Grammy and Pop Pop's visit

We had a great time with Grammy and Pop Pop this past week.  We went out to dinner with them, colored with them a lot, snuggled up with them on the couch and took Grammy to our new gym.  They really were a big help to mommy as she had lots of appointments to take Luke to for his condition.  We had a rough week with the HSP but the infections seem to be going down.  Luke has been to school every day this week.

Luke's hospital experience…

We had quite the ordeal on Saturday night. Luke and I had a very busy day as we went to the gym, then to a birthday party, soccer pictures and then a soccer game.  He was complaining in the morning about his feet hurting him and didn't want to wear his shoes. And then as the day went on he kept complaining that his legs were bothering him much like he did last month when I thought he was trying to get out of playing tennis.  And again,I thought he was trying to get out of playing his soccer game so I made him  push through and play.  We ended up taking him out of the game in the last quarter.  

On our way walking back to the car from the game, he was complaining and did not want to walk at all.  He took off his socks when we got to the car and we drove home and again he continued to complain about his legs hurting him and his feet.  He said his feet were itchy.  When we arrived at home, he sat on the step and wouldn't go inside the house and was screaming in pain. It was then I looked down at his feet and they were completely swollen. I knew something was wrong and I yelled to get Steve.

I took him to the closest hospital, Evergreen because he was in so much pain. He was admitted right away and the doctor told me he thought he knew what Luke had.  He said it was a classic case of HSP.  When they learned that Luke's kidneys were okay they were finally able to give him some painkillers to take care of his fever and throbbing legs. He and I stayed in the hospital overnight so they could monitor him.  They checked his blood and urine twice and in the morning he was able to walk again.  The swelling in his feet did not go away until that night.

With HSP there is not much they can do to treat it. They just need to treat the symptoms when he has them. If it gets bad enough then he can go on steroids but hopefully that won't happen.  We need to have his urine and or blood checked for the next six months to make sure his kidney and liver functions are okay.  Rarely does the disease come back and the prognosis is excellent.  They think it is caused by his antibodies trying to fight a cold or bug and it goes all wrong. His body attacks his own body body and the blood vessels explode causing the rash that he had on his legs and butt.  It causes vasculitis in his joints on his legs ankles and feet.  Which is basically arthritis.  

In some cases, the doctor told us, kids come in with some of the symptoms Amanda up having their appendix removed because their stomach hurts them so bad. Only to find out that there appendixes fine and then the rash usually appears.  Luke was complaining about stomach pain but not as much as the leg pain.

He only took one day off of school and I sent him back today. He had a hard time leaving and sheds some tears on the bus as it drove away which broke my heart. His new teacher is absolutely amazing as she emailed and called me at the end of the day. She even checked his feet to make sure they weren't swollen.  She said he was all smiles today at school and that made me happy.  I am amazed at how strong he was in the hospital and how calm he remained through the pain. He is my tough little man!   

Sydney's first day of school

Today was Sydney's first day of preschool. Her best friend Naomi and Wyatt were in class with her. They all did a really good together and Sydney did not miss me when I left.

My Sunflower Girls...

This summer we grew some sunflowers and they got absolutely huge.  I cut them so we could enjoy them and had the girls pose with them in the backyard.  I got so many cute shots of them, I couldn't decide which ones to post.

Ava's first day of Pre-K

Today was Ava's first day of pre-k. She did not blink an eye and had such a great time with her best friends Nicolas and Pea.

Luke and his buddies!

I have been so proud of Luke and how social he has been lately.  His new teacher said he was still very reserved at school but I know the "talker" is in him and once it is unleashed.... school will be a different story.  With his new friends in the neighborhood, Sammy and Danny, he is so social and just loves to see them every day!  I took this panoramic of them playing outside last week.  It didn't come out right because Luke was riding his bike so fast but I still like it!

Tennis Lessons

Luke and Ava finished up their tennis lessons a couple weeks ago.  Funny thing, I loved the class but they didn't.  They said it was too long (it was an hour.)  Coach Jessie did work them very hard but that was why I liked it!  I took my camera to the last class and I think I got better pictures of Sydney hamming it up then I did the actual tennis players!  Ha!

Bubs first day of school.

Luke was so excited to get on the bus today for his first day of first grade. The house seems empty without him already and it is only 10 AM. I can't wait to hear how his day went....

Thunderstorm art by Ava

Today was cozy because we had a rare Seattle thunderstorm. This is Ava's drawing of it....

Sydney on the bike

Sydney is doing such a good job riding her bike lately. She has been going up and down the street all on her own!

Luke's turkey bone

We tried out the relaunched Red Hook yesterday. Luke ordered his first meal that wasn't a kid meal.

The ZOO!

We had such a great time at the zoo today with the Blekens!  We ate some yummy food together,  played in the zoomazium, got to pet a bearded dragon, fed birds, saw owl skulls and felt theirs wings,  rode the carousel and got our faces painted.  We didn't even have enough time to look at more than a couple animal exhibits.  This was our first visit to the zoo this summer!

Backwards Numbers....

Ava was practicing her numbers tonight while I was making dinner and every single one of them is backwards. Auntie and (Family Dr.) Jen assure me that it is normal!  With Luke just getting a dyslexia diagnosis, I have to admit that I am a bit paranoid.

But kudos to Ava and her determination of mastering her number writing and alphabet.  She does this a good part of the day, every day.

Dog days of summer...

We are enjoying the last couple weeks of summer with friends before the kids go back to school. Good thing though because all three are looking forward to going back. :-)  I am wondering if this insanely good weather we have had this spring and summer is ever going to end.  I hope not.

The other day Ava told that she is "in love with Nicolas."  She is to the point where it doesn't even embarrass her in the least to say it.  Megan and I are completely happy about their plans to be wed in 20 years!  We call them "lobstas in love."

Our Visit to Wisconsin 2013

We visited the Boettcher clan last month, the week of the 4th of July and had a GREAT time!  It was the kids first time on a wave runner, BIG water slides and kayak.  We visited Lake Michigan and many pools/lakes.  Here are some of the outdoor fun photos.  Of course I took so many pictures, I need to break them up as different posts.

Ava and Daddy on the wave runner.

the kids collected snails at the beach.