Mother/Son Field Day

Luca and I attended our first Mother/Son event this last Sat. It was a lot of fun and we were glad that Rachel and Damien Bryant were there as well. John and Damien's Dad, David, grew up together in France and David was at BFA the some of the same years John and I were there. Now David and Rachel live in Seattle and it has been so much fun reconnecting with them and getting to know them!

Damien Bryant and Luca Walker at Gas Works Park! Like father like son I might say!

Preschool Graduation Picnic!

Luca had his last day of preschool at Boren school last week. It was such a great experience these last two years! We are really going to miss his teachers and friends! Here are a few pictures of the end of the year celebration picnic!

Friends united!

Our dear friends Jess, Kimi, Layna and Jonah have come back to Seattle to visit there many friends this summer. We got to see them yesterday and what fun it was to see the kids playing together and catch up in person! So glad they were willing to make the 36 hour trek and 9 hours of jet leg to visit!

 Luca and Juliette's first slip and slide experience was a smashing success!!!

Jonah is wearing a shirt from Luca and Juliette a shirt from Layna...how cute!

New day

We came home from the special needs support group at church. The kids came with and had a blast with their friends as seen in my last post. Luca and Juliette came home and have played for 2 hours... happily and almost entirely by themselves. It was nothing short of a miracle and I hope a glimpse of many days to come. I am so glad Juliette is getting older and that she and Luca are becoming playmates.
I had to take a few pictures to document this golden moment. It was a 5th birthday party for Luca's new stuffed animal, Tim. Thank you Meagan for the birthday cake play toys to make the party come alive!

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Fun picture of the kids

Luca and Juliette had so much fun this morning playing with Kianna, Alexiane and Tristan! They are a happy bunch and we are going to miss their family while they spend 6 months in Switzerland! We are very excited for their adventure!

Echo Valley Run

John and I got away this last weekend and went to the Echo Valley 1/2 Marathon Run. There was $10 camping at the start of the race located at a small ski slop. Not everyones idea of a weekend away but certainly ours. We had the fun to setting up our tent and then wondering...what do we do? So relaxing not to have to do anything! The 1/2 the next morning started at 9:30 am. It was a hard run with the first few miles up hill, but a lot of fun and it ended with a down hill. I did not run in flip flops as pictured above...I had to take my running shoes off, they were so dirty and dusty right after the race. I am thankful that my parents could watch our kids so we could do this together! The last picture was taken of Lake Chelan where we dunked before driving back to Seattle. The water is pretty cold!

Last day at the Playgarden

It was with joy; of such a wonderful year and sadness; that it was over that, Luca had his last day the PlayGarden! I am so glad that Luca can go to camp at the PlayGarden for a week this summer and that we can play there other days too!
Here are a few pictures of his last day! Juliette is signed up to go two days next year and we are all so thankful for the PlayGarden!

Update on Luca's foot

Some of you might be wondering....how is Luca's foot? That surgery, weeks of casts, new AFO's and everything! How is that foot healing up?
The short answer is his foot is better positioned for walking and is straighter. Below is the long answer. On Monday I took Luca to the Dr. to confirm that things were healing well since his left foot is still swollen and somewhat painful especially when barefoot.

Questions: Is it normal for Luca's foot to still be swollen? How long will it be swollen?

Dr. Mosca said it is very normal for AMC feet to stay swollen a long time. The muscle isn't there to pump the blood out of it and so it will stay swollen much longer than a "normal" foot. He could not give me anytime frame except to say eventually the swelling will disappear.

Is it normal for Luca to experience pain in his foot still? How long?

Dr. Mosca said again this is normal. Lots of work was done on his foot. And parts of his foot are in contact with his AFO or the ground that have not been in years or ever. This will contribute to heighten sensitively and nerve feelings in his foot. Give it time...no time frame suggested by Dr. Mosca. When I said 2 or 3 months he said sure, maybe.

Is it normal for Luca to still be limping? Esp. when barefoot

Yes, it is. He foot has been repositioned and it will take time for him to get use to walking with his new "shape" of foot. Also, Luca doesn't have the foot muscles to pull the front of the foot up when he walk so it flops down, which contributes to the limp. When he is wearing his AFO this is not noticed or experienced since that holds his foot at 90 degrees. The current pain that should go away in a while also contributes to his current limping.

Dr. Mosca told me the way his foot is now is the best we can expect. (the heel still doesn't really hit the floor when he walks barefoot) As he gets older they can do something to have the growth plates in the front of the foot grow faster than the back and maybe the foot will lay flatter on the floor. Dr. Mosca is very happy with the results of the surgery. He feels that his foot is in a wildly better position. I was glad to hear him say that. I can tell a difference for sure but I guess it isn't what I expected. Luca's right foot is still much straighter than his left, for example. But I am thankful the good work has been done and the healing is happening.

Thanks again for all your support through this journey. I am so so glad Luca is not in a cast over the summer. We have already gotten to enjoy many barefoot play times at the Lincoln Park and Alki Beach with Luca's bare feet in the sand and water. We extremely grateful for Luca's mobility! Also needing to be mentioned Luca and Juliette played by themselves happily for 45 mins. on the trampoline last evening after supper! This was the longest and happiest playtime to date. We are hoping for many more of these magical moments to come!

Best MOPS morning!

My MOPS table got together at our wonderful, Mentor mom's house, Anita this last Sat. They had two new kittens, open fire to roast hot dogs, smores and a large wooden property to roam. In addition to ALL of that there was dress up clothes, catching caterpillars, and finding treasures! Couldn't ask for a better Sat. morning! Thanks again Anita and Paul! Of course Luca says, "can we go back to their house tomorrow?"

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Popcorn Party at Luca's school

Here are a few pictures from Luca's preschool at Boren. Can't believe his two years there are almost finished. He has had such a wonderful experience there and we will have a hard time saying good bye to his amazing teachers, Jennifer, Emily and Craig! The theme was "in the jungle the lion sleeps tonight" they listened to the song then did a parade to the office with their lion faces!