Adenoids

Last Friday Jack had an appointment at Children Hospital to be looked at for some breathing issues he has had.  He breaths loudly through his mouth and doesn’t sleep the way he should.

At the hospital they ran a few tests and got an x-ray of his head to check the size of his adenoids which they thought might be the problem.  I guess enlarged adenoids can make it hard to breath through your nose.  The scan showed that the adenoids were indeed the problem and Jack will have surgery to remove them in a few weeks time.

If I understood correctly, the part that I circled in red below is Jack’s adenoid.  And the darker part that I scribbled in blue is his airflow.  If you look back at the top scan you can see how the airflow is “pinched” below the adenoids.

Right now I feel glad that there is something we can do about Jacks breathing.  When he gets a cold he has an even harder time breathing and it can be really scary.  The adenoids swell making nose breathing even harder than usual.  Several times Jack has been completely unable to breath when he was vomiting since he couldn’t breath through his nose and the vomiting cut off his flow through his mouth.  It is terrifying – to both of us.   Also, the adenoids can cut off the drainage tube thingys to his ears which is probably the reason that all of his colds this winter turned into ear infections.

While I feel relieved right now, I don’t know how I will feel when it comes down to the actual surgery time.  That might be a little scary. 

Jack liked visiting the hospital.  All of the staff spoke to him first asking him for his last name (which I had to translate: “your big name”) and his birthdate.  He was wearing a superman shirt with a cape and several times the staff asked, “Superman, have you seen Jack?”  Jack got to play games and read books and they even gave him a popsicle when he was getting a little antsy near the end.  For a two hour appointment – things went pretty well.

The nurse printed the head x-ray for Jack to take home.  When we picked up Owen from school, Jack was very excited to show him, but had left the printout at home.  “Owen, you need to see it.  The doctor took a picture of my head, and guess what?! I am a skeleton!”

Jack Is Strong

Jack was telling me how strong he was today.  “I can lift my brother! And I can carry very heavy things!”  He looked around naming the things that he could carry and lift. “I can lift the whole house!” he exclaimed, but then hesitated. “I think god can probably do that.  I think he can lift the whole world.”  Jack seemed a little forlorn at this thought – I guess disappointed that he wasn’t quite as strong as he wanted to be.  Suddenly his mouth popped open in a surprised smile.  “BUT! I can lift god!” he beamed.  I must have had a funny look on my face so Jack explained, “Because god is light.  My teacher says that god is alllllll light.”  Then Jack furrowed his eyebrows. “She says that he doesn’t have even a tiny bit of darkness in him…” he walked away – eyes still furrowed.

Owen is Six

My sweet boy!  Today you are six and are so so big.  You have sprouted up in the last few months both in height and in what you are able to do. Despite your growth spurts, I take a little comfort that you can still fit in the SUV tent that Daddy and I made for you for your first birthday.  You have taken to sleeping in it , and even with your legs stretched out, your body still fits completely inside.  You are also still happy to give me hugs and kisses in public.  And, you will find me and cuddle up in my lap when I am reading.  I love these times.

You read every chance you get and, if given the choice of who should read books before bed, you prefer to take turns– each of us reading one page until the book is done.

I am amazed at what a deep/practical thinker you are.  Like today, when Katie told you about “Chatters” was getting married, you wanted to know where he and his new wife were going to live! Your thinking helps you focus - earlier this week you spent 6 hours working on your Lego kit that Grandma Mary gave you for your birthday. That kind of concentration is inspiring - then again, I think it takes you about that same amount of time each day to get dressed for school…

You only ask for Lego sets for your birthday, and sometimes you also want a light saber.  You decided that you very-much wanted a tiny ladybug Pillow Pet after you picked that out for Katie and Sarah’s birthday gift.   Daddy and I gave you a Lego set and a bike with six gears and hand brakes.  (Jack and Daddy bought the bike at REI and hid it in Doc and Nana’s garage several weeks ago – and Jack was able to keep the secret this whole time!)  You seem to really like the bike , but seem a little overwhelmed by its size.  I have no doubt that you will tackle the challenge of the new bike with gusto.  You are so much more confident in yourself and are proud that you have faced several of your fears – I am too!

My six-year-old.  My sweet, caring, silly, thoughtful, polite, serious boy.  My Owen.  I love you – Happy Birthday.

Mothers Day Tea

Jack’s preschool class hosted a tea for all of the moms today.  We all had cookies and juice and were presented with a list of  facts about each of us – as seen through our little one’s eyes…

According to Jack,  I…am 20 years old, like the color pink, and enjoy watching commercials.  My favorite food is teriyaki and my favorite thing to do is read books to Jack.  The best thing about me is that I give him lots of hugs.     

I can’t say it is all entirely accurate, but at least he got the important things right, like my age…

Jack and his classmates sang songs, (like Taking Home My Baby Bumble Bee – ???)  played instruments (Jack followed directions to a T – I was super impressed), and danced (and invited us to dance too!)

Jack wasn’t too keen on the mother/son photos that we tried to take, but he did want to take one of me with my new broach that he made.

Let’s Talk About the Weather

Yesterday…

Today…

So, we did what every other Seattleite does when we see sun – we rush outside and stay there until every last bit of sun is gone!

Our vitamin D was soaked up in West Seattle with Kris and Grady. 

bike riding

rock throwing

fort building

and park hopping (4 different parks – serious energy burn)

Jack’s New Skill

Jack and Owen really wanted to go bike riding today.  So, despite the rain, we went to Jack’s school’s parking lot which is big, level, and empty of cars (for the most part). 

When we got there, Owen was already tired (he isn’t exactly sick anymore, but is still not eating and is super sensitive to everything.  I am really hoping it is just that this week of sickness has been hard on his body!)

Jack got on his bike and I held the seat – and he was off.  He balanced from the first few pedals today.  After his first go around, he fell over away from me after his bike was stopped.  I tried to reach him (and got three smashed fingers and three ripped nails – very short)  He was scared, but got back on.  After that it was smooth sailing.  Check him out!!

Jack is the Man!

The really funny thing is that he has the balance part down pat, but not the steering or speed control.  Whichever way he leans to keep is balance is the direction that he heads in.  You can see that he mostly leans to the right, so he goes in a clockwise circle.  I wasn’t sure if he was going to hit the van that he was heading for… 

Before Jack got this bike for Christmas, he had a balance bike (a bike with no pedals, where you just run and then put your feet up when you get going.)  So he learned the balance from that, but he couldn’t really go far enough to have to steer much around here.  I think that is why he can balance so well, but needs to practice steering. 

Owen learned on a typical bike with training wheels, so he started out focusing on steering and control.  When Owen got good at those two things, then we added in the balance.  

It is really interesting to see the order reversed.  I thought I would really like the order that Jack learned, but now I am not so sure.  He wants to go fast, but isn’t really ready yet.  It seems like he is more likely to get hurt.   Of course, that might not be due to the order of learning.  It could be due to his little personality that tries first and fixes the mistakes as he goes.

I suppose if Jack does not end up in the ER in the next few weeks needing an ultrasound and an MRI and a new bike helmet( because of a collision with a tree) then he will be ahead of Owen at this age…

Jack and Mama

Daddy had to work today and Owen spent the day with Mamau, so Jack and I had a day to ourselves. 

It was rainy, so we went to a few stores. We needed a birthday present for Katie and Sarah so we went to our favorite toy store.  They had just reorganized their store and were having a big event to show off their new products.  Jack was in heaven trying out all of their display models.  He rode bikes, tried lots of toys, and did a few art projects.  He had a great time there.

At another store Jack saw this bed and really wanted it.  I was looking it over to see how we could do something like that ourselves. (I can just imagine Eric rolling his eyes right now imagining me actually trying to pull it off…don’t worry honey!)

We were by THE taco truck so we HAD to stop. 

We ate in the car since it was raining, and Jack though that was the best thing ever.

We were heading home and I remembered the 25 cent rides that they still have a Crossroads Mall.  So we stopped, and dug through the car and my purse to find as many quarters as we could.

Jack was not too keen to go on this ride.  I explained that the seat would go around the circle, and he was sure that it was going to go upside down and he would fall out.  We finally turned the ride on without him inside and then he hopped on.  “That wasn’t even the tinsiest, einsiest bit scary,” he moaned when it was over…

We spent the next hour or two in the Half-Price Book store and read and read.  We scored a few French word books and Jack picked out a dinosaur book. 

Jack fell asleep on the way home and took a long nap after I transferred him to our bed.  Poor little monkey has been cooped up in the house since Owen has been sick and we haven’t gone anywhere.  It was good to tire him out.