Shopping fun....or not

Trying to make an outing to the grocery store more fun I decided to get the cart that had the car attached to it. Have any of you tried to push one of those things? It's impossible! I had the hardest time pushing it straight and turning corners. It was all great and exciting at the beginning when Luke found out he had his very own steering wheel, but then he got bored with it and kept trying to crawl out. Wanting him to get interested again I would stop and say, "Momma needs your help to make the cart go" (very Dora the Explorer-ish). I'm not sure getting the car cart is really worth 5 minutes of toddler entertainment. Especially the embarrassment caused while you knock over food displays and your child is happily saying hi to everyone while you pick up. Anyway, next time I'll wait until he's older or have someone stronger, like my husband, to push the darn thing.

In other news, Luke is quite the chatter box. His phrase this week is "I want it". I have no idea where he picked that one up, but it's about something he's not supposed to have like the fire poker.

Not all, but other words he says:

momma/mommy dada

milk
ball

juice
hot
one, two
go

truck
book

uh-oh
meow

moo
dog

roar
all done

oops
diaper

dance

water
hello

hi
bye

snack
num-num

nose
eye

sock
shoe

brush
bankt (blanket)

but (bellybutton)
oh no

no
gramma

bampa (grandpa)
nee-nee Auntie JaNeanne

tee tee - Auntie Christina
naa-na (banana)
apple
go away

Iron anyone?

This past Tuesday I spent the day (9am - 3:30pm to be exact) being infused with iron. I know the picture looks like a bag of blood, but if you could have seen it up close it's more like rust colored water.

I have had this blood thing since I was in high school. It's been ruled out to a condition called pancytopenia PLUS my body doesn't absorb iron from my diet so I become anemic. I have my blood checked every six months to make sure I'm still at the normal levels for me and to make sure nothing else has changed. Once a year my hematologist runs an iron count with everything else and this time found my feritin level was at a 6. Normal for women is between 18-160. Yikes! So the quickest way for me to get back to where I need to be is to have these infusions. I think my body holds on to the iron for a year and a half which I think is pretty good. It takes a few weeks for things to for my energy to go up so it's not immediate. The only bad thing after my treatment: a sore hand where the needle was.

Halloween 2009

Luke was a cowboy for Halloween this year. I borrowed the hat from a friend and found a plaid shirt at the Goodwill for $1.99. I bought it a bit big so a jacket could fit under it. He didn't have any boots, but he looked enough the part to not need them.

Chris and I went with my sister, husband and her youngest Zoey trick-or-treating. He had the greatest time. Because we didn't want to have him tucker out too soon we brought a stroller so we could push him from house to house. We let him walk up to the door with one of us. Zoey usually let him knock on the door and the she'd ring the doorbell. He'd always try and go inside, but I wouldn't blame him since it was raining off and on.


Coming back from the door he'd squeal with delight. He thought it was so much fun and made it through the whole neighborhood. Fortunately for Chris, he got a big bag of candy that he ate in 2 days. Unfortunately for Luke, he didn't get a single piece.

Big boy!

October is here and Luke is officialy 18 months . He has grown in height, but not in weight. Since his 12 mo. check-up he's grown 2 1/2 inches and only gained 5 ounces. The boys has dropped all the baby fat....no more chubby cheeks.

Two months ago Luke started going to a daycare center a couple days a week to have interation with other kids. Since I work full-time and my parents mainly watch him, he doesn't get to play much with other kids his age. The first month or so he cried and clung to me every time I dropped him off which was heart-breaking, but he is used to it now. I know he has a lot of fun and he's learning so many things there. I get so excited when he demonstrates something new. One evening he started squatting and then would quickly stand up which I figured out was him jumping. Now he can say the word jump. When we play I will say, "1-2-3 Jump" and then he jumps. He'll move his body when I say the word even if he's sitting down. It's pretty funny.

Luke's transition to nursery went very well which I'm betting is due to the fact I work full-time and he's used to me leaving him with someone five days a week and to him what's one more day? I am watching the Relief Society room door for a nursery leader to bring me my crying child, but I don't think it will happen. If one of them does bring Luke to me it's most likely going to be for the changing of a stinky diaper.

[Good Fast Cheap] - Pick Two

I saw this on a bumper sticker one day and thought it was quite humorous and then it got me thinking. What would I rather have? Something good and fast or good and cheap or fast and good or fast and cheap. I think I spent the rest of my car ride from Bellevue to Everett deciding. I figured it depends on what you're getting and I was thinking food. I ultimately decided Good and Cheap is the way to go. Whatever it may be it should be tasty and a great bargain so that I'll want to get it again.


What would you choose?

The Eye Procedure

Everything went smoothly with Luke's eye procedure and I couldn't be more happier with the results. I'm sure the boy is grateful that I'm not wiping his eye anymore.

He had no reaction to the anesthetics they gave him and surprisingly he didn't sleep forever after the surgery. I thought for sure he would be out for an hour or more, but 15 minutes after the doctor and anesthesiologist told us everything went according to plan they were ushering us to the post-op room where Luke was waking up. His nose itched a lot for half an hour or so which we were told was a side-effect of the drugs. I could deal with that.

Luke was a really good and brave boy. He did not cry at all - just fussed a bit about the IV they had in his foot that he wanted out when he was awake (they put children to sleep with gas first and then put the IV in). I couldn't blame him for that because those things can be a bit uncomfortable.

I only took one picture while at the hospital and it was on my phone. This is Luke in the scrubs they gave us to have him wear. One of the waiting rooms had a little kitchen set. Luke loved putting stuff inside the fridge and so he was not interested in getting his picture taken.

Weeping and Goobering

Luke is going to have an eye procedure done. The Ophthalmologist calls it surgery, but it doesn't involve a scalpel or stitches so I'm sticking with "procedure" because it doesn't sound as scary, but we do have to take him to Swedish Medical Center and he will be asleep for it. Why is he going to have this done you ask? Well, Luke as a blocked tear duct. If you've ever noticed that his right eye seems weepy it's because his tear duct doesn't drain the eye so then his tears spill out so it looks like he's crying and it also pools and gets a bit goobery in the corner near his nose. I have to wipe his eye and he does not like me to do it. When I'm at home or he's with my parents, we use a warm washcloth.
So I've learned that this is fairly common among infants and the tear duct blockage should clear up and function normally on it's own within the child's first year. If it doesn't clear up and the child is over a year then it has to be helped along, which is the case for Luke.
I started noticing Luke's watery eye last September. The reason I remember the time frame is Chris and I were visiting his family in Oregon and I thought it was the drier weather and dust that was causing the eye weeping. When Luke's 9 month check-up rolled around I talked to his doctor about it and she told me how to massage the tear duct which should help it open. That didn't work. When Luke was sick after Thanksgiving we took him to the doctor and he was prescribed eye drops. That didn't work. Since I had read and was told that it should clear up on it's own I just figured I'd have to deal with it for awhile. When we went in for his 12 month check-up it hadn't been an issue and so I totally forgot about it. Around June was when Luke's eye started doing it's thing again...tearing and getting goobery. By the end of August I was thinking, "This has been going on for a year and I've got to do something about it." One of my friends told me her son had the same problem and he had to have surgery to have his tear duct opened so I thought I had better look into that. I called Luke's primary care physician and she referred me to the Ophthalmologist.
Visiting with that doctor she theorized that Luke's tear duct could be narrow which is why it's not draining properly. So, a silicone tube will be inserted into his tear duct which will be left in for a few month to help it get bigger. To have it removed will be just a normal visit. I'm sure some tweezers can find it and pull it out lickety-split (I hope).
Am I nervous? A little. The more I think about it the more I think I should be more freaked out than I am. Why am I not freaking out? I'm sure I will be at that state when we the day arrives. Wish us luck!

In a nutshell

Here are some of the things we did this summer.

Went swimming.

Played with friends.

Went to Cascade Locks, Oregon

Did a lot of driving.

Went camping with family in our awesome new tent.

Saw an old mining town.

Dehydrated pears - yum!


Canned peaches with my sister SueAnn (not captured via digital camera).

July 4, 2009 (another belated post)

We had family in town for the 4th of July weekend. Chris's mom came to visit and brought Rachel and Jackson. (Oh, and I can't forget Uncle Bob) We rode the ferry over to Bremerton so Uncle Bob could show us the navy base since he was once in it, but I don't think he was actually stationed there. Since I'm not familiar with the area, as I never go over there, (nor is Bob) we didn't do much else. We ate lunch and then turned around an hour later and got in the line for the ferry to head back to Seattle. Fortunately, there is a great water spray park right next to the terminal...we had to kill an hour and a half.
When we got back to our place, the kids and I headed to the pool at our complex to swim while Chris started the BBQ and Bob made the food.
About 8:30pm we all piled back in the van and headed to North Everett for the fireworks display. We waited for quite some time because they didn't start until 10:15pm. Luke was asleep before we even got there, but woke up right before they started. The only pictures I have to go off of that night are those those on Chris's phone. Bob wandered off and left the van locked so I couldn't get our camera. Luke did learn a new word that night. He now says, "Whoa". It's so cute.

Father's Day June 21, 2009 (belated post)

Happy 2nd Father's Day to Chris!! Sadly, the weekend wasn't so happy. There was this "bug" going around that we caught it went through the family like this: Luke ---> my dad ---> Auntie Christina ---> me. My mom and Chris were spared, but I had it father's day. Another sister and her daughter got it while we were on our trip to Utah later in the month. Luckily, it was only a 24 hour thing.

While the holiday wasn't super spectacular and the rest of the family avoided my parents house like it had the plague I still managed to get Chris a few gifts. The one I'm most proud of is the Spourk. This lovely little dity is going to save my silverware from the depths of Chris's car. Now if he can only remember to use it. I'm thinking of investing in a few more so he can have one for each day of the week (or if he doesn't bring it in from his car I have another to use).

What lazy days?

I totally wished I had more time to spend in this wonderful weather we're having this summer. As a full-time working mom I don't often get the chance to kick back and relax. When I get home in the evening it's dinnertime, bathtime, and then bedtime. I really don't get a moment to slow down until 9pm, but since I've been up since 5am wanting to do anything for myself (updating my blog for example) isn't high on my list of things to get done for the night. Weekends are filled with errands, laundry and household chores. Summer is my favorite time of year and lately I haven't had the time to relish in it.

There have been some weekends where I've taken a vacation from everyday life. At the end of June, Luke and I took a road trip with my mom and sisters to Logan, Utah for a family reunion.
My sister Christina I spent a day with some of my old roommates from college which was fun. Unfortunately, I wasn't so good at capturing the moments spent with them which I'm now regretting.
It was a fun reunion and good to see the extended family. It's fun to see everyone, however, living in Washington we only saw these aunts, uncles, and cousins once a year so none of us sisters know anyone really well. I know my mom enjoyed it and loved catching up with her cousins. She has another reunion, again in Utah, in August that she and my dad are going to.
We stopped by my old stomping grounds, Utah State (Go Aggies!!), and got a shot of us at the bull. Next trip we'll make it up to the "A" on old main hill.

We also had a barbecue at my aunt and uncles house in Tremonton and Luke got to me some more cousin friends. These are actually my cousins kids kids. Since my 1st cousins are older than my oldest sibling, their kids are closer to my age these are their kids...but we're all family so cousins are cousins, right? He loved watching these two little guys. Daxten is in red and Jager is in blue and both are 2 years old. Luke was as big as these boys and the only difference was you can't understand what he's saying. Luke is a chatter-box. I really wish I had some sort of translator that I could plug into my ear so I could dicipher what he's saying all the time.

Next post....4th of July. I'll find the time to add it.

Who lets their kid sleep like this?

I came home from work one evening and found Luke asleep on the couch. Nice, dad. Looking at it postively, he would have landed on his feet first instead of his head (thank goodness). I still think his bed would have been a better option for nap time.

Mother's day

The day before Mother's Day.
Christina was putting together a gift for our mom and wanted to take some pictures of the temple so we packed up Luke and drove the 1/2 hour. What a beautiful day! The flowers were blooming, the birds were singing, people were getting married. It was lovely. It took many a picture for Luke to look at the camera since he was so fascinated by the fountain behind us. I swear, I still can't get him to smile when the camera comes out. I hope that changes soon.

Mother's day was great. Even though we have church at 9am, Chris made me breakfast in bed. Usually it's a banana or something running out the door when our ward has the early time slot. The young men in our ward gave mothers and future mothers a flower. Awwww In the evening, we went to my parents and had a BBQ. I don't need anything fancy, just being with the ones I love is enough for me.

1st Birthday - Hooray!

My darling little boy is no longer so little. Luke turned a year old April 7th. Although it was his birthday, I took him in for his 1 year well child check-up and he got some not so fun shots. We waited until the weekend to have his party so it didn't completely ruin his day. Currently, Luke weighs in at 25 lbs 3 ounces and is 32 inches long. Last year on that date he was 7 lbs 10 ounces and 19 inches long. See what I mean? ...not so little.

Last week was full of firsts. Not only did Luke turn one he also got his first haircut. Unfortunately, I didn't pull my camera out when they were cutting his hair so I don't have any pictures. Man, I need to document his life better. I just went to a place by my house that was inexpensive. The gal who cut his hair was fast and she was able to keep going with all his head turning. Luke only whimpered when she turned the clippers on and went at him, but he didn't cry. He is my very big boy! I was kind of worried she wouldn't leave him with any hair because it seemed like she was cutting a lot off. In the end he looked so handsome.

Although I stressed about the birthday party for Luke, it went really well. I had a ball theme. I wished I planned better because my camera ran out of memory and I left my other memory card at my sister's house earlier in the week so I didn't get all the pictures that I wanted....especially the decorations which I put a lot of thought into. The pictures I do have are courtesy of my sister Christina.

Happy Birthday to Me and Christina!

I've had a birthday....it was March 11th. Technically difficulties prevented me from writing about it sooner.

I took the day off to spend with my OTHER significant other, Christina (also a birthday girl), and my precious boy. It was a beautiful sunny day, but very chilly and because Chris had family visiting and one of those persons was a 3 year old we went to Mukilteo Beach. I hadn't been there since they added the park and all the extras....more parking and sidewalks. We stayed as long as we could, but the wind didn't allow us to enjoy ourselves outside as much as we would have liked.

On our drive back we stopped in at the McDonalds to further stretch our legs and let the little guys play at the indoor playland. Luke loved crawling around and he and I ventured down the slide together. It was a tight fit, but I made it down with Luke on my lap. I wasn't brave enough to let him go down by himself. Maybe next time...

My little Mozart

Luke sure loves to play the piano. Whenever I start practicing he comes over and wants to sit on the bench with me. You can never start too early!

Update: What was lost has now been found.

The USB cable for the camera has been found. Hooray!! After asking Chris for what seemed like the the 10th time he finally said he knew where it was and pulled it out of his sock drawer. I didn't think to look there....

Where are you?

Hello blogging friends. I'm still here and I have quite a few posts waiting and I want to add pictures to these post. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the USB cord that plugs the camera into the computer. It's been MIA since my birthday last month. You see, I remember using it around that time because I uploaded some pictures directly from the camera to my facebook account, but I didn't save them to my computer (which I should have done) and didn't upload everything either. Usually, this chord is kept in one of the desk drawers that our computer sits on - naturally a good place to keep it. Sadly, those drawers have been searched and it's no where to be found. My camera is holding some real gems and I'm very sad about it. Anywho, sorry to keep you waiting. I do hope it magically appears soon. I'm going to do a lot more searching in hopes that it turns up. I wonder if you can just buy these things at best buy or someplace like that.




Somewhere out there....

Snake and snails and puppy dog tails...

This morning I found Luke drenched from the waist down, which happens on occasion, from a saturated diaper. I stripped him down to his birthday suit and sat him on my lap contemplating if I wanted to bathe him at 5:15am. While sitting there he tooted pretty loudly and then he looked at me and laughed. Luke's had the morning toots before, but he never found them funny. I figured he thought it was something that his body just does. Anyway, I said, "Excuse you" since I still want to teach him good manners. Then he tooted again and laughed again. Okay, now it was funny. After we laughed at it together he started mimicking the noise and would we would laugh some more. It's crazy what kids figure out. I know this isn't some phase a boy grows out of....it's going to be funny forever!