We Love Shoes

Lately, Luke does not want to take his shoes off. Ever. He likes to put them on the minute he wakes up, and has even resorting to sleeping in them if we'll let him. He has us put them on over his pajamas.

Christmas 2010

We had a really great Christmas! Luke's at a super fun age, and even though he didn't really know what was going on, he had a good time playing with his new toys. We spent the 23rd with my family in Marble Falls and toured the lights. My sister Katie was in town and gave Luke his first pair of Air Jordans. He's going to be a basketball player for sure!

My grandparents even made the walk with us. Last Christmas, Michael proposed to Suzy under these lights.

I think Luke wanted to run faster, jump higher in his new Jordans, not sit with Mom and Dad on this silly oversized chair.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with the Scotts, and boy was it crazy, but so fun! Kathy says she wrapped 75 presents! It looked like Santa threw up in their house. Since Adam has four brothers and sisters who have families themselves, there are a lot of us!

Adam got me the Nook Color for Christmas. Luke and his cousins are kids of the 21st Century, for sure. His cousin Katie had never even seen one and was showing him and me how to use it. It has a feature that reads children's books aloud. (That was really the selling point for Adam -- otherwise, I don't think I'd have gotten it).

Lanie got the boys some bubbles that don't pop and they loved them! Endless entertainment.

Luke and his godfather, Adam's brother Eric.

Luke and Grandad.

Stuffed with Blueberries

This morning, I thought Luke was doing a great job eating his blueberries with his breakfast. They all disappeared! And, so fast! Little did I know, he was stuffing them into the cab of his little truck. I couldn't even get mad because it was so funny!

"Agua!"

Luke's saying a lot of words lately -- "tuck" (truck), "baaa" (bird and ball), "woofwoof" (dog), "dada" (Adam) and now "agua". For a couple of weeks now, Adam and I have wondered why he kept saying "agua" when pointing to his water cup or to the water spout on the fridge.

"Is he saying 'agua'? Spanish 'agua'?"
"I don't think so ... are you teaching him that?"
"No, are you?"
"Hmmm. I'm not sure what he's saying, then."

Today, when I picked him up from daycare, I noticed that he said it again when he pointed to his water bottle. Finally, it dawned on me! I asked his teachers, and they said that one of the teachers started saying it and it stuck. So, interestingly, Luke's learned Spanish "agua" before he learned English "water".

Maybe I'll dust off that Spanish minor I have and start some bilingual lessons with Luke ...

Truckin' Along

To say Luke likes trucks is the understatement of the year. I think it all started around his birthday when Grandmother gave him the big firetruck to ride in and Grammy bought him a hand-me-down $2 dump truck from Savers. Since then, trucks have been the center of his universe.

We've acquired a small fleet of trucks -- dump trucks, firetrucks, ambulances, you name it. This picture only shows half of them. There's a bus missing (it's at daycare because he took it there yesterday), a tow truck (it took a bath with him tonight), and a Ford F150 (it's in the car so he can hold it while he's in his carseat).

In his room, I decorated a small Christmas tree with Adam's old truck ornaments. Each year, Adam's mom gives each of her kids a themed ornament, and Adam's theme is coincidentally trucks. Worked out perfectly! And, it's kinda sweet that Luke's tree has his Dada's ornaments on it. Every night when we light it, he says, "Tuck!"

Little Helper

Like I mentioned in the post below, Luke likes to "help." He was Adam's assistant today when Adam put latches on the cabinets. Luke spent most of the time emptying the cabinets Adam was working on, but he was a good helper, nonetheless ...

'Tis the Season

It's starting to look like Christmas at the Scott house. Luke "helped" me put the tree up, which basically meant he touched the lights and yelled some sort of gibberish at the tree. I think he was just excited to be doing something that seemed to be of some importance. I've noticed that that kind of stuff seems to interest him -- he'd rather play with anything of mine or Adam's that seems to be useful than with his toys or he likes to sit in our laps when we're working on or fixing something.

The tree's decorated half-way up to keep the ornaments away from little fingers. Two already fell to their death and shattered into a million tiny pieces. What a mess.

And, we visited Santa at Nolan's school. Nolan and Luke both decided they don't like Santa this year. You couldn't stop the tears from rolling down Nolan's face, and Luke just looked at me like, "Are you crazy, woman?! You're not leaving me with this old man."

Tonight, we went with Michaela, Ryan, Nolan and Olivia to see the Zilker Tree lighting. It was a lot of suspense and waiting around, but the boys seemed to like the lights. And, it got me excited for Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2010

Needless to say, we had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! Most importantly, Luke was better! He got his PICC line out the Tuesday before, which meant that we were finished with antibiotics.

Sister Suzy and her husband Michael flew in from Seattle for the week. Sister Brooke, my parents and cousin Bob came over for dinner. (Mom and Dad left early the next day to see sister Katie who couldn't leave North Carolina. Her coaches scheduled practice Thanksgiving afternoon, and her team played Duke the next day).

Adam shoots the turkey with some sort of secret turkey sauce.

Cooking dinner is a lot of work! This is the first year that I've actually cooked the dinner, and I really didn't even do anything. Suzy did most of it -- I just made the salad and a pumpkin pie. The boys drank beer, fried the turkey and drank beer, and the women-folk got the sides ready. That's the hardest part! We had to time everything around the dang turkey.

Somehow, it all got ready at the same time and it was delicious! I liked having it at our house, but figured out that there are a lot of "extra" dishes that I don't have -- gravy boat, turkey platter, butter dish.

I think Luke was the only one who got a nap in. Suzy and Bob took him on a walk after dinner, and he didn't even make it around the block before he fell asleep. He does look a little crazy in his outfit, but whatever -- he was warm.

In the Clear!

Adam took Luke to his last and final doctor's appointment today. The orthopedic surgeon said that he looks great and doesn't need any physical therapy! He is walking normally, and you'd never know that anything had been wrong. We took him back to daycare this Monday, and his teachers said that he jumped right into the swing of things.

The only thing that he's been fussy about this week are the teeth he's getting on the bottom. That might explain his sudden boycott of food. He was going crazy before this! Eating everything, which was great, and a nice end to the antibiotics, which by the way, we're sooo glad to be done!

We tried to time the antibiotics when we thought he'd be sleeping (6a, 2p, 10p), but sometimes Luke would wake right up when we started them (this usually only happened to me -- Adam didn't have this problem). So, we'd put his little backpack on, and let the 36 minutes go by. If anything, he looked cute, and it didn't even seem to bother him.

Needless to say, we're so happy to have this behind us and have our little boy back to normal. Thankfully, he won't remember anything about it, and he shouldn't have any long-term problems.

Happy Halloween from Luc

Luke ... er, Luc ... dressed in his Halloween best last month. He was a Frenchman, complete with a loaf of French bread, which he kept eating and messing up his 'stache.

The Scotts came over for a Halloween cookout, and Luke and Nolan were so cute. Nolie was a Chinaman. Elaine found the costume in Chinatown in NYC.

Too bad Luke wasn't feeling great that day, but we still managed to have a fun time! Next year should be fun because they can actually trick or treat.

I think this Frenchman's had too much French bread.

On the Mend

As I'm writing this, a group of housecleaners is cleaning our house, courtesy of my best friends from college Summer and Lisa. And, earlier this week, we had dinner delivered or made for us, courtesy of coworkers Diane and Donna, Grandmother (BBQ -- a new craving!), Grammy and Grandpa, and another best girlfriend from college Mandy and her husband Ronnie. And, Suzy and Michael and Stefanie sent warm cookies (peanut butter is Luke's favorite!). When we were in the hospital, Eric and Jennie, my coworkers, and Grandad and Grandmother sent balloons, plus Adam's boss and his wife Greg and Venessa sent the biggest picnic basket of goodies. Not to mention all the visits, cards, calls, texts and emails we've received ...

Overwhelmed with support! And, it must be working! Luke's stood more times than I can count today, and he even took a little step! I think he'll be really walking by next week.

We saw his pediatrician and the orthopedic pediatric surgeon earlier this week, and both were really happy with his progress so far. Said he's looking exactly as he should. We see the infectious disease doctor next Tuesday, and that'll be the real test. Since Luke is putting weight on his leg and responding to his medication, I think she'll be happy.

So, all in all, a great start to the weekend! Thank you, everyone, for thinking of us and sending a prayer for Luke!

I'm Pregnant!

It's not all dreary news at the Scott house ...

I'm pregnant again, due June 1, 2011! I really think it's a boy because I have the EXACT same cravings as before -- chocolate chip cookies (four a day), banana/chocolate shakes, pizza and mozzarella sticks. So, if it turns out to be a girl (which would be great, too!), all of the craving theories are a crock.

So ... yay! Scott Baby #2 is on the way! We can't wait to have another baby in the house. I've always wanted a lot of laughing kids and a chaotic house. Kinda like the way I grew up ...

Home from the Hospital

Sweet Luke is all smiles in his hospital gown.

On Wednesday, October 27, the daycare called me at work to tell me that Luke was inconsolable and cried every time someone tried to touch his right leg. They said he wouldn't walk and hadn't all morning. When I brought him home, he was still inconsolable, so we headed to the doctor immediately. The doctor did routine exams, checked his ears, nose, mouth, and then asked me to place Luke in a corner and have him walk to me. I did, but Luke just stood there and cried. He wouldn't move. The doctor then decided to X-ray his leg and check his blood. He was concerned that he might have osteomyelitis, a bone infection. The reason he thought this is because Luke had a low-degree temperature (100.7) and was refusing to use his leg, which at this point was swollen and stiffening into a 90-degree angle. We went home, waiting for the results of the blood tests.

Thursday, the doctor's office called me on the way to work (Luke still wasn't walking). The blood test indicated his inflammation levels were high, and they wanted us to return for more tests. So, we did, and we waited again for those tests to return.

Friday, the doctor himself called Adam and said Luke's inflammation levels were going up, and he was concerned. He wanted us to take him to Dell Children's Hospital. At this point, Luke was unbelievably cranky, still wouldn't walk, wanted us to carry him most everywhere and wasn't sleeping. We stayed overnight with the understanding that he'd have a bone scan the next day (Saturday). They drew more blood and observed the way he played on the floor. They poked him, prodded him. The next morning, his blood tests indicated that the inflammation was going down, so they sent us home without a bone scan and with a diagnosis of toxic synovitis. They'd determined that a 24-hour stomach virus he'd had a week before had lingered in his system, landed in his knee and would run its course.

So, we went home. We gave him ibuprofen, but he didn't seem to get any better and his knee seemed to get bigger. When we saw our pediatrician again on Tuesday, November 1, he took more blood and ordered us to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. The surgeon took one look at Luke's knee and said, "I'm draining that." And, he did so right there in the room. He took a big needle, and as Adam and I held Luke down screaming, he aspirated Luke's knee. He said he could tell by the look of the fluid that it was infected. An hour later, we met him back at the hospital so he could perform surgery to drain his knee.

It took about 45 minutes, and they had to put Luke under. When he woke up ... wow. He was mad. And confused. It took him about two hours to get the anesthesia out of his system, and he was so hungry and thirsty. That first night was rough. Not only because he'd been through so much already, but the nurses came in every four hours to take vitals. And, he'd wake up each time. I don't think the three of us slept much at all.

After his knee surgery, Luke couldn't get enough apple juice. He was so thirsty.

My coworkers sent balloons, and Luke was really excited!

It was difficult to find ways to feed him in the hospital room. Seemed it was so messy! I didn't find out until the last day that they had little toddler highchairs.

Two days later Luke underwent an MRI to rule out a bone infection, and it did, thank God. It took two hours because the doctors also inserted a PICC line, which is an IV that goes from his arm to the vein above his heart. That way the doctors didn't have to continue using a regular IV which can aggravate the blood vessels and Adam and I can administer antibiotics at home. Again, he woke from the anesthesia pretty grumpy but pulled through a little more quickly and was back to himself in a few hours.

The playroom had a music lesson one afternoon, and Luke went to town on the drums and maracas.

We spent five days at the hospital, finally coming home yesterday, Saturday, November 5. The diagnosis is that he has septic knee, which is curable. The doctors are 70% sure that this is what it is -- his cultures haven't yielded any bacteria, so it's not following the typical pattern for septic knee, but they're hesitant to call it something chronic like rheumatoid arthritis. We'll visit those possibilities if he doesn't get better from the antibiotics.

For the next three weeks, Adam and I will give him two different antibiotics three times a day. So far, we've done fine. I won't lie -- I was so scared to come home and be responsible for his medication. Through an IV?! We're not nurses! But, they gave us a short training at the hospital and the home health care nurse came by yesterday to give us another overview and drop off this week's medication. He's still not walking, but he's moving around better than he has been the past two weeks. Plus he's not wincing when you touch his leg or taking anymore pain medication, which is good.

Adam gives Luke his antibiotics while he's taking a nap at home today. We're getting the hang of it.

I've learned a lot about myself this week. Mostly that I need to look at the positives about this situation rather than the negatives. It's so unbelievably hard to see your child in so much pain and unable to do anything about it. And, to see them so uncomfortable in the hospital is just as bad. But, as hard as this is for me and Adam, it's more difficult for Luke. I pray every day that these antibiotics work and he gets better. Wouldn't that be wonderful? We'll see. All we can do is remain hopeful and optimistic.

I wonder if the range of emotions I've felt is normal. I've gone from extremely sad that he's in pain, to mad that it's my kid who has to go through this, to frustrated that the doctors don't know exactly what it is, to relieved that it's not a bone infection. I'm completely exhausted, so I can imagine how Luke must feel. After all, it's happening to him, poor thing. The good thing is that we have an amazing amount of friends and family who have reached out to us. Just knowing that people are thinking about us is helpful therapy.

Right now the plan is to keep him home for the next three weeks. My work has been understanding about the situation, and my mom and Adam's mom will help, too. Operation: Get Luke Better (and Walking)!

Sweet Jaren

My best friend Kim had her baby earlier this month. Sweet Jaren is just perfect. His name is a mix of Kim's late mom Karen and Quent's late dad Jim. So, now, both kids have all of their grandparents' names mixed in somehow. That Kim ... she's clever!

I pulled these pictures off of her Facebook, and they had to include Knox because you can't leave out the cutest big brother ever!

Congrats on Jaren! I can't wait to meet him!

Pumpkin Patch

Mom and I took Luke to a pumpkin patch outside of Marble Falls. I had no idea it would be as big as it was. There were corn mazes, horse rides, scarescrow stuffing, you name it ...

Luke really liked driving the tractor, feeding the goats and petting the horses. Mom and I didn't prepare for how hot it was! Geez. It is October, after all -- why wouldn't it be 90??

Oh -- he did like to bounce his bottom on the pumpkins. No idea why, but it was fun ...

Little Drummer Boy

Luke and I visited Grammy and Grandpa the other day, and Grandpa had a gig a local restaurant in Marble Falls. Before the set, Grandpa let Luke get down on the drumset, and he's a natural! Mom and Dad say they're getting him a drumset for Christmas. Ummm. No way. Get a drumset that stays at Grammy and Grandpa's house! Now, that's a good idea.