Wednesday, December 17, 2008

I'm Two!!

Hello again from the big 2-year-old. I am proud to announce that I have successfully made it another year. Each birthday is a blessing and I have not been sick except for a couple runny noses this year. I guess we are doing something right. When Mommy and Daddy see that I may have some sinus congestion or runny nose they just up my treatments to three times a day and I usually make it without "the bug" making it to my lungs!
As for my birthday, Mommy and I spent the day eating all of my favorite foods and going about our normal routine. Daddy had to work because he took some time off to be with Mommy and me the week before. Here I am enjoying my first yummy food of the day, CINNAMON ROLLS!!For lunch, Mommy and I stopped by and picked up some McDonalds. I had a cheeseburger and fries!!After a well deserved nap, Daddy got home and we proceeded to CHUCK E CHEESE!! Here I am taking a little ride with my pal Chuck. We had a marvelous time.I took a ride with these funny looking Teletubbies. At least that's what my Mom said they were. I have no clue, I only watch Spongebob.I took a little ride down the slide and then Dad made me go jet skiing. It was very bumpy and I could not finish the ride.Ahhh, my favorite game of the night was skee ball. My parents love it too and we ended up playing this game several times.Dad and I took a ride in a semi cross country, a little boring if you ask me. And of course, we could not leave without a ride with Barney. P.S. My Mom despises him.Then my Mom found a very cool game. SPONGEBOB!!! I won tons of tickets playing this game because it only requires you hitting one button and whatever number you land on is the number of tickets you win.Then to my other favorite part, the pizza. I think I ate two or three pieces. I was very hungry.Before we left we got a visit from Mr. Chuck e Cheese himself. He sang a little song for me and then it was off to pick my prize and go home for presents and brownies. Daddy picked a very cool nerf ball for me and cotton candy for Mommy.At home I got to open my presents and play with everything for a while. Mommy and Daddy put together my play kitchen. Here it is when they finally finished putting it together. I also enjoyed my answering machine. Mommy and Daddy leave me messages and then I play them all day long. Thanks Jason and Jess for the great idea.Mommy made fudge brownies for me as I do not enjoy cake and ice cream.The next day I got to play with my new Aquadoodle. Mommy loves the fact I can carry around the "marker" and only get water on things.School is still going well and I have learned the sign for please. Now we are trying to put more than one sign together. I also have a new infatuation with the commercials for the Chia Pet and the Clapper. Don't ask, I have no idea. We will be traveling to Iowa for Christmas and will hopefully have good weather for the big trip. And now an update from Mommy.
Thanks Luke. I have finally regained my full strength and have made it back to work. We got a call from my doctor saying the baby was normal, meaning no genetic defects. They have no reason as to why the baby's heartbeat stopped. We were also told it was a boy. I was sad because I really wanted Luke to have a brother, but who knows, maybe someday he will. I hope this update finds you in good health and happiness. Jake and I are ready to leave 2008 behind. We are really striving to move back to Iowa and leave everything behind. We are literally wanting to sell most of our belongings and start over in Iowa. We feel a fresh start is what we need. Next time we write will probably be in the new year. Hooray for 2009!!

Take care,

Jake, Amber and Luke William

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

A Note From Mommy

To all of Luke's faithful readers. We received some very tough news last Tuesday. At Mommy's routine OB visit we found out the baby no longer had a heart beat. We were very shocked and heart broken. Dr. Miller estimated we lost the baby around 10 weeks.
On Thursday I went to the hospital for a dilation and curettage. I had general anesthesia and was in recovery for a few hours. I lost 3 pints of blood so they were not sure I would be able to go home. Fortunately I was able to stand by myself without getting dizzy. I have felt very sluggish for the last 5 days but my strength is slowly coming back along with my blood supply.
I do not know what the future holds for us but Jake and I have a lot of decisions to make. We have tried so hard to do the right thing and give our future children the best shot at life without CF. We have decided not to do any further invitro procedures as this has become very costly and let's just face it, not fun for me. I guess God is telling us we were not destined to have a child this way.
I will see Dr. Miller on the 19th for a check-up. Hopefully she will be able to tell us what happened. They did send a tissue sample from the placenta for analysis. An autopsy was not possible because the baby was too small. We will keep everyone posted.
On a happier note, Luke turns 2 tomorrow! We are looking forward to a day of fun and fattening food. I am leaving you with a picture of Luke to brighten this letter up.

Amber and family

Friday, December 5, 2008

Happy Turkey Day

Hello everyone. Thanksgiving means a trip to Iowa for our family. It was a long drive, but we arrived safely Wednesday night. I was a bit tired when we got there and may have been a little crabby, sorry about that grandma & grandpa. The next day we had lunch with Grandpa Bob and Grandma Kris and then had dinner with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Ann. Uncle Jason was home for the weekend from Cedar Rapids and Uncle Josh & Aunt Maria flew in from Philadelphia. It was a long day and we stuffed ourselves full of food and family.

On Friday we took a trip to Cedar Rapids to see Jason, Jessica, and their new baby Kenley. She is so small and cute. Here are a few pics from our visit.

Later that night we went to visit grandpa Larson out at Eden Valley. We had dinner and Daddy and I hung out by the campfire for a little bit.

Saturday was Daddy's B-day so he celebrated by cutting firewood with grandpa while mommy and I went to visit my great-grandma Dorothy.

The rest of the time we just split our time hanging out at the two grandparent households in Maquoketa. Here's a pic of me sitting on grandma's lap and looking at myself on the computer. Grandma's screen saver plays pictures of me and I could stare at it forever. I think I may be a tad bit narcissistic. Wow, say narcissistic 5 times fast!!

Mom and Dad also bought blocks for me while we were in Iowa. Uncle Josh helped me build big stacks and then knock them over.

Lastly I wanted to update everyone on my schooling. I am not talking just yet, but I am using sign language for "more", "eat", and "all done". Yesterday was also a big day because I learned how to wave goodbye at school. The teacher was putting a toy away and she waved bye to it so I just copied her and everyone started clapping and smiling so I'll have to keep waving at everyone I can. Take care everyone.

Luke

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Happy Halloween 2008

Hello everyone. I have been a very busy boy so let's get down to business.
First of all, I saw my Doctors at U of M at the beginning of October. I weighed in at 25lbs and 6oz and was 331/4 inches. They are extremely happy with my overall health and weight. No new treatments added at this time but they are talking about starting another nebulized medication called hypertonic saline. This medication will provide me with salt to the lungs as well as thinning my secretions. My doctor suggested that I become part of a clinical trial with this medication as they are just starting to give this to younger kids. Mommy and Daddy said they will think it over.
We went to Wiards on October 12th to pick our pumpkins. It was over 80 degrees on this day so we had to pick fast and then go cool off. Here I am scoping out the pumpkins and hay.Next we went on a hayride through the spooky forest. I had such a good time, I cried when we had to get off the tractor.Then we walked over to the pumpkin patch and picked pumpkins. Of course the day wouldn't be complete without homemade doughnuts from the country store.I have been sporting my leather coat lately. Mommy and Daddy think I look especially handsome in it and I have received many compliments from complete strangers.Mommy and Daddy worked really hard one Sunday evening carving our pumpkins. Here I am with my happy pumpkin. I had to look inside to make sure they did a good job cleaning it out.My newest and most greatest news is that I have started school. I still haven't formed any words yet so my pediatrician suggested that I get some speech therapy. I have been acccepted to Monroe County Intermediate School. I will go every Thursday morning and have speech therapy with Nikki. Mommy gets to come too!! Then as a bonus I will get to play with 8 other 2-year-old boys from 9:30 until 11:00. We have music, art and snacks. Here I am getting ready for my first visit to the school.Last but not least, I went trick or treating on October 24th. Milan downtown businesses have their own trick or treating every year. This year I dressed up as a dinosaur. I had so much fun and got lots of candy. Later that night Daddy gave me my first candy bar and I devoured it.Mommy has been very tired and a little nauseous this time around. We heard and saw the baby's heartbeat 2 weeks ago. Everything looks good and Mommy will have her baby next June. I can't wait to have a new brother or sister.
Love and hugs to all,
Luke William

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

A visit from a Viking and a stork

Hello everyone. Time for another quick update. Grandpa Larson came to visit with us and stayed for two weeks to help take care of me while Mom and Dad went through another attempt at in-vitro fertilization. I can't keep a secret so let me start off by saying I'm going to be a big brother!!! We found out today that Mommy is pregnant so the in-vitro procedure worked. I'm going to be the best big brother in the history of big brothers.

We had a busy two weeks while Grandpa was here. A major yard work project was completed to clean up an ugly part of the backyard, the new laundry room closet was painted, and floor tiles were placed in the laundry room. Of course we made sure to get a lot of play time in between working too. All the dirt hauling meant multiple lawn mower rides for me!!

The day after Grandpa arrived our new pool table was delivered. It is called Genesis and is made by Brunswick. Daddy thinks it is his pool table but it's really mine.

Grandpa also arrived just in time for the start of football season...I mean real football, as in the NFL, not that college stuff. Daddy has decided it may be a good idea to not watch Michigan football this year. Here's me making a face at the ref for screwing up another call against the Vikings.

We discovered that I am a really good dice player too. When I was on Mommy's team we won so Daddy took me from her for the next game and he won!! I like throwing the dice and watching them bounce and roll around the table.

Grandpa did my treatments quite a bit while he was visiting and he even taught me to hold my own nebulizer.

The most important thing that happened while grandpa was here was a complete surprise. While picking up some supplies at the man store (Lowe's) one day we came across a swing. Daddy had looked for a swing at 5 different stores but we never found one. We snatched it up and took it home and hung it under the deck. Now I can swing every day, I don't have to go all the way to the park.

When Daddy came home from work today there was a big package on the porch for me. He bought a big Tonka truck for me to play with outside. It is so big that I can fit in the back. Daddy thinks it is really cool.

That's all for now. If you want to see me doing a little dancing check out this video that Daddy uploaded to youtube. I hope everyone is doing well out there. Bye-bye.

PS: Congrats to Eric and Erin Peterson on the birth of their second child, Caleb David, I can't wait to meet him. It was really interesting for Mom and Dad because they said that could have been my name. I was either going to be Caleb David or Luke William. Daddy chose Luke right when he saw me for the first time.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Labor Day 2008

Greetings again from Michigan. I thought I should jump on and tell everyone about my trip to Iowa over Labor Day weekend. What a fun time we had! I spent some time at Fifth Ward Park with Mom, Dad, Grandpa Bill, Grandma Ann and Grandma Kris. We had fun on the slides.Here I am walking across the bridge. I did this several times just to prove I could do it on my own. We also spent lots of time on the swings of course. Here I am swinging with Grandpa Bill.Here I am with Dad.And of course Mom had to take a turn.Then we went on the teeter totter. Grandpa Bill was on the other end. Then Daddy let me do it all by myself.We spent the weekend at Grandma Kris and Grandpa Bob's house. They have a dog that sings and dances when you push it's paw. I think I wore the dog out along with everyone else because they had to dance too.It sure was a hot weekend so Grandpa Bob filled up the pool so we could cool down. I had a fun time playing with my cups. It's so much fun to fill them up and pour the water down my belly.Great Grandma Dorothy stopped by for a visit too!! It's so much fun to see her and show her how much I've grown.I also spent a whole afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa Otteman without Mommy and Daddy. They took me to Little Bear Park and to visit more friends and relatives. It was a nice break for Mommy and Daddy but I sure did miss them.We also got to see my Godmother Jessica and her growing tummy. Mom tells me there is a baby in there and we will get to meet the baby at Thanksgiving. It was only right to buy the baby it's own baby grand piano just like the one I have and still enjoy!!Well, Grandpa Larson has been staying with us for the last 2 weeks so I will be sure to post all my adventures from his visit. Stay tuned.
Love,
Luke William