Summer Has Returned ... With a Vengeance!

We sure were blessed to have relatively cool  weather through early June.

But now it is time to pay our dues ... Ugh!

Our New Swim Park

Since moving here, the promise has been that obecday, our community would build a swim park.  They have been building it for just about a year now ... And today officially opened!

We went early in the morning, and there were few people there.  The water was colder than I expected, but I am guessing they were preparing for today's 111+ temps. :)

Christian Advances to The Next Level!

Next month marks three years that Christian has been in weekly swimming lessons.  He is definitely an "at his own pace" kind of kiddo, and this last level of swimming lessons seemed to take a long, long time for him to get through.

He has worked really hard and improved a great deal.  And he was just one accomplishment away from moving up.   Unbeknownst to us, they were evaluating him this weekend ... And he successfully completed four widths across the pool and earned a ribbon for completing the "Octopus Class."

This kid lives for getting ribbons ... So he was absolutely thrilled, and we were were extremely proud!!

Aww ... These two ....

Our Very First ER Visit

I think it is pretty impressive that we were able to go over seven years without ever having to visit the ER.

That streak of good fortune ended last night.

But let me backtrack:

On Thursday, March 19, I went on a trip while Jonathan stayed home with the kiddos.   Shortly aftger picking Christian up from school that day, Christian started to feel lousy and went downhill from there. 

I noticed that the mom of one his classmates posted that her son had strep throat. When Christian was still sick on Friday, Jonathan took Christian to the doctor to get tested for strep, and sure enough ... he had strep.  He got an antibiotic shot, and we expected he'd start to feel better very quickly.

But he did not.   Christian was tired and lethargic and wasn't eating and was barely drinking. He was also throwing up and unable to keep anything down.  Jonathan kept me continuously updated and it was clear that there was something other than strep going on.

I arrived home Sunday afternoon and Christian barely looked up at me, and then returned to staring at the couch he was laying on. 

By Monday, 3/23, it was clear Christian needed to see the doctor as he had not eaten anything since Thursday.  At our local doc office, his own pediatrician was booked and no other docs could see us.  So we were sent to another doctor at an office that was quite a drive for a 6:20pm appointment.  Christian had lost almost 5 pounds from his well-child exam the week before.  They tested his urine and concluded he was severely dehydrated and needed IV fluids ASAP.  We were told to get him to a pediatric ER.  The doc said the ER should be fine on an early Monday night in March, so all four of us headed to Phoenix Children's Hospital.

Imagine our surprise to arrive at the ER to find it FULL of people.   My heart sank. I knew this wasn't going to be a quick visit.   We arrived at 7:30pm ... and time passed very, very, very slowly.



I was highly annoyed to see non-emergency cases taken up space and hospital staff's time.  Like the kiddo in front of me who had been kicked in the eye at school earlier that day.   Or the kiddo behind me whose mother proclaimed the little girl had chicken pox.  The intake nurse looked and said, "She doesn't have chicken pox ... she has a rash."   I struck up a conversation with the lady and she said that her sister, who has six kids, said it was chicken pox.  And that her neighbor who has five kids said it was chicken pox.     She lifted the little girl's shirt and I said, "She does not have chicken pox.  If she did, it would be all over her body and itching like crazy."    I went on to tell her that PCH has urgent care offices she can visit for this kind of thing and it will cost her way less money.  She replied that it was okay since she had Medicaid and didn't have to pay no matter where they went.

GRRRRRR!!

I looked around wondering just how many of the (too many) people in the ER were actually there for an "emergency medical need."  

I looked up one of PCH's urgent care centers, and saw they only had a 15 minute wait time.  When Christian was seen briefly to get his vitals, I asked the nurse if one of their Urgent Care places could do the IV fluids.  She said yes and I thought we would be spared the ER nightmare.  I called the urgent care right away and learned they do NOT do IVs there.   So, we were back to ER madness.

For her part, Scarlett was doing remarkably well ...but as time passed, I knew she'd start getting antsy and tired of being there.   Poor Christian did not want to be there but was too sick and exhausted to put up much of a fight about it.   He just sat there, moving in and out of sleep.

Jonathan started looking up options for getting Scarlett and me home, because it was clear we were all going to be there for hours.   He considered a taxi for him and Christian later, looked up nearby hotels, etc.  Fortunately, my friend who lives around the corner offered to come get us.   And by 10:30, she arrived and shortly thereafter, Scarlett and I were home.

It took forever for Christian to be placed in a room - it was about 12:30am (remember, we arrived at 7:30am - so it took 5 hours to get him into a room).   And as we knew would happen, the IV insertion didn't go well.   Christian screamed bloody murder and they had to call in a very large "gentle giant" nurse to help hold Christian down.


But he eventually settled down and the IV started doing its thing.   When it was done, and Christian was given a drink of Gatorade, Jonathan said he was immediately back to his normal self!  The immediate transformation was surprising and impressive!!

Jonathan and Christian arrived home around 3:30am.    It is now 11:00am, and he is still asleep.   Scarlett came to wake me at about 7:00am and said, "Mommy!  Christian is home ... come look!!"   She was worried about her big brother - it was so touching!

Giving Brother a Little Love

Christian had an appointment today with a podiatrist to see why his feet hurt him.

He was very, very nervous, and Scarlett was genuinely concerned about him. She sat in the chair with him, held his hand, and hugged him so he would feel better.

In fact, she was upset she couldn't go into the x-ray room with him, and got upset when I made her get out of the chair to the doctor could examine Christian's feet.

She stayed by his side, and wasn't going to let anything happen to him.

Scarlett is so mean to Christian much of the time, but when it comes down to it, she loves her big brother and wants to take care of him.

Very proud Mommy Moment!

Awwwww!

 

Family PictureTime

I have a photographer friend in our community who loves to take family pics for her friends for FREE!   I love her style and signed up right away.  I am so happy with how they turned out!

Be on the lookout ...

... For Captain Hook!

The Lucero Family Kiss Sandwich

Thanksgiving Feast at School

Today I joined this handsome boy for his school's Thanksgiving feast.

Of course , he ate none of that food (except for chips and a cookie).  Ah ... This kid ...

Christian's Lady Love

Meet Emma. She is the cute little girl with whom Christian recently shared his first kiss.

Jonathan met her mom yesterday on a field trip. Christians former kindergarten teacher, who is aware of the kishss, pointed Jonathan out to her and she walked over and introduced herself. She told Jonathan all about what a wonderful little boy Christian is. And Jonathan return the compliments about Emma.

Emma's mom also shared with Jonathan that Emma plans to marry Christian. 

When I mentioned it to one of Christian's teachers, she said to me "Oh, I know. They have both told me that they love each other very much and always will."

Too cute!

Emma's Kindergarten teacher was Christian's teacher last year.  Today, she suggested I get a picture of the two of them together in their costumes. She and his other teachers are just so charmed by their cute little "love story."

The Lady Bug and the Vampire

Since Christian doesn't have school on Fridays, today is dress up day.  And naturally, Scarlett wanted to dress in her costume (she has two:  a ladybug and Rapunzel).    

I love that their costumes totally coordinate!

I don't love that as we were pulling into the Walmart parking lot, Scarlett started throwing a big fit because she no longer wanted to wear her costume.  And the fit continued in the store.   

Christian's Kindergarten V2.0 School Picture

Here is Christian's school picture for this year!

Although he's still cute as a bug, I'm a bit disappointed they didn't fix his hair, and that the photographer didn't notice Christian was not looking at the camera - not sure what he's looking at there.

(You can very nicely see his adult teeth in this pic!!   We went to the dentist the other day, and he's going to need some orthodontics in the next few months to create more space for his teeth to come in, as there just isn't any room for more teeth - and there are lots more teeth to come.   Once that space is created and all of his teeth have grown in, he will need braces.   So two rounds of orthodontics are in store for our lad.   Shhh ... he doesn't know yet.)

The Sore Freckle

Each evening at about 5:30pm, I announce to the kids that it is clean up time, because Papa is on his way home.

Today, Christian informed me he had a sore freckle.

I was bewildered.  A sore freckle at MY age leads to skin cancer concerns ... but a sore freckle for a 6 year old is a bit curious.

He lifted up his shirt and showed my his "sore freckle."  He then proceeded to tell me that "Dr. Bat" had told him that with a sore freckle, Christian can't clean up.

Best excuse to not clean up?   Could be!

Didn't work though,  I kissed his freckle and told him to go clean up. ;)

Count Dracula and His Cute Lil' Sister

Kids Say Crazy Things!!

Ah, the funny things a kindergartner will tell a random person they don't know. This exchange totally made my day when I was helping in Christian's class today:

Kiddo: My mommy dances with a pole.

Me: Oh?

Kiddo: Yeah, she dances with a pole.

Me: (*not too sure what to say ... so many questions fill my mind*)

Kiddo: But, she only does it at night.

Me: Oh, okay. (And with that, several of my questions were answered - ha! And several more questions are swirling around in my head ...)

I had to work hard to contain my laughter!! 

To Tell the Truth ... or Not ...

I recently bought some pretty new hologram Disco Dust for my cookies.   Ooohh ... aaaahhh!!

Tonight I put Christian (almost 7 years old) to bed, and told him he could read a book in bed until I returned from putting Scarlett to bed.

When I returned to his room - maybe 1/2 hour later - he showed me the significant amount of glitter that had magically appeared on his bed.  I knew exactly what it was, and asked for an explanation.

I got plenty of fictitious explanations - including it was Jonathan (who is working the night shift), and it was his sister (who I had just put to bed). I was just waiting for him to tell me it was the dog - ha!  Every version of the story he told was a bit different.

I reminded him of one of our favorite Berenstain Bears books in which the two little bears tell lie upon lie about an incident and their mom tells them that while she is disappointed over the incident, what makes her even more sad is that her kiddos felt the need to lie to her.  

And I explained to Christian that I am sad he wouldn't tell me the truth.

I can always buy more Disco Dusty (and of course, I will ... love the stuff!), but wow ... raising a child to understand he must always tell his parents the truth - no matter what - is far more tricky than I imagined.  :/

Jennifer's Last Grandparent Dies

On October 11, my Grandpa Kahn passed away.  He had been ill for quite some time, and had recently developed pneumonia and was going downhill very quickly.  

I am sad that he has died, and even more sad that his relationship with Jesus was unknown, as he refused to speak of God ... even when on his death bed.   I will not know where my Grandpa will spend his eternity until I, myself, pass away and wake to see who has gone before me.

It is a sad, sad thing to have no remaining grandparents.   As my Grandpa Kahn used to tell us when we'd see him, "Never grow old."     Since growing old cannot be avoided ... I know see what he means, as I grow older myself.

I will be sharing more about my grandparents in a future post.  But for now, I just wanted to get the news out to whomever may read our blog.

Jennifer

***********************************


Gerald "Bud" Kahn passed away early in the morning on Saturday, October 11, 2014.

He was born in 1926 on Valentines Day in Hastings Nebraska to Adolph and Hazel Kahn. When Gerald was three his family moved to a homestead in Mount Vernon, Washington, which Gerald later bought from his father and has made his home for the past 85 years.

The Kahn Family's arrival to their new home coincided with the beginning of The Great Depression, and the family faced many struggles. The house they had moved into burned down, taking the life of Gerald's younger sister Louise, but the resourceful family converted a recently built chicken brooding barn into their new home.

When Gerald was in the first grade at the Avon School, his leg was badly burned while playing with his brother near a campfire. He subsequently spent six months in the hospital recovering, and it is believed that this event eventually caused the failure of one of his kidneys.

Through the challenges Gerald learned the value of perseverance, patience, and hard work. Fresh out of 8th grade, Gerald became a commercial truck driver at the age of 14, even though he didn't have a driver's license. Through his deliveries throughout the state, Gerald also found construction jobs, which later led him to joining the Teamsters. During his 40 years with the Teamsters he fulfilled many roles, but ended up as the foreman of the warehouses that were responsible for building many of the local petroleum and aluminum refineries.

In 1948, Gerald met Margaret Herbert in Abbotsford, BC, and four months later made her his wife in a marriage that lasted nearly 60 years until her passing in June 2008. The two didn't have much money to start their new life together, but they did have a small home that Gerald had bought from war surplus to start a family in. Gary, Greg, and Gayle all grew up in the home and while work was slow Gerald made a total of three additions to make room for the growing family. Later in life Gerald built two duplex apartment buildings on his property, which are still being rented to this day.

Gerald recognized that he had ambition, and a drive to work. He had natural mechanical engineering and machining ability and spent thousands of hours in his own machine shop that he built at his home. His passion was building to scale, remote controlled model crawler tractors, cranes and air engines. He was a member of the Early Days Gas Engine & Tractor Association for 10 years. While he wasn't working on his models, he was able to travel the country in a motorhome with his wife, and take multiple trips to Europe.

Gerald is survived by his three children Gary Kahn of Las Vegas, NV, Greg Kahn of Mount Vernon, WA, and Gayle Holmes of LaConner, WA, his sister Sena, eight grandchildren Jennifer Lucero, Elizabeth Kahn, Adam Holmes, Andy Holmes, Peter Holmes, Marci Kahn, Gerry Kahn, Thomas Kahn, and 12 great-grandchildren. His passing was preceded by his wife Margaret, his brothers Melvin, Vern, and Wendell, and his sister Lois.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday October, 18th 2014 at the Hulbush Funeral Home at 281 S. Burlington Blvd, Burlington, WA. The service will be followed by interment at the Bay View Cemetery. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/skagitvalleyherald/obituary.aspx?n=gerald-lee-kahn-bud&pid=172795657&fhid=6902#sthash.Xm8dNUuW.dpuf

A Huge Milestone

This lil' boy can now tie his shoes all by himself!

The Kiss

So I arrive to get Christian and his extended care teacher looks at me rather seriously and says, "I need to talk with you."

I was a bit confused. Sounded like he was in trouble.

She told me that she caught Christian and a little girl in class in a LIPLOCK.

I must confess ... I laughed! I thought it was funny! Nay, I thought it was HILARIOUS!!

She told me it wasn't just a peck ... that they were holding each other's faces and were enjoying the moment.

She told me that was a first - never happened in her class.

She had them stop, of course. And she commented, "They are only five!"

And I laughed, "Christian is actually almost 7. So he's an 'older man'."

I am so very amused by the situation. They are just lil' kids.

I hope her parents are as amused as I am! I hope tomorrow I won't be notified of a parent conference or something. 

A Seriously Proud Mommy Moment

Christian and Scarlett fight - a lot. But there moments like this when I see they really do love each other. Here, Christian (6.5) helps Scarlett (2.5) put on her shoes. I did not ask him to do it - he took the initiative and sat her down to help her.

Seriously Proud Mommy Moment!

A Huge Advancement: Christian Jumps in Pool

So Christian has been in swimming lessons for over two years now.  And while he does great in the pool during lessons, he really struggles with independence when we go to another pool. He wants to be independent, but when he starts to sink under the water, he doesn't know what to do (which is surprising).   

Until today.

We were at a swimming party, and Jonathan had to work.   So I was trying to keep an eye on both kids, also knowing that there were numerous parents around the pool keeping an eye on things.  It suddenly caught my attention that Christian had jumped off a high wall and into the pool ... and he popped right up and swam to the side.

WHAT??  Christian????

I asked him to do it again so I could capture it on camera.   After that, he jumped over and over and over again.   Sometimes popping up from the water and floating on his back, sometimes swimming on his stomach.   

He must have simply been inspired by the other children jumping.  He never announced to me that he was going to do it.   He never said, "Mommy, look what I did!"    He was just in his own happy world.

I am so, so, so proud of our lil' swimmer!   This advancement is HUGE!

Enjoy this cute video!

Show and Tell

I was fortunate today to arrive just in time to see Christian give his very first Show and Tell presentation of the year!   His class last year didn't do Show and Tell, so I was impressed with the confidence he had today.