Casting Crowns

Well, today was the dreaded casting appointment. I was so worried that this would be simply intolerable to Luca. However, the Lord answered our prayers, and the little guy did really well. Aside from a few minutes of crying, Luca handled his casting better than I could have expected.
We decided that Keith would take him, feeling that Bella's presence was really not a good idea. It was probably good that I didn't have to witness it first hand. I made Keith promise to take lots of pictures, and even those made me cry.
Now that the mold of Luca's head has been made, the lab can begin to fabricate the appliance. We expect to have the new Doc Band within two weeks, and then the adjustment period begins again! What an adventure this turned out to be!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Our tummies were filled to the brim after this dinner which Amie and I delightfully pulled off. This was a first for me - the turkey prep was actually pretty funny. Keith and I looked like we were in the OR with our gloves and sterile technique!
We were so glad to have our family here to join us, and we all - Amie, Matt, Garrett, Bella, Luca, Keith and myself - had a great time.
However, Amie and I are homesick for the rest of our families, so we're counting the days until we head home for Christmas!
Let the shopping begin!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We want to wish our family and friends a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving! We will miss all of you so much, but are truly thankful that we have our cousins Amie, Matt, and Garrett this year to share this special day with! Please keep them in your prayers as they settle in to life here in San Diego!
We are thankful for our wonderful family, who continuously loves and supports us across the miles. We are counting the days until Christmas when we will hit the friendly skies, the night before Santa does!
We are thankful for great friends - old ones who keep in touch, and for new ones God has blessed us with. We love you!
Eat lots, and be merry. And ..."in all things give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

New Tooth

...or soon to be "teeth." I was finally able to get a picture this morning of Luca without something in his mouth! He's got one tooth that's broken through, and one any time now. These teeth have been the only source of annoyance for this usually mild-mannered good boy. He simply does not yet appreciate their existence!
This picture also shows a nice bruise on his head, which resulted from a run-in with the entertainment center in the play room. Yes, we do miss the helmet some days.
Speaking of which, Luca has his casting appointment on Monday for his new Doc Band. We should have some interesting pictures of that experience to share!

Soooo Big!

It's hard to believe how big this little guy is getting! His latest thing is pulling himself up onto anything he can get a grip on. It's amazing to think that Bella was walking at this age... we're thankful that we're going to have a few extra months before Luca hits the open road.
Luca's 2nd tooth is working it's way through, and he doesn't appreciate it at all. Other than that, he likes to get into everything, eats everything, and is still a very good baby.
We're so blessed!

Favorite Things

No, we didn't drop off the face of the earth - it's just that the weeks when I serve on the worship team at church can get a little hectic. I love doing it, but with playing 3 services and rehearsals, it can be hard to get caught up!
Whew... I'm all caught up.
This is what the kids are the most into lately. Luca LOVES his swing! I debated on waiting until they were "in season" again to get one at the local Target, but I had a hunch he would really like it, so I ordered one online. (How can something be "out of season" here?) Anyway, I was right. As soon as I put him in, he gave me the greatest belly laugh, and continues to do so every time he goes in his swing. Plus, he gets a kick out of sitting in it and watching his crazy sister zip around on her little bike.
Bella has rediscovered her 2-year birthday present from Nonna and Pappy - a little motorized trike. Ever since she mastered the tricycle, she has become much better at steering/not crashing into everything in sight. She wants to ride it all waking hours - Keith even took her on the trails with it (much to the delight of the peace-desiring golfers, I'm sure). It really is kind of funny watching that little twig fly around on it... she does pretty well, and whenever she's not just in the back yard, she wears a helmet.... Big Ben should have taken a lesson from this toddler!
Happy Birthday, Chad!

To The Zoo

Yesterday (Monday), Keith was off, so we decided to go to the San Diego Zoo. Surprisingly, it was the first visit for the kids and me.
Since Luca is helmet-free for the time being, we wanted to take advantage of it, since he gets very hot in it - especially when it was as warm as it was yesterday!
We had a great time, and Bella really enjoyed it. Luca did very well and was a good boy, as always.
We have to go back again soon, as we didn't get to see the whole thing. With the kids tiring out, and the heat doing us all in, we were home by 4 and ready to get to bed early!

First Burger

Last night after church we decided to try In-N-Out Burger, which is supposedly a big thing here in Southern California. I, being from the east coast, asked the girl at the drive-thru what they had for kids in the way of chicken fingers. I then found out that this was a true burger joint... no chicken. There was a choice of a double cheeseburger, a hamburger, a cheeseburger, fries, and milkshakes on the menu. So, Bella was forced to get her very first cheeseburger. This isn't your typical McDonalds cheeseburger - This puppy, complete with lettuce, tomato, onion, and special sauce was only $1.69, and very good! As you can see, Bella really enjoyed the experience, but needed Daddy's help to finish it! Now that we're onto one of So Cal's best kept secrets, I think we'll be going there more often. We fed the whole family for under $9, and they were the best fast food burgers I've ever had!

My New Hat

Luca had to blow off some steam after his physical therapy evaluation on Thursday - so he got a bit silly. Since he doesn't have a helmet now, we got him a little (big) hat for when we travel home in December!
However, plans may be changing. Luca will begin physical therapy for his torticollis (tightness/weakness of his right sternocleidomastoid muscle in his neck) in a few weeks. He also has an appointment for an evaluation by another orthotist specializing in cranial remolding bands on Wednesday.
Keith found out today that he probably wasn't being treated by the best people for the last 4 months, so we're going somewhere different, and supposedly better, for a second opinion. We are thinking that Luca will probably be in a different helmet by Christmas.
This does give us hope that he won't have to live with the obvious deformities in his skull. We are thankful that because he is still so young, there is still time to correct it!
To check out the new center and to learn more about Luca's condition, go to www.cranialtech.com. As you will see, the helmets are very different!

Little Star

This is one way to have your head examined.
Luca had an appointment yesterday with the orthotist to check his progress with his cranial remolding helmet. This is a picture of him getting his little head scanned in the "Star Scanner," which eliminates the need for him to have alginate impressions of his skull made.
The results?? No more helmet therapy!
He has come so far and improved so much - however we look at this milestone with mixed emotions. Numerically, Luca is near perfect. Visually and clinically, he still is obviously asymetrical. The plan, therefore, is to continue to monitor and scan him monthly, and reevaluate the need for additional therapy.
At this point, we can no longer put our trust in a helmet, but in the Great Physician - the Almighty God. We pray that the Lord will mold and perfect those little bones as they grow, and that we will continue to see improvement over the next few months!

Where's the Bear?

It was a beautiful night here for taking a walk and getting some candy. Since Bella has no idea it was "Halloween," that's what she assumes we were doing. Bella was so excited to be get dressed up today, that she actually finished dinner in less than an hour!
Trick-or-treating is HUGE here. It all started around 6 pm, and I think they were coming in by the vanloads! At 8:00 I turned off all the lights outside after we had given out 100 popcorn balls and a Costco-sized bag of candy. That's a lot of kids. Oh, and for you 20+ year olds - come on! Isn't it easier just to go and buy your own candy (or take it from your little brother or sister?)
One of our neighbors commented that Bella was a "scary lion." She promptly corrected him by saying, "I'm not a scary lion, I'm a nice lion!" Luca had a great time, too, going for an unusual night-time ride in the stroller - he never made a peep!
Bella had only managed to have one piece of candy by bedtime, so we're calling that a win! Oh, and we quickly nixed the idea of having another little bundle so that we could have a lion, a tiger, and a bear.