Making Progress

Luke went for his first post-op appointment today. I was a little anxious because he still doesn't look so great. The vision screening went well, although it is obvious that he can't see well out of that eye, yet. Every time the eye testing lady (don't know her real title, sorry) tried to block his strong eye, he pushed her away. She called that normal. The doctor was very kind and concerned about everybody, even wanted to know if Steve was okay. He gave Luke a thumbs up and said the eye looked as it should. We'll see. That's what he said the last time he operated, before we wandered down this long and twisty road of repeat surgery.

Just to Make Things Extra Fun...

...Luke decided to stick a little black plastic washer up his nose last night. Steve and I were just sitting down to a scrumptious dinner that a dear friend made for us. I'd been thinking about eating it all day. A little voice from the couch says, "there's something in my nose! There's something in my nose! It's a circle."
Are 'ya kiddin' me?
I didn't know whether to laugh or scream at him. I did neither. I actually crammed three more bites of pasta into my mouth and tried to formulate a complete thought. We were so tired from jumping through all the hoops of eye surgery and recovery. We called the eye surgeon and he recommended a trip to urgent care. I had visions of Luke sniffing it way into his sinus cavity and emergency surgery coming our way. Thankfully, the little washer slipped out of Luke's nostril after they sat at the urgent care for an hour.
Steve crawled into bed last night and said, "this is not a day I would care to live again."
Amen to that.

The Eye, Part Two

Luke had a follow-up eye surgery this morning. I think it went really well. I'm sure the picture isn't much to look at, but this is definitely a day for the scrapbook and the blog. He was such a good sport, so brave and calm. I think I was more anxious than he was. He decided to make it extra exciting, though...We were waiting in our little pre-op cubby and he left the room to look at something, then came back through the curtain. He was walking and looking over his shoulder and walked right into the counter at the nurse's station. Did I mention this very sharp counter has a corner that is right at eye level for a 4 year old boy? I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Thankfully, it poked him in the soft tissue right below his left eye. Although we signed up for surgery on both eyes, the doctor didn't operate on that eye at all. The nurse said it wouldn't make any difference, might just add to the swelling and discoloration. Good grief.
The surgery seems like it was a success. You never know with eyes because we have to wait for the swelling to go away and see if both eyes are aligned properly. I was extremely nervous this morning, but I really feel relieved and optimistic tonight. The recovery was rough, just because the local anesthesia prevented Luke from seeing anything out of that eye. He did get up and play this afternoon and said he wanted to go for a walk, so things must be clearing up for him. We'll go back to the doctor at the end of the week for a re-check. We are so appreciative of our friends and family, sending us encouraging words and lifting us up in prayer.

Wet and Wild Birthday

Andy wasn't too crazy about the water slide concept, but loved hanging on to the basketball, grinning at the camera and saying, "cheese!"
Luke enjoyed some pre-party sliding, before all of the other guests arrived. He didn't care that the water was ice cold. Andy kept slipping and falling down, Luke was so sweet to stop and help him stand up again. Occasionally he demonstrates some affection for his little brother.
Here is the birthday girl in all her glory. Man, she got some loot! What are these webkinz? Are they taking over the world? I was so glad Luke didn't catch on to that craze. He was so worn out from the water slide that I don't think he even noticed Allie's presents were opened. If there's one thing I don't need right now, it's little fury creatures that need to be maintained via the web. That would seriously cut into my blogging time...which we know is way more important.

More Zoo Fun

The new kids zone, complete with spider web for jumping and hanging around
More exciting things to climb through and pose inside of...who needs animals??
We survived a week of total upheaval as new carpet was installed in more than half the house. I was feeling a bit guilty for dragging the boys through all of that mess. We decided to postpone our "to do" list for the day and take them to the zoo. I didn't know that Steve had never been to the Point Defiance Zoo. He was impressed. Luke, on the other hand, was very concerned about the pea-cots (peacocks), which roam around the zoo. They aren't the least bit shy, either. He was terrified. He ran and jumped on me when he saw one coming. Once we convinced him that we would protect him, he calmed down. Andy's favorite part was the aquarium. He went up to every tank and squealed "FISH! FISH!" The fish are probably glad he's gone, poor things. Steve and Luke enjoyed the outdoor theatre presentation, which was kind of like a skit complete with animals and birds. I think the bald eagle was the star of the show. Andy and I watched from a far because he refused to sit still and watch quietly. He is very good at being almost two.

Give Me Some Lip

Luke discovered my lip gloss recently. "I like lip!" he declared. "Mom, can I have some more lip?" Um, no. The mustache is very cute, though. I will give him points for creativity.
I have tried to encourage him to color and get more involved with arts and crafts. I suppose this is his way of sort of following my instructions.

Vacation Rewind

Celebrating my birthday (someone forgot the candles so we had to pretend).
Posing with Steve's brother, Stowe and his wife, Holly. Stowe is in a band so we had a chance to go and hear them play a little bit.
At last, some brotherly love captured in a photo! I was thinking this would never happen.

We have returned from our grand adventure to the east coast. We've been home a week, actually, but the re-entry into normal life has been a bit bumpy...time change, jet lag, broken car, carpet installers coming in a few days, vacation bible school...blah, blah, blah. I need to go back on vacation. Overall, we had a good time. Flying was a little tough, but it still went much better than I anticipated. Luke was still not a fan of the ocean, but once we put him in a tide pool with a life jacket, he was pretty happy. He did venture out on a board a time or two. Andy, on the other hand, wasn't scared at all. He would walk into the ocean and just keep going. I would pull him back, he would scream and run right back in. Ugh. The pool was a big hit. We stayed in two different condominiums and I was so grateful that they both had pools.