Princess Bug

This morning my Coco Bean was playing in my room, while I was dressing Baby G, and she found her Bumblebee Halloween costume that she never got to wear. (She had a pretty bad fever and rash that week the cause of which the Dr's at insta care could never quite Identify.)

Well this morning, when she found the costume, she asked if she could wear the "bug". Once I put it on her she proclaimed herself a "princess bug"! Personally, I thought it quite clever of her to see both elements of her costume and create her own term for it!! :)

...but what mom doesn't think their child "quite clever"? :P

Baby G

Introducing Baby G. He was born on my Grandma Grace's birthday, the day before Coco's birthday! He turned 4 weeks yesterday. And he's sporting a darling sweater and hat that his Amazing Aunt Peggy knitted for him.

The Scoop on Waterproof Casts

Last summer we were swimming in our neighborhood pool and I saw a boy swimming to his heart's content with a cast on his arm. He was completely submerging it and totally without a care as to whether it got wet or not. I was shocked and thought to myself that he was going to be in big trouble when his parents found out! I vaguely remember someone I was with (Rob?) quelling my fears with an explanation about it likely being a waterproof cast. Boy, the things that have improved life since I was a kid!!

So then when Chloë had her splint on for a week before getting her regular cast on Wednesday, my neighbor happened to mention to me how wonderful she thought waterproof casts were and how they were totally worth the extra expense. She said the wetter the better. I told Rob her account of waterproof casts and he was all over it.

When we went to her appointment with the orthopedic surgeon (bone doctor) we asked for a waterproof cast. They told us several factors to consider:
• The wetter the better (like my neighbor said). In other words, we needed to submerge AND rinse it out with clean pure water every day!! (ie. The hose, sink sprayer, or faucet after a bath). They said if we didn't get it wet regularly it would stick to her skin and peel it off when they took off her cast. Yikes!!
• It's not as supportive and therefore not appropriate for a break that is not stable. Hers was stable they said so it was acceptable.
• It frays easily at the edges and may need moleskin from the pharmacy stuck to the two ends to stop it from being irritating/fraying.
• The extra expense is not covered by the insurance co.

I was a little freaked out by the fact that her skin might peel off if we didn't care for it properly. But we decided to go for it.

Our review so far:
• It definitely seems less supportive of her break. We've bumped it/twisted it several times which has hurt her quite a few at times. :-(
• The fraying is far worse than we imagined when she said it might fray a little. It's not just fraying the end of the waterproof gauze is coming out the top of her cast, threatening to unravel the entire inside of her cast. :-/
• We have given her a bath/shower of some sort everyday which is very nice to not have to deprive her of the water she loves so much this time!!

Overall, I haven't decided if the pros outweigh the cons. :-P

Gunnar...

Introducing......our little Gunnar.....How do we know it's Gunnar this time??

Well...see for yourself:

The Story I Forgot To Tell

It occurs to me that I neglected to tell the story of how Chloë broke her leg.

I was close by and saw it out of the corner of my eye but it all happened so fast that it is hard for me to explain exactly what happened. However, Rob was with her (he was intermittently reading Chloë stories and watching TV--the other kids were in bed but Chloë had taken a late nap and was therefore still up at 9:30/10:00) and he knows, so I'll tell you his version.

Rob was sitting in the recliner and Chloë was standing next to him getting out books for him to read to her. She was dropping them on the floor in front of her and she ended up stepping on one and slipping on it. Unfortunately she's not the most coordinated creature, thanks to her mom, so she slips and falls quite frequently, but usually no major injury results. This time, however, as she fell, her right leg twisted under her and around to the back, creating a spiral or oblique fracture up her tibia. When I looked over I just saw her sitting on some books with her legs wrenched at weird angles and crying pretty hard.

She did calm down and go to bed a while later tho so we thought nothing major had happened. She cried some in the night but then she would settle down again.

In the morning Molly got her out of bed and brought her to our door and said that there was something wrong with her feet because she was shaking, crying, and collapsing as she was trying to stand up for Molly to pick her up.

It was then that we decided there was definitely something wrong and we took her to get an x-ray. My dad claims that I had a very specific cry that let him know that I had broken a bone, I wish Chloë had some way to let me know when to worry/not when to take her to the doctor/just give her comfort. :-P

She Picked Orange

We went for her Dr appt to get her cast on. They took another X-ray but Daddy was there this time so she was very good and super calm!! They saw a definite fracture slanted all the way down/across her tibia.

Rob asked them to do a waterproof cast. Apparently you're SUPPOSED to get it wet everyday! The wetter the better. It's amazing how things have changed since I was a kid! :-P

The nurse held up a sample of cast colors to Chloë and she chose bright orange. :-P

She also got a little cast shoe that she's very enamored with since she loves shoes so much. :-)

My Baby Girl

My little Chloë broke her leg last Thursday night (Aug 18). Poor girl. I hate watching her go through this! It makes me weak in sticking to our resolves in teaching her to sleep through the night. Last night we pulled her into bed with us for a good part of the night because I didn't have the heart to make her stay in her bed when she woke up crying. :-/

On the other hand, it amazes me how resilient kids are, they just roll with the punches! Tomorrow Chloë is getting a regular cast on (since that's when they can SQUEEZE her in...what's up with that?!) so I took off her splint and gave her a bath. We tried to be very gentle but I wasn't sure if she would try to go for her normal bath-time antics. There was no need to worry, she was very careful with it and if it would get bumped she would knit her eyebrows, say "oh", and point to her leg. I told her that it hurts because it broke. She shrugged her shoulders and said "boke".

The first few days she was grumpy and wanted to be held quite a bit, but it seems she's adjusted to her circumstances pretty well. She acts as if it's completely normal that she suddenly has to kneel to do things she used to stand and do, and that she's back to crawling everywhere just as crawling had become a novelty--something she only did to be funny since she'd become so adept at walking.

Cheeser!

Chloë is definitely a product of the modern generation!

She knows what a picture is, that you pose with a big ol' cheesy grin, :-/ and that you can see it immediately afterward.

But she has also quickly learned that phones=talking+taking pictures. Anytime she sees a cell phone she pulls out her cheesiest-shut eye-fake smile-wrinkle nose-camera face.

This particular day, she was enjoying one of her Grandma Paula's green smoothies (which she chugs by the pint) and entertaining us with her ensuing green handlebar mustache.

20 weeks today!!!

I'm halfway through and I finally got around to having a belly shot taken!! Although I'm showing a lot more than it looks in this pic!

What Do WE Want For Christmas???

Picnic in the Park

One Sunday I really wanted to go to the mountains... we had a few complications and had to settle for a park

We still had fun.

Molly enjoyed being photographer for the evening.

(18 July 2010)

Chloe's First Banana.....Love at First Taste!!!

The washcloth wasn't too bad either. :P

(18 July 2010)

Out to Get WET!!

Ben, Molly, Chloe and I met my sister Amber and her kids at the neighborhood splash park.

Ben enjoyed taking care of the babies. :)
Molly and cousin Taylor had fun in the water

Cousin Paxton...not so much. :P

(16 July 2010)

Fun in the Sun on 14 July 2010

Chloe sat up on her own for the first time
while at the pool watching her brother and sister swim.

Crazy kids :)

Out for a bike ride/scooter ride/walk with Mom...

and Coco. :)

Some of my Favorite Pics and Videos from July...

Ben, Molly and cousin Cambria

at a park with a water feature.

(7 July 2010)

Coco being read to sleep.

Daddy's favorite book to read to Coco: Chronicles of Narnia.
(12 July 2010)

Ben, Molly, and Chloe....aren't they so cute!!!
(20 July 2010)

Raspberries...need I say more?

Ben and Coco playing again. (right)

Chloe discovers cucumbers... (below)
But nobody better dare touch that cucumber!!!

(29 July 2010)

8 Bits of News About Chloe

1. Chloe started nodding her head and sort of mouthing "ya" about 2 weeks ago, around her 9 month mark (end of September 2010). So now when asked a question she will most often nod her head and make a "ya" sound. However, she still occasionally shakes her head no...which seems to give credence to the times she nods 'yes.' :D
2. Also at about 9 months exactly (end of September 2010) she went from 2-3 feedings per night to 0-1!!! Hooray for Coco!!! ...Mommy and Daddy are especially elated!!
3. Last week on Wednesday (6 Oct 2010), Chloe pulled herself up onto her knees (at my sister's coffee table). She has repeated this action a few times since then. (See Exhibit A)
4. Chloe sat herself up for the first time last Saturday (9 Oct 2010) morning around 4 am. She was in her crib sleeping and Rob was gone on a business trip. He usually gets her in the night when she needs to eat. <3 (See Exhibit B: You can just make out a sitting Chloe in this blurry picture of Chloe through the video monitor.)
5. Chloe started crawling on Sunday (10 Oct 2010). Only a few "steps" at a time before she would spread her arms and legs straight out (to the side that is) and let her body flop down onto her tummy, but hey, it's progress. :-) (She's gone a few more paces at a time since then.)
6. She still likes to sleep with soft things on her face, just like when she was SO small (compared to now) :-P and used to bury her face into her soft bumper pad in her cradle. Now it's a little silk blanket that I made for her that she puts in her face when she's sleeping. (See exhibit C: A clearer view from the video monitor)
7. I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but when Chloe was only a few months old, she would get quite put out if I tried to nurse her when she was tired. I've heard that many babies like to go to sleep nursing. Not Chloe, even to this day, if she's tired AND hungry, she'll usually choose sleep over eating and if I try to persuade her otherwise, she still gets QUITE PUT OUT!! :)

8. Last Friday morning she went for 13.5 hours without nursing!! (15 Oct 2010) That same morning, before she'd even gotten up to eat, I heard her just playing quietly in her crib. After a little while I asked Molly to get her and bring her to my room to nurse. When Molly went in there to get her, she had pulled herself to a standing position against the rail and was shakily standing there...probably not sure what to do now that she'd gotten herself into that predicament. :) I've yet to witness this phenomenon myself.

Exhibit A:



Exhibit B:



Exhibit C:

Kids Bowl Free at Fat Cats

We went to Fat Cats a few times this summer because they had a fun deal where kids could bowl two free games every day, all summer.

The Story of Food

hi mom, this is fun to sit at the counter with ben.

are we gonna play a game?

well...that's different. you've never showed me anything like that before.

i'm not quite sure what to think of it...

oh!!! you're sticking it in my mouth?!!

that strange, slimy green stuff is a bit worrisome.
what do you think molly? should i open my mouth?

and the verdict is...


YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING MOM!
i'll stick with the milk!!! :P




(1 July 2010)