And the day continues...

After all the fun family fun, Dan and I headed to the town park for some Silly Olympics, thanks to our friends Lisa and Beth, for organizing this crazy event! We were teamed with our good friends Bob and Angie to compete in 12 olympic events. Between each event, each team could score additional points by doing none other than drinking a beer!!! Thanks to Bob for downing a good 12 pack (at least...way to take one for the team!)

One such event was completing a movie picture task...here is Bob, our ringer (notice the beers in the picture???)
Another fun event was this "hold a banana between your legs and swing it to hit the tennis ball to the line!" Oh yeah, fun times!!! Angie had a bit of trouble with this one (thanks Ang) so I didn't have to do it!!!
One of the funniest events was the one in which you had to eat 6 saltine crackers minus any beverage and then blow up a balloon. Nice job, Dan!!! (Again, our team was lagging a bit on this one, so I just got to be the photographer!)
And the best event ever...DIZZY BAT! We even did this one twice, once early in the evening and then for our finale! I even was able to compete, which is a HUGE shocker, as I typically can't handle going around in circles...guess the beer was helping me!!! :)
After all was said and done, we ended up in 3rd place out of (I think) 6 teams (only having won 1 event, but having consumed the most amount of beer!!!)

Crazy weekend continued!

Our Fall Fest continued as we traveled to Jack's soccer game on Saturday after our trip to the farm. Jack played very aggressively and his team was playing like such a well oiled machine...too bad it was the last game. Aunt Jackie and Uncle Steve surprised us and made it out there! Good thing too as they were able to snap this picture of me, Daddy and our soccer star, Jack!
The sun was a-shinin', but Jackie was prepared with her umbrella. Luke was lovin' it! (and Aunt Jackie!)
Uncle Steve was keeping Nick busy so Dan and I could actually watch the entire game!!!
We were able to capture the Comets in front of their goal...isn't it tiny???
And as if the farm trip and soccer game weren't enough, we headed to Pizza Hut for a little party with the soccer team! Here is Jack's soccer coach, Coach Kevin, as he accepted a soccer ball with all the teams "autographs!" Thanks to Coach Kevin for teaching all the first grade boys about "goal side attacks," "Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3" and "strikers!" These little 6-year old boys (and their parents!) learned so much this summer!!! Thanks, Coach Kevin!

Fun and Frenzied Weekend...Part 1

Did I ever mention that FALL is my all time favorite season of the year! The weather is great, the clothes are better and who can resist some good ole soup and chili!!! We decided to take advantage of the great weather and get outside. So on Saturday, we headed to Grant's Farm. We didn't find our typical place as it was all decked out for Halloween. Dan and I were worried that the boys would be scared with all the scary decorations, but they LOVED them!

Here is what welcomed us...
Daddy managed to get a good shot (minus Luke looking at the spider webs hanging in the windows!) of Mommy with her 3 boys!!!
Our favorite part of any Grant's Farm trip is feeding the goats!!! Luke has NEVER fed them as he has always wanted the bottle for himself! Not this time though...Luke liked being a big kid and feeding the goats the milk....until, the bottle was empty...(notice Daddy signing "all done!")
After making our way through the farm it was time to eat. Daddy appreciated the 2 complimentary "adult" beverages, while the boys and I had fun making our own "creepy" faces...

Here's Jack...

And here is Nick...
Luke was loving his food, so we didn't bother him for a picture!!!

More to come as this weekend was crazy!!! :)

Do you hear what LUKE hears???

If you can hear a WHISPER, you do!

Yep, that's right our little Luka Buka had an appointment with the good 'ole Children's CI Audiologists today and he responded to speech at 15 dB, that's a whisper, folks!!! While sitting in the booth, we see Luke responding to things, but we never know exactly HOW loud something is and when Jamie said that he got down to 15 dB, I lost it right there!!! Just one year ago he was hearing 80 - 90 dB without his hearing aids and 45 - 50 dB with his hearing aids (and we were excited about that!!!) And today, he responded to whispers!!! What began with my tears with the initial diagnosis on February 28, 2007 came full circle today with more tears with the good news of his ability TO HEAR!!! Thanks to all for traveling with us on this journey!!!

Never good at saying goodbyes...

I'm not sure if everyone knew or not, but our family and when I say family I mean Dan and I, Aunt Jackie and Uncle Steve, Nana, Papa and my Aunt Joy have all been taking ASL classes from a fabulous Deaf woman, Libby Bernth since February!
We have met weekly for what was supposed to be 1 hour classes (these turned more into about 2 hour classes!) and have enjoyed every minute of it. Well, it seems that Libby met the love of her life, R.J., a Deaf teacher who lives on the east coast! They are getting married in April, but both accepted new positions in Queens, NY! So, unfortunately, last Wednesday was our last meeting with Libby. I know I can't complain as she is doing exactly what I did...met a guy, moved to the east coast and married. Words cannot express how much she has helped our family become more involved in and learn more about Deaf Culture! She will definitely be missed. Luckily her parents still live here, so we'll get to see her whenever she heads west for a visit! Hopefully we'll be able to use all ASL and no voicing!

Here is our ASL group!!!
In the beginning, we took the classes at Libby's office in a conference room, but we ended up moving it to alternating nights at our house and at my parent's house. Of course, we couldn't begin the class without dinner! Nothing fancy on our last night...just some delivered pizza! Steve and Dan didn't seem to mind though! :)
Libby gets some benefit from her hearing aids, but signs simultaneously with her speech. Here she is talking while fixing her salad!
Gotta love Uncle Steve for this pic...he was trying to get Libby and I signing! Our typical class was tons of signing and minimal speech! I think I'm signing "dad" here...
The night ended way too soon and before I knew it it was time to say goodbye! The tears of course started flowing in both myself and Aunt Jackie! I hope Libby knows how much of an impact she made on our family! The things I'll remember most about Libby are her smile, her super FAST fingerspelling and her absolute love and care she showed our family! Libby, we miss you already!

Look who is FINALLY better!!!

Sorry for the lag in posts, but with a sick little dude, it's tough! We were finally discharged on Monday afternoon and thank goodness we were. Luke had managed to blow several veins and because of how hard of a stick he was (his veins kept rolling!) the nurses even had to call in the transport team to get Luke's IV in...in his right arm, left arm and both feet! Not to mention that Luke just didn't understand why exactly he in was in the hospital in the first place.

So, to attempt to make a very long weekend (Luke had some major trouble sleeping!) and story short, Luke somehow got cellulitis at the CI incision site! Thanks to some major IV antibiotics, the infection has disappeared and his scar actually looks better than it ever has! He is still on Augmentin and was on ear drops until his appointment with MANY surgeons and docs at Children's. I had to present at a teacher's institute so Dan was on his own at the appointment. He called it a "Buka parade!" as so many docs wanted to check him out since it was such an unusual case. He is due to go back for another mapping this Thursday and then he gets to go back and meet with his surgeon in 2 weeks as Dr. Hullar is concerned as to why Luke even got this infection in the first place!

Here Luke is enjoying his 10th floor view of the city...
He seriously spent the majority of the day here on Monday...this pic was taken just before he turned around and jumped!!!
Just before we left on Monday, Luke FINALLY fell asleep!!! Notice his arm is elevated...the IV came out of his vein on Sunday and all the fluid went into his arm so he kind of looked like Popeye...poor little guy!A big thank you to Nana and Aunt Jackie (not pictured!) for staying with me on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights...it is so much harder than you would think to keep a 19 month old on an IV, especially when that 19 month old is Luke and he is feeling fine!!!

What a place for a sleepover...

So yesterday afternoon, the wonderful ladies at the boys' daycare gave me a call at school to inform me that Luke's incision site from his cochlear implant surgery looked red. He had no other symptoms though, so I called Dan and we decided I would leave work a little early (as there was no use waking Luke up from his nap) and bring him up for Dan to take a peak...after all the surgery was in March, so it "couldn't be infected!"

I grabbed the 3 boys and we headed to Dan's office. He saw it and immediately called Luke's surgeon, who from his trip in Arizona told us to head to Children's. Dan took Luke straight there and I dropped the boys off at our house! Thanks to Kristin for staying with the boys! :)

To make a long story short, Luke has been admitted b/c essentially the implant site has become infected and the docs are worried that the infection may travel up the opening (from the implant) into his brain!!! He is on some SERIOUS antibiotics to kill this infection as we were told that if it didn't clear up by Sunday morning they would have to do a CT scan with the possibility of removing the implant and replacing one in his other ear OR waiting for the right side to heal and redoing it!!! UGH! Since neither option really appeals to anyone, we are attempting to make it through these antibiotics which turn our poor Buka a bright color of red and this morning made his face swell up!!! At this point they are only telling us that we will be here 1 or 2 more nights! It wouldn't be terrible, except for the fact that Buka is stuck to this darn IV machine and there isn't terribly too much to do!

Luckily Aunt Jackie is available to stay the nights with Luke and I and Dan is up here during the day. He heads home at night to relieve Nana who is watching Jack and Nick (and getting them to soccer games and such!!!)

I'll try to keep everyone posted!!!

Watch out for the COMETS!

We have spent almost every Saturday and Sunday at the local soccer fields watching Jack's team, the Comets, "learn" to play soccer. It is really quite fun to watch Jack and the rest of his team "attack" the ball. Jack is such an aggressive little guy on the field...it is neat to see. He definitely LOVES it and we LOVE watching him! Here is a quick picture I took of Jack and some of his teammates...Jack is the last little guy in the row! :)

And BABY makes three...

Okay, okay, everybody lift your jaws up from the ground!!! It's not me, but rather my little sister, Jackie and her lovely husband Steve who are expecting their first baby in April (maybe on my birthday...the 20th!) We are oh-so excited that they are expecting, especially after Jackie's melanoma diagnosis and following struggles this past spring! So far, so good with the pregnancy, it is nothing like mine (so maybe baby is a GIRL...our niece Alyssa needs a girl cousin!) as Jackie has not been sick at all!

Here are Jackie and Steve in front of a ferris wheel...oh how this baby is going to take them on a bumpier ride than this...but one that is SO much MORE exciting than any carnival ride!!! We love you guys and we know that you will make AMAZING parents (as you've had lots of practice with all your nieces and nephews!) Congrats!