minor setback

We had a minor setback this weekend with Lucas.  On Sunday evening Lucas started running a high temp of 99 degrees.  I gave him some Tylenol and put him to bed.  At 1:00 Monday morning I heard him crying and since he has a cold and bad cough, he sounds kinda hoarse (poor buddy).  I went in and he was burning up.  I took his temp and it was 101.8 so I gave him some more Tylenol.  He took half the dropper and started dry heaving (it was awful).  He was crying and I got pretty scared.  He then threw up a little and he was not too happy about that.  I then got him calmed down and tried the rest of the dropper and rocked him to sleep.  I laid him down and then he started dry heaving again.  I picked him up and ran to the bathroom where he started throwing up again.  I was very scared and with the new medicine he is on for the reflux and the fact he was running a temp, I decided to bring him to the ER.  When I got to Blank there was no one in the waiting room so we got in right away.  The Dr. discovered he has an ear infection in his right ear.  Poor guy!  He also had to have a catheter, but thankfully no UTI!!!  We got home about 4 am and slept in until 7 and then we snuggled in bed until 9.  We were all pretty tired most of the morning as both Andrew and Jacob are getting over upper respiratory infections.  So needless to say we haven't been sleeping the greatest in our house.

here's a nice picture of our big boy at his 5 year well child

Lucas is feeling better!

Lucas and Jacob being cute

Jacob giving me a nice smile

Andrew also took quite a spill on his bike tonight too.  He fell mouth first on the sidewalk and nearly knocked out his two front teeth.  It looks pretty bad, but he is so tough that he cried for only 5 minutes and then went back to playing with his friends.  I have a picture, but will have to add it later.  I will be staying home with all three boys tomorrow as the baby would not be ready to go to daycare, Andrew needs to go to the Dentist and Jacob isn't feeling the greatest either.

right after the spill OUCH!

later that night

this afternoon.

 To note, the Dentist said that we are going to watch his teeth.  The front teeth will fall out soon and not long after the teeth next to it will fall out.  Poor guy, he is sooooooooooooo tough!

where has the time gone?

I cannot believe it has been since June that I have updated our blog!  Well to give a bit of an update...

Andrew: is almost 5 years old (September 13), has lost 2 teeth, 2 more are loose, his 6 year molars have come in on the top and are almost through on the bottom (our dentist stated he has an advanced mouth), enjoying being back at daycare and is ready to start pre K this fall at St. Paul Lutheran!  He continues to be a great big brother and loves to "daddy" his baby brother Lucas.  He currently weighs 54 lbs and is 3 feet 11 inches.  A big boy!  He is also excited to start flag football in September

Jacob turned 2 in May and continues to keep us on his toes.  Potty training is coming along as he almost has #1 down, but #2 is still touch and go.  But we are proud how close he is with being potty trained so young!  He continues to love on his baby brother and drive his big brother nuts (but they do play nice together too!)  Jacob is talking up a storm and his vocabulary is booming!  He enjoys being back at daycare and playing with his friends.

Lucas is almost 6 months old, which I still can't believe!  He is doing really well and growing and changing everyday.  He resembles both boys, but his hair is actually a lot lighter than the other two boys!  We did have one set back with the medication that he has been on.  He had an allergic reaction on August 20, so we had to switch to a new medication (its late and I don't have the name off hand).  So far he is doing pretty well with it, so we wait and see.  He goes in for his 3 month ultrasound in a couple weeks so we continue to pray his kidneys get better!!  He seems to really enjoy daycare and is currently the youngest in his room, so he is spoiled by the grandmas in the room!  The next oldest just turned a year so I like that he is the only baby.  He is also rolling EVERYWHERE!  And just last Saturday he started getting up on his toes and hands.  Pretty soon the pumpkin will be crawling.  Lord help us all!!  He continues to be the best sleeper of the three boys and I pray that continues.

All and all the boys are great.  I will have to post pictures soon!!

follow up with the specialist

Hard to believe its been almost two weeks since I brought Lucas to the specialist in Des Moines.  When we had went to Iowa City Dr. Kieren had said she wanted ultrasounds of Lucas' kidney every three months.  We are happy to report that everything thing went great!  Lucas is gaining weight!!  He weighed 13lbs 6oz!  I also told Dr. Auron before he even said anything about how the ultrasound went, that I noticed I was changing a lot more pee diapers.  He stated that the left kidney is stabilized and the right kidney looked better!!  This was great news because if things weren't getting better than surgery would be a stronger possibility.  Lucas also gave a urine sample and all checked out well with that.  He was supposed to give a blood sample, but after two pokes he was not a happy camper and this momma was tired of her baby crying so hard.  We did go back two days later and he gave a blood sample with the first poke!  All and all Lucas is doing great!  He is taking Bactrim every night to prevent a UTI and he takes that medicine really well.  He also sleeps 11 hours a night, which makes him the best sleeper of the three boys!  Hard to believe he is almost 4 months old.  Where has the time gone?

I also have to mention that Jacob is doing pretty well potty training.  Pee pee is pretty easy, but he isn't consistent with poopy.  So I keep on trying. 

 Andrew also had a wonderful week at vacation Bible school a few weeks back.  He also has been working on a loose tooth for a little over a week.  Its now on the point of hanging on by one thread, but he's too scared to pull it out.  I just hope he doesn't swallow it like his aunt Becky did (or so I am told by grandma Pam) :-)

single parenthood

I have always thought how hard it would be to be a single parent.  I feel blessed that I have such a wonderful husband who is also the best dad one could ask for.  I have gotten a taste of single parenthood this week while John and a couple buddies went up to the Black Hills on a motorcycle trip.  Yes its busy being home with a 4, 2 and 3 month old, but it honestly has been better than I thought it would be.  In the sense that I would fall apart with the stress of three little ones at home all day long by myself. 

My three boys!

The boys have been GREAT!!  Andrew is a HUGE help to me.  He has really stepped up as "man of the house" this week.  Helping me with his brothers or with other little chores I need him to do.  Jacob has also been very cooperative this week, which blows my mind.  He is usually quite the stinker, but this week he has been a model two year old (enter Twilight zone music here).  And Lucas, well he is pretty much the BEST baby in the world.  He sleeps AWESOME (hopefully not jinxing myself), eats well, plays, smiles, repeat.  God has truly blessed our family with a great last baby.  To prepare myself for being along for nearly 6 days I have kept a pretty jammed packed schedule. 

Lots of playdates and company has been wonderful for us.  The Schwendinger's came down from MN on Thursday and spent the night and then played most of the day on Friday.  Along with our friends the Hall's who came over Thursday for a BBQ and play time.  The weather has also cooperated so we have been able to get outside and wear my boys out!

the four big kids: Theo, Andrew, Jacob, and Ayla

 And I am not going to lie, TV has also been a good distraction.  I am not too proud to say that my kids watch TV and its a way to distract them and pass the time (and a bribe tool!).  Today (Saturday) my friend Amy and her two boys (her hubby John went with my John on the Harley trip) are coming over to play and have a sleep-over.  Should be a fun afternoon and evening!  Sunday we are heading up to Boone to see John's grandpa Bud, sister Becky and her family, possibly John's sister Sarah and brother Paul.  John should be home sometime around noon on Monday.  We are having a pretty good time just the four of us, but we do miss John a lot and really look forward to him coming home on Monday.  I commend all the men and women who are single parents and feel blessed that I have someone to take this crazy ride with me known as parenthood.  Love you babe and we hope you had a wonderful time in South Dakota!!

John and John ready for their ride to the Black Hills

 

2 months old and 2 years old

Hard to believe but Jacob officially turned 2 on May 12 and Lucas turned 2 months on May 7!  Where has the time gone?  Time flies when you are having fun!  Lucas had his 2 month well child and weighed 10 lbs 13 oz, and at this time he was switched to Bactrim.  He will be on this till he is 1 year old (or so I suspect).  He goes for his ultrasound of his kidney June 14 so we pray that his body keeps healing itself. 

Jacob had his 2 year well child today and all checked out well with him too.  He weighed 28 lbs and is in the 50% for his height, weight, and head circumference.  He had tubes put in back in January and on May 1st ended up getting an ear infection.  Then last Friday he broke out in hives.  This was a new experience in our household.  So the Dr put him on prednisone as needed.  I am so ready to have all my kids off of medicine!!  As of today (Tuesday the 17th) his skin looks the best it has looked.  Our PA suggested putting him on Claritin or Zyrtec as he most likely has allergies.  Since I have allergies, this doesn't surprise me in the least. 

Andrew and Jacob also were checked for any kidney function issue.  They both had their blood pressure checked, blood draw, and urine sample.  Both boys did great and both were very proud to tell daddy they peed in a cup!  Everything checked out fine with their urine and blood samples so Thursday they will both get ultrasounds done of their kidneys.  Here's to hoping all continues to check out fine with them in that department. 

After the Dr. we stopped at a park and played and then enjoyed McDonald's for lunch.  They have been great boys and I am so enjoying being home with them.

Its official

Jacob's favorite Handy Manny!

Lucas giving a big smile.  Baptism outfit made by grandma Lori

Jacob blowing out his candles with help from Andrea

Lucas' baptism cake May 1st 2011

all the adorable Haase cousins

4 generations of Haase men

Aunt Nancy Uncle John (my mom's brother), my mom and dad

Jacob opening presents

digging into the Handy Manny cake

Lucas' baptism May 1st he was so good and didn't cry

proud parents with our newly baptized baby

our wonderful family of five

My godmother aunty Nancy

Lucas being baptized

John, me, Lucas, Becky and Ben Lucas' godparents

The Haase's and the Hirn's

Its official, I am a terrible blogger.  I just have the hardest time trying to keep up.  I might take my friend Lisa's approach a do a blog of all pictures.  The past few weeks have been crazy busy.  Between Easter, Jacob's early 2nd bday party, Lucas' baptism, Lucas turning 2 months old, Pella Tulip Festival, Jacob's real birthday May 12, Andrew's last day of pre school May 13, I just can't keep up!  So here are some pictures of majority of the events listed above!!  I am hoping now that I downloaded Firefox, my laptop will cooperate better than IE.  Now that I have uploaded the pictures there is no organization so I apologize for that.  I consider myself techy (a Gene Larson word) but this website's way of posting pictures is not easy to move around.  So maybe one of my blogging friends can give me a tip!

this weekend

We had a busy weekend in which we celebrated Jacob's second birthday (a few weeks early) and Lucas' baptism.  It was a crazy busy weekend, but we really had a nice time.  It was great to see all of John's family and my parents and aunt Nancy and uncle John.  I will try to post some pictures soon.