this happens the first thing Lucas does is scour the house for daddy. Well today he went to his side of the bed, lifted up the sheet and said "buddy?" Melt my heart. He certainly is daddy's little buddy!

Halloween

2010-11-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

Lucas was a pumpkin for Halloween. We only took him to a few of the neighbors houses to go trick or treating. Before we went out we practiced at home and Lucas was very good at saying "tick teat." He even got better when he realized he got something when he said it. He has no idea what candy is, but I guess just the idea of getting 'something' every time he said those words was very exciting. Right before we left we got a group of about ten kids at our door, it really overwhelmed Lucas and so he was shy the rest of the night, but at least we captured him "tick teating" on camera at our house and then we had fun visiting the neighbors.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the pumpkin patch. I remember last time this year Lucas couldn't even sit up on his own, I had to prop him against a pumpkin and then hurry and snap a shot before he toppled over. It is amazing what a difference a year makes.

It's a....

2010-10-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

GIRL! A sweet baby girl. The best news of the day is that the ultra sound showed that everything looks perfectly normal! AMEN!! He said the baby is measuring one day ahead of our due date, so pretty much right on target! We are so blessed and so thankful to have both an encouraging echo and ultrasound. The doctor that did the ultrasound said everything looked "boringly normal." Hey, we'll take boring and normal any day of the week!

I sort of had a hunch that it was going to be a girl (Peter did too). Sort of like a secret I didn't want to tell, because we would have been perfectly happy and content either way. I just had a feeling.. and I sometimes caught myself referring to the baby as a girl. Well, now I can for sure. We are so happy and so excited to watch Lucas grow as a big brother. I have a feeling he is going to be protective of his little sister.

Fetal Echo

2010-10-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

Today was the day we had been anxious about since before we found out we were pregnant. When Peter and I decided to add on to our family we knew had a higher than normal risk of having another baby with a CHD. But, we also know that Lucas is the best thing that has happened to us and we would do it again if needed.

I don't think I have ever been as nervous as I was today. I knew that there was nothing I could do about it, but nonetheless I nearly passed out before I laid down on the table. I wish I could have taken my blood pressure because I am sure it was not healthy. Laying on that table brought back a flood of memories. When we were expecting sweet Lucas, laying on that table was a parent's worst fear come true. Being told that your baby only has half of a heart are words that no mother can fathom let alone express how it affects you. So, laying there today I couldn't help but be emotional and a nervous wreck.

When our cardiologist said the sweet words, "the baby has four chambers and four valves" I couldn't have been more ecstatic. We are so thankful for the developing heart and life that we have been blessed with. Praise the Lord for good news today.

We were told that there are a few defects that really aren't able to be totally detected prior to birth. One is a VSD that could be so small now that it is undetectable and the other is coarction of the aorta. He explained that when the ductus arteriosis closes in a newborn rarely it can cause some narrowing of the aorta. (I could have done without that part of the appointment). After the baby is born we will most likely have an echo of the baby's heart just to be certain, and for our peace of mind. I can see that I am going to want every last check done to make sure that things are as they should be.

We are beyond excited! Peter even went to the store and bought non-alcoholic champagne to celebrate. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for our family. We are so grateful! We pray that our ultrasound next week will go smoothly and leave us with more to be thankful for! Next week at this time we can tell Lucas if he will have a brother or sister???

I blinked...

2010-10-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

I feel like I just blinked and all of the sudden Lucas is a toddler and not a baby any more. He is at such a wonderful age right now.. I know I have said this before, but I LOVE this age. He is almost 18 months, can you believe it? If you would have asked me a month or so ago, I might have told you I'd trade him in :). Kidding of course, but he did go through a very big temper tantrum stage...and with his stubbornness, the temper tantrums are not fun. I think the temper tantrums at this age are primarily out of frusturation for not being able to fully communicate. It cracks me up when he says these garbled phrases while waving his hands in the air with conviction, like, "gosh mom, I can't be any more clear, dont' you get it?"

He is so attentive right now and trying so hard to talk. He learns a new word a day it seems. My favorite is yesterdays.. "meow". Every time he sees a cat (or anything slightly resembling a cat) he starts meowing and it is hilarious. He is loving any and all books. We probably read most books in the house at least once on a daily basis. Thankfully, for all of our sanity, I just went and bought some new ones.. we are mixing it up a bit:). I am loving my cuddly boy!

We have decided to go forth with Lucas' eye surgery. Not too excited about it, but we know it needs to be done and better sooner than later. We don't have a date yet, but are looking forward to having it behind us.

By the way, trying to capture Lucas smiling while looking at the camera for a picture is like trying to catch a humming bird with it's wings still. Hence the reason he is looking away in most of the pictures

Advice?

2010-09-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

After much thought I have decided to join a mom's group in our new town. It has been a really difficult adjustment for Lucas and I moving to a small town where we know NO ONE. Moving away from our family and friends and everything that we were comfortable with. Now, although the town is growing on us, we are still lacking the social aspect of our lives. It is hard. I never realized how much the little coffee dates, dinners with friends, my co-ed soccer team, meeting a friend at the park, or random visits from family and friends REALLY matter. It has been a VERY lonely few months for me. I am working, but very little, and even though it makes me feel guilty I feel like working at the hospital is a break for me. I am sure most stay at home moms would feel the same way. Now, don't get me wrong in the least, I would not change it for the world, but I have come to realize that in order to be the best mom possible, I also need a little social interaction with adults and the outside world.

I really hesitated on joining any sort of group where there are a lot of children involved because of the fear of Lucas getting sick. Lucas is doing so well, and when we are around other kids I can see him just light up.. I feel like he would love to have a little play date here and there. He gets stir crazy in our not so social life right now. So, I am joining MOPS and Lucas will go to the children's group during that time! I am really looking forward to it! But, I am worried about Lucas being in the care of someone else. The only people who have watched him for an extended time are Peter, Me, and Granparents.

Needless to say I am nervous. Our cardiologist has never discussed concerns with us that we should talk about to others who watch him. I just make sure everyone knows that he needs to stay well hydrated and to obviously call 911 if anything concerns you at all, just like you would for any child. So my question to all you heart mom's and other mom's who have been through this day care business is what do I tell them? I never want Lucas to be treated differently, I never want anyone to be afraid of him, I want him to fit in with the other kids and thrive! It is only a few hours a month that he will be in his play group.. I know I may be taking this a bit out of proportion (and possibly it is the pregnancy hormones), but he is our baby and this is uncharted territory :), so I am looking for advice???

My plan is to casually mention that Lucas has had heart surgery. But, that he has been stable since. He needs to drink plenty of water and he may get a little out of breath if he plays hard for a long time. But, don't hesitate to call me if anything makes anyone uncomfortable. Any thoughts on other important points?

Heart Walk 2010

2010-09-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful time at the 2010 AHA walk. We had 27 walkers that were there in support of Lucas.. amazing! Team Lucas raised well over $1000 with donations still coming in. Thank you to everyone who donated time or money to the American Heart Association Heart Walk 2010.. and to everyone who has supported our family in this cause! We Love You!!
Proud Parents
The two amazing CHD survivors!
Wonderful family and friends who came out to support Lucas!

I'm Going To Be A....

2010-09-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

We are beyond excited and can't help but be overwhelmed with emotions and nervousness about all of the what if's. We have always known that we wanted more children and we were blessed with baby #2 to be here in mid March. I was in my OB's office the other day and I was getting ready to leave when I happened to notice a decorative plaque on the wall above the exam table. I had never paid any attention to the decor in the office before. It read

'If you choose hope all things are possible.'

I was almost brought to tears, because I have been so nervous and anticipating the upcoming ultrasounds and echo's. I really felt like that plaque was placed there for me to read on that day.

We know that Lucas will be an amazing older brother! He lifts up my shirt and says baby and kisses my tummy... the only thing is he does it to non-pregnant people too...uhh ohh! We ask that you pray for our family and for our developing baby during this time!

Beach Boy

2010-09-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

This Labor Day weekend was really fun! We spent Saturday morning at a fundraiser event for the local children's hospital. Sunday we left early in the morning to head to San Francisco. We took Lucas to the California Academy of the Sciences. What a fun place. I wasn't sure how Lucas would take it, because in April he wasn't all that impressed by the amazing Monterey Bay Aquarium, but he absolutely loved it. It is amazing the difference in attentiveness and interest just a few months has provided. After a long day at the museum we headed to a small town nearby to grab dinner and play on the beach. Lucas loved the sand and the water. It was hard to get him to come home with us, I think he would have preferred to sleep next to the seaweed.

The sleep saga continues...

2010-09-07T15:30:00.000-07:00

Lucas' nap situation still remains a work in progress. After a year of not sleeping through the night, we finally got that down. Getting him to bed at night is so easy and enjoyable. He is super cuddly and gives us many kisses as he gets sleepy. But, now at 16 months he thinks he doesn't need to nap any longer. If he falls asleep on our morning walk, which he usually only sleeps less than 30 mins, then he is next to impossible to get down for an afternoon nap. If he misses his brief morning nap, this is what happens during lunch time. So sleepy he can't even finish lunch, but then he'll only sleep for less than an hour...One day soon we will get this figured out...

Big Week

2010-08-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Last week was a busy week for the little man. He had both his 15 month checkup/shots and cardiolgy appointment. This ended up being a very bad move on my part having both in the same week, I will explain. On Wed he had his checkup with our pediatrician. Every time he sees Lucas is is just in awe of how well he is doing and how big he is getting. Lucas weighed in at 25.5 lbs and 31.5 inches tall. He was so happy and friendly with all of the staff, he even stood like such a big boy on the stand up scale. He played with all of the toys in the room and 'talked' so much to his doctor. All this happiness and then came the shots. Lucas was laid down on the table on his back and subsequently got 4 shots (that is my max). He is a little behind due to surgeries and not wanting to combine too many with the RSV shots last winter, so we went ahead and decided to give him 4 because we want to make sure he is protected heading into the Fall/Winter. Ughh. I hate seeing him get shots, but know it is for the best especially with all that is going around these days. He quickly forgot about them, but the next day had a small localized reaction that gave him a very painful and red, swollen thigh. We had to 'motrinize' several times. Papa was watching him and could easily take his mind off of it, but didn't dare touch any where near it or he would hear about it!

Well I didn't think twice again about this until Friday. Lucas actually slept in until 7am, so I thought he would be as happy as a clam for his doctors apt with his cardiologist. As soon as we walked into the exam room, Lucas flipped out. He yelled... 'bye bye bye bye' and pointed to the door the whole time. They tried to lay him down to get a BP.. he was not having it AT ALL. They could barely get a pulse ox reading. The echo only made things worse. He cried so much during the whole thing pointing at the door, they couldn't see everything they wanted. Frustrating! Our doctor said what he did get to see and hear from Lucas looks wonderful and he didn't want to scare him anymore. So, we go back in six months. Ugh!

The day was so upsetting to me. I think because I had been anticipating it so much, and really like to hear the confident 'he is doing great.' I am upset with myself because I would have so rather Lucas had a calm and cool cardiology apt then well check, just because I wanted to know for sure that everything is great with his heart. He is so active and into everything, and the doctors see this, and are very impressed with his development and don't seem too concerned at this time.

I didn't get a chance to speak to the cardiologist about this because the screaming was too loud, but I talked with our pediatrician about the fact that Lucas doesn't seem to limit himself. Everyone has told us that kids limit themselves and will settle down and take breaks when they are tired. Lucas doesn't seem to do this. He goes and goes and goes. His answer, "Lucas is doing great, and I think you guys are so lucky, he would limit himself if he needed" But to us he doesn't' seem to ever want to miss a beat, he does occasionally get out of breath if he playing hard for a while, but nothing too bad. I guess we just keep watching him closely and make sure he is getting what he needs.

In other Lucas news, he is completely weaned from the bottle. Shortly after he turned 15 months, he started asking for it by name. Also, it used to be that he would take a bottle and fall asleep, but recently he had been walking around with it, using it as a drum stick, flinging milk throughout the house... so, it was time for 'bottttha" to leave. If he were still comforted by it, that would be one thing, but he wasn't. He still takes milk before bed out of a sippy cup and doesn't appear to mind one bit.

Lately also we have been struggling with the nap situation. I fully in my heart believe that Lucas is not quite ready to be a one nap a dayer. But, in his heart he feels otherwise. It has been a battle of the wills here. And, I think he is winning. Afterall, you really can't force someone to sleep. He just doesn't like to nap for very long because he doesn't want to miss anything, his naps are only about an hour, not long enough to warrant only one during the day. We are working on this.

Lucas also turned 16 months this past Monday. He is beginning to think he is so independent. It must be a bit frustrating to be 16 months because he knows EXACTLY what he wants, but can't always say it. He is learning that his actions get a response from us, this has been interesting. The learning process is so fun to witness. He is SOOOO lovey at this age. I am not exaggerating when I say, I probably got at least 50 kisses yesterday. What a little love!

Why Not...

2010-08-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

...just get right in with the toys. The closer to the toys the better, right? Lucas loves to be IN things. He sits in his toy basket, his toy bins, he even tries to fit in Tupperware. Suitcases, cabinets, drawers, laundry baskets, you name it; if any part of his body can fit in.. he's there. Why not?

The Real Deal

2010-07-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

The time had finally come. Lucas was in desperate need of a REAL haircut. I was desperatley wanting to keep his curly locks but Peter pointed out the other night that Lucas had a 'rat tail', so we had to do it. I took him to our local barber shop and I was a bit skeptical because I figured they didn't do many little boys first haircuts. Boy, was I wrong. After the first cut they saved his hair and put in in an envelope for me to keep. He got a certificate for his big day. They also took a picture that they will give me at our next visit. Amazing first hair cut experience. Lucas was an angel, he was smiling most of the time, but of course I seem to click the picture just as he is done smiling for the moment. He told his barber 'hi' about twenty times.. no surprise there it is still his favorite word.

His first haircut was a wonderful experience and now he no longer has to peer through brown locks, he looks like a little boy now.

15 Months

2010-07-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Lucas is 15 months old today! What is he doing at this age...

He is on the move. We took him to a school near our home the other day and he just took off running. He didn't look back. Peter and I wondered how far he would go...well we didn't wait to find out, but I think he would have kept going as far as he could. He is very proud of his walking/running.

He is really trying to have conversations. Although most words are incomprehensible, they mean something to him and he gets frustrated when I don't understand. He still doesn't say momma very often but yesterday when I asked him 'where's your momma' he pointed to me and leaned over and gave me a kiss. I'll take it. He is such a momma's boy right now and I am loving it!

He can stack 4-5 blocks, and after he stacks each one he cheers for himself. Sometimes he will be playing in his room and I will hear some loud cheering, when I peek my head in I realize he has stacked a block.. YAY!

The temper tantrums are still with us. We are choosing to ignore these (well at least we are trying).

Lucas is becoming a bit of a picky eater. He LOVES fruit, if it were up to him he could eat fruit all day. We are trying to get him back interested in veggies.. but if he knows there is a peach in the house he just yells.. 'PEEEEE PEEEE't and throws the veggies on the floor. Last night I put lemon on his broccoli and he loved it. Maybe that will be our new tactic, cover the veggies in fruit juice. :).

My favorite things about Lucas right now is when he climbs up on the couch or wherever we are sitting and says 'ticcccckle ticcckle ticckle' he loves his feet tickled and he loves to tickle our toes. I also love how cuddly he has been. I often think because of the way Lucas started his life he never really loved to be cuddled as a baby. But now he is all about it and it is soooo wonderful!

I think also an honorable mention in this post is his sleeping patterns. At night I will rock him (he never used to like to be rocked) and he will drink his milk then when he starts to get squirmy I take him in his room, he points to his crib, and I lay him down. He is still awake and I leave the room and he soothes himself to sleep. Can I get an AMEN! To most this may seem normal, but for us sleeping has been an issue since day one. He would always scream and fight going in his crib unless he was sound asleep. So for us this is such an amazing turn of events!

The picture below shows the position Lucas assumes when he wakes up from his afternoon nap. As soon as he gets his bearings about him and is fully awake he runs toward the front window saying 'daddy daddy.' Although daddy usually doesn't get home quite that early Lucas knows that dadddy comes home after his afternoon nap. The excitement in his voice when he finally see's the white Tahoe pulling into the court is priceless. This is also where Lucas parks it when daddy is working in the yards, as you can see in the distance Peter is hard at work while Lucas says 'hi' every time he passes the window! He loves his daddy!

Summer Time...

2010-07-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Look at those eyelashes

Droppin' a beat!

Lucas is still loving getting into (literally) anything he can fit into.

Lounging with Daddy.

We're enjoying the summer, trying to stay cool!

What doesn't belong?

2010-07-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken a few weeks ago when we were rearranging some furniture, I look over and Lucas has made himself very comfortable on the bottom shelf!

I have always said Lucas is SUCH a boy.. but even more so lately. He hides, climbs, chases, eats dirt, throws rocks, etc. Daddy had his first full weekend alone with Lucas as I had to work.. and Lucas can now almost open bedroom doors and he has learned how to turn on the dishwasher, coincidence, I think not! Last night after his bath, he stood up, assumed the appropriate position and peed all over the bath mat, when he was done he laughed and ran away..oh boy! He loves his daddy!!

"Hi-Dog"

2010-06-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our miracle man turned 14 months old. At 14 months Lucas can now run, and is so proud that he can now walk with his hands at his side. He used to hold them up in the air for balance but now they are down and a swinging and often he puffs up his chest. I am not quite sure where he is getting that from...

'Hi' and 'dog' are two of Lucas' favorite words. I always want to remember the sweet sound of his voice saying 'hi' fifteen maybe twenty times in a row while he just smiles. In the grocery store everyone gets a 'hi' and if you don't respond it will get quite a bit louder, and if no response the second time..louder.. you get the picture, he can even get a good echo going throughout the store if there is no response from the passer byer. We think 'hi' also means please.. or don't you think I am cute... he uses it when he wants something. He also says 'dog' a lot, but not only does it actually mean dog, it means outside. He says dog whenever he wants to go outside, which is pretty much constantly. He pulls you with all of his might towards the door saying..'Hi-dog, Hi-dog.' Another thing that has begun this month is tantrums...we're working on this :).

My favorite part of Lucas being 14 months is the constant hugs and kisses. Last night I was cuddling with him as he fell asleep and as he was dozing off he would look up and say 'hi' with a sweet smile and then pucker for a kiss. When he gives kisses he says, 'muuuAAAA.' Often throughout the day as he is playing he will walk over, put his arms up to be held and grab my face and kiss my cheek and say 'muuAAA' gives me a quick hug and then wants to go play again.. by far my favorite part about 14 months.

Many of you have asked about his eyes.. thanks for remembering and thinking of him. We went to the opthamologist in June and she thinks they are getting better. She doesn't want to rush into any surgery just yet, it could be working itself out... we pray this is the case. Although some days, they are really crossed and then we can go weeks without noticing it. Weird, we just pray we can avoid surgery, but we also want what is best for Lucas.

From a cardiology standpoint we will see our doctor in July sometime. We have noticed that as Lucas has started to run, he breathes pretty loudly, he doesn't appear to be in any distress otherwise. He was a very fast crawler, but never huffed and puffed like this. It definitely doesn't slow him down at all, he never seems to need a break, but we do notice louder breathing after running around the house. I am praying that his body just needs a little catch up time to adjust to his new activity level.

His new favorite trick. If you look away for one second he has hoisted himself onto the couch and now he enjoys walking once he is up there....what a boy!! When he gets up there, he just cracks up because he knows we will come running after to get him down.. this is just one example why I cannot get anything done :).

Happy 14 months Lucas!

Look Who...

2010-06-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Found the hose!

First Bike and Swim

2010-06-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

Lucas has always loved the water, and I am happy he does.. but now once he figured out the big blue thing in the back yard is also water...the pool gate went up almost immediately. Peter and I were a bit hesitant to get in due to the chilling water temps, but Lucas kept walking us over there to have us help him get in. It started with a toe and not long after he was in a suit ready to splash on the top step. Maybe we'll get in some mommy and me lessons this summer. Giving Cooper some love before the first dip.
Proud little guy in his new suit!

The first bike ride would have been a hit if we could have left the helmet at home. After much fussing and trying to muscle that helmet off he finally fell asleep. I know Lucas isn't a fan of the helmet, but the way I see it if he continues to think he can run around the house, and even better run through piles of laundry, corners, over steps, etc., he might be wearing it all of the time :) /

Anniversaries

2010-05-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

On May 27 Peter and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary as well as the year anniversary of Lucas' first open heart surgery. May 28 was also Lucas' due date.. certainly a lot to be thankful for over the past year. Initially my parents had generously offered to watch Lucas for one or two nights, so we could get away for our anniversary, but then the offer was soon 'forgotten' about once Lucas started waking up a few times a night again... so no getaway... maybe one day!

Lucas has also been walking more and more, he can pretty much walk through the whole house as long as he had a 'push off' point.. on May 27 he stood up on the middle of the room and walked on his own.. to say he was proud was an understatement.. he now walks around and when he sees someone or even the dog he waves and says 'hi' with a big grin.. he is fishing for compliments :).

We wanted to do something special for Lucas' and our anniversary so we decided to take the dog and head up to the foothills for a picnic at a beautiful winery (the most beautiful I have seen). We had a nice picnic on the grass and then headed up to Big Trees State Park. This is an area where a lot of very large sequioias are, we did a beautiful hike and by the end Lucas decided that he was tired of his stroller and he wanted to walk too.

13 Months

2010-05-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has already been a month since the big first birthday. Lucas is walking more and more each day. Sometimes he will 'take off' walking but he soon gets this look in his eye like 'this is way too slow' and he goes to all fours and speed crawls to his destination.

Peter and I were talking yesterday about our favorite parts of Lucas being this age. Peter's is when he gets home from work and Lucas is waiting at the window for him and he says 'da da' with a big smile and usually Peter gets a big hug shortly after coming through the door. This is the sweetest. One of my favorite things is when Lucas is super excited to do something, usually going outside, he starts laughing and his whole body starts wiggling in excitement...he just can't keep it contained.. so cute!

Oh Mischevious One

2010-05-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

You help us unpack packed boxes...
Empty cupboards...

and hide in small spaces.. maybe it is because you know we won't be able to easily get you out.

First Birthday Pictures

2010-05-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

I am so far behind with pictures of our amazing little man. Here are just a few from his birthday. You don't want me to post them all, I have a few hundred :).

What an amazing year little guy! Happy first birthday.

Step by Step

2010-05-11T13:46:00.000-07:00

To say life has been hectic is an understatement. We recently moved from our house in Roseville to a nice little town about an hour South. We are fortunate to have been able to rent out our home. We moved on May 2 and spent two nights in our new place and then headed to Monterey for the week. Peter had a conference and Lucas and I just relaxed! Life is good, we are loving having Peter home so much. We didn't fully realize the effect that nearly four hours of commuting a day was having on our family and our morale! Commuting is a big commitment for everyone involved! Lucas had a bit of an adjustment period and a few very sleepless nights and days, but seems to be settling in.

Little by little he has been getting more brave with the standing on his own. He will dash between two objects quickly to avoid falling or standing for too long. Today for the first time he was distracted by holding my cell phone in his hand and he took about eight steps! Then, when he realized what he did he smiled and put his arms up for me to pick him up! I think he surprised himself!

Lot of pictures coming as soon as we get everything unpacked!

Miracle Man Turns One

2010-04-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

Miracle man, bubba lubba, Lucas Pookas, Angel, Sweet cheeks, Cowboy, or Tumbleweed (what his hair looks like in the morning).. whatever you call him.. on April 23 our little man turned ONE!! We cannot believe this year has gone so quickly. With so many wonderful memories and milestones. We are truly blessed to call Lucas ours!

On his birthday we had a cardiology appointment which went great! Sats 85%, Weight 23 lbs, 29.5 inches (50% for both weight and height). Our doctor thought he sounded and looked so good that we didn't need an echo! On Monday we had his one year pediatrician appointment, they actually tested his hemoglobin and it was right in normal range, I was so happy to hear this. The child loves spinach, meat, and broccoli so I was pretty sure he was getting adequate iron, but it is good to know for sure.

At one what is Lucas doing?

-He is saying:
*bye-bye to everyone and any time we get near a car or a door
*says hi and waves when someone comes in a room
*daadaaa
*pa-pa (my dad has him well trained..this is what he does when I am at work:). This was actually Lucas' first word, yes before mommy and daddy, but grandpa certainly deserves it because he helps us out SOOOO much with Lucas since he can't go to daycare)
*mooooommmmmmaaa(this usually only happens in the middle of the night, lucky me:))
*he says doggy and ducky but they are still a bit unclear
*he attempts to say please... but it comes out very 'wet' with a lot of slobber

-Teeth
*bottom two and top two fully in
*very close to having two more top teeth, maybe within a week or so he'll have a full grill, the outside two have popped through but are not fully descended

-Hair
*needs a hair cut

-Activity
*cruising everywhere
*standing on his own, not quite walking
*gives very wet kisses.. and more and more bites (not a good feeling, hoping this is just a phase with the fast teething rate)
*unpacks any packed box
*unfolds any folded laundry

-Eating
*Almost fully transitioned to whole organic milk
*Not a big fan of his birthday cake, he truly loves fruits and veggies the best.. he doesn't even like store bought applesauce. He has been spoiled with all of the homemade food (he deserves it).
*Loves chicken

We had a wonderful party for him. We are still being pretty careful about exposing him to others so we kept it quaint but it was a blast. I will post pictures soon!

Happy first birthday Miracle Man!

Arizona Trip

2010-04-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a quick get away trip to Arizona.. and we had a blast. We have quite the traveler on our hands, it gives me great hope for more trips in the near future. Peter was in a wedding of his good friend, so it gave us a good excuse to get out of the house. Although I have learned how incredibly OCD I am about germs. I can pick a sniffling person out of an entire airplane filled with 200 people. We went through two containers of disinfecting wipes. At restaurants I would wipe down the highchair and table several times before letting him eat cheerios off of the table. Oh well, that is just the way it goes.. although I realize that others must think it is a bit odd!

Lucas does not like to sit still for long periods of time, well, he doesn't even sit still for minutes at a time at home. He is always on the move and into everything.. so needless to say I was very worried about how the flight would go. But, it was perfect. He just waved and said 'hi' and 'bye' to almost every person on the flight. In the past few weeks he has become quite the social boy, and quite the flirt. It was so nice to getaway. This was our first real family vacation since Lucas has been born and well needed for sure. He was so genuinely happy and content through the entire trip. My parents are convinced it is because it is the first time in a long time that Peter and I have been together for a sustained time. With all the changes occurring in our lives right now, there is not much family time. It will come very soon, and we are looking forward to it immensely.

Happy boy with daddy on the balcony!

The rehearsal dinner was in a makeshift western town, we were supposed to dress up in our best western duds, this is about as western as we get.
There was a water taxi that took us to the rehearsal dinner, although Lucas just had woken up from a nap, he loved his first boat ride.

Waiting for the flight home on Easter Day."How much does mommy love you"....'this much'

Tricuspid Atresia

2010-03-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

I realized that I have never posted an informational piece about Lucas' specific defect. I get asked all of the time to explain exactly what his defect entails.. which I don't mind at all!! I actually love explaining it and helping others to understand it, because it can be quite complicated. I found this info on Wikipedia and AHA. It even has pictures of what a tricuspid atresia heart looks like. The only thing slightly different about Lucas' heart is that he has two superior vena cava. Hope this is informative.

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1310

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricuspid_atresia

Here is a picture after Lucas got his hair trimmed. He has gotten several trims.. maybe soon he will get his first real big boy haircut.

11 Months Old

2010-03-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

I was literally brought to tears on my way to work today when I realized it was Lucas' 11 month birthday. It was this week one year ago that I went out on maternity leave..not knowing where life would take us. I just cannot believe or even really fathom what we have been through this past year. As we are quickly approaching Lucas' birthday I find myself trying to remember parts of the last year. I can barely remember the days right after he was born, it is a blur. What I remember most is when I was still paralyzed from my spinal and all I could do was turn my head.. he raised his hand in a fist (which he still does sometimes) as he was being wheeled out in his plastic incubator with the flight crew.

It is too much for two people to go through as many of you know. I often find myself getting mad or upset with myself because I can't remember certain parts of this past year...why can't I remember, why have I suppressed this..? I want so badly to remember every memory of him as a sweet little baby boy, but I can't remember everything. I really feel like it will take more than a year to process and sort through this past year...I have a feeling we'll be processing it for a lifetime. As always, but so much recently he has been such a beacon of light. Such a reminder of what is truly important in life. We finally decided to take Lucas to church with us this past weekend.. we haven't taken him yet because we have been trying to keep him out of large crowds to keep him as healthy as possible.. but we decided it was time, and it is what we needed as a family. Lucas hummed along to all of the music..and even clapped to some songs. Truly a miracle child!

As I was writing this blog, Peter brought Lucas out wrapped in a towel after his bath.. like he loves.. and Lucas reached over to me and gave me a (very wet and sloppy) kiss and long hug. And yet AGAIN he gives me faith and hope...he is truly the best!

Pictures...Finally

2010-03-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

Everyday I keep saying.. gosh Lucas is at such a fun age. He is so interactive and overall a very happy baby. He is so intuitive and exploring EVERYTHING. No cabinet or door is left unopened. He is still a bit wobbly on his feet, but he is really trying to move accross a room. I hope you enjoy the pictures, I apologize for the long time it took to get them up. Thank your for your continued prayers for Lucas, he truly is a miracle boy!!

My Grandma came over for a visit and Lucas really loved her walker, he actually cried for quite some time when she left with it!
Who needs to hire movers when we have this little guy...he is quite the box mover!

10 Months

2010-02-24T12:20:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it. Out baby boy is almost a year old. He is at such a fun stage and we are loving every minute of it. He is turning into quite the ham.. and is playing more and more games with us. He loves to hide behind something and when we say 'where's baby lucas' he pops his head out and laughs. He also does the same thing with blankets. He loves to be chased when he is crawling (especially by daddy)...if you don't follow him when he takes off with a huge grin, he gets a bit upset. His main (and first) word is 'bye bye' and he is actually starting to use in the appropriate context. Amazing! Occasionally out of no where and totally unexpectedly, he'll yell..'hiiiii.' at the top of his lungs. He tries to say Cooper, our dog, it comes out like..'ooppppah.' I am still waiting for momma, I guess the dog is more fun! He is standing on everything and is beginning to 'cruise' more and more around the furniture.

The other day Lucas did something so crazy, I just feel the need to share it. He pushed over a box to the side of the couch, crawled up onto the box and used it to boost himself onto the couch. There was a book up there he REALLY wanted I guess. We have a bit of a climber on our hands, scary. As we are quickly approaching his birthday, I am overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude for Lucas. He makes our lives so rich and full... and still sleepless:).

We are adjusting to a bit of a different life right now. Peter recently got a new job that has him commuting pretty far. We will be moving soon, but life is crazy busy..hence still no pictures. Sorry, they will be coming soon!

Much love to our little 10 monther!

Gymnast

2010-02-09T10:50:00.000-08:00

We now have a gymnast on our hands. For the past few weeks Lucas has been learning that he can pull up on everything I mean everything, couches, bar stools, his toys, glass doors, his crib, play pen, basically anything with a bit of height. Nothing is left un-stood up on. With the new gymnastics moves also comes his fair share of tumbling. Needless to say, as he develops his new sleek moves he has had a surge of bruises lately. I expressed my concern to our cardiologist about his new found activity level while he is on aspirin, but it doesn't seem like it will be a problem.

Lucas is going through a phase of no longer enjoying his toys; instead things like candles, picture frames, remote controls, shoes, and items in cupboards are suddenly much more interesting and entertaining. He is keeping us busy to say the least. I can't believe it but he turned nine months old in Jan. We had a cardiology appointment late Jan. His sats were 85% (yay), he weighed in at almost 21 pounds, and he grew two inches since his last check up, making him 28 inches tall.

I know some of you are going to think...'finally' but Lucas got his first hair cut this past weekend. It wasn't a full trim, my mom just trimmed up the bangs, but even so he looks so dapper with his new hairdo. Of course I kept his curly locks for the baby book.

(I want to post so many pictures, but we have recently run out of space on our computer, imagine that, and I am not savvy enough to learn how to work the external hard drive. Pictures will be coming soon)

Who me?

2010-01-21T15:30:00.000-08:00

No mommy, I would never try to stand up in my crib..and then take a tumble over.

We recently saw the ophthalmologist regarding Lucas' eyes. She has suggested we try patch therapy before we rush into any surgical procedures. We are very thankful for this. Although it is only two hours a day, it has to be strategically planned so that he can be well distracted. He has come quite accustomed to his dump truck rides every night. He now tries to get into the dump truck on his own.

January 9 Lucas crawled for the first time. It was the cutest thing to watch him discover that he could move. He was very proud of himself and a bit shocked that he didn't have to be stationary any longer.

It's a boy...

2010-01-05T13:29:00.000-08:00

One year ago today, Peter and I couldn't wait to see our baby, we had our 20 week ultrasound scheduled for January 6, 2009. Just one year ago today, we were less than 24 hours away from the biggest life changing event we could imagine. We were so eager to see our child and we had come to an agreement that we were open to finding out the sex, but we weren't going to ask to find out. In other words, if it was obvious, we would know :).

We went to bed that night guessing if it was a boy or a girl and made plans for our next days appointment. I didn't get to see Peter leave the morning of Jan 6, because I was suffering from the typical pregnancy fatigue (or just taking advantage of sleeping in). I picked him up from work, he had pep in his step, we laughed when we saw each other because we were both wearing blue! We had a nice lunch, I was getting emotional just thinking about seeing our developing baby and becoming a mommy. We headed to our appointment where we had a level 2 ultrasound scheduled...

I can remember the entire appointment like it was yesterday. I have been reliving it all week. I lay on the table with my 20 week belly proudly bare. Our subconscious dressing had soon proved right, as it quickly became 'obvious'...IT'S A BOY! I could see Peter's eyes welling up with pride. He was so proud to have a son. The doctor was so upbeat and joking with us about Lucas 'bearing all' and how great he looked... that is until the room fell silent.

I could have heard a pin drop. The doctor kept staring at the screen and measuring and re-measuring the heart and re-measuring again. I had to finally ask...'does the heart have four chambers?" His response, "I am having issues with the heart." It literally brings me to my knees just thinking of that day. After he told us he thought our baby boy had tricuspid atresia, he (as many doctors did) gave me a box of Kleenex. I have never been so hurt in my entire life, not by anything or anyone. This wasn't supposed to happen to us. I am young, healthy, eat right, take my vitamins, avoid being around anything harmful, avoid lunch meats, and soft cheeses... anything and everything a pregnant lady was supposed to do, I did.. I thought I did everything right. There is so much self blame associated with hearing news like this, I felt 100% responsible for this news. Even to this day, a small part of me wonders if I could have done something differently.

Sometimes I wish I could go back and undo that day, make the results come back differently. We literally came home, sat in the dark, sobbing, unable to form thoughts or sentences. We didn't want to talk to anyone, we didn't want to accept the news. We sat in the dark for several days, not sleeping, not talking, just crying. I have never in my life imagined such an intense form of sadness. The following day we saw Dr. Wright, and he confirmed the diagnosis. How could it be true?

Over the course of the next few weeks, we slowly picked up the pieces of our shaken and broken lives. We met with specialist after specialist and were 'offered' countless number of times to terminate the pregnancy. Peter and I went to Kauai a few weeks after getting the news, and we even got a call while we were there, saying that 'there are only a few days left for 'it' to be legal!" REALLY?

No one asks to go through what we have been though in a year. No one wants walk with a limp, blue child down to the CVICU with a crash cart following. No one wants to measure your child's oxygen levels every day. No one wants to watch your son's oxygen levels drop to 6 on the monitor. No one wants to go to countless doctors appointments, or fight insurance companies over 'medical necessity.' No one would choose this, but this path was chosen for us, so we had no choice but to fight through it and embrace it, and we will continue to.

Throughout the remainder of my pregnancy and to this day. I am on a journey. A journey of accepting the news. Accepting that our son has a serious heart defect. The grieving process hasn't ended, I am not sure if it will. I have learned more in this past year than I thought possible. I have learned that life is not fair, or so we think, beauty doesn't always mean perfection, and that no matter how bad you think you have it, there is always someone walking a more difficult journey. I have learned that I have the most amazing and supportive husband who I could not live without. I literally don't think I would have made it to this point as sane as I am if it weren't for him. He the most calm and kind person I know.

This year, has marked the highest highs and lowest lows of our lives and has brought unfathomable emotion. I have learned to not dwell on the small stuff, because I have learned first hand how life can change in the matter of one day. We love our son more than life, and he is just as feisty now as he was that day that he wanted us to know clearly that he was a boy.

(Pictures from one year ago, Kauai)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-28T09:45:00.000-08:00

Hands down our best Christmas yet. Lucas had so much fun opening all of his gifts. He would clap for himself after he got one open. I bought him a little onesie a few weeks ago that I thought was funny, it says "all mommy wants for Christmas is a silent night." Well, I definitely didn't get that, but I wouldn't trade this little man for the world, and all I really wanted for Christmas is a happy and healthy baby boy, and that is what I have, we are so lucky! Merry Christmas.