Sorry it's been so long since the last post. Lucas has been a bit under the weather recently. He just had a bit of a stuffy nose, some sneezing and an occasional cough. No fever though. We think it might have been allergy related. Marc was having the same symptoms and his were because of allergies. Then it rained some more and whatever it was got washed away and they are now both fine. :)
Lucas also got his hair cut last week. He was awake and squirming and the overall look is not what I was planning, but it's not the worst and it will grow. It kind of looks like he got a hold of the scissors and then I tried to fix it. We'll get some pictures up next week and show off his new do. We should have lots to post because Wednesday is his birthday and that demands many many photos.
That's right, a year has already passed since we were first able to hold him in our arms. In so many ways it seems like it's been decades, not months, but in other ways it seems like he just took his first breath yesterday. The time has flown by, though we also have a difficult time remembering life without him. Not that we were incomplete without him and not that we would be overflowing when we have more kids, ,but we feel, pardon the hokey Jerry Maguire-ness, that he completes us in a sense. I'm sure there are those out there who understand what I mean. I imagine we'll experience it again with every child.
This week holds a lot of busyness as we prepare for Lucas' birthday party this coming weekend. Marc's family is flying in from NY and my dad is driving up from Mexico to join us locals in celebrating his life. There is much cleaning and planning and shopping that we will do this week in addition to therapy and swim class. (We have 3 more weeks to hopefully enjoy it. This past week, he slept for about 25 of the 30 minute class and the water was the coldest it's been. He's a pretty impressive kid!)
If I get a chance, I might put a few pics up before the party, just of our little intimate family celebration on his actual birthday. We'll see what we get to.
For now, I am off to bed and hope that all you mothers and fathers, sons and daughters (that should cover everyone) had a wonderful week and fabulous mother's day!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Splish, Splash and Sleep
So, three weeks into our aquatics class and Lucas is still not happy about being there. Week one he cried through most all of it; week two he cried through about half and slept, yes fell asleep in the water, for the last few minutes; week three he fussed through about 3/4 of the time. The first two weeks he missed his morning nap. The third week, I think his teeth were bothering him and I hadn't given him any thing to soothe them. Next week, hopefully we'll get the nap and not have the teething issue. His gums are pretty swollen and look like there are at least 3, maybe 4 or 5 teeth thinking about popping up. I don't think I'd be very comfortable either.
Marc's cousin Alex is recovering well. He is having some pain and all of his symptoms such as blurred vision have yet to dissipate, but it has only been a week and that is to be expected.
Marc's place of employment is hosting the President of the US today. Yep, George W Bush is coming to St. Louis and Marc will be one of about 250 people to share the room with him. Marc was recruited to be a volunteer assisting with checking in the local press. Regardless of how one may feel personally about the presidency, I still think it's pretty cool, surreal and exciting.
I'm planning to cut Lucas' hair again. I've trimmed it up in the back before, but now it needs some trimming on top and on the sides as well.. We'll see how it goes and if anyone will notice in the pictures to come. :)
Blessings!
Marc's cousin Alex is recovering well. He is having some pain and all of his symptoms such as blurred vision have yet to dissipate, but it has only been a week and that is to be expected.
Marc's place of employment is hosting the President of the US today. Yep, George W Bush is coming to St. Louis and Marc will be one of about 250 people to share the room with him. Marc was recruited to be a volunteer assisting with checking in the local press. Regardless of how one may feel personally about the presidency, I still think it's pretty cool, surreal and exciting.
I'm planning to cut Lucas' hair again. I've trimmed it up in the back before, but now it needs some trimming on top and on the sides as well.. We'll see how it goes and if anyone will notice in the pictures to come. :)
Blessings!
Friday, April 25, 2008
All is well
I love that I can share that everyone is doing great. Lucas remains well and is getting stronger and more amazing every day. His joy is overwhelming. I love it. I know I've said it before, but seriously, I have the greatest job in the world. It would be impossible, I think, to begrudge even a single moment in my days spent with my precious little love.
I wanted to share that Marc's cousin Alex had his brain surgery today and all went well. I don't know the specifics of his recovery, but as he came out of anesthesia, he was feeling well. I'll update later his continued improvement.
Also, You may remember (if you've read through all this blog) the story of little Abigail Grace Steer, the sweet baby girl whose room was down the hall from Lucas that first week at St. Louis Children's Hospital. She had a super-aggressive brain tumor and was sent home to die the same day Lucas was discharged home to heal. She has just stopped chemo and is doing fantastically! God is good! Feel free to check in on her website if you're interested. We greatly related with her family and their story is quite similar to ours. As much as it was a struggle for us to be at the hospital with our babies suffering, there was also a great comfort that we could take in each other.
Praying that you also are all well as you read this. Thank you for caring about our sweet little champion.
I wanted to share that Marc's cousin Alex had his brain surgery today and all went well. I don't know the specifics of his recovery, but as he came out of anesthesia, he was feeling well. I'll update later his continued improvement.
Also, You may remember (if you've read through all this blog) the story of little Abigail Grace Steer, the sweet baby girl whose room was down the hall from Lucas that first week at St. Louis Children's Hospital. She had a super-aggressive brain tumor and was sent home to die the same day Lucas was discharged home to heal. She has just stopped chemo and is doing fantastically! God is good! Feel free to check in on her website if you're interested. We greatly related with her family and their story is quite similar to ours. As much as it was a struggle for us to be at the hospital with our babies suffering, there was also a great comfort that we could take in each other.
Praying that you also are all well as you read this. Thank you for caring about our sweet little champion.
Friday, April 18, 2008
new pics
I just posted some new pics from this month and added a few more to the March 2008 album as well if y'all want to take a look!
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| April 2008 |
All shook up
Lucas got to experience his first earthquake this morning. He woke early, seemingly in expectation, and was sure to be super loud so both myself and Marc would be awake for the event as well. It was a 5.4 hitting in southern Illinois. It gently shook our house for a few seconds and then it was gone. How very exciting, huh!?!
Lucas has also begun life as a Kipper. I would argue that he doesn't fit the definition according to Wikipedia, but at the YMCA, its a child 9-12 months old who participates in an intro to swimming and aquatics class. We are enrolled in a 7 week class and had our first this past Wednesday. I would not say that he loved it, even that he liked it, but he tolerated it well. Hopefully, he will be like the countless others who, by 4 weeks in, loves and looks forward to the 30 minute class. It seems that he will only have one classmate, a little girl just a week younger than him. She is adorable and her mom seems pretty great too. She is a pediatric nurse at Cardinal Glennon, the other major local children's hospital here in St. Louis.
Okay, right this minute, we just had an after shook, or maybe another quake, not sure which, but the whole house just shook again. Wow.
Lucas is doing great otherwise. I have a goal set that he will be sitting up on his own by his 1st birthday next month. We'll see if we can achieve it. He's getting stronger every day, and more vocal (if that even seems possible). He is closer to forming words and moving his mouth as though what he is saying should make sense to the rest of us. He has also begun discovering the joys of sticking out his tongue in different ways. Sometimes he looks like a snake tasting the air, sometimes like he's trying to make a chimpanzee face and sometimes he's just using for extra leverage in the spit spraying arena. I also predict he'll cut his 5th tooth by the end of the day tomorrow, if not today.
That's a glimpse into our exciting lives. I'm going to go play with him now, but hopefully will get some more pictures up later today so you can all see our handsome growing boy. :)
Lucas has also begun life as a Kipper. I would argue that he doesn't fit the definition according to Wikipedia, but at the YMCA, its a child 9-12 months old who participates in an intro to swimming and aquatics class. We are enrolled in a 7 week class and had our first this past Wednesday. I would not say that he loved it, even that he liked it, but he tolerated it well. Hopefully, he will be like the countless others who, by 4 weeks in, loves and looks forward to the 30 minute class. It seems that he will only have one classmate, a little girl just a week younger than him. She is adorable and her mom seems pretty great too. She is a pediatric nurse at Cardinal Glennon, the other major local children's hospital here in St. Louis.
Okay, right this minute, we just had an after shook, or maybe another quake, not sure which, but the whole house just shook again. Wow.
Lucas is doing great otherwise. I have a goal set that he will be sitting up on his own by his 1st birthday next month. We'll see if we can achieve it. He's getting stronger every day, and more vocal (if that even seems possible). He is closer to forming words and moving his mouth as though what he is saying should make sense to the rest of us. He has also begun discovering the joys of sticking out his tongue in different ways. Sometimes he looks like a snake tasting the air, sometimes like he's trying to make a chimpanzee face and sometimes he's just using for extra leverage in the spit spraying arena. I also predict he'll cut his 5th tooth by the end of the day tomorrow, if not today.
That's a glimpse into our exciting lives. I'm going to go play with him now, but hopefully will get some more pictures up later today so you can all see our handsome growing boy. :)
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The History Channel
Marc and I were watching a special on the History Channel about Easter the other night that I found interesting. The program was based on an attempt to either verify or falsify the claim that Jesus lived, was crucified, buried and rose from the dead. Apparently, the experts on either side of Christianity, which is based almost entirely on the belief that this is truth, do not argue that Jesus lived, that He was crucified, that He was buried or that He went missing from the tomb where He was buried. The question is, "What became of His body?"
His followers from the beginning claim that he was resurrected from the dead and walked and talked and even ate among them. On the other side, the strongest theory is that the body was stolen and that His followers were hallucinating due to grief. Sure, maybe they saw Him, but it was because they were all (all in the same room at the same time, as well as on other occasions with two or three together) so stricken with heart ache that they could see and feel and question him, simultaneously in one joined hallucination. Those experts who didn't necessarily believe the hallucination theory but also do not believe that Jesus was and is who He claimed to be, the Son of God, the Savior of all, God incarnate, still find it fascinating that these people who followed Jesus and were entirely destitute upon His death, fearful and hiding and utterly lost without a clue of direction suddenly all became incredibly bold in telling this story that seemed impossible, that God had walked among them in the form of man and all were welcome to surrender to His love and be changed forever. Even if they made it all up, unlike any other who had come and claimed to be the same as Jesus of Nazareth did, the Messiah, the movement never died out but instead has spread to this day.
We were not there and did not see such things with our own eyes, but we believe that this is Truth. This is the pivot point for all things in our life. This is why we believe in goodness, why we strive to be better, why we rejoice in the life of our son and have confidence that our lives serve great purpose. It is why we pray and the basis of how we pray: only unto God, asking in the name, for the sake of Jesus, and so that all who know us may know that anything good in life comes from our Maker and anything difficult is possible to overcome because He carries us through. There is no other, no Secret, no mantra.
I don't know what each of you reading this blog believes, but I want you to know what we believe because it is what fuels us, our joy, our strength, our purpose. There is nothing else worth while.
On that note, I would like to ask you to join us in prayer for Marc's cousin Alex who, it has recently been discovered, was born with a chiari malformation. His cerebellum (in the back part of the brain) is not properly contained and has slid back and is putting pressure on the brain stem where the automatic actions such as breathing and swallowing are controlled. He has had symptoms for years, but they were accredited to Lyme disease. He is 14 years old now and is preparing to have brain surgery to correct it, as best as possible. We believe that what is impossible for man to do is simple for God, so please pray with us that he would be completely restored to the high schooler he was made to be.
Thanks. Blessings from the DeSantis family, including a totally seizure free Lucas!
His followers from the beginning claim that he was resurrected from the dead and walked and talked and even ate among them. On the other side, the strongest theory is that the body was stolen and that His followers were hallucinating due to grief. Sure, maybe they saw Him, but it was because they were all (all in the same room at the same time, as well as on other occasions with two or three together) so stricken with heart ache that they could see and feel and question him, simultaneously in one joined hallucination. Those experts who didn't necessarily believe the hallucination theory but also do not believe that Jesus was and is who He claimed to be, the Son of God, the Savior of all, God incarnate, still find it fascinating that these people who followed Jesus and were entirely destitute upon His death, fearful and hiding and utterly lost without a clue of direction suddenly all became incredibly bold in telling this story that seemed impossible, that God had walked among them in the form of man and all were welcome to surrender to His love and be changed forever. Even if they made it all up, unlike any other who had come and claimed to be the same as Jesus of Nazareth did, the Messiah, the movement never died out but instead has spread to this day.
We were not there and did not see such things with our own eyes, but we believe that this is Truth. This is the pivot point for all things in our life. This is why we believe in goodness, why we strive to be better, why we rejoice in the life of our son and have confidence that our lives serve great purpose. It is why we pray and the basis of how we pray: only unto God, asking in the name, for the sake of Jesus, and so that all who know us may know that anything good in life comes from our Maker and anything difficult is possible to overcome because He carries us through. There is no other, no Secret, no mantra.
I don't know what each of you reading this blog believes, but I want you to know what we believe because it is what fuels us, our joy, our strength, our purpose. There is nothing else worth while.
On that note, I would like to ask you to join us in prayer for Marc's cousin Alex who, it has recently been discovered, was born with a chiari malformation. His cerebellum (in the back part of the brain) is not properly contained and has slid back and is putting pressure on the brain stem where the automatic actions such as breathing and swallowing are controlled. He has had symptoms for years, but they were accredited to Lyme disease. He is 14 years old now and is preparing to have brain surgery to correct it, as best as possible. We believe that what is impossible for man to do is simple for God, so please pray with us that he would be completely restored to the high schooler he was made to be.
Thanks. Blessings from the DeSantis family, including a totally seizure free Lucas!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
10 going on 15
So, though Lucas is only 10 1/2 months old now, he wears size 12 months. The way the onsies fit him suggest that he won't be comfortably fitted in them for too long. The next size up is 18 months, which is certainly too big. I therefore suggest a size 15 months so he doesn't have to show his shoulders to the world as he out grows the 12 months or be overtaken by the 18 months before he has fully come into them. I doubt that in the next 2-3 months this change in baby clothing will occur, so I imagine we will work through the awkward stages just like most other Americans since I don't intend to begin a new career as a seamstress.
In other news, Lucas has not had a seizure since last Thursday early, early morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We thank God for this super celebration and trust that they are gone for good. He has been sleeping well through the night and is back to only waking once. His napping is still off and hasn't been so thorough, but his body will sort it out and he'll get back to a regular daytime schedule again, I'm sure.
Thank you, thank you, thank you all for your prayers. God is so much more good than we can comprehend. He loves this little boy, His son and ours.
Now that he's doing better, I am off to the elliptical!
Blessings!
In other news, Lucas has not had a seizure since last Thursday early, early morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We thank God for this super celebration and trust that they are gone for good. He has been sleeping well through the night and is back to only waking once. His napping is still off and hasn't been so thorough, but his body will sort it out and he'll get back to a regular daytime schedule again, I'm sure.
Thank you, thank you, thank you all for your prayers. God is so much more good than we can comprehend. He loves this little boy, His son and ours.
Now that he's doing better, I am off to the elliptical!
Blessings!
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