Tummy Troubles

Sigmoidoscopy.

Even if you didn't know what it was, the word itself sounds suspiciously repulsive.

Yesterday Luke experienced a sigmoidoscopy in all its glory, and he was diagnosed with a classic case of "The Lumpy Bumpies." Yes, that's really what the doctor called it.

Bethany entertained Luke during the procedure by "LA LA LA"ing in his face, wiggling her tongue at him, and slurping on his hands while simultaneously pinning down his arms and legs. His Auntie Gracie, who escorted us that day, tickled him and made him laugh hysterically as we waited for the doctor.

Fun.

No, not really. But we now have an explanation for Luke's weird poopoos occurring over the last month, and Bethany can finally ditch her no-dairy-no-soy-no-wheat-no-corn-no-egg-no-citrus-no-berries-no-anything diet.

("What did she eat?" you might wonder. We wondered that too. Lots of potato chips. Lots of beef. Lots of potato chips. Lots of chicken. Lots of potato chips. Lots of rice. Lots of potato chips.)

In a nutshell, Luke has a "lumpy bumpy" lining in his large intestine, which normally should be smooth. (Although the doctor did say that up to 20% of neonates like Lukey have The Lumpy Bumpies, too.) The doctor provided two likely explanations for The Lumpy Bumpies--both of which, he assured us, Luke will outgrow within the next few months.

By the way, the doctor's last name was McDonald. And he was old. So Luke got to meet the real live Old McDonald. Despite how happy Luke is when we sing to him about Old McDonald, when he met the real one, up came Luke's lower lip and down came the tears...


Count on Richie to be unaffected by the cold. Luke is bundled in "mittens" (socks), while Richie wants to grab a popsicle to take on our walk. (He carefully checks the ingredients to see if they are one of the few things Bethany can eat. They failed the test. Surprise.)


You'd think he was in trouble or something.


Funny how funerals turn into family reunions and end up being joyous occasions. Luke got to meet his Aunt Pauline for the first time (the wife of Bethany's dad's middle brother, Chuck) and LOOOOOOVED her. Lots of smiles.


He also got to meet his famous Aunt Mies (the wife of Bethany's grandma's brother, Edgar) and LOOOOOOVED her too!


Not only did he love his newfound aunties, but he also loved their buttons. Down went his head in search of them.


Uncle Chuck, Uncle Edgar, and Poppy. Picking cherries. Yum.


Luke with his Poppy. Mutual admiration society.


Hanging out on the pool table while the rest of us scooted around preparing for the funeral. This was right before Aunt Pauline went to check on him and found a spider creeping near his neck. Yikes. Aunt Pauline then performed an impressive Smoosh job.


Bethany's sister Sarah, with her best friend Affifa. Affifa was one of Grandma's many "adopted" grandchildren.


It's cousin Shanon (Chuck and Pauline's daughter) with Nakedman! During the graveside service, Luke was in back with his daddy, who was standing near Grandma's brothers Uncle Edgar and Uncle Herman. He must have felt deprived of attention or something, because all of a sudden he let out some obnoxious tooters. Edgar and Herman looked over and smirked. Men love these things. Richie ushered the baby to the car and discovered poopies up to Luke's neck. Hence, Nakedman.


The family of three, very distracted, at the funeral. (Thanks for the photo, Aunt Mies!)


Luke's eyes these days are fixated on food. He's had rice noodles, applesauce, banana, and apple juice, and has sucked on cherries, peaches, nectarines, apples... He screams when he doesn't get our food.


Luke has already been through many phases in his nearly five months of life. Lately he's loved being put to sleep in the swing at our apartment playground. It never fails to lull him to Lalaland.


Sometimes we let him take his whole nap in the swing while we sit and relax. Here, he is starting to wake up...


Still waking up. (It takes him a while.)


You're starting to see what we mean when we say that babies would have no fun with just Mom.


Luke is still trying so hard to crawl, but can do just one end at a time.


We seem to have forgotten how our last trip to the ocean went, how our trip to Sacramento went, how our trip to Berryessa went... and we tried once again for the ocean. Some parts were delightful, like pulling in to Krispy Kreme, letting Luke nap on the bench inside, and eating donuts and playing Chutes and Ladders and Memory while he slept. (Richie won Chutes and Ladders. Gracie won Memory. Bethany won Try-To-Nurse-Baby-In-A-Bathroom-Stall.)


Other parts weren't as delightful. Like the weather. So cold! So windy!


Gracie had a grand old time with Luke. (See the black speck in the background? That's Richie surfing.)


She made him laugh.


And laugh.


And laugh.


And laugh.


Take a look at this picture. Look veeeeery closely. You will see that Richie captured a once-in-a-lifetime event: On the way back from a 4AM trip to Wal-Mart, Luke fell asleep in his car seat, without even a fuss. (Why a 4AM trip to Wal-Mart? Richie's adventures extend far beyond surfing... Why NOT be wide awake and ready to party at 4 in the morning? Life as a baby is too precious to waste getting a full night's sleep...)