Happy 2nd birthday my sweet Lukey

I cannot believe you are two years old. I know that once our new baby arrives you are going to just seem that much older, and it makes me a little sad. However, you are absolutely one of the coolest kids that I know! You love to talk and laugh and make other people laugh. Your facial expressions are the best (I keep saying that my first call from the principal at school will be because you’re in trouble for a face you made!). And you are very caring – not a side of you that everyone gets to see, but I definitely do.

So, for this milestone I want to remember some of your favorites...

Food: You are funny! You are getting better. For a long time you would love something one time and then refuse to try it the next time. SO frustrating to me! But I think you are starting to recognize your favorites. You love chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, fast food fries (you have been known to yell “fries” in the drive thru), and hot dogs. You also love nearly any fruit, but especially bananas and grapes (every time the fridge door opens). And you’re not too bad about your veggies. You’ll usually eat tomatoes, corn, and peas. You tried zucchini a few days ago and you often will eat carrots. Everything else is hit and miss. Yogurt is a big favorite right now too! And anything sweet seems to be enjoyed easily.

Sleep: You are pretty good about it. From about 6 months on you never needed us during the night. You were a textbook cry-it-out baby. It took two nights of crying and you were finished. Since we got rid of your pacis you’ve been a little more restless, but we’re down to about one fussing episode per night – and usually you just want a drink, or maybe even just covered back up. Maybe you just miss me? And in your crib (which I’m not planning to move you from anytime soon), you have anywhere from 4-8 stuffed puppies most nights.

Play: You are pretty good at playing on your own. You’d be good at playing with Seth if Seth would share his toys with you. We’re working on that. You seem to enjoy your play kitchen and some of the Little People toys. You love the Handy Manny tools, especially Turner and Philippe (the screwdrivers). You also love to pull a chair up to the kitchen counter and see whatever mommy or daddy are doing with food, dishes, etc. and then copy it.

Vocabulary: Hilarious! You talk non-stop, especially when you’re at home with us. I don’t think you talk as much when other people are around. Any object that can be held to your ear doubles as a phone and you have many one-sided conversations, “Hello. Yeah. Okay. Goo’bye.”

My favorite things to hear you say:

*Sure – your answer for nearly anything

*Seat down – what you say to me when you want to be held (you want us to sit down in your chair and cuddle, and who could resist that?)

*Shake your booty – I know, it’s not the nicest but when your little voice says it, I love to hear it! And I laugh. And you’ve figured out that if you are in trouble, and you say it, I might laugh instead of discipline.

*Careful Daddy – what you tell him most mornings before he leaves

*Sethers!! (well, Seffers) – you love to see your brother first thing in the morning

*Sorry - I hear it too much, I think. Tonight you apologized to the bag of trash for walking into it!

*Uuggs (hugs) - I usually hear this one at your messiest point during dinner!

*Keeses (kisses)

*Pwease

*Tanks

Facial expressions: Oh, what a mess you are!! The best kind of mess, though. Whether it’s excited or pouting, you can read it on your face. Pouting usually ends with laughing. And if you’re thinking/working hard at all, your tongue is hanging out of your mouth.

Caring: Finally, you are a sweet little boy. I worry that most people only get to see your crazy wild side. But if any of us says, “ouch” or “oops” or anything of the sort you are right there, very seriously inquiring, “’kay??” One evening I bent down to get something out of a bottom cabinet and you apparently thought I had hurt myself. You came over, rubbed my back, got right up in my face, and said, “’kay Mommy?” I loved that you wanted to take care of me like I want to take care of you. And today you just came running from the other room, got up in the chair next to me and yelled, "miss you!"

I know that you have to get older and that it’s just part of life, but I do wish I could bottle up the cutest, sweetest things about you and make sure those stick around. But instead, I will just spend this time taking you all in and trying to remember the most wonderful things about this age in your life. Happy two my little guy!!

Recapping Luke's birth on the eve of his 2nd birthday...

The story of Luke’s birth is a much shorter story than Seth’s. We were told to be at the hospital at 10AM. We arrived a little late (shocking, I know, but Dave pointed out they couldn’t do much without us!). And he was born via c-section at 12:36PM.

Of course, there was a little more to it than that. Having had a c-section with Seth, we got to choose whether we had another c-section or tried for a “normal” birth again. I know that many people are opposed to opting for a repeat c-section and I know that many people have non-surgical deliveries following a c-section. I also know that there is a very tiny risk of the mom rupturing during labor following a c-section and that the results can be catastrophic. So, couple the thought of being in labor forever and then having another c-section anyway with the thought of worrying about the risks, and another c-section seemed like a good idea to both David and myself.

The day before was really hard. Knowing that I would have a baby the next day sent me into some sort of cleaning frenzy. I wanted everything to be just perfect, as if Luke would care. And I had a 22 month old who had decided that sleeping alone in his room was overrated. So, Dave spent a lot of the night in Seth’s room after he went to bed, leaving me alone and probably more neurotic than I needed to be!

The morning of February 18^th, 2008 finally arrived. I wasn't allowed to eat because of the scheduled surgery. We took Seth to my sister’s house to spend the day. That might have been the most difficult drop off ever! And off we went to the hospital to meet our new little guy.

I remember waiting briefly in the waiting area and then being ushered back to put on the beautiful gown, and wondering why I bothered to get dressed up for the day. They started all the pre-op fun, labs and IV’s, etc. at a leisurely pace. Then they put the monitor on Luke and his heart rate was either too high or too low (high, I think) and they started rushing the prep in case he needed to be delivered sooner. Never a dull moment with Luke!!

Then the worst part – you get to walk yourself back to the operating room. AND they take your husband away, temporarily, to get him dressed up like the Michelin man in his pretty, blue, sterile outfit. But I like my doctor a lot and our anesthesiologist was wonderful so we all hung out chatting and Dave joined us shortly and then the c-section got under way. Pretty soon we were admiring our little guy, who was a whole pound lighter than Seth. I couldn’t believe this tiny (? 8lbs, 2 oz) person came out of me!

Then the doctors and nurses started a discussion that my medically queasy-stomached husband didn’t appreciate so much. He had to put Luke back in the bassinet and he started looking very pale. All I knew was that if he knocked the minutes-old baby on the floor I was going to be VERY unhappy. So, they took him out of the OR to get a drink. And then my petite and pregnant doctor realized we were stuck as everyone had left her and I in the room and she couldn’t lift me from one cart to the other to go back to the room. Pretty funny now!

Unfortunately the drugs make me very sick and after a little while I started throwing up and that lasted until 8 or so that night. It took two kinds of meds and a wonderful nurse to get me under control. But I think I only used the morphine drip once (learned from the my experience with Seth) and once I wasn’t getting sick anymore I could have oral meds which make me much less loopy! I have heard about a fabulous new option for pain management and I just have to find out if my doctor uses it (she’s on maternity leave now and no one could answer the question at my last appointment, but she should be back in plenty of time for the next c-section!).

So, that's the story of how we met our little Lukey!

Allergy humor (a few days after the fact)

So, about a week ago Luke was not feeling well - coughing, sneezing, runny nose. Plus, he had chewed through his last paci, rendering it completely unsafe and causing me to cut the tip off (which, of course, perplexed the little guy but made him "choose" to give it up). Suffice it to say, no one was sleeping at night and Luke's daytime 'whine factor' was OFF the chart. So, I called the doctor and made an appointment. Since the story wanders from here, I'll tell you now, he just had a cold, our pediatrician suggested a couple of over the counter meds to help him rest better and all is well.

However, once we checked in they needed to copy my ID and my insurance card (first visit of 2010, of course). They gave both back and I walked to my chair and sat down. Luke went to play with random waiting room toys. I looked away long enough to put the cards in my wallet and the wallet in my backpack. I looked back to check on Luke and he had a pencil box, which he had opened, and inside the pencil box were peanuts, in the shell. Aarrgghhh!!!! I jumped up, ran over, tried to (somewhat) politely find their rightful owner, but no one was 'fessing up. Perhaps my little "honey, you can't have those, you're allergic!!" frightened the rightful owner?? Anyway, I baby-wiped his hands and face down and he was just fine but oh, the irony, that our closest call to an allergic reaction was IN the pediatrician's office. HA!! (Funny now. Now that my heartrate has gone back to normal.)

And the second story, I would probably have to blame myself. WHAT?? I have a weakness for chocolate. So, I'm no saint. I have a secret stash. That said, Friday morning played out something like this: Seth slept in. Really slept in. Dave thought this was cute. I thought this could not be a good sign. I finally woke him. He said he didn't feel so good. He walked to my bed and got up in it and laid back down. Luke and I had been waiting on him to eat breakfast so Luke and I went downstairs to fix breakfast. I threw some frozen french toast sticks in the oven. They were nearly done when I yelled up to Seth and asked him if he was coming downstairs. His response? "I don't feel so good and I just got sick in your bed." So, I ran up the stairs to check on him. Stripped the sheets off my bed to throw in the washer, scooped him up as he wouldn't walk down the stairs. I could hear the timer going off on the oven, etc. so I hurried downstairs. I walked Seth over to the couch to lay him down and looked into the kitchen. Luke had long ago undressed himself - he can get out of a zip up sleeper like nobody's business! He, clad only in a diaper, had pulled a chair up to the counter and was furiously eating these:

Chocolate drool was everywhere and he was thrilled as could be. Who doesn't like dark chocolate for breakfast? Especially dark chocolate complete with a "may contain coconut and almonds" warning! He stayed undressed for awhile so I could keep an eye on him. He got one hive and never had any other issues. Schwoo. I just kept thinking, who can get here quickly and doesn't mind a puking child if I have to take Luke to the ER?

As for Seth, this is how he spent most of his day. I knew he was miserable when he slept through Chuggington, Disney's latest train show and his current obsession. Even while Luke screamed "Chuggggginnnngtonnnnnnn." Thankfully, he only got sick a few times and by 7PM he was begging for food, telling me what a mean mom I am as I would only let him have toast and gatorade all night.

5 month update

How far along: 23 weeks

Clothes: maternity clothes all the time (w/the exception of jammies and a couple of hoodies)

Weight gain: plenty

Baby movement: yes, but mostly early in the morning (we are not morning people; I'm scared that I am, however, breeding a morning person)

What I miss: peanut butter and vanilla diet coke; neither one really mandated as a "do not do" from the doctor, but self-restricted. PB because with an allergic child I've read a lot about not eating it while pregnant with subsequent children. Diet coke because I'm just not a big fan of the sweeteners. But I did break down yesterday and have my first one in 5 months and it was SUPERB!!

What I love: feeling the baby move; Seth talking about the new baby and wanting to know if he's kicking so Seth can feel him (he has not felt him yet)

To do list: find a bed for Luke so the baby can have his bed; work on a shopping list of things we need for the baby; name this little boy!!

p.s. - no comments about my ginormousness (sp? word?)