Tales of a First and Second Born

John's 30th birthday!

2012-02-15T16:48:00.000-08:00

Juliet's first movie

2012-02-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T11:12:00.002-08:00

Our cuties together, Luca and Juliet

Hi Juliet, I love you, or at least will someday

Nanny love

Our sweet little valentine

Family of four at home, John has been my sweetheart for 12 years now and I took him to the Valentine's day party in high school 13 years ago today, Sadie Hawkins. He even dressed up like a pirate for me that night:) We have changed, grown, had two children- and so glad to be celebrating another Valentine's Day with you- I love you!

What a special Valentine's Day it is, being home, recovering, and enjoying our new baby! She slept so well last night (only woke up to eat a few times and back to sleep) Seems too good to be true, and we couldn't be enjoying her more! What a gift of love she is to us!

Day four

2012-02-13T15:21:00.001-08:00

Today is day four of Juliet's little life. We have John's wonderful mom, Nanny Walker here to help us. She and Luca are getting to spend lots of quality time together and so is Juliet! Kimi came by with the kids to meet our little one. Luca and Layna played so well together and took off, like ok, we are the big kids now, let's go play! Juliet has been sleeping sweetly in the swing at night. We are still working on getting her to sleep from about 11 pm-2 am. A hard time for mommy and daddy to be awake! Hopefully she will figure it out soon. She is very quiet, is sleeping and eating a lot. She had her first check up today and is back to birth weight in 4 days. Pretty good!

Little sister

2012-02-12T11:24:00.000-08:00

Juliet slept and ate quite well last night...so I am feeling a little more human today:) Luca continues to enjoy the extra attention from Nanny Walker, and having John and I both home. He is also politely ignoring Juliet's addition to our household very well. He has not been negative to her or anyone holding her but isn't overly interested in giving her any attention either. He did enjoy giving her a pacifier last night. I think that was the most enthusiasm he has shown towards her yet, which is ok too. I look forward to seeing their love for each other grow in the months and years ahead.

big fans

2012-02-11T15:38:00.001-08:00

Jessica came twice (at the beginning and the end of the 19 hour delivery process to help me get through it! Thank you Jess!

Alicia and Scalett part of the Luca care team and Scarlett is in love with baby Juliet! So sweet to see her love this little baby so much!

Mari came and spent the night the hospital with Juliet and I so that daddy John could sleep at the house with Luca and enjoy so much needed rest. So fun to have you there Mari!

Jamie and Maya also part of the Luca care team (where Luca spent the night when I was in labor). Maya also loves babies and Juliet! So sweet to have these big girl friends for her already!

Sweet Maya and Jamie and Juliet!

Scarlett in love, holding baby Juliet:)

Baby Juliet all ready to come home in her car seat! Can you believe how tiny she looks in it? She did not make a peep the whole drive home! I hope this is telling of car rides to come???? We will see.
Looking forward to many more visitors to come. Nanny Walker is here and I need to get a picture of her with her granddaughter! She gave Luca a bath, played with him for hours and is cleaning the bathroom, all after just arriving last night from France, wow! So glad to have her here!

Big brother Luca

2012-02-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

More Pictures of Juliet

2012-02-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

Introducing Juliet Elizabeth Walker

2012-02-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

These pictures were before the labor began!

We had our baby. Juliet Elizabeth Walker was born on Feb. 9th at 1:11 pm. My water started leaking on Tues at midnight and I began getting induced at 6 pm on Wednesday night....so about 19 hours after they began inducing me, Juliet was born. I was very thankful to get an epidural early on in the delivery process! We are so glad she is here and glad that I was able to have a v-bac and not a c-section. She is just perfect and weighs 6 pounds 9 ounces, and is 19 inches long. She began breastfeeding right after delivery and is doing beautifully with that as well. More about the delivery story to come. Luca got to come to the hospital briefly to meet her this evening. We are excited to go home tomorrow and begin life as a family of four!

Baby coming soon!

2012-02-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

John and I are at the hospital waiting for a birthing room. My water broke around midnight last night but with no contractions. I still do not have contractions and will be induced a bit to see if that starts things moving. Luca is in the great care of friends and we hope to meet our little girl in the next day. If things don't progress then I will have a c-section. We will keep you updated.

Reception at church

2012-02-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

Children's Ministry at Bethany had a lovely little reception for John, Luca, me and baby girl. In between services there was juice and cookies and lots of hugs and warm wishes for our little one. Earl made one of his balloon specials that Luca enjoyed and got to take the top home as you can see from the picture, he loved it. Crazy that she is due in 6 days and could come anytime from now till the 21st! Anyone want to pick a day? Share your guess and they may be a little prize for the person whos guess is right. Also we are having some beautiful early spring weather with highs at 50 and sunny! It is so nice!
John's guess-Feb. 14
Katie's guess-Feb. 19
Luca's guess- "it actually takes a long time"

Questions during dinner

2012-02-04T22:22:00.000-08:00

I have always heard that family dinners are a great way to promote conversation, relationship, and vocabulary with your children. John and I personally experienced this wonderful reality while growing up which we plan to continue with our children. So, John, Luca, and I were having dinner tonight and Luca asked, "How did the baby get into your tummy, Mommy?" and "How is the baby going to pop out of your tummy?" "Where is she going to come out of?" Quite the conversation with our two year old. He is full of deep thinking! I am sure you would have been entertained to be there and hear our discussion around how babies are made. You never know what your next dinner conversation will be....

Our day!

2012-02-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I look pregnant now, for sure! There are a few belly shots in the pictures below.
Luca said tonight at dinner, "I am ready for the baby to pop out!" "I want to show her my room" "I will make her feel better when she is scared of the thunder and lighting" (he got this idea from a little video that has a great big brother role model in it) So fun to have us all getting excited to meet this little lady soon.

Luca and I got to go to the Pacific Science Center with Alicia and Scarlett this morning and Layna, Jonah and Grandma Martha came this afternoon. A long but good day.

The biggest guitar in the world (as Luca likes to call it)

Luca and Scarlett taking driving seriously. They were going to the store to buy carrots!

Luca and Grandma Martha blowing bubbles in the Feb. sunshine, I think the groundhog saw his shadow in Seattle, at least, today!

John after I showed lifted my shirt to show off my belly John said, "ya, now you look big" And my tummy is big! Sorry if the bare belly is too much for you but I think it gives the full effect! I will be 39 weeks on Sat!

Quote

2012-02-01T15:12:00.000-08:00

Luca doesn't nap very often anymore but he has rest time every day for about two hours in the afternoon. He is required to stay in his bed and spend quality time with all his stuffed animals. Funny quote from today. I am in my room next door and heard, "mom, I don't want rest time, I just want to eat chocolate." and then a moment later, "I am flying on a butterfly." What a funny guy!

Bubble man

2012-01-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

Luca still LOVES the bath and I budget about an hour for bath time because that is how long he usually wants to stay in there (or longer). It is not a nightly routine but a fun activity in the day. Luca likes to swim like a fish in the water and have lots of bubbles in the tub! He is going to have a little sister in the bath with him pretty soon. I am feeling ready to meet this little lady and hold her in my arms and not my belly. We will see when she will arrive, certainly no signs yet...

Little get away!

2012-01-25T22:45:00.000-08:00

John and I were able to get away for a night last weekend to the Green Cat Guest House and B and B just across the water in Poulsbo, WA thanks to our dear friend, Mari who stayed with Luca. It was so nice to get to relax, enjoy a full, hot breakfast, and walk around the cute historical town of Poulsbo. Luca had a great time water coloring, and playing with Aunt Mari! What a much needed and appreciated 24 hours before baby number two arrives!

sledding

2012-01-23T10:13:00.000-08:00

SNOW!!!

2012-01-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

It snowed in Seattle yesterday and is still here today! I love the snow and Luca loves it this year too! We spent all afternoon in the snow yesterday and this morning! Here are some pictures. We went sledding, made a snowman with Jess, Kimi, and Layna and had a blast. Luca did not want to come inside at the end of the day and was just laying in the snow-I ended up having to carry him in crying. I was glad I had gotten him a pair of snow pants the other day after we were without them in Germany when it snowed. We also got to go sledding with Scarlett yesterday! She was so happy. Scarlett decided the sled was a boat and Luca decided it was a train. You can tell that it only snows about once a year in Seattle since neither one was convinced it was a sled!

Baby girl

2012-01-11T16:39:00.000-08:00

Good News...the baby turned! Yay! She is head down now and not breeched anymore. I had a dr. appointment today and an ultrasound confirmed she is head down. Anyway, I am happy and relieved and hoping that the V-Back will work out! We have an end date of Feb. 21st if I don't go into labor before that I will have a c-section that day.

Luca's popeye shirt

2012-01-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

I got this shirt last year at Goodwill and found it downstairs when I was going through clothes as it was too big for Luca when I got it...I thought it was so cute because Luca calls my dad, Popeye. I tried to put it on Luca yesterday and he said he did not like it because that man was NOT Popeye and he wanted a picture of the real Popeye on the shirt. I sang the Popeye the sailor man song a few times and now he seems to like it since it is now a musical shirt. We love you real Popeye! In the first picture Luca is also holding a Dora sticker so that Dora can say Cheese too.

Nesting

2012-01-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

I can't get a nursery room ready for baby number two because John is working VERY hard to complete two awesome bedrooms and a bathroom in the basement, but I was able to get a new dresser/changing table for this baby girl. The one we had from Luca was given to us and was great, but the drawers did not work. John put the dresser together for me last night and I filled it up with some of the girls clothes we have had handed down us! So much fun!

forward roll

2012-01-01T20:40:00.000-08:00

Fun in Germany

2011-12-29T20:04:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Walker

2011-12-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

We got to spend a day with Grandpa Walker and the Winslows which was a lot of fun.

Cousins

2011-12-29T19:57:00.000-08:00

Luca loved playing with Heidi and Bob's kids, his cousins!

Train ride

2011-12-29T19:55:00.000-08:00

Popeye took Luca on a train ride, well... a few train rides. He enjoyed them very much.

Sweet Sophia

2011-12-29T19:54:00.000-08:00

It was great getting to know Sophia better this trip. Luca and I were just singing the wheels on the bus song tonight and I said what does Sophia say and he said, "I love Luca" all through the town. Luca loved Aunt Betsy and making Sophia laugh. She learned to crawl right after we left and I am looking forward to seeing a video of that soon:)

Germany trip

2011-12-29T19:51:00.000-08:00

I am going to go back and share a little more about our trip to Germany. One of the highlights was a fantastic snow fall and getting to go sledding with Luca's cousins, and our families. Luca wasn't too sure about sledding last year but enjoyed it for a little while. He esp. liked it when he got to ride down the hill with Charis! It was a lot of fun to watch all the kids in the snow!

So proud

2011-12-27T20:13:00.001-08:00

So proud

2011-12-27T20:13:00.000-08:00

Luca really enjoyed eating his mashed potatoes all by himself tonight. He was so proud and happy to hold the spatula without my help. He kept looking up at me and saying with a big smile, "I am so proud." It was precious! Luca is difficult to feed as he isn't very interested in food (except for chocolate) but I was thankful he wanted to eat the mashed potatoes and peas for supper! I wonder if he could always feed himself if he would be more interested? We are still working on finding adaptive feeding equipment and have a new occupational therapist starting next week that is going to focus on feeding and other daily living skills.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T17:36:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas morning! Luca slept till 5 am this morning!!! Yay, a first in several weeks with jet lag. We opened presents at 6 am and Luca got a kitchen set and many other fun gifts from people! Luca got pj's from Grandma Bev and Grandpa Jim and did not want to take them off for church. But we did and John and Luca helped me in the nursery with the few kids that were there. Luca enjoyed playing with the kids, of course. John and I made duck lasagna this afternoon and we are going to eat it tonight. We have kept Luca up all day in hopes that he will sleep through the night and he has just had a wonderful day. Playing happily and mostly independently which has been so nice! I think he is happy to be home again.
Here is also a picture of me today at 34 weeks. This baby girl is going to be here before we know it! Hard to believe my due date is only 6 weeks away. She is still breeched as of now. It is fun to feel her moving around and I am excited to meet her soon!

Standing up!

2011-12-25T17:09:00.000-08:00

Luca began standing up on his own last week in Germany. It is very exciting and I wanted to show you a video of him doing it!

Standing up!

2011-12-25T17:04:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T14:15:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of blogging and posting to do to catch up and share about Luca and my adventures in Germany but I will need to put that on hold right now so that I can wish all of our readers- family and friends- a very Merry Christmas!

We did not get a Christmas Card done with year, but have sincerely appreciated all the cards and gifts that we have received. Thank you! Luca is very excited to open his presents and stocking. I still didn't have a stocking for him as of yesterday we went down to Target and he picked out a purple one for $1. I have a goal to get more permanent stockings for next Christmas. I cannot put any presents under the tree or else Luca wants to open them immediately. There can be wrapped gifts anywhere else in the room just not under the tree.
We wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! Love, Katie, John and LUCA

Real choo-choo house

2011-12-12T22:17:00.000-08:00

Luca calls Barnes and Nobles bookstore the choo-choo house. Here is a picture of a real train station in Kandern and Luca with his purple "mittens".

"home"

2011-12-12T22:12:00.000-08:00

Betsy, Sophia and I walked around Kandern yesterday and visited our old house, where our family lived while we were all in high school. I also got a few pictures of Sophia. She is so cute and has the best expressions!

Basel

2011-12-12T22:04:00.000-08:00

My dad, Betsy, Luca and I went down to Basel last night to see the lights, Christmas markets and walk around. Luca got to ride on a tram car which he loved! And Betsy and I enjoyed walking around!

Special time with Aunt Betsy

2011-12-12T05:11:00.000-08:00

Luca enjoyed having lunch with Aunt Betsy today. He fed himself and she helped him make mountains of rice and green bean trees. He slept better last night and got up at 4 am instead of 2 am. Progress. We are going down to see the lights and Christmas Market's tonight in Basel. I will take some pictures. Sophia also slept better and it is so fun to see her laughing. Luca said to her this morning, "Are you happy now?" He likes making her laugh!
We also got fresh milk this morning from a farmer down the street and Luca loves see the cows and horses! What a treat to be here!

Great hike

2011-12-11T06:36:00.001-08:00

Today was a beautiful sunny day and Betsy and I got to go on a little hike to Sausenburg (a castle ruin). What a treat to get outside in the sunshine!
Jet leg is a challenge for both kids, hopefully they will adjust soon For example I was up from 2-5 am with both kids and then my dad took over from 5 am on and I slept from 5-11:30 am. Luca was happy and up for the day at 2 am till 1 pm. We will see if he can sleep a little later tonight. Luca is loving all the people and meeting new friends! I am excited to do some fun things with him.
We spent the evening with my friend, Michelle, and her three daughters. Luca and the girls had a blast together!

Arrived in Kandern

2011-12-08T21:14:00.001-08:00

We arrived safe and sound. Luca slept 8 hours on our 10 hour flight. Now to get over jetleg....Luca was up at 3 am, luckily Popeye spent a few hours with him so I could sleep through the night. More updates coming soon!

Baby girl

2011-12-05T15:13:00.001-08:00

Luca is not too sure he wants a baby sister....he told me what he would really like is to have a BIG sister who wears dresses....well, we are going to have to be content with a little sister. We saw her today on ultrasound. She weights 3 pounds, 5 oz. (estimated) and has amazing little feet, just perfect. I can't tell you how happy seeing a picture of her feet makes me. I thought I would pass on the excitement and let you see her feet too. We tried to get a 3D picture of her face but she didn't cooperate too well. In the profile picture her nose looks a lot like Luca's to me but who knows?

My fluid level is still great, and she is in a frank breech position, meaning her head is up and her feet and hands are in front of her face. Typically babies switch into the head down position by 36-37 weeks. If she doesn't switch then we will schedule a c-section but she has time before that needs to be decided. I feel like she is going to be here before I know it! The weeks are going by pretty fast by now with the holidays and trip to Germany coming up! I can't wait to meet her and introduce Luca to his little sister, who is going to wear very cute dresses at least until she can tell me otherwise.

Getting ready for Christmas

2011-12-03T15:10:00.001-08:00

I have found that preparing for Christmas has been more excited for me this year than ever before! It is so much fun to experience the excitement of the season through a child's eyes. The lights, music, decorations, and preparations of celebrating the birth of our King. We got a tree earlier this year than every before in my life. I am usually not ready for Christmas stuff until about the middle of December, but this year has been different. I am not annoyed that the Christian radio station is playing Christmas music already because as it turns out Luca loves Christmas music. He asks me to sing along with it and if I am not singing loud enough, he asks me to sing louder! I cherish these days because I know it won't be long before he asks me not to sing along with the music at all. Anyway, picking out a Christmas tree and decorating it was a lot of fun with Luca. He keeps asks me, "who got this Christmas tree for me, mommy?" Like it IS his Christmas present. I do tell him it is for our whole family to enjoy and it is from mommy and daddy.
One reason we got the tree early is that Luca and I leave for Germany on Wed. to celebrate a little early with my parents and my sister. We are also getting to visit John's sister, Heidi and her family , and John's dad, Grandpa Walker. We get back on Dec. 20th and that doesn't leave much time to set up a tree while recovering from jet leg etc. I am excited for Luca to get to see his relatives and for me to get a little break...in Kandern. I have so many wonderful memories of Christmas in Kandern, I can't wait to be back there and to show one of my hometowns to Luca! John is staying home to go to work and to hopefully make progress on the basement project. Looking forward to seeing what he has done while we are away for almost two weeks! We are sure going to miss him and glad we will be home to spend Christmas together which he has off this year!

"Cleo"

2011-11-28T21:52:00.001-08:00

John brought a little friend home from Matthew to Luca. Most people would call him Clifford and that is what his name tag says, but since Luca loves girls he has decided that Clifford is a girl dog and so he calls her Cleo (a girl dog in the Clifford book series). He loves "Cleo" and is sure to have "her" with him whenever he is in his bed! He asked me yesterday to take a picture of him and Cleo, so here it is! Thank you Matthew!

Chicago

2011-11-26T17:27:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures that John took during his week in Chicago. He spend much of the week at the hospital with Matthew and Heather and Moises. He also got to play with his niece and nephew a little bit and here are a few pictures of Amelie and Nathan playing too. Amelie is Matthew's amazing big sister and Nathan's is Matthew's cousin who also lives in Chicago!

Daddy's little helper

2011-11-26T17:16:00.001-08:00

Luca and I are very happy that John is back after an important week in Chicago with his family helping to care for our little nephew Matthew. We just got word from Moises that Matthew is feeling a little better this afternoon and even at cheerios and went on a wagon ride. I hope a sign that he is feeling better and will continue to.

John and Luca had a lot of fun this afternoon working on the future basement bedroom (Luca or baby girl's new bedroom). Luca thought that the drill was a little loud so wanted to put on daddy's earmuffs. Similar to the ones he wore at Children's when his casts came off. Luca loves to help John work on the house and all the projects. The end of the drill has a magnet so he can pretty easily put a screw on it for daddy. It is very for him to participate!

Airplane Museum

2011-11-22T22:58:00.001-08:00

drumming

2011-11-22T22:48:00.000-08:00

Update from Chicago

2011-11-19T21:14:00.001-08:00

Matthew is showing signs of recovery today. His dad wrote, "Matthew woke up several times on his own throughout the day which is a good sign. He interacted with us some and after about an hour went back to sleep. The EEG results showed overall inflammation instead if localized which is also a good thing. They also indicated overall slowness which is consistent with his condition since the brain is trying to heal."
Please continue to pray for him and his family.

Casting

2011-11-18T14:40:00.001-08:00

We went in to Children's for Luca's last cast. Side note: When we pulled in to Children's Luca asked, "is Matthew at this hospital Can I go see him?" I explained that Matthew lives in Chicago which is far away and is in a different hospital there. Luca was disappointed this morning that he could not go on the airplane with Daddy to go visit Matthew, of course.
Back to Casting:
I told Luca this morning that this next cast was going to be on longer (2 weeks) and to pick a color he really liked. He had decided on purple again. (I think purple was my personal favorite), anyway, we did the cast removal routine, put the ear muffs on (so he couldn't hear the sound of the cast saw) and the old one came off. I cleaned his foot and got it ready for the new AFO's to be molded. Greg, the great guy who makes Luca's AFO's, came in and tried his old ones on him. He thought they still fit pretty well. Then Dr. Mosca came in and checked out Luca's feet and his AFO's. Dr. Mosca said, "These still fit great and have great position." I don't need to cast him. I was shocked. Luca said, "Thank you Dr. Mosca."
Greg left the casting room to put new straps on Luca's AFO's and I got our things together. Greg came back about 10 mins. later, put Luca's AFO's on and I told Luca, "time to go." Luca said, "I want my cast, and then louder and louder, "I WANT MY CAST." This kid could be the poster child for the cast room. He did not want to leave without his purple cast. That is what he sat quietly in the backseat of the car for 45 mins. to get here to do right? I told Luca, he didn't need a cast and put him in the wagon we were using. He got over it quickly but I cracks me up to no end. I am very grateful for no casts and I can't wait to give him a long bath this afternoon!

Matthew

2011-11-18T08:41:00.001-08:00

John's nephew, Heather and Moises's son, Matthew is still very sick in the hospital. John flew out this morning to be with his family in Chicago this week. I am glad he can be near them during this difficult and scary time. Please continue to pray for Matthew and his family.

pray

2011-11-16T23:00:00.001-08:00

Please pray for Luca's cousin, Matthew, who is two years old and in the hospital with meningitis and is very sick. He has been at the hospital since Sat.

Playing the drums

2011-11-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

Outing with Layna

2011-11-11T13:28:00.001-08:00

Luca, Layna and I went on the bus to the junction in West Seattle this morning. Luca wore undies and stayed dry the whole time (thankfully there are lots of places with potties at the junction) We went the the pet store and the toy store. Luca quote while holding Layna's hand, "I am so glad that you are my friend, Layna."

Another new cast

2011-11-10T20:16:00.001-08:00

Luca got another new cast yesterday. He picked for it to be blue like Choo-choo Thomas or Thomas the train. Luca did great during the casting, it was the hour waiting in the casting room for the dr. to get there that made us both struggle. An hour is a long time when you are two or a two year old's mom. It also took an hour to get home because of traffic. I was so glad Luca feel asleep in the car, it helped us both relax.

Potty Training and growing up

2011-11-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

We have started potty training...again...today. Already had three wet undies and a chunk in one of them...but since he is going every 10-15 mins. there isn't a lot of mess on the floor...This is a tiring process, but after spending another $40 on overnight and reg. diapers yesterday I thought....I want to be done buying diapers at least till Feb. I am motivated again and hopefully this time we will get it.
Growing up:
Pacifier/Binkie is gone. Luca bit holes it in and we threw it away...no more binkies for this big boy! I am proud of him and glad he can sleep without it now. He is very attached to his elephant blanket and his little panda stuffed animal at the moment.
Naps...another thing I am not ready for him to grow out of but he seems to be struggling to fall asleep in the day. I would say every other day he skips his nap. He always has rest time which is really important for me to survive but he is much happier in the evening if he can sleep too.
Below are a few more pictures from the photo shoot with Heather Dickerson. Luca loves going down the slide!

New Cast

2011-11-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

I took Luca to get his cast changed today. He was a little more weepy then last time. He did not want the vacuum to cut is cast off and cried and kicked pretty hard through that part (which didn't last more than 2 mins.) After that part was over he was calm and content. He picked pink again. As Dr. Mosca put it, "Luca is trying to change gender stereo types one cast at a time:)" Real men wear pink he likes to tell Luca.
Luca got a little ice cream in the Children's cafeteria after the casting and told me, "this is a fun day." so I guess it really can't be that bad.
Luca also asked on the way home when the pink cast will come off. I think he gets the idea that it won't be on for too long, I told him five days. He will be able to start walking on it in a few hours which will be nice for everyone.

Luca talking

2011-11-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday during Luca's "nap" (he was in his bed but never fell asleep) I heard him talking and started typing down what he said. Here is what I heard:

I will play with Kianna and

then mommy will say "what is going on" and daddy will say "what's up"

Isn't it wonderful to have a good day in my bed

then I get on a big bike and go weee down the hill

then we play baseball bat and get our hands dirty, that is a fun game, and then hit panda and the ball with the baseball bat and crack the ball with the baseball bat and crash

off we GO, off we go, off we go, off we go, off we go......

I wonder what the whole two hour conversation with himself was about since this was just a few mins. He is hilarious!

Halloween

2011-10-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

Luca, John and I had fun trick or treating on our street tonight. Luca was very good at saying "trick or treat" but then he wanted to go into everyone's house for a little visit:) He also like pulling candy out of the bowls and often took lots of pieces or at least asked to. He got to eat a few m&m's when we got home and that was a big treat! He also like handing out the candy to kids when we got home. He wanted to know all of their names, what a social holiday.
I can hear John putting Luca to bed and he is hyper! It is 8:55 pm....maybe he will sleep in tomorrow morning.

Luca's new cast

2011-10-31T14:02:00.000-07:00

John took Luca to Children's today to get a new cast, which was no big deal again today. The tech gave him ear muffs to wear while they took his old cast off to drown out the noise and then his first lollipop. Luca wanted to have a blue cast this time. I think he is making his way through all of the cast colors. He did not shed a tear. When they got home John and I had some lunch and Luca was playing quietly in his room. He asked us to come in after a while to see his toys all lined up! They were waiting in line to see the talking animals in the barn. He has such a great imagination and really likes things lined up straight!

John also put carpet down in his room this week. It is so nice to have and I wish we would have done it sooner, but very glad we have done it now. Luca can walk around in his room without tripping on the rugs or sliding on the hard wood floor in his boots and/or casts. He loves it too!

The House

2011-10-31T13:53:00.000-07:00

Before

After

John has done a ton of work on our house inside and out, and here is an update on what the outside of the house looks like now. The gable above the front door is not quite done (John will paint it green and has a few things to do on it) and John is going to paint the new garage door to match the trim but you get the idea. He painted the vinyl green this summer and put in a new window in our bedroom.
I have to admit that I get pretty grouchy when John is working on the house because I want him to spend time with Luca and me, but I am sure happy when the project is done and it always looks so good! He is a very talented man and I am grateful for how he has made our house look so nice!
PS The tree in the front of the house died last winter so John had to cut it down. We left the bottom that was still alive in hopes that it will grow back.

New cast tomorrow

2011-10-27T19:20:00.000-07:00

John is taking Luca to get a new cast tomorrow. Hope it goes as well as the first one. Luca says he wants a green one this time. I am curious if he will still think that tomorrow. I have a big Harvest Party event tomorrow night at church so I will be up at church all day preparing. Should be a lot of fun for all!

Casting Present!

2011-10-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

Casting Present

2011-10-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

John and I saw a great gift for Luca at Cosco the other day. We thought it was be nice for him to get a casting present and something he can play with easily for the next 4 or more weeks of casting. He is a picture of him playing with it and you can see his cast too. It is kind of like Christmas around the Walker household today:) It is like he is saying in the last picture..."WOOO, can you believe this amazing choo-choo table."

Casting Day

2011-10-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

We went to Children's this morning for Luca first series of casts. We have never been to a smoother appointment. Luca did not cry. He got to see the colors that they had of casts and was quite sure that he wanted PINK. His favorite color right now. So he has one pink lower leg cast on his left foot. Dr. Mosca believes that he can gain the right position using the lower leg casts, John and I are still wondering but it would be great if it is possible. Luca can kneel and he will be able to walk on it in a few hours when the cast hardens. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. We will keep you posted as the casting continues. Next appointments....Friday, next Monday, Friday, Wed, etc.

Pictures of Luca

2011-10-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

We were so grateful again this year to have Heather Dickerson, an amazing photographer take pictures of Luca and I. Here is her blog for more info. on her! http://letmecaptureyourmemories.blogspot.com/ Sadly, John had to work on Sunday so he was not able to be in the photos but we wanted them taken before Luca's next casting series. They are such great pictures! Heather is very talented and makes us look good:) You wouldn't even know from the pictures that Luca did a face plant 1/2 through taking them and he had been through two services of Sunday School. Such a guy!

Pumpkin decorating and costume

2011-10-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

This morning PCC grocery store had a free pumpkin decorating event at their store. Luca got a pumpkin and had a blast coloring it and putting stickers and feathers on it. Here it is! Now he wants to eat it....not so sure about that. (you can also see his Halloween socks from Auntie Cindy that he loves! His boots got wet from splashing in puddles this morning so he gets a little break with his special socks!)
I mimic what my sister, Betsy wrote recently on her blog:

"so anyone who knows me should already be aware of the following about me:

-didn't celebrate Halloween growing up

-dislike the holiday in general

-extreme dislike for anything scary

that all being said, there is nothing cuter than an excuse to dress my girl up like a flower" or my son up like a magician!

Introducing.....Luca the magician! I was trying to come up with something that would be easy to get on with casts and this should work perfectly. I am not sure he will be up for any of the festivities because of the casting but at least we have something fun for him to wear if he is. Can't think of what he would love more than getting candy from people. The outfit is fleece so it is very cozy, which to him may be the most important component of all.

Trains

2011-10-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

Luca loves choo-choo trains and especially Choo-Choo Thomas. Luca recently got his very own Thomas, from our favorite second hand store, and slept with him last night. I don't know what it is about that blue engine but he is a favorite of Luca's and certainly many other little boys! Grandma Martha also lent us her doll house which Luca loves to play with. We are getting geared up for another series of casting on the left foot beginning this coming Monday. We think he will have a walking cast, but not sure what Luca's mobility will be like exactly. I hope Luca tolerates them and that the time passes quickly. He will get casted about every four days for about 4 weeks and longer if necessary to get left foot in a better position. His right foot still looks fantastic, but the left foot has regressed quite a bit since his last surgery and casting almost a year ago. Luca is currently at Children's Hospital with John getting new night time hand splints. A long day, I am sure. Luca and I got to go to the park and the library story/dance time this morning with Scarlett to try to even out the day a little bit.

pony ride

2011-10-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

Free pony rides in West Seattle

2011-10-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

I found out about free pony rides today in West Seattle about a mile from our house. Crazy combination so after Luca's nap, I asked him, "do you want to ride a pony?" and he said, "YES!" I have never seen him get to the door faster after a nap (he wakes up slowly). Once we got to the pony rides, John waited in the long line while Luca and I sat right in front of the 5 ponys and he ate his snack/lunch. He did not mind sitting there waiting for 30 mins for his turn. He loved watching the horses and the kids. What I didn't realize was he was becoming attached the white pony so when it came his turn the white pony was the only pony he wanted to ride. He gave in after some talking and rode on the biggest one. They had seat beats on the saddles and he did great. After one ride we went back in the much shorter line and waited again so we could ride the white pony. When it was Luca's turn the white pony was already done for the day and eating grass. Oh well...he still got two more rides on a different pony. It was a great time!

Self-portrait

2011-10-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

Baby belly! Luca' sister is getting bigger and when I am wearing a non-maternity shirt you can really see her emerging. Not the best picture but for all of you out there who are looking for a baby bump it will do, I think:)

kids playing

2011-10-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

Choo-choo train fun!

2011-10-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

reading books

2011-10-07T21:57:00.001-07:00

Luca is becoming more cuddly lately and it is really fun to snuggle up with him and a book. One of my favorite things to do!

Grandma Martha

2011-10-07T21:55:00.000-07:00

We have a very wonderful woman in our lives named Grandma Martha. She goes to Westside Pres. and comes over and spends time with Luca every Thurs. afternoon. She is such a blessing and dearly loved by all! Luca has so much fun with Grandma Martha and you can see how excited he gets when she is at our house. They made a flag with the napkin from Popeye and Cozy and Luca is wearing the super cute vest from Aunt Betsy! So many gifts!

Playing with friends

2011-10-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Potty Training

2011-10-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

We are attempting potty training. Luca understands the idea and loves the m&m that he receives after he has gone potty but we are not quite there yet as he has worn diapers the last two days....He is a picture of Luca wearing his Choo-Choo Thomas undies, which he loves! And his new Nemo shirt from Goodwill which says, "Give me fin dude." Luca likes to repeat it and give you a high-five!

2011-09-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

Luca and Layna at the park yesterday! So sweet! Thanks for taking awesome pictures, Jess!

Announcement

2011-09-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

Luca has some great news to share! He is going to become a big brother around mid-February. John and I are very excited too!
We had an ultrasound around 20 weeks and are so grateful for everything to be looking healthy! We saw the baby moving around on the screen and it was a delight to see little hands opening and closing and straight feet kicking around!
We also found out that that baby appears to be a girl! I will have one more ultrasound to check that my fluid stays up (with my history with Luca and low fluid) but everything looks great right now! We are so relieved, amazing, grateful, and happy that she seems healthy!

happy birthday

2011-09-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

Katie's Birthday

2011-09-22T15:42:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Mom!

I had a great day yesterday. Thanks for all the birthday cards, e-mails, and messages! John made a fabulous Duck Lasagna meal last night for dinner and Luca had to go to bed before we ate the cake so he and I celebrated this morning!

Home

2011-09-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

This is how John and I found Luca sleeping when we went to bed last night. He must be pretty tired and he was very happy to be home in his big boy bed again:)

more MN

2011-09-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

Grandma Bev and Grandpa Jim

Luca "feeding" Grandpa Jim a cracker and laughing with Grandma and Grandpa! He inspires and cheers everyone up!

Aunties and the apple orchard

2011-09-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Aunties and the apple orchard

(we are missing Aunt Jen in this post)

trip to Mn

2011-09-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

Luca and I made a little trip to MN this week to visit family. Luca loves the airplane and got to and from our gate in style! No waiting at security lines for him. On the flight home, he didn't have to take his shoes off and he said, "mama, my shoes stayed ON" like he knew he had just gotten away with something:) Luca really enjoyed all his boy cousins and all of their choo-choo tables too:)

Brushing Teeth

2011-09-09T21:06:00.001-07:00

I got an action shot of the boys brushing their teeth! Pretty cute! First mom or dad take a turn brushing Luca's teeth and then he does it himself!

It is still sunny here in Seattle with which super nice. Some of the warmest weather we have had all year, we have had this week.

New Toddler Bed

2011-09-05T08:42:00.001-07:00

Luca got a big boy bed yesterday. He slept in it last night and came and found us in our room this morning. He sure likes his bed. Rules: No standing on the bed, no getting out during naps or night time. We will see how it works:) I am hoping that he doesn't fall out. He can get on and off the bed by himself.

Two more big boys steps we are beginning soon:

Potty training (no idea how to do this)

Giving the pacifier away (he hardly uses it so this one shouldn't be too bad)

Chocolate Lover

2011-09-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Luca loves chocolate! He got to lick the spoon tonight and he was pretty excited! We also went to the Children's museum today. He painted some pictures and when he showed them to John he said, "Daddy, they are amazing," a few times. It was pretty funny.

Luca up close

2011-08-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

I got a few rare pictures of Luca up close. he is very hard to photograph these days.

View

2011-08-28T15:12:00.001-07:00

I don't know if you know this, but we have an incredible view from our roof. There was a amazing sunset the other night and since Luca was sleeping we decided to venture up and this is what we found. Wow, I sure wish we had a little roof top patio or something...easier said than done but what and incredible view!

Kayak

2011-08-28T15:02:00.001-07:00

Luca enjoys playing in the beautiful wooden kayak that John made a few years ago. I think Luca is ready to take it out for a spin on the lake.

Dr. Mosca

2011-08-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

Luca had an appointment with Dr. Mosca today to follow up with what the Dr. out in Philly had said about next steps for ideal foot correction. We hoped that Dr. Mosca would be on board with casting the left foot as the dr. in Philly recommended and Dr. Mosca agrees that is the next step. Luca will get a new series of casts starting in the end of Oct. for about three-four weeks. Then new AFO's to keep his (hopefully) more corrected foot position. I believe that the casts will only be on his left foot as his right foot still looks very good.

Hand Doctor

2011-08-19T08:05:00.001-07:00

Hand Doctor report:

We met with the leading hand surgeon for arthrogyposis at Shriner's in Philly, Dr. Kozin. We wondered if there was anything surgically that could be done to improve Luca's hand mobility. Dr. Kozin was very nice, interacted with Luca as Luca used his hands to play and then gave him a big soft cookie to watch him feed himself. Dr. Kozin's conclusion was that there were no surgery to be done right now to Luca for Luca. He encouraged us to come back in a year or two when there may be a use for surgery depending on Luca's development. Dr. Kozin was glad to see that Luca could get his elbow to 90 degrees (passively) and his wrists to neutral (two big reasons for surgery at this age which Luca doesn't need)

I was kind of disappointed that there isn't anything that can be done for Luca's hands, but also encouraged that Luca can use his hands as well as he can and that all three hand dr. we have seen have the same option. Dr. Kozin told us to keep on doing therapy and having Luca wear his overnight hand splints.

Luca then had new "cool" hand splints made at the clinic. The whole appointment took 4 hours. Luca is a trooper!

More NC

2011-08-17T15:32:00.001-07:00

NC

2011-08-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

Luca's first merry go round. We went on at least 6 times. He loved it! He is waving in the picture:)

Molly and Luca on a bike ride

Saying good bye to Nanny, Grandpa, and Daddy at the Newark airport

Great Grandma Walker

2011-08-09T19:33:00.001-07:00

Such a gift to spend time with Great Grandma Walker!!! And the Hicks!

Luca and Annalise and friends

2011-08-09T19:26:00.001-07:00

We had a great visit with Peter, Kara, Ben, Kristin, and Matt. Annalise was showing us her hippo smile in this last picture. She is just so cute and Luca misses her already!

Oma

2011-08-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

Luca, John, and I were able to visit my grandmother, Oma, when we were in Washington, DC.

Luca and Annalise

2011-08-08T06:07:00.000-07:00

Luca and Annalise in the PJ's in the morning.

Luca in the fountain

2011-08-08T06:03:00.000-07:00

There was a big fountain in a park in DC where Peter and Kara took us. Luca loved playing in it. The water would fall down and then spray back up. So much fun!