Paging Dr. Sherlock Holmes.

Heartbreaking.

Since mid-April, Luke has been battling sudden, random bouts of illness. It always comes on in the morning and it's been happening every couple of weeks or so. The "episodes" usually last anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours and involve him vomiting up everything he's eaten for the past 2 weeks (not really- just seems like that much.) We're in constant contact with our pediatrician, Dr. Bravo, as well as Neurosurgery up at Stanford. Neurosurgery does not think it's shunt related (he's had a CT scan that came back normal) so we're moving on to examining his G.I. system. Luke is scheduled to have upper G.I. and small bowel series of xrays on Thursday morning.

We've examined his diet (food allergy?) and he's on a regular dose of Miralax to keep him going the bathroom (we thought it might be due to constipation) but nothing is proving constant. The only thing that is constant is that it happens in the morning, as I said, and that it's occurring every couple of weeks on average. That part is so odd.

The scariest thing is how sudden it comes on, how sick Luke is (he just throws up, cries and only wants Matt or I) and then as quickly as it comes on, he's fine. The last time was on Sunday (see above picture) but the time before that was July 3rd. He was throwing up every 15 minutes for an hour in the late morning but was starving and back to his happy, normal self by lunch time.

Blessedly, my good friend Christina was here for one of the episodes. She was able to drive Luke and I to Dr. Bravo so he could examine Luke mid-episode. At the time he thought it was constipation-related (he pressed on Luke's stomach and he almost immediately vomited) but he felt he definitely wasn't having a seizure (a very real possibility) so that's good news. The Neurosurgery nurse practitioner at Stanford said that examination was key because Dr. Bravo has now seen for himself what we're dealing with when this does occur. It's not just mom being over-dramatic!

We're still not entirely convinced it's not shunt related. My gut feeling is that it has to do with the tubing that is in his stomach. It may not be effecting his brain but the tubing may be interfering with other organs down there. That tubing was put in when Luke was 1 month old and I have to imagine that a lot can change in his system with growth. And since he has extra tubing in him for growth purposes, the possibility of it moving and disrupting other parts of his system has to be high. But I'm not a doctor so all we have is our knowledge of Luke, my relentless note-taking (it involves spreadsheets, charts and graphs- very impressive) and my ability to call and call and call until something gets resolved.

That's where we are with him medically at this time. Hopefully we can get this all resolved before we start our eye doctor appointments next month and September (surgery is a very real possibility) and our trip to LA in the fall (hopefully) to finally meet with Dr. Sanger, the movement disorder specialist.

Please keep our little Linda Blair (I can't remember what her character's name was in "The Exorcist"- you get the idea) in your thoughts and prayers. Until then, I'll be covering our house in plastic and buying lots of extra laundry detergent...

It Is Definitely Summer.

Because Luke is sporting major tan lines from his glasses. Specifically, a brown little nose.

Luke loves to "bow bubbles" and "kick kick kick!" in the pool.

4th of July '09

The Henard family spent a quiet weekend at home in celebration of the 4th. Grandma Carole and Grandpa John came to visit and we just swam, hung out and ate.

Cheers to a morning hangout on the front porch. Jammies and coffee required.

Showing off a little chest for the ladies.

The boys by the pool.

If you don't watch him like a hawk, he WILL scoot to the side of the pool and "1,2,3!" in. Good thing we're taking swim lessons.

Sweet sunscreen-covered cheeks.

Not super excited about getting out. Grandma is attempting to distract with loves.

We grilled steak for dinner. Luke preferred the beans.

Luke and Daddy with their matching goatees.

Nothing like ice-cold watermelon on sore gums (the bottom molar on his left is coming in right now).

Our little Drama King.

We watched fireworks on TV but I think next year we will have to go see them in person. Luke loves flashing lights and loud, surprising noises so I definitely think he'll be old enough and will enjoy them.

The Apple's Proximity to the Tree.

If there is ever any question that this child is mine, let me enter this picture as Exhibit A:

Baby's First Clorox Wipe.

I was cleaning the kitchen the other day and Luke BEGGED to help mommy clean. Please notice the giant smile on his face while cleaning. My heart is so full of pride right now!

The Fruits of YOUR Labor.

Last Saturday, Luke, Matt and I headed over to the San Luis Obispo Children's Museum to redeem the passes Luke won from the "Cutest Cupid" radio contest. Not a bad prize for second place (although we all know he should have come in first... :P) We held off using them until close to the expiration date (only good until the end of June) so Luke would enjoy the experience more by being a bit older.

I am glad we waited but there still wasn't too much there that peeked his interest. He is such a social kid but his vision is just so bad that most objects aren't very exciting to him. He rather spend the day talking your ear off or playing his favorite game- "Copy Every Noise/Facial Expression/Movement that Luke Makes!"- then anything else so our time in the museum was a short 40 minutes. But I have to say- "regular" kids probably wouldn't spend much more time there. Our museum is new, small and slightly lacking.

Anything with a steering wheel was a big hit. Luke loves to spin the wheel. The fireman hat he could do without.

I think Daddy was more interested in this police motorcycle. Luke is wondering where the steering wheel is.


Keeping the mean streets of SLO safe.

This real cash register was a huge hit. It made all the right noises and Luke loved pressing all the buttons. Luke is quite the accomplished button-pusher.

A fake trolley. This was a perfect wheel for Luke because "Luke do" all by himself (no parental lap needed.)

Daddy playing the happy passenger.

This was hard to maneuver with one hand but Luke gave it a shot. He was move interested in sliding himself down the stairs he's sitting on.

The TWO Cutest Cupids.

This was a hard picture to get. It's a giant fake train in a really small area (that's basically the entire 3rd floor of the 3 story building.) You can see Matt hanging out the back and he's holding Luke.

Thank you to everyone who helped us in the contest and worked hard to make Luke come in second. These museum passes weren't cheap so we appreciate getting to experience it for free. We entered the contest more for bragging rights and for Luke to solidify his position as a local celebrity. Considering I still have strangers recognize him from the contest- mission accomplished!

May Days.

I can hardly believe that it's almost JULY and I'm just getting pictures up from May! Where does the time go? Luke is busy. busy, busy (he's calling for my attention at this very moment) so my time is all about him. I love that that is so "typical" of this age and we have had very few "typical" times with Luke. Therefore, I'm having a serious love/hate relationship with the infamous "Terrible Twos."

So here's middle to the end of May in a nutshell. I've taken very few pictures since then (Luke has become very aware of the camera so every picture is starting to look the same!) but I'm hoping that getting caught up will inspire me again. Very going to need to get some new videos on here as well. Luke attempting to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (aka "Itsy Bitsy Diaper") is priceless.

But until then- May 16-31, 2009:

Some of my Kappa Alpha Theta sisters came on May 16th to celebrate our sorority being on the Cal Poly campus for 20 years. It was an incredibly fun weekend, kicked off by a brunch at the sorority house- I even gave a speech! These are the times that it's great living in SLO and so close to campus- it gave us a nice home base to hang out and reconnect versus sitting in hotel rooms. All and all it was an amazing weekend and Luke LOVED having the ladies around to do his bidding.

Ann and Luke. Ann was one of my roommates in college and was in our wedding. It was great to see her but we want to see her little girls (Susie and Claire!) soon too!

Luke and Melissa. Luke bossed Melissa around for hours and was in love by the end of her visit. Gotta love a woman who does exactly what you say.


Melissa's fiance better watch out.


4 1/2 Thetas- Melissa, Mommy, Nicole (due the end of July with a little girl!), Marissa and Jennifer.


Luke's class took a field trip to the dairy one Friday. We got to mingle with the baby cows but Luke is just NOT a fan of farm animals. But that didn't stop me from introducing him to a baby cow and inadvertently allowing the calf to use him as a salt lick.

"All done baby cow. All done baby cow"


Memorial Day weekend my brother Chris and his girlfriend, Gina, came to town. We enjoyed hanging out with them and Luke was a-okay with some novel attention.

Luke and Uncle Chris.


Working his magic on Gina.


Matt, Luke and I went on a little beach walk in Morro Day on Memorial Day. The weather was beautiful and Luke was in fine spirits.

Daddy and Luke.



Mommy and Luke.

Our little barnacle.

This is what I mean by saying that Luke is aware of the camera. I have about 1000 pictures of him with this cheesy grin. "CHEEESSSEEE!"



The last weekend in May, I headed up to the Bay Area to celebrate Luke's soon-to-be Aunt Sarah (my brother Brad's fiance) at a bridal shower. Luke stayed home in SLO with Daddy but I couldn't resist posting a few pictures of my solo trip.


Mommy, Grandma Stephanie, Aunt Sarah and Grandma Carole.


On our way home from the shower (it was in the East Bay) we swung by the Werner home in Pleasanton to meet baby Blake. It seems like just yesterday that Luke was rubbing Heidi's swollen belly but no more! Blake Matthew was born May 19th and is just sweet as can be. Matt and Heidi did a fine job!


Matt, Heidi & Blake Werner.


No matter how hard I try- Luke WILL NOT let me hold him like this anymore. Thanks for letting me borrow Blake, Heidi!

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and I promise to get back on the saddle with posting. Luke is not a fan of my computer time (he literally turned the computer off on me while I was typing this!) but I know there are a few disappointed grandparents out there who would like more regular updates so I will try!

With Good Reason.

It just occurred to me that it's been almost a month since I've posted anything- bad mommy. But I feel I have good reason. We've been exceedingly busy. Check out this brief video:


So between the now RAPID forward movement and the desire to be UPRIGHT whenever possible- our life has been taken over by a very, very demanding little boy. We have the typical 2 year old behavior (he asks once and then melts down when we decline his request ) mixed with Luke's militant orders. Here's a typical daily occurrence:

Mom sits down at the computer to do a blog post. Luke quickly scoots in the office.

Luke: "Mommy doot-ing?" (doing)

Mom: "Mommy is going to work on the computer"

Luke: "Pick up PLEASE."

Mom: "Not right now, Luke."

Luke: "Mommy check email PLEASE."

Mom: "In a little bit."

Luke: "Sit down lap PLEASE."

This type of dialog continues for a couple of minutes until Luke doesn't get his way and proceeds to have a complete crying meltdown. Therefore my computer time during the day is highly limited.

This also happens when I'm on the phone.

Needless to say, I'm posting this at midnight because our little angel is in bed. I promise to soon post lots of cute pictures from last month but until then a parting picture:

Pudding anyone?

And a little celebration- LUKE IS PULLING HIMSELF UP TO STAND ALL BY HIMSELF!!! WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR HIM AND HE CAN'T BE MORE PROUD OF HIMSELF!! He did it for the first time on May 15th and we're just so happy that he finally hit that huge milestone. We didn't get it on video (he was very sneaky about it- Matt looked over and there he stood at the coffee table!) but the video is an accurate re-creation of the moment. I'm willing to guess he was going for the remote control then too...