Seeing Clear(er)

Today was Lucas' turn to have his eyes checked. Everything went very well and we went in and out in twenty minutes. His eyesight is continuing to improve greatly, so much so that he doesn't have to go back for 6 months. This is nice change since this past year we have been going ever 3 months and that is not even including his 2 trips to Emory and his EUA (exam under anesthesia.) We celebrating with a trip to Lovin Spoons. This time I made sure that Lucas did not confuse carob chips for chocolate chips!

Eye Need Glasses

Last Saturday, Curtis had an eye appointment and since I hadn't really had an eye exam in about 15 years I decided to go with him. Recently I noticed that when I closed my right eye the outline of things looked fuzzy, but with both eyes I could see fine. I figured at the most the eye doctor would tell me that I should wear glasses when I drive or at night or something. I was quite surprised when the doctor told me that I should be wearing glasses full time. Although technically the doctor did tell me I can still legally drive without glasses.

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I ended picking out glasses but I was and am not happy about it. They still have not come yet and I am quite fine with that. They are supposed to be here in 7-10 business days (from last Saturday) so they should be arriving next week I guess. I know I am being a big baby about this especially since both my husband and son wear glasses full time, and I like THEM in glasses.

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I just hate wearing glasses on my face! Even in the summer when I would put on sunglasses after a few minutes they always end up perched on top of my head. I avoid 3-D movies because the feeling of the glasses sitting on my nose drives me batty. I know contacts could be an option but the thought of having to shove something on my eyeball doesn't appeal to me. Maybe I will feel differently once I look at the world through my prescription

Must Be the Glasses

Lucas: "Mom, do you think that I look like Harry Potter?"

Me: "Do you even know who Harry Potter is?"

Lucas: "No, but everyone is always telling me I look like Harry Potter."

Blurry Buses

Lucas' eye appointment at Emory is coming up in a few weeks and I have been quite proud of myself for not obsessing about it. However, I will admit there have been moments when I just hate the waiting and want just want to know what's wrong with his eyes and what if anything can be done.

One such occasion happened on Friday I was driving him home from school. A few streets from home I stopped behind a bus that was letting off children. Lucas asked, "Mom, why are you stopping? What is that thing in front of us? Is it a bus?" When I asked him if he was having trouble seeing it he said he couldn't really make out the what is was, just the yellow color.

For a second there I almost felt like someone knocked the wind out of me! My kid couldn't see the giant bus right in front of us!!! The very first thing he could suddenly see when he put his glasses on for the first time! And here he is not even a year later with a stronger prescription.... and buses now look like big yellow blurs.

Dear Lucas (4 years 10 months),

In two months you will be 5. In less than two weeks you will no longer be in PreK and in just a few months you will be starting Kindergarten. Where does the time go? On the way home from school today we were talking about plans for your birthday and I actually asked if you could stop growing and just stay this age forever. Your response was, "Mom, that's what kids do, grow up. I have to get older so I can be like Dad and grow a mustache or maybe a beard."

Thursday was the big PreK end of the year picnic and you were presented with your certificate of completion. You asked me if that meant it was the last day of school, which would make sense but you still have two weeks left. I can't believe summer is finally here! I am so excited to get to spend more one on one time with you.

After the picnic was over your whole class headed to the beach for a chance to dig in the sun and splash in the waves. Your whole prek experience has been so awesome and I love getting to go on field trips with you. You guys had a blast. One classmate said "This is the best day ever" and pretty soon you were all saying "yes, this is the best day ever," which made your wonderful teachers day.

Your Grandma got to come to the beach with us to see you get your certificate and jump in the waves with you. On the way home she suggested we stop for an ice cream cone and a cool drink. So we stopped at the Sugar Shack on Tybee, which in a way is a part of our family history I guess. Grandma used to go there before I was ever even born and before you were born your Dad and I went there on our very first date. I never could have guessed nine years ago just how wonderful things would turn out.

Tee ball ended last week and I am so glad that we signed you up. It was so nice for me and your Dad to get up and go cheer you on every week. Playing really taught you about team work and working together and it was just such a good experience. After each game we would always go out and have lunch together as a family. We'll just have to find a new Saturday activity to replace tee ball.

The last thing that has been going on is that we have to go to Atlanta to get your eyes checked out. For some reason your eyesight has been getting worse instead of better so we are going to see a specialist to see if they can find out why and hopefully correct it. The whole waiting and not knowing thing is a little nerve-racking but we have been trying to stay calm, especially around you. No sense stressing for weeks over something that might not even be a big deal.

Love you to the moon and back,

Mommy

Eye-yi-yi

Yesterday afternoon I took Lucas in for what I thought would be a routine eye exam. Since Lucas is nearsighted and so young his pediatric eye Doctor has had us come in every few months to monitor his vision closely. Well, turns out his vision is not improving, instead it is getting worse. The DR said this is very rare in a child his age and she doesn't know what is causing it. She said very rarely is it genetic and can be caused by several different diseases (but did not name them.) She also said that severe cases of nearsightedness can lead to retina detachment and blindness. She is sending us to Emory in Atlanta to see a Pediatric specialist. They called this morning and told us that his appointment will be Friday June 25th. It will be hard to wait wondering what is going on but I am glad that it will be after school gets out so he doesn't miss anything.

In the meantime his RX for his glasses was also changed. His new glasses should be in within the next day or two. His DR also said that the glasses are not helping his improve his vision but does help him to see clearly the things that would look blurry without the glasses. She also said no matter what happens he will never have 20/20 vision but hopefully they can figure out a way to correct his vision so he can at least drive a car one day.

Thank goodness he got into PreK last year because we first realized there was a problem with his vision when we went in for required screening before he started school. If hadn't been screened then it is possible that we might not have even known there was a problem. I am very thankful and hopeful that we caught whatever it may be early.

So needless to say we are a bit stressed but trying NOT to worry since worrying is pointless. Lucas doesn't know anything is wrong because I don't want to scare him. I told him that soon we get to go on a fun trip to Georgia's capital and that he has such special eyes that a Doctor all the way there just wants to see his baby blues. He is also excited about his new glasses. He picked out Go, Diego, Go! glasses and they have animal stripes on the arms of the frames. Too bad he won't have his new glasses in time for his field trip to Oatland Island Wildlife Center tomorrow!

Magic Glasses

Almost a month ago we found out that Lucas needed glasses, but they are still not ready yet. Well, thanks to our sweet friend Becky and her sister my baby can see! The two of them worked some major magic and made a pair of glasses appear for Lucas.

When I picked him up from school yesterday I presented him with his glasses and he got so excited. He immediately put them on and then took them off and then put them back on and said, Mommy I can see! Things don't look blurry anymore!" The whole way home he pointed out things that he could suddenly see, "I can see that bus! There is a boy over there across the street walking with a Dad! Hey Mom look, I'm the same boy. I'm Lucas but now I can see!" I cried happy tears all the way home.

Dear Lucas (4 Years 1 month and 3 days),

I catch myself staring at you just about everyday and thinking "how is it possible that he is so grown up?" Everyday you seem bigger than you were the day before. You always wake up happy ready to face the day. You always want to know where we are going and what we are doing. You always want to be on the move and HATE days where we stay home.

We had your fourth birthday party on August 1st and you got to celebrate turning 4 with your family and friends. The party was a race car theme that you decided on yourself. You've already started planning your 5Th birthday and anytime anyone mentions someone else's birthday you have to remind us that you will be 5 on your next birthday and that you think you want a Batman birthday. I am constantly reminding you to stop being in such a rush to grow up already, you JUST TURNED 4!!!

You are one lucky duck and got to go to Disney World this summer not once, but twice! Our last trip in the middle of August was totally unplanned. We went so that I could take care of your Great-Gram while Grandma was in continuing education nursing classes. One of the days we were there we all headed back to the Magic Kingdom. You were SO excited to be there. One of the things you loved seeing was a big show in front of the castle because you got to see Peter Pan fight Captain Hook. You are still talking about it. You LOVE Peter Pan right now and beg to watch the Disney movie ALL THE TIME. We often read Peter Pan at bedtime and you want to be Peter Pan for Halloween. It's a little funny to me that the kid who can't wait to get older is obsessed with the Boy that never grows up.

You spent a good deal of the summer playing with your friends David and Gabe. They were usually over at our house at least once a week while their parents were at work. Back in May when they first started to come over you guys used to fight ALL THE TIME but as the summer marched on the fights were few and far between. You spent lots of hours with them in the sandbox and sitting on the front porch eating popsicles talking about hot wheels and super heroes. At the beginning of the summer you guys planted zinnia seeds and you all loved watching them grow and helping water them. Last week was our last time watching the boys on a consistent basis since you and David will be starting school on September 1st.

On Friday night your school had an Open House and you were so excited to go and see your school and meet your teacher. There are 2 Pre-K classes at your school and they had everyone meet together and then the assistant teachers took all the kids to their class while the teachers talked to us parents. You excitedly lined up and followed the other kids out of the room. I couldn't help feeling just a little bit like I had just turned my baby over to a perfect stranger and I started to cry as soon as you were out of my sight. I know that you are going to love school (you've been BEGGING to go for so long) and that it will be good for you but I am going to miss having you as my sidekick during the day. I ended up buying a charm with your name on it and making a necklace for myself so that I can feel like you are with me when you are school. I am also planning on wearing big sunglasses when I drop you off for your first day, so that hopefully you can't tell that I am crying.

After the teachers were done going over the basics with us (reminding us that everyone is expected to wear red or white khaki shirts and khaki or black pants and have a clear or mesh backpack) all the parents headed over to the Pre-K classes. You didn't see us coming in the door and you ran out another way. Turns out you had to go to the bathroom and didn't know where it was or who to ask so you went back to the room where you had left us to ask for help, only we were no longer there. By the time we found you, you were so upset because you were lost and had an accident in your pants since you didn't know what to do. You were so upset. Your Dad took you to the car to get cleaned up and when you came back you were still crying. Daddy tried to distract you by showing you the alphabet that ran across the wall. It worked for a second but when it was time to meet your teacher you hid under the table. I hate that your Open House went like that but I hope that since "all the bad stuff" already happened that your first day will be smooth.

We just found out that you need glasses. Turns out that you are extremely nearsighted and can only see things close up. This explains why you always stand right in front of the TV no matter how many times we ask you to move. I feel like I should apologize for all those times I pointed at something across the room and told you to please pick it up and you said you couldn't see what I was talking about and I would get frustrated. I thought you weren't looking, and it turns out you really couldn't see from across the room. You are very excited about wearing glasses like Grandpa and Daddy and you I let you pick out your frames all by yourself. They might not be here for a couple of weeks so you have to start school without them. I can't wait for you to be able to REALLY see. Last night you looked up at the sky and said "Mommy, the sky is so beautiful." All I could think to myself was just wait until you get your glasses.

Little Boo,I love you to the moon and back,

Mommy

I <3 Boys That Wear Glasses

Today was Lucas' eye appointment after failing the test a few weeks ago at his regular pediatrician. Lucas did great even when he had to be held down and get several eye drops in his eyes. Turns out he is extremely near sighted (can see near but not far) and needs glasses. Thank goodness for technology and thin plastic they can make now because the Doctor said back in the day he would have been the kid in the coke bottle glasses.

As soon as we left the Doctor we went and let him pick out his frames and ordered his glasses. They will be here in 6-8 weeks. He goes back in 4 months to make sure the glasses are improving his vision. He says he is excited to get to wear glasses so he can look like his Daddy and his Papa. I'm a little nervous about how we are going to keep his glasses on him but the Doctor said that when kids need glasses as bad as he does it will make such a big difference in what he can suddenly see that he won't want to take them off ever. I sure hope so... she said he will suddenly go "wow those green blobs on the trees are leaves." (made me wonder if she is a Grey's fan.)