Health Watch

Lucas' 4-year checkup was yesterday. I had been looking forward to this appointment for weeks, ever since I finally decided to switch pediatricians to a highly recommended practice in the area. I had been very satisfied with the doctors at our previous pediatric office, but it was the staff that were constantly infuriating me. It was common practice for the advice nurse to not call back, the front desk receptionist was rude 85% of the time, well checks had to be scheduled 6-8 weeks in advance, rarely could a sick child be seen outside of their "sick clinic" hours, and I won't even get into the details of the billing debacle that I encountered when their billing agents NEVER returned my calls. This new office had been recommended to me by three different people. It took a lot of effort and phone calls to find out if this new office was covered under our insurance. Literally, the minute I found out that my insurance covered their office, I called to schedule a well check for Lucas. The receptionist was so friendly AND they could have fit me in for an appointment that same week! I was sold! So you can see why I was excited about this appointment. I arrived early to fill out the paperwork and got into the PRELIM room with the nurse within 10 minutes of turning my paperwork in. The nurse was patient and attentive and even didn't seem to mind Eli screaming in the room while she was administering the vision test. Then it was time to see the doctor. We were guided into this tiny exam room (almost too small to fit the stroller) where we proceeded to wait for OVER ONE HOUR to see the doctor. When he finally came in to examine Lucas... he spent all of 10 minutes with us. I had no time to talk to him about Lucas' history with being underweight or my questions about why Lucas is tired all the time. I just feel so cheated! What happened to this great doctor who spends a lot of time with his patients, who doesn't make you feel rushed, who I was supposed to feel like I could rely on to be there for my kids?? I left there longing for our old practice... and the doctor who not only took the time to talk to me about the child she was examining, but also did a check of my other kids who were exhibiting signs of infections. Jason has convinced me to give them another chance, which may come soon if Eli doesn't stop coughing and choking.

So, now that I'm done with my rant... let me focus on Lucas' exam. His weight is 31 lbs (10th %ile) and his height is 39 1/4 in (25th %ile). This is the same boy who caused his parents to nearly do a jig when at his 3 year checkup, his percentiles for both height and weight were in the 50s! We/he has had such a struggle with weight issues for nearly all of his young life (for those of you who don't know he lost weight between his six month and four month checkup and has stayed at the less than 5th % until he turned 18 months when he jumped up to the 7th %ile and he has been slowly climbing the curves ever since). Well, he's back down and again.. I don't understand how he could have gone from 50th %ile to 10th %ile in one year! Believe it or not... this wasn't even the most disturbing piece of information. The doctor has referred Lucas to an audiologist based on Lucas' hearing acuity test. His left ear was within normal range for frequencies above 500 Hz, once the frequency was 500 Hz - 250 Hz, his hearing was in the "Mild hearing loss" range. This wouldn't have been so disconcerting, except for the fact that his right ear was in the "Mild hearing loss" range for frequencies 4000 Hz - 250 Hz and in the "Moderate hearing loss" range at 8000 Hz. According to this website (Hearing Testing), Normal hearing is less than 25 db HL, Mild hearing loss is 25-40 db HL, and Moderate hearing loss is 41-65 dB HL. D eep down this doesn't surprise me, as I've noticed on occasion that when I whisper in his ear, he'll respond with a loud "what?" (but I've usually just explained it away as his typical ignoring me behavior). I'll update as I know more... I still need to make the appointment with the audiologist.

Clara now has glasses. She is doing really great with them. She is funny... constantly comparing the "before" and "after" how she sees things. Her description is that things are now darker and bigger so that they are easier to see. The glasses themselves, she picked out all by herself. I offered suggestions on different frames, but she settled on these, which was great. I find that even though she's only had the glasses for two days, she looks more complete with them than without them. They really fit her perfectly.

April Nears Its End

This past week was maybe the craziest, busiest week I've experienced yet. Between activities, meetings, playdates, routine shopping and home maintenance... I didn't have many spare minutes at all, which can be easily seen by the state of my house.

The worst part of my week occurred on Tuesday, which should have been my "lazy laundry" day. I had just put in my first load of clothes into the washing machine and headed upstairs to fix breakfast. A bit later when I headed downstairs to get a few preparations for lunch, I was shocked to encounter at least a 1/4 inch of water covering the basement floor!! Our washing machine drains to an adjacent utility sink, which apparently had been plugged up with some paper towels (left over from a leaky water heater drain valve). So the sink was overflowing and water was everywhere. Anybody who knows me knows that I go into complete panic mode when met with situations such as this. So here I am after I catch my breath trying the first thing that comes to mind... the mop! Trying to soak up the water with a little mop wasn't really doing anything... so the next brilliant idea I had was to just throw all my dirty laundry down on the floor to help soak up the water which didn't help much either... there was just so much water! Finally, after I calmed down slightly, I started thinking a little more clearly and grabbed the shop-vac, which worked amazingly! I filled that little shop-vac three times with water from the floor... what a mess! Our rugs, which were completely saturated are still out on the deck to dry. You know... they might actually be dry by now. What I forgot to mention is that this occurred while Jason was out of town on business travel. He had to go to Huntsville, Alabama for an overnight trip... so he got to hear about all this over the phone. It was a complete nightmare for me.

Thursday was "Take Your Child to Work" day and Clara had been so excited about going to work with her daddy for weeks... ever since we first found out about it. I could go on and on about how jealous I am that my 6-year old daughter got to see where Jason works and it's questionable if I ever will! But I'm above all that... I'm just glad that Clara got a chance to enjoy being the special child for the day. Of course nothing comes without a price and for poor Clara, her price was that this also was picture day at school (individual and class) and I didn't want her to miss being a part of the class picture. So, unfortunately, I had to come and take her from Jason's work and take her to school. She was miserable. She cried the entire drive to school and I'm going to pay, of course, when her pictures come back displaying her red swollen eyes and upside down smile, I'm going to wonder if it was worth it in the end. The silver lining is that she can go again next year to "Take Your Child to Work" day, but this was her only opportunity to be in a 1st grade class photo. At least that's how I'm rationalizing it to myself.

Saturday was just hit after hit of activities and to top it off, it was one of the hottest days of the year so far at 87 degrees. We started off the morning with dance for Clara and Lucas and then immediately headed out for Clara's soccer game. She played so good considering the heat. Last season when it was so hot, she'd slow down and be useless to her teammates, but yesterday, she stayed right in there... and I knew it took a lot for her to do that... it was miserable for us and we were just sitting on the sidelines! We left the game and came home with just enough time to wipe the sweat off the kids with a cold washcloth and getting them dressed before heading out for Lucas' Accotink Academy recital. I was really excited for this recital and he looked so cute. And then... the boy didn't sing at all... he didn't even open his mouth (well, unless you count the time I caught him licking his arm!!). I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he did tell Jason the night before that he wasn't going to sing... but I really thought that once the music started and the other kids were all singing, it would be contagious and he would join in... nope! For the most part, he just stood there with his typical serious expression, occasionally lifting his shirt to off his belly. Oh... and the dance was even better!! The music started and his class came out saluting and marching to "You're A Grand Ole Flag"... and then just kept marching around and around and around the stage for the entire song. That was not the plan! I felt so disappointed... not because I didn't get to see his dance... I felt so disappointed for him!! Here he's been practicing for this for weeks and I'm sure that had the "line leader" stopped where he was supposed to, all the kids would have turned and performed as practiced, but they are all told to follow the person in front of them... so in doing what they are told, they all missed out... ironic? We took video and will post it on YouTube soon so you all can see for yourselves and have a bit of a laugh.

Today was Lucas' 4th birthday. He had a very nice, very relaxing day! I made him a cake and decorated it like a big digging site, he so loves the "big diggers". We barbecued and ate out on the screened-in porch, then had the cake and ice cream. His presents were a Color Wonder kit (he loves Color Wonder), a GeoAir Airport (to go with his GeoTrax set), and a new bike helmet to go with his new bike! He loved everything!! We took him for a ride on his new bike and he kept getting stuck but wouldn't let us help him at all. He kept looking back at us and yelling "don't push!" It was a struggle at time for him (and often painful to watch for me), but each time, he managed to get himself moving again, and I noticed that when we were almost home he wasn't getting stuck nearly as often. The GeoAir airport was a huge hit, too! Lucas loved making the airplane stop mid-loop so that when it stopped, it was upside down. Meanwhile, Eli LOVED the airplane! Eli would let out this high pitched squeal of delight each time the airplane started moving (this squeal was so loud that Jason could hear it outside). It was really funny. In the afternoon, since it was so hot (92 degrees), Jason turned on the sprinklers to let the kids run around in the water. Clara and Lucas had a blast, but Eli hated it almost as much as the shower (at least the sprinklers he could escape from). It was a really nice day and now I officially have a 4 year old!

Eli has another tooth and Jason has poison ivy. Jason got poison ivy last weekend when he was removing some ivy vines from the back corner of our back yard. His arms looked horrible... I can't even imagine how they felt!! It's been a week and his arms are still bright red and blistery, but they are actually looking better. Poor guy! If the poison ivy weren't enough, he's been wearing long sleeves to keep the kids from any direct contact and in this heat, he's had to be suffering!!

Dancing, thinking, and sewing... not a bad break!

Eli is officially a dancer! The music plays and he just can't contain himself... his foot stomps, his head bobs, his legs bounce, and his body turns in circles. I noticed it first with this specific toy he has that plays a counting song, but it has since spread so that now he dances to my music (this afternoon it was Gorillaz... maybe I should think of switching to more kid friendly fare... Lucas and Clara always liked REM and They Might Be Giants). I really should try to catch his boogie on video. I still occasionally watch Lucas dancing to The Breeders on YouTube... I love it! Since I'm still on the 'dance' topic, I just want to share that I met another mom whose little boy is taking dance. Not for one second did I ever question my decision to put Lucas in dance class, but hearing this other mom talk about her kindergarten-age son taking dance somehow gave that decision validation. And of course, seeing Eli moving and grooving, it's just a matter of time before we have another boy taking dance class!

Lucas' most recent development is the phrase "my brain is telling me..." (e.g. "my brain is telling me I'm thirsty"). It is very cute... and very deja vu! Clara used to say the EXACT same thing for a while, but it was when Lucas was much younger. Is this a mimic or just something that he has become aware of? Could he really have absorbed her words when he was so little? Part of me wouldn't be surprised if it was just a mimic... I'm constantly amazed by how much he picks up from her... both good and bad. I really like this phrase, though. It makes me feel like he somehow understands that his brain is the center of thought.

Clara finally got a chance to open and try out her sewing kit. The kit comes with everything she needs to complete five projects. In one afternoon, she completed one project - a little pouch to hold all her sewing needs. She was quite proud of herself. She did need some help, as was expected, but the stitching was all her! She was so excited about seeing her little pouch completed that she just had to start the next project - a little stuffed cat. Unfortunately, her time is limited by how long Eli naps, so she wasn't able to finish and the way her days go, it will most likely be summer before she gets a chance to complete it.

Our spring break came and went without much ado. We stayed busy with playdates and playgroups and I actually got to visit with some moms I hadn't seen in a while. Lucas enjoyed his very first playdate with a little boy from his preschool class. It was nice for him to have a chance to have one of his friends over, as he gets so sad when Clara goes to her friends' houses to play. Friday, Jason took a half day of vacation and we went to the National Arboretum to enjoy the beautiful weather. I'd been wanting to go there for quite some time and it was beautiful, but I think it will be even more beautiful in a couple of weeks when all of the azaleas and rhododendron bloom. Maybe we could go back when Jason's parents come to visit. Although, I've been told of some other really beautiful gardens in the area that still need explored.

Our weekend was uncluttered of activities, a rarity, with no dance and no soccer... it was nice to relax, especially since that may be our last chance until summer. The coming weeks are packed with activities, meetings, and events, which (silver lining) will give me plenty of things to write about here.

More...

I feel like I need to devote some time to Lucas this post. His reading lately has vastly improved. He started out site reading the common 3-4 letter words back in October/November (right around the time when he was 3 1/2). Early this year I noticed him really trying to sound out longer words, with unsuccessful results; he could sound out the letters easily enough, but struggled when trying to put the sounds together to form words. Then all of a sudden, lately he's been really reading... anything and everything! He gets these summary sheets from preschool and Sunday school and reads them with almost no errors. He has been taking Clara's chapter books and opening them to random pages and reading paragraphs at a time. Although this does bother me slightly, I'm still impressed, he can read over my shoulder as I'm typing an email (or a blog post). It's funny... sometimes, I'll type something about him, just to see if he is paying attention to what he's reading... he usually is! It may take him a minute or two, but he'll respond with either a big smile or a loud "you can't write that!". Let me be perfectly clear that I am overly proud of my little man. I do worry, however, that we are in for another journey that follows in Clara's footsteps... the struggle to find a perfect fit for him in the classroom, the struggle that he will have with social situations. I keep telling myself to just step back and be the proud mom (isn't that the 'don't worry be happy' mantra?).

Swim is still going for Clara. She seems to be doing well, with my only measure for that was seeing her jump into the pool without holding the teacher's hand. As far as strokes and actual swimming... I haven't seen much improvement, but it's still early. We ended up having to drop Lucas' swim class, which was disappointing as he loves it and looks forward to it so much. The teacher just approached the class as a free swim with no structure or control. That approach would work well with a class where the kids were just starting to get comfortable in the water, but this should have been an introduction to skills class. I just felt like it was wasting money. I will definitely try again next session (hopefully it will be a different teacher).

Clara's soccer season started this past week. I really am glad that she is enjoying it as much as she is. Her team this season ended up with the same color jerseys that they had last season... a kind of maroon red. Last season, the team name was Maroon Dragons. This season, they are Red Fire, which was Clara's suggestion! I love the name... so clever and I especially love that it was Clara's suggestion and the other girls voted for it! At her first practice on Thursday, at the onset she was so excited, and then as practice continued, it seemed like she was right back where she started last season, crying when she was out or when others got the ball into the goal. After the practice, I was a bit concerned how she would do on game day... but she surprised me! The game was fantastic... not one tear was shed, she got in there and really tried... she even got control of the ball a few times, and when she was on the sideline... she was cheering on her teammates!! She even managed to keep the other team from scoring on their final goal. She was jumping up and down, so proud of herself for kicking their ball out of bounds.

Eli's temper has become so prominent lately. When he doesn't get his way, he literally, throws himself (picture a belly flop) onto the floor (and yes... he has given himself bruises on his head from doing this) and cries. It is so funny and so sad all at the same time. He is one cute little guy. He has taken to playing hide-and-seek a lot. If he sees somebody coming toward him, he'll run away and hide, laughing the entire time. I absolutely love how when he gets to laughing really hard, he'll throw his head back. It is the funniest thing! Oh... and he now has his two top 1-year molars and is working on the bottom two. His teeth are coming in just like Lucas'... completely out of order!

This week is spring break, which means no school, no preschool, and no activities. I envisioned this to be a relaxing week, where we could break out some board games, maybe I could actually get some spring cleaning done. It doesn't look like that is going to be the type of week this is shaping up to be. We have been busy everyday so far and have plans for the rest of the week as well. I just really hope that I can schedule an hour or two in one of these days to work with Clara on her sewing kit or that might be one promise that she will be devastated that I break.

Happy April 1st!

We don't do the "fool's" part of April 1st. But it was funny hearing the kids pretend fooling around this morning. Both Clara and Lucas would answer questions wrong then crack up laughing followed with the chorus of "April Fool's"! An example that I overheard - Clara to Lucas, "Are you done brushing your teeth?"; Lucas to Clara, "Not yet (long pause) April Fool's"; both laugh! Silly kids.

The biggest news from this past week was Clara's bottom front teeth finally falling out. It was more exciting for me than I ever would have expected. I never got very excited when, as a baby, her teeth started coming in, so my reaction to first discovering that her bottom tooth was loose (then about a week later, she informed me that the tooth right next to it was also loose) took me by surprise. I actually got goosebumps!! We checked them daily to see just how loose they were. The looser they got, the more I worried I got that I wouldn't be there when they finally fell out (or that she would swallow them). Jason and I tried to persuade her to let us pull them, but she was firm about letting them fall out on their own. Then, on Monday, March 26... eating a grilled cheese sandwich, one fell out followed within minutes by the other one. They were so tiny! When she first showed me, I thought she was mistaken... that couldn't possibly be her tooth! Now they are safely in a tooth box in her box of keepsakes. No we are not doing the tooth fairy, which some might wonder about with Clara's fascination and "obsession" with fairies. We keep things practical here... she knows that Santa Claus is pretend and that fairies are pretend. I see no need to blur the lines between imagination and reality for her.

I took Eli in for his 18-month portrait. We won't be distributing anything other than wallets, so once I get the pictures (April 8), I'll post them here so that everybody can see them... they turned out really cute.

The weather has been so nice lately that we've been able to get outside and enjoy some sunshine. Sunday the kids even rode their bikes (well, Lucas' tricycle) for the first time this year. Lucas is really too big for his little trike... the same trike that Eli is just begging to ride, even though he's just a bit too short still. I think we all can take a guess what Lucas' birthday present will be... I need to start shopping around.

Soccer begins again for Clara this week (Thursday) with her first game of the season on Saturday. The big news on that front is that Jason is toying with the idea of volunteering for the assistant coach position. I think that would be absolutely wonderful! It's possible that someone else has already volunteered, but seeing Jason be more involved this season and possibly future seasons is really something that I'm looking forward to.